POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



l 39 



istence 13 possible greatest, the individuals 

 are more numerous and their composition 

 more diverse. The cycles of changes in the 

 plant and animal kingdom are based for the 

 most part upon the disunion and separate 

 combinations of carbon and hydrogen, be- 

 cause under existing conditions of tempera- 

 ture, etc., these changes can be produced to 

 the greatest advantage of existing kinds of 

 living tilings and life forces. With a much 

 hotter or colder earth, when the weights of 

 bodies were much greater or less than they 

 are now, not surrounded by an ocean of oxy- 

 gen gas, or deprived of the chemical force 

 of our sun, some changes would be made in 

 the modes in which life is perpetuated to 

 suit the changed conditions of the planet ; 

 " but it is extremely unlikely that life would 

 be extinguished by them unless the condi- 

 tions changed too suddenly." These changes 

 might affect the kind of matter flowing 

 through the living body, or the attributes of 

 the living thing ; or, " if both the elements 

 themselves and the rapidity with which they re- 

 solved themselves into new combinations were 

 changed, the diversity of the living things 

 and of the world itself would be so different 

 from what they are now that we have no 

 means of forming the least conception of 

 them. But in none of these cases is it likely 

 that life would become extinct, though the 

 present relations to each other of the three 

 kingdoms of nature would cease to be." 



Adulterants as Diluents. People, as a 

 rule, suppose that any substance used as an 

 adulterant of a food-product, or as a substi- 

 tute for it, is to be avoided as injurious to 

 health. This, according to Mr. Edgar Rich- 

 ards, is not quite correct. It is, in fac, con- 

 trary to a manufacturer's interest to use any 

 substance that would cause injurious symp- 

 toms, for it would be detrimental to his 

 business. The majority of substances used 

 for food adulterants or substitutes are cheap 

 and harmless, and do mischief only as they 

 go to dilute the genuine article. The prin- 

 cipal adulterant of milk is water ; and the 

 great harm of it appears when it is fed to a 

 child or an invalid, who might be starved to 

 death if compelled to rely on watered milk 

 for his sole sustenance. The skill of the 

 milk adulterator has kept pace with the 

 march of improvement; and a centrifugal 



machine is in the market for manufacturing 

 an artificial cream or milk from skimmed 

 milk and also oil, the strength of which de- 

 pends on the amount of animal fat added. 

 This, it is said, can be used for all purposes 

 for which genuine milk is employed. Oleo- 

 margarine and refined or compound lard are 

 made from what were formerly considered 

 waste products of slaughter-houses. When 

 properly made, with due attention to cleanli- 

 ness, they furnish a palatable and whole- 

 some product, " which is, however, not in- 

 tended to compete with ' gilt-edge ' butter." 

 Mr. Richards, in fact, prefers compound lard 

 to " prime steam lard," which he character- 

 izes as " about as disgusting a mixture as 

 can be imagined." Cotton-seed oil is used 

 in the manufacture of compound lard, and 

 in the place of olive oil for the table, and 

 in medicinal preparations. The wholesome 

 qualities and purity and uniformity of com- 

 position of glucose, or sugar manufactured 

 from starch, have been reported on favora- 

 bly by a committee of the National Academy 

 of Sciences. However much the public may 

 be cheated in the purchase of ground spices, 

 coffee, etc., adulterated with flours and 

 starches, people are not poisoned by their 

 consumption ; and " it is a question how 

 much a purchaser is himself to blame in his 

 endeavor to secure a ' bargain ' when he de- 

 mands a quantity of any given material at 

 less than it can be purchased at wholesale 

 in the market." The addition of antiseptics 

 to food in order to preserve it in transporta- 

 tion is often deleterious and can not be con- 

 sidered safe. 



Extraordinary Memories. Among the 

 recorded instances of marvelous memory is 

 one given by Archdeacon Fearon of a person 

 in his father's parish who could remember 

 clearly all the burials, with the exact dates 

 and all the details, which had taken place 

 there for thirty-five years, but in all other 

 respects was a complete fool. George Wat- 

 son, according to Hone's Every-day Book, 

 could remember, with like exactness, every 

 event of every day from an early period of 

 his fife. Another similar case is that of 

 Daniel McCartney, related in the Journal of 

 Speculative Philosophy. Memory Corner 

 Thompson was able to draw, upon order, 

 exact and perfect plans of many of the 



