A GUIDE
TO THE
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
OF
THINGS FAMILIAR;

BY
THE REV. DR. BREWER,
TRINITY HALL, CAMBRIDGE,
HEAD MASTER OF KING’S COLLEGE SCHOOL,
NORWICH,
IN UNION WITH KING’S COLLEGE, LONDON.

LONDON:
JARROLD AND SONS, 47, ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD,
ALSO HAMILTON AND CO., SIMPKIN AND CO.,
AND WHITTAKER AND CO.

PREFACE.

Of all science, none is more generally interesting than that whichexplains the common phenomena of life. We see that salt and snow areboth white, a rose red, leaves green, and the violet a deep purple; buthow few persons ever ask the reason why! We know that a flute produces amusical sound, and a cracked bell a discordant one—that fire is hot,ice cold, and a candle luminous—that water boils when subjected toheat, and freezes from cold; but when a child looks up into our face andasks us “why,”—how many times is it silenced with a frown, or called“very foolish for asking such silly questions!” The object of thepresent book is to explain about 2000 of these “silly questions” (whichare often more easily asked than answered) in language so simple that achild may understand it, yet not so childish as to offend thescientific; and in order that the answers may be strictly correct, notonly the most approved modern authors have been consulted, but themanuscript has been submitted sheet by sheet to the revision of twogentlemen of acknowledged reputation for scientific attainments. To theRev. A. Bath Power, M. A. especially, great obligation is due, for acareful revision of the whole manuscript, for many excellent hints, anduseful additions. In conclusion, so much diligence has been bestowedupon this little work for nearly ten years, so much useful informationhas been supplied by scientific friends, and so minute a revision hasbeen made of every answer, that it is no presumption to express a hopethat this “Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar” willbecome generally useful and acceptable, not only to the young, but tothose advanced to maturer life.

In this work some questions occur more than once, because they serve toillustrate different principles; and whenever cognate questions occur,the answers have been rendered as similar as possible, in order toassist the memory of the learner.

SUBJECTS OF THE CHAPTERS.