584 Meeting of the British Association. [Oct., 



powerful than any that has hitherto been apphecl to them — results 

 which will at the same time add to our existing knowledge and 

 redound to the honour of the colony, by whose liberality this long- 

 cherished object has at last been effected. 



The results of the deep-sea dredging committee were then 

 briefly alluded to ; but as they will be found fuUy described in our 

 Chronicles and in the reports of sections of the Association, it is 

 unnecessary to dwell upon them in this place. 



The President next referred to the Faraday Memorial, and 

 stated that the present Chancellor of the Exchequer did not think 

 it right that the recognition of scientific merit, however eminent, 

 should fall on the taxation of the country, though even in a pecu- 

 niary point of view the country has received so much benefit from 

 the labours of scientific men. The can-ying out of the resolution 

 passed by the Heads of the Learned Societies being thus left to private 

 exertion, a public meeting, presided over by H.E.H, the Prince of 

 Wales, was held in the Koyal Institution, an estabhshment which 

 has the honour of being identified with Faraday's scientific career. 

 At this meeting a committee was formed to carry out the object, 

 and a subscription hst commenced. 



In Chemistry, the speaker confined his attention to three dis- 

 coveries. The first was the discovery of turacine, a red colouring 

 matter extracted from the feathers of the turaco or plaintain-eater, 

 which has been investigated by Professor Church, who finds it to 

 contain nearly six per cent, of copper, which cannot be distinguished 

 by the ordinary tests, nor removed from the colouring matter 

 without destroying it. In the turaco the existence of the red 

 colouring matter which belongs to their normal plumage is dej^en- 

 dent upon copper, which, obtained in minute quantities with the 

 food, is stored up in this strange manner in the system of the 

 animal. This example warns us against taking too utilitarian a 

 view of the plan of creation. Here we have a chemical substance 

 elaborated which is perfectly unique in its nature, and contains 

 a metal, the salts of which are ordinarily regarded as poisonous 

 to animals, and the sole purpose to which, so far as we know, it is 

 subservient in the animal economy is one of pure decoration. The 

 second discovery was that of artificial alizarine, the colouring matter 

 of madder ; and the third the investigations of Dr. ]\Iatthiessen on 

 the constitution of opium bases. These discoveries have been fully 

 referred to in our Chronicles, and it is unnecessary to repeat the 

 details here.* 



In relation to mechanism, this year is remarkable as being the 

 centenary of the great invention of our countryman James Watt. 

 It was in the year 17 09 that he took out his patent involving the 



* See ' Juuinal of Science,' No. xxiii., p. 427, and No. sxiv., p. 530. 



