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the systems prevailing in other countries, and adapt their good points to our own; and we have drawn a comparison between the French and the English systems, not from any belief that it would be wise in us to overthrow all our old associations and wed ourselves to the French system, but more especially for the purpose of keeping prominently before us the one great characteristic of that system, viz., that in its vocabulary "there is one specific, definite, significant word to denote the limit of lineal measure; one for superficial, and one for solid measure; one for the unit of measures of capacity, and for the units of weights. The word is exclusively appropriated to the thing, and the thing to the word. The metre is a definite measure of length; it is nothing else. It cannot be a measure of length in one county, and of another length in another. The gramme is a specific weight; and the litre a vessel of specific cubic contents, containing a specific weight of water." Here, then, is an example to fall back upon.

We presume our readers will be fully prepared to agree with us, that some adjustment and simplification of our weights and Grain, or Minim.

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measures is absolutely essential; and not a few will be surprised that the inconsistencies we have pointed out have been allowed so long to exist. We know of no plan of simplification so thoroughly effective as the decimal system-the regular progression of tens. If the decimal system be serviceable in connection with our coinage, it seems to be even more so with respect to weights and measures, because in the latter instance the subdivisions are necessarily more numerous as well as in some cases more minute; therefore, the facilities of calculation should be proportionably great, and we should no longer be reproached with fostering a system affording the perpetual paradox of a whole, not equal to all its parts, or numbers losing the definite character which is essential to their nature-a dozen becoming sixteen, twentyeight signifying twenty-five, or one hundred and twelve meaning a hundred.*

By far the most ingenious and intelligible suggestion which we have seen for decimalizing our weights has proceeded from Mr. Taylor, to whom we have previously referred. The following is his table:— * Vide Adams' Report.

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100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000 Here are eight denominations of weights, the first or lowest in the scale-the grain or minim, being the ten-thousandth part of a pound-the pound being the thousandth part of the new ton, of ten cwt. The present pound, avoirdupois, is, in fact, the unit of this system-all smaller weights being decimal parts of a pound, and all larger weights being capable of decimal reduction into pounds. Cubic inches. 1 minim

28

Ton, or Quintal.

This is a great practical advantage. Such a weight as 7 tons 4 cwt. 5 stone and 6 lbs., may much simpler, and just as accurately, be called 7,456 pounds, or by adding a cypher, it would be 74,560 ounces, and so on down to the lowest denomination.

Mr. Taylor also suggests the following table of imperial measures of capacity, liquid or dry:

10 minims of water are 277 10 scruples

1 scruple-metre.

1 drachm-metre.

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2,773 10 drachms

1 ounce-metre.

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+ Scruple is preferred to pennyweight, as being more simple to write or express.

Here, then, we have not only the same number of denominations as in the table of weights, but in the first four divisions of the table the same names, with the affix metre to indicate that "capacity and not weight is intended." There is one very great advantage in this table which must not be overlooked. Its gallon is identical with the imperial gallon of 277,274 cubic inches capacity, and in weight ten pounds, avoirdupois, of distilled water, as is now used in conformity with the Act 5 George IV., c. 74. The gallon is thus constituted the unit of measures, as the pound avoirdupois is the unit of weights. All the lower divisions are decimal parts of the gallon, and all the larger denominations are multiples of the gallon. Thus, instead of expressing a quantity as 5 butts 9 firkins and 4 gallons, it is simpler for all practical purposes to say, 594 gallons. The "pint,"-our "old familiar pint," is reduced to a smaller portion under the system here proposed. It is to be one-tenth instead of one-eighth of a gallon, and it is also to undergo a change of name, and be called a pound. We fear, with those having large dealings in pints, the change of quantity, if not of name, will meet with a decided objection.

