AM (Ol 3665 NASM ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, THE OPERATIONS, EXPENDITURES, AND CONDITION OF THE INSTITUTION FOR THE YEAR 1871. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 1313: LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, TRANSMITTING The annual report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1871. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Washington, April 15, 1872. Sir: In behalf of the Board of Regents, I have the honor to submit to the Congress of the United States the annual report of the opera- tions, expenditures, and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1871. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOSEPH HENRY, Secretary Smithsonian Institution. Hon. 8. CoLFax, President of the Senate. Hon. J. G. BLAINE, Speaker of the House of Representatives. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FOR 1871. This document contains: 1. The programme of organization of the Smithsonian Institution. 2. The annual report of the Secretary, giving an account of the operations and condition of the establishment for the year 1871, with the statistics of collections, exchanges, meteorology, &e. 3. The report of the executive committee, exhibiting the financial affairs of the Institution, including a statement of the Smithson fund, the re- ceipts and expenditures for the year 1871, and the estimates for 1872. 4. The proceedings of the Board of Regents. 5. A general appendix, consisting principally of reports of lectures, translations from foreign journals of articles not generally accessible, but of interest to meteor- ologists, correspondents of the Institution, teachers, and others inter- ested in the promotion of knowledge. THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. ULYSSES S. GRANT....- President of the United States, ex-officio Presiding Officer of the Institution. SALMON P. CHASE ..... Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor of the Insti- tution, President of the Board of Regents. JOSEPH HELENE Ys2-----< Secretary (or Director) of the Institution. REGENTS OF THE INSTITUTION. SasP; CHASE: - scot cagaic ese Chief Justice of the United States, President of the Board. S. COLFAX ...--....--. --- Vice-President of the United States. HENRY DD. COOKE ......2 Governor of the District of Columbia. L. TRUMBULL ...-..-....-Member of the Senate of the United States. GARRETT DAVIS:....---. Member of the Senate of the United States. EL eEUAMIIG ENG Soc ee Seek Se Member of the Senate of the United States. J. A. GARFIELD ..-....-.-- Member of the House of Representatives. Tie ba ROMANS soe tees = Member of the House of Representatives. Ree sn © ONS eee eee iclnie) > -s pee al Pe aOO Syn 42 100 | 2,477 5, 311 Eegs of birds........| 6,455 16, 394 151 304 | 6,606 16, 698 Miells-c2-. 2 ose 2c. | SES IVOM, Wesea 575) See 3,000 | 83,712 186, 157 MVAGTATES: <..<..1'2 1 | 55 29 623 : lee : Nbc BOP t's Totali.ceer. fae! 144,862 | 297,941 | 7,881 10,139 | 152, 743 308, U80 - ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS. A3 ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION IN 1871. Agricultural Department.—(See Mechiing.) Albuquerque, F., Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil_—Bow and arrows of South American Indians. Allard, C. T., Parkinsons Landing, Illinois.-—Micaceous slate and copper pyrites, Illinois. Alvarado, Sr. Don. J. J—Specimen of stalactite, from Costa Riea. Andrew, G., Knoxville, Tennessee—Indian relics and shells, from Ten- nessee, Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C._—Ethnological specimens from Arizona and Colorado. (See also Irwin, Dr. B. J. D.; Weeds, Dr. J. Fs; Otis, Dr. G. A.; and White, Dr. C. B.) Arny, Hon. W. M .F.—Ethnological specimens, from New Mexico. Baird, Professor S. 2.—Forty-seven boxes general collections, Wood’s Hole, Massachusetts. Baird, Mrs. S. F., Washington, D. C.—Fire-bag of Indians of Hudson Bay Territory ; skeleton of domestic turkey, Washington, D. C. Beardslee, Com. I. A.—Young tlying-fishes in alcohol, Atlantic Ocean. Bergen Museum, Bergen, Norway.—Box of natural-history collections. Berthoud, B. L., Golden City, Colorado,—Indian relics &¢., from Crow Creek, Colorado. Billings, E., Montreal, Canada.—Specimens of Hozoon canadense and cast of trilobite, from Canada. Bland, Thomas, New York.—Box of shells. Bliss, B. K. & Co., New York.—Palmetto fiber, from South Carolina. Boardman, G. A., Calais, Maine-—Specimens of birds, fishes, and skel- etons, from Florida; skeletons of moose, from Maine. Boardman Charles A., and S. W. Smith—Skin of moose, from Nova Scotia. Bree, Dr. C. R.—Kges of Larus gelastes, from Kustridge Turkey. Brewster, C. G., Boston, Massachusetts Specimens of birds. Brittan, H., Thayer, Kansas.—Box of Permian fossils. Bryant, Captain. Charles. —Skulls, skeletons, and skins of fur-seal, and walrus, and one box dried plants, from Saint Paul Island, Behring Sea. Burr, C. 8., Alliance, Ohio.—Box of fossil plants. Burroughs, John, Washington, D. C.—Nest and egg of Dendroica coerules- cens, from Delaware County, New York. Burrows, Mrs.—German horn, and small shoes made at Saint Helena. Butcher, M., Prince Edward Island.—Stone axe. (Sent through Rey. J. Fowler.) Carpenter, Dr. P. P.—Box of shells from west coast of North America. Carpenter, W L., Mill Creek, Wyoming Territory.—Larva of insect (borer) in wood. 44 ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS. Cesnola, General L. P. di, United States Consul.—Ancient Phoenician pottery, from the site of the ancient Idalium, Island of Cyprus. Chalmers, R., Konchibougonack, New Brunswick.—Arrrow-heads. (Sent by Rev. J. Fowler.) Choate, Isaac B., Gorham, Maine—Specimens of minerals, ancient pottery and arrow-heads, &e. Christ, R. Nazareth, Pennsylvania.—Birds’ eggs, from various localities. Clarke, John, Bowling Green, Ohio.—Indian stone relics from Ohio. Clarke, W. I, Washington, D. C—Alcoholic collections of fishes, reptiles, and invertebrates from the Isthmus of Darien. Clough, A., Fort Reynolds, Colorado.—Box of specimens of natural history from Colorado. Colonial Museum, Wellington, New Zealand, (Dr. J. Hector.) eges of Dinornis and Apteryx, and ethnological specimens. Constable, Major A. G.—Skeleton of mouse. Cortelyou, J. Gardner, Somerset County, New Jersey.—Indian stone implements. Coues, Dr. Elliott, United States Army.—Four specimens of albino birds. Crane, E. H., Burr Oak, Michigan.—Insects and small batrachian. Curtis, Dr. Joseph.—Oolite from Florida, and Hozoon canadense in chelmsfordite, Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Curtis, Rev. M. A., Hillsborough, North Carolina.—Specimen of Meno- poma alieghaniense. : Darling, Major, United States Army.—Specimen of pedunculated cir- rhiped in alcohol. Davidson, Professor George-—Specimens of woods from Alaska. De Castro, Dieyo.—Specimen of six-legged cat. Destruge, A., Guayaquil, Hcuador.—Skeleton of Bradypus tridactylus. Dickinson, E., Springfield, Massachusetts—Dirds’ eggs from Springfield, Massachusetts. Doane, Lieutenant G. C., United States Army.—Box of minerals, &c., from Yellowstone Lake, Montana Territory. Dodge, General.—Specimen of oolitic limestone, Oxford, Tama County, Towa. Dodge, S. C., Chattanooga, Tennessee—Stone axe from Lookout Mount- ain, Tennessee. Dodt, Colonel Helenus, (through Dr. E. Palmer.)\— Helma,” or work- bag of Mohave Indians, Arizona. Driver, G. W., Washington, D. C_—Specimen of Echeneis from Lower Potomac. Dunn, A., Salnon River, New Brunswick.—Stone axe and chisel. (Sent through Rev. J. Fowler.) Dyer, Joseph T., Washington, D. C.—Ethnological specimens, dresses, &c., Alaska. Eby, J. W., Indian Bureau.—Minerals and photographs, Utah. Casts of ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS. 45 Edmunds, Mrs. Geo. F., Washington, D. C.—Thirty-one specimens tropical birds. Hdwards, W. H., Coalburgh, West Virginia.—Box of bird-skins. Emmet, Dr. T. A., New York—Box of bird-skins from Central America. Filer, O. L., New Harmony, Utah.—Indian stone arrow head. Fithiam, Thomas, United States consul—Book perforated by ants, Saint Helena. Fish, William C., East Harwich, Massachusetts—Flint chips and arrow heads. Fisher, Professor D., United States Naval Academy.—Shells in alcohol from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Fisher, J., Lexington, Kentucky.—Ethnologieal specimens, copper and stone, from mounds near Lexington, Kentucky. Flint, Earl, Granada, Nicaragua.—Box of seeds and ethnological specimens, Ometepec Island, Nicarauga. Floyd, General T. C., Georgia, Heirs of —Indian stone implements, &c. Ford, T. 8., Columbia, Mississippi.—Stone hatchet from Mississippi. Fowler, Rev. J., Bass River, New Brunswick.—Indian relics and shells from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Fuller, J. F., Salado, Texas.—Specimen of arrow-head from Texas. Furnas, R. W., Brownville, Nebraska.—Specimen of radiating fibrous gypsum. Gentry, J. P., Paducah, Kentucky.—Specimen of clay. Gibbons, J. S., Lewes, Delaware.—Section of pine trunk bored by teredo. _— Gibbs, Mrs. Alfred, New York.—Ethnological specimens. (Deposited.) Gibbs, George, New York.—Box of Indian relics, California. Ethnolog- ical specimens from northwest coast. Gibson, Colonel G., United States Army.—Skeleton of buffalo, Fort Hayes, Kansas. Glasco, J. M., Gilmer, Texas.—Specimens of Indian pottery. Goeller, C. L., Milledgeville, Georgia.—Specimen of supposed tin ore, Jefferson County, Tennessee. Green, H. A., Atco, New Jersey.—Specimens of fossils and minerals from New Jersey. Green, H. N., Boston Station, Kentucky.—Weathered fossils from Kentucky. Greer, Colonel James, Dayton, Ohio.—Artesian borings, Indian stone implements, and specimen of meteorite, from Ohio, Gundlach, Dr. J., Havana—Specimen of Solenodon enbanus in alcohol. Gurley, William, Danville, Illinois.—Box of fresh-water shells from Central Illinois. Hague, Henry.—Skeleton of tapir and box of natural history collec- tions from Guatemala. Hall, Captain C. F.—Collection of relics of Franklin and Frobisher expeditions, and ethnological specimens from Arctic America. AG ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS. Hancock, BE. M., Waukon, Towa.—Box of minerals, fossils, and natural history collections. Hayden, Dr. F. V. United States Geologist Extensive general collec- tious in geology, ethnology, and natural history, from the western Territories, (45 boxes.) Hayes, Dr. I. I., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.—Bird-skins from Green- Jand. Heiligbrodt, L., Austin, Texas.—Bird’s eggs, and Indian arrow-heads. Hemphill, H., Oakland, California.—Box of shells from California. Henry, Professor Joseph—Diatoms, W&e., from hot springs of Cali- fornia. Hershey, David, Spring Garden, Pennsylvania.—Prismatic quartz erys- tal. Hilgert, Henry, Santa Fé, New Mexico.—Nest of swallows from Albu- querque, New Mexico. Hough, F. B., Lowville, New York.—Box of birds’ nests and eggs from Northern New York. Hotchkiss, Mr., Shreveport, Lowisiana.—Flint implements, pottery, &e., from near Shreveport. Huggins, Liewtenant.—Skeleton of Callorhinus ursinus, Alaska. Hurlburt, General 8. A., United States minister to New Granada.—Skins and skeletons of mountain tapir, Tolima, New Granada. Irwin, Dr. B. J. D., United States Army, Fort Wayne, Michiqai.—Box of alcoholic vertebrates, Indian relics, &e., from Arizona. (Through Army Medical Museum.) James, U. P., Cincinnati, Ohio.—Lower Silurian fossils, (46 species,) from Ohio. Jeffreys, J. Gwyn, London, England.—Brachiopods from the North Atlantic. Jones, Dr. Joseph, New Orleans, Louisiana.—Specimen of prepared wood. Jones, Strachan, Goderich, Canada.—Box of birds’ nests and eggs from Lesser Slave Lake, Hudson Bay Territory. June, L. W., Wellington, Ohio.—Indian stone relics from Ohio. Keenan, T. J. R., Brookhaven, Mississippi.—Two boxes ethnological and natural history specimens. Kidder, Dr. F., Leesburgh, Florida.—Specimens of pearl-bearing unios. Knudsen, Valdimar, Kanui, Hawaiian Islands.—Skulls of ancient Sand- wich Islanders. Lesher, W. T., Youngwomanstown, Pennsylvania.—Indian arrow-heads, &e. Lewis, George H., Atlantic City, Montana Territory.—Fragment of fossil turtle. Limpert, W. J., Groveport, Ohio.—Specimen of Sphyropicus varius. Luce, Jason, West Tisbury, Massachusetts—Specimens of rare fishes from Martha’s Vineyard. ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS. AT Macintosh, I., Welford, New Brunswich.—Arrow-heads. (Sent by Rey. J. Fowler.) Mactier, W. L., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.—Eges of Bulimus hemas- toma. Maguire, J. C., Washington, D. C_—Indian slate hatchet. (Deposited.) Manzano, Dr. D. J., (through Dr. A. Schott..\—Human skull carved in fossil wood from Yucatan. Mathews, Dr. Washington, United States Army.—Eges of Archibutco Jerrugineus, with head, wings, and feet of parent, from Dakota Territory. McAdoo, W. G.—Stone dise from East Tennessee. McCoy, John, Black River, New Brunswick.—Arrow-heads. (Sent by Rev. J. Fowler.) McKinley, W. and A. T., Milledgeville, Georgia.—Box of flint implements and ancient pottery, Oconee River, Georgia. McMinn, Mrs. J—Twenty-six boxes geological, mineralogical, and bo- tanical specimens, the collections of the late John M, McMinn. McNaughton, R., Mumford, New York.—Caleareous tufa from Monroe County, New York. Mechling, Mrs. F. FE. D., (through Agricultural Department.)—Speci- mens of reptiles, fishes, birds, &c., from Belize, British Honduras. Meiggs, Henry, Lima, Peru.u—Two boxes Peruvian mummies. Meigs, General M. C., Quartermaster General United States Army.— Skin of Phoca pealii, from Alaska, and Indian relics from Montana ; minerals Galena, fluor spar, &c.) from Rosiclare, Illinois. Merriam, C. Hart, White Plains, New York.—Birds’ eggs and nests from New York. Merritt, J. C., Farmingdale, New York.—Arrow-heads from Long Island, New York. Miller, F., West Farmington, Ohio—Box of fossils. Miller, J. Imbrie—Splinter of calcined wood, Oogun Camp, Central India. Miller, S. A., Cincinnati, Ohio—Fossil wood, Lower Silurian fossils, and Indian relics from Ohio. Morrison, E. H., Newark, New Jersey—South African birds’ eggs. Munn, Dr. C. E., United States Army.—Package of diatoms from Fort Wadsworth, Dakota Territory. Museo Publico, Buenos Ayres.—Box of birds, mammals, &c., from the Argentine Republic. National Museum of Mexico.—Ancient pottery from Mexico. Orton, Professor Edward, Yellow Springs, Ohio.—Box of fossils from Ohio. Otis, Dr. G. A., Army Medical Museum.—Painted scapula of Buffalo. Packard, Dr. A. 8., Salem, Massachusetts—Eges of fish from Salem Harbor. Pagenstecker, Professor, Heidelberg.—Box of Swiss pre-historic relies from Lake Dwellings. 48 ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS. Palmer, Dr. E., Washington, D. C.—Seven boxes and one bale general collections from Arizona; two boxes skulls of cetaceans from Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Penafiel, Dr. Antonio, City of Mexico.—Ancient pottery from Mexico. Pence, J. B., Frankfort, Indiana.—Meteoric dust from surface of snow. Peter, Dr. R., Lexington, Kentucky.—Indian stone relics from Kentucky. Peters, Henry, New Smyrna, Llorida—kLgegs of Ortyx virginianus. Petton, W. T., New York.—Creosotized wood from New York Creosotize ing Works, 157 Broadway. Poey, Professor Felipe, Havana.—Skeleton of Solenodon cubanus. Pourtales, Count L. IF. De.—Series of brachiopods from deep-sea dredgings in Gulf Stream. Powell, Mr. Joseph, United States consul, Port Stanley —Horn of wild ox from Falkland Islands. Powell, Major J. W., Normal, Illinois —Two boxes and one bale of Ute clothing and implements, Colorado. Ridgway k.—Birds and reptiles from Mount Carmel, Hlinois. Ring, Lieutenant F. M., United States Army.—Two boxes Indian relies from Alaska. Riotte, Sr. Pedro.—Twenty-seven dressed figures made by Indians of Guatemala, and representing native costumes of that country. Rutimeyer, Professor.—Lacustrine antiquities, bones, &c., Switzerland. Salt Lake Museum.—Two boxes minerals, fossils, and ethnological speci- mens, Utah. Salvin, O., and Sclater, P. L., London.—Specimens of birds from Ve- ragua, Columbia. Sartorius, Dr. C., Huatasco, Mexico.—Box of specimens of natural his- tory: box of living plants from Mexico. Scammon, Captain C. M., United States Revenue Marine.—Nondescript baleen and parasites from cetaceans, North Pacifie; baleen of hump- back; skull and baleen of small whale from Puget Sound; general col- lections from Northwest coast. Schenck, Dr. J., Mount Carmel, IUinois.—Specimen of salamander from Southern [linois. Schott, Dr. A., Georgetown, D. C.—Two arrows of Papago Indians of Sonora. Schlucker, P. I’., Baltimore.—Specimen of asbestos from Maryland. Schuber, N., Panama.—Head of Peruvian mummy and specimens of ancient pottery from Peru. Scott, Genio C., New York.—Fishes preserved in ice. (Cybium eaballa.) Scroggins, S. R., Baltimore, Maryland.—Specimens of fish. (Megalops thrissoides. ) Sears, Joseph C., East Dennis, Massachusetts—Indian grooved stone pestle. Schaffer, D. M., Cincinnati, Ohio—Lower Silurian fossils from Ohio. Shirley, James, Welford, Kent County, New Brunswick.—Stone chisel. (sent by Rey. James Fowler.) ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS. AS Smith, H. H., San Francisco, California.—Seed vessels of lily. Spear, Dr., United States Canal survey of the Isthmus of Tehwantepec.— Three boxes of general collections, Tehuantepec. Squier, LE. G., New York:.—Specimens of pottery from near Lima, Peru. Stearns, Rk. HL. C., Petaluma, California.—Box of birds’ nests and eggs, &e. Stephens, T. H., Jacksonville, Florida.—Skuli of alligator and skins of gars, Florida. Sterling, Dr. E., Cleveland, Ohio.—Cast of roe of muskelonge from Saginaw River, Michigan; casts of fresh-water fish. Sternberg, C. M., Fort Harker, Kansas.—Skeleton of bufialo. Sumichrast, Dr. F.—Two boxes natural history specimens from Mexico. Taylor, George, Washington, D. C.—Uead of Rhynehops nigra, Cape May, New Jersey. Taylor, Isaac H., Boston, Massachusetts —One box skulls, South Afri- ean mammals. (Through G. 8. Boardman.) Thompson, Rev. D., Milnersville, Ohio —Box of ethnological specimens, fossils, &e. Thompson, J. H., New Bedford, Massachusetts —Box containing three fish. Tilton, B. M., Chilmark, Massachusetts—Specimen of Biepharis, in alcohol. Treat, Mrs. M., Vineland, New Jersey.—Specimen of living serpent. Turner, Lucian, Mount Carmel, [llinois.—Fishes from Southern Hlinois. Turner, Samuel, Mount Carmel, Illinois —Birds from Wabash County, Jilinois. University of Christiania.—Sparagmite from Norway. University of Louisiana, Baton Rouge—Two boxes of Indian stone relics. (Deposited.) Van Patten, Dr.—Ancient pottery from Costa Rica. Vaux, William S., Philadelphia.—ithnological specimens, casts, &e. Verstenikoff, A., Saint Paul Island, Alaska Territory.—Skull of fox. Vortisch, Rev. L.—Ethnological specimens, Satow, Germany. Wallace, President D, A., Monmouth College, Illinois.—Cast of inserip- tion faces of the Tanis stone, received from Dr. Lansing, Alexandria, Egypt. Wallace, John.—Specimen of musk-deer in the flesh; skull of giraffe. Ward, Professor H,. A., Rochester, New York.—Casts of megatherium, glyptodon, and colossochelys. Webb, J. G., Sarasota Bay, Florida.—Box of ethnological and natural history collections. Webster, Professor H. E., Schenectady, New York.—Box of marine invertebrates, &e. Weeds, Dr. J. F.—Ethnological specimens from New Mexico. (Through Army Medical Museum.) White, Dr. C. B.—Specimen of Podiceps cornutus from Fort Schuyler, New York. (Through Army Medical Museum.) 48 71 50 ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTIONS. Wilson, L., Astoria, Oregon.—Specimen of beetles in alcohol. Wright, J. W. A., Turlock, California.—Arrow-heads from San Joaquin Valley, California. Yager, W. £., Oneonta, New York.—Reptiles in carbolic-acid solution. Yarrow, Dr. H. C., Fort Macon, North Carolina.—Specimens of fish, cetaceans, and Indian relics from North Carolina. Yates, Dr. L. F.—Human cranium and box of pine cones from Cali- fornia. Zeledon, José C., Washington, D. C.—Twelve card photographs of Indians of Guatemala; miniature carvings by the same. Unknown.—Box of corals, &c.; specimen of symplocarpus, Whatcom, Washington Territory; specimen of dark marble, Jefferson County, West Virginia; specimens of fish. LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGES. Table showing the statistics of the Smithsonian exchanges in 1871. Agent and country. RoyaL SwEDISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Stockholm : PWedelibesc cos 2 S22 Sets ce em coe ce ROYAL. UNIVERSITY OF NORWAY, Christiania: INORWags meson coc ieeiee See acs cio a oe Roya DANISH SOCIETY OF SCIENCES, Copen- hagen: WENN ee seer ao. + 2c eee eaten GOLAN esa ee eas oe agk es a eerie L. Watkins & Co., Saint Petersburg: INUSSIQie Losses Ace eerste sere ee ea FREDERICK MULLER, dmsterdam : TO WO eee Sites == ete oo aa aie a, sface a mek Belpenimys 5-525 8.225 tee Sect shes. 52 Dr. FELIX FLUGEL, Leipsic: Genmany seccsess a Bae eee Sa eka Neel andes eee ends ete Stas dae Switzerland .:...-...5..---..-.-..2.-. GustTavE BOossaNGE, Paris: RAN COk a saioee ac claain os Soe Sees ee ee REALE ISTITUTO LOMBARDI DI SCIENZE E LETTERE, Milan: AU greta rete stcrescta s,s desi che acta Royat ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Lisbon : OMUU Cae ee anos Bae Sade feta RoyaL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF MADRID: Saltese Sere aes eee abe accel WILLIAM Westry, London : Great Britain and Ireland........ 2... UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE: AUStraliiane sees sees es ovis. cates sere PARLIAMENTARY LiBrary, Wellington : New Zealands 2.05522. <.5. 2 ec ee Rest of the world ................... Grand totais sme sees e 2. eee oe J iY DQ ey o ow 2 D I va Gy is ey RB ie: aS 1 og | eul Vs o 8 38 Be |=s| Ss £5 ear a a M4 o ep a a 4 = ‘3. Zi 7 aa) = 18 41 8 24 900 22 39 2 16 600 | 25 44 2 16 600 a oro ol, Lee 26 ACAI oe, eee eee 93 160 4 32 1, 200 52 93 1 8 300 95 105 2 16 600 147 $e 1A ee ee 145 477 | 28 924 8, 400 46 64 2 16 600 492 dB) eo es is 132 147 ‘i 48 1, 800 109 120 8 64 2, 400 19 20 1 8 300 7 | 9 1 8 300 259 | 332 | 23 184 6, 900 18 20 1 8 300 7 8 1 8 300 90 9 | 23 | 92 3, 450 1,432 | 1,778 | 103 772 | 28,950 52 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGES. Packages received by the Smithsonian Institution from parties in America, Jor foreign distribution, in 1871. Address. ALBANY, NEW YORK. Albany Institute.......-...- New York State Library...-....-.-.- Professor James Hall BOGOTA, COLOMBIA. Society of Naturalists...-- Ee Sees BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. American Academy of Arts and Sci- Board of State Charities...-......- Boston Society of Natural History-. Massachusetts Historical Society . -- Perkins Institution for Blind..---. Mrs. Julia Ward Howe....-..- cites BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. SO OUbiIN OY. sia) se cciefetteteieeie Seer BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY. Wie Grp SMM CV poco: ja;'S an ere ae ste eee sic CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS. Museum of Comparative Zoology. -- Professor Asa Gray Counts. F. Pourtales..--.- 2... -.2. Professor J. D. Whitney COLUMBUS, OHIO. Ohio State Board of Agriculture ..-. DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS. DPPH PArvisisc oo eee see e a eee’ FORT M’HENRY, MARYLAND. Dre lott Coues s..<-. escice cesses FOUNTAINDALE, ILLINOIS. MMS ABCD DMs — mole i stern iteeei eee e GEORGETOWN, DIST. OF COLUMBIA. Georgetown College ..-..........-. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA. Indiana Institute for Educating the Deaf and Dumb....... Wagener ates No. of packages. 163 228 296 95 i40 1, 345 Ole 09 227 43 | Professor G. Hinrichs 39 | Address. IOWA CITY, IOWA. Dri Ci vAngWiLUtO Saale nw cia cee ete JANESVILLE, WISCONSIN. Wisconsin Institution for Educating the Blind Ces ass seo a0s cee eee KEYTESVILLE, MISSOURI. John CyiVeateh 2-6 ess son ecenee LIBERTY, VIRGINIA. Ay Fi (Curtissecmecceemen cr nee MONTREAL, CANADA. Natural History Society...-....--. Hy. Billings) acces ee oer eee PabcCarpenter ccs eos eee eee NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, J. H. Thomson NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT. American Journal of Science and APB ool ise beet wee coe eestor Connecticut Academy of Arts and SCIENGOS che oe eon eee oe Professor:J:) Ds Danae eens aece seas Sod Smith=20 ease eee ee eee eee Professor A. E. Verrill NEWPORT, VERMONT. Orleans County Society of Natural Sciences: -\-c2 52) eee ceeeemees ! NEW YORK, NEW YORK. American Institute ..--..=---..-.- Anthropological Institute of New Works otcesssesce ewes oleae Argentine censul Lyceum of Natural History. ...-.-. J. Maunsell Schieffelin............ OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI. BW tel amd ose eee see PAXTON, ILLINOIS. TON; Hasselquint (2 -2-. -ssseeoee = No. of packages. [] met et 09 24 _ ~ Noaro C2 137 300 40 17 500 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGES. Packages received from parties in America, &c.—Continued. 53 g S =p Address. 64 s a PEORIA, ILLINOIS. Dr. EF: Brendel...-.- aise Seite yeie isiae 2 PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. Academy of Natural Sciences ...... 178 American Philosophical Society ----} 291 Director of the Mint... -.-.-.---< 6 House Of Memire o. 6226 bonnie aac al Wagner Free Institute of Sciences..| 264 eve Ha tn beadlomascssce juan seca 4 Henry C.. Careyce.c2 ce. eater fare 1 Bee ep etalon cease cer are sical Ss 30 Dre SAAC We aiaa eae oo ss csahae cele 4 VERO AU eet ores 1 PORTLAND, MAINE. Portland Society of Natural History.) 63 POTTSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA. EW eS DCatOb ec. se 2 cei Salsa se se'5 « 86 | QUEBEC. Literary and Historical Society --.-| 26 SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA. California Institution for the Deaf and Dumb...... ee ee 25 California State Board of Health... i SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI. Dr. G. Engelmann .....:.-.--.----- 1 SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA. Minnesota Historical Society ..---. | 10 SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS. Essex Institute.................-..| 218 Peabody Academy of Science ..-..-.. 101 Address. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. yb Ca Stealns aa esc. oe een SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. A. H. Worthen SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, S. C. S. Southworth.......... TORONTO, CANADA. Canadian Institute ......--- TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, OME etched cit trea yeep ates Sere ee UTICA, NEW YORK. E. Jewett WASHINGTON, D. C. Board of Indian Commissioners. -. Bureau of Statistics.......4..----. Wensusmoedliss, sessee. shee ee nee Clinio-pathological Society.....-.. Department of Agriculture........ General Land-Office..-.......----. Nautical Almanac Office.........-- Navy Department Office of Chief of Engineers ...... Quartermaster General’s Office.... United States Coast Survey Office. United States Congress -.......--. United States Naval Observatory .- United States Patent Office Treasury Department....--..----- Dr. Cleveland Abbe.--..-..----.-- We Dalle. 20 cscs sae secre Drak. Vi daydenk. -...semasees sce H...B, Meek =. cs2= dans Seton ates is. Poescheys-5 3.8 eee senses eee C7 Hi. REN Dae. eacmeiaceecsce sees Rie MGSO Waly =o siatas o252 Sosesoe es Unknown LOLA seer eee = te eee No. of packages. we Cr Cr 16 7,73 54 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGES. Packages received by the Smithsonian Institution from Europe in 1871 for distribution in America. Address. ALBANY, NEW YORK. Regents of New York State Uni- VOLSIDY meee ieee ecto e tice asisess Albany sin stivuue sea. sce ean < <'sreo- Board of State Charities. .......-..- DudleyjObservatory ..---<----.2..- New York State Agricultural So- CLOVE ee ase a eteenaooee New York State Cabinet of Natural US HOM Wes oh eee iommtoeanle ons see New York State Hommopathie So- CIS beds sete set ess Beaateeeaos = New York State Library...-...-.-.. Inspectors of the Penitentiary. -- -- Inspectors of the State Prisons of ING WanvOTkee2 at cp tmeiceecioces sets Hon.Francis Barlow.= Geological Survey of Massachusetts. Professor: 1). 8. snellis: 32/2 cclnao- ans Professor &. Tuckerman: <2 22552 -5- ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND. SbalveplUibranyc sess. Sea sere United States Naval Academy..--.. ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN. Observatory.set222 see ee ee doce University of Michigan........-..- rs EM reesés.2222. Sao s 20 coe eee = Drs (Cs Watsons 3532 2e ese a dass Professor me <3 Oo OD wD So &p Address. . Ora Az = DECORAH, IOWA. Lutherani@ollese: 5 5-s--2 2 jets tet 2 DELAWARE, OHIO. . Wesleyan University .....-.--.-.-- 1 DES MOINES, IOWA. Governor of the State of Iowa. .--- 4 Sbabetbibraryycs 6 =e 1 FORT M’HENRY, MARYLAND. Dr wlliotiiCoucssses.--- - = ser 14 FOUNTAINDALE, ILLINOIS. M:'S.Bebbissees- Times. .....22255--e4seees 6 Wes. C. Nott-.<... ..-..< eer By ss 2 || Mercantile Library ..........-.... 1 Baron R. Ostensacken ..---...----- | 2 || Municipality .---..- cate e oem aa 2 Dr. Martyn Paine..-.......-.....-.-| 2 || North American Medico-Chirurgical Messrs. Parker & Douglas. Fes 3 ROVIOW csoe 252 see ccs e ee. i Alfred" Pell: .- =. 2..-.--22..0.--.| 1 || Numismatic and Antiquarian So- ProfessorA. Poey.....-....5--...-| 2 CLEUI ee ae ee oe ee 1 Professor R. Pumpelly.........----- 5 || Observatory of Girard College... .- 5 Dro Re Wiettaymond...2s..-0.-2..-- | 3 | Pennsylvania Institution for Blind. 1 Professor. O. M. Rood ........---..- 1 || Pennsylvania Society for Preven- Lewis M. Rutherford ............-- 1 || tion of Cruelty to Animals...--- 1 Ele M. Schiefitin .. Be Rs A ht 19), Publie*schooler.- 5-502... ceoc one 2 Ue Gre SO MCLE ee rs Ness Bec es 4 | Society for Alleviating Miseries of Piel, TeMamipiee oo). eisai - 2: | 1.) Pablie Prigons--..-.-<- sSeclees 2 a Co iheakener ss earn. 22272 ol o2 0 f: | 1 || Superintendent of State Peniten- r. John Torrey... ..- He eee See see yt eee 1 eee Vie oe eect. : Dr. Luther Vosse.:2.:...62 0-2. -<-- | Dh ey 6 Neat ae ieee 1 eae WV INES ies, < Sa. 5s Sane tk ke Le 1 || Wagner Free Institute of Science. . a | sy > Beadle 4 NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS. | bon ee Beat Ag ae ar 9 >: Jeweeree ee ewes eee ec ones State Lunatic Asylum............. il Tani C Carey .o0.o: acscee 2-2 sess. 6s | 3 60 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGES. Packages received from Europe, &e.—Continued. Address. PHILADELLPHIA, Pa.—Continued. MAO USSI: 3. ocean ieee Deena cine Pliny Hark Chase-cesek ---22iesicae rb, A. Comnadysaccrecescetiners cee Professor BH. Di Cope. 2. 9 2 sinlioe im Sentra _ Mattoon, Coles County. BPAINGN J) Wiese te se emiaats sme ee ee ae ae er Marengo, McHenry County. Jozete, Dre Cy. eat saat tole m lovin inject Waterloo, Monroe County. Langguth, Ji Gee sae ass a. 2 sere Chicago, Cook County. Livingston, PEOLESSOL WW -pe ee ese es eae Galesburgh, (Lombard University,) Knox County. Marcy; Professorj@2-"- ta. aesee = oem == Evanston, (Northwestern University,) Cook Coynty. St —— METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS AND OBSERVERS. 65 List of meteorological stations and observers for the year 1871—Continued. Name of observer. ILLinoris—Continued. Mead, 8. B IVIOSSSG Seles cersina ce ences ce teniecin ows sie ropetolse Murray, Peter Wshorn, Mthanesssst csccceccsccdoodeces = Patterson; Hi; Neves ccc. saad oot. cseced conc Phelps, E. 8. and Miss L. E Putter, A Spaulding, A., and Mrs. E. D Spencer, W. C AVALOS Ey See S o Sc losmicisyse Plate ancl cies anix's wees tee eee wees eee e ewe sete ere ecco eee eee ens oe eee i INDIANA. Alden, Thomas E Andrew, F. G Applegate, J. A., Boerner, C.G Chappelsmith, J MOTI IVVin incls arses ceeceese cece Gacc cecs GTOSICIs At es ccs eee c mele sence ot eee ACUBUIS, Uies Wi cso caiccaswec ni scea tcc. ctee st Dawson, W ee ee ee eee et tee eee eee eee tee eee eee ewe i ee te ee cee mee ee eee eee eee were WoushMmage; reds Mis Sots sscetstes ato cee Mallow, T. H McCoy, Dr. Seand: Migss-soc0c caccctce does MichTeMinys Bs H)sscclstscitenia a> salcceotaecee Robertson, R.S PS DIUGLED MD pai ciate < aerctevaje, 2 siain:aisielaivicyceimal anim « Sutton, ve See eee eecee es -aee oaict eee eee eee cee eee wees coe e cose eee eee eee cote es cee eee core eeee IOWA. NG AIMS PETES tcc cisimecisec ciwiewccces ----- $4,201 50 Purchase of books and periodicals............ 253 86 Total expenditures, (repayments having been de- COUN (WU er re ay eter. 5 Be, Soe dices le, kia a he « =,s 5.2 sks $48, 355 2 From the above statement, it appears that the expenditures were $5,162.79 in excess of the receipts; but to meet this deficiency, $5,000 of the congressional appropriation for the museum, as was stated before, is still in the Treasury of the United States. Had this sum been drawn during the year, it would have been deducted from the $8,152.95 charged to the musewmn. During the past year the Institution has advanced money for the pay- ment of freight on specimens and articles directed to its care, and for fitting out the expedition toward the north pole. It has also sold pub- lications, old and useless material, and meteorological instruments, the payments for which have been deducted from the several items of the previous accounts of expenditures, as follows: From the museum, for repayments for freight.............. $592 92 From exchanges, for repayments on expense of literary and BEIGMUIC(OMCHAN SES 25622540. see oes coe 2 Sessare Smreseaere sie 945 17 From explorations, forrepayments onaccountof Hall’s expedi- tion toward thenorth pole, &...............0ccscee-eee 522 27 From Smithsonian contributions and miscellaneous collee- tions, for sales of publications ..-............0..0sse000 525 70 Building and incidentals general, repayments for old mate- rial, postage refunded, &¢...2........2..2+00--%: ae te 622 59 Apparatus—sale of meteorological apparatus ...........--- 40 00 Total repayments and miscellaneous credits.......--. J, 248 65 Appropriations and expenditures from Congress on account of the museum and care of the Government collections, In addition to the receipts from the Smithson fund, the following amounts have been received : From appropriation by Congress for fitting up halls for COMC CUO erred rare: Soria ss ls oN eiam Defeat senate eds $20, 000 00 From appropriation by Congress for annual care of collee- tions, being part of the $10,000 appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1871, ($5,024 having been drawn ACNE Veal: oA) ete cect dibs sd Ce Shiv ? . - - i Pi 7 i ‘ , 5 7 rc, OAR ele ve iy. Vil Say dks raat TES “oc Cee mie Ire a Pineal eats aor), UR aa as Aaa ey airy Le ga ee } A - : + 4 ; — iAD WPA en etd? ' Athi gd 9 GA >> ae 1) ee ee S i ' : Fe Loe PVM DARWIN 09 Eee iPalnaw iputard's - Bias Ino: sti} 4 ni tired Tee 3 15 ae Mae ASIST S ici Pda. yh eld pelt an ih etl euegeetiel ¥ pana as ie 4 ; i (a Penge si Odiesi a eee’ Ti eeu mr ati few Obes {hres ALid een ios | bY Pat ~ he eM bags Mite aah i t Pry, Sp heint bin Un a ae on : le . pare shad Ort Bee LA Ce QO ns eri ; Set nt ‘tad ‘ eye pits iyerients! Opi GL) etd el UY bro ey ee en eA iki Oy OA) tiv ah oa ‘ VS, Ay CetTAL Ge lle ac TGS: Fhe Lt Mb BES ya Pia rx ts > /Oewaded ys De Ves ee vee ee ae ‘i eG LO? Opa) eats pee dead . Ads » . eee yd 1 Vert Oe IY Loy UN eS (ae pil. ails Meiji Caiivtol Lt her ae / % Peery .49 fans wh ACU ey ae wth ii one irae ‘alow gbtat Bsrieie teuaten Vis) Seda halo nid hte i iar e eaies fads es (neby [i ' : ‘ “ean . ss wee? Fi oh i) (hi Dad 7 Ve Qin 6eb2 Ss bf VALE TH +0) oat «tad UR PA RAPID Vy! 0c Lid Weck Wee (Gri } ‘ i ie pag aie! ogi) Govigs « > of dytaits | af ree - . Ani Poa). Ph, >. apa a i@it) # Dy eee a aoa 7 ia a ee agi ig — ve JOSEPH FOURTER. BIOGRAPHY READ BEFORE THE FRENCH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, BY M. ARAGO. GENTLEMEN: In former times one Academician differed from another only in the number, the nature, and the brilliancy of his discoveries. Their lives, thrown in some respects into the same mold, consisted of events little worthy of remark. A boyhood more or less studious; pro- gress sometimes slow, sometimes rapid; inclinations thwarted by capri- cious or shortsighted parents; inadequacy of means, the privations which it introduces in its train; thirty years of a laborious professorship and difficult studies—such were the elements from which the admirable tal- ents of the early secretaries of the Academy were enabled to execute those portraits so piquant, so lively, and so varied, which form one of the principal ornaments of your learned collections. In the present day, biographies are less confined in their object. The convulsions which France has experienced in emancipating herself from the swaddling-clothes of routine, of superstition, and of privilege, have cast into the storms of political life citizens of all ages, of all conditions, and of all characters. Thus has the Academy of Sciences figured during forty years in the devouring arena, wherein might and right have alter- nately seized the supreme power by a glorious sacrifice of combatants and victims! Recall to mind, for example, the immortal National Assembly. You will find at its head a modest Academician, a pattern of all the private virtues, the unfortunate Bailly, who, in the different phases of his politi- cal life, knew how to reconcile a passionate affection for his country with a moderation which his most cruel enemies themselves have been com- pelled to admire. When, at a later period, coalesced Europe launched against France a million of soldiers; when it became necessary to organize for the crisis fourteen armies, it was the ingenious author of the Lssat sur les Machines and of the Géométrie des Positions who directed this gigantic operation. It was again Carnot, our honorable colleague, who presided over the incomparable campaign of seventeen months, during which French troops, novices in the profession of arms, gained eight pitched battles, were victorious in one hundred and forty combats, occupied one hun- dred and sixteen fortified places, and two hundred and thirty forts or redoubts, enriched our arsenals with four thousand cannon and seventy thousand muskets, took a hundred thousand prisoners, and adorned the dome of the Invalids with ninety flags. During the same time 13 JOSEPH FOURIER. the Chaptals, the Fourcroys, the Monges, the Berthollets, rushed also to the defense of French independence, some of them extracting from our soil, by prodigies of industry, the very last atoms of saltpeter which it contained; others transforming, by the aid of new and rapid methods, the bells of the towns, villages, and smallest hamlets into a formidable artillery, which our enemies supposed, as indeed they had a right to suppose, we were deprived of. At the voice of his country in danger, another Academician, the young and learned Meunier, readily renounced the seductive pursuits of the laboratory; he went to distin- guish himself upon the ramparts of Koénigstein, to contribute as a hero to the long defense of Mayence, and met his death, at the age of forty years only, after having attained the highest position in a garrison wherein shone the Aubert-Dubayets, the Beaupuys, the Haxos, the Klebers. How could I forget here the last secretary of the original Academy ? Follow him into a celebrated assembly, into that convention, the sanguin- ary delirium of which we might almost be inclined to pardon, when we call to mind how gloriously terrible it was to the enemies of our inde- pendence, and you will always see the illustrious Condorcet occupied exclusively with the great interests of reason and humanity. You will hear him denounce the shameful brigandage which for two centuries laid waste the African continent by a system of corruption ; demand in a tone of profound conviction that the code be purified of the frightful stain of capital punishment, which renders the error of the judge for- ever irreparable. He is the official organ of the Assembly on every occa- sion when it is necessary to address soldiers, citizens, political parties, or foreign nations in language worthy of France; he is not the tactician of any party; he incessantly entreats all of them to occupy their atten- tion less with their own interests and a little more with public mat- ters; he replies, finally, to unjust reproaches of weakness by acts which leave him the only alternative of the poison cup or the seaffold. The French Revolution thus threw the learned geometer, whose dis- coveries | am about to celebrate, far away from the route which destiny appeared to have traced out for him. In ordinary times it would be about Dom * Joseph Fourier that the secretary of the Academy would have deemed it his duty to have occupied your attention. It would be the tranquil, the retired life of a Benedictine which he would have unfolded to you. The life of our colleague, on the contrary, will be agi- tated and full of perils; it will pass into the fierce contentions of the forum and amid the hazards of war; it will be a prey to all the anxieties which accompany a difficult administration. We shall find this life inti- mately associated with the great events of our age. Let us hasten to add, that it will be always worthy and honorable, and that the personal qualities of the man of science will enhance the brilliancy of his dis- coveries. *An abbreviation of Dominus, equivalent tothe English prefix Reverend.—Translator. JOSEPH FOURIER. too Fourier was born at Auxerre on the 21st of March, 1768. is father, like that of the illustrious geometer Lambert, was a tailor. This cir- cumstance would formerly have occupied a large place in the éloge of our learned colleague; thanks to the progress of enlightened ideas, I may mention the circumstance as a fact of no importance: nobody, in effect, thinks in the present day, nobody even pretends to think, that genius is the privilege of rank or fortune. Fourier became an orphan at the age of eight years. A lady who had remarked the amiability of his manners and his precocious natural abilities, recommended him to the bishop of Auxerre. Through the influence of this prelate, Fourier was admitted into the military school which was conducted at that time by the Benedictines of the Convent of St. Mark. There he prosecuted his literary studies with surprising rapidity and success. Many sermons very much applauded at Paris in the mouth of high dignitaries of the church were emanations from the pen of the schoolboy of twelve years of age. It would be impossible in the present day to trace those first compositions of the youth Fourier, since, while divulging the plagiarism, he had the discretion never to name those who profited by it. At thirteen years Fourier had the petulence, the noisy vivacity of most young people of the same age; but his character changed all at once, and as if by enchantment, as soon as he was initiated in the first principles of mathematics, that is to say, as soon as he became sensible of his real vocation, The hours prescribed for study no longer sufficed to gratify his insatiable curiosity. Ends of candles carefully collected in the kitchen, the corridors and the refectory of the college, and placed on a hearth concealed by a screen, served during the night to illuminate the solitary studies by which Fourier prepared himself for those labors which were destined, a few years afterward, to adorn his name and his country. In a military school directed by monks, the minds of the pupils neces- sarily waver only between two careers in life—the church and the sword. Like Descartes, Fourier wished to be a soldier; like that philosopher, he would doubtless have found the life of a garrison very wearisome. But he was not permitted to make the experiment. His demand to undergo the examination for the artillery, although strongly supported by our illustrious colleague Legendre, was rejected with a severity of expression of which you may judge yourselves: ‘“ Fourier,” replied the minister, ‘not being noble, could not enter the artillery, although he were a second Newton.” Gentlemen, there is in the strict enforcement of regulations, even when they are most absurd, something respectable, which I have a pleasure in recognizing; in the present instance nothing could soften the odious character of the minister’s words. It is not true in reality that no one could formerly enter into the artillery who did not possess a title of nobility: a certain fortune frequently supplied the want of 140 JOSEPH FOURIER. parchments. Thus it was not a something undefinable, which, by the way, our ancestors, the Franks, had not yet invented, that was wanting to young Fourier, but rather an income of a few hundred livres, which the men who were then placed at the head of the country would have refused to acknowledge the genius of Newton as a just equivalent for! Treasure up these facts, gentlemen; they form an admirable illustration of the immense advances which Heance has made during the last forty years. Posterity, moreover, will see in this, not the excuse, but the explanation of some of those sanguinary dissensions which stained our first revolution. Fourier, not having been enabled to gird on the sword, assumed the habit of a Benedictine, and repaired to the Abbey of St. Benoit-sur-Loire, where he intended to pass the period of his novitiate. He had not yet taken any vows when, in 1789, every mind was captivated, with beauti- fully seductive ideas relative to the social regeneration of France. Fourier now renounced the profession of the church; but this cireum- stance did not prevent his former masters from appointing him to the principal chair of mathematics in the military school of Auxerre, and bestowing upon him numerous tokensof a lively and sincere affection. I venture to assert that no event in the life of our colleague affords a more striking proof of the goodness of his natural disposition and the amia- bility of his manners. It would be necessary not to know the human heart to suppose that the monks of St. Benoit did not feel some chagrin upon finding themselves so abruptly abandoned, to imagine especially that they should give up without lively regret the glory which the order might have expected from the ingenious colleague who had just escaped from them. Fourier responded worthily to the confidence of which he had just become the object. When his colleagues were indisposed, the titular professor of mathematics occupied in turns the chairs of rhetoric, of history, and of philosophy; and whatever might be the subject of his lectures, he diffused among an audience which listened to him with de- light the treasures of a varied and profound erudition, adorned with all the brillianey which the most elegant diction could impart to them. About the close of the year 1789, Fourier repaired to Paris and read before the Academy of Sciences a memoir on the resolution of numerical equations of all degrees. This work of his early youth our colleague, so to speak, never lost sight of. He explained it at Paris to the pupils of the Polytechnic School; he developed it upon the banks of the Nile in presence of the Institute of Egypt ; at Grenoble, from the year 1802, it was his favorite subject of conversation with the professors of the Central School and of the faculty of sciences. This finally contained the elements of the work which Fourier was engaged in seeing through the press when death put an end to his career. A scientific subject does not occupy so much space in the life of a man of science of the first rank without being important and difficult. JOSEPH FOURIER. 