360 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. I. No. 13. 



of each part is a Bibliography of works 

 cited, and an inspection of these lists at 

 once indicates the labor entered npon by 

 the anthor, as well as that saved to those 

 who have now the benefit of his research. 

 Philadelphia. Charles Platt. 



Nitrogen and Water, or the Water Atoms and 

 Their Relations. Part — The Earth's Atmos- 

 phere, by AVlLLIAM COUTIE. 



The author of this polygraph of 31 pages 

 is good enough to assure us that some 

 things remain undiscovered, or at any rate 

 we infer this to be his meaning. To dis- 

 cover the real meaning of manj^ of his 

 sentences would require the application of 

 the calculus, since his thoughts soar off into 

 space in what are apparently curved lines. 

 It is probable that minds of the earth, 

 earthy, like that driving this pen, are in- 

 capable of fully grasping the mighty 

 thoughts here set forth. They are certainly 

 starthng and go to the root of all things. 



It appears that we have all been mistaken 

 in our conception of the design of Creation, 

 at least those who have ventured to form 

 any such conception have been mistaken. 

 The real reason is thus set forth: 



"It is evident that it is the law of change that 

 gives the Creator some work to do and something that 

 is new in all time. It is thns to Him the most im- 

 portant of all, for it is to Him preeminently omni- 

 present, universal and in all things forever new, and 

 ■without it time would he a monotony and a burden, 

 almost everything would he old and He would have 

 nothing to do. " 



The following whack at our biological 

 brethren is commended to their attention; 

 their disgraceful Darwinian tendencies make 

 it deserved, if somewhat severe : 



"If we now turn to the results in time we find 

 that, first, horse in our knowledge was of the size of 

 a fox and walked ou his heels. Now all horses of 

 every kind walk on the point of their longest toe, and 

 they are all many times the weight of a fox. Now, 

 why did all horses get on their toes at the same time, 

 or how did they get on the tips of their toes at all ? 

 Darwinism is to me a compound of utility ,and economy . 

 But hy what process of economy or utility did horses get 



on the point of their toes? To me, it is evidently the 

 exclusive result of their Maker's will, and that the 

 creation and government of the universe is an absolute 

 despotism in all things. ' ' 



This facer ought to settle the Darwinians; 

 lest it should not, we subjoin another extract 

 of like tenor : 



" I found that a butterfly is an insect ornamented 

 by scales, and that they are divided into day flies and 

 night flies, and again divided into six thousand day 

 or butterflies and sixtj' thousand night or moth flies, 

 and that butterflies are purely and exclusively (so far 

 as they are butterflies) things made for beauty by an 

 agent or Maker who sees beauty of colors in the night, 

 for there are sixty thousand kinds of night flies and 

 only six thousand day fUes. This led me to the un- 

 doubted belief that Dar^vinism applied to butterflies 

 is worse than an error, for it leaves out the most im- 

 portant and essential part of the whole, which is, that 

 the origin of species is the direct exclusive result of 

 an intelligent design." 



To the initiated the following will per- 

 haps explain how some of Mr. Coutie's re- 

 sults were obtained : 



"As the ways of this argument are so far from the 

 ordinary beaten paths, mj' intent when ■i\'riting it 

 was to print in full along with it Newton's four rules 

 of reasoning, pages 384 and 385, Principia, to show 

 that this is in full and exact accord with them." 



' ' Tliis design led to a full, careful review of the 

 men, their method and their particular results, that 

 I found that these rules are wholly insufficient for 

 my purpose. Tliey are perfect for his purpose, but 

 insufficient when applied to this paper." 



This, so far as we are able to understand 

 it, looks black for Newton. 



Among other gems of stj^le and statement, 

 we have the following : 



" The history of origin leads us far back into the 

 distant past. ' ' 



" 'S^^lat this subject learns from this observation of 

 the heavens is that the same rules that govern the 

 atoms. ' ' 



"The densitj' of the air is the result of its own 

 weight." 



The author has also discovered a few less 

 important matters of detail. Among other 

 things two new — what shall we call them ; 

 not elements for they are, according to our 

 present notions, compound. The first of 



