Photosynthesis¹

Abstract

THERE is no process within the confines of chemistry which is of greater interest and importance than that by means of which the living plant prepares the food on which its life and growth depend. This food consists of starch and sugars, together grouped under the general name of carbohydrates, and of certain nitrogen-containing compounds known as proteins. The material from which the plant starts is carbonic acid, or a solution of carbon dioxide, which it obtains from the air, in water which it obtains through its roots from the soil. Prom this substance alone the plant is able to prepare its supply of carbohydrates, and it is true to say that this chemical process is the fundamental basis of the whole of terrestrial life. This may truly be asserted because the production of the proteins is very closely associated with it and the initial stage is common to the two.