LESSONS IN GBRMAN 



131 



.id, but it in very permanent, and when oarefuUy * up, 



.ir.-i will keep in aotio!. 



!' nix or iiiin- month* without bum;,' touched at al' 

 MI.UII r, .i-on i.f thin in that ni-nrly all uhumioal action in the cell 



mploUxl, or, to apeak 



^ !<ut In tin local action. In omo batterie* 



, o great that when the conn." -lion Ixjtween 



iiiiiiilii-r of Kaon - fteem to bo 



I, ami dm ^till being dissolved or 



iponj but in this but 1 ld. It 



. fri'niioiitly iiM!-l !'<>r r.t to electric 



bull*, tiri'-ilutoctors, and similar pieces 'H which are 



,/rliloiu at work, but depend '^efulneM afl 



alarums on the fact of being constantly n.imrctod with a 



. , BO that whenever the circuit is completed a waining 



l>e given. 



fu are sometimes now fitted up with electric bells, BO 

 that by merely prising a knob a contact is made between two 

 wires. Thin at once completes the circuit and rings the boll. 

 A similar arrangement can also be fitted to the doors and 

 windows, no that as soon as any one of these is opened, an 

 alarm-boll is rung. The electric curtvnt is usually cut off from 

 this apparatus during the day by means of a break arranged for 

 the purpose; but at night it is turned on, and at on* 

 notice of the entrance of thieves. An arrangement can also be 

 fitted to the bell so as to show at once which window or door 

 .t is opened. The contact springs used for this purpose 

 are easily fitted to the door, and the whole invention is an in- 

 genious and useful one. The main drawback to its employment 

 is, that if the springs get at all out of order, as they may do 

 by particles of dirt getting into them, the owner of the house 

 may be startled from his first slumber by the alarm-bell inform- 

 ing him that ono of the windows is being opened, or that one of 

 the doors is left only partially closed, and after an anxious 

 search, ho may have to retire again, looking ^upon himself as a 

 martyr to the cause of science. 



We will now notice some of the batteries in which two liquids 

 are employed, the polarisation of the negative metal being 

 prevented by placing it in a solution on which the hydrogen can 

 act chemically. It is requisite in this case that the two liquids 

 should be separated from ono another by a medium which allows 

 tho free passage of the electricity, but prevents the mixing of 

 the liquids. 



A piece of bladder or some animal membrane is occasionally 

 employed, but the most common medium is porous or unglazcd 

 earthenware, and porous cells made of this inexpensive material 

 can without difficulty be obtained of almost any shape that may 

 be required. 



The first of these batteries to which we shall refer is that 

 devised by Daniell, and called by his name. It is also known 

 as a constant battery on account of the long space of time 

 during which it will maintain its power. The negative metal in 

 this combination is copper, and it is placed in a saturated solu- 

 tion of sulphate of copper to which a little sulphuric acid has 

 been added. The hydrogen, therefore, only reduces a small 

 amount of the copper, and as this is deposited on a plate of the 

 samo metal, no evil effects are produced by it. Inside tho 

 porous cell is a rod of amalgamated zinc immersed in dilute 

 sulphuric acid. This solution varies in strength according to the 

 power required ; one part of acid to eight or nine of water will 

 do well for general use, but a little practice will soon determine 

 the best strength for tho purpose. Fig. 13 shows a very con- 

 t form of making this battery. The outer vessel, c, is 

 made of sheet copper, and has soldered to it a piece of wire 

 with a binding screw, A, attached. P is the round porous cell 

 which fits inside c, and in this is placed tho rod, z, of zinc, 

 carrying another binding screw. A hole is drilled through the 

 zinc, and a piece of wood driven through it, so as to support 

 the rod without allowing it to rest against the porous cell. 

 Sometimes it is fixed to a hard wooden cap for the same purpose, 

 as when it touches tho cell crystals of copper often form in the 

 earthenware and break it. Between c and P a perforated copper 

 shelf is placed, supported on wires projecting from the copper 

 vessel ; crystals of sulphate of copper are laid on this in 

 order to keep np the strength of the solution in the outer cell. 

 "When several of these cells are used, in order to form a more 

 powerful battery, conneetions are made from the zinc pole of 

 one to tho copper of the next. 



