THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [September 28,1872. 
250 
centre of the universe, and in speaking of other Sections j 
I must think of them only in their relation to ourselves., 
There is that rich and ancient country, Section A, 
which, according to the Annual Report, comprises 
several provinces, Mathematics, Astronomy, Optics, Pleat, 
Electricity, and Meteorology. It was when the idea of 
exact weight and measures was projected into it that 
Alchemy was transmuted into Chemisty. As our science 
has become more refined in its methods its numerical 
laws have become more and more significant; and it 
may safely be predicted that the more closely it is allied 
with general physics, the greater will be the mathe¬ 
matical knowledge demanded of its votary. But till 
lately the chemist and the astronomer seemed far asunder 
as the heavens and the earth, and none could have fore-! 
told that w T e should now be analysing the atmospheres 
of the sun and stars, or throwing light on the chemical 
composition of planetary nebulas and the heads of comets, j 
There is in this, too, as in other things, a reciprocal 
benefit; for we are encouraged to hope that this celestial 
chemistry will reveal to us elements which have not yet 
been detected among the constituents of our globe. 
Light, Heat, and Electricity : how intimately are these 
associated with the chemical force, or, rather, how easily 
are these Protean forces transformed into one another! 
The rays of the sun coming upon our earth are like a j 
chemist entering his laboratory: they start strange 
decompositions and combinations not only in the vege¬ 
table kingdom, but also among the inorganic gases and 
salts! they are absorbed selectively by different bodies 
which they penetrate, or are refracted, dispersed, and 
polarized according to the chemical composition and 
structure of the substance. All this has been the subject 1 
recently of much scientific research ; and I need scarcely j 
remind you of the beautiful art of photography as one 
of the results of photo-chemistry, or the benefits that 
have arisen from a study of circular polarization, indices 
of refraction, and especially spectrum-analysis. In 
regard to the latter, however, I would remark 
that while the optical examination of the rays emitted 
by luminous vapours has yielded most brilliant results, 
there is another kind of spectrum-analysis—that of! 
the rays absorbed by various terrestrial gases, liquids, 
and solids—which has already borne valuable fruit, and 
which, as it is far more extensively applicable than the 
other, may perhaps play a still more important part in 
the Chemistry of the future. The dispersion of the 
rays of the spectrum is certainly due to the chemical 
nature of the body through which they pass; but this 
is yet almost unbroken ground waiting for an explorer. 
As to heat, it has ever been the tool of the chemist; and 
it would be difficult to over-estimate the significance of 
researches. into the specific heat or the melting and 
boiling points of elements and their compounds. The 
laws of chemical combination have been elucidated lately 
by thermo-chemical researches ; it has been sought to 
establish a connection between the absorption or radia¬ 
tion of heat and the complexity of the chemical consti¬ 
tution of the active body; while the power of conduct¬ 
ing heat, or of expanding under its influence, offers a 
promising field of inquiry. As to electrical science, one 
department of it (Galvanism) is strictly chemical; the 
electrolytic cell does our work : and indeed we claim 
half the electric telegraph; for while the needle may 
oscillate in Section A, the battery belongs to B. Last 
in Section A comes meteorology; and there are chemical 
questions concerning the constitution of the atmosphere 
its changes, and the effect of its occasional constituents 
upon vegetable and animal life, which merit the deepest 
attention of the physiologist, philanthropist and states¬ 
man.^ If we turn to Section C, there is an outlyrrm 
province belonging to us—namely, mineralogy, which 
lies on the frontiers of geology* A vast and very 
promising region is the origin and mode of formation of 
different minerals; this has attracted some explorers 
during the past year; but in order to investigate it 
properly, the geologist and the chemist must travel hand 
in hand. Geology, in demanding of us the analysis of 
earths and ores, rocks and precious stones, repays us by 
bringing to our knowledge many a rare element and 
strange combination. When we pass from C to D 
(that is, from the crest of the globe to the organized 
beings that inhabit and adorn it) we are introduced into 
new r regions of research. When organic chemistry waa 
young, Cuvier said of it, “ Dans cette nouvelle magie, 
le chimiste n’a presque qu’a vouloir; tout peut se 
changer en tout; tout peut s’extraire de tout;” and 
though we have now learnt much of the laws by which 
these magical transformations proceed, they far transcend 
the dreams of the French philosopher; there is yet no' 
visible limit to the multitude of products to be derived 
from the vegetable and animal world, and their changes 
seem to afford boundless scope for chemical ingenuity. 
The benefit here also is reciprocal; for the physiologist 
enters by our aid into the wonderful laboratory of the' 
living plant or animal, and learns to estimate the mode 
of action of different foods and medicines. There have 
lately been some good researches of this character. 
The difficulties are great; but the results to be achieved 
are worthy of any effort. There may be little inter¬ 
course between us and the geographers in E ; but we 
stand in no distant relationship with many of the sub¬ 
jects discussed in F. Economic science embraces the 
chemical arts, from cookery upwards; such imperial 
questions as that of the national standards, or the 
patent laws, interest us greatly; the yield of our 
corn fields is increased through our knowledge of the 
constituents of soils and manures; and upon many of the 
chemical manufactures depend in no small degree the 
commerce and wealth of Britain. In this most important 
branch of technical chemistry we need the skill of the 
mechanician; and this introduces us to Section G. One 
of the questions of the day illustrates the connection- 
between these varied departments of study. Statistics 
prove that the consumption of coal is now advancing, not 
at the gradual pace which recent calculations allowed, 
but at a rapidly accelerating speed; and they make the 
householder anxious about rising prices, and the political 
economist about the duration of our coal-fields. It is well' 
known that there is a great waste of fuel throughout the 
country, as the maximum of heat produced by the com¬ 
bustion is very far from being ever utilized; and it will 
be for the combined wisdom of the chemist, physicist and 
mechanician to devise means for reducing this lavish 
expenditure, or to indicate other available sources of 
power. While this correlation of the natural sciences 
renders it desirable that the votary of one should have- 
some general acquaintance with the rest, the correlation 
of all knowledge shows that no education can be com¬ 
plete which ignores the study of nature. A mind fed 
only on one particular kind of lore, however excellent 
that kind may be, must fail of proper nourishment. I am 
not going to say a word against philological studies ; I 
am too fond of them myself for that; I could wish that 
the modern languages w T ere taught more, and the classic* 
languages were taught better, than they are at present- 
But what I contend for is, that chemistry (or some cog¬ 
nate branch of science) should have an honoured place 
in the education of every English lady and gentleman. 
Isay purposely “an honoured place;” for at present 
where chemistry is introduced we too often find the idea 
latent which was expressed by one principal of a lady’s, 
college, who told a friend of mine that he was to give 
the girls a course of pretty experiments, but that sho 
did not expect him to teach them any thing ;and we know 
that when boys repeat chemical experiments at home it is 
looked upon as an amusement, a philosophical one no 
doubt, but rather objectionable, inasmuch as they spoil 
their mother’s towels and singe their own eyebrows. Of 
course, some knowledge of chemistry is indispensable for 
a large number of our manuiacturers, and for members, 
of the medical profession, while it is extremely valuable 
