COLOCttr 7'J 



will t :! a losson, which will nut soon bo forgotten, by 



dabl-i liro ;ill over tin; World. 



vibratory theory is improbable 'on the face of it, and 

 seems very sensation il. 



Prof. TyniLill on haat says: "Light travels through space 

 at a velocity of 192,000 miles in a second. Reducing this to 

 inches, wo find the number to be 12,105,120,000. Now it is 

 found that 39,000 waves of red light placed end to end would 

 make up an inch; multiply the number of inches in 192,000 

 miles by 39,000 we obtain the number of waves of red light in 

 192,000 miles : this number is 474,439,680,000,000. All these 

 waves enter the eye in, a single second. To produce the impres- 

 sion of red in the brain, the retina must be hit at this almost 

 incredible rate." 



But all colours are not 192,000 miles away. For instance 

 we set fire to a red light three feet from us, and in a second we 

 perceive the colour. By TyndalTs own figures, the greatest 

 number of waves that could possibly exist in that distance 

 would be 1,404,000. This number then produces the im- 

 pression of red on the brain, whereas he says nothing less than 

 474,439,680,000,000 could do it. It is evident that there must 

 be something faulty about this theory, or it would^ not break 

 down so easily. 



Again, if we examine a bouquet of flowers, is our eye being hit 

 by millions of waves of colour, coming from them ? We think 

 it more probable that our nose is being hit by millions of waves 

 of the atoms of perfume, for we have a stronger sensation from 

 the matter by the one, than from the pmp<'.rti>'s of the matter, 

 by the other. 



Nearly all who have written on tho subject in these latter 



