NA rURE 



[July 30, 1908 



nition as a service lo science as many more showy 

 pcrforninnces. 



Several very large Wimshurst electrical machines 

 (including' one of i6o plates!), in which the oppositely 

 rotaiing plates are specially mounted so as to run 

 trulv and smoOi'ily, were made in the workshop, and 

 g-rtatly increased the experimental resources available 

 for X-ray work and the investigation of the pTie- 

 ncmena of electrical discharge. 



Lord Blvthswood himself came very near to the dis- 

 covery of the X-rays, for he had obtained photographic 

 action through various opaque substances before 

 Rontgen made his memorable announcement. Since 

 that time much work has been done in the Blythswood 

 laboratory on this subject. With the skilful help of 

 Mr. H. S. .Allen, and more lately of Mr. Walter 

 Scoble, Lord Blythswood carried out many inter- 

 esting researches on spectrum photography and the 

 Zceman effect, in radiography, and in radio-activity 

 generally. 



During the last year or so Lord Blythswood and 

 Mr. .Scoble had been engaged in experiments in 

 flight. In the course of these they designed an air- 

 engine for a model aeroplane, which gave more than 

 one-half of a horse-power and weighed only two 

 pounds ! The air for driving this engine was stored 

 in the liquid form, so as to keep down the weight of 

 th'? containing vessel. 



At the end of a long and active life, Lord Blyths- 

 wood has passed away, leaving a fine record behind 

 him of good work done and notable results obtained. 

 If his example should lead other men of means and 

 leisure to follow^ in the same path, then in a more 

 than usual but very real and true sense his ■^•ork will 

 follow him. A. Gr.ay. 



THTE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM. 



TEN years ago, upon the retirement of Sir William 

 Flower from the post of director of the Natural 

 History .Museum, a memorial signed by many distin- 

 guished men of science (see N.\ture, July 14, 1S98) 

 was presented to the trustees of the British Museum 

 urging that it is " of great importance to the welfare 

 of natural history that the principal official in charge 

 of the national collections relating to this subject 

 should not be subordinate in authority to any other 

 •officer of the Museum." The recent retirement of Sir 

 Ray Lankester has again provided an opportunity for 

 pressing the adoption of this principle, and a strong 

 deputation waited upon the Prime Minister on Tues- 

 day to ask for an inquiry into the administration of 

 the Museum. From the Times report we extract the 

 following account of the interview : — 



Prof. .Vdam Sedgwick, F.R.S., said the objections to 

 the present administration of the Natural History Museum 

 had reference to a system, and not to individuals. For 

 many years the condition of the Natural History Museum 

 and its mode of government had been a standing grievance 

 to naturalists, and many endeavours had been made to 

 obtain a separate government for it. The reasons of the 

 deputation for asking for an inquiry could not be better 

 expressed than by summarising the history of the principal 

 attempts which have been made to bring about a change 

 in the methods of administration of the museum. Forty- 

 two years ago the most distinguished men of science of 

 the day, in a memorial to the Government, expressed the 

 opinion that "it is of fundamental importance to the pro- 

 gress of the natural sciences in this country that the 

 administration of the national natural history collections 

 should be separated from that of the library and art col- 

 lections." Thirty-five years ago a Royal Commission, in 

 pressing the same points, directed attention to the state- 

 ments of witnesses that it was " unsatisfactory that the 

 national collection should be managed bv a bodv of gentle- 



men whose time is in must cases fully occupied by other 

 important duties, and the majority of whom are not selected 

 with reference to any special qualifications for such a 

 post." Twenty-nine years ago the council of the British 

 Association for the .-Xdvanccment of Science endorsed these 

 recommendations both of the Royal Commission and of the 

 leading naturalists of the day, and strongly urged upon the 

 Government the importance of giving effect to them. Ten 

 years ago a representative body of scientific men presented 

 a memorial to the trustees, in which it was urged that 

 the principal official in charge of the national collections 

 relating to natural history should not be subordinate in 

 authority to any other officer of the museum. The present 

 deputation also felt that the method of administration of 

 this great national institution, w'hich had not only been 

 an important means of scientific research and an example 

 to other nations, but had given the highest instruction and 

 purest delight to hundreds of thousands of persons was in 

 matters of vital importance seriously defective. They were 

 there to ask for a full official inquiry into the organisation 

 and administration of the Natural History Museum, with > 

 the view of a reasonable treatment of the matter in the 

 immediate future by the Government. 



Speeches in support of the views above expressed were 

 made also by Mr. Francis Darwin, F.R.S., Prof. G. (". 

 Bourne, and others. 



In reply, Mr. Asquith pointed out that, as regards the 

 administration of the museum, the trustees aie a supcrioi 

 body with whom the Government are powerless to inter 

 fere. The arguments advanced by the deputation as to the 

 management by the trustees apply equally to the Blooms- 

 bury Museum, The trustees, men of wide experience and 

 great discretion, are equally cognisant of natural history 

 and archaeology. The trustees are about to appoint a 

 keeper of zoology, and it is not intended to abolish the 

 directorship, but only to wait to ascertain who is the best 

 man for the responsible position. He sympathised with 

 the view that the director should have a free hand in the 

 management of his department, and promised to convey 

 to bis fellow-trustees of the British Museum all that the 

 deputation suggested. 



NOTES. 



We regret to see the announcement of the death, on 

 July 27, of Sir Thomas Stevenson at seventy years of age. 

 Sir Thomas was appointed senior scientific analyst to the 

 Home Oflice in 1S81, and was knighted in 1904. He was 

 past-president of the Society of Medical Officers of Health, 

 the Society of Public Analysts, and the Institute of Chem- 

 istry. He was also the author and editor of various 

 memoirs on forensic medicine. 



The death is announced, at sixty-seven years of age, of 

 the engineer ReniS Panhard, whose name is well known 

 in connection with the development of the motor-car. We 

 also notice the announcement of the death of Prof. 

 Daguillon, assistant professor of botany at the Sorbonne, 

 Paris, and author of a number of books upon botanical 

 science. 



The German Kepler Society has founded a prize of 50!. 

 to encourage research on the early traces of life (pre- 

 Silurian) and their relation to the theory of evolution. 



.At the congress of historical sciences to be held in 

 Berlin on August 6-12, there will be a section concerned 

 with the history of science. Among communications to be 

 dealt with in this section are, we learn from the Kevue 

 scientifique, the work of Avogadro from the point of view 

 of chemical theory, by Prof. Guareschi, of the University 

 of Turin ; the history of the development of physical chem- 

 istry, by Prof. Gerland, of Clausthal School of Mines ; 

 .Arab contributions to the progress of science, by Prof. 

 W'iederman ; and on Boyle's law, by M. F. Mentr^. 



Among other prizes offered for scientific researches in 

 Italy, we note a gold medal, of value 40Z., offered for the 



NO. 2022, VOL. 78] 



