CAPILLARY ATTRACTION. 



CAPITAL. 



M 



tliiikM. which varies u the intern] of the plate directly ; and f being 

 a constant; hence 



ry = t i 



which U the equation to m rectangular hyperbola referred to its 

 asymptotes. 



We (hall not give a Uble of the result* obtained by different ex- 

 perimenU, because they vary considerably as to amount, though, in 

 the results of the mine obeerrer, the fact, marked (2) in the preceding 

 list, generally appear* to be very near the truth. The discrepatu-y pro. 

 babl} aruea from the various degree! of internal moisture in the tube*. 

 EzperimenU hare been made from the time of Newton, but it U only 

 aince the application of the molecular theory by Laplace that it seems to 

 hare been always admitted and acted upon, that the internal coating of 

 the tube immediately adjacent to the liquid is the cause of the pheno- 

 menon. The result* of various observers upon glass and water give 

 elevations of from two to five inches in a tube of one-hundredth of an 

 iuoh , the result of M. Gay-Lussac (who always observed with moist- 

 ened tubes, and found .all his experiments to agree very nearly with each 

 other) give* an elevation of 4 62 inches for the same diameter. The 

 elevations of liquids vary also with the temperature, the former 

 diminishing as the latter increases. It U, however, remarkable that 

 capillary attraction is able to oppose very strongly the evaporation of 

 the liquids. Fine tubes of glass containing water have been exposed 

 for many months in the sun without losing any appreciable quantity 

 of liquid 



A class of phenomena referable to capillary action is the apparent 

 attraction and repulsion of small bodies floating on water, placed near 

 one another. If one of the bodies only, be composed of a substance 

 capable of being vetted, mutual rcpidion will occur ; but if both are 

 incapable of being moistened, mutual attraction ensues. When the 

 bodice are veiled, the liquid rises around them according to the law of 

 capillarity, but when they are incapable of being wetted, the liquid is 

 repelled, and they lie in a trough, or hollow depression, and accord- 

 ingly run together by reason of the lateral pressure of the water 

 beyond, seeming to attract one another. 



The phenomena of capillarity discovered by Dutrochet in 182S, will 

 be noticed under the head OSMOSE. We shall conclude this article 

 with considerations which may give readers who cannot study the 

 mathematical theory, a notion of the manner in which the phenomena 

 may be supposed to arise, referring to MOLECULAR ATTRACTION for 

 some account of the different modifications which the theory has 

 undergone. 



The tube being immersed in the liquid, of which the natural level 

 it A B, let us consider a small canal of liquid c D r. r B. The glass 

 immediately above o exercises an uncompensated attraction on the 

 liquid ; but at any point x between c and D, the action of the glass is 

 equal upwards and downwards, so that there at no further disturbance 

 till we come to D, where the side of the canal ceases to be of glass, and 

 becomes of liquid. There is then at D the difference of the actions of 

 the glass and liquid, ilomicardt, if the action of liquid on liquid be the 

 stronger ; upward*, if that of glass on liquid be the stronger. We 

 suppose the actions to extend to very small distances only. But the 

 counterpoising column B r is in its natural state. If then twice the 

 action of the glass on the liquid (namely, those exerted at c and D) 

 exceeds that of the liquid on the liquid at D, a part of the weight of 

 the column c D is counterbalanced by the excess of upward pressure, 

 and this column, so relieved, cannot counterbalance the weight of B r, 

 iinlnss its length is so increased that the excess of length may counter- 

 poise the upward pressure. The liquid immediately adjoining the 

 side will therefore rise, and the same all round the interior of the 

 tube. But so long as the cohesive quality of the liquid exists, the 

 liquid still more in the interior of the tube will also rise, and this will 

 continue until the whole body of liquid raised is a counterpoise to the 

 inequality of the actions. Similarly, if the action of the liquid at D 

 exceed those of the glass at c and D, there will be a downward pressure 

 equivalent to an increase of weight in the column o D. That column 

 therefore will fall, and with it the column still more in the interior. 

 Thin explanation, though exceedingly imperfect, will serve to give the 

 Brat notion on the subject : and the following experiment tends to 

 confirm it. If the tube be Ailed with liquid, and then held vertically 

 with the lower opening stopped by the finger, which is then gently 

 removed, some of the liquid will drop out, but a column will remain 

 Mspcnded in the tube, ended by hanging drop from the lower extre- 



mity. And it is always found that the length of this column is con- 

 siderably greater than the elevation when the tube is immersed in the 

 liquid : in fact, the action of the liquid below D on the right is now 

 removed, or a pressure downwards U removed, consequently a longer 

 column U required to counterbalance the actions of the glass at 

 c* and D. 



