226 ORALLY. 



years, and that all but the last brood died in the course of 

 the time?" 



The sum of the diameters of all the bodies in the solar 

 system, sun, planets, and satellites, is about one million of 

 miles ; and as the average of the matter which these bodies 

 contain is not very much heavier, bulk for bulk, than water, 

 the cube of a million, instead of the sphere inscribed in that 

 cube, will be more than enough for expansion, in order that 

 the matter might be as light as fish. It should be tlie sum of 

 the cubes, which is only a small fraction of the cube of the 

 sum ; but no matter. 



From 150 to 200 fishes to the solid foot will be ample 

 allowance, and that will require for the solid mile 



1,000,000,000,000 ; 

 or for the whole solar system, 



1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 

 that is, a larger number than the whole human race could 

 have counted ever since the creation. But let us apply the 

 productive power of our two fishes to it. They multiply by 

 10,000 every three years ; and therefore, every four Os in the 

 former number will answer to three years. There are 

 between seven and eight ; take the larger, or eight ; and in 

 twenty-four years, the productive power of fish would, not in 

 the whole number, but the last brood from a single pair, con- 

 vert into 6sh as much matter as there is in the whole solar 

 system, sun, planets, satellites, altogether ! 



The conclusion is abundantly startling, and yet it is far 

 to our comprehension infinitely far below the truth. It is 

 one of the lowest rates, in a single one out of countless 

 myriads, and that one greatly under estimated. What, then, 

 shall we think of the whole ! 



When we apply our mathematics to matter in the dead 

 and inert state, we may feel a little exultation at our science ; 

 but " the energies of life" defy the line, set at nought the 