14) The subject of algebraic analysis above mentioned, which Fourier had studied with a perseverance so remarkable, is not an exception to this rule. It offers itself in a great number of applications of calculation to the movements of the heavenly bodies, or to the physies of terres- trial bodies, and in general in the problems which lead to equations of a high degree. As soon as he wishes to quit the domain of abstract re- lations, the calculator has occasion to employ the roots of these equa- tions; thus the art of discovering them by the aid of a uniform method, either exactly or by approximation, did not fail at an early period to excite the attention of geometers. An observant eye perceives already some traces of their efforts in the writings of the mathematicians of the Alexandrian school. ‘These traces, it must be acknowledged, are so slight and so imperfect that we should truly be justified in referring the crigin of this branch of analysis only to the excellent labors of our countryman Vieta. Descartes, to whom we render very impertect justice when we content ourselves with saying that he taught us much when he taught us to doubt, occupied his atten- tion also for a short time with this problem, and left upon it the indelible impress of his powerful mind. Hudde gave for a particular but very important case rales to which nothing has since been added. . Rolle, of the Academy of Sciences, devoted to this one subject his entire life. Among our neighbors on the other side of the channel, Harriot, Newton, Maclaurin, Stirling, Waring—I may say all the illustrious geometers which England produced in the last century—made it also the subject of their researches. Some years afterward the names of Daniel Bernoulli, of Euler, and of Fontaine came to be added to so many great names. Finally, Lagrange in his turn embarked in the same career, and at the very commencement of his researches he succeeded in substituting for the imperfect, although very ingenious, essays of his predecessors, a complete method which was free from every objection. From that instant the dignity of science was satisfied; but in such a case it would not be permitted to say with the poet— “Le temps ne fait rien 4 Vaffaire.” Now, although the processes invented by Lagrange, simple in princi- ple and applicable to every case, have theoretically the merit of leading to the result with certainty, still, on the other hand, they demand eal- culations of a most repulsive length. It remained then to perfect the practical part of the question: it was necessary to devise the means of shortening the route without depriving it in any degree of its certainty. Such was the principal object of the researches of Fourier, and this he has attained to a great extent. Descartes had already found, in the order according to which the signs of the different terms of any numerical equation whatever succeed each other, the means of deciding, for example, how many real positive roots this equation may have. Fourier advanced a step further: he 142 JOSEPH FOURIER. discovered a method for determining what number of the equally posi- tive roots of every equation may be found included between two given quantities. Here certain calculations become necessary, but they are very simple, and whatever be the precision desired, they lead without any trouble to the solutions sought for. I doubt whether it were possible to cite a single scientifie discovery of any importance which has not excited discussions of priority. The new method of Fourier for solving numerical equations is in this respect amply comprised within the common law. We ought, however, to ac- knowledge that the theorem which serves as the basis of this method yas first published by M. Budan; that according to a rule which the principal academies of Europe have solemnly sanctioned, and from which the historian of the sciences dares not deviate without falling into arbi- trary assumptions and confusion, M. Budan ought to be considered as the inventor. I will assert with equal assurance that it would be im- possible to refuse to Fourier the merit of having attained the same ob- ject by his own efforts. I even regret that, in order to establish rights which nobody has contested, he deemed it necessary to have recourse to the certificates of early pupils of the Polytechnic School or profes- sors of the University. Since our colleague had the modesty to suppose that his simple declaration would not be sufficient, why (and the argu- ment would have had much weight) did he not remark in what respect his demonstration differed from that of his competitor?—an admirable demonstration, in effect, and one so impregnated with the elements of the question, that a young geometer, M. Sturm, has just employed it to establish the truth of the beautiful theorem by the aid of which he de- termines not the simple limits, but the exact number of roots of any equation whatever which are comprised between two given quantities. We had just left Fourier at Paris, submitting to the Academy of Sci- ences the analytical memoir of which 1 have just given a general view. Upon his return to Auxerre, the young geometer found the town, the surrounding country, and even the school to which he belonged, occu- pied intensely with the great questions relative to the dignity of human nature, philosophy, and politics, which were then discussed by the ora- tors of the different parties of the National Assembly. Fourier aban- doned himself also to this movement of the human mind. Heembraced with enthusiasm the principles, of the Revolution, and he ardently asso- ciated himself with everything grand, just, and generous which the pop- ular impulse offered, His patriotism made him accept the most difficult missions. We may assert, that never, even when his life was at stake, did he truckle to the base, covetous, and sanguinary passions which dis- played themselves on all sides. A member of the popular society of Auxerre, Fourier exercised there an almost irresistible ascendency. One day—all Burgundy has pre- served the remembrance of it—on the occasion of a levy of three bun- dred thousand men, he made the words honor, country, glory, ring so JOSEPH FOURIER. 143 eloquently, he induced so many voluntary enrollments, that the ballot was not deemed necessary. At the command of the orator the contin- gent assigned to the chief town of the Yonne formed in order, assembled together within the very enclosure of the Assembly, and marched forth- with to the frontier. Unfortunately these struggles of the forum, in which so many noble lives then exercised themselves, were far from having always a real importance. Ridiculous, absurd, and burlesque notions injured incessantly the inspirations of a pure, sincere, and en- lightened patriotism. The popular society of Auxerre would furnish us, in case of necessity, with more than one example of those lamentable contrasts. Thus [ might say that in the very same apartment wherein Fourier knew how to excite the honorable sentiments which I have with pleasure recalled to mind, he had on another occasion to contend with a certain orator, perhaps of good intentions, but assuredly a bad astron- omer, who wishing to escape, said he, from the good pleasure of munici- pal rulers, proposed that the names of the north, east, south, and west quarters should be assigned by lot to the different parts of the town of Auxerre. Literature, the fine arts, and the sciences appeared for a moment to flourish under the auspicious influence of the French Revolution. Ob- serve, for example, with what grandeur of conception the reformation of weights and measures was planned; what geometers, what astrono- mers, What eminent philosophers presided over every department of this noble undertaking! Alas! frightful revolutions in the interior of the country soon saddened this magnificent spectacle. The sciences could not prosper in the midst of the desperate contest of factions. They would have blushed to owe any obligations to the men of blood, whose blind passions immolated a Saron, a Bailly, and a Lavoisiére. A few months after the 9th Thermidor, the convention being desirous of diffusing throughout the country ideas of order, civilization, and in- ternal prosperity, resolved upon organizing a system of public instrue- tion, but a difficulty arose in finding professors. The members of the corps of instruction had become officers of artillery, of engineering, or of the staff, and were combating the enemies of France at tie frontiers. Fortunately at this epoch of intellectual exaltation, nothing seemed im- possible. Professors were wanting: it was resolved without delay to create some, and the normal school sprung into existence. Fifteen hun- dred citizens of all ages, dispatched from the principal district towns, assembled together, not to study in all their ramifications the different branches of human knowledge, but in order to learn the art of teaching under the greatest masters. Fourier was one of these fifteen hundred pupils. It will, no doubt, excite some surprise that he was elected at St. Florentine, and that Auxerre appeared insensible to the honor of being represented at Paris by the most illustrious of her children. But this indifference will be readily understood. The elaborate scaffolding of calumny which it has 144 JOSEPH FOURIER. served to support will fall to the ground as soon as I recall to mind, that after the 9th Thermidor the capital, and especially the provinces, became a prey to a blind and disorderly reaction, as all political reac- tions invariably are; that crime (the crime of having changed opinions— it was nothing less hideous) usurped the place of justice; that excellent citizens; that pure, moderate, and conscientious patriots were daily massacred by hired bands of assassins in presence of whom the inhabit- ants remained mute with fear. Such are, gentlemen, the formidable influences which for a moment deprived Fourier of the suffrages of his countrymen ; and caricatured, as a partisan of Robespierre, the individ- ual whom St. Just, making allusion to his sweet and persuasive elo- quence, styled a patriot in music ; who was so often thrown into prison by the Decemvirs; who, at the very height of the reign of terror, offered before the revolutionary tribunal the assistance of his admirable talents to the mother of Marshal Davoust, accused of the crime of having at that unrelenting epoch sent some money to the emigrants; who had the in- credible boldness to shut up at the inn of Tonnerre an agent of the com- mittee of public safety, into the secret of whose mission he penetrated, and thus obtained time to warn an honorable citizen that he was about to be arrested; who, finally, attaching himself personally to the san- guinary proconsul before whom every one trembled in Yonne, made him pass for a madman, and obtained his recall! You see, gentlemen, some of the acts of patriotism, of devotion, and of humanity which signalized the early years of Fourier. They were, you have seen, repaid with in- gratitude. But ought we, in reality, to be astonished at it? To expect gratitude from the man who cannot make an avowal of his feelings with- out danger would be to shut one’s eyes to the frailty of human nature and to expose one’s self to frequent disappointments. In the normal school of the convention, discussion from time to time sueceeded ordinary lectures. On those days an interchange of charac- ters was effected: the pupils interrogated the professors. Some words pronounced by Fourier at one of those curious and useful meetings suf- ficed to attract attention toward him. Accordingly, as soon as a ne- cessity was felt to create masters of conference, all eyes were turned to- ward the pupil of St. Florentine. The precision, the clearness, and the elegance of his lectures soon procured for him the unanimous applause of the fastidious and numerous audience which was confided to him. When he attained the height of his scientific and literary glory, Fourier used to look back with pleasure upon the year 1794, and upon the sublime efforts which the French nation then made for the purpose of organizing a corps of public instruction. If he had ventured, the title of pupil of the original normal school would have been beyond doubt that which he would have assumed by way of preference. Gentlemen, that school perished of cold, of wretchedness, and of hunger, and not, what- ever people may say, from certain defects of organization, which time and reflection would have easily rectified. Notwithstanding its short exist- JOSEPH FOURIER. 145 ence, it imparted to scientific studies quite a new direction, which has been productive of the most important results. In supporting this opinion at some length, I shall acquit myself of a task which Fourier would certainly have imposed upon me, if he could have suspected that with just and eloquent eulogiums of his character and his labors there should mingle within the walls of this apartment, and even emanate from the mouth of one of his successors, sharp critiques of his beloved normal school. It is to the normal school that we must inevitably ascend if we would desire to ascertain the earliest public teaching of descriptive geometry, that fine creation of the genius of Monge. It is from this source that it has passed almost without modification to the Polytechnic School, to founderies, to manufactories, and the most humble workshops. The establishment of the Normal School accordingly indicates the com- mencement of a veritable revolution in the study of pure mathematics ; with it demonstrations, methods, and important theories, buried in academical collections, appeared for the first time before the pupils, and encouraged them to recast upon new bases the works destined for instruction. With some rare exceptions, the philosophers engaged in the cultiva- tion of science constituted formerly in France a class totally distinct from that of the professors. By appointing the first geometers, the first philosophers, and the first naturalists of the world to be professors, the convention threw new luster upon the profession of teaching, the ad- vantageous influence of which is felt in the present day. In the opinion of the public at large, a title which a Lagrange, a Laplace, a Monge, a Berthollet, had borne, became a proper match to the finest titles. If under the empire, the Polytechnic School counted among its active pro- fessors councilors of state, ministers, and the president of the senate, you must look for the explanation of this fact in the impulse given by the Normal School. You see in the ancient great colleges professors concealed in some degree behind their portfolios, reading as from a pulpit, amid the indif- ference and inattention of their pupils, discourses prepared beforehand with great labor, and which reappear every year in the same form. Nothing of this kind existed at the Normal School; oral lessons alone were there permitted. The authorities even went so far as to require of the illustrious savants appointed to the task of instruction the formal promise never to recite any lectures which they might have learned by heart. From that time the chair has become a tribune where the pro- fessor, identified, so to speak, with his audience, sees in their looks, in their gestures, in their countenance, sometimes the necessity for pro- ceeding at greater speed, sometimes, on the contrary, the necessity of retracing his steps, of awakening the attention by some incidental ob- servations, of clothing in a new form the thought which, when first expressed, had left some doubts in the minds of his audience. And do 10s 71 146 JOSEPH FOURIER. not suppose that the beautiful impromptu lectures with which the amphi- theater of the Normal School resounded remained unknown to the public. Short-hand writers paid by the State reported them. The sheets, after being revised by the professors, were sent to the fifteen hundred pupils, tothe members of convention, to the consuls and agents of the republic in foreign countries, to all governors of districts. There was in this something certainly of profusion compared with the parsi- monious and mean habits of our time. Nobody, however, would concur in this reproach, however slight it may appear, if I were permitted to point out in this very apartment an illustrious Academician, whose. mathematical genius was awakened by the lectures of the Normal School in an obscure district town. The necessity of demonstrating the important services, ignored in the present day, for which the dissemination of the sciences is indebted to the first Normal School, has inducod me to dwell at greater length on the subject than I intended. I hope to be pardoned; the example in any case will not be contagious. Eulogiums of the past, you know, gentle- men, are no longer fashionable. Everything which is said, everything which is printed, induces us to suppose that the world is the creation of yesterday. This opinion, which allows to each a part more or less brilliant in the cosmogonie drama, is under the safeguard of too many vanities to have anything to fear from the efforts of logic. I have already stated that the brilliant success of Fourier at the Nor- mal School assigned to him a distinguished place among the persons whom nature has endowed in the highest degree with the talent of pub- lic tuition. Accordingly, he was not forgotten by the founders of the Polytechnic School. Attached to that celebrated establishment, first with the title of superintendent of lectures on fortification, afterward appointed to deliver a course of lectures on analysis, Fourier has left there a venerated name, and the reputation of a professor distinguished by clearness, method, and erudition; I shall add even the reputation of a professor full of grace, for our colleague has proved that this kind of merit may not be foreign to the teaching of mathematics. The lectures of Fourier have not been collected together. The Jour- nal of the Polytechnic School contains only one paper by him, a memoir upon the “ Principle of virtual velocities.” This memoir, which prob- ably had served for the text of a leoture, shows that the secret of our celebrated professor’s great success consisted in the combination of abstract truths, of interesting applications, and of historical details little known, and derived, a thing so rare in our days, from original sources. We have now arrived at the epoch when the peace of Leoben brought back to the metropolis the principal ornaments of our armies. Then the professors and the pupils of the Polytechnic School had sometimes the distinguished honor of sitting in their amphitheaters beside Gen- erals Desaix and Bonaparte. Everything indicated to them then an JOSEPH FOURIER. 147 active participation in the events which each foresaw, and which in fact were not long in occurring. Notwithstanding the precarious condition of Europe, the Directory decided upon denuding the country of its best troops, and launching them upon an adventurous expedition. The five chiefs of the republic were then desirous of removing from Paris the conqueror of Italy, of thereby putting an end to the popular demonstrations of which he every- where formed the object, and which sooner or later would become a real danger. On the other hand, the illustrious general did not dream merely of the mo- mentary conquestof Egypt; he wished to restore to that country its ancient splendor; he wished to extend its cultivation, to improve its system of irrigation, to create new branches of industry, to open to commerce numerous outlets, to stretch out a helping hand to the unfortunate in- habitants, to rescue them from the galling yoke under which they had groaned for ages—in a word, to bestow upon them without delay all the benefits of European civilization. Designs of such magnitude could not have been accomplished with the mere personnel of an ordinary army. It was necessary to appeal to science, to literature, and to the fine arts ; it was necessary to ask the codperation of several men of judgment and of experience. Monge and Berthollet, both members of the Institute and professors in the Polytechnic School, became, with a view to this object, the principal recruiting aids to the chief of the expedition. Were our-colleagues really acquainted with the object of this expedition? I dare not reply in the affirmative; but I know at all events that they were not permitted to divulge it. We are going to a distant country ; we shall embark at Toulon; we shall be constantly with you; General Bonaparte will command the army, such was in form and substance the limited amount of confidential information which had been imperiously traced out to them. Upon the faith of words so vague, with the chances of a naval battle, with the English hulks in perspective, go in the pres- ent day and endeavor to enroll a father of a family, a savant already known by useful labors and placed in some honorable position, an artist in possession of the esteem and confidence of the public, and I am much mistaken if you obtain anything else than refusals ; but in 1798, France had hardly emerged from a terrible crisis, during which her very ex- istence was frequently at stake. Who, besides, had not encountered imminent personal danger? Who had not seen with his own eyes enter- prises of a truly desperate nature brought to a fortunate issue? Is any- thing more wanted to explain that adventurous character, that absence of all care for the morrow, which appears to have been one of the most distinguishing features of the epoch of the Directory. Fourier accepted then, without hesitation, the proposals which his colleagues brought to him in the name of the commander-in-chief; he quitted the agreeable duties of a professor of the Polytechnic School to go—he knew not where; to do—he knew not what. 148 JOSEPH FOURIER. Chance placed Fourier during the voyage in the vessel in which Kleber sailed. The friendship which the philosopher and the warrior vowed to each other from that moment was not without some influence upon the events of which Egypt was the theater after the departure of Napoleon. He who signed his orders of the day, the ember of the Institute, Com- mander-in-chief of the Army in the East, could not fail to place an academy among the means of regenerating the ancient kingdom of the Pharaohs. The valiant army which he commanded had barely conquered at Cairo, on the occasion of the memorable battle of the Pyramids, when the In- stitute of Egypt sprung into existence. It consisted of forty-eight mem- bers, divided into four sections. Monge had the honor of being the first president. As at Paris, Bonaparte belonged to the section of mathematics. The situation of perpetual secretary, the filling up of which was left to the free choice of the society, was unanimously assigned to Fourier. You have seen the celebrated geometer discharge the same duty at the Academy of Sciences ; you have appreciated his liberality of mind, his enlightened benevolence, his unvarying affability, his straightforward and conciliatory disposition; add in imagination to so many rare quali- ties the activity which youth, which health, can alone give, and you will have again conjured into existence the secretary of the Institute of Egypt; and yet the portrait which I have attempted to draw of him would grow pale beside the original. Upon the banks of the Nile, Fourier devoted himself to assiduous researches on almost every branch of knowledge which the vast plan of the Institute embraced. The Decade and the Courier of Egypt will acquaint the reader with the titles of his different labors. I find in these journals a memoir upon the general solution of algebraic equations; researches on the methods of elimination; the demonstra- tion of anew theorem of algebra; a memoir upon the indeterminate analysis; studies on general mechanics; a technical and historical work upon the aqueduct which conveys the waters of the Nile to the Castle of Cairo; reflections upon the oases; the plan of statistical researches to be undertaken with respect to the state of Egypt; pro- gramme of an intended exploration of the site of ancient Memphis, and of the whole extent of burying-places; a descriptive account of the revolutions and manners of Egypt, from the time of its conquest by Selim. I find also in the Egyptian Decade, that, on the first complementary day of the year VI, Fourier communicated to the Institute the descrip- tion of a machine designed to promote irrigation, and which was to be driven by the power of wind. This work, so far removed from the ordinary current of the ideas of our colleague, has not been printed. It would very naturally find a place in a work of which the expedition to Egypt might again furnish JOSEPH FOURIER. 149 the subject, notwithstanding the many beautiful publications which it has already called into existence. It would be a description of the man- ufactories of steel, of arms, of powder, of cloth, of machines, and of instruments of every kind which our army had to prepare for the ocea- sion. If, during our infancy, the expedients which Robinson Crusoe practiced in order to escape from the romantic dangers which he had incessantly to encounter, excite our interest in a lively degree, how, in mature age, could we regard with indifference a handful of Frenchmen thrown upon the inhospitable shores of Africa, without any possible communication with the mother-country, obliged to contend at once with the elements and with formidable armies, destitute of food, of clothing, of arms, and of ammunition, and yet supplying every want by the force of genius! The long route which I have yet to traverse will hardly allow me to add a few words relative to the administrative services of the illustrious geometer. Appointed French commissioner at the Divan of Cairo, he became the official medium between the general-in-chief and every Egyptian who might have to complain of an attack against his person, his property, his morals, his habits, or his creed. An invariable suavity of manner, a scrupulous regard for prejudices to oppose which directly would have been vain, an inflexible sentiment of justice, had given him an ascendency over the Mussulman population, which the precepts of the Koran could not lead any one to hope for, and which powerfully contributed to the maintenance of friendly relations between the inhab- itants of Cairo and the French soldiers. Fourier was especially held in veneration by the Cheiks and the Ulémas. A single anecdote will serve to show that this sentiment was the offspring of genuine gratitude. The Emir Hadgey, or Prince of the Caravan, who had been nominated by General Bonaparte upon his arrival in Cairo, escaped during the campaign of Syria. There existed strong grounds at the time for sup- posing that four Cheiks Ulémas had rendered themselves accomplices of the treason. Upon his return to Egypt, Bonaparte confided the investi- gation of this grave affair to Fourier. ‘Do not,” said he, “‘ submit half- measures tome. You have to pronounce judgment upon high person- ages: we must either cut off their heads or invite them to dinner.” On the day following that on which this conversation took place, the four Cheiks dined with the general-in-chief. By obeying the inspirations of his heart, Fourier did not perform merely an act of humanity; it was, moreover, one of excellent policy. Our learned colleague, M. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, to whom I am indebted for this anecdote, has stated in fact that Soleyman and Fayoumi, the principal of the Egyptian chiefs, whose punishment, thanks to our colleague, was so happily transformed into a banquet, seized every occasion of extolling among their country- men the generosity of the French. Fourier did not display less ability when our generals confided diplo- matic missions to him. I¢ is to his tact and urbanity that our army is 150 JOSEPH FOURIER. indebted for an offensive and defensive treaty of alliance with Mourad Bey. Justly proud of this result, Fourier omitted to make known the details of the negotiation. This is deeply to be regretted, for the pleni- potentiary of Mourad was a woman, the same Sitty Nefigah whom Kle- ber bas immortalized by proclaiming her beneficence, her noble character, in the bulletin of Heliopolis. and who, moreover, was already celebrated from one extremity of Asia to the other, in consequence of the bloody revolutions which her unparalleled beauty bad excited among the Mamelukes. The incomparable victory which Kleber gained over the army of the Grand Vizier did not damp the energy of the janissaries, who had seized upon Cairo while the war was raging at Heliopolis. They defended themselves from house to house with heroic courage. The besieged had to choose between the entire destruction of the city and an honorable capitulation. The latter alternative was adopted. Fourier, charged, as usual, with the negotiations, conducted them to a favorable issue ; but on this occasion the treaty was not discussed, agreed to, and signed within the mysterious precincts of a harem, upon downy couches, under the shade of balmy groves. The preliminary discussions were held in a house half ruined by bullets and grape-shot, in the center of the quarter of which the insurgents valiantly disputed the possession with our soldiers, before even it would have been possible to agree to the basis of a treaty of a few hours. Accordingly, when Fourier was pre- paring to celebrate the welcome of the Turkish commissioner conform- ably to oriental usages, a great number of musket-shots were fired from the house in front, and a ball passed through the coffee-pot which he was holding in his hand. Without calling in question the bravery of any person, do you not think, gentlemen, that if diplomatists were usu- ally placed in equally perilous positions, the public would have less rea- son to complain of their proverbial slowness ? In order to exhibit, under one point of view, the various administrative duties of our indefatigable colleague, I should have to show him to you on board the English fleet, at the instant of the capitulation of Menou, stipulating for certain guarantees in favor of the members of the Insti- tute of Egypt; but services of no less importance and of a different nature demand also our attention. They will even compel us to retrace our steps, to ascend even to the epoch of glorious memory when Desaix achieved the conquest of Upper Egypt, as much by the sagacity, the moderation, and the inflexible justice of all his acts, as by the rapidity and boldness of his military operations. Bonaparte then appointed two numerous commissions to proceed to explore in those remote regions a multitude of monuments of which the moderns hardly suspected the existence, Fourier and Costas were the commandants of these com- missions. I say the commandants, for a sufficiently imposing military force had been assigned to them; since it was frequently after a combat with the wandering tribes of Arabs that the astronomer found in the JOSEPH FOURIER. 151 movements of the heavenly bodies the elements of a future geographical map; that the naturalist collected unknown plants, determined the geological constitution of the soil, occupied himself with troublesome dissections; that the antiquary measured the dimensions of edifices; that he attempted to take a faithful sketch of the fantastic images with which everything was covered in that singular country, from the smallest pieces of furniture, from the simple toys of children, to those prodigious palaces, to those immense facades, beside which the vastest of modern constructions would hardly attract a look. | The two learned commissions studied with scrupulous care the mag- nificent temple of the ancient Tentyris, and especially the series of astronomical signs which have excited in our days such lively discus- sions; the remarkable monuments of the mysterious and sacred Isle of Elephantine; the ruins of Thebes, with her hundred gates, before which (and yet they are nothing but ruins) our whole army halted, ina state of astonishment, to applaud. Fourier also presided in Upper Egypt over these memorable works, when the commander-in-chief suddenly quitted Alexandria, and returned to France with his principal friends.. Those persons then were very much mistaken who, upon not finding our colleague on board the frigate Muiron, beside Monge and Berthollet, imagined that Bonaparte did not appreciate his eminent qualities. If Fourier was not a passenger, this arose from the circumstance of his having been a hundred leagues from the Mediterranean when the Muiron set sail. The explanation contains nothing striking, but it is true. In any case, the friendly feeling of Kleber toward the secretary of the Institute of Egypt, the influence which he justly granted to him on a multitude of delicate occasions, amply compensated him for an unjust omission. I arrive, gentlemen, at the epoch so suggestive of painful recollec- tions, when the Agas of the janissaries, who had fled into Syria, having despaired of vanquishing our troops so admirably commanded by the honorable arms of the soldier, had recourse to the dagger of the assassin. You are aware that a young fanatic, whose imagination had been wrought up to a high state of excitement in the mosques by a month of prayers and abstinence, aimed a mortal blow at the hero of Heliopolis at the instant when he was listening, without suspicion, and with his usual kindness, to a recital of pretended grievances, and was promising redress. This sad misfortune plunged our colony into profound grief. The Egyptians themselves mingled their tears with those of the French soldiers. By a delicacy of feeling which we should be wrong in sup- posing the Mahometans not to be capable of, they did not then omit, they have not since omitted, to remark, that the assassin and his three accomplices were not born on the banks of the Nile. The army, to mitigate its grief, desired that the funeral of Kleber should be celebrated with great pomp. It wished, also, that on that solemn day some person should recount the long series of brilliant 2 JOSEPH FOURIER. actions which will transmit the name of the illustrious general to the remotest posterity. By unanimous consent this honorable and perilous mission was confided to Fourier. There are very few individuals, gentlemen, who have not seen the brilliant dreams of their youth wrecked one after the other against the sad realities of mature age. Fourier was one of those few exceptions. In effect, transport yourselves mentally back to the year 1789, and consider what would be the future prospects of the humble convert of St. senoit-sur-Loire. No doubt, asmall share of literary glory ; the favor of being heard occasionally in the churches of the metropolis; the satis- faction of being appointed to eulogize such or such a public personage. Well, nine years have hardly passed aud you find him at the head of the Institute of Egypt, and he is the oracle, the idol, of a society which counted among its members Bonaparte, Berthollet, Monge, Malus, Geoffroy St. Hilaire, Conté, &c.; and the generals rely upon him for overcoming apparently insurmountable difficulties, and the army of the East, itself so rich in adornments of all kinds, would desire no other interpreter when it is necessary to recount the lofty deeds of the hero which it had just lost. It was upon the breach of a bastion which our troops had recently taken by assault, in sight of the most majestic of rivers, of the mag- nificent valley which it fertilizes, of the frightful desert of Lybia, of the colossal pyramids of Gizeh; it was in presence of twenty populations of different origins which Cairo unites together in its vast basin; in presence of the most valiant soldiers that had ever set foot on a land, wherein, however, the names of Alexander and of Cesar still resound ; it was in the midst of everything which could move the heart, excite the ideas, or exalt the imagination, that Fourier unfolded the noble life of Kleber. The orator was listened to with religious silence; but soon, addressing himself with a gesture of his hand to the soldiers ranged in battle-array before him, he exclaims: ‘‘Ah, how many of you would have aspired to the honor of throwing yourselves between Kleber and his assassin! I call you to witness, intrepid cavalry, who rushed to save him upon the heights of Koraim, and dispelled in an instant the multitude of enemies who had surrounded him!” At these words an electric tremor thrills throughout the whole army, the colors droop, the ranks close, the arms come into collision, a deep sigh escapes from some ten thousand breasts torn by the saber and the bullet, and the voice of the orator is drowned amid sobs. A few months after, upon the same bastion, before the same soldiers, Fourier celebrated with no less eloquence the exploits, the virtues, of the general whom the people conquered in Africa saluted with the name so flattering of Just Sultan, and who sacrificed his life at Marengo to secure the triumph of the French arms. Fourier quitted Egypt only with the last wreck of the army, in virtue of the capitulation signed by Menou. On hig return to France the JOSEPH FOURIER. 153 object of his most constant solicitude was to illustrate the memorable expedition of which he had been one of the most active and most useful members. The idea of collecting together the varied labors of all his colleagues incontestably belongs to him. I find the proof of this in a letter still unpublished, which he wroteto Kleber from Thebes on the 20th Vendémiaire, inthe year VI. No public act in which mention is made of this great literary monument is of an earlier date. The Institute of Cairo having adopted the project of a Work upon Egypt as early as the month of Frimaire, in the year VIII, confided to Fourier the task of uniting together the scattered elements of it, of making them consistent with each other, and drawing up the general introduction. This introduction was published under the title of Historical Preface. Fontanes saw in it the graces of Athens and the wisdom of Egypt united together. What could Ladd to such an eulogium? I shall say only that there are to be found there, in a few pages, the principal features of the government of the Pharaohs, and the results of the subjection of ancient Egypt by the kings of Persia, the Ptolemies, the successors of Augustus, the emperors of Byzantium, the first Caliphs, the cele- brated Saladin, the Mamelukes, and the Ottoman princes. The different phases of our adventurous expedition are there characterized with the greatest care. JTourier carries his scruples to so great a length as to attempt to prove that it was just. I have said only so far as to attempt, for in that case there might have been something to deduct from the second part of the eulogium of Fontanes. If, in 1797, our countryman experienced at Cairo or at Alexandria outrages and extortions which the Grand Seignior either would not or could not repress, one may in all rigor admit that France ought to have exacted justice to herself; that she had the right to send a powerful army to bring the Turkish eustom- house officers to reason. But this is far from maintaining that the Divan of Constantinople ought to have favored the French expedition; that our conquest was about to restore to him, in some sort, Egypt and Syria; that the capture of Alexandria and the battle of the Pyramids would enhance the luster of the Ottoman name! However, the public hastened to acquit Fourier of what appears hazarded in this small part of his beautiful work. The origin of it has been sought for in political exi- gencies. Let us be brief; behind certain sophisms the hand of the orig- inal commander-in-chief of the army of the East was suspected to be seen ! Napoleon then would appear to have participated, by his instructions, by his counsels, or, if we choose, by his imperative orders, in the com- position of the essay of Fourier. What was not long ago nothing more than a plausible conjecture has now become an incontestable fact. Thanks to the courtesy of M. Champollion-Figeac, I held in my hands, within the last few days, some parts of the first proof-sheets of the his- torical preface. These proofs were sent to the Emperor, who wished to make himself acquainted with them at leisure before reading them with 154 JOSEPH FOURIER. Fourier. They are covered witb marginal notes, and the additions which they have occasioned amount to almost a third of the original discourse. Upon these pages, as in the definitive work given to the. public, one remarks a complete absence of proper names; the only exception is in the case of the three generals-in-chief. Thus Fourier had imposed upon himself the reserve which certain vanities had blamed so severely. IT shall add that nowhere throughout the precious proof-sheets of M. Champollion do we perceive traces of the miserable feelings of jealousy which have been attributed to Napoleon. It is true that upon pointing out with his finger the word illustrious applied to Kleber, the Emperor said to our colleague, “‘Some one has directed my attention to this epithet ;” but, after a short pause, he added, “It is desirable that you should leave it, for it is just and well deserved.” These words, gentle- men, honored the monarch still less than they branded with disgrace the some one whom I regret not being able to designate in more definite terms; one of those vile courtiers whose whole life is occupied in spying out the frailties, the evil passions of their masters, in order to make them subservient in conducting themselves to honors and fortune! Fourier had no sooner returned to Europe than he was named (Jan- uary 2d, 1802) prefect of the department of V’Isere. The ancient Dau- phiny was then a prey to ardent political dissensions. The republicans, the partisans of the emigrants, those who had ranged themselves under the banners of the consular government, formed so many distinct castes, between whom all reconciliation appeared impossible. Well, gentle- men, this impossibility Fourier achieved. His first care was to cause the Hotel of the Prefecture to be considered as neutral ground, where each might show himself without even the appearance of a concession. Curiosity alone at first brought the people there, but the people returned ; for in France they seldom desert the saloons wherein are to be found a polished and benevolent host, witty without being ridiculous, and learned without being pedantic. What had been divulged of the opin- ions of our colleague, respecting the anti-biblican antiquity of the Egyp- tian monuments, inspired the religious classes especially with lively apprehensions ; they were very adroitly informed that the new prefect counted a saint in his family; that the blessed Pierre Fourier, who established the religious sisters of the Congregation of Notre-Dame, was his grand-unele, and this cireumstance effected a reconciliation which the unalterable respect of the first magistrate of Grenoble for all con- scientious opinions cemented every day more and more. As soon as he was assured of a truce with the political and religious parties, Fourier was enabled to devote himself exclusively to the duties of his office. These duties did not consist with him in heaping up old papers to no advantage. He took personal cognizance of the projects which were submitted to him; he was the indefatigable promoter of all those which narrow-minded persons sought to stifle in their birth; we may include in this last class the superb road from Grenoble to Turin ~ JOSEPH FOURIER. 155 by Mount Genevre, which the events of 1814 have so unfortunately interrupted, and especially the drainage of the marshes of Bourgoin. These marshes, which Louis XIV had given to Marshal Turenne, were a focus of infection to the thirty-seven communes, the lands of which were partially covered by them. Tourier directed personally the topographic operations which established the possibility of drainage. With these documents in his hand he went from village to village—I might almost say from house to house—to fix the sacrifice which each family ought to impose upon itself for the general interest. By tact and perseverance, taking ‘the ear of corn always in the right direction,” thirty-seven municipal councils were induced to contribute to a common fund, without which the projected operation would not even have been commenced. Success crowned this rare perseverance. Rich harvests, fat pastures, numerous flocks, a robust and happy population now covered an immense territory, where formerly the traveler dared not remain more than a few hours. One of the predecessors of Fourier, in the situation of perpetual secretary of the Academy of Sciences, deemed it his duty, on one occasion, to beg an excuse for having given a detailed account of certain researches of Leibnitz, which had not required great efforts of the intellect: ‘“ We ought,” says he, ‘to be very much obliged to a man such as he is, when he condescends, for the public good, to do some- thing which does not partake of genius!” I cannot conceive the ground of such scruples; in the present day the sciences are regarded from too high a point of view, that we should hesitate in placing in the first rank of the labors with which they are adorned those which diffuse comfort, health, and happiness amidst the working population. In presence of a part of the Academy of Inscriptions, in an apartment wherein the name of hieroglyph has so often resounded, I cannot refrain from alluding to the service which Fourier rendered to science by retain- ing Champollion. The young professor of history of the faculty of letters of Grenoble had just attained the twentieth year of his age. Fate calls him to shoulder the musket. Fourier exempts him by investing him with the title of pupil of the School of Oriental Languages which he had borne at Paris. The minister of war learns that the pupil formerly gave inhis resignation; he denounces the fraud, and dispatches a peremp- tory order for his departure, which seems even to exclude all idea of remonstrance. Fourier, however, is not discouraged ; his intercessions are skillful and of a pressing nature; finally, he draws so animated a portrait of the precocious talent of his young friend, that he succeeds in wringing from the government an order of special exemption. It was not easy, gentlemen, to obtain such success. At the same time, a con- seript, a member of our Academy, succeeded in obtaining a revocation of his order for departure only by declaring that he would follow on foot in the costume of the Institute the contingent of the arrondissement of Paris in which he was classed. 156 JOSEPH FOURIER. The administrative duties of the prefect of l Isere hardly interrupted the labors of the geometer and the manof letters. It is from Grenoble that the principal writings of Fourier are dated ; it was at Grenoble that he composed the Théorie Mathématique de la Chaleur, which forms his principal title to the gratitude of the scientifie world. I am far from being unconscious of the difficulty of analyzing that admirable work, and yet I shall attempt to point out the successive steps which he has achieved in the advancement of science. You will listen to me, gentlemen, with indulgence, notwithstanding several minute details which I shall have to recount, since I thereby fulfill the mission with which you have honored me. The ancients had a taste, let us say rather a passion, for the marvel- ous, which caused them to forget even the sacred duties of gratitude. Observe them, for example, grouping together the lofty deeds of a great number of heroes, whose names they have not even deigned to preserve, and investing the single personage of Hercules with them. The lapse of ages has not rendered us wiser in this respect. In our own time the public delight in blending fable with history. In every career of life, in the pursuit of science especially, they enjoy a pleasure in creating Herculeses. According to vulgar opinion, there is no astronomical dis- covery which is not due to Herschel. The theory of the planetary movements is identified with the name of Laplace; hardly is a passing allusion made to the eminent labors of D’Alembert, of Clairaut, of Euler, of Lagrange. Watt is the sole inventor of the steam-engine. Chaptal has enriched the arts of chemistry with the totality of the fertile and ingenious processes which constitute their prosperity. Even within this apartment has not an eloquent voice lately asserted that, before Fourier, the phenomenon of heat was hardly studied, that the celebrated geom- eter had alone made more observations than all his predecessors put together; that he had with almost a single effort invented a new science ? Although he runs the risk of being less lively, the organ of the Academy of Sciences cannot permit himself such bursts of enthusiasm, He ought to bear in mind that the object of these solemnities is not merely to celebrate the discoveries of Academicians ; that they are also designed to encourage modest merit; that an observer, forgotten by his contemporaries, is frequently supported in his laborious researches by the thought that he will obtain a benevolent look from posterity. Let us act, so far as it depends upon us, in such a manner that a hope so just, so natural, may not be frustrated. Let us award a just, a brilliant homage to those rare men whom nature has endowed with the precious privilege of arranging a thousand isolated facts, of making seductive theories spring from them; but let us not forget to state, that the seythe of the reaper had cut the stalks before one had thought of uniting them into sheaves ! Heat presents itself in natural phenomena, and in thease which are the products of art, under two entirely distinct foyms, which Fourier has JOSEPH FOURIER. 