462 MEMORIAL OF JOSEPH HENRY. 



who, after a search of some time, found the law, gave me a copy, 

 which I afterwards presented to the President. The same evening 

 I called a meeting at the office of the mayor, of Mr. Mudd, the 

 commissioner of public buildings, and the mayor. After some 

 conversation it was at length concluded to send for some competent 

 landscape gardener to give a general plan of the improvements, 

 and, on the suggestion of the mayor, it was resolved to request the 

 President to direct that Mr. Downing, from Newburgh, be re- 

 quested to examine the grounds and report a plan of improvement. 

 We (the mayor, Mr. Mudd, and myself) called next day on the 

 President, presented the matter, and received from hi*n the sanction 

 for writing to Mr. Downing. A few days after this I started for 

 New Jersey and was absent several days, and when I returned I 

 found that nothing had been done, Mr. Downing had not been 

 written to. I therefore drew up a form of a letter of invitation in 

 accordance with my views of the manner in which the invitation 

 should be worded, and sent this to the commissioner. This letter 

 was sent, and in conformity with this invitation Mr. Downing has 

 come on. I called with Mr. Downing on the President, who gave 

 us a very pleasant reception and entered with much interest into the 

 plans of Mr. Downing. This morning Mr. Mudd, Mr. Downing, 

 and myself have examined all the ground between the Capitol and 

 the river, and found it admirably adapted to the formation of a 

 landscape garden and a drive." 



The administration of the Smithsonian Institution does not 

 appear to have been compatible with the continuance of the experi- 

 mental researches in which our colleague was so eminently suc- 

 cessful during the earlier years of his life. The fact is that the 

 general science of electricity was passing almost beyond the experi- 

 mental and into the mathematical stage, so that little of real value 

 could be effected by mere experimentation without reference to 

 purely mathematical theories. But it would be altogether a mistake 

 to suppose that his scientific activity was diminished or that his 

 contributions to knowledge were confined to his earlier days. The 

 talent which had before been directed to investigations of a purely 

 scientific character, (understanding by this term such as were designed 

 only to improve the theories of natural phenomena,) was now turned 

 to practical application of scientific principles. Whether such appli- 

 cations are less worthy of the investigator than the advancement of 

 purely theoretical notions, we shall not attempt to discuss, but shall 



