842 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 233. 



most remarkable esperimeutalists of the 

 time. The next two FuUeriau professors 

 were Dr. Odling and Dr. Gladstone, and 

 the fourth was Professor Dewar, the present 

 occupier of the chair, who was appointed 

 in 1877. Continuing the work initiated by 

 Faraday on the liquefaction of gases, he has 

 succeeded in proving by experiment that, as 

 indicated by theory, there is no such thing 

 as a ' permanent gas ; ' for, since his recent 

 liquefaction of fluorine, helium and hydro- 

 gen, no known gas remains that has not 

 been reduced to the liquid state. His 

 work has opened up an entirely fresh field 

 of physical research, and, rich as the first 

 results have been so far, they are in all 

 probability only small in comparison with 

 those which will be obtained by further in- 

 vestigation of the properties of matter near 

 the zero of absolute temperature. 



The Institution has undoubtedly been 

 fortunate in the professors who have worked 

 in its laboratories. But even genius can- 

 not do much without opportunity, and, 

 therefore, some of the credit is deserved by 

 the long succession of officers and members 

 of the Committee of Managers, who have 

 for a hundred j^ears looked after its business 

 aifairs and guided it safely through many 

 vicissitudes, not only without fee or emolu- 

 ment, but at the expense of much time and 

 not infrequently of much money. In this 

 connection it is interesting to note that the 

 presidency almost seems to have become an 

 hereditary appanage of the Dukes of North- 

 umberland, for, with the exception of the 

 years between 1865 and 1873, when it was 

 held by Sir Henry Holland, it has been in 

 their hands contiuuouslj' since 1842. Men- 

 tion, too, must be made of what the mem- 

 bers themselves have done. Over and 

 above their regular subscriptions, they, with 

 their friends, have contributed since 1863 

 something like £13,000 to the fund for the 

 promotion of experimental research, and it 

 is safe to say that had it not been for this 



fund English science in general would have 

 been the poorer, and the Royal institution 

 in particular would not possess the inter- 

 national reputation it bears to-day — a repu- 

 tation won, be it remembered, in the good 

 old English way, without state subvention 

 or government aid. Modern scientific re- 

 search daily becomes more costly, because 

 apparatus grows in delicacy and compli- 

 cation, on the one hand, and in size and 

 weight, on the other, and thus there arises 

 a proportionate increase in the need for 

 individual generosity. The fact that such 

 pecuniary aid has been forthcoming in the 

 last century warrants the expectation that 

 the stream of benefactors to the Royal 

 Institution will not fail in the next, and 

 that they will enable it to point to as proud 

 a record on its second centenary as it now 

 does on its first. 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. 

 The Elements of Practical Astronomy. By W. 

 W. Campbell. New York, The Macmillan 

 Company. 1899. Second Edition, Revised 

 and Enlarged. Pp. xii + 264. Price, $2. 

 This second edition of a work favorably 

 known to American astronomers who are 

 charged with the duty of instruction appears 

 in bulkier form and better mechanical execu- 

 tion than its predecessor, but with its general 

 character not very greatly altered. Its merits 

 and defects are to be estimated from the stand- 

 point assumed by the author, who assures us 

 that "My experience in presenting the ele- 

 ments of practical astronomy to rather large 

 classes of students in the University of Michi- 

 gan led me to the conclusion that the extensive 

 treatises on the subject could not be used satis- 

 factorily, except in special cases." In this 

 opinion we heartily concur and, absolving the 

 author from obligation to deal with the more 

 specialized and recondite parts of his subject, 

 we find his self-imposed task properly expressed 

 in the words "It is intended that this book 

 shall contain the elements of practical as- 

 tronomy with numerous applications to the 

 problems first requiring solution." For this 



