70 PETER GUTHRIE TAIT 



violet. Brewster described his latest experiments in a short communication to 

 the Royal Society of Edinburgh on April 15, 1867, but gave no explanation. 

 At the next meeting, on April 29, when Sir David, as President, was again in 

 the chair, Tait read a very brief communication on the same subject, tracing 

 the phenomenon to the peculiar texture of the membrane covering the cornea 

 and to the effect of parallax. There can be no doubt that the experiments on 

 which Tait based his conclusions were made in conjunction with Brewster, who 

 probably agreed with the explanation brought forward by his colleague. 



It was just at this time (April, 1867) that Tail's efforts to establish a 

 physical laboratory, in which doubtless he was strongly backed by Sir David 

 Brewster, received formal recognition by a grant of money from the Senatus. 

 The minutes simply record the fact, but give no indication of how long a time 

 was required by Tait to educate his colleagues up to the point of admitting that 

 such a new departure was desirable. But to vote the money was one thing, to 

 find accommodation even for a small laboratory was another. Six months 

 seem to have elapsed before the next step was taken ; and then in a letter of 

 date December 20, 1867, Tait wrote to Andrews : 



" I am about to get a Laboratory for practical students. The money has been voted. 

 Henderson 1 has been induced to give up his class room (which is situated just over 

 my apparatus room), and during the holidays it will be put in order for work.... 

 I want to ask if you can give me hints as to good subjects of experimental work for 

 practical physical students, not subjects that require a Faraday, still less such as 

 require a Regnault." 



In his opening lecture of the session 1868-9 Tait was able to make a 

 definite announcement regarding the Physical Laboratory. The following 

 report of part of the lecture is taken from the Scotsman of November 3, 1868. 



" In several respects the present session may be expected to differ for the better, 

 as regards the class of Natural Philosophy, from at least the last eight during which 

 I have been connected with this University.... From the miserable resources of the 

 University enough has been granted me to make at least a beginning of what will 

 I hope, at no very distant time, form one of the most important features in our 

 physical education. A room has been fitted up as a practical laboratory, where a 

 student may not only repeat and examine from any point of view the ordinary lecture 

 experiments, thereby acquiring for himself an amount of practical information which 

 no mere lecturer can pretend to teach him ; but where he may also attempt original 

 work, and possibly even in his student days make some real addition to scientific 

 knowledge. That this is no delusive expectation is proved by the fact that in Glasgow, 



1 The Professor of Pathology at the time, the predecessor of the well-known Professor 

 Sanders. 



