170 QUARTERLY JOURNAL, 



successively into his arms. 'My dear father,' said the eldest, ' can 

 it be possible that you have forgotten us *? I am Pierre. I have 

 become a wholesale grocer at Varsovie, in Poland, and this lady is 

 my wife.' Then the second spoke : — ' I am your son Gabriel, and 

 also bring you a daughter-in-law. I, too, reside at Varsovie, and 

 deal in corn.' Presently the third son came forward. 'I,' he 

 said ' am George. I have recently returned from India, where I 

 made a fortune by commerce. Seeing by the Gazettes that my 

 brothers were in Poland, I joined them, and we all agreed to travel 

 hither to seek you, and to make you happy for the rest of your 

 life.' Poor John Schmid was quite overcome, and shed tears. He 

 invoked blessings on his children. 'To you,' exclaimed one of 

 them ' we owe all our good fortune. Had you not taught us that 

 nothing, be it ever so despised, is useless — had you not made us \ 

 industrious, persevering and economical, we should still have been 

 mendicants.' 



The rest of John Sclimid's life was spent in happiness, for one • 

 or other of his sons always remained with him. The money, which ' 

 had accumulated during their long absence, w^as drawn from the^ 

 merchant in whose hands it had so much increased, and employed t 

 in building a school for the gratuitous education of poor children. i1 



To those who, like me, were aware of the means by which thei 

 Schmids grew rich, their rise in the world is known to be the cer^ 

 tain result of integrity, industry, and perseverance in turning to«j 

 account things generally considered useless. Spite, however, (rfJ 

 all I can urge, one or two of the most prejudiced villagers shruj 

 their shoulders when John Schmid's name is mentioned, ar 

 insinuate that he must have made a compact w^ith a certain name- 

 less person. 



SOURCE FROM WHENCE PLANTS DERIVE THEIR 

 INORGANIC MATTER. 



M. M. Wiegmaun & PolstorfF instituted the following experi- 

 ments for the purpose of determining the source of the inorganic 

 elements in vegetables. The plants upon which the experinunts 

 were made, were the vicia sativa, hordeum vulgare, or barley, poly- 

 gonum fagopyrum, nicotiana tobaccum, or tobacco, and trifolium 

 pratense. Two kinds of soil were employed ; the first consistinti 

 of sand in which all the soluble and inorganic matter was removed 

 by heating and dry solutions. The second, a mixture of this sand 

 and the following substances, and in the proportion stated. 