157 separately considered. I shall adopt the same division, commencing, however, with radiant heat the historical analysis which I am about to submit to you. Nobody doubts that there is a physical distinction which is eminently worthy of being studied between the ball of iron at the ordinary temper- ature which may be handled at pleasure, and the ball of iron of the same dimensions which the flame of a furnace has’very much heated, and which we cannot touch without burning ourselves. This distinction, according to the majority of physical inquirers, arises from a certain quantity of an elastic imponderabie fluid, or at least a fluid which has not been weighed, with which the second ball has combined during the process of heating. The fluid which upon combining with cold bodies renders them hot, has been designated by the name of heat or calorie. Bodies unequally heated act upon each other even at great distances, even through empty space, for the colder becomes more hot, and the hotter becomes more cold; for after a certain time they indicate the same degree of the thermometer, whatever may have been the difference of their originaltemperatures. According to the hypotheses above explained, there is but one way of conceiving this action at a distance: this is to suppose that it operates by the aid of certain effluvia which traverse space by passing from the hot body to the cold body ; that is, to admit that a hot body emits in every direction rays of heat, as luminous bodies emit rays of hght. The effluvia, the radiating emanations by the aid of which two distant bodies form a calorific Communication with each other, have been very appropriately designated by the name of radiating calorie. Whatever may be said to the contrary, radiating heat had already been the object of important experiments before Fourier undertook his labors. The celebrated Academicians of the Cimento found, nearly two centuries ago, that this heat is reflected like light; that, as in the case of light, a concave mirror concentrates it at the focus. Upon substi- tuting balls of snow for heated bodies, they even went so far as to prove that frigorific foci may be formed by way of reflection. Some years afterward Mariotte, a member of this Academy, discovered that there exist different kinds of radiating heat; that the heat with which rays of light are accompanied traverses all transparent media as easily as light does; while, again, the caloric which emanates from a strongly heated, but opaque substance, as well as the rays of heat which are found mingled with the luminous rays of a body moderately incandescent, are almost entirely arrested in their passage through the most transparent plate of glass! This striking discovery, let us remark in passing, will show, notwith- standing the ridicule of pretended savants, how happily inspired were the workmen in founderies, who looked at the incandescent matter of their furnaces only through a plate of ordinary glass, thinking by the 158 JOSEPH FOURIER. aid of this artifice to arrest the heat which would have burned their eyes. In the experimental sciences, the epochs of the most brilliant progress are almost always separated by long intervals of almost absolute repose. Thus, after Mariotte, there elapsed more than a century without history having to record any new property of radiating heat. Then, in close succession, we find in the solar light obscure calorific rays, the existence of which could admit of being established only with the thermometer, and which may be completely separated from Juminous rays by the aid of the prism; we discover, by the aid of terrestrial bodies, that the emission of caloric rays, and consequently the cooling of those bodies, is considerably retarded by the polish of the surfaces; that the color, the nature, and the thickness of the outer coating of these same sur- faces exercise also a manifest influence upon their emissive power. Experience, finally, rectifying the vague predictions to which the most enlightened minds abandon themselves with so little reserve, shows that the calorific rays which emanate from the plane surface of a heated body, have not:the same force, the same intensity in all directions; that the maximum corresponds to the perpendicular emission, and the min- imum to the emissions parallel to the surface. Between these two extreme positions, how does the diminution of the emissive power operate? Leslie first sought the solution of this import- ant question. His observations seem to show that the intensities of the radiating rays are proportional (it is necessary, gentlemen, that I employ the scientific expression) to the sines of the angles which these rays form with the heated surface. But the quantities upon which the experimenter had to operate were too feeble; the uncertainties of the thermometric estimations compared with the total effect were, on the contrary, too great not to inspire astrong degree of distrust; well, gen- tlemen, a problem before which all the processes, all the instruments of modern physics, have remained powerless, Fourier bas completely solved without the necessity of having recourse to any new experiment. He has traced the law of the emission of caloric sought for, with a perspi- euity which one cannot sufficiently admire, in the most ordinary pheno- mena of temperature, in the phenomena which at first sight appeared to be entirely independent of it. Such is the privilege of genius; it perceives, it seizes relations where vulgar eyes see only isolated facts. Nobody doubts, and besides experiment has confirmed the fact, that in all the points of a space terminated by any envelope maintained at a constant temperature, we ought also to experience a constant tempera- ture, and precisely that of the envelope. Now, Fourier has established that if the calorific rays emitted were equally intense in all directions, if the intensity did not vary proportionally to the sine of the angle of emission, the temperature of a body situated in the inclosure would depend on the place which it would occupy there; that the temperature JOSEPH FOURIER. 159 of boiling water or of melting iron, for example, would exist in certain points of a hollow envelope of glass! In all the vast domain of the physical sciences we should be unable to find a more striking application of the celebrated method of the reductio ad absurdum of which the ancient mathematicians made use in order to demonstrate the abstract truths of geometry. I shall not quit this first part of the labors of Fourier without adding, that he has not contented himself with demonstrating with so much felicity the remarkable law which connects the comparative intensities of the calorific rays, emanating under all angles from heated bodies ; he has sought, moreover, the physical cause of this law, and he has found it in a circumstance which his predecessors had entirely neglected. Let us Suppose, Says he, that bodies emit heat not only from the molecules of their surfaces, but also from the particles in the interior. Let us suppose, moreover, that the heat of these latter particles cannot arrive at the surface by traversing a certain thickness of matter without undergoing some degree of absorption. Fourier has reduced these two hypotheses to calculation, and he has hence deduced mathematically the experimental law of the sines. After having resisted so radical a test, the two hypotheses were found to be completely verified; they have become laws of nature; they point out latent properties of calorie which could only be discerned by the eye of the intellect. In the second question treated by Fourier, heat presents itself under anew form. ‘There is more difficulty in following its movements; but the conclusions deduced from the theory are also more general and more important. Heat excited, concentrated into a certain point of a solid body, com. municates itself by way of conduction, first to the particles nearest the heated point, then gradually to all the regions of the body. Whence the problem of which the following is the enunciation. By what routes, and with what velocities, is the propagation of heat effected in bodies of different forms and different natures subjected to certain initial conditions ? Fundamentally, the Academy of Sciences had already proposed this problem as the subject of a prize as early as the year 1736. Then the terms heat and caloric were not in use; it demanded the study of nature, and the propagation OF FIRE! The word fire, thrown thus into the pro- gramme without any other explanation, gave rise to a mistake of the most singular kind. The majority of philosophers imagined that the question was to explain in what way burning communicates itself, and increases in‘a mass of combustible matter. Fifteen competitors pre- sented themselves; three were crowned. This competition was productive of very meager results. However, a singular combination of circumstances and of proper names will render the recollection of it lasting. Has not the public a right to be surprised upon reading this academic + 160 JOSEPH FOURIER. declaration : ‘* The question affords no handle to geometry!” In matter of inventions, to attempt to dive into the future is to prepare for one’s self striking mistakes. One of the competitors, the great Euler, took these words in their literal sense: the reveries with which his memoir abounds are not compensated in this instance by any of those brilliant discover- ies in analysis—I had almost said of those sublime inspirations—which were so familiar to him. Fortunately Euler appended to his memoir a supplement truly worthy of his genius. Father Lozeran de Fiese and the Count of Créqui were rewarded with the high honor of seeing their names inscribed beside that of the illustrious geometer, although it would be impossible in the present day to discern in their memoirs any kind of merit, not even that of politeness, for the courtier said rudely to the Academy: “The question which you have raised interests only the curiosity of mankind.” Among the competitors less favorably treated, we preceive one of the ereatest writers whom France has produced—the author of the Henriade. The memoir of Voltaire was, no doubt, far from solving the problem proposed; but it was at least distinguished by elegance, clearness, and precision of language; I shall add, by a severe style of argument; for if the author oceasionally arrives at questionable results, it is only when he borrows false data from the chemistry and physics of the epoch,— sciences which had just sprung into existence. Moreover, the anti- Cartesian color of some of the parts of the memoir of Voltaire was eal- culated to find little favor in a society where Cartesianism, with its incomprehensible vortices, was everywhere held in high estimation. We should have more difficulty in discovering the causes of the failure of a fourth competitor, Madame the Marchioness du Chatelet, for she also entered into the contest instituted by the Academy. ‘The work of Emilia was not only an elegant portrait of all the properties of heat known then to physical inquirers; there were remarked, moreover, in it different projects of experiments, among the rest, one which Herschel has since developed, and from which he has derived one of the principal flowers of his brilliant scientific crown. While such great names were occupied in discussing this question, physical inquirers of a less ambitious stamp laid experimentally the solid basis of a future mathematical theory of heat. Some established that the same quantity of calorie does not elevate by the same number of degrees equal weights of different substances, and thereby introduced into the science the important notion of capacity. Others, by the aid of observations no less certain, proved that heat, applied at the extremity of a bar, is transmitted to the extreme parts with greater or less velocity or intensity, according to the nature of the substance of which the bar is composed: thus they suggested the original idea of conduetibility. The same epoch, if I were not precluded from entering into too minute details, would present to us interesting experiments. We should find that it is not true that, at all degrees of the thermometer, the loss of JOSEPH FOURIER. 161 heat of a body is proportional to the excess of its temperature above that of the medium in which it is plunged; but I have been desirous of showing you geometry penetrating, timidly at first, into questions of the propagation of heat, and depositing there the first germs of its fer- tile methods. It is to Lambert, of Mulhouse, that we owe this first step. This inge- nious geometer had proposed a very simple problem, which any person may comprehend. A slender metallic bar is exposed at one of its ex- tremities to the constant action of a certain focus of heat. The parts nearest the focus are heated first. Gradually the heat communicates itself to the more distant parts, and, after a short time, each point ae- quires the maximum temperature which it can ever attain. Although the experiment were to last a hundred years, the thermometric state of the bar would not undergo any modification. As might be reasonably expected, this maximum of heat is so much less considerable as we recede from the focus. Is there any relation between the final temperatures and the distances of the different parti- cles of the bar from the extremity directly heated? Such a relation ex- ists. It is very simple. Lambert investigated it by calculation, and experience confirmed the results of theory. In addition to the somewhat elementary question of the longitudinal propagation of heat, there offered itself the more general but much more difficult problem of the propagation of heat in a body of three dimen- sions terminated by any surface whatever. This problem demanded the aid of the higher analysis.. It was Fourier who first assigned the equa- tions. It is to Fourier, also, that we owe certain theorems, by means of which we may ascend from the differential equations to the integrals, and push the solutions, in the majority of cases, to the final numerical applications. The first memoir of Fourier on the theory of heat dates from the year 1807. The Academy, to which it was communicated, being desirous of inducing the author to extend and improve his researches, made the question of the propagation of heat the subject of the great mathemati- cal prize which was to be awarded in the beginning of the year 1812. Fourier did, in effect, compete, and his memoir was crowned. But, alas! as Fontenelle said, “in the country even of demonstrations, there are to be found causes of dissension.” Some restrictions mingled with the favorable judgment. The illustrious commissioners of the prize, La- place, Lagrange, and Legendre, while acknowledging the novelty and importance of the subject, while declaring that the real differential equations of the propagation of heat were finally found, asserted that they perceived difficulties in the way in which the author arrived at them. They added that his processes of integration left something to be desired, even on the score of rigor. They did not, however, support their opinion by any arguments. Fourier never admitted the validity of this decision. Even at the PS 71 162 JOSEPH FOURIER: close of his life he gave unmistakable evidence that he thought it un- just, by causing his memoir to be printed in our volumes without chang- ing a single word. Still, the doubts expressed by the commissioners of the Academy reverted incessantly to his recollection. Fyrom the very beginning they had poisoned the pleasure of his triumpit These first impressions, added to a high susceptibility, explain how Fourier ended by regarding with a certain degree of displeasure the efforts of those geometers who endeavored to improve his theory. This, gentlemen, was a very strange aberration of a mind of so elevated an order. Our colleague had almost forgotten that it is not allotted to any person to conduct a scientific question to a definitive termination, and that the important labors of D’Alembert, Clairaut, Euler, Lagrange, and La- place, while immortalizing their authors, have continually added new luster to the imperishable glory of Newton. Let us act so that this ex- ample may not be lost. While the civil law imposes upon the tribunes the obligation to assign the motives of their judgments, the academies, which are the tribunes of science, cannot have even a pretext to escape from this obligation. Corporate bodies, as well as individuals, act wisely when they reckon in every instance only upon the authority of reason. At any time the “Théorie Mathématique de la Chaleur” would have excited a lively interest among men of reflection, since, upon the suppo- sition of its being complete, it threw light upon the most minute pro- cesses of the arts. In our own time the numerous points of affinity ex- isting between it and the curious discoveries of the geologists have made it, if | may use the expression, a work for the occasion. To point out the intimate relation which exists between these two kinds of researches would be to present the most important part of the discov- eries of Fourier, and to show how happily our colleague, by one of those inspirations reserved for genius, had chosen the subject of his researches. The parts of the earth’s crust which the geologists call the sediment- ary formations were not formed all at once. The waters of the ocean, on several former occasions, covered regions which are situated in the present day in the center of the continent. There they deposited, in thin horizontal strata, a series of rocks of different kinds. These rocks, although superposed like the layers of stones of a wall, must not be con- founded together. 'Their dissimilarities are palpable to the least prac- ticed eye. It is necessary, also, to note this capital fact, that each stratum has a well-defined limit; that no process of transition connects it with the stratum which it supports. The ocean, the original source of all these deposits, underwent then formerly enormous changes in its chemical composition, to which it is no longer subject. With some rare exceptions, resulting from local convulsions, the effects of which are otherwise manifest, the order of antiquity of the successive strata of rocks which form the exterior crust of the globe ought to be JOSEPH FOURIER. 163 that of their superposition. The deepest have been formed at the most remote epochs. The attentive study of these different envelopes may aid us in ascending the stream of time, even beyond the most remote epochs, and enlightening us with respect to those stupendous revolu- tions which periodically overwhelmed continents beneath the waters of the ocean, or again restored them to their former condition. Crystalline rocks of granite upon which the sea has effected its original deposits have never exhibited any remains of life. Traces of such are to be found only in the sedimentary strata. Life appears to have first exhibited itself on the earth in the form of vegetables. The remains of vegetables are all that we meet with in the most ancient strata deposited by the waters; still they belong to plants of the simplest structure—to ferns, to species of rushes, to lycopodes. AS we ascend into the upper strata, vegetation becomes more and more complex. Tinally, near the surface, it resembles the vegetation actually existing on the earth, with tbis characteristic circumstance. however, which is well deserving attention, that certain vegetables which grow only in southern climates—that the large palm-trees, for example—are found in their fossil state in all latitudes, and even in the center of the frozen regions of Siberia. In the primitive world, these northern regions enjoyed then, in winter, a temperature at least equal to that which is experienced in the present day under the parallels where the great palms commence to appear ; at Tobolsk, the inhabitants enjoyed the climate of Alicante or Algiers. We shall deduce new proofs of this mysterious result from an atten- tive examination of the size of plants. There exist, in the present day, willow-grass or marshy rushes, ferns, and lycopodes, in Europe as well as in the tropical regions; but they are not met with in large dimensions, except in warm countries. Thus, to compare together the dimensions of the same plants is, in reality, to compare, in respect to temperature, the regions where they are pro- duced. Well, place beside the fossil plants of our coal mines, I will not say the analogous plants of Europe, but those which grow in the coun- tries of South America, and which are most celebrated for the richness of their vegetation, and you will find the former to be of incomparably greater dimensions than the latter. The fossil flora of France, England, Germany, and Scandinavia offer, for example, ferns ninety feet high, the stalks being six feet in diameter or eighteen feet in circumference. The licopodes which, in the present day, whether in cold or temperate climates, are creeping-plants, rising hardly to the height of a decimeter above the soil; which, even at the equator, under the most favorable circumstances, do not attain a height of more than one meter, had in Europe, in the primitive world, an altitude of twenty-five meters. One must be, blind to all reason not to find in these enormous dimen- 164 ,OSEPH FOURIER. sions a new proof of the high temperature enjoyed by our country before the last irruptions of the ocean. The study of fossil animals is no less fertile in results. I should digress from my subject if I were to examine here how the organization of animals is developed upon the earth; what modifications, or more strictly speaking, what complications it has undergone after each cata- clysm, or if I even stopped to describe one of those ancient epochs during which the earth, the sea, and the atmosphere had for inhabitants cold-blooded reptiles of enormous dimensions; tortoises, with shells three feet in diameter; lizards seventeen meters long; pterodactyles, veritable flying dragons of such strange forms that they might be classed on good grounds either among reptiles, among mammiferous animals, or among birds. The object which I have proposed does not require that I should enter into such details ; a single remark will suffice. Among the bones contained in the strata nearest the present surface of the earth are those of the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros, and the elephant. These remains of animals of warm countries are to be found in all latitudes. Travelers have discovered specimens of them even at Melville Island, where the temperature descends, in the present day, 50° beneath zero. In Siberia they are found in such abundance as to have become an article of commerce. Finally, upon the rocky shores of the Arctic Ocean, there are to be found not merely fragments of skeletons, but whole elephants still covered with their flesh and skin. I should deceive myself very much, gentlemen, if I were to suppose that each of you had not deduced from these remarkable facts a conelu- sion no less remarkable, to which, indeed, the fossil flora had already habituated us; namely, that as they have grown older the polar regions of the earth have cooled down to a prodigious extent. In the explanation of so curious a phenomenon, cosmologists have not taken into account the existence of possible variations of the intensity of the solar heat; and yet the stars, those distant suns, have not the constant brightness which the common people attribute to them. Nay, some of them have been observed to diminish in a sufliciently short space of time to the hundredth part of their original brightness ; and several have even totally disappeared. They have preferred to attrib- ute everything to an internal or primitive heat with which the earth was at some former epoch impregnated, and which is gradually being dissipated in space. Upon this hypothesis the inhabitants of the polar regions, although deprived of the sight of the sun for whole months together, must have evidently enjoyed, at very ancient epochs, a temperature equal to that of the tropical regions, wherein exist elephants in the present day. It is not, however, as an explanation of the existence of elephants in Siberia that the idea of the intrinsic heat of the globe has entered for the first time into science. Some savants had adopted it before the dis- covery of those fossil animals. Thus, Descartes was of opinion that JOSEPH FOURIER. — 165 originally (I cite his own words) the earth did not differ from the sun in any other respect than in being smaller. Upon this hypothesis, then, it ought to be considered aS an extinct sun. Leibnitz conferred upon this hypothesis the honor of appropriating it to himself. He attempted to deduce from it the mode of formation of the different solid envelopes of which the earth consists. Buffon, also, imparted to it the weight of his eloquent authority. According to that great naturalist, the planets of our system are merely portions of the sun, which the shock of a comet had detached from it some tens of thou- sands of years ago. In support of this igneous origin of the earth, Mairan and Buffon cited already the high temperature of deep mines, and, among others, those of the mines of Giromagny. It appears evident that if the earth was formerly incandescent, we should not fail to meet in the interior strata—that is to say, in those which ought to have cooled last—traces of their primitive temperature. The observer who, upon penetrating into the interior of the earth, did not find an increasing heat, might then consider himself amply authorized to reject the hypothetical conceptions of Descartes, of Mairan, of Leibnitz, and of Buffon. But has the con- verse proposition the same certainty? Would not the torrents of heat, which the sun has continued incessantly to launch for so many ages, have diffused themselves into the mass of the earth, so as to produce there a temperature increasing with the depth? This is a question of high importance. Certain easily satisfied minds conscientiously sup- posed that they had solved it, when they stated that the idea of a con- stant temperature was by far the most natural; but woe to the sciences if they thus included vague considerations, which escape all criticism, among the motives for admitting and rejecting facts and theories! Fon- tenelle, gentlemen, would have traced their horoscope in these words, so well adapted for humbling our pride, and the truth of which the his- tory of discoveries reveals in a thousand places: ‘When a thing may be in two different ways, it is almost always that which appears at first ® the least natural.” Whatever importance these reflections may possess, I hasten to add that, instead of the arguments of his predecessors, which have no real value, Fourier has substituted proofs, demonstrations; and we know what meaning such terms convey to the Academy of Sciences. In all places of the earth, as soon as we descend to a certain depth, the thermometer no longer experiences either diurnal or annual varia- tion. It marks the same degree, and the same fraction of a degree, from day to day, and from year to year. Such is the fact: what says theory ? Let us suppose, for a moment, that the earth has constantly received all its heat from the sun. Descend into its mass to a sufficient depth, and you will find, with Fourier, by the aid of caleulation, a constant temperature for each day of the year. You will recognize further, that this solar temperature of the inferior strata varies from one climate to 166 JOSEPH FOURIER. another; that in each country, finally, it ought to be always the same, so long as we do not descend to depths which are too great relatively to the earth’s radius. Well, the phenomena of nature stand in manifest contradiction to this result. The observations made in a multitude of mines, observations of the temperature of hot springs coming from different depths, have all given an increase of one degree of the centigrade for every twenty or thirty meters of depth. Thus, there was some inaccuracy in the hy- pothesis which we were discussing upon the footsteps of our colleague. It is not true that the temperature of the terrestrial strata may be attributed solely to the action of the solar rays. This being established, the increase of heat which is observed in all climates when we penetrate into the interior of the globe is the mani- fest indication of an intrinsic heat. The earth, as Descartes and Leib- nitz maintained it to be, but without being able to support their asser- tions by any demonstrative reasoning,—thanks to a combination of the observations of physical inquirers with the analytical calculations of Fourier,—is an inecrusted sun, the high temperature of which may be boldly invoked every time that the explanation of ancient geological phenomena will require it. After having established that there is in our earth an inherent heat— a heat the source of which is not the sun, and which, if we may judge of it by the rapid inerease which observation indicates, ought to be already sufficiently intense at the depth of only seven or eight leagues to hold in fusion all known substances—there arises the question, what is its precise value at the surface of the earth; what weight are we td attach to it in the determination of terrestrial temperatures ; what part does it play in the phenomena of life ? According to Mairan, Buffon, and Bailly, this part is immense. For France, they estimate the heat which escapes from the interior of the arth at twenty-nine times insummer, and four hundred times in winter, the heat which comes to us from the sun. Thus, contrary to general opinion, the heat of the body which illuminates us would form only a very small part of that whose propitious influence we feel. This idea was developed with ability and great eloquence in the Memoirs of the Academy, in the Epoques sur la Nature of Buffon, in the letters from Bailly to Voltaire upon the Origin of the Sciences and upon the Atlantide. But the ingenious romance to which it has served as a base has vanished like a shadow before the torch of mathematical science. Fourier having discovered that the excess of the aggregate temper- ature of the earth’s surface above that which would result from the sole action of the solar rays has a determinate relation to the increase of temperature at different depths, succeeded in deducing from the exper- imental value of this increase a numerical determination of the excess in question. This excess is the thermometric effect which the solar heat produces at the surface. Now, instead of the large numbers adopted by JOSEPH FOURIER. 167 Marian, Bailly, and Buffon, what has our colleague found? A thirtieth of a degree; not more. The surface of the earth, which originally was perhaps incandescent, has cooled then in the course of ages so as hardly to preserve any sensible trace of its primitive heat. However, at great depths, the original heat is still enormous. Time will alter sensibly the internal temperature; but at the surface (and the phenomena of the surface can alone modify or compromise the existence of living beings) all the changes are almost accomplished. The frightful freezing of the earth, the epoch of which Buffon fixed at the instant when the central heat would be totally dissipated, is then a pure dream. At the surface, the earth is no longer impregnated except by the solar heat. So long as the sun shall continue to preserve the same brightness, mankind will find, from pole to pole, under each latitude, the climates which have permitted them to live and to establish their residence. These, gentle- men, are great, magnificent results. While recording them in the annals of science, historians will not neglect to draw attention to this singular peculiarity-—that the geometer, to whom we owe the first certain demon- stration of the existence of a heat independent of a solar influence in the interior of the earth, has annihilated the immense part which this primitive heat was made to play in the explanation of the phenomena of terrestial temperature. Besides divesting the theory of climates of an error which occupied a prominent place in science, supported as it was by the imposing authority of Marian, of Bailly, and of Buffon, Fourier is entitled to the merit of a still more striking achievement; he has introduced into this theory a consideration which hitherto had been totally neglected; he has pointed out the influence exercised by the temperature of the celestial regions, amid which the earth describes its immense orb around the sun. When we perceive, even under the equator, certain mountains covered with eternal snow, upon observing the rapid diminution of temperature which the strata of the atmosphere undergo during ascents in balloons, meteorologists have supposed that, in the regions wherein the extreme rarity of the air will always exclude the presence of mankind, and that especially beyond the limits of the atmosphere, there ought to prevail a prodigious intensity of cold. It was not merely by hundreds, it was by thousands of degrees, that they had arbitrarily measured it. But, as usual, the imagination (cette folie de la maison) had exceeded all reason- able limits. The hundreds, the tens of thousands of degrees, have dwindled down, after the rigorous researches of Fourier, to fifty or sixty degrees only. Fifty to sixty degrees beneath zero, such is the temper- ature which the radiation of heat from the stars has established in the regions furrowed indefinitely by the planets of our system. You recollect, gentlemen, with what delight Fourier used to converse upon this subject. You know well that he thought himself sure of having assigned the temperature of space within eight or ten degrees. 168 JOSEPH FOURIER. By what fatality has it happened that the memoir, wherein, no doubt, our colleague had recorded all the elements of that important determi- nation, is not to be found? May that irreparable loss prove at least to so many observers that, instead of pursuing obstinately an ideal perfec- tion, which it is not allotted to man to attain, they will act wisely in placing the public, as soon as possible, in the confidence of their labors? I should have yet a long course to pursue if, after having pointed out some of those problems of which the condition of science enabled ur learned colleague to give numerical solutions, I were to analyze all those which, still enveloped in general formule, await merely the data of experience to assume a place among the most curious acquisitions of modern physics. Time, which is not at my disposal, precludes me from dwelling upon such developments. I should be guilty, however, of an unpardonable omission if I did not state that, among the formule of Fourier, there is one which serves to assign the value of the secular cooling of the earth, and in which there is involved the number of cen- turies which have elapsed since the origin of this cooling. The question of the antiquity of the earth, including even the period of incandescence, which has been so keenly discussed, is thus reduced to a thermometric determination. Unfortunately this point of theory is subject to serious difficulties. Besides, the thermometric determination, in consequence of its excessive smallness, must be reserved for future ages. I have just exhibited to you the scientific fruits of the leisure hours of the prefect of V’Isere. Fourier still occupied this situation when Napoleon arrived at Cannes. His conduct during this grave conjuncture has been the object of a hundred false rumors. I shall then discharge a duty by establishing the facts in all their truth, according to what I have heard from our colleague’s own mouth. Upon the news of the Emperor having disembarked, the principal authorities of Grenoble assembled at the residence of the prefect. There each individual explained ably, but especially, said Fourier, with much detail, the difficulties which he perceived. As regards the means of vanquishing them, the authorities seemed to be much less inventive. Confidence in administrative eloquence was not yet worn out at that epoch; it was resolved accordingly to have recourse to proclamations. The commanding officer and the prefect presented each a project. The assembly was discussing minutely the terms of them, when an officer of the gensdarmes, an old soldier of the imperial armies, exclaimed rudely, “ Gentlemen. be quick, otherwise all deliberation will become useless. Believe me, I speak from experience; Napoleon always follows very closely the couriers who announce his arrival.” Napoleon was in fact close at hand. After a short moment of hesitation, two companies of sappers, which had been dispatched to cut down a bridge, joined their former commander. A battalion of infantry soon followed their example. Finally, upon the very glacis of the fortress, in presence of the numerous population which crowned the ramparts, the fifth regiment of the line to JOSEPH FOURIER. 169 aman assumed the tricolor cockade, substituted for the white flag the eagle—witness of twenty battles—which it had preserved, and departed with shouts of Vive VEmpereur! After such a commencement, to attempt to hold the country would have been an act of folly. General Marchand eaused accordingly the gates of the city to be shut. He still hoped, notwithstanding the evidently hostile disposition of the inhab- itants, to sustain a siege with the sole assistance of the third regiment of engineers, the fourth regiment of artillery, and some weak detach- ments of infantry which had not abandoned him. From that moment, the civil authority had disappeared. Fourier thought then that he might quit Grenoble, and repair to Lyons, where the princes had assembled together. At the second restoration, this departure was imputed to him as a crime. He was very near being brought before a court of assizes, or even a provost’s court. Certain personages pretended that the presence of the prefect of the chief place of VIstre might have conjured the storm; that the resistance might have been more animated, better arranged. People forgot that nowhere, and at Grenoble even less than anywhere else, was it possible to organize even a pretext of resistance. Let us see then, finally, how this martial city—the fall of which Fourier might have prevented by his mere pres- ence—let us see how it was taken.” It is eight o’clock in the evening. The inhabitants and the soldiers garrison the ramparts. Napoleon pre- cedes his little troop by some steps; he advances even to the gate; he knocks, (be not alarmed, gentlemen, it is not a battle which [ am about todescribe,) he knocks with his snuff-box ! ** Who isthere?” cried the officer of the guard. “It is the Emperor! Open!” “Sire, my duty forbids me.” ‘Open, I tell you; I have no time to lose.” ‘But, sire, even though I should open to you, I could not. The keys are in the posses- sion of General Marchand.” “Go, then, and fetch them.” ‘TI am cer- tain that he will refuse them to me.” “If the general refuse them, tell him that I will dismiss him.” These words petrified the soldiers. During the previous two days, hundreds of proclamations designated Bonaparte as a wild beast which it was necessary to seize without scruple; they ordered everybody to run away from him, and yet this man threatened the general with depriva- tion of his command! The single word dismissal effaced the faint line of demarkation which separated for an instant the old soldiers from the young reeruits ; one word established the whole garrison in the interest of the Emperor. The circumstances of the capture of Grenoble were not yet known when Fourier arrived at Lyons. He brought thither the news of the rapidadvance of Napoleon; that of the revolt of two companies of sappers, of a regiment of infantry, and of the regiment commanded by Labé- doyere. Moreover, he was a witness of the lively sympathy which the country people along the whole route displayed in favor of the pro- scribed exile of Elba. 170 JOSEPH FOURIER. The Count d’Artois gave a very cold reception to the prefect and his communications. He declared that the arrival of Napoleon at Grenoble was impossible; that no alarm need be apprehended respecting the dis- position of the country people. “As regards the facts,” said he to Fourier, ‘‘ which would seem to have occurred in your presence at the very gates of the city, with respect to the tricolored cockades substi- tuted for the cockade of Henry IV, with respect to the eagles which you say have replaced the white flag, I do not suspect your good faith, but the uneasy state of your mind must have dazzled your eyes. Prefect, return then without delay to Grenoble; you will answer for the city with your head.” You see, gentlemen, after having so long proclaimed the necessity of telling the truth to princes, moralists will act wisely by inviting princes to be good enough to listen to its language. Fourier obeyed the order which had just been given him. The wheels of his carriage had made only a few revolutions in the direction of Grenoble, when he was arrested by hussars and conducted to the head- quarters at Bourgoin. The Emperor, who was engaged in examining a large chart with a pair of compasses, Said upon seeing him enter, “ Well, prefect, you also have declared war against me?” “Sire, my oath of allegiance made it my duty to do so!” “A duty you say? and do you not see thatin Dauphiny nobody is of the same mind? Do not imagine, however, that your plan of the campaign will frighten me much, It only grieved me to see among my enemies an Egyptian, a man who had eaten along with me the bread of the bivouac, an old friend!” It is painful to add that to those kind words succeeded these also: “ How, moreover, could you have forgotten, Monsieur Fourier, that I have made you what you are?” You will regret with me, gentlemen, that a timidity, which cireum- stanees would otherwise easily explain, should have prevented our col- league from at once emphatically protesting against this confusion, which the powerful of the earth are constantly endeavoring to estab- lish between the perishable bounties of which they are the dispensers and the noble fruits of thought. Fourier was prefect and baron by the favor of the Emperor; he was one of the glories of France by his own genius. On the 9th of March, Napoleon, in a moment of anger, ordered Four- ier, by a mandate, dated from Grenoble, to quit the territory of the sev- enth military division within five days, under pain of being arrested and treated as an enemy of the country! On the following day our colleague departed from the conference of Bourgoin, with the appointment of pre- feet of the Rhone and the title of count, for the Emperor after his return from Elba was again at his old practices. These unexpected proofs of favor and confidence afforded little pleas- ure to our colleague, but he dared not refuse them, although he per- JOSEPH FOURIER. Per ceived very distinctly the immense gravity of the events in which he was led by the vicissitude of fortune to play a part. ‘“ What do you think of my enterprise?” said the Emperor to him on the day of his departure from Lyons. ‘Sire,’ replied Fourier, ‘+ I am of opinion that you will fail. Let buta fanatic meet you on your way, and all is at an end.” ‘ Bah!” exclaimed Napoleon, “the Bourbons have nobody on their side, not even a fanatic. In connection with this circumstance, you have read in the. journals that they have excluded me from the protection of the law. I shall be more indulgent on my part; I shall content myself with excluding them from the Tuileries.” Fourier held the appointment of prefect of the Rhone only till the Istof May. It has been alleged that he was recalled, because he refused to be accessory to the deeds of terrorism which the minister of the hun- dred days enjoined him to execute. The Academy will always be pleased when I collect together and place on record actions which, while honoring its members, throw new luster around the entire body. I even feel that in such a case I may be disposed to be somewhat cred- ulous. On the present occasion, it was imperatively necessary to insti- tute a most rigorous examination. If Fourier honored himself by refusing to obey certain orders, what are we to think of the minister of the interior from whom those orders emanated? Now, this minister, it must not be forgotten, was also an Academician, illustrious by his mil- itary services, distinguished by his mathematical works, esteemed and cherished by all his colleagues. Well, I declare, gentlemen, with a sat: isfaction which you will all share, that a most scrupulous investigation of all the acts of the hundred days has not disclosed a trace of any- thing which might detract from the feelings of admiration with which the memory of Carnot is associated in your minds. Upon quitting the prefecture of the Rhone, Fourier repaired to Paris. The Emperor, who was then upon the eve of setting out to join the army, perceiving him amid the crowd at the Tuileries, accosted him in a friendly manner, informed him that Carnot would explain to him why his displacement at Lyons had become indispensable, and promised to attend to his interest as soon as military affairs would allow him some leisure time. The second restoration found Fourier in the capital with- out employment, and justly anxious with respect to the future. He, who, during a period of fifteen years, administered the affairs of a great department; who directed works of such an expensive nature; who, in the affair of the marshes of Bourgoin, had to contract engagements for so many millions, with private individuals, with the communes, and with public companies, had not twenty thousand francs in his possession. This honorable poverty, as well as the recollection of glorious and important Services, was little calculated to make an impression wpon ministers influ- enced by political passion, and subject to the capricious interference of foreigners. A demand for a pension was accordingly repelled with rudeness. be reassured, however, France will not have to blush for Ee2 JOSEPH FOURIER. having left in poverty one of her principal ornaments. The prefect of Paris—I have committed a mistake, gentlemen; a proper name will not be out of place here—M. Chabrol, learns that his old professor at the Polytechnic School, that the perpetual secretary of the Institute of Egypt, that the author of the Théorie Analytique de la Chaleur, was reduced, in order to obtain the means of living, to give private lessons at the residences of his pupils. The idea of this revolts him. He ac- cordingly shows himself deaf to the clamors of party, and Fourier receives from him the superior direction of the Bureau de la Statistique of the Seine, with a salary of 6,000 franes. It has appeared to me, gentlemen, that [ ought not to suppress these details. Science may show herself grateful toward all those who give her support and protection, when there is some danger in doing so, without fearing that the burden should ever become too heavy. Fourier responded worthily to the confidence reposed in him by M. de Chabrol. The memoirs with which he enriched the interesting volumes published by the prefecture of the Seine, will serve henceforth as a guide to all those who have the good sense to see in statistics something else than an indigestible mass of figures and tables. The Academy of Sciences seized the first occasion which offered itself to attach Fourier to its interests. On the 27th of May, 1816, he was nominated afree Academician. This election was not confirmed. ‘The solicitations and influence of the Dauphin, whom circumstances detained at Paris, had almost disarmed the authorities, when a courtier exclaimed that an amnesty was to be granted to the civil Labédoyére!