NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 



[Lesson II. 



guished from another. It is the property 

 of glass to be transparent and brittle; of 

 fire to burn ; of charcoal to be inodorous 

 anJ insipid ; of amber to be brittle, light, 

 hard, and transparent ; and ofthe loadstone 

 to attract iron. 



[The pupil should be requested to give other 

 examples of the properties of bodies.] 



9. T. You said that certain sensations 

 were excited in our minds by bodies : give 

 me some examples. 



P. One body excites the sensation of 

 green, another of blue, and a third is de- 

 void of all colour, or may be said to be 

 white, such as lime. 



10. T. "Why is lime white ? 



P. Because the particles of matter of 

 which it is composed are piled so densely 

 one upon another, that they are able to 

 reflect all the coloured rays of light. 



1 1. T. What do you mean by the term 

 mattt-r ? 



P. The substance entering into the 

 composition of all bodies has received the 

 general name of matter, which possesses 

 certain essential characteristic qualities. 



12. T. What do you mean by the ex- 

 pression general name ? 



P. A general name is one that is used 

 to express a large genus or class of things 

 of similar character ; thus, fiats may in- 

 clude straw hats, gutta-percha hats, cork 

 hats, silk, beaver, or felt hats, and many 

 other kinds ; and when we say apples, we 

 use an indefinite term, if we allude to any 

 particular kind, such as crab-apples, or 

 golden russet, and only employ the general 

 name to express the class. Generalisation 

 of facts can only be accomplished by per- 

 sons of experience, well acquainted with 

 science. The vast and heterogeneous mass 

 of phenomena which puzzle ignorant peo- 



ple, are compared, classified, and gene- 

 ralised by the philosopher, and rendered 

 familiar and useful to mankind. 



13. T. What do you mean by phenomena ? 



P. They are all extraordinary appear- 

 ances in the works of Nature; the \\oid 

 phenomenon being derived from the Greek 

 word phaino (to appear), and signifying, 

 literally, an appearance. 



14. 7\ Give me some illustrations of 

 natural phenomena. 



P. Heat applied to ice drives the par- 

 ticles entering into its composition further 

 asunder, and changes it from a solid to a 

 liquid form ; and if the temperature is in- 

 creased, and the process prolonged, the 

 water or liquid is converted into a gaseous 

 fluid or steam, because the component par- 

 ticles are driven still further apart. Heat 

 rarefies air and causes it to expand ; for 

 example, [Experiment 1,] let a bladder, 

 half full of air, be tied tightly at the neck 

 and then laid before a fire, or held over the 

 flame of a spirit-lamp sufficiently high to 

 prevent the flame injuring the bladder, and 

 the air will expand and fill the bladder. 



[The pupil should give some further illustra- 

 tions of natural phenomena.] 



GENERAL QUESTIONS UPON LESSON I. 



1. What is the derivation and meaning 

 of the term Philosophy ? 



2. How is Philosophy divided ? 



3. Name the senses by which the exist- 

 ence of bodies are made known to us. 



4. What is the quality of a body ? 



5. What constitutes the composition of 

 bodies ? 



6. What is matter ? 



7. What is a natural pnenomenon ? 



8. Prove that the same cause may pro- 

 duce various effects. 



LESSON II.* 



WE have an excellent example for the youth ofthe present age to follow, in the case 

 of the poor boy Hallam, who, by untiring zeal in study, and perseverance, raised him- 

 self from obscurity to affluence, and an honourable position in the scientific world. The 

 chief points in the story are true, but some little incidents have been introduced for 



* Grandfather Whitehead requests that the Pupil will commit to memory the ideat of each lesson, 

 and endeavour by experiments of a different character from those given here, to demontlrate to the 

 Teacher that he has thoroughly mastered the subject. 