We have at present said nothing of the decimal system as applied to surface and

The

QUESTIONS REQUIRING ANSWERS.

cubic measures; and it is only necessary here to remark, that whilst everyone is injuriously affected by the want of uniformity in our weights, and measures of capacity, but comparatively few persons are interested in the number of yards or furlongs constituting a mile. Moreover, our surface and cubic measures are consistent in themselves: a foot does not mean twelve inches at one time or place, and fifteen at another; and still further, we may state, on the authority of Mr. Adams, that the English foot rule is "universally known throughout the world." The English foot, however, represents no decimal division of the English mile. Our charts for navigation, &c., and the calculations of our astronomers, are for the most part based upon the English mile. If we alter our mile to correspond with the decimal multiples of the foot, the confusion is endless. If we alter our foot to constitute it a decimal division of the mile, the world will lose one of its most familiar appliances. Surely this is a just reward for commencing on a wrong basis. Let us reform where we can reform, for fear of finding ourselves in another similar dilemma; and let us no longer culpably overlook the declaration that there should be "one weight and one measure," which, as we have seen, was so wisely incorporated in the great charter of our English liberties.

Juquirer.

251. Will one of the correspondents of the British Controversialist kindly inform me the meaning of the word "Hyperion," used by Professor Longfellow as the title to one of his prose poems? Also the signification of a name spoken of by E. A. Poe, in his poem of " The Raven," as "A rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore;

Nameless here for evermore"?-FANNY.

252. Being a young man engaged in commercial pursuits, I am desirous of obtaining a more extended and philosophical acquaintance with the principles, laws, &c., of commerce than I now possess. I shall therefore feel obliged to any of your readers who will furnish me with a list of the best works on commerce, banking, and monetary science in general, together with the order in which they should be studied.-GIRARD ASTON. 253. My dear Mr. Editor, everybody knows that I am insatiably curious, and that I will do or say anything rather than leave my curiosity ungratified. I know you have a page in your magazine, for I have had a "peep" into it before now, which

just suits me. I am a pertinacious inquirer. "I hope," therefore, "I don't intrude" in " popping the" following "question," viz.:-In the Rev. R. A. Willmott's "Pleasures, Objects, and Advantages of Literature," chap. xi., I find it stated that "St. Paul uses one word twenty-six times, and it occurs in no other part of the New Testament except in the parable of the barren figtree." What word is this? I bethink me, that did I know that word it would surely afford a latchkey by which I might see something more of the character of the revered apostle. Can and will you oblige? Yours, &c.-PAUL PRY.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.

Cambridge Examinations.-Note.-As questions are frequently asked respecting Cambridge examinations, it may not be out of place, in a section devoted to satisfying inquirers, especially students, to draw attention to a work which has now been established several years, and which while it is only one-fourth or less in price than other works bearing on the university examina tions, contains far more practical information with

respect to them. I mean the "Cambridge Almanack and Register;" in which will be found, in addition to an almanack for each year (the one lately published for 1855), a list of the officers of the university, the voluntary theological papers, the examination papers for honours and ordinary B. A. degree, the previous or little-go examination and classical tripos papers, programme of professors' lectures, of the officers and crews of the college boat clubs, register of boat races and cricket matches, &c. &c; price 1s. 6d., published by Wallis, Sidney-street, Cambridge; and by G. Bell, 186, Fleet-street, London. On the subject which is generally of deepest interest to those about to matriculate at Cambridge, viz., the examinations, this work contains more real information than any other. It has been customary for many of the examination papers contained herein, as the classical and mathematical tripos papers, and the previous and ordinary degree examinations, to be published and sold separately at 6d. or 1s. each. But it will be found of great use, not only by students, but by all engaged in tuition, by masters especially of classical and commercial schools, who have to examine or prepare examination papers. For the latter, all the papers here given may be taken as models, having been framed by men selected by the university as best qualified for the task.-F. J. L.

