432 



SCIENCE. 



Amongst the other electrical instruments in the front 

 part of the department, especially worthy of attention, are 

 some of the most important instruments used in the 

 physiological institution of Berlin and mostly due to the 

 genius of the celebrated German professor " Dubois- 

 Reymond " of Berlin. These instruments will be used in 

 experiments before the French Academy of Sciences and 

 the Electric Congress, by Professor Arthur Christiani', of 

 the Medical Faculty of the Berlin University, who has 

 been sent for this purpose to Paris and arrived here a 

 few days ago. 



A large space in the German department is occupied 

 by the extensive exhibitions of the firm of Siemens & 

 Halske of Berlin, and there may be also seen the first 

 electro-locomotive constructed by this firm in the year 

 1867 and the first machine of that renowned type, which 

 was invented at nearlv the same time by Mr. Wheat- 

 stone in England and Mr. Siemens in Berlin. 



The exhibit of Mr. Siemens is, in my opinion, one of the 

 most important of all the exhibits in the whole building 

 of the Palais de 1' Industrie, and the excellent instruments 

 and apparatus manufactured by this firm, which oc- 

 cupy a large place in the German, French and English 

 departments of the exhibition create general admiration. 

 I shall endeavor, during the following week, to furnish 

 you with an explicit description of some of the more im- 

 portant instruments of the Siemens exhibition and your 

 readers will then be able to judge for themselves of 

 their value. 



The exhibition of Great Britain is still far from 

 being complete, and this is very easily explained, by the 

 fact that the English government, although after a very 

 long hesitation, finally having taking part in the exhibi- 

 tion has not consented to contribute anything for the ex- 

 penses, and it is marvellous that under such circum- 

 stances the English exhibitors have been able to con- 

 tribute so much as they have. The only portion of the 

 English exposition which is nearly complete is that of 

 Siemens Brothers, who, among other things, exhibit a 

 great number of apparatus for submarine telegraphy 

 which are displaved on several large tables, and of which 

 the most conspicuous is a full sized buoy ornamented 

 with a flag. One fact which I must not forget to men- 

 tion, is, that the pavilion of the British post-office is un- 

 doubtedly erected in excellent taste and is not only the 

 most conspicuous but also the most beautiful in the ex- 

 hibition (with the exception of the pavilions of the Ital- 

 ians). This pavilion is divided into two parts, the one 

 containing a historical collection which is very remark- 

 able and consists of the first instruments of telegraphy, 

 among others that ingenious telegraph appara'us of 

 Cook and Wheatstone, which was used with several 

 wires and which now, after the invention of duplex, 

 quadruplex and multiplex systems seems rather primitive, 

 while the other part consists of a collection of all the 

 modern instruments of telegraphy which can only be ap- 

 preciated by a more minute description, and a great help 

 to the study of these instruments is their excellent ar- 

 rangement, which is due to the labors of Mr. Preece. 



The exhibition of the United States is not at all what 

 it should be, and it is greatly to be regretted that Eu- 

 ropeans will receive a very wrong impression of the pro- 

 ductiveness of your country if they judge by the scanty 

 exhibits which America has sent to the Paris exhibi- 

 tion. 



Most of the Americans to whom I have spoken seem 

 to recognize this fact very fully, and it is generally re- 

 gretted that many of the beautiful electrical inventions of 

 the United States cannot be displayed here, where they 

 would certainly create a sensation. But it seems that the 

 United States Government was too interested in politics 

 to care for a worthy representation at the electrical ex- 

 hibition, and the more intelligent class of the French 

 public know how to appreciate the difficulties with which 

 the American exhibitors had to contend on this account, 



as well as on account of the great distance which sepa- 

 rates their country from Europe. 



Among the apparatus, which are already installed, may 

 be mentioned the Bell telephone, the automatic time- 

 register and alarm, the Dolbear telephone, of which you 

 have already given a long description in your paper, and 

 which is now exhibited in a neat little pavilion erected 

 by Mr. Buck and Mr. Stetson, who, by their industry, set 

 an example to the tardy French workmen ; and the ex- 

 hibition of the United States Signal Service, which con- 

 tains an ingeniously constructed distance-barometer, 

 anemoscope and anemometer, invented by Mr. Eccard. 

 The display of the other exhibitors are not yet finished, 

 and I reserve that of Mr. Edison's until it is more com- 

 plete, as it promises to be the most interesting and valu- 

 able one in the building, and will demand a special 

 report to do it justice. 



If we continue our walk through the Exhibition to- 

 wards the East Entrance, we come to the department of 

 Belgium and Austria. That of Belgium offers a very 

 beautiful aspect, and is displayed in two fine pavilions, 

 which are furnished with several crystal cases ornament- 

 ed by copper posts. The galvano-plastic exhibits in this 

 department are worthy of the greatest attention, but sci- 

 entifically, the most interesting exhibit is that of the 

 meteorological station of Brussels. Austria has contrib- 

 uted a great many apparatus which serve for the security 

 of railways. 



The pavilion of Italy, which we next enter, is 

 a beautiful oblong building, and attracts much atten- 

 tion. Until yesterday it was nearly empty, but the 

 instruments begin now to be installed, and within a few 

 days the visitors of the Exhibition will have the privilege 

 of seeing the ingenious instruments that Volta, Gulvani 

 and Nobili constructed with their own hands, and to read 

 the original letters in which these great scientists pub- 

 lished their first ideas regarding their new and wonderful 

 discoveries. This Italian pavilion, in connection with the 

 post office pavilion of England and the retrospective col- 

 lection of the Germans, form together the material for the 

 three most important chapters in the history of elec- 

 tricity. 



The exhibition of Holland offers, so to say, an appen- 

 dix to them, and the instruments for static electricity there 

 shown, excel, perhaps not in quality, but at least in gran- 

 deur all other instruments of this kind. The enormous 

 machine and battery of Leyden-bottles of Van Marum, 

 of which we have all heard when we were school boys, 

 form the most interesting part of this exhibition, and the 

 whole, including the enormous natural magnets, makes 

 upon the visitor an impression that he is visiting an ex- 

 hibition of the Scientists of the land of the pyramids. 



Passing the departments of Spain and Switzerland, and 

 leaving at the left the exhibition of Russia and Norway, 

 which have all contributed in an appreciable manner to 

 the interesting show of apparatus, we arrive at the en- 

 trance station of the Siemens' electrical railway which is 

 not yet completed on account of several modifications 

 which his construction had to undergo. It will be run- 

 ning, however, within a few days. 



Returning now again to the centre of the nave, and 

 entering the western half of the building, we see before 

 us the French portion of the exhibition. 



At the left hand side viewed from the light-house, is a 

 pavilion in very good taste filled with the shining silver 

 and gold exhibits, and with the highly artistic galvano- 

 plastic reproductions of the renowned firm of Christofle 

 & Co., and on the right hand side from the light-house 

 in a pavilion corresponding exactly in style with the 

 former, we see the exhibits of 4he Jablochkoff Electric 

 Light Company. This department contains a complete 

 collection of all the different kinds of apparatus used by 

 this company, and amongst others a new dynamo-electric 

 machine of Jablochkoff, which is of excellent con- 

 sttiron. 



