PROPERTIES OF MATTER. 5 



animals, of which millions would occupy a space no larger than the 

 head of a pin. These tiny animals must contain organs and veins, etc., 

 and those veins are full of blood globules. Professor Tyndall informs us 

 that a drop of blood contains three millions of red globules. So these 

 infinitesimally small animals must have millions of globules in their blood 

 also. Thus we see to what an extent, far beyond our Senses' power to 

 grasp, Matter can be divided. 



But there is something even more astonishing than this. It is stated 

 that there are more animals in the milt of a single codfish than there are 

 men in the world ; and that one grain of sand is larger than four millions of 

 tlicse animals ! each of which must be possessed of life germs of an equal 

 amount, which would grow up as it grew to maturity. This carries us back 

 again, and 



" Imagination's utmost stretch 

 In wonder dies away." 



Or take other interesting facts. One hundred threads of the silkworm 

 must be placed side by side to make up the thickness of a line ( ) about 

 - 2 T jth of an inch ; and metals can be drawn out to such exceeding fineness 

 that twelve hundred of the fine wires will occupy only the space of one 

 hundred silkworms' threads, or one millimetre. 



Porosity is another attribute of Matter, for in all Matter there are pores, 

 or spaces, between the particles. Sometimes such openings are plainly 

 visible ; in very "solid" bodies they are, to a great extent, indistinguishable. 

 But we know that the spaces exist, because we can compress the particles 

 together. 



Inertia is also a general property of Matter, and the meaning of the 

 term is " inactivity," or passiveness a want of power in an object to move, 

 or when moving, to stop of itself. It will come to rest apparently by itself, 

 but the resistance of the air and the friction of the ground, or the attraction 

 of the earth, will really occasion the stoppage of the object. We will speak 

 more fully of Inertia presently. Elasticity and Expansibility are evident in 

 fluids and gases. 



We have thus introduced our readers to some of the most evident facts 

 connected with Matter. The various Forces and Phenomena of attraction 

 will be fully considered farther on ; at present we are about to show our 

 readers how they may first profitably study Science in the open air for 

 themselves, and we will give them our experience of the Book of Nature 