220. The Division of the Sciences.-The communication that appeared in the last volume, p. 356, of this magazine, respecting the division of the sciences, contains a few essential errors; it is therefore necessary that they should be noticed and corrected. J. M. S., the author of this communication, has in his arrangement of the sciences stated, that the four great departments, physics, chemistry, life, and mind, unitedly form the groundwork of the very curious, refined, difficult, and important science of mathematics; and that they ought to be studied according to this order. This we purpose to show is the inversion of the true natural order and succession of these sciences, and of the proper consecutive course in which they ought to be studied. The science of mathematics, instead of being placed on the apex of the pyramid, constitutes the fundamental basis of the whole, as it treats of matter in its simplest universal and essential conditions or qualities, which first meet our observation. The phenomena of all the other sciences depend entirely upon mathematical laws, while these laws exist independently of any other science. Matter itself could not exist without those properties which constitute the basis of mathematics, but the properties of no other science are strictly essential to the simple existence of matter. Were it even possible that any change or alteration could occur in mathematical laws, the laws of all the other sciences would then immediately be upset, while the greatest revolutions might take place in any subsequent department of science without mathematical doctrines being in the slightest degree affected. It is therefore evident that mathematics must exclusively be the primary science in a true and natural arrangement, and to this chronological order or development will also be found exactly to correspond. Mathematics were first brought to a high state of perfection by Euclid, 300 years B.C., when the other sciences were comparatively unknown. If, therefore, physical, chemical, vital, and mental science, according to

J. M. S., unitedly form the groundwork of mathematics, he ought to have shown how it was possible for the highest part of the edifice to have been erected before there was any under building or groundwork. Perhaps it did not occur to J. M. S. to contemplate these difficulties, or he may yet find a solution for them; meanwhile, we state it as an undeniable fact, that the mathe matics can at any time be as well comprehended and developed without the knowledge of physical, chemical, vital, and mental science as with it, while none of these sciences can be understood without the previous acquisition of mathematical knowledge. There are no physical, chemical, vital, nor mental truisms inculcated in simple mathematical propositions, while mathematical truth is essentially concerned in the laws and facts of all the other sciences. These considerations, therefore, necessitate the conclusion that the mathematics form the real fundamental and primary science.

The true order and number of the abstract sciences, as held by M. Comte, and almost every eminent philosopher at the present day, stands thus:-Mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and sociology. The first sciences are the least dependent and the most general, the last are the most dependent and special. According to these characteristics, their true vertical arrangement would therefore resolve themselves into a pyramidical form. In proceeding from the bottom to the top, we pass from the most simple and universal properties and laws to those that are more complex and limited. Each one is dependent on all that lie below it, and is a basis for all that lie above it. He who is versant in all the laws and properties of these five abstract sciences, is prepared to understand every event that can possibly occur in the world, and to exhibit truth and nature in their real, unsophisticated character; there being no fact, process, or operation, that does not, as far as we can know, fall within the scope of some or other of these five sciences, a perfect knowledge of which constitutes the inost glorious of all possessions-the truth or the phi losophy of nature, which enables its possessor clearly to perceive the line of demarcation betwixt all that is known and the unknowable, giving him also the power to wield the invincible weaponsthe logic of facts, instead of the barren, futile husks,-the logic of mere unqualified assump. tions. Mathematics treat of quantity, figure, magnitude, and number, and therefore necessarily apply to everything that exists, as existence without these properties would be an impossibility. Mathematics is related to physics by general mechanics, or motion, which is expressed by space and time. Physics comprehend the laws of solids, liquids, and gases, astronomy, mechanics, acoustics, heat, light, electricity, statics, and dynamics; physical properties are superadded to quantity, form, and number, and are regulated by these attributes, while they (phy sical properties) exist uninfluenced by chemical qualities, which are a subsequent addition; physics are also related to chemistry through heat, light, and electricity, these being both physical and chemical agents or powers. It was formerly doubted whether light possessed any chemical in Auence or not, but modern experiments, both in vegetation and crystallization, and also the inven tion of daguerreotype, have fully established this

