Vol. XXn. No. 2.] 



POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 



25 



€f)c popular M>citme i^ctojSf, 



BOSTON, FEB. 1, 1888. 



JAMES R. NICHOLS, M.D. 

 WILLIAM J. ROLFB, LiTT.D. 

 AUSTIN P. KICHOLS, S.B. 



. . Editors. 



JAMES KOBINSOX NICHOLS. 



It is with the deepest sorrow that we an- 

 nounce to the readers of this paper the death 

 of its senior editor, Dr. James 11. Nichols, 

 which occurred at his home in Haverhill, Mass., 

 on the 2d of Januaiy. Although he had been in 

 poor health for some months, his sjraptoms were 

 not sufficiently serious to cause his friends any 

 anxiety till about three weeks before his death, 

 when his digestive organs, which were always 

 weak from his boyhood, refused to assimilate any 

 nourislimcut ; and he gradually grew weaker, 

 till he passed away quietly and without pain. 



He was born in West Amesbur3-, now Merii- 

 mac, Mass., July 18, 1819. Up to the age of 

 seventeen jears his life was passed upon the 

 farm which was the homestead of his great- 

 grandfather, a descendant of emigrants from 

 Wales. At that age he became a clerk in the 

 drug-store of his uncle, Moses Is'ichols, in 

 Haverhill. His only education had been such 

 as he had acquired in the common schools of 

 that day, which chiefly- consisted of a winter 

 term at the district school ; but this, with his 

 studious iiaoits and retentive mental powers, 

 was sullicient to lay the foundation for his 

 future business and scientific success. The 

 field into which hft thus, early entered proved 

 to be one well suited to his tastes and business 

 capacity ; and lie immediately began, through 

 systematic reading and the study of such 

 scientific works as were within his reach, 

 supplemented bj' the accumulation of facts 

 in the school of practical experience, to 

 acquire a fund of knowledge, which at 

 length made him widel^y known as a self-edu- 

 cated scientific and business man. His work 

 of education began when he was a farmer's 

 bo3' ; and what he then ac(iuiicd remained with 

 him through all his future life, evidence of 

 which was shown in the deep love for agricul- 

 tural pursuits, which was manifested in maturer 

 years, and opened the way foi' deeper research 

 into the mysteries of nature in growth and 

 production. 



In 1812, he attended a course of medical 

 lectures at Dartmouth College, and received 

 from that institution the degree of M.D., and 

 afterwards the honorary degree of A.M. He 

 never practised medicine professionally, but in 

 1843 established a drug-store in Haverhill, 

 devoting his leisure time to the study of theo- 

 retical and pracliciU chemistry, and to his 

 numerous inventions, many of which are 

 widely used at the present time. 



In 1850 he made an extended tour through 

 (jreat Britain and P^urope, and soon after his 

 return, in 1857, disposetl of his drug-business, 

 and established in Boston the firm of J. K. 

 Nichols & Co., for the manufacture of fine 

 chemical and medicinal preparations, at that 



time a couiparalively new industry in this 

 countr}-. 



In addition to the chemical works of the 

 firm in Boston, Dr. Nichols built a laboratory 

 at Haverhill, which was successfully operated 

 for several years ; but it was finally given up, 

 and all the business concentrated in Boston. 

 In Boston's great fire the wholesale drug-store 

 and the chemical works were destroj-ed, after 

 which he withdrew from the firm, and the 

 business was resumed and is still carried on 

 by his former partners under the name of 

 Billings, Clapp, & Co. 



In 1866 the Boston Journal of Chemistry 

 was established as an auxiliary to the business 

 of the firm. Although intended at first to be 

 principally an advertising publication, it soon 

 obtained a high position as a journal of popu- 

 lar science, and a circulation extending to all 

 parts of the United States and Europe. In 

 1883 the paper was purchased by the present 

 proprietors, and its name changed to the 

 Popular Science News, but Dr. Nichols re- 

 mained in editorial connection with it up to 

 the time of his death ; and although in later 

 3ear8 impaired health and the pressure of 

 business affairs, compelled him to leave the 

 direct management to his editorial associates, 

 he always took great pride in the paper, and 

 constantly contributed to its columns, his last 

 article being the one on " Tea-Poisoning," 

 which appeared In the December number. 



As an agricultural ciicmist Dr. Nichols was 

 pre-eminent, and many readers of this paper 

 will remember the interesting and valuable ac- 

 counts of his experiments at Lakeside Farm 

 which have been published from time to time. 

