July 22, 1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
7o 
South Shields. 2 
Southport . 7 
Spalding. 1 
Stafford . 2 
Stamford . 3 
Stoke-on-Trent.... 3 
Stroud. 2 
Sunderland. 1 
Swansea. 8 
Tavistock .. 1 
Taunton .. 2 
Tiverton. 1 
Wakefield . 2 
Walsall . 2 
Wareham . 1 
Warrington . 1 
Wednesbury. 3 
Weymouth. 1 
Windsor. 1 
Wycombe . 1 
Yarmouth . 1 
IJromtatjs jof StitntMt Srattiw. 
SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY. 
At the Meeting of this Society, on July 4th, 1871, 
Samuel Birch, Esq., LL.D., F.S.A., etc., in the chair, 
the Rev. F. K. Cheyne, of Balliol College, Oxford, was 
duly elected a member of the Society. 
Mr. B. T. Lowne, M.R.C.S., F.R.M.S., read a paper 
on the flora of Palestine. He considered that it comprised 
eight distinct elements—four, the dominant existing 
floras of Southern Europe, Russian Asia, North Africa, 
•and that of Arabia and north-western India. Each of 
these floras were stated to occupy a distinct region of 
the country. Interspersed with these are found numerous 
examples of plants belonging to Palearctic Europe, con¬ 
stituting its fifth element. The Arctic flora of Hermon 
-and Lebanon constitutes the sixth. Mr. Lowne thought 
further, that the cedars of the Lebanon moraines and 
the papyrus of the Jordan lakes were the remnants of 
two ancient and almost extinct floras, belonging to two 
distant geological periods. 
Mr. James Collins (Curator of the Pharmaceutical 
."Society’s Museum) made some remarks upon the gums, 
perfumes and resins mentioned in the Bible, particularly 
pointing out the fact, that few of them were indigenous 
to Palestine, and that even now very few of them can be 
accurately identified. In the course of his observations 
Mr. Collins detailed the characteristic differences between 
the true and false lignaloe wood, and also made a few 
remarks on ladanum, myrrh, balm of Gilead, frank¬ 
incense, etc., particularly adverting to the researches of 
Dr. Birdwood and others, in identifying the frankincense 
the ancients with our olibanum. In concluding, Mr. 
Collins was requested to treat the subject of the gums of 
the Bible at still greater length on another occasion. 
Mr. Lowne and Mr. Collins brought for exhibition 
a large number of mounted specimens, and a complete 
collection of gums, perfumes, etc., to illustrate their 
respective papers. Messrs. Yeitch and Co., of Chelsea, 
had also sent some pots of Palestine flowers which were, 
by a most unfortunate accident, returned before the 
meeting. 
Some discussion followed the reading of these papers 
in which Dr. Birch, J. Bonomi, W. R. A. Boyle, Dr. 
•Cull, W. R. Cooper, J. Collins, S. M. Drach, Dr. Hewlett, 
B. T. Lowne, G. Smith, and Rev. G. Small took part. 
A vote of thanks was heartily accorded to Messrs. 
Lowne and Collins for their very interesting contribu¬ 
tions, and also to Messrs. Yeitch for their kind co¬ 
operation. 
The Society was then adjourned to the first Tuesday 
in November. 
ROYAL BAVARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 
baron liebig’s address at the anniversary. 
The anniversary of the Royal Bavarian Academy of 
Science was celebrated at Munich, on March 28th, and 
was opened by Professor Liebig, as President, with the 
following address:— 
_ We celebrate to-day the one hundred and twelfth an¬ 
niversary of our academy. Great historic events have 
taken place since last year’s festival; a new Germany 
has arisen; the dreams of our youth have become reality, 
and Germany has ceased to be a mere geographical ex¬ 
pression. The English people have nicknamed Germany 
the Fatherland ; but this byeword has now assumed, in 
their mind, a respectable meaning, giving rise to serious 
reflection, for it is so unexpectedly great that it cannot 
yet be quite comprehended. In trying to define the true 
causes of success of our German armies, we shall discover 
them to be the very same as those which have shaped 
our progress in medicine and agriculture. 
Eminent physicians and advanced agriculturists have 
been known at all times, and renowned military leaders 
in like manner; for centuries the fixed idea has therefore 
prevailed that in the so-called practical avocations prac¬ 
tice and experience were all-sufficient, and that theory 
was not to be depended upon; and why ? simply because 
true theory was not known. 
Practical knowledge and aptness are indispensable in 
following agriculture, and not less so in medicine; but we 
are now aware that absolutely certain results depend upon 
the knowledge of causes and intimate acquaintance 
with all the active principles by which phenomena 
are influenced; we know that this knowledge is real 
theory, and that genuine practice is the art of bringing 
these principles into play at the proper time and of assist¬ 
ing in their reactions. The old practice, based upon un¬ 
certain rules, gave way to scientific practice, which is 
founded on unalterable truths,—the happy inspirations 
of a genius who grasped a certain law without being able 
to account for its causes, are resolved into principles and 
can be worked out and applied by others. The exclusive 
property of the genius which constituted his superiority, 
could, by scientific application, be owned by all. 
The foundation of the German empire and the Ger¬ 
man victories steadily following one another have the 
closest connection with those military events which, 
sixty-six years ago, overthrew and shattered into frag¬ 
ments the State of Frederick the Great,—a State anti¬ 
quated and ossified in red-tapeism. One way only existed 
to heal the wounds of the State and to impart fresh 
vigour, and this way Prussia followed to the salvation of 
Germany; by the foundation of the University at Berlin 
in 1810, the year of the death of the high-minded 
Queen Louisa, the road had become visible and had been 
sketched out; the inexhaustible vigour of the mind suc¬ 
ceeded where the limited and worn-out material forces 
were wanting. 
German science was destined to become the source of 
a new and youthfully fresh political life. 
Thus we observe the Prussian people labour persever- 
ingly to acquire that pow r er which science alone can give, 
and all have witnessed the result to which this long and 
stern struggle has led. The incidents of a war, such as 
a siege or a defeat, are owing to causes which may be 
traced as clearly as those of natural phenomena; and the 
real secret of the superiority of Prussian strategics con¬ 
sists in the study of military sciences upon the basis of 
exact methods of natural sciences, and in the thorough 
investigation of, and acquaintance with, the principles 
ensuring success or defeat. 
Among the branches of instruction at the military 
academy at Berlin, those natural sciences are most care¬ 
fully studied which may be utilized for warfare, and the 
discoveries of the last half-century have been made avail¬ 
able for military purposes. And just as the philosopher, 
in order to solve a problem in exact sciences, must com¬ 
mence with the small, apparently trifling subjects, be¬ 
fore he understands and masters the greater one, so we 
Germans had to pass through a long course of schooling 
and training, while other so-called eminently practical 
nations named us dreamers; but it was science which, 
in 1866 as well as in 1870-71, defeated unsound practice ; 
knowledge that imparted strength and stability to forces 
and created in our adversaries a fear akin to horror ot 
the German system of spies. 
