Epidemics. 227 



though recorded in stone, is only plainly written in the 

 Bible. 



To 'many not accustomed to enter into the views and 

 sympathies with which scientific men embrace certain 

 leading points of great interest, the idea of building a large 

 structure to preserve intact their own long-laboured-for 

 conclusions will appear most absurd, and a perfectly useless 

 outlay of money; and many would almost count Rulers 

 half-witted who would lend themselves to such absurd notions 

 when the whole might be done upon parchment with indelible 

 ink, and, in a scroll, be preserved air-tight for ages, in 

 a much more manageable and useful form. But in so 

 measuring the weight and importance of leading scientific 

 research, let us read the words of one of our most ac- 

 complished and able scientific writers in 1831, who lived 

 years after to write in Good Words the importance he attached 

 to the inch measure as a unit, as recently suggested by the 

 writings of Mr. John Taylor : 



" But it is not enough to possess a standard of this 

 abstract kind ; a real material measure must be constructed, 

 and exact copies taken. This, however, is not very difficult; 

 the great difficulty is to preserve it unaltered from age to 

 age ; for unless we transmit to posterity the units of our 

 measurements, such as we have ourselves used them, we, 

 in fact, only half bequeath to them our observations. This 

 is the point too much lost sight of, and it were much to be 

 wished that some direct provision for so important an object 

 were made. 



" Accurate and perfectly authentic copies of the yard and 

 pound, executed in platina, and hermetically sealed in glass, 

 should be deposited deep in the interior of the massive 

 stonework of some great public building, whence they could 

 only be rescued with a degree of difficulty sufficient to 

 preclude their being disturbed, unless upon some very high 



152 