 This farm was purchased in 1865, and is be- 

 lieved to be the oldest experimental farm in 

 the countr}-. The changes in the processes of 

 cultivation proved a great success, as shown 

 in the Massachusetts State Reports, and also in 

 the running history of the work appearing in the 

 Journal of Chemistry and in other scientific 

 and agricultural records. Extensive reclama- 

 tion was made of the low lands by drain- 

 age and new processes of cultivation, and 

 hitherto unproductive territory was made to 

 teem with abundant ci-ops. 



In 1878 he was appointed by Gov. Rice a 

 member of the INIassachusetts State Board of 

 Agriculture. He contributed many valuable 

 papers to the literature of agriculture ; among 

 these are most in'omineut his essaj-s upon the 

 " Proper Way of reclaiming Wet Meadows," 

 " Water in Agriculture," " Artificial Fertil- 

 izers," " What Science has accomplished for 

 Husbandry," "Muck: its Uses in Agricul- 

 ture," " Nitrogen in its Relation to Agri- 

 culture," and many others of a kindred 

 nature. Upon the high lands composing a 

 part of the estate, which became known as 

 " Winnekeni," he conceived the idea of erect- 

 ing a stone structure in mediseval style, to 

 become his summer lesideuce. The location 

 is delightful, commanding a charming land- 

 scape view, embracing within its range several 

 mountains whose names are historic. This 

 structure was completed about 1875, and was 



built almost entirely of granite bowlders found 

 \\]K>n the farm. It remained his summer resi- 

 dence until two 3'ears since, when it was sold 

 to a relative, who still makes it his summer 

 home. 



His business relations were numerous and 

 extensive. After retiring from the chemical 

 firm, he became, in 1873, president of the Ver- 

 mont and Canada Railroad, holding the ofifice 

 until 1878. The position was one of respon- 

 sibilit}', and occupied much of his time. In the 

 same jear of his election to that office he was 

 also elected on the board of directors of the 

 Boston and Maine Railroad, and has been 

 annually elected a member of the board since 

 that time. 



In 1867 he was appointed one of the trus- 

 tees of the Essex Fund established by the 

 late George Peabody of London, and was a 

 trustee of the Peabody Academy- of Science. 

 He also held manj- local positions of trust in 

 Haverhill and neighboring towns. 



Although thoroughly conversant with the the- 

 oretical principles of chemistry. Dr. Nichols's 

 attention was more particularly directed to the 

 practical side of his favorite science. He in- 

 troduced man}' new and improved chemical 

 and pharmaceutical compounds, and b}' his 

 inventive genius devised simple and economi- 

 cal methods and machinery for their manufac- 

 ture. His numerous inventions in other fields 

 also bear witness to his talent. All the mod- 

 ern forms of soda-water apparatus, portable 

 gas-machines, and carbonic-acid fire-extin- 

 guishers, as well as the leather-board industr3-, 

 are based either upon his original patents or 

 inventions. An improved form of hot-air fur- 

 nace was devised by him in later 3ears, and 

 has come into extensive use. During his earl3' 

 life many of the most wonderful inventions of 

 modern times were introduced, and experi- 

 ments with the telegraph, telephone, daguerro- 

 type, and spectroscope were undertaken b3- him 

 almost simultaneously with their announce- 

 ment. 



It is perhaps, however, as an author that Dr. 

 Nichols will be best remembered. Prior to 

 1872 two well-known works, entitled Chemis- 

 try of the Farm and Sea and Fireside Science, 

 were published, which have been extensively 

 read, furnishing much information, in a popu- 

 lar style, upon the subjects treated, and have 

 contributed to increase his literary reputation. 

 These were for the most part compiled from 

 articles written at different times for this paper. 

 During the summer of 1882 he composed, at 

 his country' residence, the work Wheyice, What, 

 Where ? which has alread3- passed through 

 eleven editions. It was originall3' written with 

 the purpose of recording his thoughts on the 

 important subjects of which it treats, for his 

 own gratification and that of a few of his most 

 intimate friends. A small edition was printed 

 for private distribution ; but such a geiieral 

 demand arose for copies, that it was transferred 

 to the hands of a publisher, and has since been 

 read in all parts of the world. The compo- 

 sition of this work was a source of the highest 

 pleasure to Dr. Nichols ; and letters received 