* This word—for during many ages past the poor human race has been gov- erned by words—decided the fate of our colleague. Thanks to political intrigue, the ministers of Louis XVIII decided that one of the most learned men of France should not belong to the Academy ; that a citizen who enjoyed the friendship of all the most distinguished persons in the metropolis should be publicly stricken with disapprobation! In our country the reign of absurdity does not last long. Accordingly in 1817, when the Academy, without being discouraged by the ill suecess of its first attempt, unanimously nominated Fourier to the place which had just been vacant in the section of physics, the royal confirmation was accorded without difficulty. I ought to add that soon afterward the ruling authorities, whose repugnances were entirely dissipated, frankly and unreservedly applauded the happy choice which you made of the learned geometer to replace Delambre as perpetual secretary. They even went so far as to offer him the directorship of the fine arts ; but our colleague had the good sense to refuse the appointment. Upon the death of Lémontey, the French Academy, where Laplace and Cuvier already represented the sciences, called also Fourier into its bosom. The literary titles of the most eloquent of the writers connected * In allusion to the military traitor, Colonel Labédoyére, who was condemned to death for espousing the cause of Napoleon.—TRANSLATOR. : JOSEPH FOURIER. 12 with the work on Egypt were incontestable; they even were not con- tested, and still this nomination excited violent discussions in the jour- nals, which profoundly grieved our colleague. And yet, after all, was it not a fit subject for discussion, whether these double nominations are of any real utility? Might it not be maintained, without incurring the reproach of paradox, that it extinguishes in youth an emulation which we are bound by every consideration to encourage? Besides, with double, triple, and quadruple Academicians, what would eventually become of the justly boasted unity of the Institute? Without insisting further on these remarks, the justness of which you will admit if I mis- take not, I hasten to repeat that the academic titles of Fourier did not form even the subject of a doubt. The applause which was lavished upon the eloquent éloges of Delambre, of Bréguet, of Charles, and of Herschel, would sufficiently evince that, if their author had not been already one of the most distinguished members of the Academy of Sci- ences, the public would have invited him to assume a place among the judges of French literature. Restored at length, after so many vicissitudes, to his favorite pursuits, Fourier passed the last years of his life in retirement and in the dis- charge of academic duties. Zo converse had become the half of his ex- istence. Those who have been disposed to consider this the subject of just reproach have, no doubt, forgotten that constant reflection is no less imperiously forbidden to man than the abuse of physical powers. Repose, in everything, recruits our frail machine; but, gentlemen, he who desires repose may not obtain it. Interrogate your own recollee- tions and say if, when you are pursuing a new truth, a walk, the in- tercourse of society, or even sleep, have the privilege of distracting you from the objects of your thoughts? The extremely shattered state of Fourier’s health enjoined the most careful attention. Aftermany attempts, he found only one means of escaping from the contentions of mind which exhausted hun: this consisted in speaking aloud upon the events of his life; upon his scientific labors, which were either in course of being planned, or which were already terminated ; upon the acts of injustice of which he had reason tocomplain. Every person must have remarked how insignificant was the state which our gifted colleague assigned to those who were in the habit of conversing with him; we are now ae- quainted with the cause of this. Fourier had preserved, in old age, the grace, the urbanity, the varied knowledge which, a quarter of a century previously, had imparted so great a charm to his lectures at the Polytechnic School. There was a }Jeasure in hearing him relate the anecdote which the listener already | knew by heart, even the events in which the individual had taken a direct part. I happened to be a witness of the kind of fascination which he exercised upon his audience, in connection with an incident which deserves to be known, for it will prove that the word which I have just employed is not in any wise exaggerated. LA JOSEPH FOURIER. We found ourselves seated at the same table. The guest from whom I separated him was an old officer. Our colleague was informed of this, and the question ‘‘ Have you been in Egypt?” served as a commence- ment of a conversation between them. Thereply was in the affirmative. Fourier hastened to add: ‘As regards myself, [ remained in that mag- nificent country until the period of its complete evacuation. Although foreign to the profession of arms, I have, in the midst of our soldiers, fired against the insurgents of Cairo; I have had the honor of hearing the cannon of Heliopolis.” Hence to give an account of the battle was but a step. This step was soon made, and we were presented with four battalions drawn up in squares in the plain of Quoubbeh, and maneuver- ing, with admirable precision, conformably to the orders of the illustrious geometer. My neighbor, with attentive ear, with immovable eyes, and with outstretched neck, listened to this recital with the liveliest inter- est. He did not lose a single syllable of it; one would have sworn that he had for the first time heard of those memorable events. Gentlemen, it is so delightful a task to please! After having remarked the effect which he produced, Fourier reverted, with still greater detail, to the principat fight of those great days: to the capture of the fortified vil- lage of Mattaryeh, to the passage of two feeble columns of French grenadiers across ditches heaped up with the dead and wounded of the Ottomanarmy. ‘ Generals, ancient and modern, have sometimes spoken of similar deeds of prowess,” exclaimed our colleague, “but it was in the hyperboiie style of the bulletin; here the fact is materially true— it is true like geometry. I feel conscious, however,” added he, ‘“ that in order to induce you to believe it, all my assurances will not be more than sufficient.” “Do not be anxious upon this point,” replied the officer, who at that moment seemed to awaken from along dream. ‘In case of necessity, I might guarantee the accuracy of your statement. It was I who, at the head of the grenadiers of the 13th and 85th semi-brigades, forced the entrenchments of Mattaryeh, by passing over the dead bodies of the janissaries.” My neighbor was General Tarayre. You may imagine much better than I ean express, the effect of the few words which had just escaped from him. Fourier made a thousand excuses, while I reflected upon the seductive influence, upon the power of language, which for more than half an hour had robbed the celebrated general even of the recol- lection of the part which he had played in the battle of giants he was listening to, The more our secretary had occasion to converse the greater repug- nance he experienced to verbal discussions. Fourier cut short every debate as soon as there presented itself a somewhat marked difference of opinion, only to resume afterward the same subject upon the modest pretext of making a small step in advance each time. Some one asked Fontaine, a celebrated geometer of this Academy, how he occupied his JOSEPH FOURIER. 175 thoughts in society, wherein he maintained an almost absolute silence. ‘*T observe,” he replied, ‘the vanity of mankind, to wound it as ocea- sion offers.” If, like his predecessor, Fourier also studied the baser pas- sions which contend for honors, riches, and power, it was not in order to engage in hostilities with them; resolved never to compromise matters with them, he yet so calculated his movements beforehand as not to tind himself in their way. We perceive a wide difference between this disposition and the ardent, impetuous character of the young orator of the popular society of Auxerre. But what purpose would philosophy serve, if it did not teach us to conquer our passions? It is not that oceasion- ally the natural disposition of Fourier did not display itself in full relief. “It is strange,” said one day a certain very influential personage of the court of Charles X, whom Fourier’s servant would not allow to pass beyond the antechamber of our colleague, “it is truly strange that your master should be more difficult of access than a minister!” Fou- rier heard the conversation, leaped out of his bed to which he was con- fined by indisposition, opened the door of the chamber, and exclaimed, face to face with the courtier, ‘Joseph, tell Monsieur, that if I was minister, I should receive everybody, because it would be my duty to do so; but being a private individual, I receive whomsoever I please, and at what hour soever I please!” Disconeerted by the liveliness of the retort, the great seignior did not utter one word in reply. We must even believe that from that moment he resolved not to visit any but ministers, for the plain man of science heard nothing more of him. Fourier was endowed with a constitution which held forth a promise of long life; but what can natural advantages avail against the anti- hygienic habits which men arbitrarily acquire? In order to guard against slight attacks of rheumatism, our colleague was in the habit of clothing himself, even in the hottest season of the year, after a fashion which is not practiced even by travelers condemned to spend the winter amid the snows of the polar regions. ‘One would suppose me to be corpulent,” he used to say occasionally with a smile; ‘be assured, how- ever, that there is much to deduct from this opinion. If, after the example of the Egyptian mummies, I was subjected to the operation of disembowelment,—from which heaven preserve me,—the residue would be found to be a very slender body.” I might add, selecting also my comparison from the banks of the Nile, that in the apartments of Fou- rier, Which were always of smali extent and intensely heated, even in summer, the currents of air to which one was exposed resembled some- times the terrible simoon, that burning wind of the desert, which the caravans dread as much as the plague. The prescriptions of medicine which, in the mouth of M. Larrey, were blended with the anxieties of a long and constant friendship, failed to induce a modification of this mortal régime. Fourier had already expe- rienced, in Egypt and Grenoble, some attacks of aneurism of the heart. At Paris it was impossible to be mistaken with respect to the primary 176 JOSEPH FOURIER. cause of the frequent suffocations which he experienced. PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. 185 base, will possess and retain for some time the characters of its peculiar modification. * * * But Isuspectthat the modifications of phosphoric acid, when in what we would calla free state, are still in combination with their usual proportion of base, and that that base is water. Thus the three modifications of phosphoric evidence may be composed as follows : IRBHOSPHOTIC ACP eeersic elses cicteis ncelacisace Sen's Secs ais cis aiece HELO Ores Pyrophosphorice acid.....-... eee ete ae aceite ace eee 2H OE Or. Meta plos pH OTlGral Cl Chae ats jaca lee toteleial= 1 lene yoo EL Ora Olas or they are respectively a tri-phosphate, a bi-phosphate, and phosphate of water.” These remarks be followed up by analytical evidence, show- ing the existence of the three hydrates, each in its isolated state. Just as in his demonstration of the relationship to one another of sub-phosphate of soda, phosphate of soda, bi-phosphate of soda, and common phosphoric acid, Mr. Graham originated the notion of polybasic compounds, so, in his demonstration of the natare of the pyrophosphates and metaphosphates, as bodies differing from the normal compounds by an abstraction of water or metallic base, did he originate the notion of anhydro-compounds—so did he discover, for the first time, an in- stance of that relationship between bodies which is now known to pre- vail most extensively among products of organic as well as of mineral origin. The different properties manifested by phosphoric acid, in its differ- ent reputedly isomeric states, having been shown by Mr. Graham to be dependent on a difference of hydration; that is to say, on a difference of chemical composition, he was inclinéd to view the difference of prop- erties observed in the case of other reputedly isomeric bodies as being also dependent on a difference of composition, the difference occasionally consisting in the presence of some minute disregarded impurity. Accord- ingly he communicated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1834* a paper “ On phosphureted hydrogen,” in which he showed that the spon- taneously inflammable and non-spontaneously inflammable varieties of the gas “ are not isomeric bodies, but that the peculiarities of the spon- taneously inflammable species depend upon the presence of adventitious matter,” removable in various ways, and existing but in very minute proportion.t He further showed that the vapor of some acid of nitro- gen, apparently “ nitrous acid, is capable of rendering phosphureted hydrogen spontaneously inflammable when present to the extent of one ten-thousandth part of the volume of the gas.” In connection with this research may be mentioned Mr. Graham’s earlier experiments on the influence of minute impurities in modifying the chemical behavior of different substances. In some *“‘ Observations on the oxidation of phos- phorus,” published in the Quarterly Journal of Science,t for 1829, he showed that the presence of 71, of olefiant gas, and even 3455, by vol- o0 *Edinburgh Royal Society Transactions, xiii, 1836, p. 88. tIt was afterward isolated by P. Thenard. $ Quarterly Journal Science, ii, 1829, p. 83. 186 PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. ume, of turpentine vapor, in air under ordinary pressure, rendered it incapable of effecting the slow oxidation of phosphorus. He also ob- served and recorded the influence upon the oxidation of phosphorus of various additions of gas and vapor to air, under different circumstances of pressure and temperature. LUE Hydration of compounds.—In the earliest of Mr. Graham’s published memoirs, that “ On the absorption of gases by liquids,”* he contended that the dissolution of gases in water, at any rate of the more soluble gases, is a chemical phenomenon, depending on their essential property of liquefiability being brought into play by their reaction with the sol- vent, that is to say by their hydration. The results of some further work on the same subject he published under the title of ‘* Experiments on the absorption of vapors by liquids.” t In 1827 he gave to the Royal Society of Edinburgh “An account of the formation of alcoholates, definite compounds of salts and alcohol analo- gous to the hydrates.”¢ In this paper, after a description of some ex- periments on the desiccation of alcohol, he showed that anhydrous chloride of calcium, nitrate of lime, nitrate of magnesia, chloride of zine, and chloride of manganese have the property of uniting with alcohol, as with water, to form definite compounds. The crystalline compound with choride of zine, for instance, containing 15 per cent. of alcohol, he rep- resented by the formula Zn Cl. 2 C,H;0; corresponding to the modern formula Zn Cl,.2C,H,O. In 1835 Mr. Graham communicated a paper, also to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, “‘ On water as a constituent of salts.”§ In this paper he showed more particularly that the so-called magnesian sulphates, crys- tallizing usually with 7, 6, or 5 proportions of water, gave up all but the last proportion of water at a moderate heat, but retained this last propor- tion with great tenacity. The comparatively stable mono-hydrated salts, mono-hydrated sulphate of zine, for instance, Zn O.S O;.H O, he re- garded as the analogues of crystallizable sulphuric acid H O.S O03. HO. He showed further that the firmly retained water of sulphate of zine, for instance, differed from the firmly retained water of phosphate ot soda, in not being basic, or replaceable, that is to say, by metallic oxide. He conceived, however, that in the double sulphates, potassio-sulphate of zinc, for instance, Zn O.S O;, KO.S Os, the water of the compound, ZnO.8O;.H 0, was replaced by alkali-sulphate, and he accordingly designated the water of this last, and of similar compounds, by the name of saline or constitutional water. In the following year, 1836, Mr. Graham communicated to the Royal *Thomson, Annals of Philosophy, xii, 1826, p. 69. + Edinburgh Journal of Science, vill, 1828, p. 326. { Edinburgh Royal Society Transactions, xi, 1837, p. 175. § Ibid., xiii, 1836, p. 297. . PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. 187 Society of London an elaborate paper, entitled ‘“‘ Inquiries respecting the constitution of salts, of oxalates, nitrates, phosphates, sulphates, and chlorides.”* In it are recorded careful analyses of very many salts, more particularly in respect to their water of hydration ; with remarks upon the greater or less tenacity with which the water is retained in different instances. In this paper he put forward the notion that truly basic salts are nevertheless neutral in constitution; and that the excess of metallic base does not stand in the relation of a base to the anhy- drous acid, but as a representative of the water of hydration of the neutral salt. He illustrated this position by a comparison of the defi- nite hydrate of nitric acid with other hydrated nitrates, thus: Hrydrated@nitric acid, sp. or. 142 2225. ccc. cece ce wees HO. NO;.3HO. Hivdrated Mitrabeor ZING: S226 cecasceee aes sone < ZnO.NO;.3H 0. Hydrated nitrate of copper...-..---..----.-- See ae Cud'.NO;.3 HO: asic Nitraver Ot COPPer-.cs-2ssses ecasse -osece scenes) LO. NO;.o CuO: He contended that, in the last cupric salt, it is the water and not the oxide of copper which acts as a base; and, in support of this view, he remarked that if the water of the salt were water of hydration simply, it ought, in presence of so large an excess of metallic base, to be very readily expelled by heat; whereas it is actually inexpulsable by any heat whatever, short of that effecting an entire decomposition of the salt. Again, he pointed out that when the strongest nitric acid HO.NO; is added, in no matter what excess, to oxide of copper, the basic salt is alone produced, apparently by a direct addition of the oxide of copper to the nitrate of water. In 1841 Mr. Graham gave to the Chemical Society “An account of experiments on the heat disengaged in combination.” + These experi- ments included numerous determinations of the heat evolved in the hydration of salts, and more particularly of the sulphates, including sulphate of water, or hydrated sulphuric acid. Starting from oil of vitriol HO.SO;, he found that each successive addition of a proportion of water HO, evolved an additional, but successively smaller and smaller increment of heat; and that, even after the addition of fifty propor- tions of water to the acid, the further addition of water was yet followed by a perceptible development of heat. The relation of ether to alcohol being regarded as that of an oxide to its hydrate, and expressed by the formule C,H;O, and C,H,;O0.HO, the conversion of alcohol into ether became a matter of dehydration ; and, accordingly, could not escape the examination of Mr. Graham, who, in 1850, presented to the Chemical Society some ‘ Observations on etherification.”; The process of manufacture consisting in the distil- Jation of a mixture of alcohol with sulphuric acid, and being attended by an intermediate production of sulphate of ether or sulphethylic acid, the substitution of ether for the basic water of sulphuric acid at one * Philosophical Transactions, 1837, p. 47. t Chemical Society Memoirs, i, p. 106. {Chemical Society Journal, iii, p. 24. 188 PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. temperature, and the reverse substitution of water for the basic ether of sulphethylic acid at a higher temperature, had been represented as depending on the augmented elasticity of the ether vapor at the higher temperature. Mr. Graham showed, however, that ether could be very readily formed by heating the mixture of sulphuric acid and alcohol in sealed tubes—that is, under conditions in which the augmentation of volatility due to heat was pari passu counterbalanced by the diminution of volatility due to pressure. Altogether, Mr. Graham supported the contact theory of ether formation, as opposed to the then received re- action theory; but several of his experiments afforded clear, though in- deed supererogatory, support to the reaction theory soon afterward in- troduced by Williamson. In addition to the memoirs cited above, the question of hydration formed an express or incidental subject of many other of Mr. Graham’s investigations. It is noteworthy that, for him, osmosis becaine a me- chanical effect of the hydration of the septum; that the interest attach- ing to liquid-transpiration was the alteration in rate of passage conse- quent on an altered bydration of the liquid; that the dialytic difference between erystalloids and colloids depended on the dehydration of the dialytic membrane by the former class of bodies only ; and similarly in many other instances. Tit. Movements of liquids under pressure. Transpiration—That the ve- locities with which different liquids, under the same pressure, issue from a hole in the side or bottom of a vessel should be inversely as the square roots of their respective specitic gravities is a proposition deducible from well-known mechanical principles. As demonstrated, however, by Dr. Poiseuille, this law is not applicable to the case of liquids issuing under pressure through capillary tubes. In addition to determining experimentally the laws of the passage of the same liquid—that the velocity is directly as the pressure, inversely as the length of the capillary, and directly as the fourth power of the diameter, and that it is accelerated by elevation of temperature— Dr. Poiseuille further showed that the rate of passage of different liquids through capillary tubes is for the most part a special property of the particular liquids; and that while the rate of passage of water, for instance, is scarcely affected by the presence of certain salts in solution, it is materially accelerated by the presence of chlorides and nitrates of potassium and ammonium, and materially retarded by the presence of alkalies. He also showed that while the rate of passage of absolute aleohol is much below that of water, the rate of passage of aleohol diluted with water in such proportion as to form the hydrate, H, C,0. 3 Aq, is not only much below that of alcohol, but also below that of any other mixture of alcohol and water. Some time after Dr. Poiseuille’s death Mr. Graham, starting from this’ last observation, took up the inquiry. Giving to the phenomenon itself PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. 189 the name of “transpiration,” which he had previously applied to the similar passage of gases through capillary tubes, he communicated his results to the Royal Society in a paper “On liquid transpiration in relation to chemical composition.”* The method he followed in his experiments was precisely that of Dr. Poiseuille, and the principal results at which he arrived are the following: 1. That dilution with water does not effect a pari passu alteration in the transpiration velocity of certain liquids; but that dilution up to a certain point, corresponding to the formation of a definite hydrate, not unfrequently retards the transpiration velocity (or increases the trans- piration time) to a maximum, from which the retardation gradually diminishes with further dilution. This is well seen in the following table, giving the transpiration times of certain liquids in their undi- luted state, and also the maximum transpiration times observed with the same liquids when diluted with aregularly increasing quantity of water, the particular dilution causing the maximum retardation corre- sponding in every case to the production of a definite hydrate: Transpiration times. Waterecs-c- <= gO eg cuadet seeee atesey 1. 000 1. 000 x Aq. Sulphuric acid. HgS O¢..2. 22-6. swsve. -< Ji bol 77 H,S O4. Aq. INTUTIC AEIM) Sess GIN Opes casey ese ner acta . 990 DelOs 2HNOs.3 Aq. Acetic acid....- er Opi Ogseeass oasece seen 1. 280 2.704 H4C202.2 Aq. Alcohol .--. ---. igi Cl O sere rete oe em eree 1.195 2.787 H,5C20.3 Aq. IWiOOG-SDITIC cesta ClOR se waci saeces =H . 630 1. 802 H,C 0.3 Aq. Acetone ......-- lg © tO) Set ech hee ete a ~401 1. 604 H,C3;0.6 Aq. 2. That the transpiration times of homologous liquids increase reg- ularly with the complexity of the several molecules constituting terms of the same series—certain first terms of the different series, however, presenting some anomalies, as was, indeed, to be expected. The trans- piration times of the fatty ethers are given below in illustration. Similar results were obtained with the series of fatty acids and their correspond- ing alcohols: Transpiration times. Wiratens fe see e se: Deis Oe LAR cd ae Ry Fag ome l,m ee I 1. 000 ( Formie simi iar stn H (2 ¢ 3 Oz Bn ciate leere pala ciple tela teh ciel lois a! aveiciai sl aiatete eieral daltetats(an ate (nla . 511 | . ee | Acetic,.....- PEeTterd Cea) oe esc cc rat Pe ee he a oy: es te aoe A Anes e . Ethers. ) Butysio.-.. His Cg Oa.-.-2. 2-2. 222-2 22ceee cece ener edec cone ener ee 750 \ Valerie: 323... H 14 C 7 Og Bc nes oh ates al aa Yetios a= (ail toteah tart atone testes teat oo ete oat At aa as nes eae Ged) In this paper Mr. Graham also recorded the results of two very full series of determinations of the transpiration rates of water at different temperatures between 0° and 70°, and of two similar series of ex- periments made with alcohol. The transpiration velocity of water was found to increase uniformly from 0.559 at 0° to 1.000 at 20°, and thence * Philosophical Transactions, 1861, p. 573. 190 PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. to 2.350 at 70°; and correlatively the transpiration times were found to decrease in the same proportion. The results obtained with alcohol were precisely similar. 1A Diffusion of liquids.—Mr. Graham’s early study of the spontaneous movements of gases, so aS to mix with one another, naturally led him to investigate the similarly occurring movements of liquids. His results formed the subject of two papers communicated to the Royal Society, one in 1849, “On the diffusion of liquids,”* and the other in 1861, “ On liquid diffusion applied to analysis.”t In the series of experiments described in the first of these papers and in two supplementary com- munications an open. wide-mouthed vial, filled with a solution of some salt or other substance, was placed in a jar of water; when, in course of time, a portion of the dissolved salt, described as the diffusate, passed gradually from the vial into the external water. By experimenting in this manner, the amounts of diffusate yielded by different substances were found to vary greatly. Thus, under precisely the same conditions, common salt yielded twice as large a diffusate as Epsom salt, and this latter twice as large a diffusate as gum-arabic. Every substance ex- amined was in this way found to have its own rate of diffusibility in the same liquid medium—the rate varying with the nature of the medium— whether water or aleohol, for instance. It is noticeable that the method of vial diffusion resorted to in these experiments is exactly similar to that employed by Mr. Graham in his earliest experiments on the diffu- sion of gases, published in the Quarterly Journal of Science for 1829. in the series of experiments recorded in the paper “On liquid diffu- sion applied to analysis,” the solution of the salt to be diffused, instead of being placed in a vial, was conveyed by means of a pipette to the bottom of a jar of water; when, in course of time, the dissolved salt gradually rose from the bottom, through the superincumbent water, to a height or extent proportional to its diffusibility. The results of this method of jar-diffusion were found to bear out generally those attained by the method of vial-diffusion ; while they further showed the absolute rate or velocity of the diffusive movement. Thus, during a fourteen days’ aqueous diffusion from 10 per cent. solutions of guin-arabie, Epsom salt, and common salt respectively, the gum-arabic rose only through ;7, of the superincumbent water, or to a height of 55.5 milli- meters; the Epsom salt rose through the whole +4 of superinecumbent water, or to a height of 111 millimeters; and the common salt not only rose to the top, but would have risen much higher, seeing that the up- permost or fourteenth statum of water, into which it had diffused, con- tained about fifteen times as much salt as was contained in the upper- most or fourteenth stratum of water into which the Epsom salt had diffused. * Philosophical Transactions, 1850, pp. 1, 805; 1851, p. 483. tIbid., 1861, p. 183. . PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. 191 But of all the results obtained, the most interesting, from their bear- ing on various natural phenomena, were those on the partial separa- tion of different compounds from one another, brought about by their unequal diffusibility. Thus, with a solution of equal weights of com- mon salt and gum-arabie placed in the diffusion-vial, for every 100 milli- grams of salt, not more than 22.5 milligrams of gum were found to pass into the external water; or a separation of the salt from the gum, to this large extent, took place spontaneously by the excess of its own proper diffusive movement. Again, when a solution, containing 5 per cent. of common salt and 5 per cent. of Glauber’s salt, was sub- mitted for seven days to the process of jar-diffusion, the upper half, or yz, Of superincumbent water was found to contain 380 milligrams of common salt and only 53 milligrams of Glauber’s salt; or the ratio of common salt to Glauber’s salt in the upper half of the liquid was as 100 to 14, the ratio in the original stratum of solution being as 100 to 100. And not only a partial separation of mixed saits, but even a partial decomposition of chemical compounds, was found to result from the pro- cess of liquid diffusion. Thus the double sulphate of potassium and hydrogen, when submitted to diffusion, underwent partial decomposi- tion into the more diffusible sulphate of hydrogen and the less diffusible sulphate of potassium; and, similarly, ordinary alum, a double sulphate of aluminum and potassium, underwent partial decomposition into the more diffusible sulphate of potassium, and the less diffusible sulphate of aluminum. Strictly speaking, perhaps, the decomposition of the original salts was not caused by, but only made evident by, the differ- ence in diffusibility of the products. As a general result of his experiments, Mr. Graham inferred that liquid diffusibility is not associated in any definite way with chemical composition or molecular weight. Thus he found the complex organic bodies picric acid and sugar to have much the same diffusive rates as common salt and Epsom salt respectively. Isomorphous compounds, however, proved for the most part to be equi-diffusive; although the groups of equi-diffusive substances habitually comprehended other than those which were isomorphous. Observing further that, in many cases, the diffusion-rates of different equi-diffasive groups stood to one another in some simple numerical relation, Mr. Graham remarked that, “In liquid diffusion we no longer deal with chemical equivalents or the Daltonian atoms; but with masses even more simply related to each other by weight.” We may suppose that the chemical atoms “group together in such numbers as to form new and larger molecules of equal weights for different substances, or * * * of weights which appear to have a simple relation to each other ;” and he inferred that the relative weights of these new molecules would be inversely as the square roots of the observed diffusion rates of the substances—that is inversely as the squares of their diffusion times. Thus the squares of the times of equal diffusion of hydrate, nitrate, and 192 PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. sulphate of potassium being 3, 6, and 12, the densities of their diffusion molecules would be as the reciprocals of these numbers, or as 4, 2,and 1. Lastly, in comparing highly diffusive substances on the one hand, with feebly diffusive substances on the other, one broad dissimilarity became apparent, namely, that highly diffusible substances affected the crystalline state, while feebly diffusive substances were amorphous, and characterized, in particular, by a capability of forming gelatinous hydrates. Hence the distinction established by Mr. Graham between highly diffusive bodies, or crystalloids, and feebly diffusive bodies, er colloids. Compounds capable of existing both in the crystalline and gelatinous states he found to be possessed of two distinct diffusive rates corresponding respectively each to each. V. Dialysis and osmose.—The subject of dialysis was included in the paper “On liquid diffusion applied to analysis,” referred to in the preceding section; aud some further results were communicated in 1864 to the chemical society, in a paper “‘On the properties of silicie acid and other analogous colloidal substances.” * In the course of his experiments on diffusion, Mr. Graham made the curious discovery that highly diffusible crystalloid bodies were able to diffuse readily, not only into free water, but also into water that was already in a low form of combination, as in the substance of a soft solid, such as jelly or membrane. Common salt, for instance, was found i diffuse into a semi-solid mass of jelly almost as easily and as extensively as into a similar bulk of free water; but the introduction of a gelatinous substance, though not interfering a any appreciable degree with the diffusion of a erystalloid, was found to arrest almost entirely the diffa- sion of a colloid. The colloid, of but little tendency to diffuse into free water, proved quite incapable of diffusing into water that was already in a state of combination, however feeble. Hence, although the partial separation: of a highly diffusible from a feebly diffusible substance might be effected by the process of free diffusion into water, a much better result was obtained by allowing the diffusion to take place into, or through, the combined water of a soft solid such as a piece of membrane or parchment-paper. In the process of dialysis, then, crystalloid and colloid bodies, existing in solution together, are separated from one another by pouring the mixed solution into a shallow tray of membrane or parchment-paper, and letting the tray rest on the surface of a con- siderable excess of water, once or twice renewed. By this means the crystalloid, in process of time, diffuses completely away through the membranous septum into the free water; but the colloid, being quite incapable of permeating the membrane, however thin, is retained com- pletely on the ee unable to reach the free water on the other side. " ieieeaioal Society Teuenet xvii, b- 318. PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM ’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. 193 By means of the process of dialysis, Mr. Graham succeeded in obtain- ing various colloid organic substances, such as tannin, albumen, gum, caramel, &¢., in a very pure state; some of them, indeed, in a state of purity exceeding any in which they had before been met with. But the most curious results were obtained with different mineral substances, usually thrown down from their dissolved salts in the state of gelatin- ous or colloid precipitates. Most of these precipitates being soluble in some or other crystalloid liquid, on submitting the so-produced solutions to dialysis, the crystalloid constituents diffuse away, leaving the colloid substances in pure aqueous solution. By proceeding in this manner, Mr. Graham was able to obtain certain hydrated forms of silica, ferric oxide, alumina, chrome, prussian-blue, stannic acid, titanic acid, tungstic acid, molybdie acid, &c., &e., in the state of aqueous solution—these bodies having never before been obtained in solution, save in presence of strongly acid or alkaline compounds serving to dissolve them. Alto- gether, the production of these colloid solutions of substances, such as Silica and alumina—in their crystalline state, as quartz and corundum, completely insoluble—threw an entirely new light upon the conditions of aqueous solution. The colloidal solutions, obtained as above, of substances usually crys- talline, were found to be exceedingly unstable. Either spontaneously, or on the addition of some or other crystalloid reagent, even in very minute quantity, they pectized or became converted into solid jellies. Hence Mr. Graham was led to speak of two colloidal states ; the peptous or dissolved, and the pectous or gelatinized. In addition to their power of gelatinizing, their mutability, their non-erystalline habit, and their low diffasibility, substances in the colloid state were found to be further characterized by their chemical inertness and by their high combining weights. Thus the saturating power of colloid silica was only about gig Of that of the ordinary acid. In his supplementary paper communicated to the Chemical Society, Mr. Graham showed how the pectous forms of different mineral colloids could, in many cases, be reconverted into their peptous forms. He further showed how the water of different peptous and pectous colloids could be mechanically displaced by other liquids, as alcohol, glycerine, sulphuric acid, &c. To the different classes of compounds so formed, he gave distinctive names. Thus, the alcoholic solution and jelly, of silicie acid for instance, he designated as the alcosol and aleogel respect- ively. Closely associated with the passage of different liquids through mem- branes is the action known as endosmose, discovered by Dutrochet. Mr. Graham’s principal results on this subject are recorded in a very elaborate paper ‘On osmotic force,” communicated to the Royal Society in 1854; * but a few further results and a statement of his final views are contained in the paper, referred to immediately above, ‘On liquid * Philosophical Transactions, 1854, p.177. 13 8 71 194. PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. diffusion applied to analysis.” When the solution of a saline or other compound is separated from an adjacent mass of water by a membra- nous septum, a greater or less quantity of the water very commonly passes through the septum into the solution; andif the solution be con- tained in a vessel of suitable construction, having a broad membranous base and a narrow upright stem, the water, in some cases, flows into the vessel through the membrane, with a force sufficient to raise and sus- tain a column of 20 inches or more of liquid in the stem. The problem is to account for this flow; which, with acid fluids more particularly, takes place in the reverse direction—i. ¢. from the solution into the water. In the course of his experiments Mr. Graham examined the osmotic movement produced with liquids of most diverse character, employing osmometers of animal membrane, albuminated calico, and baked earth- enware. Wis results were, moreover, observed and recorded in very great detail. As an illustration of these results, it may be mentioned that with 1 per cent. solutions in the membranous osmometer, the liquid rose in the stem 2 millimeters in the case of common salt, 20 millimeters with chloride of calcium, 88 millimeters with chloride of nickel, 121 millimeters with chloride of mercury, 289 millimeters with proto-chloride of tin, 351 millimeters with chloride of copper, and 540 millimeters with chloride of aluminum. Mr. Graham showed, further, in opposition to the views of Dutrochet, that the velocity of the osmotic flow was not proportional to the quantity of salt or other substance originally con- tained in the solution; and that the flow did not depend on capillarity, as Dutrochet had inferred; or yet on diffusion, as some of his own experiments might be thought to indicate. Eventually he was led to the conclusion that osmose was essentially dependent on a chemical action taking place between one or other of the separated liquids and the material of the septum. He appears to have held somewhat different views of the nature of this chemical action at different times, and not to have considered it as being in all cases of the same character. The following extracts, expressing his latest views on the subject, are taken from the conclusion of his paper ‘“‘ On liquid diffusion applied to analysis.” ‘“Tt now appears to me that the water movement in osmose is an affair of hydration and of de-hydration in the substance of the membrane, or other colloid septum, and that the diffusion of the saline solution placed within the osmometer has little or nothing to do with the osmotic result otherwise than as it affects the state of hydration of the septum. * * * Placed in pure water, such colloids (as animal membrane) are hydrated to a higher degree than they are in neutral saline solutions. Hence the equilibrium of hydration is different on the two sides of the membrane of an osmometer. The outer surface of the membrane being in contact with pure water, tends to hydrate itself in a higher degree than the inner surface does, the latter surface being supposed to be in contact PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. 195 with a saline solution. When the full hydration of the outer surface extends through the thickness of the membrane, and reaches the inner surface, it there receives a check. The degree of hydration is lowered, and the water must be given up by the inner layer of the membrane, and it forms the osmose. * * * Far from promoting this separation of water, the diffusion of the salt throughout the substance of the mem- brane appears to impede osmose by equalizing the condition as to saline matter of the membrane through its whole thickness. The advantage which colloidal solutions have in inducing osmose, appears to depend in part upon the low diffusibility of such solutions, and their want of power to penetrate the colloidal septum.” VI. Movements of Gases under pressure. Effusion and transpiration.— The mechanical law of the passage of different gases under the same pressure througha mere perforation, as of the passage of different liquids, being that the velocities are inversely as the square roots of the specific gravities, Mr. Graham subjected this law to an experimental verification, and made known his results in a paper communicated to the Royal Society in 1846. The mode of experimenting was as follows: A jar standing on the plate of an air-pump was kept vacuous by continued exhaustion, and a measured quantity of gas allowed to find its way into the jar through a minute aperture in a thin metallic plate. The admis- sion of 60 cubic inches of dry air into the vacuous, or nearly vacuous jar, being arranged to take place in about 1,000 seconds, the times of passage of the same volume of air were found not to vary from each other by more than two or three seconds in successive experiments. Operating with different gases, the relative times of passage, or of “ effu- sion,” as it was denominated by Mr. Graham, proved to be approxima- tively identical with the square roots of the specific gravities of the several gases ; or, in other words, their velocities of effusion were shown exper- imentally to be inversely as the square roots of their specific gravities. The rate of effusion of a mixed gas corresponded in most cases with the calculated mean rate of its constituents; but the rates of effusion of the light gases, marsh gas and hydrogen, were very disproportionately re- tarded by the admixture with them, even toa small extent, of the heavier gases, oxygen and nitrogen. Passing from the study of the effusion of gases through a perforated plate, Mr. Graham next submitted their “ transpiration” through a capillary tube to a similarly conducted experimental inquiry. His re- sults were communicated to the Royal Society in two very elaborate papers, ‘On the motion of gases,” Parts I and II,* the first part con- taining also his above-described results on the effusion of gases. With ® very short capillary, the relative rates of passage of different gases were found to approximate to their relative rates of effusion ; but with * Philosophical Transactions, 1846, p. 573; 1849, p. 349. 196 PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM'S SCIENTIFIC WORK. every elongation of the capillary, a constantly increasing deviation from these rates was observed—the increase of the deviation, however, becoming less and less considerable with each successive increment of elongation, until, when the tube had acquired a certain length in proportion to its diameter, a maximum deviation of the relative rates of passage of the different gases from their relative rates of effusion was arrived at. These ultimate rates of passage, unaffected in relation to each other -by further elongation of the capillary, constitute the true transpiration velocities of the different gases, as distinguished from their velocities of effusion. Of all the gases experimented on, oxygen was found to have the longest transpiration time, or slowest transpiration velocity. In the following table its time of transpiration is taken as unity, and the times ofa few other gases compared therewith. In other columns are given the specific gravities of the same gases, referred to the specific gravity of airas unity; and the square roots of their specific eravities, which also express their relative times of effusion. | | Specific | vos Transpiration | gravity. | gravity. | time. apni oeri er Site A suiesiisl da chy. inion tart S069) Ally 20 GES 1h 437 INDATSNO ass eee ene e cteasre cies eioerss neice see ie ~ 559 | 747 =o INTO C CIs ie isis el sles yo oopetieiciele snoeteleiasaia.e SOLS | . 985 877 Gees ee ee ence |) 0s ee aoe ne 4 1. 000 Carbonic gas | 1.529 | 1,236 | . 