July i6, 1891] 



NATURE 



255 



duties at the capital. With the completion of the equip- 

 ment of the little Observatory at Washington, he, how- 

 ever, formally resigned, on April 30, the Directorship at 

 Allegheny, which he had held since 1887 ; and he will, 

 so far as his administrative occupations permit, give 

 personal attention to the general direction of the in- 

 vestigations. 



The class of work which is referred to does not ordin- 

 arily involve the use of the telescope, and that which is 

 contemplated is quite distinct from what is carried on at 

 present at any other Observatory in the United States. 

 The work for which the older Government Observatories 

 at Greenwich, Paris, Berlin, and Washington were 

 founded, and in which they are now chiefly engaged, 

 is the determination of relative positions of heavenly 

 bodies, and our own place with reference to them. 

 Within the past twenty years all these Governments, 

 except that of the United States, have established astro- 

 physicai Observatories, as they are called, which are, as 

 is well known, engaged in the study of the heavenly bodies 

 as distinct from their positions — in determining, for in- 

 stance, not where, but what, the sun is, how it affects 

 terrestrial climate and life, and how it may best be 

 studied for the purposes of the meteorologist, and for 

 other uses of an immediately practical nature. 



The new Observatory is established for similar pur- 

 poses. Its outfit includes a very large siderostat (recently 

 completed by Grubb), which is mounted in such a way as 

 to throw a beam of light horizontally in the meridian. It 

 is intended to carry a mirror of 20 inches diameter, and 

 is perhaps the most massive and powerful instrument 

 of its kind ever constructed Within the dark room is 

 mounted another large instrument — the spectrobolometer 

 — which is, in effect, a large spectroscope with 20-inch 

 circle reading to 5 seconds of arc, specially designed for 

 use with the bolometer. It was made by William Grunow 

 and Son, of New York, as the outcome of Mr. Langley's 

 experience with smaller apparatus during his earlier in- 

 vestigations. The most important part of the instru- 

 mental equipment is completed by specially designed 

 galvanometers, scales, and a peculiar resistance box ; 

 and these three instruments, used in conjunction with 

 the bolometer, and perhaps with the aid of photography, 

 will be employed in the investigations upon light, heat, 

 and radiant energy in general, for which the Observatory 

 is primarily intended, though some departments of ter- 

 restrial physics may also receive attention. 



THE NEW GALLERY OF BRITISH ART. 



■\X/^E believe that the Committee appointed by the 

 * *^ Corporation to consider the question of the grant 

 of a site on the Embankment for the new gallery will 

 soon make its report. The Pall Mall Gazette of Tuesday 

 says : — " There is a vacant piece of just one acre at Black- 

 friars, on the land acquired some years ago and cleared 

 of the old City gas-works by the Corporation. This land 

 originally cost some ^260,000 ; and on portions of it 

 have been erected the City of London School and Sion 

 College. The value of the entire holding has increased 

 to at least ;!^55o,ooo ; so that if the proposed piece, which 

 is valued at about ^120,000, were made over by the 

 Corporation for the Art Gallery, the City would still be a 

 gainer of some ^170,000 by the transaction." 



In the meantime, public opinion is rapidly growing, not 

 only in favour of some of our national buildings devoted 

 to art finding a home in the City, but also against the 

 site at South Kensington — bought for scientific purposes, 

 and required to meet existing needs — being diverted 

 from its proper and natural use. 



Both these views are expressed in the following 

 Memorial, which, although circulated chiefly among 



NO. I 133, VOL. 44] 



men of science during the last few days, contains the 

 names of many representative men in other branches. 

 It has been transmitted to the Lord Mayor during the 

 present week. 



Memorial to the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of 



London. 

 We, the undersigned, having heard that there is a 

 possibility of the City of London finding a site on 

 the Embankment for the National Gallery of British Art, 

 which a munificent donor has proposed to build, venture 

 to approach Your Lordship with our earnest request that 

 you will yourself support, and use your best endeavours 

 to urge upon the City authorities, the very great import- 

 ance of giving effect to this proposal. 



The memorial already presented to the Prime Minister 

 will have made Your Lordship aware of the many strong 

 objections, from the scientific point of view, to the site 

 which was suggested for the gallery in the first instance. 



It is unnecessary for us, therefore, to say more on this 

 subject, except to remark that the greatest city in the 

 world must be the first to suffer if, from any cause, the 

 proper presentation of science and means for its study by 

 its citizens are in any way crippled. 



By affording a site on the Embankment, Your Lordship 

 and the authorities you represent will be the means 

 of preventing the lamentable result to which we have 

 referred, and you and they will earn the gratitude of all 

 interested in scientific progress, as well as confer a great 

 boon on the art-loving public. 



Among the signatories of the Memorial are the fol- 

 lowing: — 

 Sir William Thomson, D.C.L., LL.D., President Royal 



Society, Professor of Natural Philosophy, Glasgow. 

 Dr. John Evans, LL.D., F.R.S., Treasurer Royal Society. 

 Lord Ravleigh, F.R.S., Secretary Royal Society. 

 M. Foster, M.D., F.R.S., Secretary Royal Society. 

 Thomas H. Huxley, F.R.S., Dean of the Royal College of 



Science, London. 

 Lieut.-General R. Strachey, F.R.S., CLE., Chairman 



Meteorological Council. 

 Nevil Story Maskelyne, F.R.S., M.P., Professor of Mine- 

 ralogy, University of Oxford. 

 Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., Chairman London 



County Council, Past-President British Association. 

 Sir Richard Quain, Bart., M.D., F.R.S. 

 Sir William Roberts, F.R.S., M.D. 

 William Crookes, F.R.S., President Institute Electrical 



Engineers. 

 William Summers, M.P. 

 J. W. L. Glaisher, M.A., F.R.S. 

 Alfred Newton, F.R.S., Professor of Zoology, University 



of Cambridge. 

 T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., Professor of Chemistry, Royal College 



of Science, Treasurer Chemical Society. 

 John W. Judd, F.R.S., Professor of Geology, Royal College 



of Science. 

 William Huggins, D.C.L., F.R.S., President-Elect of the 



British Association. 

 Sir G. G. Stokes, Bart.. M.P., Past-President Royal Society, 



Lucasiati Professor, University of Cambridge. 

 Sir Henry E. Roscoe, LL.D., F.R.S., M.P., Past-President 



British Association. 

 W. Grylls Adams, F.R.S., Professor of Physics, King's Col- 

 lege, Past- President Physical Society. 

 J. Fletcher Moulton, Q.C, F.R.S. 

 E. A. ScHAFER, F.R.S., Professor of Physiology, University 



College, London. 

 Herbert McLeod, F.R.S., Professor of Chemistry, Cooper's 



Hill. 

 Hugo Muller, F.R.S., Past-President Chemical Society. 

 Arthur W. Rucker, F.R.S., Professor of Physics, Royal Col- 

 lege of Science, London, Treasurer Physical Society. 

 William Cawthorne Unwin, F.R.S,, Professor of Engin- 

 eering, City and Guilds of London Institute. 

 W. E. Ayrton, F.R.S., Professor of Physics, City and 

 Guilds of London Institute, President Physical Society. 



