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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



we conceive a sphere of water as large 

 as a pea to be magnified to the size 

 of the earth, each molecule being mag- 

 nified to the same extent, the magnified 

 structure would be coarser-grained than 

 a heap of small lead shot, but less 

 coarse-grained than a heap of cricket- 

 balls. The evidence in this case may 

 be insufficient; it may become more 

 complete ; but the conception of physi- 

 cal units, in subsensible depths far be- 

 yond the reach of possible observation or 

 experiment, is inevitable to the physi- 

 cist and perfectly legitimate to science. 

 The chemist now steps in with a 

 new view of the case. He accepts the 

 molecule of the physicist, but to him it 

 is no longer a unit. He decomposes it 

 into new kinds of matter, with new 

 properties. He resolves it into a still 

 lower order of units, which he terms 

 atoms. Chemistry presents us with a 

 vast mass of observations and experi- 

 ments, but they cannot be connected, 

 resolved, interpreted, and stated, ex- 

 cept in transsensible terms of the im- 

 agination molecules and atoms. Phys- 

 ics and chemistry, in their latest and 

 highest aspects, are compelled to fall 

 back upon these conceptions of sub- 

 sensible units as nothing less than the 

 ultimate foundations of science. 



THE INTERCOLLEGIATE SPOU TING- 

 MATCH. 



"The higher education" advances 

 apace. We chronicled in due time the 

 great impulse that it received at Sara- 

 toga last summer, when a mob that no 

 man could number hustled its dusty 

 way over to the lake to see which set 

 of collegians could pull through the 

 water the fastest. One of the boats 

 came out ahead as was rather una- 

 voidable whereupon everybody shook 

 hands and uproariously agreed that this 

 college business must be in a very pros- 

 perous way. 



And now the " higher education " 



has taken another spirited stride for- 

 ward. Half a dozen colleges in different 

 parts of the country having made up a 

 grand spouting-match, hired the Acade- 

 my of Music in the metropolis for the 

 exhibition, got together three news- 

 paper editors for judges, brought on 

 their most promising young declaimers, 

 and let off" the show before a large 

 and admiring audience. Nothing was 

 wanting to call out the best efforts of 

 the candidates, who were fired by per- 

 sonal ambition, collegiate rivalry, audi- 

 torial applause, and impending news- 

 paper glory, while even more peppery 

 and pungent incentives were by no 

 means overlooked. It is related that, 

 on a certain occasion, the sportsmen 

 somewhere out West resolved to have 

 a grand fox-hunt in the true old Eng- 

 lish style; And so they came together 

 with horses and hounds, not forgetting 

 to bring the indispensable little beast 

 they were going to hunt, which came 

 secure in its cage. When all was ready, 

 they let the fox go. The animal might 

 probably have been trusted to run by 

 natural instinct, but, to furnish him with 

 an immediate motive for making his 

 best speed, they gave him a cut with 

 a horse-whip as he escaped. In the 

 case of the young orators the starting- 

 fillip was different. The high incen- 

 tives might perhaps have sufficed to un- 

 seal the fountains of eloquence, but, 

 to insure a gushing flow, an additional 

 stimulus of $175 was held out as a pre- 

 mium to the winner. Whether the 

 greenbacks were put in a purse and 

 placed in conspicuous view of the con- 

 testants, does not appear. Be this as it 

 may, they strove with each other, the 

 editorial discrimination was invoked, 

 some one got the money, and the others 

 of course didn't ; and it was agreed all 

 around that the cause of the higher 

 education had been moved along several 

 notches. 



Well, if the potsherds of the earth 

 may be permitted to strive with each 

 other, why not the colleges? if the boys 



