August 3, 1883. 



SCIENCE. 



m 



wasting his time, but their necessary preserva- 

 tion strikes at a still more vital point in nsing 

 up funds which could otherwise be employed 

 for the publication of the results of researches. 

 They also equally interfere with the purchase of 

 delicate instruments, the employment of labor 

 to directly assist in carrying out the purposes 

 of research, prevent the purchase of such 

 specimens or collections as may be essential, 

 and cut off opportunities for travel and study 

 in other nniseuras or parts of the world. 



We think, therefore, that, while the National 

 museum may open some paths to the investi- 

 gator, it will neither directly do the verj- best 

 work in this direction, nor give us any grounds 

 for believing that it will introduce a new era of 

 prosperit}' for abstract investigation. It will 

 add one more to the useful scientific institu- 

 tions of its kind, it will undoubtedlj- contribute 

 to the progress of science by increasing the 

 op]iortunities for employment and bj- the ex- 

 ample of its officers ; but it will not do much 

 for them or for us in the way of an exalted 

 ideal. 



If the museum of education had been lim- 

 ited hy a wise policy of selection in its ac- 

 cumulations of materials, and placed under a 

 distinct staff, we could have made no such ob- 

 jections ; then the practical objects of its ex- 

 istence would not have suffered, as they now 

 surely will, from the psychological tendencies 

 of the investigating curators ; nor, on the other 

 band, would the investigators themselves have 

 been distracted by having a double purpose 

 in all that they were doing, and frequently 

 obliged to sacrifice one or the other. We do 

 not wish to impl}- that the museums shoukl 

 not be under one general he.id, and have all 

 the benefits of mutual association, but simpl}- 

 insist that the ideals are quite distinct, and 

 the officers should realize this by being under 

 different regulations, and under a different gov- 

 ernment, in each of the two museums. The 

 investigator cannot avoid placing on exhibition 

 the record of his own and others' work ; and 

 he will find a thousand good reasons for crowd- 

 ing the cases with fine collections, because they 

 are fine, and because tliey are important in 



research, or unique, or remarkable : and the 

 educational idea will be subordinate or com- 

 jiletely lost in such parts of the museum, so 

 far as the average student is concerned. 



The cost of the museum will be enormous ; 

 but if its lessons can be easily ma.stered bj* 

 the average student, and in this case the 

 student is the average congressman, he will 

 not begrudge the funds wliich are necessary 

 for its support. It must be remembered that 

 these are keen men, quick to see the advan- 

 tages of such lessons as the museum can teach 

 them : especially if. like the library, it can 

 make itself really useful to them, aud keep up 

 with the times by illustrating the new results 

 of discovery and research in all departments 

 of learning in an explanatory and popular way. 

 We imagine that they will not be slow in call- 

 ing upon the oflicers of the musenm whenever 

 they have need of their services, and that they 

 will be rather disgusted if any of the require- 

 ments of research interfere with their desire for 

 information. 



While we wish the greatest success to the 

 National museum and its energetic and de- 

 servedly popular director, and have the high- 

 est respect and friendliest feeling towards 

 their undertaking, aud a faith that they will 

 finally work out a better result than is prom- 

 ised, we think that neither this faith nor their 

 great scientific achievements, of which we are 

 justly proud, nor the liberality of the govern- 

 ment, can entirely make up for the absence of 

 the public recognition of a more purely scien- 

 tific ideal in ovr National museum. • 



KINETIC CONSIDERATIONS AS TO THE 

 NATURE OF THE ATOMIC MOTIONS 

 WHICH PROBABLY ORIGINATE RA- 

 DIATIONS.^— U. 



IIavinc. now sufliciently cleared the field of 

 inquirj- by this preliminary discussion, let us 

 consider the proposed hypothesis somewhat 

 more closely, both as to what it is precisely, 

 and as to how far it is in accordance with the 

 phenomena. The whole outcome of Lockyer's 

 investigations, to which we have referred, 

 leads to the conclusion th.at atoms of the chemi- 

 cal elements are complex bodies, all of which 



1 Concluded from Xu. -'4. Si-o also I'roc. Ohio merh. intt., II. SO. 



