l62 



NA TURE 



Sjfmie 28, 1877 



your journal on the need of establishing natural history museums 

 in the principal towns of our country. The ideas set forth cannot 

 fail to be reciprocated by a largely increasing number of si udents 

 who, like myself, are suffering umler the disadvan:ayes of not 

 having local museums for reference and in which to compare 

 specimens and examine the various natural history objects which 

 I wi^h to study. In addition to a museum, I think such build- 

 ings should contain lecture-rooms specially fitted up for scientific 

 lectures, as the value of able discourses is frequently lost for 

 want of clearness in illustration. 



The professor cannot ovtr-estimate the value of museums, as 

 every lover of natural history cannot be a collector; but every one 

 in full possession of his faculties can observe so far as he has the 

 power of seeing, and if he cannot examine the wide field of 

 nature for facts he will at least examine the proofs of them in the 

 museum", if at hand. 



A few ])ersonal observations may serve to show the difficulties 

 under wliich the so-called working classes have to labour in the 

 pursuit of knoivledi;e. 



Some years ago I began to study the works of Sir C. Lyell 

 and other authors on geology, and while so engiged I many 

 times travelled eighleen miles a ler a hard day's work to compare 

 specimens in the old museum, St. Peter's Street, Manchester. I 

 had tabular views of the characteristic British fossils at hand, 

 but as perfect specimens only are figured, I experienced a doubt 

 and uncertainty pretty nearly in evtrj thing I w.:nted to compare, 

 while in the museum I could find the actual specimen sought 

 after with which to correlate those of my own. The flash of 

 satisfaction experienced by a collector on compiring his objects 

 with those in a well-arranged museum is indeed very great, and 

 there are few things more likely to stir him up to renewed efforts. 

 l!ut the interest of museums is not confined to the collectors of 

 natural history objects ; it extends to every man who reads and 

 cares to master the objects about which he reads. In this way 

 his knowledge of thirgs becomes real and he expresses himself 

 with confidence, and in many cases has decided while others are 

 thinking. To show further the need of museums I may state a 

 fact perhaps not generally known, that in one place in the north 

 of England a large number of science students have formed 

 themselves into an itinerant society moving from place to place 

 to suit the convenience of the various members who reside apart. 

 The meetings are generally held at a respectable inn on Sunday 

 evenings, at which papers are read by the more ambitious mem- 

 liers, and any interesting objects named, which some of the party 

 never fail to bring up, and their habitat declared. 



If the corporate bodies or the educational department of the State 

 would only undertake to provide museums in the principal towns 

 of our country I feel sure that the cry of continental superiority 

 would soon vanish. At home we have the materials out of 

 which the philosopher and the artisan can spin the fibre of future 

 greatness by rightly directing the forces of nature, but the isolated 

 iragments want collecting and receptacles providing in which to 

 store them. Many lives like that of the Banff naturalist could 

 be written if only known, and Prof. Dawkins could not have 

 fixed on a centre of operation more favourable from which lo 

 begin than that of Oldham. Men more selfishly removed above 

 praise, working for science for its own sake, he cannot find, and it 

 is a pity that they have not a common repository in which to 

 store their invaluable collections beyond their own full cabinets. 

 I hope the professor's articles will be a means of calling atlention 

 to the desirability of establishing museums for the better dif- 

 fusion of scientific knowledge. 



I wriie from the point of view obtained by my own experience 

 as a working man who has done his best to educate himself. 



Wm. Watts 

 Corporation Waterworks, Oldham, June l5 



Koenig's Tuning Forks 



On vient d'attaquer en Angleterre I'exactitude du diapason 

 officiel fi-an9ais. Mr. Alexander J. Ellis ayant tiouve que les 

 notes d'un tonomutre, ccmipose de 65 anches d'harmonium et 

 construit par Mr. Appunn, nes'accordaient pas avec ce diapason, 

 a cru devoir declarer dans un memoire pablie par le Journal of 

 the Society oj Aits (25 Mai, 1S77), et dans votre journal (31 Mai, 

 1877),' que le Laj normal francais donnait non pas 870 vibra- 

 tions simples, comme on I'avait cru jusqu'a present, mais bien 

 878 vibrations simples. 



Mr. Ellis ay.ant constate de phis que les diapasons dc ma con- 



struction s'accordaient parfaitement avec le Lag francais, n'a pas 

 hesiie a afPrmer que tous ces diapasons, y compris ceux de mon 

 grand tonomctre, qu'il n'a probablement jamais vus, et en tout 

 cas jamais pu examiner, etaient necessairement inexacts. 

 N'ayant pas a ma disposition I'instrument dont s'est servi Mr. 

