SCIENCE. 



229 



SCIENCE : 



A Weekly Recordof Scientific 

 Progress. 



JOHN MICHELS, Editor. 



Published at 

 TRIBUNE BUILDING, NEW YORK. 



P. 0, BOX 3838. 



SATURDAY MAY 21, 1881. 



The Spring Reception of the American Museum of 

 Natural History, Central Park, New York, and the 

 publication of the Twelfth Annual Report, remind us 

 of the existence of this Institution, and recall its 

 many claims for support from those interested in 

 science, and in the intellectual progress of the people. 



The additions and improvements made during the 

 past year make only a short list on the programme, 

 but reflect the excellent management and zeal of the 

 officers in charge of the collections. A large portion 

 of the collections of birds and mammals has been 

 remounted on newly designed stands, the results 

 obtained being most creditable to those who have 

 carried out this improvement. 



One of the new features of usefulness recently es- 

 tablished is an Economic Department, which will 

 contain specimens illustrating the Economic Botany 

 of all the woods of our country, that are to be used 

 for architectural or building purposes, or in the manu- 

 factures, each species being fully represented by 

 specimens of the leaf, flower and fruit. 



We fully appreciate the exertions made by the 

 Trustees of this Institution to extend the usefulness 

 of the Museum and to make it a means of teaching 

 the laboring classes the value of scientific knowledge, 

 and its practical bearing on many of the industrial 

 pursuits of life. If such is, at least, one of the ob- 

 jects of establishing this Museum, it is difficult to un- 

 derstand the action of the Trustees in closing its doors 

 on Sundays, that being the only day on which the 

 artisan and mechanic can make a visit, without en- 

 tailing a direct loss on himself and family. A peti- 

 tion, signed by 16,000 citizens of New York, was 

 recently offered as a direct appeal to the Trustees to 

 accord this privilege to the working classes, and we 



trust that the board of management, which has always 

 shown a most liberal and enlightened spirit of enter- 

 prise in the conduct of this Institution, may recon- 

 sider its late decision on this subject. 



The city of New York has provided a costly build- 

 ing for the Museum and recently appropriated 

 $35,000 to improve the approaches. In the Report 

 of the Trustees now before us, a direct appeal is made 

 to the people for financial aid and support. We, 

 therefore, believe the Trustees would confer a direct 

 benefit on the Institution by opening its doors to the 

 people on Sundays ; the Museum would doubtless 

 become one of the most popular Institutions in the 

 city, and the Legislature would probably respond with 

 no grudging hand, to provide means for the comple- 

 tion of the building and for its maintenance on a lib- 

 eral scale. 



The announcement is made of an improved 

 method of storing electricity, by M. Camille Faure, 

 of Paris, the London Times asserting that "a 

 box of electric energy nearly equivalent to a million 

 feet, contained within less than a cubic foot of space, 

 intact and potential, has been transported from France 

 to Great Britan." 



Sir William Thomson is said to have given some 

 endorsement to the discovery, and tests and measure- 

 ments are in progress at the laboratory of the Glas- 

 gow University. 



The principle involved in M. Faure's discovery is 

 understood in this country, and the possibility of its 

 general correctness is conceded. The language em- 

 ployed in the announcement is rather equivocal, and 

 the misuse of scientific terms render the exact extent 

 of M. Faure's discovery a matter of some doubt. 



We gladly welcome any progress in electical science ; 

 but as the necessity for storing electrical energy is of 

 value only in very rare cases, the practical usefulness 

 of M. Faure's discovery must be limited in extent. 



Mr. Edison has courteously responded to a request 

 on our part, to offer his opinion on M. Faure's dis- 

 covery, and we take pleasure in placing before the 

 readers of " Science " his reply, received since our 

 own notes were in type. 



To the Editor of " Science." 



Dear Sir: The Faure battery is an improvement on 

 the Plante battery. 



Plante was, I think, the original inventor of the battery 

 which bears his name, invented some years ago for the 

 purpose of storing up electricity. 



Faure has simply made a Plante battery, by some 

 means reducing its resistance, and thus reducing the per- 

 centage of loss. This is all there is in it. 



Some two years ago I patented and applied a methcd 

 for using the Plante battery in conr.ecticn with electric 

 lighting. Yours tiuly, 



Thos. A. Edison. 



