4 SCIENTIFIC RECREATIONS. 



merely tells us what we may expect natural objects will do under certain 

 circumstances."] 



A cause of a Phenomenon being independent of human will is called a 

 Force, and the stone falls by the force of Gravitation, or that natural law 

 which compels every material object to approach every other material object. 



A single Force may produce a great number of Phenomena. 



Nature being revealed to us by Objects, and by means of Phenomena, 

 we have got already two Branches of Science extending from such Roots ; 

 viz., NATURAL HISTORY, the Science of Objects ; and NATURAL PHILO- 

 SOPHY, the Science of Phenomena. 



Both of these Branches have been subdivided thus : 



( Zoology, referring to Animals ) -p- i . 



1 Botany, referring to Plants J 1( ' ^ y " 

 Natural History Mineral ) 



/ _ , -f referring to Minerals, etc. 



( Geology ) 



' Physics. Phenomena without essential change 

 , of the Objects. 



sopny chemistry> Phenomena with change of the Objects. 

 Physiology. Phenomena of animated Objects. 



These two great divisions comprehend, in their extended senses, all 

 that is known respecting the material world. 



We have spoken of Objects. Objects occupy Space. What is Space ? 

 Space is magnitude which can be conceived as extending in three directions 

 - Length, Breadth, and Depth. MATTER occupies portions of Space, which ie 

 infinite. Matter, when finite, is termed a body or object. The general 

 properties of Matter are Magnitude, Form, Impenetrability, Inertia, Divisi- 

 bility, Porosity, Elasticity, Compressibility, Expansibility. 



Matter is present in Nature in three conditions. We find it as a SOLID, 

 a LIQUID, and a GAS. We shall explain the various properties of Solids, 

 Liquids, and Gases in their proper places (in -Physics). To test the actual 

 existence of Matter in one or other of these forms our Senses help us. We 

 can touch a Solid, or taste it and see it. But touch is the test. We have 

 said that Matter possesses certain properties. We will examine these 

 briefly. The two which belong to all material bodies are Impenetrability 

 and Magnitude. You cannot, sttictly speaking, penetrate Matter. You can 

 find the form of an object by touch or sight, but you cannot penetrate it. 

 You will think you can drive a nail or a screw into a board, but you cannot ; 

 you only displace the fibres of the wood by the screw. Take water as 

 a very common instance. Water is Matter, for it occupies a certain space. 

 Water is impenetrable, for if you put your hand or foot into a basin full of 

 it, it will overflow, thus proving that you displace, and do not penetrate 

 it. It is almost impossible to compress water. 



Divisibility is another quality of Matter ; and when we attempt to 

 show how far Matter can be divided, the brain refuses to grasp the infinity. 

 A pin's head is a small object, but it is gigantic compared to some 