most important and complex of all the others, involving, as it does, all the laws and phenomena of the preceding sciences. The proper solution of this science (which is still a desideratum) depends upon a comprehensive knowledge of the properties and nature of the inorganic and of the organic world, and their natural and due relations to each other. The ultimate and complete development of this science will produce, in its highest perfection, the order and progress of society, as ascertained by its tendencies to produce happiness, and perpetuate itself. This science, though the latest to blossom, is conceived by many to promise golden fruits of happiness to mankind; its proper comprehension and application will doubtless constitute the true millennium. But these fruits will not appear until the tree of knowledge has become fully and universally developed. Knowledge, which means truth itself, must ever, according to the nature of things, precede individual or universal virtue, and universal virtue must also precede universal happiness. Error, vice, and misery are, in all times and places, mutually dependent upon each other; so is it with truth, virtue, and happiness.-HALKET.

fact. Chemistry is the science which investigates the laws of combination and decomposition, and the various simple elements, now ascertained to be sixty-three in number, of which every body or substance around us is composed; showing also the properties of these different elements, both in their simple and combined state. It also teaches the endlessly diversified conditions and combinations in which it is possible for matter to exist, and the peculiar properties and phenomena that are presented with every condition and combination. Chemistry is unrivalled by any other science for utility, and, we might also add, interest. Biology (the science of life) investigates the vital properties of matter, which depend upon the properties of the preceding sciences, without reacting upon them so as to alter their character. By it the vital principle, though not fully explained by an accurate knowledge of the foregoing sciences, has its mysteries very considerably diminished. This knowledge is also the more essential, in order to perceive precisely how far it does explain the vital process, that by investigation and experimentation upon that which still lies beyond its solution, the science of life may be fully understood. Some writers believe psychology to be a 236. George Sand.-F. S. will have an erronedistinct science from biology, and consequently ous impression of the personal appearance of the allege that it occupies an individual position in celebrated George Sand, alias Madame Dudethe classification between biology and sociology: vant, if he imagines her accoutred in "a pointed but this distinction cannot logically be established, cocked hat, mustachios, boots, and spurs," and as the organ by which mental phenomena are pro-"an inveterate cigar smoker." She is, doubtless, duced is in reality a portion of the living system. It is easy for speculators to divide these two sciences in their own minds, but in nature they appear invariably and indissolubly associated together. Psychology is not, therefore, a distinct science in itself, but purely a dependent branch of biology, one of the manifestations of life. A knowledge, however, of mind has in all ages been partially acquired without the aid of the previous sciences. This is evidently the only noticeable exception to the strict successive dependence of these five abstract sciences. The sources of this independent knowledge are the external manifestations, and the internal consciousness, of the mind itself; but as the most essential source is the anatomy and physiology of the mental organ, and the anterior sciences being uninvestigated, the speculations and theories formed by the ancients, and even by many of our moderns, respecting the human mind, are therefore fallacious. The recent discoveries of anatomy, and the experiments of ani mal magnetism, have already diffused a flood oflight concerning the true order and constitution of the human mind. A true science of mind must therefore be deduced from the facts of anatomy, physiology, external manifestations, and consciousness. Sociology, or the science of society, is the last, the

an eccentric character; but she has not been
fairly represented by all who have attempted to
delineate her personal appearance, or trace her
moral habits. The following sketch is by the late
lamented and talented Sarah Margaret Fuller:-
"I have seen George Sand-Madame Sand, as
the Parisians call her.
She is large, but
well formed. She was dressed in a robe of dark
violet silk, with a black mantle on her shoulders,
her beautiful hair dressed with the greatest taste;
her whole appearance and attitude, in its simple
and lady-like dignity, presented an almost ludi-
crous contrast to the vulgar, caricature idea of
George Sand. Her face is a very little like the
portraits, but much finer; the upper part of the
forehead and eyes are beautiful, the lower strong
and masculine, expressive of a hardy tempera-
ment and strong passions, but not in the least
coarse; the complexion olive, and the air of the
whole head Spanish (as, indeed, she was born at
Madrid, and is only on one side of French blood).
All these details I saw at a glance; but what
fixed my attention was the expression of goodness,
nobleness, and power that pervaded the whole-
the truly human heart and nature that shone in
the eyes."-" Memoires," pp. 112, 113.-GEORGE.
Earith.

