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"Why so?"
"Most germs are of the harmless type, and it is because of the vast numbers of the harmless ones that the few poisonous or disease germs are killed. Water has millions of them in every cubic inch. Professor Dewar, a great English chemist, calls them nature's policemen. If a typhoid fever germ, for example, should be in...
"That sounds like a romance."
"Yes; the life history of those germs is really a wonderful thing, and books have been written about them. They exist in tribes, as it were; some of them can live only where oxygen is present, and some live on nitrogen only; others on carbon. But that is not all. Man has learned to use them, so they will work just as s...
"How interesting! In what way do we use them?"
"In what is called the septic system of treating sewage. You know that sewage from the kitchen contains all kinds of meat and vegetables, and the more it has fermented the stronger becomes the odor and the greater are the number of bacteria in the sewage. The sewage in the liquid state is first placed in a reservoir, a...
"So in using germs the object is to cultivate one kind to kill another kind?"
"Not always; chemists have found out that man and animals absorb oxygen and expel nitrogen, in order to live; and that plants take in and live on nitrogen, and give out oxygen. They further learned that certain germs make nitrogen, just the same as we found that certain germs made carbonic gas in the dough; so that the...
"When they get them, how do they set them to work?"
"The germs are thrown into a tub of water, and the seed, like corn, is put into the water and allowed to remain for a certain length of time. When the seed is taken out, more or less of the germs remains on each kernel, and when it is put into the ground the germs keep on working, making nitrogen which the growing plan...
It was now May, and the weather was slightly cooler, but there was neither snow nor frost. North of the equator it was growing warmer, because the winter had passed. Here the summer had gone, and winter was coming on. From every indication they were not in a cold climate.
"Why do you think we shall not have any snow?" was Harry's inquiry.
"I notice too many trees, as well as shrubs and flowers, which could not live if we had frosts or freezing weather. Many of the trees about here do not shed their leaves, and the kind of animals which we now know exist here are sufficient evidence that we need not fear cold weather."
For more than a week the boys and the Professor put in their time prospecting in the hills and in carting various ores and mineralogical samples to their workshop.
The pelts which were on hand needed curing and besides there were also four yak pelts which had to be tanned, as shoe leather was badly needed. The hide originally dehaired was long ago ready for tanning, as well as the later ones.
"What shall we use for the tanning process?"
"The bark of certain trees must be procured, so if you can find either oak, hemlock, birch or beech trees, we can probably make a tanning compound which will serve our purpose."
"In what way will the bark of those trees tan the leather?"
"All the barks named contain what is called tannic acid. Other elements also are used, such as gallic acid, alum, sulphate of iron, and copper, salt, and other agents."
"What are the chemicals for?"
Fig. 13. Tanning Vat.
"The tannic acid or the chemicals act on the skins, or, rather on the gelatin, glutin and albumen in the skins, and thus harden the texture and preserve it. Where tannin is not used and only the chemicals are employed, it is called 'tawing' the leather, instead of 'tanning.'"
"Well, we can get the bark; I know where there are several oak trees, and also a number of beech trees."
"Then gather the bark by all means, and by the way, if you can find gall nuts we could use them to advantage."
"We don't know what they are."
"Then, if you can get some sumac, we can use that."
"Yes, I know; the kind with the long, red leaves."
"That is what I mean."
"Do the gall nuts have tannic acid?"
"Yes; but principally gallic acid, but gallic acid will also tan the skins so as to make leather. The principal use of the gall nut is for making ink."
"What kind of tree does the gall nut grow on?"
"On any kind of tree or bush."
"That is rather odd."
"It is not the fruit of any tree, but is produced by the gall fly, which punctures almost any kind of tree or shrub. In this puncture the insect lays its eggs, and the tree in trying to treat the wound covers up the egg, and the sap, flowing from the tree, forms a sort of nut which finally hardens and produces a most b...
The necessary bark for the tanning process was ready within the next two days, and a tank prepared in which the hides were laid spread out, with the bark between them and covered with water.
"In our conversations, Professor, you have the habit in describing plants, and especially the leaves to call them by certain names. It would help us if we knew just what you meant by the different names you give them."
"That is a wise suggestion, because it has been said that the basis of knowledge, or of true science, is correct definitions.[1] What is meant by that is this: We should both have an understanding of the term used to describe a thing. In our talks I have tried to avoid the use of what is called technical terms, but it ...
[Footnote 1: Each of these books has the Professor's definitions on the last pages.]
Fig. 14. Serrate. Fig. 15. Bi-serrate.
"If you would make drawings of the different kinds of leaves and give their names we could hang them up and could look at them any time."
"The leaf is the proper part to commence on, because it is the most important thing of every plant, or tree, or shrub."
"What, more important than the fruit or the flower, or the nut that grows on the tree?"
"That is just what I mean. When you smell the rich red flower of the rose, or look at the pure white petals of the lily, or the sweet-smelling blossoms of the orange or the jasmine, you are simply seeing or smelling leaves. The fruit itself, whether in the form of an apple, or a berry or a nut, is simply a form of leaf...
"I never heard of such a thing before."
"It is a subject treated of in botanical knowledge which is called Morphology, and the object is to show that every fruit and flower was developed, in accordance with a well-known law, from the particular shape or form of the leaf. We can go into that branch of the subject later on. What we now want is to know somethin...
"Look at Fig. 14. The edges are like the teeth of a saw. This is called the serrate leaf. The rose and the common nettle have such leaves.
"Fig. 15 shows a leaf with a saw tooth edge wherein the teeth themselves have a lot of little saw teeth, as in the nettle-leaved bell-flower, and this is called bi-serrate.
"Fig. 16 has very large, sharp teeth, not pointing in any particular direction, like the oak leaf. This is called the dentate, or tooth.
"Fig. 17 has rounded projections instead of angular teeth, and is called crenate. Ground ivy and horseradish have such leaves.
"When we make drawings of the shapes of the leaves that will take us along another step, and thus enable us to find out just what kind of tree or plant we are talking about."