74 
recent theories were set forth, the new or little known 
instruments were shown and explained. Thus Sir Wm. 
Thomson’s electrometer, and several experiments of Prof. 
Tyndall called forth the curiosity and attention of the 
assistants. But those amicable meetings are no longer suf- 
ficient ; the necessity of a more formal gathering was 
felt, as well as of writing and publishing Transactions, 
that the notes and observations might not be completely 
lost. The members of the Institute of the physical 
section encouraged the new society by their warm 
approval. 
On the 17th of January of the present year, in the 
Salle Gerson, an aznexé of the Faculté des Sciences 
of Paris (.Sovéonne), a number of physicists met. They 
accepted provisional statutes and elected a board. The 
provisional statutes proposed by a committee composed 
of MM. d’Almeida, Alfred Cornu, Gernez, Lissajous, 
Mascart, expressed, in a few articles, the basis of the new 
association. 
The purpose of the society is to promote physics ; it 
will have two sittings a month alternately with the 
Chemical Society, and will publish transactions that will 
be sent to the members. The members are divided into 
resident, non-resident, and honorary members, the last 
chosen by election from among the most eminent men in 
France and abroad. In the first year six will be elected, 
and two only in each following year, 
The society will be glad to receive such gifts as will 
facilitate its work, and will inscribe in its Transactions the 
names of the givers. 
The board is thus composed :—President, M. Fizeau, 
Member of the Institute; Vice-President, M. Bertin, 
Director of the Scientific Studies to the Superior Normal 
School; General Secretary, M. d’Almeida, Director of 
the new Journal of Physics; Secretary, M. Maurat, Pro- 
fessor of Physics to the Lycée St. Louis, of Paris ; Vice- 
Secretary, M. Alfred Cornu, Professor of Physics to the 
Polytechnic School; Treasurer-Archivist, M. Philippon, 
Secretary of the Faculté des Sciences of Paris. 
The venerable M. Becquerel, who, notwithstanding his 
89 years, assisted at the meeting, in order to give by his 
presence a proof of his adhesion to the new society, has 
been designed, by acclamation, an honorary member. 
MAXIME CORNU 
NOTES 
Pror. OWEN has been appointed to a Civil Companionship 
ofthe Bath. If this is intended as an acknowledgment of Prof, 
Owen’s services to science, it is not to the credit of Government 
that the honour was not conferred years ago. 
Pror. TAtt’s Rede Lecture on Theimo-dynamics will be 
delivered to-morrow. 
HITHERTO the London ‘‘ Companies,” whose “fatness” is 
notorious, have done little or nothing for the promotion of scien- 
tific researches or education. It is therefore with the greatest 
pleasure we record that the Fishmongers’ Company have hand- 
somely presented to Mr. W. K. Parker, F.R.S., so well 
known for his valuable researches on the shoulder-girdle and 
skull in vertebrated animals, the sum of 50/., in addition to an 
allowance of 20/. a year for the next three years in order to enable 
him to pursue such parts of his work as relate to the Anatomy 
of Fish. This we certainly think a step in the right direction, 
and the Fishmongers’ Company deserve all praise for having 
been so original and generous as to be the first to take it. We 
hope their award to Mr. Parker is only an earnest of what 
they will do in the future, and that their example will not 
be lost on the other notoriously wealthy companies of the 
City of London. A few thousands a year would never be missed 
out of their enormous revenues, and would not diminish by a 
single dainty the sumptuousness of their numerous feasts ; where- 
NATURE 
| May 22, 1873 
as the amount of original and practically beneficial scientific work 
that could be done with the money, would yield them and the 
country generally a rich return. We daresay those who haye the 
management of the funds of the various companies would be 
willing enough to divert a portion into scientific channels if they 
only knew how to go about it; the example of the Fishmongers’ 
Company may afford thema hint. Moreover they need be at no 
loss, for there are plenty of eminent}m€n of science competent and 
judicious enough to lend advice to the companies in this matter. 
Commerce, with which these companies are all more or less con- — 
nected, owes much of its present gigantic dimensions and great 
prosperity to the discoveries and advances of science ; gratitude 
and self-interest ought to urge our London merchants not to be 
indifferent to scientific progress. Let us also add, that their 
award to Mr. Parker is on a scale which shows a very slight 
acquaintance on the part of the City magnates with the value of 
time, 
A rusIon has taken place between the local committee at 
Munich for erecting a statue to Justus von Liebig, and the com- 
miltee appointed by the German Chemical Society at Berlin ; 
the latter, in order to insure unity of action, giving way in the 
question as to where the statue should find its place. Notwith- 
standing the serious nature of the claims of Giessen, it was 
generally thought that the resting-place of the great chemist 
would unite the majority of votes of his admirers. A consider- 
able number of leading German statesmen and foreign ambassa- 
dors have joined the committee, the full list of which will shortly 
be published. : 
FRESENIUS, who twenty-five years ago founded a school of 
chemistry at Wiesbaden, has celebrated the anniversary of its 
foundation amidst the festive concourse of his friends and pupils, 
and of the Government and learned societies of his country. A 
gloom was unfortunately cast over this event by the death of 
Mrs. Fresenius, which almost coincided with its celebration. 
WE regret very much to announce the death of Emanuel 
Deutsch, at Alexandria. His premature death is a very great 
loss to Eastern scholarship. 
THE Alexandra Palace, under new management, reopens on 
Saturday. We hope the managers will not neglect the interests 
of science. 
WE recently announced that the French Society for the En- 
couragement of National Industry had awarded its grand medal 
to Sir Charles Wheatstone. The following is an extract from 
the report of the Committee on the Economic Arts :—While the 
kaleidophone of Sir Charles Wheatstone has been the point of 
departure of the method which permits sounds to be studied by 
the aid of the eye ; while his researches on the qualities of sound, 
on the production of vowels, while the creation of his speaking 
machine, have elucidated many points in the theory of the voice ; 
while his ingenious apparatus, illustrating the propagation and the 
combination of waves, has facilitated the understanding of these 
delicate phenomena, and contributed to throw light on the 
mechanism of the undulatory motions, his numerous researches 
on the applications of electricity, in which he has shown, at the 
same time, profound science and a genius marvelously inspired, 
occupy a great place in the history of the electric telegraph. It 
is he who first realised, under conditions really practicable, this 
admirable means of communication between men and between 
nations, and we ought not to forget that, more than once, he has 
come Zersonally among us to prepare its organisation and stimu- 
late success. The unanimous choice made by the committee of 
the economic arts and cordially ratified by the Council honours 
our society as much as him who is the object of it. We 
are happy to give, on this occasion, a testimony of sympathy to 
a nation in which science is held in such high esteem, Those 
among us who have had the good fortune to visit the scientific 