The Young Student and Writer's Assistant.

GRAMMAR CLASS.

Perform the Exercise for the Senior Division in the April No., 1854, Vol. V., page 156.

MODEL EXERCISE, No. XXIII.

Vide March No., 1854, p. 116.

I. That paper is too good To BE USED for such a purpose. Many boys think themselves too old

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II. 1. London is larger than Paris. Of the two cities London is the larger. 2. George is more learned than his brother William. George is the more learned of the two brothers. 3. The tiger is fiercer than the lion. Of the lion and tiger the tiger is the more fierce. 4. The Amazon is a larger river than the Mississippi. Of the two rivers the Amazon is the larger. 5. The government of America is more democratic than that of England. Of the governments of England and America, the latter is the more democratic. 6. The commissariat of the French army is more effective than that of the English army. Of the commissariats of the French and English armies, that of the former is the more effective.

III. Jesus went up an exceedingly high mountain. The people are miserably poor. The men behaved nobly. He acts agreeably with his profession. James was extremely prodigal, therefore his property is now nearly exhausted. The clergyman speaks fluently, but he does not read exactly correctly. Sarah has come agreeably to promise. The Turks have not acted independently of England and France. The teacher reads properly, writes neatly, and composes correctly. He conducted himself suitably to the occasion.

MATHEMATICAL CLASS.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.-I.

(a) 1. 15 cwt. 7 lbs. 8 oz. 2. 353,571 tons 8 cwt. 2 qrs. 8lbs. 3. £33 2s. 6d. 4. 57. 5. 1008. (b) 6. 12. 7. 9. 8. 15. 9. 35, 13. (c) 10. 141-4 yards. 11. 302-9703 feet.

QUESTIONS FOR SOLUTION.-III.

(a) 22. What must be the length of a plot of ground, if the breadth be 153 feet, that its area may contain 46 square yards?

23. Express 25 ells as a part of a yard. 24. Multiply 3 ft. 7 in. by 2 in.

25. Add the sum and difference of of 3 guineas and of £4.

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26. To of a dozen add of 300, and divide this sum by the difference of 3 of 100 and 433.

(b) 27. Amarket woman being asked how many eggs she had, replied, If I had as many more, half

29. Divide £64 among 3 persons, so that the first may have three times as much as the second, and the third one-third as much as the first and second together.

30. A person bought 20 yards of cloth for 10 guineas, for part of which he gave 11s. 6d. a yard, and for the rest 7s. 6d. a yard; how many yards of cloth did he buy?

(c) 31. Required the area of an octagon, the side of which is 20 feet.

32. Required the side of a decagon, the area of which is 16 square feet.

33. A circular pleasure ground is to be laid out to contain exactly an acre; required the length of the cord with which the circle must be traced. 34. How many square feet does a circle contain, the circumference being 10-9956 yards?

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Perform the Exercise on the " Art of Reason

as many more, and one egg and a half, I shoulding," No. 3., in the March No., 1851, Vol. II. have 104 eggs: how many had she?

28. A is twice as old as B; twenty-two years ago he was three times as old. Required A's present age.

PHONETIC SHORT-HAND CLASS.

Go through the 3rd lesson, as directed in the No. for March, 1854, Vol. V., p. 117.

The Societies' Section.

REPORTS OF MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETIES.

Monkton Young Men's Mutual Improvement | pied by the Rev. Dr. Lawrie, minister of the Society. The third annual soirée lately came off in the parish schoolroom. The chair was occu

parish, supported by Lieutenant-Colonel Shaw, from Ayr, the Rev. A. Fleming, of Fullarton, Ir.

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