Take, next, the carnivorous animal full fed. In this case there can
be no doubt that, while a portion of the food goes to repair the
tissues, by far the larger portion is consumed in the blood, and
passes away partly as CO₂ and H₂O through the lungs, and partly
as urea through the kidneys. This part is used, and can be of use
only, to create force. The food of carnivora, therefore, goes partly
to tissue-building, and partly to create heat and force. The force of
carnivorous animals is derived partly from decomposing tissues and
partly from food-excess consumed in the blood.
11. HERBIVORA.--The food of herbivora and of man is mixed--partly
albuminoid and partly amyloid. In man, doubtless, the albuminoids
are usually in excess of what is required for tissue-building; but
in herbivora, probably, the albuminoids are not in excess of the
requirements of the decomposing tissues. In this case, therefore, the
whole of the albuminoids is used for tissue-making, and the whole of
the amyloids for force-making. In this class, therefore, these two
classes of food may be called tissue-food and force-food. The force of
these animals, therefore, is derived partly from the decomposition of
the tissues, but principally from the decomposition and combustion of
the amyloids and fats.
Some physiologists speak of the amyloid and fat food as being burned
to keep up the animal heat; but it is evident that the prime object
in the body, as in the steam-engine, is not heat, but force. Heat is
a mere condition and perhaps a necessary concomitant of the change,
but evidently not the prime object. In tropical regions the heat is
not wanted. In the steam-engine, chemical energy is first changed into
heat, and heat into mechanical energy; in the body the change is,
probably, much of it direct, and not through the intermediation of heat.
12. We see at once, from the above, why it is that plants cannot feed
on elements, viz., because their food must be decomposed in order to
create the organic matter out of which all organisms are built. This
elevation of matter, which takes place in the green leaves of plants,
is the starting-point of life; upon it alone is based the possibility
of the existence of the organic kingdom. The running down of the
matter there raised determines the vital phenomena of germination, of
pale plants, and even of some of the vital phenomena of green plants,
and all the vital phenomena of the animal kingdom. The stability of
chemical compounds, usable as plant-food, is such that a peculiar
contrivance and peculiar conditions found only in the green leaves of
plants are necessary for their decomposition. We see, therefore, also,
why animals as well as pale plants cannot feed on mineral matter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account