SCIENCE. 



145 



SCIENCE: 



A Weekly Record of Scientific 

 Progress. 



JOHN MICHELS, Editor. 



Published at 

 229 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 

 P. O. Box 3838 



SATURDAY, APRIL 2. 1881. 



It has been well said, that the poorest day that 

 passes over us is the conflux of two eternities : it is 

 made up of currents that issue from the remotest past, 

 and flow onward into the remotest future. 



On the 27th of June, 1829, an event took place 

 which was to have a marked influence on the intel- 

 lectual development of the United States, for on that 

 day James Smithson died at Genoa, Italy, bequeath- 

 ing his whole fortune to the citizens of the United 

 States, in trust, "for the increase and diffusion of 

 knowledge among men." 



On the 6th of December, 1838, President Van 

 Buren had the satisfaction of announcing to Congress 

 that the claim of the United States- to this legacy had 

 been fully established, and that the money had been 

 received by the Government. 



The question then arose, what plan could be de- 

 vised to ca/ry out the intentions of the testator. In 

 other words, how could " the increase and diffusion of 

 knowledge among men " be best accomplished. 



One of the first proposals for utilizing the Smith- 

 sonian fund was a scheme of founding a university 

 of high grade, to "teach Latin, Greek, Hebrew, 

 Oriental languages, and other branches of learning, 

 including rhetoric, poetry, laws of nations, &c." For- 

 tunately, such counsel did not prevail, and after nearly 

 eight years of debate, and even a proposal to return 

 the money to England being voted on, a bill was 

 passed by Congress organizing the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution on its present basis. 



Such, briefly stated, was the origin of the Smithson- 

 ian Institution, and in memory of its founder the pres- 

 ent Secretary, Professor Spencer F. Baird, directed 

 Mr. William J. Rhees to compile a biography* of 

 James Smithson, this work being one of the most 

 recent publications of the Institution. 



The general scope of this work is good, and it must 

 be admitted that some account of the establishment 

 of this Institution was called for. We must, however, 

 express our regret that such an elaborate description 



♦James Smithson and his bequest, by William J. Rhees, published by 

 the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1880. 



of Smithson's aristocratic connections was presented, 

 especially as the history would have been equally 

 complete without this superfluous addition. The 

 connection of the " proud " Dukes of Northum- 

 berland and Somerset with Smithson was hardly of a 

 nature to be recorded in a form which should con- 

 stantly bring the facts before the present generation 

 and posterity. 



The circumstances of Smithson's birth cannot be 

 ignored, but there is no reason why they should be 

 paraded before the public ; we therefore would have 

 dispensed with the portrait of the first Duke of 

 Northumberland in this volume, and relegated the his- 

 tory of his life and death to the highest shelf in the 

 Smithsonian Library. 



Stript of such surroundings, the memory of Smith- 

 son must ever be dear to the people of this country. 

 He was a man thoroughly imbued with the spirit of 

 true science, and an active and industrious laborer in 

 one of the most interesting and important branches 

 of research — ■" mineral chemistry." His happiest hours 

 were spent in the laboratory, where he carried on a 

 series of experiments, which were recorded in the 

 transactions of the Royal Society of London and 

 other scientific journals of the day. Such being the 

 direction of Smithson's scientific pursuits, we trust 

 that the advancement of the physical sciences may 

 claim the attention of the officers of this institution, 

 and that they may be more duly represented in future 

 reports. 



Since the death of Smithson, Chemistry has attained 

 a higher rank among the exact sciences. New meth- 

 ods and instruments of analysis have been introduced, 

 while other branches of science have advanced at an 

 equal ratio. New means " for the increase and diffu- 

 sion of knowledge among men," have come to light, 

 and among these the production of improved scien- 

 tific manuals, and the increased number and excel- 

 lence of scientific periodicals and journals, may be 

 mentioned as having largely contributed to such re- 

 sults. Science at the present day is no longer mon- 

 opolized by a select few, but is claimed as the common 

 heritage of the thousands who have the intelligence 

 to appreciate its value in developing the highest facul- 

 ties of man. 



Thomas Carlyle considered that " to know the 

 divine laws and harm onies of this Universe must al- 

 ways be the highest glory of a man, and not to know 

 them the highest disgrace for a man." This Journal 

 represents one of the latest attempts to place at the 

 disposal of all interested in scientific pursuits and 

 human progress, a weekly journal worthy of the sub- 

 ject discussed. We are glad to find that our efforts 

 have been appreciated, and the constant receipt of 

 letters of welcome, co-operation and aid, increases our 

 hopes for the future. Among our latest subscribers, 

 we find three residing in Japan, one in Lucknow, 

 India, another in New Zealand, and the directors of 

 the Royal observatories of Brussels, Lisbon, and 

 Rome have added their names. If " Science " is 

 thus in demand in foreign countries, we trust to find 

 our home subscription list rapidly increase, which 

 will enable us to enlarge and improve the journal 

 in various ways, thus adding to its usefulness. 



Lord Brougham observed, that to instruct the peo- 

 ple in the rudiments of philosophy, and to obtain 



