Oct. 13, 18S1] 



NATURE 



563 



the modern exhibits, trumpery as many of them would 

 undoubtedly appear to us, do not attract more attention 

 than the productions of ancient Japanese art industry. 

 We have even heard it suggested that, by placing these 

 various articles under one roof, the Government desired 

 to check in their people an unreasoning admiration of 

 everything foreign, by showing them what Japanese 

 themselves have done in the olden time. 



It would be impossible here to describe in detail even 

 the most striking museums of the capital. The Govern- 

 ment of the great northern island, Yeso, have established 

 one containing specimens of the flora, fauna, and other 

 productions of that territory near the sacred grounds of 

 Shiba. In the great park at Uyeno, a northern suburb 

 of the city, the Education Department exhibits all the 

 educational apphances of most of the civilised countries 

 of the globe ; while in the same neighbourhood is a 

 smaller museum containing a collection of ancient art 

 treasures, to which the Emperor himself has contributed. 

 In all the chief towns throughout the country also — 

 notably in Osaka, Kioto, and Nagoya — museums have 

 been established by the local authorities. Sometimes 

 these contain only specimens of the productions, natural 

 and artificial, of the province in which they are situated ; 

 but generally objects of more universal interest are to be 

 seen. These, as we have before remarked, are thronged 

 on holidays by crowds of eager sightseers, and it would be 

 difficult, more especially for a foreign observer, to esti- 

 mate accurately their beneficial effect on the nation at 

 large, in humanising the people and stimulating healthy 

 competition and production. 



The temporary exhibitions have been not less successes 

 than the permanent museums. An annual exhibition of 

 domestic products is held at Kioto, in the old palace 

 grounds, and lasts for 100 days ; and a triennial one on 

 a large scale takes place in Tokio. This also is reserved 

 for domestic productions. The second of these has just 

 been closed, an Imperial prince representing the 

 Emperor at the closing ceremonial. His Majesty, 

 having attended at the inauguration and at the distri- 

 bution of prizes, was able to say (we quote from the 

 report of ihe Japan Casettc newspaper) that there were 

 over 800,000 visitors in 122 days. Each of the speakers 

 on this occasion bore witness to the value of these exhi- 

 bitions, and noticed the marked improvement in the 

 exhibits now over those of three years ago. 



The prospectus of a domestic exhibition of trees and 

 shrubs has just been issued. It is to take place in 

 February next year, and besides specimens of the forests 

 and plantations under Government, private individuals 

 are ir.vited to send exhibits of timber. The exhibition 

 will be under the control of the Department of Commerce 

 and Agriculture, and the result will doubtless be an inter- 

 change of knowledge which will be of the utmost value in 

 a country where wood is one of the most universal neces- 

 saries of life. 



Two years since a most interesting exhibition took 

 place at Nara, the site of an ancient capital of Japan. It 

 was confined wholly to Japanese antiquities, and was 

 under the direct patronage of the Emperor, who contri- 

 buted many of the most valuable articles. We have 

 referred in a previous paper to the success of an exhibi- 

 tion of the various instruments which have from time to 

 time been employed to test the direction and intensity 

 of earthquake shocks, which was held under the auspices 

 of the Seismological Society of Tokio. 



As cognate to the subject of this article we may refer 

 to the public libraries of Japan. Lending libraries have 

 existed in the country from very early tmies ; but it is 

 only recently that the Government have provided large 

 collections of native and foreign works for students. One 

 free library in Tokio, which was founded in 1873, contained 

 a year ago 63,840 volumes of Chinese and Japanese works, 

 5162 English books, 6547 Dutch, and about 2000 volumes 



in other European languages. It possesses a large reading- 

 room, provided with many leading foreign journals ; 

 admission is wholly free, and permission to borrow books 

 for a certain period is easily obtained. The number of 

 readers is about three thousand a month. .Another, con- 

 taining about 143,000 volumes, including many ancient 

 books and manuscripts, is practically free, an entrance 

 fee of less than a halfpenny being charged. In addition 

 to theie many of the leading towns throughout the country 

 are provided with free libraries, which are much used and 

 appreciated by students. The co^t of foreign books 

 renders these institutions peculiarly valuable to natives, 

 who, as a rule, cannot afford to pay our heavy prices. 



It will thus be seen that the introduction of museums 

 and similar establishments was a happy move on the part 

 of the Japanese Government ; they are heartily appreciated 

 by the people, and their educating influence is immense. 

 VVith the exception of the newspaper press no Western 

 institution has been so rapidly or so successfully accli- 

 matised in Japan. 



THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION AND 

 CONGRESS OF ELECTRICITY AT PARIS ' 

 III. 

 'X'HE Congress held its concluding sitting on Wednesday, 

 ■'■ the 5th inst., and was formally dissolved. Three 

 international Commissions arc to be appointed in accord- 

 ance with the recommendations of the Congress, viz. : — 



1. A Commission to determine what length of mercury 

 at zero Centigrade, with a section of a square millimetre, 

 has a resistance equal to the theoretical Ohm, that is, to 

 10^ C.G.S. units. 



2. A Commission for the following distinct purposes:— 

 To arrange for a general system of observations of atmo- 

 spheric electricity ; to arrange for a general system of 

 observations on earth-currents ; to determine the best 

 system of lightning-conductors ; to investigate the practi- 

 cability of a general system of automatic transmission by 

 telegraphic wires of the indications of meteorological in- 

 struments. The idea of this last investigation is taken 

 from the apparatus of M. van Rysselbergh, which we 

 described in a previous notice. In fact it is understood 

 that the Committee will report on the advisability of ex- 

 tending to Europe generally the system which already 

 exists in Belgium. 



3. An International Commission for fixing upon a 

 standard of luminous intensity, to be used in measure- 

 ments of electric lights, and for deciding upon the best 

 methods of making such measurements. 



The following recommendations have also been made 

 by the Congress : — That the diameters of wires employed 

 in telegraphy be stated in millimetres ; that the cultiva- 

 tion of the gutta-percha tree be guarded by suitable regu- 

 lations, to prevent this important product from becoming 

 scarce ; that the Governments of the different countries 

 be requested to legislate on the subject of submarine 

 cables, the present state of the law being insufficient to 

 guarantee the rights of property in such cables. 



In illustration of the present state of things Dr. C. W. 

 Siemens mentioned a case where a cable which his firm 

 had laid was wilfully cut by a captain who had caught it 

 with his anchor in deep water, and the law afforded no 

 remedy. It is also understood that regulations are to 

 be made as to the repair of cables which are crossed by 

 other cables belonging to a different company. 



A further recommendation, that all countries should 

 adopt for ships engaged in laying cables the same code 

 of signals which is already in use in English ships was 

 withdrawn upon the presentation of indubitable evidence 

 that the co'Je in question was adopted months ago in a 

 note signed by the representatives of all the nations 

 concerned. 



* Continued from p. 5^3. 