730 That gas transpiration has no direct relation to gas specific gravity is shown by the transpiration times of oxygen and nitrogen exceeding the transpiration times both of the much lighter hydrogen and marsh gas, and of the much heavier carbonic gas. Again, ammonia, olefiant gas, and cyanogen, with the different specific gravities .590, .978, and 1.806 respectively, have the almost identical transpiration times .511, .005, and .506; or, approximatively, half the transpiration time of oxygen, 1.000. Nevertheless the transpiration times of oxygen and nitrogen are directly as their specific gravities; and further, the specific gravities of nitrogen, carbonic oxide, and nitric oxide being .971, .968, and 1.039, their transpiration times are .877, .874, and .876 respectively. But then olefiant gas, with the same specific gravity .978, has the much shorter transpiration time .505; and similarly in other cases. Altogether the discordance between transpiration and specific gravity is of greater fre- quency than the accordance; but still the circumstance of gases having the same, or about the same, specific gravity, having also the same, or about the same, rate of transpiration, is of too frequent occurrence to be merely accidental. As arule, the observed transpiration rate of a mixture of gases cor- responded with the calculated mean rate of its constituents; but the transpiration rates of the light gases, hydrogen and marsh gas, were PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. Le found to be disproportionately retarded to a greater extent even than their effusion rates by the admixture with them of heavier gases. Fur- ther, by employing mixtures of gas and vapor, Mr. Graham extended his inquiry so as to include a determination of the transpiration times of several vapors; the results being calculated on the assumption that the observed transpiration time of the mixture was the mean of the transpiration times of the permanent gas and of the coercible vapor experimented on. In this way the transpiration time of ether vapor, sp. gr. 2.586, was shown to be identical with that of hydrogen gas, Sp. gr. 0.069; and the transpiration time of carbonic sulphide vapor, sp. gr. 2.645, identical with that of sulphureted hydrogen gas, sp. gr. 1.191. With respect to gas transpiration in general, the rates of transpira- tion of different gases were found to be independent of the nature of the material of the capillary; apparently from the capillary, of what material soever, becoming lined with a film of gas, with which alone the current of gas could come in contact; so that the friction was purely intestine, and suggestive of a sort of viscosity in the gas itself. The rate of passage was further shown to be inversely as the length of the capillary ; and directly, in some high but undetermined ratio, as its di- ameter. Lastly, the rate of “effusion” of a given volume of any par- ticular gas being independent of pressure and temperature, the rate of transpiration of a given volume of any particular gas was observed to vary directly with its variation of density, whether the result of altera- tion of pressure or of temperature ; 100 cubic inches of dense air, for example, transpiring more rapidly than 100 cubic inches of tenuous air, in proportion to the excess of density. Speaking of the importance and fundamental nature of the physical properties manifested by bodies in the gaseous state, and of the extent of his own inquiries on gas-transpiration, Mr. Graham observed: “ It was under this impression that I devoted an amount of time and atten- tion to that class of constants (transpiration-velocities) which might otherwise appear disproportionate to their value and the importance of the subject. As the results, too, were entirely novel, and wholly un- provided for in the received view of the gaseous constitution, of which indeed they prove the incompleteness, it was the more necessary to verify each fact with the greatest care.” ‘ VER: Diffusion of gases—In 1801, Dalton, in an essay “On the constitu- tion of mixed gases, and particularly of the atmosphere,” propounded the now celebrated view that “where two elastic fluids denoted by A and B are mixed together, there isno mutual repulsion among their par- ticles; that is, the particles of A do not repel those of B, as they do one another; consequently the pressure or whole weight upon any one par- ticle arises solely from those of its own kind.” During the act of ad- mixture, ‘the particles of A meeting with no repulsion from those of 198 PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM'S SCIENTIFIC WORK. B... . would instantaneously recede from each other as far as possible under the circumstances, and consequently arrange themselves just as in a void space.” At the beginning of 1803, in a supplementary paper “On the tendency of elastic fluids to diffusion through each other,” he made known the remarkable action of intermixture which takes place, even in opposition to the influence of gravity, when any two gases are allowed to communicate with each other. Thus, in a particular experi- ment, he showed that when a vial of hydrogen is connected with a vial of eapont gas by means of a narrow piece of tubing, so that the vial of light hydrogen may be inverted over the other vial of heavy carbonic gas, the heavy carbonic gas actually ascends through the light hydro- gen, and the light hydrogen descends through the heavy carbonic gas until the uniform admixture of the two gases with each other is effected. The subject was afterward investigated by Berthelot, who, in a series of experiments performed with great care, while opposing Dalton’s theo- retical conclusions, corroborated his results, and indicated further the high diffusiveness of hydrogen. Here it was that Mr. Graham took up the inquiry. The first of his papers relating directly to the subject of gas-diffusion appeared in the “ Quarterly Journal of Science” for 1829, under the title, “‘A short account of experimental researches on the diffusion of gases through each other, and their separation by mechanical means.”* The mode of proceeding adopted in these re- searches was as follows: Each gas experimented on was allowed to diffuse from a horizontally placed bottle through a narrow tube, directed either upward or downward according as the gas was heavier or lighter than air, so that the diffusion always had to take place in opposition to the influence of gravity. The result was that equal volumes of different gases escaped in very unequal times, the rapidity of the escape having an inverse relation to the specific gravity of the gas. Thus hydrogen was found to escape four or five times more quickly than the twenty-two times heavier carbonic gas. Again, with a mixture of two gases, the lightest or most difiusible of the two was found to leave the bottle in largest proportion, so that a sort of mechani- eal separation of gases could be effected by means of their unequal diffusibility. Most of these last results were obtained by allowing the gaseous mixture to diffuse into a limited atmosphere of some other gas or vapor, capable of subsequent removal by absorption or condensa- tion. ¢ But these methods of operating, by free or adiaphragmatie diffusion, were soon abandoned by Mr. Graham for the more practicable method of diffusion through porous septa. Once again, however, many years afterward, in a paper “On the molecular mobility of gases,” to be more fully considered presently, Mr. Graham made some additional and very curious observations on the free diffusion of hydrogen and carbonic gas into surrounding air, showing the absolute velocities of the molecu- * Quarterly Journal of Science, ii, 1829, p. 83 J ? ? PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. 199 lar movements in each of the two cases. < 5. 50 2, 29 3. 80 COND OMICHOAS amis em cio eat= ere 13, 58 1.37 | 7 OL Bearing in mind the partial separation of gases from one another at- tainable by reason of their unequal diffusive velocities, the possibility of effecting a similar separation of gases by reason of their unequal velocities of transmission through India rubber was easily to be fore- seen. For example, atmospheric air consisting of 20.8 volumes of oxy- gen and 79.2 volumes of nitrogen, and the transmission velocities of these two gases being respectively 2.55 and 1.0, it follows that the air transmitted through India rubber into a vacuum should consist of 40 per cent. oxygen and 60 per cent. nitrogen, thus: OV CCM s sot a ree ais soe oie) esse Sie isis se ys bao 20.8 X 2.55 = ll ( 40 Nitro potinasam A pase st tee eon Ao ee 79.2X1.0 = 79.20 ors 60 132.24 \j00 In subjecting this conclusion to the test of experiment, Mr. Graham availed himself of Dr. Sprengel’s then newly invented mercurial pump or exhauster, an instrument which also stood him in good stead in his subsequent work, and to which he freely acknowledged his obliga- tions. By a slight alteration in the pump, as originally constructed, Mr. Graham made it serve not only for its original purpose of creating and maintaining an almost perfect vacuum, but also for delivering pari passu any gas penetrating into the vacuum through its caoutchoue or other walls. The cacutchouc films employed in these experiments were of various kinds; but the most readily practicable and, on the whole, successful results, were obtained with India-rubber varnished silk made up into a flat bag, exposing on each side about 0.25 meter of square surface. The interior of such a bag being in communication with the Sprengel pump, the constituents of the external air were gradually sucked through the walls of the bag and delivered by the turned-up fall-tube of 208 PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. the pump. On examining the delivered gas, it was found to contain on the average 41.6 per cent. of oxygen; and accordingly, to have the prop- erty of re-inflaming a glowing splinter. Thus, by the simple suction of atmospheric air through a caoutchoue film, the remarkable result was arrived at of nearly doubling the proportion of oxygen in the volume of air sucked through. Unfortunately for the practical application of the process, the entire volume of air sucked through proved to be very small, about 2.25 cubic centimeters per minute, per square meter of sur- face, at 209 C. At 60° C., however, the passage of air through the rub- ber was almost exactly three times as rapid as at 20°. Instead of allowing the gases experimented on to pass through the India rubber into a vacuous space, they were in some cases allowed to pass into space already occupied with a different gas, somewhat as in Dr. Mitchell’s original experiments; but the conditions of the action were then more complex. The constituent gases of atmospheric air, for instance, pass through an India-rubber septum into a space containing sarbonie gas at the relative velocities with which they enter a vacuous space; but throughout the experiment, not only are oxygen and nitro- gen continually entering the space, but carbonic gas is continually, and very rapidly, escaping from it. Eventually, by the rapid escape of ear- bonie gas, the proportion or pressure of oxygen in the intermal space comes to exceed that in the external air; whereupon a reverse trans- mission, through the India rubber, of the excess of oxygen into the ex- ternal air, at once begins. But by stepping the operation at an early stage, and then absorbing the carbonic gas with caustic alkali, a residue of hyperoxygenized air was left, capable, in some cases, of re-inflaming a glowing splinter, and containing as much as 37.1 volumes of oxygen to 62.9 volumes of nitrogen. The interpretation given by their discoverer to the above results was in accordance with his slowly-developed views on the relations of eases and liquids to each other and to soft solids. Having satisfied himself that the merest film of India rubber is quite devoid of porosity, and that oxygen is at least twice as absorbable by India rubber as by water at ordinary temperature, (the absorbability of its own volume of earbonie gas by India rubber, as by water, having been noticed by Dr. Mitchell,) Mr. Graham came to view the entire phenomenon as having a very complex character, as consisting in a dissolution of the gas in the soft India rubber; in a diffusion of the liquefied gas, as a liquid, through the thickness of the India rubber; in an evaporation of the liquefied gas from the internal surface of the India rubber; and lastly in a diffusion of the evaporated gas into the internal space. Thus, in reference to the remarks of Drs. Mitchell and Draper, he writes : “These early speculations lose much of their fitness from not taking into account the two considerations already alluded to, which appear to be essential to the full comprehension of the phenomenon, namely, that gases undergo liquefaction when absorbed by liquids and such PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM'S SCIENTIFIC WORK. 209 colloid substances as India rubber, and that their transmission through liquid and colloid septa is then effected by the ageney of liquid and not gaseous diffusion. Indeed, the complete suspension of the gaseous function during the transit through colloid membrane cannot be kept too much in view.” Mr. Graham seems thus to have recognized at least three distinct modes of gas transmission through a solid or semi- solid septum : Ist. By a sufficient degree of pressure gases might be forced bodily, i. é. in masses, through the minute channels of a porous septum; or, in other words, might pass through such a septum by transpiration, of course in the direction only of the preponderating total pressure. 2d. As the channels of a porous septum became more and more minute, their resistance to the bodily transmission of gas would be- come greater and greater, and the quantity of gas forced through them less and less, until at length the septum would be absolutely im- permeabie to transpiration under the particular pressure. But such a septum, of which the individual capillary channels were so small as to offer a frictional resistance to the passage of gas greater than the available pressure could overcome, might nevertheless present a considerable aggregate of interspace through which the diffusion proper of gases, consequent on their innate molecular mobility, could take place freely in both directions. od, A septum might be quite free from pores, of any kind or degree of minuteness, and so far be absolutely impermeable to the transmis- sion of gas in the form of gas; but it might nevertheless permit a considerable transmission of certain gases by reason of their prior solution or liquefaction in the substance of the septum. And whereas the mere passage of gas, by transpiration or diffusion through a porous septum, would take place in thorough independence of the nature of the material of the septum, in this last-considered action, the transmission would take place by virtue of a sort of chemical affinity between the gas and the material of the septum—the selective absorption of the gas by the septum being a necessary antecedent of its transmission; whence it might be said the gas was transmitted because it was first absorbed’ Of course in certain transmissions two, or all three, modes of action might come into play simultaneously. : TX. Occlusion of gases by metals —The experiments of Deville and Troost having made known the eurious fact of the permeability of ignited homogeneous platinum and ignited homogeneous iron to hydrogen gas, and given some indication also of the permeability of ignited iron to carbonic oxide gas, Mr. Graham, in 1866, corroborated the results of the French chemists in reference to platinum; but, modifying their method by letting the hydrogen pass into a space kept vacuous by the Sprengel pump, instead of into an atmosphere of other gas, assimilated 148 71 210 PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. the process to that which he had employed in his India-rubber experi- ments. The results he obtained were communicated to the Royal Society, partly in the paper already referred to ‘‘ On the absorption and separation of gases by colloid septa,” and partly in four supplementary notices published in the proceedings of the society.* In carrying out the investigation forming the subject of these several communications, Mr. Graham had the advantage of being admirably seconded by his assistant, Mr. W. Chandler Roberts, whose able and zealous co-opera- tion he repeatedly acknowledged in the warmest terms. . In the course of experiments made on the transmission of gases through ignited metallic septa, a particular platinum tube, being ren- dered vacuous, was found at all temperatures below redness to be quite impermeable to hydrogen; whereas, at a red heat, it transmitted 100 cubic centimeters of hydrogen in half an hour, the quantities of oxygen, nitrogen, marsh gas, and carbonic gas, transmitted under the same con- ditions, not amounting to .0O1 cubie centimeter each in half an hour. It was ascertained further that, with an ignited vacuous tube of platinum surrounded by a current of ordinary coal-gas, (a variable mixture of gases containing on the average about 45 per cent. of marsh gas, 40 per cent. of hydrogen, and 15 per cent. of other gases and vapors,) a transmission of pure hydrogen alone took place through the heated metal. This property of selective transmission, manifested by platinum, was so far analogous to the property of selective trans- mission manifested by India-rubber, that whereas a septum of India rubber transmitted the nitrogen of the air in a much smaller ratio than the oxygen, the septum of ignited platinum transmitted the other constituents of coal-gas in an infinitely smaller ratio than the hydrogen. Hence the knowledge of the absorption by India rubber of the gases which it most freely transmitted, suggested to Mr. Graham an inquiry as to the possible absorption of hydrogen gas by platinum. Accordingly platinum, in different forms, was heated to redness, and then allowed to cool slowly in a continuous current of hydrogen. The metal so treated, and after its free exposure to the air, was placed in a porcelain tube, which was next made vacuous by the Sprengel pump. During the production and maintenance of the vacuum, no hydrogen was extracted from the metal at ordinary temperatures ; or even during an hour’s exposure to the temperature of 220°; or yet at a heat falling just short of redness. But at a dull red-heat and upward, a quantity of hydrogen gas was given off amounting in volume, measured cold, to as much, in some cases, as 5.5 times the volume of the platinum. Thus was opened out to Mr. Graham the subject of his last, and probably greatest discovery, the occlusion of gases by metals. Very many metals were examined in their relations to different gases, but the most interesting results were those obtained with platinum as above described; and those obtained with silver, with iron, and, above all, with palladium. * Royal Society Proceedings, xv, p. 502; xvi, p. 422; xvii, p. 212, p. 500. PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. 2tL The characteristic property of silver, heated and cooled in different atmospheres, proved to be its capability of absorbing and retaining, in some cases, as much as seven times its volume of oxygen—its absorption of hydrogen falling short of a single volume. Some silver-leaf, heated and cooled in ordinary air, and subsequently heated in a vacnum, gave off a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen gases containing 85 per cent. of oxygen, or more than four times the proportion contained in theoriginal air. This remarkable property of solid silver to effect the permanent occlusion of oxygen gas, must be distinguished from the not less remark- able and doubtless associated property of melted silver to effect the temporary absorption of a yet larger volume of the same gas; which, on the solidification of the metal, is discharged with the well-known phenomenon of spitting. Iron, though tolerably absorptive of hydrogen, was found to be specially characterized by its absorption of carbonic oxide. What may be called the natural gas of wrought iron, or the gas derived from the forge in which it was heated, proved to consist chiefly of carbonic oxide, and, in different experiments, was found to range from 7 to 12.5 times the volume of the metal; so that, in the course of its preparation, iron would appear to occlude upward of seven times its volume of carbonic oxide, and to carry this gas about with it ever after. The absorbability of carbonic oxide by iron has an obvicusly important bearing on the theory of steel production by cementation. This process would appear to consist in an absorption of carbonic oxide gasinto the substance of the iron, and in a subsequent decomposition of the absorbed gas into sarbon entering into combination with the metal, so as to effect its acieration, and carbonic gas discharged from the surface of the metal, so as to produce the well-known appearance of blistering. Nor is this the only, or even the chief point of interest that was made out with regard to iron; for the study of the behavior of telluric manufactured iron naturally led Mr. Graham to the examination of sidereal. native iron, that is to say, the iron of meteorites, and with the following result. A portion of meteoriciron, from the Lenarto fall, when heated in vacuo, gave off 2.85 times its volume of natural gas, of which the preponderating con- stituent, to the extent of 85.7 per cent. of the total quantity, consisted not of carbonic oxide, but of hydrogen, the carbonic oxide amounting to only 4.5 per cent., and the remaining 9.8 per cent. consisting of nitro- gen. The inference that the meteorite had been, at some time or other, ignited in an atmosphere having hydrogen as its prevailing constituent, seems irresistible; and judging from the volume of gas yielded by the ‘iron, the hydrogen atmosphere in which it was ignited must, in all prob- ability, have been a highly condensed one; the charge of hydrogen extracted being fully five times as great as it was found possible to im- part to ordinary iron artificially. But it was with palladium that Mr. Graham obtained his most extra- ordinary results. This metal he found to have the property of trans- mitting hydrogen with extreme facility, even at temperatures very far FAP, PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM'S SCIENTIFIC WORK. short of redness. Coincidently, at temperatures even below those requisite for transmission, palladium was found capable of absorbing many hundred times its volume of hydrogen. Thus apiece of palladium- foil maintained at a temperature of 90°-97° for three hours, and then allowed to cool down during an hour and a half, while surrounded by a continuous current of hydrogen gas, gave off, on being afterward heated in vacuo, 643 times its volume of the gas, measured cold ; and even at ordinary temperatures, it absorbed 376 times its volume of the gas, pro- vided it had first been recently ignited in vacuo. In another experi- ment, palladium sponge, heated to 200° in a current of hydrogen and allowed to cool slowly therein, afterward yielded 686 times its volume of the gas; while a piece of electrolytically deposited palladium heated only to 100° in hydrogen, afterward yielded, upon ignition in vacuo, no less than 982 times its volume of the gas. The lowness of the tempera- ture at which, under favorable circumstances, the absorption of hydro- gen by palladium could thus be effected, soon suggested other means of bringing about the result. For example, a piece of palladium-foil was placed in contact with a quantity of zinc undergoing solution in dilute sulphurie acid; and, on subsequent examination, was found to have absorbed 173 times its volume of hydrogen. Again, palladium, in the forms of wire and foil, was made to act as the negative pole of a Bun- _sen’s battery effecting the electrolysis of acidulated water; and in this / manner was found to absorb from 800 to 950 times its volume of hydre- gen in different experiments. Palladium being thus chargeable with hydrogen in three different ways—namely, by being heated and cooled in an atmosphere of the gas ; by being placed in contact with zine dissolving in acid, ¢@. e., with hydro- gen in the act of evolution; and, lastly, by being made the negative electrode of a battery—correlatively, the charged metal could be freed from its occluded hydrogen by exposing it to an increase of temperature in air or vacuo; by acting on it with ditterent feebly oxidizing mixtures ; and by making it the positive electrode of a battery. The palladium, when charged to its maximum, was frequently found to give off a small proportion of its hydrogen, though with extreme slowness, at ordinary temperatures, both into the atmosphere and into a vacuum. But not until the temperature approached 100° was there any appreciable gas-evolution ; which, above that point, took place with a facility increasing with the temperature, so as to be both rapid and complete at about 300°. Since, however, the transmission of hydrogen through heated palladium is a phenomenon of simultaneous absorption and evolution, it follows that the property of palladium to absorb hydro- gen does not cease at 300°, or indeed at close upon the melting-point of gold—the highest temperature at which Mr. Graham’s experiments on transmission were conducted; but whereas the maximum absorption of hydrogen by palladium takes place at comparatively low temperatures, the velocity of transmission was observed to increase, in a rapid ratio, with the increase of temperature, indefinitely. _ PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. 2i3 As regards the removal of hydrogen from palladium by oxygenants, the gas of the charged metal was found to manifest all the chemical activity of hydrogen in the nascent state. Thus it reduced corrosive sublimate to calomel, combined directly with free iodine, converted ferrid into ferro cyanides, destroyed the color of permanganates, Xe. Moreover, the spongy metal, charged with hydrogen and exposed to the air, was apt to become suddenly hot, and so completely discharged, by a spontaneous aerial oxidation of its absorbed gas into water ; while the hydrogen of a piece of charged palladium wire was often capable of being set fire to, and of burning continuously along the wire. Lastly, the reversal of the position of the palladium plate in the decomposing cell of the battery afforded a most ready means of com- pletely extracting its hydrogen. Indeed, for some time after the rever- sal, while hydrogen was being freely evolved from the negative pole, no oxygen was observable on the surface of the palladium plate, now made the positive pole, through its rapid oxygenation of the absorbed hydrogen. As regards the extent of the absorption of hydrogen by palladiun, it was found, as already indicated, to vary considerably with the physical state of the metal, whether fused, hammered, spongy, or electrolytically deposited, for example. In one case, previously referred to, a specimen of electrolytically deposited palladium, heated to 100°, and then slowly cooled in a continuous current of hydrogen, was found to occlude 982.14 times its volume of the gas, measured cold. In this case the actual weight of palladium experimented with was 1.0020 gram, and the weight of hydrogen absorbed .0073 gram, being in the ratio of 99.277 per cent. of palladium and 0.723 per cent. of hydrogen. The atomic weight of hydrogen being 1, and that of palladium 106.5, it is observable that the ratio of the weights of the constituents of the charged metal, hydrogen and palladium, approximates to the ratios of their atomic weights. In another experiment some palladium wire, drawn from a piece of the fused metal, was charged electrolytically with 935.67 times its volume of hydrogen. Some idea of these enormous absorptions of hydrogen may be formed by remembering that water at mean temperature absorbs only 782.7 times its volume of that most absorbable of the common gases, ammonia, A point of interest with regard to the different quantities of hydrogen absorbable by palladium in its different states is the gradual diminution in the absorptive power of any particular specimen of the metal with each successive charge and discharge of gas in whatever way effected— the absorptive power, however, being partially restorable by subjecting the metal to a welding heat. The density of palladium charged with eight or nine hundred times its volume of hydrogen is perceptibly lowered. Owing, however, to a continuous formation of bubbles of hydrogen on the surface of the 4 OTA PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM'S SCIENTIFIC WORK. | charged metal when immersed in water, there is a difficulty in taking its exact density by comparing its respective weights in air and water with one another. There is also a difficulty in determining the density by direct measurement of the charged palladium when in the form of wire; owing to the curious property of the wire, on being discharged, of not merely returning to its original volume, but of undergoing a con- siderable and permanent additional retraction. But in the case of cer- tain alloys of platinum, silver, and gold with excess of palladium, while the absorptive power of the constituent palladium is still manifested, the excess of retraction on discharge of the wires does not occur; and the specific gravities deducible from the mere increase in length of wires of these alloys are found to accord approximatively with those deducible from the increase in length of the pure palladium wire, not above its original length, but above the length to which it retracts on discharge of its absorbed gas. It would thus appear that, simultaneously with its absorption of hydrogen, the pure palladium wire, unstably stretched by the process of drawing, suffers two opposite actions; that is to say, it undergoes a process of shortening by assuming a more stable condition of cohesion, and a process of lengthening by the addition to it of other matter—the lengthening due to the additional matter being the excess of the length of the charged above that of the discharged wire. In a- particular experiment illustrative of this peculiarity, a new platinum wire took up a full charge of hydrogen electrolytically, namely, 956.3 volumes, and increased in length from 609.585 to 619.354 millimeters. With the expulsion of the hydrogen afterward, the wire was perma- - nently shortened to 600.115 millimeters. The sum of the two changes taken together amounts to 19.239 millimeters, and represents the true increase in the length of the wire due to the addition of hydrogen. It corresponds to a linear expansion of 3.205 in 100, or to a cubical expan- sion of 9.827 in 100. The original volume of the wire being .126 cubic centimeter, the volume of the condensed hydrogen would accordingly be .01238 cubic centimeter. Then, as the charged wire, on being heated-in vacuo, evolved 120.5 cubic centimeters of hydrogen gas, weighing .0108 gram, the density of the absorbed hydrogen would be— . 01080 872. . 01238 Calculated from the mere increase in length of the charged wire above that of the wire originally, the density of the absorbed hydrogen would be 1.708. The following table gives the densities of condensed hydro- gen in different experiments made with palladium wire, in which the excess of retraction on discharge was allowed for as above; and also the densities observed in experiments made with palladium alloys in which the contraction on discharge took place to the original lengths of the wires only: PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. ZA Density of condensed When united with— hydrogen. iFen)l Wer Gln Tuna ieeee tore et Ne ete So ie aie SS Siate cic eae cia wise | 0.854 to 0.872 Pearman clo er GUNN ease sass oo tee oe oe mate ae ae | 0.7401 to 0.7545 VELEN TTC Olas nena Sere cle ce cme s soto eaters sae tes | O71. to 0575 PM ACUIN an sll Vieraaetaeesee rosa - ae ee eee oe scene es | 0.727 to 0.742 another metal, was large or small, the density of the occluded hydro- gen was found to be substantially the same. That the excessive re- traction of the palladium wire on the discharge of its absorbed hydro- gen is not a mere effect of heat was shown by the charged wire under- going a similar retraction when discharged electrolytically instead of by ignition in vacuo; and also by the original wire not undergoing any sensible retraction as a result of annealing. That the retraction is merely in length was shown by the absence of any difference in specific gravity between the original and the discharged wire. Very curiously, the shortening of the wire, by successive chargings and dischargings of hydrogen, would seem to be interminable. Thus the following ex- pansions of a particular wire, caused by variable charges of hydrogen, were followed, on expelling the hydrogen, by the contractions recorded in the other column : Elongation in | Retraction in | | | millimeters. millimeters. wo sed : | | HAMS TREMP OUMNEN tare cite a nat oae Aaeityeecitc es ce.nore cciel saree 9,77 9,70 : ‘ | ae ; NCCOUCEXMeLIMENGem- 2. = sea naa bones tote. Sees Sook 5. 705 6.20 alinrdexperiment ices scec--- ocean et eee coc aan | 2.36 3. t4 OULTNESPOUIMENts sae 2) sec eass o-Sece aces cece aces 3. 482 4,95 23.99 The palladium wire, which originally measured 609.144 millimeters, thus suffered, by four successive chargings and dischargings of hydro- gen, an ultimate contraction of 23.99 millimeters, or a reduction of its original length to the extent of nearly 4 per cent., each increment of contraction below the original length usually exceeding the previous in- crement of elongation above the original length of the wire. The alter- nate expansion and contraction of palladium by its occlusion and evo- lution of hydrogen is ingeniously shown by a contrivance of Mr. Roberts, in which a slip of palladium-foil, varnished on one side, is made to curl and uncurl itself, as it becomes alternately the negative and positive electrode of a battery, or is alternately charged and discharged of hydrogen on its free surface. That hydrogen is the vapor of a highly volatile metal has frequently been maintained on chemical grounds; and from a consideration of the physical properties of his hydrogenized palladium, Mr. Graham was led 216 PROFESSOR THOMAS GRAHAM’S SCIENTIFIC WORK. to regard it as atrue alloy of palladium with hydrogen, or rather hydro- genium, in which the volatility of the latter metal was restrained by the fixity of the former, and of which the metallic aspect was equally due to both of its constituents. Although, indeed, the occlusion of up- ward of 900 times its volume of hydrogen was found to lower the tenacity and electric conductivity of palladium appreciably, still the hydrogenized palladium remained possessed of a most characteristically metallic tenacity and conductivity. Thus, the tenacity of the original wire being taken as 100, the tenacity of the fully charged wire was found to be 81.29; and the electric conductivity of the original wire being 8.10, that of the hydrogenized wire was found to be 5.99. In fur- ther support of the conclusion arrived at by Mr. Graham, as to the me- tallic condition of the hydrogen occluded in palladium, he adduced his singular discovery of its being possessed of magnetic properties, more decided than those of palladium itself, a metal which Mr. Faraday had shown to be “feebly but truly magnetic.” Operating with an electro- magnet of very moderate strength, Mr. Graham found that while an ob- long fragment of electrolytically deposited palladium was deflected from the equatorial by 10° only, the same fragment of metal, charged with 604.6 times its volume of hydrogen, was deflected through 48°. Thus did Mr. Graham supplement the idea of hydrogen as an invisible incon- densable gas, by the idea of hydrogen as an opaque, lustrous, white metal, having a specific gravity between 0.7 and 0.8, a well-marked tenacity and conductivity, and a very decided magnetism. ON THE RELATION OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES TO SCIENCE IN GENERAL. Delivered before the University of Heidelberg, by Dr. Herman Helmholtz. [Translated for the Smithsonian Institution, by Prof. C. F. Krorn.] Our university renews, on the annual return of this day, her grateful re- membrances of Charles Frederic, the enlightened prince who, at a time when the whole established order of Europe was revolutionized, labored most zealously and efficiently to improve the well-being and facilitate the mental development of his people, and who clearly perceived that the revival of this university would be one of the principal means for the attainment of his benevolent object. Since it is my duty on this ocea- sion to speak of our whole university as its representative, it is proper to review the connection between the sciences and their study in gen- eral, as far as may be possible, from the circumscribed point of view of an individual observer. It would seem indeed, to-day, as if the mutual relations of all sciences, in virtue of which we unite them under the name of a wniversitas litter- arum, had become looser than ever before. We see the scholars of our times absorbed in a study of details of such immense magnitude that even the most industrious cannot hope to master more than a small portion of modern science. The linguist of the last three centuries found sufficient occupation in the study of Greek and Latin, and it was only for immediate practical purposes that a few modern Janguages were learned. Now, comparative philology has set for itself no less a task than to study all the languages of the human race, in order to deduce from them the laws of the formation of language itself, and its votaries have brought immense industry to bear upon this gigantic work. IHven within classical philology they no longer confine themselves to the study of those writings which, by their artistic finish, the clearness of their thoughts, or the importance of their contents, have become the models of the poetry and prose of all times; the philologists are aware that every lost fragment of an ancient writer, every remark of a pedantic grammarian or of a Byzantine court-poet, every broken tomb-stone of a Roman official that is found in some remote corner of Hungary, Spain, or Africa, may contain some information or proof of importance in its proper place, and hence a large number of scholars are occupied in the gigantic task of collecting and cataloguing all remnants of classic anti- quity so that they may be ready for use. Add to this the study of his- torical sources, the examination of parchments and papers accumulated in states and towns, the collection of notes scattered through me- 218 ON THE RELATION OF THE moirs, correspondences, and biographies, and the deciphering of the hieroglyphics and cuneiform inscriptions; add again to these the contin- ually and rapidly augmenting catalogues of minerals, plants, and animals, living and antediluvian, and there will be unfolded before our eyes a mass of scientific material sufficient to make us giddy. In all these sciences, researches are pushed forward constantly in proportion to the improvement of our means of observation, and there is no perceptible limit. The zodlogist of the last century was generally satisfied with de- scribing the teeth, fur, formation of the feet and other external charac- teristics of ananimal. The anatomist, on the other hand, described the anatomy of man alone, as far as he could gain a knowledge of it by means of the knife, the saw, the chisel, or, perhaps, of injections into the tissues. The study of human anatomy was even then considered an extremely extensive and difficult branch of science. To-day we are no longer content with what is so-called descriptive human anatomy, which, although incorrectly, is considered as exhausted, but comparative anat- omy, i. é., the anatomy of all animals, and miscroscopie anatomy, botir sciences of unlimited scope, have been added and absorb the interest of the observer. The four elements of antiquity and of medieval alchemy have swelled to sixty-four* in our modern chemistry ; the last three have been discov- ered according to a method originating in our university, which leads us to expect other similar discoveries. Not only, however, has the number of the elements increased extraordinarily, but the methods for producing complex compounds have been so greatly improved, that what is so-called organic chemistry, which comprises only the combinations of carbon with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and a few other elements, has already be- come a separate science. ‘As many as the stars in heaven,” used to be the natural expression for a pumber which exceeds all limits of our comprehension. Pliny considered it an undertaking bordering on arrogance when Hipparchus commenced to number the stars and determine their positions. Never- theless, the catalogues of stars up to the seventeenth century, which were made out without the use of telescopes, contained only from 1,000 to 1,500 stars of the first to the third magnitude. At present they are engaged at the different observatories in extending these catalogues down to the tenth magnitude, which will make a sum total of more than 200,000 fixed stars in the whole heavens; and these are all to be noted down, measured, and their places determined. The immediate conse- quence of these observations has been the discovery of many new planets. Of these only six were known in 1781, while at present we know seventy- five.t When we pass in review this gigantic activity in all branches of * With Indium, recently discovered, sixty-five. t In the latter part of November, 1864, the eighty-second of the asteroids, Alemene, was discovered. Add to this the eight large planets, and the whole number of planets known will amount to ninety. [1871, 120.] . PHYSICAL SCIENCES TO SCIENCE IN GENERAL. 219 science, the rash projects of man are, indeed, apt to astonish and frighten us, like the chorus in Antigone, when it exclaims, “Much is surprising, but nought more surprising than man.” Who ean overlook the whole, keep the connecting threads in his hand and find his way through the labyrinth. The immediate and natural consequence is that every investigator is forced to choose a field of labor constantly becoming more circumscribed, and to confine himself to a but imperfect acquaintance with the rest. We are now inclined to laugh when we hear that in the seventeenth century Kepler was called to Gritz to discharge the duties of the chair of mathematics and moral science, or that at the beginning of the eighteenth century Boerhave held at the same time the professorships of botany, chemistry, and clin- ical medicine, which, of course, included also pharmacy. Now, we need at least four and in many universities even seven or eight teachers for all these branches. The same is the case in other departments of science. I have the more reason to consider the connection between the differ- ent sciences here, because I confine myself to the circle of natural sciences, which have latterly been accused of pursuing a course isolated from other Sciences, correlated through mutual philological and historical studies, and of having become estranged from them. This indeed has long been perceptible, and seems to have been developed, or rather brought to notice, under the influence of the philosophy of Hegel. At the end of the last century, under the philosophy of vant, such a separation had not been pronounced. His philosophy was on equal footing with the nat- ural sciences, as Aant’s own labors in natural science demonstrate, especially his cosmogonic hypotheses, based on Newton’s law of gravi- tation, which was later generally received under the name of the theory of Laplace. Kant’s critical philosophy was calculated only to investigate the sources and basis of our knowledge, and to create a standard for the intellectual labors of the different sciences. A law found «@ priori by pure thought, could, according to his doctrine, become only a rule for a method of thinking, and could not have any positive or real significance. The philosophy of identity was bolder. It proceeded from the hypothesis that the real world, that nature, and the life of man, were the result of the thoughts of a creative mind, which mind was similar to that of man. Accordingly, the human mind might undertake, even without the guid- ance of external experience, to think over again the thoughts of the Creator, and to find them again, through its own inner activity. In this sense the philosophy of identity endeavored to construct @ priori the material results of the other sciences. This might sueceed more or less easily with respect to religion, law, political economy, language, art, history, and, in short, in all sciences which are developed chiefly from a psychological basis, and which are therefore classified under the name of mental sciences. The state, the church, art and language, have for their object the satisfaction of certain spiritual and mental wants of 220) ON THE RELATION OF THE man. Although external obstacles, the forces of nature, accident, rivalry of other men, frequently exert a disturbing influence, the endeavy- ors of a human mind perseveringly pursuing its object must, in the end, preponderate and triumph over planless hinderances. Under these cir- cumstances it would not be impossible to lay out a priori the course of development of mankind with regard to the above relations, especially when the philosopher has already considerable empirical material at his command with which he can combine his abstractions. Hegel was ma- terially aided in his attempts to solve this question by the deep philo- sophical insight into history and science which the philosophers and poets of the immediately preceding time had gathered, and which he needed only to arrange and combine to produce a system full of astonish- ing discoveries. In this manner he succeeded in gaining the enthusias- tic applause of the majority of the scholars of his time, and in exciting fantastical hopes for the solution of the profoundest mysteries of human life; the latter all the more because his system was veiled in curiously abstract language, and was, perhaps, really understood and appreciated only by a small number of his admirers. The fact that the construction of the principal results of the mental sciences was more or less successful, was, however, no proof of the cor- rectness of the hypothesis of identity from which Hegel’s philosophy pro- ceeded. On the contrary, the facts of nature would have been the means of furnishing decisive proof. It was a matter of course that traces of the activity of the human mind and of its stages of develop- ment must be found in the mental sciences. If nature reflected the re- sult of the thoughts of a similar creative mind, the comparatively sim- pler forms and processes of nature could the more easily be arranged into systems. But it was just at this point that the philosophy of iden- tity failed, we may say, completely. The natural philosophy of Hegel, to naturalists at least, appeared absolutely senseless. Among the many excellent naturalists of that time there was not a single one who could accept his ideas. But it was of the greatest importance to Hegel to obtain the same appreciation here that he had found so abundantly in the other sciences. He waged an unusually passionate and bitter contro- versy, directed especially against Newton, the first and greatest repre- sentative of scientific research. He taxed the naturalists with narrow- mindedness, and they in their turn accused their opponent of absurdi- ties. The naturalists began to lay stress upon the assertion that their labors had been free from all philosophical influences, and soon many of them, including even men of great eminence, condemned all philosophy, not only as useless, but even as injurious vagaries. We cannot deny that along with the unjust claims of the philosophy of Hegel, to subor- dinate the other sciences, its just claims, to criticise the sources of knowledge and determine a standard for intellectual labors, were thrown overboard. In the mental sciences the effect was different, although it finally led PHYSICAL SCIENCES TO SCIENCE IN GENERAL. Dot to the same result. In all branches of science relating to religion, the state, law, art, and language, enthusiastic followers of Hegel arose, each of whom sought to reform their branch according to his doctrine and to gather rapidly in a speculative way the fruits, which until then could only be obtained by means of slow and tedious labor. Thus it was for atime that a sharp and well-defined antagonism existed between the physical sciences on the one side and the mental sciences on the other, and not infrequently was it denied that the former possessed the characteristics of a science at all. The bitterness which existed between the two did not, however, last long. The physical sciences proved to every one, by a rapid series of brilliant discoveries and applications, that they contained a healthy germ of unusual productiveness. It was impossible not to esteem and appreciate them. In the other departments of science, conscientious in- vestigators of facts soon raised objections against the presumptous ica- rus-flight of speculation. That these philosophical systems produced a beneficial effect is however unmistakable; we cannot deny that since the appearance of the works of Hegel and Schelling, the attention of investigators of the different branches of mental sciences has been directed more pointedly and more perseveringly to their intellectual im- port and scope than in preceding times, and that therefore the results of that philosophy have not been entirely in vain. In a measure as the empirical investigation of facts became more prominent in the other sciences, the contrast between them and the physical sciences was diminished. Although this contrast had been exaggerated through the influence of philosophy, we cannot deny that it is founded upon the nature of things, and that it will assert its claims. It lies partially in the kind of mental labor involved, and partially in the subjects of the sciences, as their names, physical and mental sciences, indicate. The physicist will find some difficulty in explaining a compli- cated process of nature to a philologist or a lawyer. It would require on their part abstractions from the appearance of the senses and dex- terity in the use of geometrical and mechanical aids, in which they could not easily follow him. Artists and theologians, on the other hand, would perbaps find the naturalist too much inclined to mechanical and mate- rial explanations, which would seem trivial to them, and which might tend to suppress the warmth of their feeling and their enthusiasm. The philologist and the historian, with whom the lawyer and the theologian are intimately associated by their common philological and historical studies, will find the physicist surprisingly indifferent to literary treas- ures, more indifferent perhaps than is proper and good for the advance of hisown science. It cannot be denied, finally, that the mental sciences have to do directly with the dearest interests of the human mind, and with its creations in the world, while the physical sciences work with external matter, to which we may be indifferent, but we cannot neglect D222. ON THE RELATION OF THE because of their great practical utility, although they may not seem to have any immediate effect in developing the mind. Since the sciences have been separated into so many divisions and subdivisions, since very appreciable contrasts have been developed among them, and since no one man can comprehend the whole, or even a considerable part of the whole, is there any use in keeping them to- gether in the same institution? Is the union of the four faculties in one university only aremnant of the usages of the middle ages? It has been alleged that many external advantages are gained by sending students ot medicine to the hospitals of large cities, students of natural sciences to polytechnic schools, and by erecting special seminaries and schools for theologians and lawyers. Let us hope that our German universities may long be preserved from the influence of such an idea! That woulp indeed tear asunder the connection between the different sciences, a connection eminently important to scientific labor, and to the improve- ment of the material products of that labor, as will be seen on a brief consideration of the question. Virst, as regards their formal relations, I would say that the union of the different sciences is necessary to maintain a healthy equilibrium of the mental powers. Every science exercises certain faculties of the mind, and strengthens them by continual practice. But all one-sided development has its dangers; it is detrimental to those faculties which are less exercised, it limits our view of the whole, and leads us to over- estimate our own labors. He who perceives that he can perform a cer- tain kind of mental labor much better than other men, is too apt to forget how many other things there are in which they surpass him. Over-estimation of self—let no votary of science forget it—is the great- est and worst enemy of all scientific labors. How many with great talents have not,forgotten that criticism of self, so difficult and yet so necessary to the scholar, or have become discouraged and lax in their labors, because they considered dry, persevering work unworthy of them, and were bent only on producing brilliant combinations and rev- olutionizing discoveries! How many such men have not concluded a melancholy life in an embittered and misanthropical state of mind, be- cause they failed to obtain that appreciation from their fellow-men which is gained only by work and success, and not by the self-compla- cency of genius alone. The more isolated we are, the more we are exposed to this danger; while, on the other hand, nothing is more con- ducive to efficient mental labor than to be obliged to exert all our powers to gain the appreciation of men whom we ourselves are constrained to appreciate. When we compare the kinds of mental activity required in different branches of science, we shall find certain differences due to the sciences themselves, although we cannot deny that every man of great talent has a special individual tendency which fits him for his special branch. Ii is only necessary to. compare the works of two investigators in inti- PHYSICAL SCIENCES TO SCIENCE IN GENERAL. 