  We define a contravariant functor K from the category of finite graphs and
graph morphisms to the category of finitely generated graded abelian groups and
homomorphisms. For a graph X, an abelian group B, and a nonnegative integer j,
an element of Hom(K^j(X),B) is a coherent family of B-valued flows on the set
of all graphs obtained by contracting some (j-1)-set of edges of X; in
particular, Hom(K^1(X),R) is the familiar (real) ``cycle-space'' of X. We show
that K(X) is torsion-free and that its Poincare polynomial is the
specialization t^{n-k}T_X(1/t,1+t) of the Tutte polynomial of X (here X has n
vertices and k components). Functoriality of K induces a functorial coalgebra
structure on K(X); dualizing, for any ring B we obtain a functorial B-algebra
structure on Hom(K(X),B). When B is commutative we present this algebra as a
quotient of a divided power algebra, leading to some interesting inequalities
on the coefficients of the above Poincare polynomial. We also provide a formula
for the theta function of the lattice of integer-valued flows in X, and
conclude with ten open problems.