In consequence of the minuteness of the tubes which are required 

 to produce sensible effects, few persons have the means of making 

 experiments on this subject for their own instruction. But a lump of 

 white sugar or a fine sponge, either of which U a collection of minute 

 tubes, held with the lower end slightly immersed, will immediately 

 cause an ascent of the liquid. 



CAPITAL is a term used in commerce to express the stock of the 

 merchant, manufacturer, or trader, used in carrying on his business, in 

 the purchase or manufacture of commodities, and in the payment of 

 the wages of labour ; and is understood not only of money, but of 

 buildings, machinery, and all other material objects which facilitate his 

 operations in trade. The term itself, and the practical qualities and 

 uses of capital, are sufficiently understood in this its commercial sense. 

 Capital in a more extended sense, as within the province of political 

 economy, may be defined as the products of industry possessed 1>\ tin- 

 community, and still available for use only, or for further production. 



To consider capital in all its relations to the material interests of 

 man, to the increase of population, the employment and wages of 

 labourers, to profits and rent, it would be necessary to travel over the 

 entire range of political economy ; but this article will be confined to 

 the following points : I. The origin and growth of capital. II. Its 

 application and uses. 



I. A desire to accumulate some portion of the produce of industry 

 being natural to mankind, and nearly universal, the growth of capital 

 may be expected wherever the means of accumulation exist ; or, in 

 other words, wherever men are not obliged to consume the whole pro- 

 ducts of their labour in their own subsistence. From the moment at 

 which a man produces more than he consumes, he is creating a capital ; 

 and the accumulated surplus of production over the consumption of 

 the whole community is the capital of a country. 



Thus far the origin and growth of capital are perfectly intelligible ; 

 but in order to understand completely the progress of accumulation, it 

 will be necessary to advert to certain matters which interfere with its 

 apparent simplicity. A distinction has been drawn between thoae 

 parts of the products of labour which are reserved for the reproduction 

 of other commodities, and those parts which are intended solely for 

 use or consumption. These two classes of products have been divided 

 by Adorn Smith and others into capital and revenue ; by which division 

 all products are excluded from the definition of capital unless they be 

 designed for aiding in further production. The impropriety of this 

 distinction, however, has been pointed out by Mr. M'CuUoch (' Principles 

 of Political Economy'), and it does not appear that any such <li 

 of the stock of a country is founded on a proper distinction. How can 

 ita future application be predicated ? The fund exists, and so long as 

 it is not sent abroad or consumed it must be regarded as capital. The 

 whole of it may be made available for further production, or the whole 

 may be consumed in present enjoyment , but no part is separable from 

 the rest by an arbitrary classification. The stock has the same capacity 

 for production while in the possession of the owner. 



But it must be observed that the accumulation of capital proceeds 

 slowly or rapidly in proportion as one or other of these modes of 

 expenditure is most prevalent. If men habitually consumed or wasted 

 all the result* of their industry, it is obvious that the effect of such 

 conduct would be precisely the same to themselves, in preventing accu- 

 mulation, as if they were unable to earn anything more than was 

 absolutely necessary for their support. It is true that they would 

 enjoy more of the luxuries of life, and, as will presently be seen, their 

 expenditure would conduce, indirectly, to the accumulation of capital 

 by others ; but still their labour would only suffice for their own 

 support from year to year, and no part of tie produce of last year's 

 labour would be available, in the present year, either for their support 

 . r i. >r any other purposes. 



As it is evident from these illustrations, that capital must increase 

 in the ratio in which the products of labour exceed the expense of 

 subsistence, it would seem to follow as a necessary consequence 

 that, when a certain amount of capital has already been produced, the 

 higher the rate of profit which may be obtainable from such capital, 

 the greater will be the means of further accumulation. [PROFITS.] 

 It is not necessary, indeed, that larger savings should in fact be made, 

 as that must depend upon the conduct of those who enjoy the profits. 

 Yet, whether savings proportionate to the means of saving be made or 

 not, it is undeniable that a high rate of profit offers the best oppor- 

 tunity for augmenting capital. If three per cent, profit upon a man's 

 stock will enable him to subsist as he has been accustomed, and to lay 

 aside one per cent, annually as capital, the rise of profit to six per cent. 

 would at once give him the power of adding four per cent, instead of 

 one, to his capital, so long as he made no change in his style of living : 

 and thus the doubling of the rate of profit would add to the means of 

 accumulation in the proportion of four to one. 



But, apart from abstract reasoning, does the experience of different 

 countries bear out the same conclusion? These questions do not 

 always receive the same answer. Mr. M'Culloch compares the progress 



