NovKMUKR 13, I'.ma.j 



SCIENCE. 



617 



committee, consisting of Professor Stokes, 

 Professor Balfour Stewart and General 

 Strachey, for their opinion as to whether 

 a eouimencement might not be made to give 

 effect to the proposals of the memorialists 

 l)y utilizing the chemical and physical 

 laboratories at South Kensington, as the 

 proposed observatory must be more chem- 

 ical and ph.vsical than astronomical. The 

 following paragraph appeared in the terms 

 of reference : 



Although we are not at present in a position to 

 consider the cstabUslinient of a physical observa- 

 tory on a comprehensive scale, we believe that 

 some advantage can be gained if a new class of 

 observations can be made with the means at 

 command, since the best method of conducting a 

 physical observatory may thus be worked out 

 experimentally, and an outlay eventually avoided 

 which, without such experience, might have been 

 considered necessary. 



While the discu.ssion as to the establish- 

 ment of a solar phj'sics observatory in this 

 country was going on, Lord Salisbury, who 

 was then Secretary of State for India, per- 

 mitted me to send him a memorandum on 

 this subject. In it I pointed out that what 

 we wanted, especially in reference to solar 

 enquiries, was to learn, day by day, what 

 the sun was really doing, which India and 

 other tropical countries always could tell 

 us, while it seemed almost impossible that 

 we should ever get sufficiently continuous 

 records in England. 



I gave the following extracts: 



Solar research is now being specially carried on 

 in Europe at — 



1. Potsdam, in the new Sonnciiwarte. 



2. Paris, in the new physical observatory. 



3. Kome and Palermo. 



4. South Kensington, in connection with the 

 Science and Art Department. 



5. At Greenwich, Wilna, and other places it is 

 carried on in a less special way. 



In these European observatories, however, es- 

 pecially in the more northern ones, we are at- 

 tempting to nuikc bricks without straw, that is, 

 the climate is such that the observations arc often 

 interrupted, at times for weeks together, while, 



in addition to this, in winter the sun's altitude is 

 so small that fine work is impossible. 



While this state of things holds in Europe, in 

 India, on the other hand, one has an unlimited 

 and constant supply of the rate material, by 

 which I mean that here one can, if one chooses, 

 (iblain ob.servations of the finest quality in suffi- 

 cient niiantity all the year round. 1 may even go 

 further, and say that, limiting my remark to 

 English ground, we have in India a munopuly of 

 the raw material. 



The prayer of the memorandum was 

 granted, and shortly afterwards I had the 

 pleasure of sending out one of my a.ssi.st- 

 ants to India. Unfortunately, he died soon 

 after the first series of daily photographs 

 of the sun had been commenced, but even- 

 tually the Trigonometrical Survey Depart- 

 ment took the matter up, an observatory 

 was built at Dehra Dun, and India began 

 its work, and I am thankful to say that it 

 has gone on coutinuou-sly ever since. 



It was not till 1879, and after a letter 

 from the Duke of Devonshire, that a sum 

 of £oOO was taken on the estimates to re- 

 place the assistance formerly obtained by 

 mj'self from the Government Grant Fund 

 administered by the Royal Society, and to 

 allow of more research work being under- 

 taken. At the same time, the Solar Physics 

 Committee was appointed. The object 

 sought was to make trial of methods of 

 observation, to collect and discuss results, 

 to bring together all existing information 

 on the subject, and to endeavor to obtain 

 complete series of observations along the 

 most important lines. 



This state action was taken because the 

 sun has to be studied, if studied at all, 

 continuously, because it is ever changing, 

 and the more we study it the longer are 

 the cycles which we find to be involved; 

 hence, all enquiries into its nature must 

 be on an imperial basis. Individuals die, 

 nations remain. Nor is this all. Obser- 

 vatories arc not only wanted in the centers 

 of intellectual activity where reseaj^ch can 

 be conducted in a scientific atmosphere, but 



