628 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



great city any more than he would select a steak from the coarse 

 beef whose proper destination is the stock-pot. Let any one compare 

 the facilities which exist in most foreign towns for obtaining the three 

 important articles of diet just named, with the parallel conditions 

 afforded by London, and the inferiority of the latter will be so mani- 

 fest as to become matter of humiliation to an Englishman. I do not 

 raise any question of comparison between our own markets and the 

 Halles Centrales of Paris, covering as they do nearly five acres of 

 closely utilized space, with enormous vaults beneath, in direct com- 

 munication by tram-road with the railways ; nor of the well-stocked 

 Marche St. Honore, and others of less note. To many among the 

 thousands of tourists who frequent the public buildings of Paris, an 

 early morning survey of the fish, flesh, dairy produce, vegetables, fruit, 

 and flowers, which the Halles Centrales display, and the scarcely less 

 remarkable exhibition of Parisian and provincial life brought together 

 there, present one of the most interesting and truly foreign spectacles 

 which the city affords. 



To the long list of needed reforms I have ventured to advocate in 

 connection with this subject, I must add the want of ample and acces- 

 sible markets in various parts of London, for what is known as coun- 

 try produce. I do this not only in the interest of the millions who, 

 like myself, are compelled to seek their food within the limits of 

 Cockayne ; but also in the interest of our country gardeners and 

 housewives, who ought to be able to supply us with poultry, vege- 

 tables, and eggs, better than the gardeners and housewives of France, 

 on whom at present we so largely depend. We may well be grateful 

 to these small cultivators, who by their industry and energy supply 

 our deficiencies ; but the fact that they do so does not redound to the 

 credit of our countrymen. 



No doubt, as regards security, liberty, locomotive facilities, etc., 

 Cockayne is a tolerably comfortable and pleasant place to live in ; 

 nevertheless, it is certainly true that greater intelligence, more enter- 

 prise, and better organization perhaps of the cooperative kind are 

 much required, in order to improve not only the sources and quality of 

 our food, but also some of our manners and customs in relation to 

 selecting, preparing, and serving it. Nineteenth Century. 



** 



A EEMAKKABLE COINCIDENCE. 



LETTER FROM DR. GEOEGE M. BEARD. 



To the Editors of the Popular Science Monthly : 



~TN the April number of your Journal for this year (1879), I discussed 

 -L the subject of coincidences as one of the six sources of error in ex- 

 perimenting with living human beings, and stated in substance that this 

 department of logic had been most imperfectly studied, and that the 



