POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



567 



and proceed, 6 



writes the sum, 301,095, to the right of 

 the line. Under this number he places 

 the third number of the series (975,642), 

 and adds that in just as he did the first 

 two; and so on till the process is com- 

 pleted. The process is longer than ours, 

 but gives more opportunity for delibera- 

 tion and the detection of errors. Where 

 whole numbers and fractions are both in- 

 volved, two ?eries of additions are gone 

 through. In subtraction, they write the less- 

 er number over the larger, and begin at the 

 left; thus, to subtract 65*7,869 from 786,- 



422, they write 657,869 



786,422 



from 10 (a fictitious number which they use 

 for convenience) leaves 4 ; adding 7 (the 

 first figure of the minuend), gives 11, and 

 11 10 leaves 1, the first figure of the re- 

 mainder. For the next digits, 5 from 10 

 leaves 5; adding 8 gives 13; this less 1 

 gives 1 2, the first two figures of the remain- 

 der. Then, 7 from 10 leaves 3, adding 6 to 

 which gives 9, which less 1=8; 10 8 = 2 

 -1-4 = 61=5; 10-6 = 4-f2=6 1 

 = 5 ; 10 9 = 1-1-2 = 3. Whence, if the 

 numbers are set down as they are found, the 

 remainder appears correctly as 128,553. In 

 multiplication they place the multiplier over 

 the multiplicand and multiply successively 

 each of the figures of the multiplicand by 

 each figure of the multiplier, obtaining a 

 large number of partial products which they 

 have painfully to add together. The process 

 of division is likewi.'^e absurdly complicated. 



The Utilitarian Side of Botany. Bot 



anists, said Ptof. I. B. Balfour, in his Brit- 

 ish Association address, do not seem to have 

 realized, except in the case of medicine, 

 that modern botany has an outlet. Chem- 

 ists and physicists seek practical aims. Zo- 

 ologists help the fishing industry. But 

 where is the practical outcome of modern 

 botany ? The work of Marshall Ward is 

 full of purpose to many large industries, and 

 that of Oliver has bearings on horticulture ; 

 but the trend of botanical work in England 

 has not been utilitarian. It was, however, 

 its utilitarian side that gave the first impetus 

 to the scientific study of botany. The plant 

 world, as the source of products of econom- 

 ic value and drugs, attracted attention, and 

 out of this grew by natural development the 



systematic study of plants. The point of 

 view was that botany was an essential 

 branch of medical study. A practical out- 

 come was the establishment of botanic gar- 

 dens, now in many instances appendages 

 of teaching establishments, or mere pleas- 

 ure grounds. But the gardens at Kew still 

 maintain the old tradition of botanic gardens 

 as a center through which botany renders 

 scientific service to national progress. Un- 

 der the Darwinian influence the biological 

 features of the plant world replaced techni- 

 cal diagnosis and description as the aim of 

 teachers and workers. Pharmacy is removed 

 from the functions of the physician ; but 

 botanical study on the lines of modern 

 teaching is part of the university training 

 essential to medical students. There is still 

 danger of modern teaching being strangled 

 by its terminology, of narrowing the field 

 of vision and mistaking the name for the 

 thing, of elaborating the minute details of a 

 part at the expense of its relation to the 

 whole organism. This mechanical attitude 

 is a consequence of specialization. But it 

 must be counteracted if botany is to be aught 

 else than a mechanical study. Modern bot- 

 any has not yet found its full application. It 

 has not rendered the service due to the state. 

 In horticulture and agriculture it should find 

 a sphere of application bv which it may con- 

 tribute to the national well-being. Botanists 

 must be the apostles of forestry ; and forest- 

 ry in turn will react upon their treatment 

 of botany. Botany can not thrive in a 

 purely introspective atmosphere; it can 

 live only by keeping in touch with the na- 

 tional life. 



The I'ses of Itinminating Gas. Many are 

 the advantages of gas for household pur- 

 poses, says William Paul Gerhardt, and its 

 disadvantages are comparatively few, and for 

 this reason it is probably more used in houses 

 at the present day than any other form rf 

 artificial illumination. Gaslight is relatively 

 cheap, although kerosene oil, per se, is prob- 

 ably cheapei'. It is convenient, and saves 

 domestic labor by being always ready for 

 lighting. It is superior in point of cleanli- 

 ness to oil lamps and candles. It is brilliant, 

 easily controlled, and not difficult to manage 

 by persons of ordinary intelligence. It is 

 much safer than candles or lamps in which 



