Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



75 



leads us first to organography and then to descriptive and sys- 

 tematic botany and zoology, two great subdivisions of natural 

 history. Coming now to consider the physiological aspects of or- 

 ganic nature, we find, besides the dynamical and chemical activities 

 manifested in the mineral kingdom, other and higher ones which 

 characterize the organic kingdom. On this higher plane of existence 

 are found portions of matter which have become individualized, ex- 

 hibit irritability, the power of growth by assimilation, and of repro- 

 duction, and moreover establish relations with the external world 

 by the development of organs ; all of which is foreign to the 

 mineral kingdom. These new activities are often designated as 

 vital, but since this term is generally made to include at the same 

 time manifestations which are simply dynamical or chemical, I have 

 elsewhere proposed for the activities characteristic of the organism 

 the term biotics (Greek fiuonicds, pertaining to life). 



The physiology of matter in the abstract is dynamical ; that of 

 mineral species is both dynamical and chemical ; while that of 

 organized forms is at once dynamical, chemical, and biotical. The 

 study of the biotical activities of matter leads to organogeny and 

 morphology ; while the relations of organisms to one another, and 

 to the inorganic world, give rise to physiological botany and 

 physiological zoology. We thus attain to a comprehensive and 

 simple scheme of the natural sciences, which I have endeavoured 

 to set forth in the subjoined table : — 



Natural Sciences. 



Inorganic Nature. . 



Organic Nature. 



Descriptive. 



Mineral Physiography. 



BlOPHYSIOGRAPHY. 



General Physiography 



Descriptive and Systematic 



Organography ; 



or 



Mineralogy ; 



Descriptive and Systematic 



Natural History. 



Geognosy ; Geography ; 

 Descriptive Astronomy. 



Botany and Zoology. 



Philosophical. 



Mineral Physiology. 



BlOPHYSIOLOGY. 



General Physiology 



Dynamics or Physics ; 



Biotics. 



or 



Chemistry. 



Organogeny ; Morphology ; 



Natural Philosophy. 



Geogeny ; 



Physiological 





Theoretical Astronomy. 



Botany and Zoology. 



DETERMINATION OF MOMENTS OF MAGNETISM BY THE BALANCE. 

 BY H. YON HELMHOLTZ. 



The experiments to be described have hitherto only been made 

 with a good chemical balance, which, however, was not quite free 

 from particles of iron. The influence of permanent magnetization 



