Too Long; Didn't Read

Messrs. Editors:—In one of the late numbers of your journal, you publish a paper, read by Mr. Porter before some learned society in New York, on something about the possibility or practicability of running a steam engine at a high rate of speed, and claiming to give a scientific explanation of the why and wherefore. Now, scientifically, I know nothing about a steam engine; practically, I know how to stop and start one. Therefore, you will understand that what I say is not as coming from one who claims to be wise above what is written, but as simply being a statement of the case, as it appears to one who wants to learn, and takes this way to draw out the truth. A scientific theory, invested with all its sines, coefficients, and other paraphernalia, is a very pretty thing to look at, no doubt, for those who understand it, and, when properly applied, is invaluable; but when, as in this case, a practical question is to be decided, by the aid of a scientific demonstration, it will not do to throw aside the main elements of the problem, or any, in fact, of the minor points, no matter how trivial they may appear.