220 mately related branches, to find that the greater the men, the more decided is their mental individuality, and the less one would be able to perform the works of the other. To-day we cannot, of course, go further than to characterize the most general differences of intellectual work in the different branches of science. I have reminded you of the gigantic extent of the materials of our sciences. It is clear that the greater their extent, the more neces- sary it is to obtain a better and more accurate organization and arrange- ment, in order not to become hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of learning. The better the order and system, the greater may the accumulation of details become without injuring the connection. Our time becomes all the more profitable in working out details, because our predecessors have taught us the organization of science. This organization consists, in the first place, in an external mechan- ical arrangement, as found in our catalogues, lexicons, registers, indexes, literary reviews, yearly reports, digests of laws, systems of natural history,ete. By the aid of these we gain only because all knowledge which it is not necessary to keep constantly in mind can be found at any mo- ment by those who need it. By means of a good lexicon a student of a preparatory school ean accomplish much in the study of the classics that must have proved difficult to Hrasmus,in spite of life-long reading. Works of this kind are, as it were, the scientific capital of mankind, with the interest of which the business is carried on. We might compare them to capital invested in lands. Like the earth, of which the lands are composed, the knowledge contained in these catalogues, lexicons, and indexes looks little inviting, and the ignorant cannot appreciate the labor and expense lavished on these acres; the work of the plowman seems excessively difficult, laborious, and tedious. Although, however, the work of the lexicographer or of the compiler of systems of natural history requires as Inuch perseverance and diligence as that of the plowman, it must not be believed that it is of a subordinate or secondary nature, or that it is as dry and mechanical as it looks afterward, when the catalogue lies printed before us. Every single fact must be discovered by attentive observation ; it must afterward be verified and compared, and the im- portant must be separated from the wnimportant. None ean do this but those who have a clear understanding of the object of the collection and of the intellectual import of the science and its methods; and for such men every single fact will be of peculiar interest in its relations to the whole science. Otherwise such work would be the most intolerable drudgery that could be imagined. That the progressive development of science has its influence on these works «lso is seen in the faet that new lexicons, new systems of natural history, new digests of laws, new catalogues of stars, are constantly found necessary. They testify to the progress of the methods and the organization of knowledge. But our knowledge must not remain idle in the form of catalogues ; 224 ON THE RELATION OF THE for the fact that we must have it about us in this form, black upon white, proves that we have not mastered it intellectually. It is not suf- ficient to be cognizant of facts; science results only from a knowledge of their laws and causes. The logical elaboration of these facts consists in collecting together those which are similar under one common head. Thus are formed generic ideas, which take their place in our thinking. We call them generic ideas when they comprise a number of existing things, and laws when they comprise a series of phenomena or processes. When I have discovered that all the mammalia, 7. e., all warm-blooded animals which bring forth living young, breathe by means of lungs, have two chambers of the heart and at least three auricular bones, I need no longer remember these peculiarities separately for the ape, the horse, the dog, or the whale. The general rule includes an immense number of individual instances and represents them in the memory. The law of the refraction of light does not only include all cases where rays fall, at different angles, upon a smooth surface of water and show the result, but all cases where rays of any color strike a surface of any kind of any transparent substance. This law, therefore, includes such an endless number of cases that it would have been absolutely impossible to retain them all singly in the memory. Moreover, this law does not only in- clude those cases which we or others have already observed, but we do not hesitate to apply it to new cases, which have not yet been recog- nized, to predict the effect of the refraction of light, and our expecta- tions will not be disappointed. In the same manner, if we should find an unknown mammal, that has never been anatomically dissected, we might conclude almost with certainty that it had lungs, two heart- chambers, and three or more auricular bones. While we thus generalize the facts of our experience into classes and laws, we not only reduce our knowledge to a form in which it is more easily used and remembered, but we actually increase it, since we can extend the rules and laws thus found to cases which may come to our notice in future. In the above examples the generalization of facts presents no diffi- culty, and the whole process is obvious. But in complicated cases we do not succeed so easily in separating the similar from the dissimilar, and in forming clear, sharply defined ideas. Suppose we know a man to be ambitious; we may predict, with tolerable certainty, that, if this man be placed in certain conditions, he will follow the promptings of his ambition and choose a certain course of action. But we can neither define with certainty how an ambitious man is to be recognized, nor how his ambition can be estimated, nor can we ascertain how great it must be to lead him, under certain circumstances, to adopt a certain line of action. We compare the observed actions of one man with those of other men who have acted similarly in similar cases, and draw our conclusion as to the result of future actions, without having either our major or our minor premise clearly defined, and even without being PHYSICAL SCIENCES TO SCIENCE IN GENERAL. 225 aware that our predictions are founded on the described comparison. Our opinion, in such cases, proceeds from a certain psychological facet and not from a conscious argument, although, in the main, the mental process was the same as in the instance where we predicted that the newly discovered mammal would have lungs. The latter kind of induction, which cannot be carried out to the complete form of a logical syllogism nor to the establishment of general laws, plays a very great part in thelivesofmen. The whole development of our sensations is based upon it, as can be proven by an investigation of illusions. When, e. g., the nerves of our eye are disturbed by a blow, we have a sensation of light, because, during our whole life, the optic nerve had been affected only by light, and we had been accustomed to identify the sensation of the optic nerve with the action of light, a habit which, in the present case, leads us to an incorrect conclusion. The same kind of induction plays the principal part in psychological processes, on ac- count of the extreme complexity of the influences which determine the formation of a man’s character or momentary state of mind. In fact, by asserting that we are free agents, 7. e., that we have the power of acting according to our own free will and choice, without being forced by a strict, inevitable law, we deny the possibility of referring back at least a part of the manifestations of our soul to an inflexible law. We might call this kind of induction artistic induction, in contradis- tinction to logical induction, which produces sharply defined, generai conclusions; because it is pre-eminently apparent in the finest works of art. It is an essential part of artistic talent to be able to reproduce the external characteristics of a character or state of mind by means of words, forms, colors, or sounds, and to comprehend instinctively the operations of the soul without being guided by any tangible rule. On the contrary, wherever we become aware that the artist has consciously worked after general rules and abstractions, we find his production commonplace and our admiration ceases immediately. The works of great artists, however, depict to us characters and operations of the mind with such vivacity, such profusion of individual traits, and such convincing truthfulness, that they seem superior to real life, because no disturbing influences have entered. When we examine the sciences with regard to the manner in which con- clusions must be drawn in each, we are struck by a fundamental differ- ence between the natural and the mental sciences. In the natural sciences, induction may usually be continued until we obtain decided general rules and laws, while in the mental sciences deductions from psychological tact preponderate. So in the historical. sciences, the sources of facts must first be verified, and, when the facts are estab- lished, the more difficulf and more important labor begins of investi- gating the complicated and various motives of peoples and individuals. Both must be done chiefly through psychological consideration. The psychological sciences, in so far as they have to do with the explanation 15s 71 226 ON THE RELATION OF THE and emendation of the texts transmitted to us, and with the history of literature and art, require an intuitive perception of the sense of -an author and of the secondary meaning of his words; they require a correct appreciation, both of the individuality of the author and of the genius of the language in which he wrote. All these are instances of artistic and not of logical induction. We can only form our judgment, if a large number of similar facts is ready in the memory to be quickly brought into relation with the question before us. One of the first requirements for this kind of studies is, therefore, a reliable and ready memory. Indeed, many celebrated historians and philologists have ex- cited the astonishment of their contemporaries by the power of their memories. Of course, the mere memory would not suffice without the fac- ulty of quickly perceiving analogies, or without a finely developed appre- ciation of human emotions; and this latter requisite cannot, perhaps, be acquired without a certain warmth of feeling or an interest in observing the emotions of others. While our intercourse with our fellow-men in every-day life must furnish the basis for these psychological reflections, the study of history and art serves to supplement and enrich them, since both show us men acting under unusual circumstances, and teach us the whole extent of the powers that lie slumbering in our bosoms. The above-mentioned sciences, with the exception of grammar, gen- erally do not sueceed in obtaining strict universal laws. The laws of grammar are established by the human will, although it may have been unconsciously and without a premeditated plan, but developing as the need of them was felt. They appear, therefore, to the learner of the language as laws established by extraneous authority. Intimately connected with philology are theology and jurisprudence, whose preparatory and auxiliary studies in fact belong to the circle of philological sciences. The general laws, which we find in both, are also such as have been established by extraneous authority for our belief and mode of action as regarded from a moral or judicial point of view, and not laws like those of nature, which state the generalization of a mass of facts. Like the application of a law of nature, however, to a particular case, the application of a grammatical, legal, moral, or dogmat- ical rule, is made in the form of a conscious logical syllogism. The rule forms the major premise, and the minor premise must show whether the case in point fulfills the requirements of the rule. The solution of this latter process, as well in grammatical analysis for explaining the sense of a sentence as in a legal consideration of the truth of facts, the intentions of agents or the sense of their writings must again be of a psychological nature. We cannot deny, however, that both the syntaxof civilized languages and the system of our juris- prudence, perfected by a practice of more than 2,000 years, have at- tained so high a degree of logical finish and consistency that cases not coming clearly under their laws are exceptional. Of course, there will always be such cases, because human laws can never hope to become as PHYSICAL SCIENCES TO SCIENCE IN GENERAL. 227 perfect and comprehensive as the laws of nature. In such cases we have no other alternative but to divine the intention of the law-giver from the analogy of the laws for similar cases. Grammatical and legal studies have certain advantages for cultivat- ing the mind, because they uniformly exercise its different faculties. The education of the modern Europeans is, for this reason, based especially upon the grammatical study of foreign languages. The mother tongue and foreign languages, that are learned by practice alone, do not exercise logical thought, although they may teach us artistic beauty of expression. The two classical languages, Greek and Latin, in common with most ancient and original languages, have the advantage of an extremely artistic and logical development, and of full and dis- tinct inflections, which clearly indicate the grammatical relation of words and sentences. By long use languages become worn down, grammatical forms are sacrificed for practical brevity and rapidity of utterance, and the result is greater indistinetness. Thisis clearly seen by comparing the modern European languages with the Latin. The wearing down of inflections has proceeded furthest in English. This seems to me to be the reason why modern languages are less fit for educational purposes than the ancient. As grammar is best adapted to the education of youth, so are jurid- ical studies a means of culture for a maturer age, even where they are not immediately necessary for practical use. The extreme opposite of the philological and historical sciences, as far as the kind of intellectual labor involved is concerned, is found in the natural sciences. I do not mean to deny that, in many branches of these sciences, an instinctive perception of analogies and a certain artistic tact play a conspicuous part. In natural history it is, on the contrary, left entirely to this tact, without a clearly definabie rule, to determine what characteristics of species are important or unimportant for purposes of classification, and what divisions of the animal or vege- table kingdom are more natural than others. It is furthermore signifi- cant that Goethe, i. e., an artist, has first suggested comparative ana- tomical investigations of the analogies of the corresponding organs of different animals, and also of the analogous metamorphosis of leaves in the vegetable kingdom, thus determining materially the direction which comparative anatomy has since taken. But even in these branches, where we have to do with the effects of vital processes, as yet not understood, we can generally forin comprehensive ideas and dis- cover clear laws more easily than in cases where our judgment depends upon an analysis of the actions of the soul. The peculiar scientific character of the natural sciences appears most sharply defined in the experimental and mathematical branches, especially in pure mathe- matics. The essential difference between these sciences, in my opinion, con- sists in that it is comparatively easy in the latter to unite individual 228 ON THE RELATION OF THE cases which have come under our observation or experience, under gen- eral laws of absolute correctness and extensive application, while in the former such generalization usually presents insurmountable difficulties. Indeed, in mathematics, the general laws called axioms are so few, so comprehensive, and so evident that they require no proof. The whole of the pure mathematics is developed out of the following three axioms : “Two magnitudes equal to a third are equal to each other. ‘“ Hquals added to equals produce equals. ‘“ Unequals added to equals produce unequals.” The axioms of geometry and of theoretical mechanics are not more numerous. These sciences are developed out of these few axioms by employing every obtained conclusion in working out subsequent cases. Arithmetic is not confined to the addition of a finite number of magni- tudes, but teaches in higher analysis,even to add an infinite number of magnitudes, which increase or decrease in value according to the most varying laws; in other words, to solve problems which could never be done by direct methods. Here we see the conscious logical operation of our mind in its purest and most perfect form ; here we learn the whole labor and great care with which it must proceed, the accuracy necessary to determine the full value of discovered general laws, the diffieulty of forming and understanding abstract ideas; but we also learn at the same time to gain confidence in the certainty, scope, and fruitfulness of such mental labors. ‘The latter becomes still more obvious in applied mathematical sciences, especially in mathematical physics, to which must also be added phys- ical astronomy. After Newton had once recognized, from the mechan- ical analysis of the motions of planets, that between all ponderable matter there exists an attraction, inversely proportional to the square of the dis- tance, this simple law was sufficient for calculating with the greatest pre- cision all the motions of the planets to the remotest periods of past or future time, if we only have the place, velocity, and mass of the various bodies of our system given for some point of time. We even recognize the effects of the same force in the motions of double stars, whose dis- tance from us is so great that their light is years in reaching us, and in those whose distances have never been successfully measured. This discovery of the law of gravitation and of its consequences is the most wonderful effort of logical power of which the human mind has ever been capable. I do not assert that no men possessing powers of logical abstraction as great or greater than those of Newton or of the other astronomers, who led the way to or developed his discovery, have ever lived; but that there has never been a better opportunity than that of solving the confused motions of the planets, which had before served only to foster a belief in astrology among the uneducated, and which were now brought under a law that was able to account for the slight- est details of their motions. Other branches of physics have also been déveloped according to the PHYSICAL SCIENCES TO SCIENCE IN GENERAL. 229 above great model, especially optics, electricity, and magnetism. The ex- perimental sciences have the advantage over the rest, that they can at will vary the conditions under which a result takes place, and may thus confine themselves to the observation of comparatively few character- istic cases in order to determine the law. Its correctness must, of course, be verified in more complicated cases. Thus the physical sciences have advanced with comparative rapidity after the correct methods had once been determined. They have not only enabled us to look back into the distant past when the cosmical nebule were consolidated to stars and became incandescent by the power of their aggregation; not only to investigate the chemical constituents of the solar atmosphere—the chemistry of the most distant fixed stars will probably soon become known also*—but they have taught us to avail ourselves of the forces of nature tor our own benefit. From what has been said, it is sufficiently evident how different the mental labor isin the two classes of sciences. The mathematician needs no memory at all for individual facts, and the physicist but little. Sup- positions based on the recollection of similar cases may be useful in indicating the right direction, but they become valuable only when they have led to a precise and marked law. There is no doubt that we have to do in nature with unvarying laws. We must, therefore, work on until we have discovered them. We must not rest until we have accom- plished that; for it is then only that our knowledge obtains its triumphs over time and space, and over the forces of nature. : The solid work of conscious argument requires great perseverance and care; it is generally slow, and is but rarely advanced by flashes of genius. We find in it little of that readiness with which the memory of the historian or philologer recalls past experiences. It is, indeed, the essential condition of methodical progress of thought that the mind must remain concentrated upon one point, undisturbed by side issues, by wishes or hopes, and proceed only according to its own will and determination. The celebrated logician, Stuart Mill, asserts as his con- viction that the inductive sciences have done more in modern times for the progress of logical methods than philosophy itself. “One great cause of this may be, that in no department of knowledge is a mistake of reasoning detected so easily by the erroneousness of the result as in these sciences, where we can most readily compare the results of our reasoning directly with the actual facts. Although I have asserted that the natural sciences, and especially their mathematical branches, have come nearer the accomplishment of their scientific mission than the other sciences, I do not wish to be charged with underrating the latter. If the natural sciences have attained * Most interesting discoveries have already been made. They are found in the work of W. Huggins and W. A. Miller, published April, 1864, in which the analysis of Alde- baran and a Orion is given, and proof furnished that certain nebule are incandescen globes of gas. 230 ON THE RELATION OF THE greater perfection in their scientific form, the mental sciences have the advantage that they have treated a richer subject, and one that is of more intimate interest to man, namely, the human mind itself, with its various desires and operations. They have the higher and more diffi- cult task; butitis clear that the example of those branches of knowledge which have advanced further by reason of their easier subject-matter, must not be lost to them. They may learn methods from them and derive encouragement from the abundant harvest of their results. I believe, indeed, that our times have already learned much from the natural sciences. The great respect for facts and accurate collections, a certain distrust of appearances, the striving after the discovery of unvarying laws which distinguish our times from former time, seem to indicate such an influence. How far mathematical studies, being the representatives of conscious logical thought, should obtain a greater influence in our educational systems, I will not here consider. That is mainly a question of time. As science becomes more extended, system and organization must be improved, and students will find themselves obliged to pass through a severer course of thinking than grammar is able to afford. What I have particularly noticed in my own experience with students who pass from our grammar-schools to scientific and medical studies, is a certain laxness in the application of strict universal laws. The gram- matical rules to which they were accustomed are usually furnished with long lists of exceptions; the students are, therefore, not used to trusting the certainty of the legitimate consequence of a general law without reserve. Secondly, I find them too much inclined to seek authorities where they might be able to form an opinion of their own. In phi- lological studies, the scholar who can rarely overlook the whole field, and who frequently must depend upon an esthetic perception of elegance of expression and of the genius of the language which require long culture, will, even by the best teachers, be referred to authorities. Both errors proceed from a certain sluggishness and an uncertainty of thinking, which will disqualify the student for later scientific studies. Mathematical studies are certainly the best remedy for both; in them there is absolute certainty of inference, and there is no authority but our own reason. So much for the mutually supplementing tendencies of the mental labors of different sciences. : But the acquisition of knowledge is not the only object of man on earth. Although the sciences awaken and develop the most subtle powers of the human mind, yet he who studies only for the purpose of knowing, dogs not fulfill his destiny on earth. We often see highly gifted men who are by some fortune or misfortune placed in comfortable circumstances, without ambition or energy for action, drag out a tedious and unsatisfactory life, while they believe that they are carrying out the object of their existence by increasing their knowledge and devel- PHYSICAL SCIENCES TO SCIENCE IN GENERAL. Dol oping their minds. Action alone ennobles a man’s life, and his aim must therefore be either a practical application of his knowledge or an in- crease of science itself. The latter is also conducive to the progress of humanity, and this leads us to the consideration of the connection be- tween the subjects of the sciences themselves. Knowledge is power. No time demonstrates this more clearly than our own. We learn how to make the forces of nature, as found in the inorganic world, subservient to the needs of human life and the pur- poses of the human mind. The application of steam has increased the bodily power of man a thousand and even million fold; weaving and spinning machines have relieved man of labor whose monotonous regu- larity served only to stultify the mind. The intercourse of men with its material and intellectual consequences, has increased to a point which would never have been dreamed of when our parents were born. But it is pot only by machines that human force is multiplied, and it is not only on cast-steel rifled cannon, and iron-clad vessels, or on supplies of provisions and money that the power of a nation depends, although these things have so unequivocally asserted their influence, that even the proudest and most unyielding absolute governments of our time have been obliged to remove the shackles from industry and grant a political voice to the laboring classes. It is also the political and judi- cial organization of states, the moral discipline of individuals, which produces the preponderance of the civilized nations over the uncivilized, so that the latter are doomed to inevitable destruction if they cannot acquire civilization. Here everything acts reciprocally. Where there are no established laws, where the interests of the majority cannot as- sert themselves, there can be no development of national wealth and power. He alone can become a good soldier in whom a sense of honor and independence have been developed under just laws, and not the slave, who is subject to the whims of a capricious master. For this reason every nation, from motives of self-preservation alone and without considering more ideal requirements, has an interest in fostering not only the natural sciences and their technical applications, but also the political, legal, and moral sciences, with all their subserv- ient historical and philological branches. No nation, wishing to pre- serve her independence and influence, can afford to remain behind. The civilized peoples of Europe are conscious of this. The public aid given to universities, schools, and scientific institutions far exceeds all that was done in this respect informer times. Wealso can boast again this year of a liberal donation by our government.* I spoke in my in- troduction of the increasing division and organization of scientific labor. In fact, men of science form a kind of organized army, endeavoring, for the good, and indeed mostly by the commission and at the expense of the whole nation, to promote such knowledge as tends to the increase * Means for erecting new buildings for scientific institutes, and smaller sums for hos- pitals and geological collections. 232 ON THE RELATION OF THE of industry, wealth, the comforts of life, and to the improvement of the political organization and the moral development of her citizens. Of course, we must not ask for immediate, apparent benefit, as the unedu- eated are so apt to do. Everything that gives us information concern- ing the forces of nature or the powers of the human mind is valuable, and will ultimately prove useful, often when we least expect it. Who could have thought when Galvani touched the thighs of frogs with dif- ferent metals and saw them twitch, that eighty years later, Europe would be traversed by wires, carrying news with the rapidity of light- ning from Madrid to St. Petersburg by means of the same agency, whose first indications that anatomist observed? Electric currents in his and at first also in Volta’s hands, were of the feeblest kind, and could only be perceived by the most delicate instruments. If their in- vestigation had then been abandoned because it was unpromising, the most important and interesting connection between the natural forces would to-day be wanting. When young Galileo, while a student at Pisa, observed a swinging lamp in church, and found by counting his pulse that the duration of the oscillations was independent of the size of the are, who could have foreseen that by means of this discovery we would entail clocks measuring time with an accuracy then deemed impossible, and which would enable the mariner, tossed by storms on the remotest yaters of the earth, to determine his longitude? He who expects an immediate practical benefit in his study of science, may be pretty sure that his pursuit will be in vain. Perfect knowledge and understanding of the action of the powers of nature and mind are all that science can attain. The individual investigator must find suffi- cient reward in the pleasure of making new discoveries, victories of thought over refractory matter; in the esthetical beauty afforded by well-ordered knowledge, where a perfect connection exists between all its parts and the whole shows the controlling power of the mind; and in the consciousness of having contributed to the ever-increasing stock of knowledge on which the dominion of man over inimical force depends. He cannot, indeed, expect always to find appreciation and reward ade- quate to the value of his works. It is true that many a one to whose memory a2 monument has been erected, would have been happy had he received the tenth part of its cost in money during his lifetime. But we must also remember that the value of scientific discovery is much more readily and cheerfully appreciated by public opinion than formerly, and that cases where authors of material scientific progress are allowed to suffer want have become more and more rare; that, on the contrary, the governments and people of Europe have recognized the duty of com- pensating prominent men of science by corresponding positions or na- tional rewards provided especially for the purpose. The sciences have then a common cause: to make the mind rule the world. While the mental sciences work directly to make intellectual life richer and more interesting, to separate theypure from the impure, PHYSICAL SCIENCES TO SCIENCE IN GENERAL. 200 the natural sciences labor indirectly toward the same goal, by endeavor- ing to free man more and more from external necessities. Every single investigator performs his part and chooses such tasks as are most suited to his mental endowments and culture. But every one must rememn- ber, also, that he is able to further the great work only in conjunction with the rest, and that it is therefore his duty to make the results of his labors as clear and as accessible to them as possible. Then he will find assistance in others and they in him. The annals of science are rich in proofs of such mutual relations between sciences apparently the most remote. Historical chronology is based upon astronomical caleu- lations of eclipses of the sun and moon, recorded in ancient histories. Conversely, many important data in astronomy, such as the time of revolution of many comets, are based upon old historic records. Lat- terly, Briicke and other physiologists have found it possible to build up a system of all articulate sounds of which the human organs of speech are capable, and to base upon it suggestions for a universal alphabet adapted to all human languages. Here, then, physiology has entered the service of the science of language, and has furnished the explana- tion of many curious changes of sound, which are determined not by the law of euphony, as had been before supposed, but by a similarity in the positions of the organs of speech. The science of language, in return, throws light upon the ancient relationship, separation, and migrations of tribes in prehistoric times and on the degree of civilization to which they had attained before their separation; for the names of those objects which they could name then, are found to be common in later languages. Thus the study of language furnishes us with the history of times of Which we have no historical documents. Let me furthermore remind you of the assistance which anatomy can afford the sculptor and the archeologist who examines ancient statues. If I may be permitted to refer to some of my own latest works, I will men- tion that it is possible to demonstrate the elements of our musical sys- tem by the physics of sound and the physiology of its sensation, a problem belonging entirely to wstheties. The physiology of the organs of sense is most intimately connected with psychology, because it proves results of psychological processes in the perceptions of sense which do not come within the scope of conscious reflection, and must, therefore, remain concealed from psychological self-observation. I could only mention here the most striking examples of the mutual relations of sciences and those which required the fewest words, and was, therefore, obliged to choose those existing between the most remote branches. But the influence which each science exercises over the one nearest akin to it is, of course, much greater. It is self-evident; it requires no illustration; you all know it from your own experience. I therefore consider every individual as a laborer at a common great work, touching the noblest interests of the whole human race; not as one striving to satisfy his desire of knowledge, or his own advantage, 234 ON THE RELATION OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES, ETC. or to shine by displaying his own abilities. The true scientist will not want the reward of his own conscience nor the appreciation of his fel- low-men. To keep alive the co-operation of all investigators and the relations of all branches of science with each other and to their common object is the great mission of universities; it is, therefore, necessary that in them the four faculties should always go handinhand. We will constantly endeavor, as far as in us lies, to labor in this great cause. ALTERNATE GENERATION AND PARTHENOGENESIS IN THE ANIMAL KINGBOM. Lecture delivered before the Vienna Society for the Diffusion of Scientific Knowledge, by Dr. G. A. KORNNUBER. Translated for the Smithsonian Institution. Among the various questions whose scientific explanation is the province of animal physiology, none has perhaps excited the interest of the people, as well as of scholars, to a higher degree than the propa- gation of organisms. While in former times naturalists entertained the most various opin- ions and hypotheses, or indulged in the most chimerical speculations, modern science, armed with more perfect knowledge and greatly im- proved instruments, and more familiar with methods of exact research, has gradually succeeded in shedding some light on these mysterious processes. These processes in general consist in this, that certain bodily constitu- ents are from time to time separated from individual beings, and are developed into others of the same species. If the action of a second animal substance is necessary on such separated germs, which then show the characteristic structure of eggs, and are called ova, the process is called sexual propagation or generation; but if the germ under favor- able external circumstances may become a new being without such action, this more simple though less general process is called unsex- ual or agamic reproduction. To the latter belongs a series of phenomena to which I have the honor of directing your attention this evening; phenomena which have been accurately studied and verified only within the last two decades. A law has been established of the highest importance, not only to zodlogy but to all natural science, which has been named that of “ Alternate Generation and Parthenogenesis.” It was the brilliant Danish naturalist Steenstrup who, in the cele- brated essay on “Alternate Generation,” (Copenhagen, 1842,) first showed the way that would lead to a satisfactory explanation of the complicated phenomena attending the multiplication of the lower forms of animal life. By alternate generation, Steeustrup understood the power of an animal of producing progeny differing from the mother, but itself capable of pro- ducing young, which again return to the form and character of the first parent; so that the daughter would not resemble the mother, but the grandmother. Sometimes this return to the original form occurs only 236 ALTERNATE GENERATION AND in the third, fourth, or yet further removed generations. The pecu- liarity of this phenomenon not only consists in the alternation of different progeny, but also in that of sexual and sexless reproduction. One gen- eration may consist of sexually developed males and females, and bear young from eggs, and the next may be sexless, and may bring forth young by fission, by buds or germs. These animals capable of agamic propagation were called nurses by Steenstrup, because it is their function to provide for the alimentation and development of the sexual animals. The number of sexless intermediate generations, as well as their degree of development and organization, differs in different species. They either possess provisory or temporary organs, and are therefore larve, or they are fully developed individuals, and already show the construc- tion and mode of life of the sexual animals. The sexless larve of animals, such as butterflies, which undergo simple metamorphosis, are distinguished from our nurses by their inability to multiply by agamic reproduction; so that we may, according to Leuckart, consider alternate generation with nurses as a metamorphosis combined with agamic repro- duction. Alternate generation, very aptly called metagenesis by R. Owen, was first observed in the salpe, a kind of mollusks which are as remarkable for their form as for their mode of life. They belong to the tunicata, and are found in great numbers in the ocean, the Mediterranean, and in ali southern seas. They swim about a little below the surface, and pre- sent the appearance of oval or cylindrical bodies, clear as crystal, moving about either isolated or united in long chains, by taking in water and expelling it again. Our German lyric poet, Chamisso, remarked, in his voyage around the world, that the isolated salpz could not be members of a severed chain, because they did not resemble the individuals of thelatter. He further- more recognized that the solitary salpw always contained a progeny reseinbling the chain, while the individuals of the latter contained a foetus formed exactly like the solitary salpae. Chamisso published his interesting observations in 1819, at Berlin, in an essay entitled De animalibus quibusdam e classe vermium linneana, Fase. I. de Salpa, in which he expressed the view that the solitary salpz proceeded from the individuals of the chain and the latter from the solitary ones. Cha- misso’s discovery was but little appreciated at first; it was even ridi- culed as the vagary of a poet, until it was brilliantly defended by Steenstrup in 1842, and confirmed and expanded later by the accurate investigations of other zodlogists. We know now that the loosely con- nected chain,is composed of hermaphrodite sexual animals, generating an embryo usually from one egg only, which remains connected for a time with the mother by means of a kind of placenta, and is nourished by it until, having attained a considerable size, it escapes and forms the solitary or isolated salpa—the only case of viviparity among the tuni- vata. The solitary salpa then generates a chain of sexually developed PARTHENOGENESIS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. WS individuals by gemmation from buds, which take the place of male and female organs of generation, and thus represent their nurse. Un the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas immense swarms of clear, watery, bell-shaped creatures may be perceived in summer, swimming slowly around below the calm surface of the water, with their convex surface upward and their concave downward. These are the Aurelia aurita, L., a species of acraspedote, or unfringed medusa, some of which are male and some female, as is the case in all medusz. The sexual organs are ruffle-like folds on the inner skin of four bags or folds in the gastrical cavity, which open outward at the bottom of the stalk. By simple ciliary motion the seed of the male passes into the bags of the female and fecundates the eggs. These then pass out into the folds of the tentacles, where they are developed to embryos, which are provided with a very tender covering of cilia, and move about freely in the water like infusoria. This phase of evolution was formerly considered as a separate species, called planula. Soon, however, the cilia falls off, and the animalcule, thus deprived of its locomotive organs, sinks to the bottom, attaches itself to firm objects, and grows longer. In the free end a cavity soon appears, which gradually increases and is developed into a mouth, from which wart-like excrescences or papillee shoot out and are afterward converted into tentacles. The animal has now the appearance of a polypus; and it was, indeed, formerly so considered, and called hydra tuba, After some time—perhaps months—a circular depression is seen just below the crown of tentacles, followed by others behind it. These depressions become deeper and deeper, and short projections appear in their edges, which afterward also develop into tentacles. The whole now bears a distant resemblance to the so-called strobila, or fir-cone, or to a set of flat cups resting on a columnar foot, the polypus. ‘The separate divisions of the strobila are the origin of the future meduse. They develop more and more, one‘ after another, separate from their pedestal, and afterwards attain their permanent form, size, and maturity. They now turn the convex surface by which they were attached, upward, while the mouth, which was before turned up, now points downward. In the aurelia there is, therefore, an inter- mediate or nurse generation during the polypus stage, in which the animal is multiplied in an agamie way by gemmation and _ fission. Each of the individuals so produced is again developed into a sexual medusa. In meduse of lower organization belonging to the hydroids, which Gegenbauer has called craspedote, because their disk is provided with a velum, a similar kind of alternate generation takes place, with the ex- ception, however, that the polypoid nurse reaches a much more advanced stage of independent development after leaving the ovum. It grows to a Stalk of considerable size, and puts forth numerous polypus-buds. It is only when the colony has attained a high degree of development that 238 ALTERNATE GENERATION AND — the sexual animals are formed, which separate from the stalk, swim about independently, and deposit their eggs in remote spots. In other hydroids the nurse acquires a still greater importance. In them, as in our sweet-water polypi, the sexual progeny appears only in the shape of globular appendages, which are not capable of being evolved into independent animals, but remain attached to the polypus- stalk, and resemble organs for the production of the sexual secretions. We may with Gegenbauer call this latter form of alternate generation imperfect metagenesis. We see another remarkable instance of it in the peculiar many-shaped colonies known as Siphonophore, which swim about freely in the sea, and of which the vraya dipheys, Blaine, occurring in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, may serve as an example. From the transparent ovum of this animal a ciliated larva is hatched. The plastic material contained in the body of this larva or nurse is then differ- entiated into a locomotory piece, (the posterior of the two swimming- bells at the beginning of the stalk of a ripe colony,) and an appendage which afterward becomes the second bell and the common stalk of the whole colony. The individuals now bud forth from this stalk in a fixed order, but do not separate. They remain so connected that their abdom- inal cavities all open into the canal passing through the common stalk. These individuals are not by any means formed alike, nor do they serve the same physiological purpose. The principal of the division of labor, which is carried out in the solitary animals so that their organs become constantly more numerous and more perfect, is here applied in such a manner that the various functions of animal life, motion, alimentation, defense, and aggression, aS well as sexual reproduction, which is other- wise confined to single individuals, are here distributed among all the animals of the whole colony. In every tuft along the stalk, which some- times numbers as many as fifty of them, we distinguish nourishers in the form of trumpet-shaped appendages with orifices called suction-tubes ; aggressors, in the form of long contraétile filaments or tentacles furnished with microscopic weapons (nettle-cells) at their knobs; defenders, in the form of stiff scales or helmets attached to the nourishers for pur- poses of defense; reproducers, developed after all the rest, in the form of ‘acemous dizcious capsules swinging in small (special) swimming-bells. By the alternate contraction and expansion of the bell-shaped seeimmers at the upper end of the colony, (the base,) with which the smaller spe- cial swimming-bells move in time, the whole colony is propelled through the water. In a few other species, the physalide and vellelide, the sexual ani- mals separate from their nursing stalk and have a short, independent existence like the medusa. The alternate generation of some of the intestinal worms is attended by the most wonderful and extraordinary circumstances. The most curious opinions have prevailed until very lately about their origin and reproduction. . ene eal PARTHENOGENESIS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 230 On account of their various wanderings through different animal bodies, the trematodes, and more especially certain species of the genus distoma, so called on account of two suckers or stomata on the flat part of their bodies, are of peculiar interest. From the egg of the distoma a ciliated embryo, resembling infusoria, is produced, which swims about in the water, attaches itself to certain sweet-water snails, (Limnzeus, Planorbis, &c.,) and penetrates into their bodies. There it grows, loses its cilia, and develops a mouth and an alimentary tube. Its contents aggregate into cellular heaps, which gradually assume a definite shape, and are converted into small animals. These essentially possess the structure of mature trematodes, but are sexless and have a tail-like ap- pendage; they increase slowly in size and expand the worm which contains them, and which seems to have no other function than to pro- tect them and promote their development, 7. e., to act as their nurse. When completely developed they pierce the envelope of their nurse and move about freely in the body of the snail until they pass through this also, and glide through the water with a winding motion by means of their tail. In this form they had long been known to naturalists under the name of cercaria, Nitz ; but their relation to the trematodes was unknown until quite recently. The cerecaria afterward seeks a new host among the many inhabitants of the water, (fish, mollusks, crabs, insect-larvee, ete.,) penetrates them by means of its proboscis, and there loses both its tail and the sting of its proboscis, as no longer necessary to its new mode of living. It is now converted into a distoma. If the animal finds all the conditions necessary to its perfect evolu- tion in its new host, it continues to grow until it has attained maturity. If this is not the case, it remains small and sexless, surrounds itself with a transparent shell, which it secretes from the surface of its own body, and remains in a state of rest and inactivity like a pupa until its host is eaten up by a larger and stronger animal. Hence we find it in the intestines, the gall-bladder, the biliary ducts, the kidneys, ete., of higher animals, especially of ruminants, (in the liver of sheep, cattle, goats, and deer;) also in asses, hogs, hares, etc., and in rare cases in man. (Distoma hepaticum, L.; Distoma hematobium, Bilharz.