9 



" onward to the other ; in the other case they are 

 " broken and thrown back, thus causing- antipathy. 

 " It is the same in the vegetable world. Thus, for 

 u instance, the vine has a decided antipathy to the 

 " cabbage, &c." 



In old medical works we have read that epide- 

 mics and plagues are caused by poisonous vapours 

 arising out of fissures in the crust of the earth. 



In the newspapers printed in the winter of the 

 year 1866, we read of a vast destruction amongst 

 cattle, caused by poisonous influences which exist 

 without beginning in, and flow without cessation 

 from, some remote but unknown corner of the 

 Russian deserts. We read of mysterious emana- 

 tions that were carried by the winds for miles, and 

 left death wherever they lighted. We read that this 

 subtile power was conveyed by the birds of the air, 

 by insects, by mice, by cats, by dogs, by rats j and 

 that it was even carried and imparted by the very 

 men who were appointed by the Government of the 

 day to prevent its spreading. 



In the newspapers of the same year we read of a 

 respectable inn-keeper, who wishing to discover a 

 theft, suspended a Bible to a string, and then set it 

 spinning. The position of the book when it ceased 

 to revolve indicated the locality of the stolen pro- 

 perty, and the guilty person was discovered. 



In the newspapers and other publications of 

 1866, and of many previous years, we read that 

 there were certain persons who had the power by 



