Hannibal history: 1854 Lecture Willardian theory of Respiration
(Hannibal) Missouri Courier Nov. 16, 1854
Dr. B.H. Washington will present this evening some valuable practical deductions from the Willardian theory of Respiration for the prevention and cure of coughs, colds, consumption, scrofula &c. Practical truths for every day use and not abstract scientific speculations will be present; all will be benefitted Lecture at the Melpontian Hall (Hannibal, Mo.) at 7 o’clock P.M. Terms 25 cents each.
So what is the Willardian theory of Respiration?
Wikipedia
Emma Hart Willard (February 23, 1787 – April 15, 1870) was an American women's rights activist who dedicated her life to education. She worked in several schools and founded the first school for women’s higher education, the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York. With the success of her school, Willard was able to travel across the country and abroad, to promote education for women. The Troy Female Seminary was renamed the Emma Willard School in 1895 in her honor.
Project Gutenberg;
THEORY OF CIRCULATION BY RESPIRATION. SYNOPSIS OF ITS PRINCIPLES AND HISTORY. WRITTEN, BY REQUEST, FOR THE "U. S. JOURNAL OF HOMŒOPATHY," BY EMMA WILLARD.
Emma Willard wrote:
The first step in the theory occurred to my mind in the winter of 1822, and while I was engaged in founding the Troy Female Seminary. Being in attendance on a course of lectures on chemistry, and at the same time teaching to a class Mrs. Marcett's excellent work on that subject, one cold morning, as I was walking briskly up a hill, I said to myself, Why do I grow warm? Whence comes this accession of caloric? It cannot be transmitted to me from any object without, because every thing which comes in contact with me is cold. Snow is under my feet, and frosty air surrounds me; and, as to clothing, even the softest furs _impart_ no warmth--they but keep from escaping that which comes from within. What other method besides transmission is there of gaining heat? There is the elimination of caloric, when, in substances chemically combining, weight is gained and bulk is lost. Is there any such combination going on in me? Yes; this atmospheric air, when I inspire it, has oxygen combined with nitrogen; but when I expire, the oxygen has disappeared, and heavier substances--carbonic acid gas and watery vapor--are returned in its place. Thus, it must be, animal heat is evolved. It is the product of respiration; and it is because I breathe faster and deeper, that more carbon is oxidized or burned, and more heat is set free in my lungs; and therefore I grow warm as I walk up this hill, though all around me is cold.
For more, access the writing online: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19053/19053-0.txt