* ) Sometimes it happens that the progeny of the worm-like nurse does not immediately assume the form of the cercaria, but that of the mother. In that case an intermediate generation of larve is produced, which act as nurses of the cercaria, so that the worm resulting from the em- bryo might be called the grand-nurse. Thus the numerous and fertile multiplication of germs by means of agamic reproduction counterbalances the difficulties and obstacles which these animals have to encounter in their various migrations through other organisms before they reach their perfect form. Formerly the tape-corm was considered nothing more than a simple * Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zodlogie, 1853, vol. iv, pp. 53-76 and 454-456, 240 ALTERNATE GENERATION AND animal having a head and an articulated body. Since Steenstrup’s time, however, and especially through the more recent investigations of v. Siebold and van Beneden, we know it to consist of a chain or colony of differently-formed individuals. The larger posterior joints (the so- called proglottides) represent the organs of generation, and contain many thousand eggs in their ramified ovaries. In these, microscopic embryos are developed, which are discharged when the ripe joints fall off with the excrement of the host. The embryos do not then leave the eggs at once, but remain in their envelopes, which are well fitted for re- sisting putrefaction or chemical agents, until the eggs are accidentally swallowed by some (usually an herbivorous) animal. In the intestines of the latter’ the embryo forces its way through the egg-envelope, softened by the digestive juices, pierces the intestinal walls and neigh- boring tissues, until it reaches a vein and is carried by the blood to more distant organs, in whose parenchyma it remains. After losing its embryonic hooks, the tape-worm larva grows to a bladder of varying size, along the walls of which numerous buds (the later “ heads”) arise in such a manner that the hollow body of the tape-worm head extends into the bladder. Such colonies were long known and considered as different species of animals. When one of them gets into the intestines of a larger animal, the head or bud provided with hooks and suckers is turned inside out, the bladder is digested, and the joints of the tape- worm (the real sexual, hermaphrodite individual) begin to grow behind the head. The reproduction of the tape-worm, therefore, passes through three different phases: The worm-like embryo or grand-nurse, the so- called tape-worm head or nurse, and the mature sexual animal. With the exception of the salpe, we have so far only considered cases of metagenesis where the nurses are in the form of larvee. In the arthro- pods, among the diptera, we also find such nursing larvee—an entirely new and remarkable phenomenon first discovered in the fall of 1861 by Nicholas Wagner, professor of zodlogy, in Kasan. It produced no small excitement among zodlogists, and was the cause of so much astonishment that v. Siebold himself designated it as hardly credible on receiving, after some delay, Wagner’s essay in the “ Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie,” 1863, vol. xiii, p. 513. Wagner could not then describe clearly the insect-larva which he had recognized as capable of reproduc- tion, and y. Siebold took it from the illustrations to be a cecydomyde larva. Not long after, however, Dr. F. Meinert,* of Copenhagen, not only fully confirmed his beautiful discovery, but extended it by proving the different phases of development up to the imago, which Wagner t had meanwhile also accurately investigated. Meinert calls it the mias- tor metraloas, but according to the later researches of our excellent dipterologist, Dr. Schiner, reported to the imperial zoological-botanical * Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie, vol. xiv, p. 394. t Vol. xv, p. 106. i PARTHENOGENESIS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 2A society in February, 1865, it hardly seems to differ from the genus heteropeza Winnertz. Reproduction takes place by means of germs. From seven to ten of these arise out of the accumulated plastic material in the body of the “ mother-larva,” and develop to ‘ daughter-larvee.” The former is thereby gradually destroyed, and the progeny tears her skin and passes out. After three or five days the same process of germination begins in the new larva, and this continues trom August to June, when all the larvee of the last generation simultaneously pass into the pupa state. After three or four days the perfect insect, a small reddish-brown fly, emerges from the pupa. The correctness of these observations was afterward verified by v. Ber and vy. Siebold, and Professer Alexander Pagenstecher, of Heidelberg, observed the same thing in another species and accurately described it.* Metagenesis, with mature individuals as nurses, is exemplified among the arthropods by the aphides. As early as the middle of the last cen- tury, Charles Bonnett had already communicated exact observations on the peculiar and remarkable mode of reproduction of the aphides, (plant- lice.) These well-known enemies of our gardens and green-houses cover the leaves, shoots, and branches of certain plants in thick swarms, and defy all our exertions to get rid of them by their extreme fecundity. During the summer there is a series of nine or ten generations of fully- formed but sexless animals, or nurses, which bring forth living young without fecundation, and even without the presence of the male. Em- bryos are formed immediately from germs, which do not show the struc- ture of true ova. They separate from peculiar tubes (germinal tubes) and develop in the body of the mother. In autumn the next to the last generation produces sexually-developed males and females, which really cohabit. As in most insects, the male then perishes, while the female lays eggs, which hibernate and produce a new race of nurses the following spring. The anatomical examination of these animals, which was first undertaken by v. Siebold, and afterwards confirmed by Leidig, shows that the viviparous individuals are well developed, and resemble the oviparous females of the last fall generation, but that they are sexless nurses, becauses they lack the seed-bladder belonging to all female in- sects, and are, therefore, incapable of receiving the male seed. All the phenomena of alternate generation were also called ‘ Partheno genesis” by the excellent English anatomist, Richard Owen, in 1849,t and this name, although somewhat inappropriate, was generally received on account of its euphony. When, however, the surprising discoveries of the last few decades put in question the theory that “every true egg * Zeitschrift fiir wissedschaftliche Zoologie, xiv, p. 400. Further investigation of this subject is communicated by Leuckart, in Troschel’s Archiy., year XXXI, No. 3. + Traité d’Insectologie, tome I: Paris, 1845. {On Parthenogenesis; a discourse introductory to the Hunterian Lectures on gen- eration and development for 1849. Delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of England: London, 1849, 16s 71 242 ALTERNATE GENERATION AND cannot be developed into a new individual, (animal or plant,) unless it has been previously fructified by the action of the male seed,” it seemed expedient to confine the term “parthenogenesis” to the new phenomena. In this sense it was first used by the ingenious founder of this important new theory, the distinguished zodlogist of the Munich University, Karl Theodor v. Siebold, in his paper on “True Parthenogenesis in But- terflies and Bees; an Essay on the Reproduction of Animals. Leipsie, 1856.” Parthenogenesis or virginal generation, according to Siebold, com- prises “those phenomena which demonstrate that true ova may be de- veloped into new individuals without the fecundating intervention of the male seed.” There is no want of observations of former times according to which the eggs of virgin insects were said to have produced new individuals, but they were considered erroneous. Zodlogists doubted that they were made with proper care, and attempted to explain them in different forced ways, finally classing them under metagenesis. Among them are the communications of De Geer on the psychides, and of Herold on the silk- worms. In 1845 the celebrated apiculturist, K. Dzierzon, a Catholic priest at Karlsmarkt, east of Brieg, in Prussian Silesia, emphatically maintained in the * Bienenzeitung,” p. 113, that the eggs from which the male bees or drones originate are produced and developed by the sole inherent power of the mother bee without the action of male seed. This view at first seemed simply incredible to apiarists; they supposed that he had either deceived himself or intended to mystify others. But when Dzierzon reiterated his statement he was severely attacked, and the dispute continued for a long time. Until 1852 Dzierzon stood alone against their attacks, but undaunted, unconquered. He could fall back on the experience of many years. ivery one knows that there are queens which produce only male pro- geny or drones, and never lay an egg from which mature females, queens, or stinted females, workers are developed; that there are others which may lay female eggs for a time but afterward become like the former, and that finally there are worker-bees which lay eggs, which give birth only to male individuals. Among the first-class Dzierzon frequently found bees whose wings were lame. They were thus prevented from making their hymenial flight from which they would otherwise have returned impregnated. Other queens which laid male eggs from the beginning were hatched either very early or very late in the year, at a time when there were either no more or only very few drones left, so that their flight was in vain. Queens which at first laid normal eggs and afterward produced only drones were older individuals, whose stock of seed had become grad- ually exhausted. Worker-bees, which sometimes lay eggs and never have any other male progeny, have never been and are indeed incapa- ble of being impregnated. From these facts Dzierzon concluded that PARTHENOGENESIS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 243 impregnation was unnecessary to the production of drones. That in common normal generation, where the queen returns impregnated from her flight, the drones are developed from unfecundated eggs, 7. e., from those through whose micropyles the spermatozoa have not penetrated, is proved by Dzierzon from the following fact: After the introduction of the Italian bee, (apis ligurica,) distinguished by the light color of its pos- terior abdomen, all the young drones from an Italian queen and a German father were true Italians, while the female progeny were clearly mixed. The convincing truth of these facts and the logical conelusions drawn from them at last brought such eminent bee-masters as Pastor Georg Kleine, of Liiethorst, in Hanover, and August v. Berlepsch, of Seebach, near Gotha, into Dzierzon’s camp; but they found no entrance as yet into zodlogical science, because these practical men were unable to fur- nish the proper scientific proof to physiologists, who either did not know or purposely ignored these phenomena. The important discovery of the micropyle of the insect-egg, made almost simultaneously in 1854 by Meissner,* of Géttingen, and Leuckart,t of Giessen, raised the hope of the apiculturists, and seemed to make it probable that Dzierzou’s views would be proved by scientific men. At the thirty-first meeting of German naturalists and physicians, held at Gottingen in 1854, Pastor Kleine sueceeded in winning Professor Leuckart for his cause just as the latter had demonstrated his beautiful cliscoveries about the eggs of insects. Leuckart had never been able to obtain any bee-eggs, and was then for the first time, according to his own confession, initiated into the mysteries and problems of bee-life. The first direct proof of the existence of real parthenogenesis was furnished by Leuckart in the “ Bienenzeitung,” 1855, p. 127, where he communicated the results of the microscopic examination of a queen-bee sent him by Baron Berlepsch. This queen had been hatched in Sep- tember, 1854, a time when no drones existed. ‘The next spring she had filled fifteen hundred cells with male progeny. On dissection it became evident that the queen had not been impregnated. She was a normally formed female with seed-pouch and eggs; but instead of spermatic fila- ments the former contained a perfectly clear liquid, devoid of granules or cells, just as in the pupe of queens. In order to establish Dzierzon’s view fully it still remained to be proved that in impregnated queens laying normal eggs, the males are also developed from unfecundated eggs. For this purpose Baron Berlepsch invited Professor Leuckart to Seebach, where he could institute micro- scopic investigations. Leuckart went there willingly, but he could not obtain a definite result, in spite of all his long continued exertions. Ik. Th. v. Siebold, who went to Seebach a few months later, by invitation of Baron Berlepsch, and resumed Leuckart’s researches, was more suc- cessful. He worked in vain for three days and declared that nothing * Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche, Zoologie, vi, 272. t Archiv. fiir Anatomie u. Physiologie, 1855, p. 90. 244 ALTERNATE GENERATION AND could be discovered by means of the microscope. He was to return next morning, and the carriage was already before the door, when he appeared before the baron and asked permission to remain one day longer. He stated that he had been unable to sleep on account of his rant of success, and that a new method had occurred to him, which he desired to try.* This method syeceeded perfectly, and v. Siebold very frequently saw seed-filaments (thirty-one times in fifty-two, and in two of these cases mobile) in the interior of the bee-eggs. But these sperma- tozoa were found exclusively in female eggs, and were entirely wanting in the male.t We therefore owe to Siebold’s wonderful observations and laborious experiments the definitive establishment of Dzierzon’s theory that the drone-eggs are developed parthenogenetically without impregnation by the male seed. This fact, abundantly confirmed by many accurate and oft-repeated investigations, and also by Leuckart’s valuable work,i must now be received as scientifically established. When parthenogenetical reproduetion was thus undoubtedly proved in bees, the above-mentioned more ancient statements were carefully re-examined. In the Solenobia triquetrella and the Solenobia lichenella belonging to the moth family, it was found that the females (which were brought up from the caterpillar stage in a closed box) laid numerous eggs soon after leaving the pup, and that these eggs produced small caterpillars. V. Siebold dissected such moths before and after they laid their eggs, and found their ovaries constituted exactly like those of other female butterflies, but not a trace of male spermatozoa could be discovered.§ The eggs could not therefore be impregnated, and must undergo spontaneous development. Of the remarkable apterous butterfly, Psyche helix, Siebold, whose cat- erpillar makes a spiral bag, no one has yet been able to find the male, although it has been sought for over fifteen years. And yet these fe- males annually lay their eggs in the pupa envelope, which remains be- hind in the caterpillar bag, and in the fall these produce the caterpillars. On dissection, true eggs with micropyle, a seed-vessel, but always with- out male spermatozoa, and a copulating pouch are found. These pecu- liarities preclude the opinion that the psyche female is only a nurse. V. Siebold and Schmid furthermore succeeded repeatedly in obtain- ing caterpillars from the eggs of a virgin silkworm, and from those of the Smerinthus, which became pupz and emerged as perfect male and female insects. A. Barthelemy || also confirms the existence of parthenogenesis in +t True Parthenogenesis, ete., p. 111. t Zur Kermntniss des Generations wechselsund der Parthenogenese, etc., Frankfort, 1858, p. 51. § Also Luckart, idem, p. 45. \| Etudes et Considérations Générales sur la Parthénogénése, (Annales des Sciences Naturales, XII, p 307.) PARTHENOGENESIS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 2A5 Bombyx mori, and furnishes various proofs. He also observed the lay- ing of unimpregnated eggs by other butterflies, which are hatched if they belong to the first generation of the year, but never survive the winter, Jourdan* also observed true parthenogenesis in the silk-worm. At the forty-seventh meeting of Swiss naturalists at Samaden, de Filippi reported that healthy caterpillars were hatched from the eggs of the Japanese silk-butterily, although they had certainly not been fe- cundated, and mentioned a similar observation of Curtis on the Bombyx atlas. In certain species of coccides Leuckart (p. 56) also found partheno- genetical generation. In the Lecanium and Aspidiotus, for instance, the > eggs are developed in tubes without being previously impregnated, and the spermatozoa are entirely wanting. In the genus Chermes (Ch. abietis, Kaltenb., Ch. laricis, Harling, Ch. picen, Ratzb., Phylloewra coccinea, Heyden) of the piant-lice, having, according to Leuckart,t both a winter and a winged summer generation, which latter was erroneously taken for males by Ratzeburg, reproduction proceeds by means of eggs without previous impregnation. Leuckart examined two hundred animals, and never found males but always females, and they virgins. Males do not seem to exist, or if they do, parthenogenetical reproduction seems to be the rule. Less accurate observations of the same kind were made by Dr. Ormerodt on the Vespa britannica, and by Stone§ on the Vespa vulgaris. Leuckart (pp. 105-107) has furthermore established the fact that in all other sociable Hymenoptera, as the bumble-bee, the wasp, and the ant, as well as in the bee, parthenogenesis prevails. Egg-laying work- ers, Which are exceptional with bees, are the rule with these animals. Future researches must decide whether their progeny is always male, as Hubevr’s§ observations of bumble-bees seem to indicate. No doubt we will also find parthenogenesis with many other insects, such as the ter- mites and the gall-fly. In the gall-fly, a species of cynips, no male has yet been discovered, but only females. The experiments of Lievin and Zeuker, which demonstrated the spontaneous development of the daphides, have been confirmed by J. Lubbock. Millions of the females of these animals, which are scarcely a line long, may be seen in summer moving about in cisterns and other standing sweet waters. They multiply in rapidly succeeding genera- tions by means of unimpregnated or summer eggs in a cavity between * Compt. Rend., 1861, tome 53, p. 1093, t Troschel’s Archives, vol. 25, p. 208. Schizoneura seems to have only an oviparous fall generation. t Zodlogist, 1859; and Entomol. Annual for 1860, p. 87. § Proceedings Entomological Society, 1859, p. 86; Smith in Entomol. Annual for 1861, p. 39. | Transactions of Linn. Society, 1802, vol. 6, p. 288. 246 ALTERNATE GENERATION AND the shell and the back of the animal, where they develop into individ- uals exactly resembling the mother, and multiplying parthenogenetically on separating from her. In the fall males are born, which eohabit with the females and produce one or two darkly-colored winter-eggs, which are surrounded by a second firm envelope called the ephippium, to pro- tect them during their hibernation. Although there can be no longer any doubt about the correctness of these facts, which have been established by the repeated, careful, and accurate observations of our most distinguished zodlogists, and although the existence of parthenogenesis among a number of articulate animals is proved beyond dispute, attempts are not wanting to render them sus- picious, and represent them as unreliable. Every truth differing from long cherished opinions is received slowly and with difficulty. Tigri proposed, in a paper to the Paris Academy of Sciences,* to ex- plain the parthenogenesis of the Bombyx mori by the supposition that there is a double cocoon containing two individuals, a male and a female, which might have copulated before leaving their shell. ‘This supposi- tion would presuppose the most extraordinary carelessness on the part of the above-mentioned observers. It amounts to charging them with not being able to distinguish a double from a single cocoon, or with neg- lecting to examine the organs of generation and determine the sex of the individuals. Errors of so crude a nature would hardly be com- mitted by men but little acquainted with methods of research, much less by naturalists of high standing. , Schaum* states that he cannot receive the theory of the partheno- genesis of insects, and thinks he can explain it away by an hypothesis of Pringsheim. According to this the queen-bee, and the workers which lay eggs, might be androgynous, and possess male organs of gen- eration besides their ovaries. in all cases where the skillful anatomists, v. Siebold and Leuckart, dissected such bees, there were no traces of testicles, so that the above supposition remains without foundation. The existence of hermaphrodite bees, which were observed by v. Sie- bold in the apiaries of Mr. Engster, of Constanz, Bavaria,t cannot be brought forward as a proof against parthenogenesis, but rather seems to confirm it. It was observed that the pure worker-bees drove the hermaphrodites out of the hive the moment they left their eggs, and did not even suffer them to remain on the board outside. The hermaphro- dites perished in a short time, and could never have reached the egg- laying stage, even if eggs had afterward formed in their originally empty ovaries. According to Pringsheim, every queen would have to be an hermaphrodite; but in the lance-winged and drone-producing queens, which were repeatedly examined by the above observers, no trace of androgynism or of spermatozoa could be found. *Compt. Rend., lv, 1862, p. 106. t Berliner Entom. Zeitschrift, viii, p. 95. tC. Th. v. Siebold on Androgynous Bees, Zeitschrift fiirgvissenschaftliche Zoologie, vol. xiv, No. 1, and in the Eichstiidter Bienenzeitung, year xix, p. 223. 5 PARTHENOGENESIS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 2AT Dybocosky also appeared against parthenogenesis in his inaugural dis- sertation, ‘*de parthenogenesi;” but his objections are unfounded, and evince neither thorough investigation nor satisfactory knowledge of the subject. The same is the case with various other objections brought forward by the opponents of parthenogenesis. None of them will stand test. The reliability of the theory is established beyond doubt by many well-proved facts, and we may rejoice that we have thus gained a new and highly important law for the explanation of the most wonderful phenomena in the animal kingdom. : aa a edt aaa: ON THE PRESENT STATE OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OF CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS. Lecture delivered before the Vienna Society for the Diffusion of Scientific Knowledge, by Hein- rich Wilhelm Reichardt. {Translated for the Smithsonian Institution, by Professor C. FP. Kroru.] In the last few decades many leading botanists have given especial attention to the study of cryptogamous plants, for they very properly recognized the importance to their science which a more perfect knowl- edge of the development, growth, and propagation, as well as of the strue- ture, of these simplest of organism would be. Through the combined labors of much talent, a large number of the most interesting dis- coveries have been made. An entirely new basis for this department of botany has been created, the previous views about seed-bearing plants in many respects reformed, and a very general interest excited in the subject. Tor this reason it seems proper for me to report to this society, whose object is the diffusion of scientific knowledge, the present state of our information with respect to the cryptogams. It is evident that it is only possible to give a condensed view of the most important facts, and to consider even these only in their general out- lines, in the short time allotted to a lecture. The eryptogams were almost wholly unknown to the ancients. Even Theophrastus and Pedanius Dioskorides enumerate only twenty species of them in their works. In the Middle Ages no progress was made in a knowledge of them. Attention was only paid to a few species of crypto- gams, to which were attributed medicinal or magical virtues. When, with the revival of classical learning and the reformation, science also received afresh impulse, when Brunfels rejected the traditions of the old school and turned to the study of domestic plants and thereby cre- ated anew basis for botanical research, botanists were too much occu- pied with the observation of seminiferous plants to pay much attention to the lower orders. It was not until the beginning of the eighteenth century that two men appeared who actively took up the study of eryp- togams, and who must therefore be considered as the founders of this branch of the science. They are Antonio Micheli, superintendent of the botanic garden at Florence, and Johann Jacob Dillenius, a German, who later became superintendent of the botanie garden at Eltham, and professor at the University of Oxford. [ cannot enter into a de- tailed account of the labors of these two fathers of eryptogamic botany ; let it suffice, therefore, to indicate that they represent the two chief schools which still characterize the study of cryptogains to-day. 250 ON THE PRESENT STATE OF OUR. Micheli was an excellent morphologist for his time, and made some very interesting discoveries in his line; Dillenius, however, was principally a Systematizer; he knew and described almost one thousand species of algze, lichens, mosses, and ferns. At last Carl von Linné appeared on the scene. He is known to every man of culture as one of the greatest of botanists, and as a scholar who reformed and influenced the whole study of natural history. He pro- posed what is called the sexual system, under which he classified all known plants ; he introduced the nomenclature now in use; he raised botany to the dignity of a true science. Occupied as he was with the phanero- gams, he found no time, and had, perhaps, no inclination to investigate the cryptogams. He contented himself with dividing this, the twenty- fourth class of his system, into the four orders of ferns, mosses, alge, and fungi, and distributing among them the materials furnished by Dillenius and Micheli. In his Species Plantarum he mentions about eight hundred kinds of cryptogams, distributed among fifty genera. Linné’s indirect influence on this class of plants is much more important, since he laid down general laws which his successors were to apply in de- tail. The following are some of the prominent men who e¢arried out Linné’s ideas in the treatment of the cryptogams: Gmelin, Turner, 7aucher, Dillwyn, and especially Aghard the elder, devoted themselves to the study of the alge. Erik Acharius laid the foundation for the study of lichens, and was assisted by Florke, Wallroth, and Ernst Meyer. Fungi were studied by Christian Persoon, with the assistance of Schaeffer, Bulliard, Bolton, and Link. Johann Hedwig inaugurated the study of mosses, and was seconded by Bridel, Schwigrichen, and for exotic mosses, by the elder Hooker. Ferns were made a specialty by Olaus Swartz, Willdenow, Kaulfuss, Schkuhr, Bernhardi, and others. Hedwig must be considered by far the most ingenious and eminent investigator of this period; he might properly be called the Linné of cryptogams. His researches are read with preference. The Austrians especially are proud of him as their fellow-countryman. It would occupy too much time to describe the researches of Hedwig and the others, and I must therefore deny myself that pleasure. If we examine what was done in the investigation of cryptogams during the period of the Linnéan systems, we shall find that the efforts of botanists were chiefly directed to the discovery of new forms, to make short diagnoses, and to classify them artificially according to certain characteristics. Hedwig and the other authors of that time furnish only a few though valuable data concerning their peculiarities, formation, and anatomical structure. It was left to the most recent epoch of botanical studies to unite these isolated materials into a harmonic whole. In this epoch, comprising scarcely more than three decades, botany, and especially the knowledge of cryptogams, has made immense progress. The representatives of Linné’s views had accumulated a mass of KNOWLEDGE OF CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS. 251 comprehensively arranged material. Botanists, however, gradually be- came conscious that their system should not be ouly an arrangement of plants according to certain arbitrary characteristics, but that their essential peculiarities and natural relations among themselves must be considered in their classification; in other words, that they must estab- lish a natural system. Jussieu made the first successful attempt to build up such a system. Among the French, de Candolle, and among the English, Robert Brown, the two Hookers, and Lindley perfected it. In Germany, and especially in Austria, it found its most perfect ex- pression in our genial and renowned compatriot, Professor Stephan Endlicher, with whom must be mentioned his friends and colleagues, Professors Fenz! and Unger, my highly-esteemed teachers. The change which the natural system produced in the direction of botanical research, ever made it more necessary to study out the laws of the growth, formation, reproduction, and propagation of plants; to find out with accuracy the relations existing between their different organs, and to investigate the origin and development of the whole plant and its separate parts, down to the most elementary organisms. Thus morphology became a separate branch of botany through the endeavors of Robert Brown, Roper, Alexander Braun, Schleiden, Schacht, Hofmeister, and others. Morphological studies naturally led to a more accurate consideration of the structure and the processes of plant-life. The microscope had meanwhile been greatly improved, and many botanists took up this branch with predilection. In this way the anatomy and physiology of plants reached a point, through the excellent labors of Hugo von Moh, Unger, Nigeli, Schacht, and others, which had not before been thought possible. Excursions to all parts of the world were undertaken by courageous investigators, who not only enriched the science with a great many new forms, but rendered it possible to determine the laws of the distribution of plants over the whole earth; so that Alexander von Humboldt was enabled to produce a masterly sketch of botanical geography. In a measure, as mutual intercourse was facilitated, more life was in- fused into scientific research; a great number of scientific societies and periodicals were established where the results of investigations were deposited. So many of these publications appear now that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to examine them all. During this great progress of botany in general, the cryptogams were not neglected. Indeed, many of the most thorough scholars made a_ specialty of these simplest of organisms. The important discoveries became so numerous in this department that it was entirely revolutionized. I will endeavor to present to you a condensed view of the most im- portant achievements. For this purpose the material has been divided into five groups: algve, lichens, fungi, mosses, and ferns. In each of D2, ON THE PRESENT STATE OF OUR these I shall first consider the most important points of their morphol- ogy and anatomy, and afterward their classification. We will begin with the alge. The reform in their study was inan- gurated by two works which appeared almost simultaneously, Kiitzing’s Phycologia universalis and Nigeli’s latest alge systems. Kiitzing pre- sents a view of his organographic and anatomical studies, and bases upon them anew system of alg, illustrating it by means of plates. The Species Algarum and the Tabule phycologice, containing a description and picture of all species of alge, may be considered as supplements to his great work. Kiitzing, no doubt, had greater facilities for the study of alge than almost any other investigator. He was the first to examine the separate organs and the structure of fuci, and to found this branch of phycology. He broke up the classification of the old genera, which contained a chaotic mass of the most different forms, and separated them into natural groups. Unfortunately, Kiitzing re- jected the usual nomenclature, and employed one of his own, thus mak- ing his work very difficult to understand. In his classification he splits up his material into too many untenable species, making it almost im- possible to examine the whole. Niigeli exerted a no less important influence on the study of the al- ge. In his alge systems and in his work on one-celled alge, this renowned anatomist shows his unsurpassed acuteness of observation in his description of the structure and mode of life of those small organ- isms which cannot be recognized with the unaided eye. He showedthat the increase of the separated cells depends upon mathematically determ- inable laws. These he developed for many species, and we may say that he created a sure mathematical basis for the study of the alge. Since laws, valid in the whole vegetable kingdom, can be educed most easily from the alge, the simplest organisms, Niigeli’s researches are of great value to the whole science of botany. Starting from his discovered principles, Niigeli planned an alge system of his own; but here he was less successful. Beside these two principal works, a great number of large and small dissertations have been published. Among these the following are the most important: The works of Alexander Braun on the life and development of microscopic forms, are worthy of being placed side by side with those of Niigeli. In them, and especially in the classical work on rejuvenation in the vegetable kingdom, he has produced real master- pieces of short but very attractively written monographs, calculated to excite the interest of every man of culture. Professor Cohn, another emi- nent scholar, has given to the world a series of masterly and thorough essays on the Volvocine, which had until then been classed as animals. De Barry’s dissertation on the Conjugates does not fall short of the other eSSays. The brilliant discovery of the zodspores of algze was made by Pro- fessor Unger, who observed the formation of these movable cells in KNOWLEDGE OF! CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS. 253 the Vaucheria clavata DC, and proved that they possessed cilia as organs ot locomotion, and that they germinated into a plant like the parent. Many investigators have furnished further data concerning the existence and the structure of these interesting bodies, but the most complete researches were published by Thuret in his essay, ‘“ Sur les zoospores des alges.” He had observed zoéspores in several hun- dred species, and illustrated them in a masterly manner. We learn from these investigations that the above spores are the unsexual organs of reproduction in the algre, and may be compared to the buds of higher plants. The interesting and instructive process of fructification in aleve has been studied with equal accuracy. Although the great physicist, Reaumur, had suspected the existence of organs of fructification in fuci, Thuret was the first to prove it directly and scientifically. He demonstrated that the small indentations on the surface of the Fucacee, the so-called conceptacles, contained both the male and female organs of fructification, (the antheridia and oogonia;) he observed the forma- tion of antherozoids and the penetration of the spermatic filaments into them; he explained how the spore was developed after fructification. In fresh-water alge, Pringsheim first succeeded in directly proving the existence of fructifying organs in the Vaucheria, Oedogonium, and Coleochete. Cohn followed with his interesting observations of the Sphaeroplea annulina and the Volvocine. These observations prove the following mode of fructification in the algve: the so-called seed fila- ments penetrate the membraneless mass of the antherozoids, which are then surrounded by a cellular membrane and converted into stationary spores. These are the direct opposites of zodspores, and may be com- pared to the seeds of higher plants. The results of this and many other researches have enabled us to gain sufficient insight into the growth, reproduction, and propagation of these plants, and it will be the task of coming investigators to con- tinne the work on this basis. If we now turn to the classification of the algw, we shall see that excursions to the different seas of every zone have enlarged our ae- quaintance with the forms of thisclass. Excursions to the Antarctic and to the northern part of the Pacific Ocean have furnished us with the grandest specimens of lichens, and have shown us that marine vegetation does not reach its highest development in the tropical oceans, but in the Arctic and Antarctic polar seas. Kiitzine’s and Nageli’s contributions have already been mentioned. In the third sup- plement to his Generibus Plantarum, Endlicher published, together with Diessing, a systematic table of this class, distinguished by the happy arrangement into families and genera. A very important work is Species genera et ordines algarum, by Aghard the younger, which, al- though it only contains the Fucoidee and Floridea, surpasses all other publications in the original natural grouping of his materials, and by 254. ON THE PRESENT STATE OF OUR happily keeping within bounds in his subdivisions. Besides Aghard’s work, we must mention the publications of Harvey on the Antarctic alge, the works of Postels and Ruprecht on the alge of the north Pacific Ocean, and a number of monographs on single families or floras. Leanonlyname the most important; toenumerate them all would lead me too far: the works of Smith and Ralfs on the British Dia- toms and Desmids, that of De Barry on Conjugate, the beautiful es- says of A. Braun, and among the Austrians the excellent publications of Grunow, especially on Diatoms. Finally, | must not forget to men- tion that Dr. Rabenhorst has done much to promote the diffusion of accurate knowledge concerning the species of cryptogamous plants by his work on the Cryptogamiec Flora of Germany, and by his later publi- cations, especially his dried collection of eryptogams. The structure of the vegetative organs of the small but interesting group of Characee was investigated by the interesting labors of Bischoff and A. Braun. Thuret published important information concerning the antheridia; Carl Miiller investigated fructification, and Pring- sheim germination. Their classification was improved, especially by A. Braun, from whose master hand we may expect a monograph of the Characee. If we now turn to the lichens, we will see that the views of the pe- riod of Linné’s system long remained in credit, and that reform was late and gradual. Consequently the number of eminent discoveries in this department has been smaller, and its organography is still far from being satisfactory. Speersehneider, it is true, has furnished us with some valuable data coneerning the structure and manner of growth of the thallus; but we are indebted for the most accurate in- formation on this subject to Schwendener, who has published in two dissertations the result of his investigations of shrubby and foliaceous lichens. We know now that the thallus of lichens consists of three different layers, an outer or envelope forming long fibrous cells, a middle or gonidium composed of roundish cells filled with chlorophyll, and an inner or pith of the same structure as the outer. The behavior of these three layers, which was investigated particularly by Schwendener, fur- nishes many points for classification. Kérber has published an excellent dissertation on the gonidia or generating cells of lichens. He states that these cells break through the envelope, become changed and converted into the so-called soredia. These observations establish the fact that the soredia are the organs of generation of lichens, and correspond to the buds of higher plants. Many have studied the bowl-shaped fruit or apothecium of lichens, but the data are scattered through different works. Tulasne’s work, “Sur VAppareil Reproducteur des Lichenes,” is of special importance, since it proves that lichens have another kind of fruit, forming small dents and containing minute, straight, and narrow cells. They are called spermagonia, and are probably the male organs of fructification. KNOWLEDGE OF CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS. 255 The process of fructification has hitherto been observed with certainty by Karsten in the Coenogoniwm only. The excellent works of Elias Fries and Wallroth, which date back to the sway of Linné’s system, are still of great importance for purposes of classification. Von Flotow has indirectly exerted great influence on the study of lichens. His most prominent scholar, Kérber, has iInaugu- rated a great reform in his two principal works, the Lichenes Germania and the Parergis lichenologicis. He created a new system, resting upon an anatomical and organographic basis, and made more natural and sharply defined subdivisions. He was ably assisted in his work by our compatriot Massalongo, whose tables are unfortunately incorrect. The works of Mylander are of great value; his Synopsis Lichenwm comprises all known species. Its publication is still continued. Hepp did much to make the European species known by the description of his collee- tions and the investigation of their spores. Finally, we must not pass over the works of Krempelhuber, which are at present confined to do- mestic species ; but this excellent scholar will soon have a more exten- sive field of operation. We now come to the largest and most interesting, but at the same time the most difficult class of eryptogams—the fungi. Their sudden appearance and growth, their ephemeral nature, and the multiplicity of their forms, have always been a source of trouble to investigators, and even the most indefatigable of modern mycologists have been able to lift but partially the veil which hangs over the life and development of these organisms. Far ahead of its time in organography stands the work of Professor Unger, on the exanthema of plants; for in it we find the first attempt to describe the development of mildew-fungi. Although the leading idea of the whole work, that these fungi were the diseased products of the plants on which they are found, was not confirmed, the rich treasure of new facts laid down in this beautiful work retains its full value. Corda, another fellow-countryman, has also written on fungi, and dis- covered many interesting forms in the fungi of mold. He was thus enabled to gain some insight into the life and development of these organisms. In his principal work, the ZJcones Fungorum, he represents all forms of fungi known to him; but some of his observations have unfortunately been hastily made and consequently inaccurate. But we should not forget that Corda lived in unfavorable external circumstances; that for along time he had not the means of procuring