 Ellis, j'avoue que je me seraii trouve assez embarrassc pour dire 

 immcdiatement, par oil pcche cct instrument au point d'avoir 

 donne entre les mains de Mr. Ellis des resultats si extraordi- 

 naires ; heureusement je me suis rappele une lettre de M. 

 Ilelmholtz a Mr. Appunn et publice par ce dernier lui-meme 

 dans une brochure sur les theories acoustiques de M. Helm- 

 holiz; celte lettre concerre justement un instrument de meme 

 nature du meme constructeur et explique suffisamment les sur- 

 prcnantes dccouvertes de Mr. Ellis. " J'ai examine .a plusieurs 

 reprises votre tonometre," ecrit M. Helmholtza Mr, Appunn, "et 

 je suis etonne de la Constance de ses indications. Je n'aurais pas 

 cru que les anches pussent donner des sons aussi constants que 

 ceux que donne I'appareil, grace a votre methode pour rcgler le 

 vent. L'instrument varie un pen, il est vrai, avec la tempera 

 ture, comme feraient aussi des diapasons; on ne pent done s'en 

 servir pour la determination des nornbres absolus de vibrations 

 que lorsqu'on pent travailler dans une piece qui n'est pas chaufTee 

 par un pr>cle. J'ai compte les battements a I'aide d'un chrono- 

 metre astronomique, et je crois que votre pendule a secondes a 

 etc jejereinent inexact, car, si les nombres de battements s'ac- 

 cordent tres bien entre eux, lenombre absolu en a ete non pas de 

 240, mais de 237 a la minute. La temperature, qui etait assez 

 bas^e pendant mes experiences, a pu y etre pour quelque chose, 

 mais on pent eliminer cette influence en comptant jusqu'au 

 buut les battements d'une tierce majeure, ce qui m'a pris un quart 

 d'heure. J'ai trouve ainsi pour mon diapason de Paris 435'oi 



vibrations, ce qui I'accorde a. pris avec le nombre officiel 



40,000 



de 435 'oo vibrations." 



Cette lettre prouve que le nombre entier des battements de 

 I'octave du tonometre essaye par M. Helmholtz etait de 



-^'■64 = 252'8, et sa note fondamentale de 505-6 vibrations 

 60 



simples au lieu de 512 vibrations simples. En comparant cette 

 note de 5°5'6 vibrations simples avec un diapason donnant 

 reellement 512 vibrations simples, Mr. Ellis evit trouve ce dernier 

 de 6'4 vibrations simples plus aigu, et I'eilt sans doute eonsidere 

 comme donnant 5i8'4 vibrations simples. Or il a trouve 5i6'7 

 seulement pour mes diapasons de 512 vibiations simples avec le 

 tonometre dont il s'est servi ; on voit done que la note fonda- 

 mentale de ce dernier etait deja plus exacte que celle du tonometre 

 examine par M. Helmholtz puisqu'elle donnait 507 '3 vibrations 

 simples raais qu'elle restait encore assez loin de la veritable 

 valeur. 



Le fait que M. Helmholtz a pu trouver le nombre de vibra- 

 tions exact du diapason officiel francais avec un instrument de 

 cette nature (et meme encore moins parfait que celui dont s'est 

 servi Mr. Ellis), en determinant d'abord la correction de cet in- 

 strument, montre a I'evidence que Mr. Ellis a neglige de deter- 

 miner la correction du sien ; il s'est done beaucoup trop hate de 

 declarer que ces petits tonometres a anches d'harmonium sont 

 les plus parfaits et les plus exacts qui existent, et de contester si 

 legerement les resultats obtenus par les Lissajous, l;s Despretz, 

 les Helmholtz, les Mayer, etc., etc. Rudolph Koenig 



Paris, le 5 Juin 



Antiquity of Man 



Mr. Sicertchly is absolute that I am mistaken ; to me it 

 appears that he has missed the point of my letter, and misinter- 

 preted my views. His important discoveries of flint implements 

 in early glacial beds are, I think, strongly corroborative of the 

 opinions I expre.'scd in my paper on the " Diift of Devon and 

 Cornwall" tQitnr. yhurtt. Geo/. Soe., vol. xxii. p. 88), and in 

 that on the " Geological Age of the Deposits containing Flint 

 Implements at Ploxne " {Qua?: Jouru. Scicnee, July, 1876) ; but I 

 willingly admit that in the present stage of the inquiry Mr. James 

 Geikie has as much right to claim that they support his theory, 

 and I agree with the latter that it is premature to discuss 

 the relation of man to the glacial period, before we have 

 settled what was the succession of events that occurred at tha 

 time. 



Mr. Geikie contends that there were two or more glacial 

 periods with inter-glacial warm or mild ones ; I, that there was 



