I2O The Naturalist of Cumbrae. 



general, and his immediate neighbours in particular, 

 the merits of cleanliness, and the high importance to 

 the health and life of human beings of having a 

 constant and abundant supply of fresh air. He took 

 upon him to denounce the very inadequate arrange- 

 ments of the Glasgow post-office in 1847, the un- 

 repressed circulation of counterfeit pennies in 1849, 

 and, about the same time, the many adulterations of 

 food calculated to undermine health, while the very 

 physic which might have counteracted the ill effects 

 of those adulterations was itself adulterated likewise. 

 Some serious discussions from his pen, on the regula- 

 tion of our thoughts, and on a very prevalent hypocrisy 

 in regard to the observance of Sunday, were deemed 

 worthy of acceptance by the newspapers. 



Of a more scientific character was an account of an 

 experiment with leeches. It was popularly supposed 

 that these creatures, kept in a jar, would foretell the 

 weather crawling up the vessel or remaining below 

 in accordance with the rise and fall of the barometer. 

 By prolonged observation of three of them in the 

 same jar, Robertson convinced himself that this was a 

 complete fallacy, since it often happened that one of 

 the creatures would be at the bottom when another 

 was at the top. He suggested that the truthfulness 

 of gas-meters might in a similar way be tested, by 

 making the supply pass through two meters instead 

 of one, to see if the indications agreed. 



In one of his paragraphs he pointed out a circum- 

 stance which he had much opportunity of observing 

 in his line of business, namely, that each individual 

 has a limit of capacity which is not to be passed, 



