NATURE 



325 



THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1876 



A PHYSICAL SCIENCE MUSEUM 



MANY of our readers will, no doubt, entertain the 

 belief that the proposal to establish a Museum of 

 Pure and Applied Science, to include what is known as the 

 Patent Museum, recently laid before the Duke of Rich- 

 mond and Gordon by the President of the Royal Society 

 and other distinguished men of science, has been a thing 

 of sudden growth. Some justification for such a belief 

 may seem to be derived from the Loan Collection of 

 Scientific Apparatus now being exhibited at South Ken- 

 sington, and many of those who have witnessed its suc- 

 cess would like to see it developed into a permanent in- 

 stitution. No doubt, this Collection has helped to bring 

 into practical shape the desire which for years many men 

 of science in this country have possessed of seeing this 

 country possessed of an institution similar to the Paris 

 Conservatoire des Arts et Mdtiers, which desire has at 

 last taken the form of the all but unanimous memorial on 

 the subject which was recently presented to the Lord- 

 President of the Council, and which we published in a 

 recent number. But the truth is that this memorial is 

 strictly in accordance with an official recommendation 

 made to the Earl of Granville, then Lord- President of the 

 Council, as far back as the year 1865. At that time the 

 Secretary of the Science and Art Department and Direc- 

 tor of the South Kensington Museum, Mr. (now Sir) 

 Henry Cole, along with the late Capt. Fowke, were in- 

 structed by the Lord-President to proceed to Paris and 

 report upon the relations between the Conservatoire des 

 Arts et Metiers and the French Patent system. 



The results of this official visit to Paris were given in a 

 report by Mr. Cole and Capt. Fowke to the Lord-Presi- 

 dent, which will be found in the " Twelfth Report of the 

 Science and Art Department" (1865), and was laid before 

 Parliament. As few of our readers can have access to 

 this Report, and as those with whom the decision as to 

 the memorial will rest, cannot be expected to know all 

 that has been previously said and done in this matter, 

 and as, moreover, the subject is one of prime importance 

 to the country and to science, we believe we shall be doing 

 good service by exhuming from this old blue-book the 

 special Report to which we refer : — 



Report on the Conservatoire des Arts et 



MiferiERS AND Brevets d'Invention. 



To THE Lord President of the Council. 



South Kensington Museum, yanuary 1865. 

 My Lord, — In obedience to your Lordship's instructions 

 that we should proceed to Paris and examine into the re- 

 lations which exist between the Conservatoire des Arts et 

 Metiers and system of French patents, we have prepared 

 and have now the honour of submitting, the following 

 report. 



1. The Conservatoire of late years, under the able 

 direction of General Morin and M. Tresca, has become 

 one of the most popular institutions in Paris. 



2. This establishment, first created in 1788, has passed 

 through many phases of constitution and management. 

 At the present time it has three predominant features : 

 (rt), the public exhibition of machinery, manufactures, and 

 models of an industrial and scientific nature ; {b\ a scien- 

 tific library open gratuitously to all ; and (f), courses of 



Vol. XIV.— No. 355 



gratuitous lectures given dui'ing the autumn and winter in 

 the evening by the most eminent professors in France. 

 These lectures are attended by several hundred persons. 

 A prospectus of the courses for the present session is 

 appended (p. 280). 



3. Besides these three features, the Conservatoire is 

 the repository for the Brevets cT Inventions and the models 

 deposited with them, which have exceeded the age of 15 

 years from the first issue of them. This connection of 

 the institution with extinct Brevets (f Invention is a sub- 

 ordinate feature to its chief operations. 



4. The Conservatoire consists of a series of ancient and 

 modern buildings. The ancient, belonging to the abbey 

 of St. Martin des Champs, date from ad. 1060, and are 

 highly interesting to the archceologist. They have been 

 well adapted to the purposes of the establishment, espe- 

 cially the old refectory, now- converted into the library. 



5. The principal fagade is now opened to the new 

 Boulevard de Sevastopol, fronting a large square. Addi- 

 tional parts of the old monastic buildings of the convent 

 of St. Martin are being restored and brought into use, 

 whilst new buildings are being constructed to aff"ord 

 additional space. The ground already occupied by the 

 estabhshment is 5"i78 acres (or 20,956 metres carres), and 

 this is being extended to 6558 acres, or 26,540 metres 

 carres de terrain. The buildings themselves occupy at 

 present 8,383 metres carrds, or io,o26'346 square yards, 

 which will be enlarged to i6,744's65 square yards. 



6. The laying out of the ground and the divisions into 

 which the collection is arranged are shown by the accom- 

 panying plan (App. C). 



7. The divisions are — machinery in motion, hydraulics 

 in motion, agricultural implements, locomotives, horology, 

 building models, &c. 



8. These plans show the position of the two chambers, 

 the lower of which contains the specifications of Brevets 

 d'Ifivention, whilst the upper contains the models. These 

 chambers are on the opposite side of the court to the 

 library, and have no connection with it. These rooms 

 are about 60 feet long by 20 feet wide. The contents are 

 very miscellaneous, and covered with dust, such as old 

 hats, and woven fabrics, traps, tin ware, surgical appli- 

 ances, and broken wooden models. It is not surprising 

 that they are not considered of sufficient value or public 

 interest to be kept with the general collection. They are 

 never consulted. M. Tresca, the sous-directeur, has 

 kindly answered some questions which we put to him (see 

 p. 287). He shows that they do not influence the extent 

 of the general collection of machinery, &c., and their value 

 to it is explained to be nothing. 



9. On Thursdays and Sundays the galleries are open 

 free, and are crowded. On other days, reserved for stu- 

 dents, the principle of admitting the public by a moderate 

 charge, as at South Kensington, has been adopted, and 

 visitors pay one franc each. 



10. Four separate authorities throughout France are 

 concerned in the issues and searches of Brevets d'In- 

 vention, 



a. The Ministry of Finance. 



b. The Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. 



c. The Prefecture of the Department. 



d. The Conservatoire. 



The necessary instructions, &c., for obtaining a brevet 

 are given in a paper appended (page 282). It will be 

 observed that the instructions make no mention of models 

 as any part of a Brevet d* Invention, and, as M. Tresca 

 shows, they are of no value whatever. 



11. In Paris all Brevets d'' Invention are kept and 

 registered. Those under 15 years of age are preserved 

 in the Rue de Varennes, on the south side of the Seine ; 

 those above that age in the Conservatoire des Arts et 

 Metiers on the north side, about two miles apart. 



12. The steps necessary to be taken in Paris for ob- 