LESSONS IN <:i.l:MAN. LYI. 



| 89. IRREGULAR AND DEFECTIVE FOBMS. 

 I. IHECGULAK. 



Poiitive. 

 ut, good ; 

 $$, high ; 

 Slabt, near ; 



'l> if I, much ; 

 ffienio,, little ; 

 Giroji, great ; 

 alfr, early ; 



Comparative. 



, b 



r, higher ; 

 nabt r, nearer ; 

 nubr, more ; 

 tnintrr, leu; 

 i-r.'icT. (.T.-itt-r 



$er, earlier ; 



Superlative. 

 or am bcftrn. beit. 



or am b>$ft 

 d<$ft or am na^ftrn, nearest, 



nuift >>r am mriftrn, most, 

 mintffl or am mi: 

 qtcit or am grrfttn, '- 

 rrft or am rrfwn, a: 



II. DEFECTIVE. 



The following want the positive : 



'Jluptr, outer ; 

 3nn, inner ; 

 fl)cr*rr, fore ; 

 Winter, hinder ; 

 Dbtr, upper ; 

 llnttt, 



auperfl, uttermost, 

 tnntrft, innermost, 

 oortrrtl, foremost, 

 bintrrfl, hindormoct. 

 obafl, uppernuwt. 

 untrrfl. undermowt. 

 Sefct or am UBten, latest, wants both positive and comparative. 



40.-OBSERVATIONS. 



(1.) Note that b,b (high), in the comparative, drops, while 

 tul; (near), in the superlative, assumes the letter c : thus, tpQ, 

 coinp. \)'o1)ti; nab., comp. na^tr, sup. na$fl. 



(2.) That nubr (more), the comparative of wl, haa two form* 

 in the plural, nubrt or n.tbrere ; and that the hitter (mtbtttt) is 

 the more common one. It has the use and meaning of the 

 English word several; as: 3$ fab nub,rtK olraten, I saw several 

 soldiers. 



(3.) That the superlative of grog (great) is contracted into 

 grojit. 



(4.) That crft, the superlative of cb,ft (earlier), is a contraction 

 for ebcfl. 



(5.) That from fcer trfte (the earliest or first) and trc Uatt (the 

 latest or last) are formed tho correlative terms crftcrrr, the 

 former, and IcBterer, the latter. 



(G.) That tho words in the preceding list of defectives are 

 formed from adverbs, and are comparatives in form rather than 

 in fact. 



41. ADJECTIVES COMPARED BY MEANS OF ADVERBS. 

 (1.) When tho degrees of comparison are not expressed by suf- 

 fixes, the adverbs nubr (more) and am nuiftcn (most) are employed 

 for that purpose ; thus : 



Positive. Comparative. 



(Singetcnf, mindful ; meb.t eingetcnf, more 



mindful ; 

 me&r irre, more 



astray; 



nutyr tttfc, more 

 sorry; 



42. OBSERVATIONS. 



The above method of comparison, which is commonly called 

 the compound form, is chiefly used in cases 



(1.) Where a comparison is instituted between two different 

 qualities of the same person or thing ; as : <5c tfl mt&.r luftig oU 

 traurig, ho is more merry than sad. Sr tear nub.r gludlu$ al tarfn; 

 he was more fortunate than brave. 



(2.) Where the adjectives, like thoso in the list above, are 

 never used otherwise than as predicates. 



(3.) Where the addition of the suffixes of comparison would 

 offend against euphony, as in the superlative of adjectives ending 

 in tfcfo ; thus, batbarifcb, barbarous. 



43. THE NUMERALS. 



In German, as in other languages, the numerals are arranged 

 into classes according to their signification, viz., Cardinal, Ord 

 nal, Distributive, etc., as will be explained under their respec- 

 tive heads. 



44. THE CARDINAL NUMBERS. 



The cardinal numbers, whence all the others are derrred, are 

 those answering definitely to the question, "How manyP" 

 They are the following : 



3rrc, astray ; 

 Seit, serry ; 



Superlative. 

 am nutfUn etncjcttnf, 



most mindful. 

 am tncifhn irrt, most 



astray. 

 am mttflen Uifc, meet 



sorry. 



