March 17, 1882.] 



KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



437 



inspiration of the architects of cither cathedral. — W. A. C. It is 

 admitted, by so staunch an opponent of cruelty to animals as Mr. 

 R. 11. Button, that if all men became vegetarians, multitudes of 

 animals now used for food would of necessity perish for want of 

 food. This being so, it is not fair to tell the crcophagist that 

 thoujih ■' ho can pet all the chemical qualities of meat without 

 taking animal life, he takes it in order to tickle his palate." Xote 

 also that P.R.A.S. only speaks for himself ; ho does not attack 

 others; you go out of your way to charge him with cruelty. 

 Observe, I am quite with Mrs. Dr. Kingsford and other vegetarians 

 in all that they say abont the coarse and disguslin..; scenes now 

 associated with thesup]>ly of flesh meat. But 1 think the uncompro- 

 mising vegetarian does more to prevent change than to hasten it. The 

 world at largo would be easily moved, I think, to see that our meat 

 supply w-as obtained in a better fashion ; but you do not aim at that — 

 you try to persuade the world to admit at once that animal food should 

 be dispensed with ; and the world replies in effect, If that is what 

 you want, yon are not likely to get it. — T.\r.\xaki. If you read 

 Sir E. Beckett's book more carefully, you will find that where he 

 writes, " Chance is only the uncalcnlated result of some knowni or 

 unknown laws of natui-e " (these are his words, but your quota- 

 tion is near enough), he means only what he expresses thus later 

 on, " The only meaning of the word ' chance ' in the physical 

 universe, since it began to exist, is this sort of incalculable conse- 

 quence either of the kno^\^l or unknown laws of Nature." In other 

 words, he is referring to the word "chance" as applied to 

 natural pi-ocesses. What I have spoken of as pure chance he 

 speaks of as "bare chance" at p. 19 ; and, of course, like me, he 

 not only ■' believes," but knows " there is such a thing." To use his 

 own illustration, " every rational man concludes '' that the atoms of 

 the universe have been, " as we say, of dice. ' loaded.' to make them 

 behave in a particular way, not a thousand or a million times, but 

 always," ..." because the only jiossible alternative is that of bare 

 chance ; and the idea of all the atoms of the universe behaving as they 

 do by chance, is too absurd for any man in his senses deliberately 

 to entertain." — TAXGEN-Ti.\r, Tkndexcv. Xo ; it cannot be said that 

 because the sun's attraction acts in same direction at one part of 

 the earth's orbit as the tangential tendency acts a quarter of a 

 revolution later, the sun's attraction during one quarter cau.ses the 

 tangential tendency in the next. The direction of the earth's 

 motion is changed, but the earth's velocity in the tangential direc- 

 tion is not generated by the sun's action. — A Reader ok Knowledge. 

 The difference is due to use of mean instead of solar time. We shall 

 treat fully of this presently; it cannot readily be explained in few 

 words. Name a good science manual ? Would you mind mentioning on 

 what subject? — IIexry Bowman. Wc should be glad to give more 

 chess, if we could ; but others want less, and many want more 

 mathematics. — EnwAun Hargr-eave. We should be glad to give 

 more whist, if we could : but others want less, and several want 

 more chess. — n. B. R., Charles Jerrold, M. James, and others. 

 We should be glad to give more mathematics, but others want less, 

 and many ask for more whist. — H. W. FAWCf:'rr. Two of my essays 

 on the Pyramid are in my " Myths and Marvels of Astronomy," two 

 in my latest work, " Familiar Science Studies," both published by 

 Messrs. Chatto & Windus. — W. McManus. Your query would 

 lead to endless replies. The opponents of evolution are many, 

 their arguments numerous. Read, as one of the best examples. 

 Sir E. Beckett's little book on the Origin of the Laws of Nature 

 (8.P.C.K.), also Dawson's Story of the Earth and Man (Hodder 

 i Stoughton) — a really charming work. — Simplex. I am very 

 mnch obliged to yon for so carefully, in response to ray wish, show- 

 ing some examples of Bell's line-writing; but although, from a 

 scientifio point of view, it may (I cannot honestly say I see why) 

