POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



573 



the note. All the notes of the cello, the 

 high notes of the bassoon, trumpet, and 

 trombone, and the low notes of the clarionet 

 and viola suggest a flat undulating ribbon of 

 strong white fibers. The tone of the horn 

 calls up a succession of white circles of grad- 

 uated size, overlapping one another. The 

 circle and the ribbon float past her horizon- 

 tally, but the point of the obelisk seems to 

 come at her. In an orchestra, when the 

 violins strike up, after the wind band has 

 been prominent for a time, she sees often a 

 shower of bright white dust or sand. If she 

 knows the scoring of a piece well, the vari- 

 ous effects slightly precede the instrument 

 they belong to; but the objects are vague 

 and faint till the sound begins. Sometimes, 

 if an oboe passage has an intense or yearn- 

 ing character, the white point comes so near 

 her, and moves so rapidly, that she thinks it 

 must wound her. 



Who Should study Chemistry. — In an 



article in which it is shown what small re- 

 muneration is obtained for ordinary chemical 

 work in England, the editor of The Chemical 

 News says : " It must not, however, be sup- 

 posed that we are seeking to dissuade the 

 young from the study of chemistry alto- 

 gether. To three classes, who we would fain 

 hope are becoming more numerous, we must 

 recommend it most strongly. In the first 

 place, to all who aim at reaching something 

 higher than a mere board-school grade of 

 mental culture, we should recommend it, 

 quite irrespective of possible material bene- 

 fits, as a means of intellectual training. 

 Chemistry teaches us the important arts of 

 close and accurate observation, and of draw- 

 ing correct inferences from the facts recog- 

 nized. These important arts can never be 

 mastered by the most prolonged study of 

 classics and mathematics. Hence, if we re- 

 gard education as intellectual discipline 

 rather than the mere absorption of a num- 

 ber of facts, we shall find some one of the 

 branches of natural and physical science ab- 

 solutely essential and indispensable. And 

 under most circumstances chemistry will 

 prove the most appropriate subject. An- 

 other class which we should like to see 

 largely recruited consists of men in inde- 

 pendent circumstances who have the lei- 

 sure needed for taking in hand those many 



scientific problems which are often neglected 

 because they are not immediately remunera- 

 tive. Such men too commonly waste their 

 time in dissipation, in the pursuit of more 

 "wealth, or in making mischief. Now, if they 

 possess the needful ability, we. had much 

 rather see them at work in the laboratory. 

 The last class to whom we would especially 

 recommend a thorough study of chemical 

 principles are those who are looking for- 

 ward to employment in the chemical arts, 

 whether as proprietors, managers, foremen, 

 etc. It is a misfortune when men who oc- 

 cupy such positions depend merely upon rule 

 of thumb and traditional recipes. If these 

 three classes do what we believe is their 

 duty, our national manufactures and our 

 national habits of thought will alike under- 

 go a needed improvement." 



Marriage Ages in England. — For the last 

 seventeen years the persons who have mar- 

 ried in England have been older each year. 

 In 18*73 the men who married averaged 25"6 

 years of age, and the women 24*2 ; in 1888 

 the averages were respectively 26 - 3 and 24*7 

 years. The mean age at marriage in the 

 professional and independent classes is seven 

 years more advanced for men and four years 

 more advanced for women than among min- 

 ers — in fact, generally speaking, the higher 

 the class the later the age at which marriage 

 is contracted. These results were presented 

 to the Royal Statistical Society in a recent 

 paper by Dr. William Ogle, who said further 

 that more persons remain permanently celi- 

 bate in the upper than in the working 

 classes. He had found that fewest men ab- 

 stained altogether from matrimony among 

 shopkeepers, to whom wives were almost a 

 necessity. Next to them came the mechanics 

 and laborers, while the professional and in- 

 dependent class had a proportion of perma- 

 nent bachelors far above the rest. 



Healthfnl Walls and Ceilings.— A requi- 

 site to the healthful condition of ceilings and 

 walls, according to Prof. R. C. Kedzie, is the 

 preservation of their respiratory quality, or 

 of a degree of porosity that will permit a 

 free transpiration of air through them. 

 While this exists unimpaired, impurities 

 lodging upon them are naturally consumed, 

 and they remain clean and wholesome ; what- 



