Bit {Temperature* 57 



the play of forces under and beyond those that 

 seem to be active in all chemical processes and 

 relations, are able to produce certain affections 

 of the ether, the result of which in the one 

 case is an atom of gold and in the other an 

 atom of oxygen, etc., to the end of the list. In 

 this case all of the so-called elements may have 

 their origin in one fundamental element that 

 we call the ether. I am aware that we are 

 wading in deep water here, but sometimes we 

 love to get into deep water just to try our 

 swimming powers. The above is a suggestion 

 of a theory called " the vortex theory," that is 

 taking root in the minds of many philosophers 

 to-day, and yet there is almost nothing of 

 known facts to base such a theory upon, and 

 nearly all we can say about it is that it seems 

 plausible, when viewed through the eye of 

 imagination. 



We do know that substances, such as fluids 

 or gases, assume very different qualities when 

 put into different rates of motion. A straw 

 has been known to penetrate the body of a 

 tree endwise by the extreme velocity imparted 

 to it when carried in the vortex of a tornado. 

 Instances of the terrific solid power of sub- 

 stances that are mobile when at rest are often 

 exhibited during the progress of a tornado, 

 especially when confined in very narrow limits. 

 Sometimes a tornado cloud will form a hang- 

 ing cone, running down to a sharp point at the 



