808 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



and hills, and rivers and springs, that trees and grasses, that stones, 

 and all fragments of things are endowed with life and with will, and 

 act for a purpose. These fragments of philosophy lead to the dis- 

 covery of hecastotheism. Philology also leads us back to that state 

 when the animate and the inanimate were confounded, for the holo- 

 phrastic roots into which words are finally resolved show us that all 

 inanimate things were represented in language as actors. Such is the 

 evidence on which we predicate the existence of hecastotheism as a 

 veritable stage of philosophy. Unlike the three higher stages, it has 

 no people extant on the face of the globe, known to be in this stage of 

 culture. The philosophies of many of the lowest tribes of mankind 

 are yet unknown, and hecastotheism may be discovered ; but at the 

 present time we are not warranted in saying that any tribe entertains 

 this philosophy as its highest wisdom. 



[To be continued.'] 



-+*+- 



A HOME-MADE SPECTROSCOPE. 



By JAMES J. FUENISS. 



THE person to whom the study of spectroscopy is really attrac- 

 tive and congenial will not rest satisfied with mere reading, but, 

 sooner or later, will experience a desire to possess a spectroscope of 

 his own to see for himself the phenomena which are described in 

 the books. He who possesses and can spare the requisite means, will 

 naturally provide himself w T ith an instrument from the optician ; but 

 there are no doubt many who, while taking a great interest in this 

 and kindred subjects, are so circumstanced that their outlay for scien- 

 tific purposes must be limited to a very small sum. It is hoped that 

 this article may be of some service to readers whose fortune places 

 them in the latter category. I do not intend to say anything concern- 

 ing the principles of spectrum analysis, or the construction and use 

 of spectroscopes in general ; that part of the subject may be studied 

 in such treatises as " The Spectroscope and its Applications," by J. 

 Norman Lockyer, or " The Spectroscope and its Work," by Richard 

 A. Proctor, as well as in the more advanced works by Lockyer, Ros- 

 coe, and Schellen. I simply propose to give a few hints (which the 

 works mentioned do not give), to enable the beginner, though he may 

 possess little or no mechanical ingenuity, to construct at small expense 

 an instrument which will prove a useful adjunct to his studies. 



The chief quality to be desired is usefulness ; the appearance of the 

 instrument counts for little : if its performance be satisfactory, that is 

 all that is necessary. The essential parts of the spectroscope are, (1) 



