NOTES. 669 
and are therefore non-progressive. Science seeks constantly to 
add something to the general fund. 
No civilization is possible without a concentration of power. 
The ancients had their power in slaves. The pyramids were built 
by slave labor. Athens had four hundred thousand slaves and 
twenty thousand masters. The civilization of those days was 
supported by the brute forces of man. The civilization of to-day 
is supported by the brute forces of nature. The latent force of 
the coal puts the life of a thousand horses into an engine. One 
ton of our best anthracite coal burned in one of our best engines, 
is estimated as being equal to two years of labor of an able 
ied slave, working ten hours a day; and counting thirty years 
for his life, fifteen tons of coal would be equal to the life of an 
able-bodied slave. 
It is in the further utilization of these brute forces of nature 
that tee fortunes of our wealthy men lie. When men of intelli- 
gence understand that their fortunes depend on the advancement 
of science, they will be induced to give a small portion of their 
wealth to this end. Science seeks to enlarge knowledge. No 
name has gained higher honor than that of James Smithson, for 
the donation on which the Smithsonian Institution was founded. 
The only man who has followed his example is Professor Bache 
of the Coast Survey. ; 
Scientific men should endeavor to impress on the wealthy that 
their interest lies in the advancement of science as veil as the 
diffusion of knowledge already gained. 
Professor Henry referred to his recent visit to Europe and to 
the rapid strides which science was making in England, and attrib- 
uted it to the advantages which are given to those men who are 
pioneers in original discoveries. 
A great degree of success has attended the researches carried 
on by Prof. Baird, the U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries, at Wood’s 
Hole, Mass., during the past season from June till October. He 
has called to his aid several naturalists, and by their united exer- 
tions much light has been thrown upon the distribution of the 
fishes and the invertebrate animals which form their food. The 
fishes have been collected in large numbers, and will be worked up 
by Prof. Gill. Over two hundred photographs of fishes from life 
have been taken, including sharks and rays in different stages of 
