104 
Analyses of Books. 
[February, 
The Unity of Matter ; being Thoughts on the Nature , Weight , 
and Expansion of Gases. By G. T. Carruthers, M.A. 
This treatise will scarcely fulfil the expectations which chemists 
will draw from the title. Any evidence, direct or indirect, that 
all matter is derivable from some one elementary substance they 
would eagerly welcome ; but this is so far not forthcoming. The 
author certainly accepts material unity. He writes : — “ If there 
is a Creator of matter are we to suppose that He called into 
being, one by one, all these elementary forms, and some of them 
in such minute proportions to the immense masses of others 
that the reason of their existence becomes as great a mystery as 
their creation ? ” With the view here expressed most chemists 
will agree. But in a following passage the)'- may justly com- 
plain that their notions are not fairly represented ; for we are 
told that moderns “ find no difficulty in accepting the idea that 
there are sixty or seventy primitive forms, each having inherent 
and marvellous properties of its own.” 
Such, we submit, is by no means the case. Few, if any, 
chemists now regard the elements as other than bodies which so 
far we have been unable to resolve into anything simpler. The 
primordial unity of matter they accept as firmly as does Mr. 
Carruthers. They do not refuse to “accept the notion of the 
unity of matter because it is not supported by experiment.” They 
look upon such unity as highly probable, though not proven, and 
they eagerly look out for convincing evidence, and will not be 
slow to accept such if found. 
Mr. Carruthers suggests that chemists may perhaps think as 
follows : — “ There are sixty or seventy centres of creation or 
centres of matter in the universe. The vapours issuing from 
these fill space, and so interpenetrate each other that the planets 
appropriate and condense proportions of them all as they proceed 
in their orbits. Thus the Earth, the abode of oxygen, steals its 
nitrogen from Mars, which is ruddy with its nitric peroxide ; 
Venus shines bright with its inherent carbon and the Earth’s 
oxygen, while the Sun is the great source of hydrogen.” 
We question if this speculation has ever before been pro- 
pounded. It certainly presents at every step suppositions which 
are, to say the least, unproven. 
Mr. Carruthers considers that, in seeking to decompose the 
elements, we have kept “ blundering on, trying to simplify that 
which is already simple; but it may be wiser to try to arrive at 
the unity of matter by some other process. Let us then, leaving 
the simple forms, take one of the so-called compound forms of 
matter, and, instead of splitting it up into its elements, try 
rather to raise upon it all other elements. Let us, for instance, 
take water. We know that if we place in water the terminals 
of a battery, two so-called simple substances will issue from it : 