 be beyond comparison with anything preceding it, it seems to me 

 to compare tmfavourably with Pitman's in brevity. The double 

 Carres for v, /, !, r, n- (English) seem serious objections from a 

 stenographic point of view. — Paradox. He was kind enough to 

 send me his confounding of Darwin. — John J. Prince. Con- 

 sidering that the subject of the great changes of climate which 

 different parts of the earth appear to have undergone, occupies 

 many hundreds of pages in divers treatises on geology, you should 

 hardly expect us to put the matter as a quciy, inviting readers 

 not only to lucubrate thereon, and to give reasons for their 

 opinion, but if possible to demonstrate it mathematically. The 

 subject is one in which we may shortly offer an article by an ac- 

 knowledged master of the subject, but for correspondence and 

 replies, — not much : (for we should get too much). As to the other 

 luestion (which yon ask over name Tv.Ro), whether the earth's 

 diameter is being increased by layers formed out of its ovn\ sub- 

 stance, the question seems akin to this. When Pat took a strip a foot 

 mde from the bottom of his blanket and added it to the top, how 

 much did he increase the length thereof ? — W. C. Yon are angry 

 because we will not give np the fine saying by Liebig. Well, 

 yon make a mistake in tliis ; and, as Liebig says, there is no harm 



in making a mistake. But before "putting us down," do con- 

 sider the harm you propose to do us. — W. H. H. Soames. Thanks 

 for your courteous letter. May I, for a last word, say that perhaps if 

 those who have devoted much time to the account in question were at 

 one in their interpretation. Science might do well to consider it more 

 attentively than at present. What say you to this from Monsignor 

 Clifford, respecting the account!' — " C 'est nullement I'histoiredela 

 creation, fait en sept jours ou sept periodes do temps, niais simple- 

 ment la consecration, sous forme d'hymno sacriS, dos sept jours de 

 la semaine il la mcuioire, au souvenir, des sept oeuvrcs principales 

 do la creation." Wherennto my e-xcellent friend, M. I'Abbe Moigno, 

 replies : — " Oscrai-je exprimcr lo regret que Monsignor Clifford no 

 partage pas mes convictions de la veritc do la cosmogonie de MoVse, 

 quoique mysterieuse encore dans quelqucs-uns de ses details." — His- 

 torian. Queries answered, I think, in this section ; history scarcely 

 falls into our line. — C. T. B. Surely the description of tobacco smoke 

 as "a cloud of tar in half-burnt gas" is inexact. — .1. U. Ward. 

 Erraii ; yon can either correct as you suggest, or for mean distance 

 write " perihelion." — A. T. C. Newton settles it, does he not ? yet 

 he says Hijpolliexes iinn fin'jn. Doubtless he came near the truth ; 

 but it was not a matter of observation, experiment, or mathematical 

 demonstration. Wonder who told him. — Ayrshire wants book on 

 Ventriloquism, with dialogues. — Private Stident. Such questions 

 are not suitable ; Ave can neither insert in Mathematical Column 

 nor answer hero. Wo shoukl be Hooded with such questions if 

 we did. — C. C. C. You seem to think 1 keep all the questions and 

 answers in my head. I cannot tell what theory you refer to unless 

 yon give page and column, of my answer. — Ignorant. Any text- 

 book of biology will tell you how fish breathe by means of their 

 gills ; the air in the water which passes through the gills being 

 "what they breathe." — J. P. Sandlands. We have treated you 

 with courtesy and consideration ; you repay us by accusing us of 

 unfairness and cowardice, because wo decline to break through a 

 rule which we consider absolutely essential to the maintenance of 

 Knowledge in its proper position. Wo shall say no more. — Edgar 

 Flower. George Stephenson, the engineer, was, of course, right in 

 saying that the uppermost point of a wheel of a carriage moves 

 twice as fast as the carriage, while the lowermost is for the moment 

 at rest : does this require elucidation ? — T. W. Johnson. If you 

 are "thoroughly satisfied" it is a delusion, all is well so far as 

 you are concerned. — J. McGrigor Allan. We are quite with you, 

 but have not room for the subject, which does not belong to our 

 programme. — A. Daniels. We cannot find time or space to work 

 " sums." — Jno. Trist. We regret that the necessities of space will 

 not permit us to find room for "a few essays on the doctrine of 

 philosophical necessitj-." — H. H. L. Hill notes that the collection 

 of the late Professor 'fennant are still on sale at a shop a few doors 

 west of King's College, and will shortly be sold by auction. 

 Suggestion noted as to centre of pressure, &e. — C. Harris. The 

 attraction of the mouthpiece is virtually nil. As to the colour, 

 there can be little doubt you are right, and that the smoke 

 looks blue only when seen by reflected, brown only when 

 seen by transmitted light. — Professor Buchheim. Your letter 

 appears. — Jemima. Scarcely space at jiresent for the refining 

 of sugar. — E. F. Scarcely a reason, — rather How, than Why. 

 — John Sparks writes "i" for "I," except when he forgets 

 his part. He may note with advantage that the word "science" 

 would not be spelled " ciencc " by one who wi'ote " i " for " I." — 

 F. Blaker. The law of diffusion of gases would not affect, to any 

 appreciable degree, the stagnation of the air in upper part of room, 

 and would only very slowly cause^the carbonic acid gas continually 

 poured into that part of the room (by persons breathing) to be- 

 diffused ; in fact, it would act much more slowly to diminish tho 

 carbonic acid gas than the breathing even of one person only 

 would tend to increase it. — 'Clare. You are rather hard ou 

 Mr. Abbott ; we do not think he wants to study a treatise 

 of either class, but simply to know what is commonly un- 

 derstood by the expression " abstract reasoning." The reply 

 about tobacco smoke assumes more than can very easily be proved. 

 Iron certainly does rust faster in saltwater. — W. Wilson. I agree 

 with Tou that there are cases where ordinary modes of expression 

 are misleading, " A tog is a tog, but the question is, is this tog a 

 tog?" for which you'll overhaul your " Snarlcy Yow," and when 

 found make a note of. — E. D. G. There are certainly cases in 

 which the differential equations admit of more than one solution ;. 

 but it has not been shown that such cases can occur in nature. 

 Till this has been sho^vn M. Paul Janet's inference is but a rather 

 fanciful guess. The question is too difficult and artificial to much 

 interest the bulk of our readers. — B. Riley. Question already 

 answered satisfactorily. — L. D. S. You should get an elementary 

 bc-ok on astronomy. — E. W. C. The one with larger capital, 

 whether A or B, has the best chance of winning in the 

 long run. See my essay on a Gambling Sujiorstition. — Erin. 

 As you think the outside car is the best ever invented, you ought 



