THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
157 
coin which is in the left hand, and it will 
be taken for the one that was borrowed. 
This is a most useful feint, and by it the 
coin in the lemon trick " is changed, when 
it is taken from the person who has it, 
under pretence of showing how it should 
be held. 

Memory. 
THE power of the human mind to re- 
member any series of statements or 
facts, is greatly increased if we are enabled 
to see a distinct connection between them. 
The great difficulty of remembering a dis- 
connected series of sentences was once well 
illustrated by Foote. Macklin was lecturing 
upon literature and the stage, and in dis- 
cussing the education of memory, boasted 
that he could repeat any formula of words 
after once hearing it. Foote was in the 
audience, and at once wrote and sent to the 
stand that rigmarole that has since grown 
so famous: " So she went into the garden 
to cut a cabbage leaf to make an apple-pie; 
at the same time a great she-bear, coming 
up the street, pops its head into the shop. 
* What! no soap!' So he died, and she very 
imprudently married the barber; there were 
present the Pincininies, the Jobolilies, and 
the Gayrulies, and the grand Panjandrum 
himself, with the little round button at the 
top; and they all fell to playing the game of 
<}atch-as- catch-can till the gunpowder ran 
out of their boots." 
Macklin failed, and, short as it is, it is not 
very often that a person is found who can 
repeat it after hearing it only once or twice. 
Pond and Stream. 
/^F all objects for microscopic study, there 
^ is nothing in my estimation to com- 
pare with the living objects of pond and 
stream. They will furnish more beautiful and 
interesting objects than the most complete 
cabinet. To this department the microscope 
should be more particularly devoted. 
There is no question that from this kind 
of inquiry more important results may be 
obtained than from any other. Here it is 
not necessary to diverge from the main ob- 
ject (observation) to dissect, cut, slice, 
grind or polish, before you can examine, all 
of which requires abundance of leisure time, 
and cannot be very interesting as it is only a 
means of getting an object for examination, 
unless making a special study of an object. 
Pond and stream life furnishes work for 
both high and low angled lenses, penetra- 
tion or no penetration. It is a magnificent 
sight to get a rhizopod [Diffiugia protei- 
formis), or a diatom [Gomphonema elong- 
atum) drift across your field under a 180° 
lens; they sparkle like a Koh-i-noor, and 
then under a comfortable working lens, like 
the inch of 25° or 30°, take a survey of your 
pasture. 
How interesting, under a low power, to 
get a diminutive view of some rare object 
or peculiar action, and then bring the 
matter up clear and enlarged with a higher 
power. How vastly easy is microscopical 
analysis in comparison with chemical ! With 
the microscope the imperceptible is made 
perceptible at once; the chemical requires 
great labor and time. H. Watson 
Providence, R. L 
• « . 
A Hint for Skaters. 
Mr. Jos. G. Kitchell, of Cincinnati, O., sends 
the following, which may prove beneficial to 
those who, for the sport of skating, often un- 
dergo great personal risk: ** Cut or select from 
the carpenter's lumber, a strip or rod of ash, 
walnut, maple, or any light yet strong wood, 
procure a round piece three-fourths of an inch 
in diameter, and about six and a half feet long. 
Take this with you when going to sl a*e; grasp 
it near the centre with the right Land, and 
carry vertically; if the ice should br- ak, and 
you sink, a little presence of mind and the rod, 
which you throw horizontally as the first crack- 
ing is heard, will prove very valuable, as you 
can keep head and shoulders above water until 
help arrives, or enable you to emerge entirely 
by shifting the rod, so that it rests on the 
tbickish ice around the hole. You will find 
from a little use that it is not in the least an 
incumbrance, but it gives a graceful appear- 
ance to the skater, will often avoid a fall, and 
will insure a greater aid to beginners on skates, 
I think, than the helping hand of an interested 
expert." 