a microscope, and that he finally met with a tragical death. The ship in which he had gone to Texas in 1849 foundered on his return voyage to Europe, and nothing has been heard of him since. The works of the Tulasne broth- ers throw new light on many chapters of this branch of study. They show that there exists a great difference between the fungi of mildew and those of mold; that in the former not only spermogonia, but also spores of different forms are produced, which had formerly been dis- ° 256 ' ON THE PRESENT STATE OF OUR tributed among different genera. They also studied the interesting process by which the germs and spores of the mildew-fungi are devel- oped. In their classical dissertation, “ Sur VErgot de Seigle,” they showed that the well-known black fungus, or germ, as well as all other similar forms hitherto classed as Sclerotics, were not perfectly developed organisms, but rather a peculiar kind of mycelium, analogous to the tubers of higher plants. Itis from them that the fructifying fungi are developed. In the great work, “ Pungi hypogei,” the above-mentioned authors give us a more thorough acquaintance with truffles than their predecessors, and, in their essays on the Ascomycetw, they lay before us many interesting points about these organisms, proving that they contain several kinds of spores, as well as spermogonia and spermatia. In their principal work, the Selecta Fungorum carpologica, the Tulasne brothers present to us a rich collection of observations, the introduction to which is of especial interest because it furnishes a view of the results of morphological researches. The tables are executed in a masterly manner, and leave all similar productions far behind. In the same de- partment the Germans are well represented by De Barry. He consid- erably extended our knowledge of mildew-fung!, and was the first to make experiments on the inoculation of their spores. He succeeded in discovering the remarkable history of the development of mucus- fungi. He showed that in them the mycelium is wanting, and that from the germinating spore a peculiar body is formed, which is gradu- ally converted into plasmodium, a substance without an analogue in the vegetable kingdom, and finally into the perfect fungus. De Barry studied the potato fungus, and proved the existence of zodspores in it, and in others of the same family. Finally, he discovered the organs of fructification of fungi in a parasite (Peronospora Alsinearum Casp.) living on the Stellaria media. The results of his brilliant discovery were fully confirmed by Pringsheim’s masterly observation of the Saprolegmia, in which the latter also found zodspores and similar fructification. Cor- responding results were found by Hofmeister in the fecundation of truffles. According to these observations the fructification of fungi takes place as follows: The antheridium touches the vogonium, one of its processes penetrating an opening in the membrane of the latter and discharging either seed, filaments, or its contents, which are commn- nicated to the antherozoid. The latter, which before was membraneless, is now surrounded with a cellular membrane, and becomes the station- ary spore of the plant. Hoffman has made comprehensive researches on the germination of the spores of fungi, and Pasteur’s excellent works give us information on the part which fungi play in fermentation, by proving that they are nothing more than common mold-fungi in a pe- culiar stage of development. All these achievements, great as they may seem, are nothing more than preparatory labors for the solution of the organograpby of fungi, a great problem of the future. The works of Elias Fries are the standard on the classHication of : ¢ . ~ KNOWLEDGE OF CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS. 251 fungi. Since the publication of his Systema mycologicum, about forty years ago, no work has appeared which includes all orders, genera, and species of this class. Indeed, the works of Fries are so excellent that they may be held up as models to all botanical authors. The writer, who passed a third of his unusually long life in the woods, where he studied fungi, acquired a wider experience than any other. He has grouped the genera naturally, and described the species with true Linnéan precision. His work is, therefore, the basis of all mycological studies. The other authors contented themselves either with writing local floras or study- ing single orders for the purpose of furnishing materials for a future Systema mycologicum. Many excellent works of this kind have been pro- duced, especially those of Leveillé, Bonorden, Fresenius, De Barry, and the thorough treatises on exotic forms by Montaigne and Berkeley. In the class of the mosses, the morphological studies of many thor- ough scholars have progressed so far that these plants are now among the most perfectly known. Mirbel has furnished interesting data on the structure of the leaves and the development of the sporangia of the Marchantia polymorpha. The works of Bischoff on liverworts, although treating chiefly of classification, present a great many new observations on the structure and development of the fruit. The excellent natura history of liverworts by Nees von Esenbeck, to which I will revert again, furnishes many important contributions to organography. A celebrated essay of Hugo von Mohl on the spores of acrogens proves that four spores are formed in every cell, analogous to the formation of pollen- cells. Gottschee, finally, has published very thorough essays on the structure and development of single groups of liverworts. All these writings are left in the shade, however, as far as the organography of ferns and mosses is concerned, by those of Hofmeister, the most prom- ineut investigator of the subject. This excellent scholar has set him- self the task of pursuing the development of the acrogens down to the simpie cell, and he has succeeded in many eases. Through him we know how the germ of mosses is formed and grows, how the stem is devel- oped, and how the leaves appear and form. We not only understand the structure of the antheridia perfectly, and know how the seed fila- ments are formed, but we have aiso gained an insight into the structure of the archegonia. We are able to follow exactly the process of fructi- fication, and see how the complicated moss-fruit is developed after fruc- tification by the archegonium, from the riccia, the most simple type, up to the most highly-developed forms, according to one fundamental idea. Hofmeister has illustrated all these discoveries with excellent drawings, so that the study of his masterpiece, ‘Comparative investigations in the development of the higher cryptogams,” is one of the most grate- ful tasks, although it is a very laborious one, on account of the peculiar manner in which it is written. Hofmeister’s work is also the most important source for the morpho- logical study of foliaceous mosses. Niigeli has determined the laws of @ lias iL a 258 ON THE PRESENT STATE OF OUR erowth of the vegetative organs with the same mastery as in his treatise on the alex. Hugo von Mohl-explains in a very simple manner the interesting phenomena attending the vegetation of peat-mosses in a short but thorough essay on their perforated cells. Carl Miller explains the remarkable existence of lamels on the leaves of the polytrichaces, and Lantzius Beninga shows how the ripe capsule, the spores and the peristome are developed. Schimper’s “ Recherches sur Vorganographie des mousses” and the introduction of his “‘ Synopsis Muscorum europaco- rum” are of great value; for, in both works, we not only find the results of organographic researches gathered, but we also find them enriched by numerous observations of his own. Passing to the most important works on classification, we must grant the first place to Nees von Esenbeck for his excellent natural history of Juropean liverworts, since it is the foundation of our present views of this branch of botany. He divides up the genera of his predecessors in a very natural manner, and his descriptions of species are masterly. His distinguishing characteristics are always sharply defined. The prineiples applied with such excellent success on European species were also brought to bear on exotics by Nees von Esenbeck, Gottschee, and Lindenberg, who published together the Synopsis Hepaticarwn, which is considered the standard work. Unfortunately, there are no illustrations of all species of this class; for the best are still to be found in “ British Jungermannie,” published 1820, or thereabouts, by Hooker. Lindenberg endeavored to supply the deficiency by his Species Hepati- carum, but after several excellent monographs of single genera had ap- peared the publication ceased. Later ones were limited to the description of new material or the better description of single genera. Among them must be mentioned the excellent treatises of Gottschee, the Hepa- tice Javanice of Van der Sande Lacosta, and the works of Montaigne, Taylor, Mitten, and De Notaris. The appearance of the Bryologia Europea exercised a reforming influ- ence ou the study of the mosses. Several excellent scholars, with W. Ph. Schimper at the head, determined to describe and depict all species -of mosses known in Europe ina manner adequate to the demands of the time. They mutually controlled their results for fifteen years, when the work was completed in six stately volumes of more than six hundred tables, and it now forms our basis for the study of these plants. In it the genera were more naturally (although sometimes weakly) divided and better arranged. In the deseription of the species, the organograph- ieal and anatomical points, especially the reticulation of the leaves, were for the first time considered. Excellent illustrations facilitate the recog- nition of the species, and make it possible in some cases which had before presented diffieulties. After the appearance of the Bryology, Schimper published a fine monograph on the European peat-moss, and amore general Synopsis Muscorum Europeorum. It is hoped that this excellent-seholar will soon be able to realize his long-cherishéd plan, the * . * os ‘ KNOWLEDGE OF CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS. 259 publication of a work on all the mosses, for we may well expect some- thing excellent from him, The next author of importance is C. Miiller, who published a synopsis of all known mosses, in two volumes. He de- serves our thorough appreciation for his diligence in collecting the ex- isting material. His views on system, however, are less happy. Led by the consideration of certain characteristics, he often classifies very different species together, and separates those closely related. Among other writings on exotic mosses, we must mentioned Dozy and Molken- boer’s “ Musciinediti Archipelagi Indici,” and their “ Bryologia Javanica,” which was continued after their death by Van der Bosch, and Van der Sande Lacosta. They follow the same plan as the “ Bryologia Europea,” and are, therefore, of great value. The works of Sallivant, on the moss flora of North America, and those of Wilson, Mitten, and Hampe, are also of considerable importance. In the last class, thatof the ferns, aseriesof the most important diseov- eries Was inaugurated by Nigeli. He observed that the antheridia. or male organs of fructification, were developed upon the prothallium, which originates directly from the germinating spore. Count Lesezye Suninski followed up his discovery by proving that the prothallium contained also the archegonia or female organs. Through these two brilliant discoveries new prospects were opened for the morphology of ferns. We recognized that in this whole class of plans fructification was effected on the small prothailium, and that the foliage, which we had been accustomed to take for the whole plant, was developed only when fructifiea- tion had taken place. Schacht, Mettenius, and especially Hotmeister, deserve great credit for following up these discoveries. The brilliant re- searches of the latter author in particular, have made known to us the exact process of fecundation, and we now understand that the so-called large and small spores of the selaginella and water-fern are nothing more than the female and male organs of these plants. Hofmeister has furthermore ascertained with unexampled acuteness the laws according to which the leafy plant is developed from theimpregnated germ-vesicle of the archegonium, and also how the stem grows, and how the fans are formed. Although Hofmeister came to the erroneous conclusion that the latter were not true leaves, but peculiarly transformed branches, the value of the grand discoveries of this most original and thorough of all organo- graphists of the acrogens remains unimpaired. Hugo von Mohl has drawn a masterly picture of the structure of the stem ot tree-ferns, in his classical desertation, which has since been developed more in detail, partly by himself and partly by other authors. The most thorough in- vestigation of the development of the indusium and sporangium are due to Schacht. Besides the older works of Kaulfuss and Kunze on the classifica- tion of ferns, we must mention especially the numerous pteridographic works of Hooker, which have considerably advanced our knowledge ot the subject by their excellent illustrations, The works of K. B. Presl « 260 PRESENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS. are of great importance, and of especial interestto us Austrians. In his ** Tentamen Petridographie,” this thorough scholar has studied the retic- ulation of ferns more accurately than any of his predecessors, intro- duced new names, and endeavored to divide the class into more natural genera. Although he sometimes goes too far in this direction, we cannot but appreciate his earnestness, consistency, and extensive information. Hée attempted to follow in Presl’s footsteps, but he was less successful, and his works must be used with caution. Our most distinguished pteridographist, Mettenius, successfully opposed the tendency to split up the existing materialinto too many untenabie genera and species, in his excellent work on the ferns of the Leipsic botanic garden, and in a series of critical essays, which mostly appeared in the Senkeberg Mu- seum. May this distinguished scholar indefatigably pursue and ulti- mately attain his object! Moore deserves great credit for his very crit- cal index of all ferns, for the introduction of many tropical specimens, and for publishing (together with Newman) the first work in which na- ture was successfully employed to print herself. Lowe’s “ British and Exotic Ferns” is also a valuable illustrated work. Besides all these there are many special publications on single speeies. The following are among the most important: Milde’s Essays on the Equisetacez and Domestic Ferns; Pres] Van der Bosch and Mettenius on Hymenophyllex; Spring’s Monograph of the Lycopodiacee ; and A. Braun on Isoétee, and Water-Ferns in General. This then is a condensed review of the most important achievements in eryptogamy within the last few decades. Taking them altogether, we may say that this branch of botany has made more progress in this period than in all preceding times, and that it has now indeed become a science. The study of the cryptograms is no longer confined to a few isolated scholars as formerly, but it is exciting general interest, and many excellent investigators are making it their fa- vorite subject. Morphology was not only founded, but even completed and established for certain classes. Numerous and highly important anatomical and physiological data have been furnished ; the classifica- tion has in the last period been reformed in accordance with the latest views, and various authors have endeavored to obtaina natural arrange- ment of species, and have sueceeded in many cases. Although much has been accomplished, much stillremains tobe done, and we need the combined efforts of many. May, therefore, the interest in cryptogamous plants ever become more general and lively, and may, especially in Austria, many scholars and amateurs turn their attention to this branch of botany! The most grateful results will surely reward their exertions. nea RECENT RESEARCHES ON THE SECULAR VARIATIONS OF THE PLANETARY ORBITS.* By JOHN N. STOCKWELL. The reciprocal gravitation of matter produces disturbances in the motions of the heavenly bodies, causing them to deviate from the elliptic paths which they would follow, if they were attracted only by the sun. fhe determination of the amount by which the actual place of a planet deviates from its true elliptic place at any time is called the problem of planetary perturbation. ‘The analytical solution of this problem has disclosed to mathematicians the fact that the inequalities in the motions of the heavenly bodies are produced in two distinct ways. The first is a direct disturbance in the elliptic motion of the body; and the second is produced by reason of a variation of the elements of its elliptic motion. The elements of the elliptic motion of a planet are six in number, vig: the mean motion of the planet and its mean distance from the sun, the eccentricity and inclination of its orbit, and the longitude of the node and perihelion. The first two are invariable; the other four are subject to both periodic and secular variations. The inequalities in the planetary motions which are produced by the direct action of the planets on each other, and depend for their amount only on their distances and mutual configurations, are called periodic inequalities, because they pass through a complete cycle of values in a comparatively short period of time; while those depending on the varia- tion of the elements of the elliptic motion are produced with extreme slow- ness, and require an immense number of ages for their full development, are called secular inequalities. The general theory of all the planetary inequalities was completely developed by La Grange and La Place, nearly a century ago; and the particular theory of each planet for the periodic inequalities was given by La Place in the Mécanique Céleste. The determination of the periodic inequalities of the planets has hith- erto received more attention from astronomers than has been bestowed upon the secular inequalities. This is owing in part to the immediate requirements of astronomy, and also in part to the less intricate nature of the problem. It is true that an approximate knowledge of the secu- lar inequalities is necessary in the treatment of the periodic inequalities ; but since the secular inequalities are produced with sueh extreme slow- hess, most astronomers have been content with the supposition that they are developed uniformly with the time. This supposition is suffi- * Introduction to a memoir to be published in the “Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge.” 262 RECENT RESEARCHES ON THE ciently near the truth to be admissible in most astronomical investiga- tions during the comparatively short period of time over which astro- nomical observations or human history extends; but since the values of these variations are derived from the equations of the differential variations of the elements at a particular epoch, it follows that they afford us no knowledge respecting the ultimate condition of the plane- tary system, or even a near approximation to its actual condition at a time only comparatively remote from the epoch of the elements on which they are founded. But aside from any considerations connected with the immediate needs of practical astronomy, the study of the secular inequalities is one of the most interesting and important departments of physical science, because their indefinite continuance in the same direc- tion would ultimately seriously affect the stability of the planetary system. The demonstration that the secular inequalities of the planets are not indefinitely progressive, but may be expressed analytically by a series of terms depending on the sixes and cosines of angles which increase uniformly with the time, is due to La Grange and La Place. It therefore follows that the secular inequalities are periodic, and difier from theordinary periodic inequalities only in the length of time required to complete the cycle of their values. The amount by which the elements of any planet may ultimately deviate from their mean values can only he determined by the simultaneous integration of the differential equations of these elements, which is equivalent to the summation of all the infi- nitesimal variations arising from the disturbing forces of all the planets of the system during the lapse of an infinite period of time. The simultaneous integration of the equations which determine the instantaneous variations of the elements of the orbits gives rise to a complete equation in which the unknown quantity is raised to a power denoted by the number of planets, whose mutual action is considered. La Grange first showed that if any of the roots of this equation were equal or imaginary, the finite expressions for the values of the elements would contain terms involving ares of circles or exponential quantities, without the functions of sine and cosine, and as these terms would increase indefinitely with the time, they would finally render the orbits so very eecentrical that the stability of the planetary system would be destroyed. In order to determine whether the roots of the equation were all real and unequal, he substituted the approximate values of the elements and masses which were employed by astronomers at that time in the algebraic equations, and then by determining the roots he found them to be all real and unequal. It, therefore, followed, that for the particular values of the masses employed by La Grange, the equa- tions which determine the secular variations contain neither ares of a circle nor exponential quantities, without the signs of sine and cosine ; whence it follows that the elements of the orbits will perpetually oscil- late about their mean values. This investigation was valuable as a first attempt to fix the limits of the variations Of the planetary elements; ) SECULAR VARIATIONS OF THE PLANETARY ORBITS. 263 but, being based upon values of the masses which were, to a certain extent, gratuitously assumed, it was desirable that the important truths which it indicated should be established independently of any conside- rations of a hypothetic character. This magnificent generalization was effected by La Place. He proved that, whatever be the relative masses of the planets, the roots of the equations which determine the periods of the seeular inequalities will all be real and unequal, provided the bodies of the system are subjected to this one condition, that they all revolve round the sun in the same direction. This condition being satisfied by all the members of the solar system, it follows that the orbits of the planets will never be very eccentrical or much inclined to each other by reason of their mutual attraction. The important truths in relation to the forms and positions of the planetary orbits are embodied in the two following theorems by the author of the Mécanique Céleste: I. If the mass of each planet be multiplied by the product of the square of the eccentricity and square root of the mean distance, the sum of all these products will always retain the same magnitude. II. If the mass of each planet be mul- tiplicd by the product of the square of the inclination of the orbit and the square root of the mean distance, the sum of these products will always remain invariable. Now, these quantities being computed for a given epoch, if their sum is found to be small, it follows from the preceding theorenis that they will always remain so; consequently the eccentri- cities and inclinations cannot increase indefinitely, but will always be confined within narrow linits. Tn order to calculate the limits of the variations of the elements with precision, it is necessary to know the correct values of the masses of all the planets. Unfortunately, this knowledge has not yet been attained. The masses of several of the planets are found to be considerably difter- ent from the values employed by La Grange in his investigations. Besides, he only took into account the action of the six principal planets which are within the orbit of Uranus. Consequently his solution afforded only a first approximation to the limits of the secular variations of the elements. - The person who next undertook the computation of the secular ine- qualities was Pontécoulant, who, about the year 1834, published the third volume of his Theorie Analytique du Systéme du Monde. In this work he has given the results of his solution of this intricate problem. But the numerical values of the constants which he obtained are totally erroneous on account of his failure to employ a sufficient number of decimals in his computation. Our knowledge of the secular variations of the planetary orbits was, therefore, not increased by his researches. In 1839 Le Verrier had completed his computation of the secular ine- qualities of the seven principal planets. This mathematician has givena new and accurate determination of the constants on which the amount of the secular inequalities depend; and has also given the coefiicients for correcting the values of the constants for differential variations of the ‘ 264 RECENT RESEARCHES ON THE masses of the different planets. This investigation of Le Verrier’s has been used as the groundwork of most of the subsequent corrections of the planetary elements and masses, and deservedly holds the first rank as authority concerning the secular variations of the planetary orbits. But Le Verrier’s researches were far from being exhaustive, and he failed to notice some curious and interesting relations of a permanent character in the secular variations of the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Besides, the planet Neptune had not then been discovered ; and the action of this planet considerably modifies the secular inequali- ties which wouid otherwise take place. We will now briefly glance at the results of our own labors on the subject. On the first examination of the works of those authors who had investi- gated this problem, we perceived that the methods of reducing to num- bers those analytical integrals which determine the secular variations of the elements, were far from possessing that elegance and symmetry of form which usually characterizes the formulas of astronomy. The first step, therefore, was to devise a system of algebraic equations, by means of which we should be enabled to obtain the values of the unknown quantities with the smallest amount of labor. It was soon found to be impracticable to deduce algebraic formulas for the constants, by the elimination of eight unknown quantities from as many linear symmet- rical equations, of sufficient simplicity to be used in the deduction of exact results. It therefore became necessary to abandon the idea of a direct solution of the equations, and to seek for the best approximative method of obtaining rigorous values of the unknown quantities. This we have accomplished as completely as could be desired, and by means of the formulas which we have obtained, it is now possible to determine the secular variations of the planetary elements, with less labor, perhaps, than would be necessary for the accurate determination of a comet’s orbit. The method and formulas are given in detail in a Alemoir on the Secular Variations of the Elements of the Orbits of the Hight Principal Planets, now being published in vol. XVIII, of the Smithsonian Contri- butions to Knowledge. After computing anew the numerical coefficients of the differential equations of the elements, we have substituted them in these equations, and have obtained, by means of successive approximations, the rigorous values of the constants corresponding to the assumed masses and ele- ments. The details of the computation are given in the memoir referred to, and it is unnecessary to speak of them here. We shall, therefore, only briefly allude to some of the conclusions to which our computa- tions legitimately lead. The object of our investigation has been the determination of the numerical values of the secular changes of the elements of the planet- ary orbits. These elements are four in number, viz: the eccentricities and inclinations of the orbits, and the longitudes of the nodes and perihelia. The questions that may legitimately arise in regard to the ——— SECULAR VARIATIONS OF THE PLANETARY ORBITS. 265 eccentricities and inclinations relate chiefly to their magnitudt at any time; but we may also desire to know their rates of change at any time, and the limits within which they will perpetually oscillate. In regard to the nodes and perihelia, it is sometimes necessary to know their rela- tive positions when referred to any plane and origin of codrdinates ; and also their mean motions, together with the amount by which their actual places can differ from their mean places. With respect to the magnitudes and positions of the elements, together with their rates of change, we may observe that our equations will give them for any required epoch, by merely substituting in the formulas the interval of time between the epoch required and that of the formulas, which is the beginning of the year 1850. An extended tabulation of the variations of the elements does not come within the scope of our work; and we leave the computation of the elements for special epochs to those inves- tigators who may need them in their researches. We shall here give the limits between which the eccentricities and inclinations will always oscillate, together with the mean motions of the perihelia and nodes on the fixed ecliptic of 1850; and shall also give the inclinations and nodes referred to the invariable plane of the planetary system. For the planet Mercury, we find that the eccentricity is always included within the limits 0.1214945 and 0.2517185. The mean motion of its perihelion is 5.463803; and it performs a complete revolution in the heavens in 257,197 years. The maximum inclination of his orbit to the fixed ecliptic of 1850 is 10° 56/ 20”, and its minimum inclination is 3° 47/ 8”; while with respect to the invariable plane of the planetary system, the limits of the inclination are 9° 10/ 41” and 49 44/27”, The mean motion of the node of Mercury’s orbit on the ecliptie of 1850, and on the invariable plane, is in both cases the same, and equal to 5.126172, making a complete revolution in the interval of 252,823 years. The amount by which the true place of the node ean differ from i mean place on the ecliptic of 1850 is equal to 33° 8’, while on the invariable plane this limit is only 18° 31’. For the planet Venus, we find that the eccentricity always oscillates between 0 and 0.0705329. Since the theoretical eccentricity of the orbit of Venus is a vanishing element, it follows that the perihelion of her orbit can have no mean motion, but may have any rate of motion, at different times, between nothing and infinity, both direct and retrograde The position of her perihelion cannot therefore be determined =n given limits at any very remote epoch by the assumption of any par- ticular value for the mean motion, but it must be determined by direct computation from the finite formulas. The maximum inclination of her orbit to the ecliptic of 1850 is 4° 51’, and to the invariable plane it is 3° 16.3; while the mean motion of her node on both planes is indeter- minate, because the inferior limit of the inclination is in each case equal to nothing. A knowledge of the elements of the earth’s orbit is especially inter- esting and important on account of the recent attempts to establish a . 266 RECENT RESEARCHES ON THE connection between geological phenomena and terrestrial temperatures, in so far as the latter is modified by the variable eccentricity for her orbit. The amount of light and heat received from the sun in the course of a year depends to an important extent on the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit; but the distribution of the same over the surface of the earth depends on the relative position of the perihelion of the orbit with respect to the equinoxes, and on the obliquity of the ecliptic to the equator. These elements are subject to great and irregular variations; but their laws can now be determined with as much precision as the exigencies of science may require. We will now more carefully examine these elements, and the consequences to which their variations give rise. As we have already computed the eccentricity of the earth’s erbit at intervals of 10,000 years, during a period of 2,000,000 years, by employ- ing the constants which correspond to the assumed mass of the earth increased by its twentieth part, we here give the elements correspond- ing to this increased mass. We therefore find that the eccentricity of the eartl’s orbit will always be included within the limits of 0 and 0.0695888 ; and it consequently follows that the mean motion of the peri- helion is indeterminate, although the actual motion and position at any time during a period of 2,000,000 years can be readily found by means of the tabular value of that element. The eccentricity of the orbit at any time can also be found by means of the same table. The inclination of the apparent ecliptic to the fixed ecliptic of 1850, is always less that 4° 41’; while its inclination to the invariable plane of the planetary system always oscillates within the limits 0° 0! and 3° 6’. It is also evident that the mean motion of the node of the apparent ecliptic on the fixed ecliptic of 1850, and also on the invariable plane, is wholly indeterminate. The mean value of the precession of the equinoxes on the fixed eclip. tic, and also on the apparent ecliptic, in a Julian year, is equal to 50438239; whence it follows, that the equinoxes perform a complete revolution in the heavens in the average interval of 25,694.8 years; but on account of the secular inequalities in their motion, the time of revo- lution is not always the same, but may differ from the mean time of revolution by 281.2 years. We also find that if the place of the equinox be computed for any time whatever, by using the mean value of preces- sion, its place when thus determined can never differ from its true place to a greater extent than 3° 56/ 26”, The maximum and minimum values of precession in a Julian year are 52/.664080 and 48/’.212398, respect- ively, and since the length of the tropical year depends on the annual precession, it follows that the maximum variation of the tropical year is equal to the mean time required for the earth to describe an are which is equal to the maximum variation of precession. Now this latter quan- tity being 4.451682, and the sidereal motion of the earth in a second of time being 0.041067, it follows that the maximum variation of the tropi- cal year is equal to 108.40 seconds of time. Inslike manner, if we take SECULAR VARIATIONS OF THE PLANETARY ORBITS. 267 the difference between the present value of precession and the maximum and minimum values of the same quantity, we shall find that the tropi- cal year may be shorter than at present by 59.13 seconds, and longer than at present by 49.27 seconds. We also find that the tropical year is now shorter than in the time of Hipparchus, by 11.50 seconds. The obliquity of the equator to the apparent ecliptic, and also to the fixed ecliptic of 1850, has also been determined. ‘The variations of this element tollow a law similar to that which governs the variation of pre- cession, although the maximum values of the inequalities are consider- ably smaller than those which affect this latter quantity. The mean value of the obliquity of both the, apparent and fixed ecliptics to the equator is 23°17/17”. The limits of the obliquity of the apparent ecliptic to the equator are 24° 35/ 58” and 21° 58/ 36”; whence it follows that the greatest and least declinations of the sun at the solstices can never differ. from each other to any greater extent than 2° 37/22”, And here we may mention a few, among the many happy consequences, which result from the spheroidal form of the earth. Were the earth a perfect sphere there would be no precession or change of obliquity arising from tie attraction of the sun and moon; the equinoctial circle would form an invariable plane in the heavens, about which the solar orbit would revolve with an inclination varying to the extent of twelve degrees, and a motion equal to the planetary precession of the equinoctial points. ‘The sun, when at the solstices, would, at some periods of time, attain the decnaden of 29° 17’, for many thousands of years; and again, at other periods, only to 17° 17/ . The seasons would be subject to vicissitudes depending on the distance of the tropics from the equator, and the distribution of solar light and heat on the surface of the earth would be so modified as essen- tially to change the character of its vegetation, and the distribution of its animal life. But the spheroidal form of the earth so modifies the secular changes in the relative positions of the equator and ecliptic that the inequalities of precession and obliquity are reduced to less than one- quarter part of what they would otherwise be. The periods of the secular changes, which, in the case of a spherical earth, would require nearly two millions of years to pass through a complete cycle of values, are now reduced to periods which vary between 26,000 and 53,000 years. The secular motions which would take place in th 3 case of a spherical earth are so modified by the actual condition of the terrestrial globe that changes in the position of the equinox and equator are now produced in a few centuries, which would otherwise require a period of many thou- sands of years. This consideration is of much importance in the investi- gation of the reputed antiquity and chronology of those ancient nations which attained proficiency in the science of astronomy, and the records of whose astronomical labors are the only remaining monument of a highly intellectual people, of whose existence every other trace has long since passed away. For it is evident that, if these changes were much slower than they are, a much longer time would be required in order to produce changes of sufficient magnitude to be detected by observation, 268 RECENT RESEARCHES ON THE and we should be unable to estimate the interval between the epochs of elements which differed by only a few thousand years, since they would manifestly be so nearly identical with our own that the value of legitimate conclusions would be greatly impaired by the unavoidable errors of the observations on which they were based. The duration of the different seasons is also greatly modified by the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit. At present the sun is north of the equator scareely 1864 days, and south of the same circle about 178? days ; thus making a ditference of 73 days between the length of the summer and winter at present. But when the eccentricity of the orbit is nearly at its maximum, and its transverse axis also passes through the solstices, both of which conditions have, in past ages, been fulfilled, the summer, in one hemisphere, will have a period of 1982 days, and a winter of only 1664 days, while, in the other hemisphere, these conditions will be re- versed; the winter having a period of 1983 days, and a summer of only 1664 days. The variations of the sun’s distance from the earth in the course of a year, at such times, is also enormous, amounting to almost one-seventh part of its mean distance—a quantity scarcely less than 13,000,000 of miles ! Passing now to the consideration of the elements of the planet Mars, we find that the eccentricity of his orbit always oscillates within the limits 0.018475 and 0.189655; and the mean motion of his perihelion is 17’.784456. The maximum inclination of his orbit to the fixed ecliptic of 1850, and to the invariable plane of the planetary system, is 7° 28/ and 5° 56 respectively. The minimum inclination to both planes being nothing, the mean motion of the node is indeterminate. The secular variations of the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, present some curious and interesting relations. These four planets compose a system by themselves, which is practically independ- ent of the other planets of the system. The maximum and minimum limits of the eccentricity of the orbits of these four planets are as follows: Maximum eccentricity. Minimum eccentricity. PNUD GOL jap ienshese seers 006082742... 5): eee nes ses 0.0254928 SS UGUUET «. «ait tevet spe corse 0.0843289..... ee aR ore ctele 0,0125719 RATIOS 20 Ae acne ee O:0Mi9G52*-- 2. ee es eh eve 0.011 7576 Me WOUNG 2... <\ctemyeets ere O: 004 5066 oe ae eee ee oo ee 0.0055729 The maximum and minimum inclinations of their orbits to the invari- able plane of the planetary system have the following values: Maximum inclination. Minimum inclination. sit UGE siepoken cies = s,s) 09-28 DOM cee eee sis eens 0° 14/ 23” SEMOLLBM ist =< capensis to = 2 DQ BO i pa NACo erate | cheiate 5 cee eee 0 47 16 URAMUS is Aca hee ice is 1 WP LOR See Be he hice ho ae 0 54 25 Weptane;.;25 esse ee. OF 4i Zin Beate es oes eee eee 0 33 43 aaa _ SECULAR VARIATIONS OF THE PLANETARY ORBITS. 269 he perihelia and nodes of their orbits have the following mean mo- tions in a Julian year of 3654 days: Mean motion of perihelion, Mean motion of node on the invariable plane. Jupiter..... sect Sperone eV + 3”.716607.....- See Re or se — 25! 934567 SCULLEN I 3 aca easel tpt ZA Oa ore ee ys cheer eee —25 .934567 ROARS 25) Sen) een + 3 .716607.....- Bene ee cee ee — 2 .916082 INEDLUNG—... ostgs, 4 eee sc + 0 .616685........... Bee Seesar — 0 .661666 But the most curious relation developed by this investigation per- tains to the relative motions and positions of the perihelia and nodes. of the three planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. These relations are ex- pressed by the two following theorems: I. The mean motion of Jupiter’s perihelion is exactly equal to the mean motion of the perihelion of Uranus, and the mean longitudes of these peri- helia differ by exactly 180°. Il. The mean motion of Jupiter's node on the invariable plane is exactly equal to that of Saturn, and the mean longitudes of these nodes differ by exactly 180°. We also perceive that the mean motion of Saturn’s perihelion is very nearly six times that of Jupiter and Uranus, and this latter quantity is very nearly six times that of Neptune; or, more exactly, 985 times the mean motion of Jupiter’s perihelion is equal to 163 times that of Saturn, and 440 times the mean motion of Neptune’s perihelion is equal to 73 times that of Jupiter and Uranus. The perihelion of Saturn’s orbit performs a com- plete revolution in the heavens in 57,700 years; the perihelia of Jupiter and Uranus in 348,700 years; while that of Neptune requires no less that 2,101,560 years to complete the circuit of the heavens. In like manner the nodes of Jupiter and Saturn, on the invariable plane, perform a complete revolution in 49,972 years; that of Uranus in 444,452 years; while the node of Neptune requires 1,958,692 years to traverse the eir- cuinference of the heavens. The motions of the nodes are retrograde and those of the perihelia are direct; thus conforming to the same law of variation as that which obtains in the corresponding elements of the mooi’s motion. We may here observe that the law which controls the motions and positions of the perihelia of the orbits of Jupiter and Uranus is of the utmost importance in relation to their mutual perturbations of Saturn’s orbit. for, in the existing arrangement, the orbit of Saturn is affected only by the difference of the perturbations by Jupiter and Uranus; whereas, if the mean places of the perihelia of these two planets were the same, instead of differing by 180°, the orbit of Saturn would be affected by the sun of their disturbing forces. But notwithstanding this favoring con- dition, the elements of Saturn’s orbit would be subject to very great perturbations from the superior action of Jupiter, were it not for the comparatively rapid motion of its perihelion; its equilibrium being main- tained by the very actof perturbation. Indeed, the stability of Saturn’s orbit depends to a very great extent upon the rapidly varying positions 270 RECENT RESEARCHES ON THE of its transverse axis. For, if the motions of the perihelia of J upiter and Saturn were very nearly the same, the action of Jupiter on the eccentricity of Saturn’s orbit would be at its maximum value during very long periods of time, and thereby produce great and permanent changes in the value of that element. But, in the existing conditions, . the rapid motion of Saturn’s orbit prevents such an accumulation of perturbation, and any increase of eccentricity is soon changed into a corresponding diminution. The same remark is also applicable to the perturbations of the forms of the orbits of Jupiter and Uranus by the disturbing action of Saturn; for the secular variations of Jupiter's orbit depend almost entirely upon the influence of Saturn, because the planet Neptune is too remote to produce much disturbance, and the mean disturbing influence of Uranus on the eccentricity of Jupiter’s orbit is identically equal to nothing, by reason of the relation which always exists between the perihelia of their orbits. We may here observe that the eccentricity of the orbit of Saturn always inereases, while that of Jupiter diminishes, and vice versa. The consequences which result from the mutual relations which always exist between the nodes of Jupiter and Saturn, on the invariable plane of the planetary system, are no less interesting or remarkable with re- spect to the position of the orbit of Uranus than those which result from the permanent relation between the perihelia of Jupiter and Uranus are with respect to the form of the orbit of Saturn. The mean disturbing force of Saturn on the inclination of the orbit of Uranus is about four times that of Jupiter; but as these two planets always act on the inclina- tions in opposite directions, it follows that the joint action of the two planets is equivalent to the action of a single planet at the distance of Saturn and having about three-fourths of his mass; so that the orbit of Uranus might attain a considerable inclination from the superior action of Saturn if allowed to accumulate during the lapse of an unlimitéd time, at its maximum rate of variation depending on the action of this planet. But such an accumulation of perturbation is rendered forever impossible by reason of the comparatively rapid motion of the nodes of Jupiter and Saturn, with respect to that of Uranus, on the invariable plane. By reason of this rapid motion, the secular changes of the inclina- tion of the orbit of Uranus pass through a complete cycle of values in the period of 56,500 years. The corresponding cycle of perturbation in the eccentricity of Saturn’s orbit is 69,140 years. It is the rapid motion of the orbit with respect to the forces in the one case, and the rapid motion of the forces with respect to the orbit, in the other, that gives permanence of form and position to the orbits of Saturn and Uranus. The mean angular distanee between the perihelia of Jupiter and Uranus is exactly 180°; but the conditions of the variations of these elements are sufficiently elastic to allow of a considerable deviation on such side of their mean positions. The perihelion of Jupiter may differ SECULAR VARIATIONS OF THE PLANETARY ORBITS. 2k from its mean place to the extent of 24° 10’, and that of Uranus to the extent of 479 33’; and therefore the longitudes of the perihelia of these two planets can differ from 180° to the extent of 71° 43’, The nearest approach of the perihelia of these two planets, is, therefore, 108° 17’. In like manner the longitudes of the nodes of Jupiter and Saturn, on the invariable plane, can suffer considerable deviations from their mean positions. The actual position of Jupiter’s node may differ from its mean place to the extent of 19° 38’; while that of Saturn may deviate from its mean place to the extent of 797’. It therefore follows that their longitudes on the invariable plane can differ from 180° by only 26° 45’, Their nearest possible approach is 1539 15’, while their present distance apart is 166° 27/, The inequalities in the eccentricity of Neptune's orbit are very small and the two principal ones have periods of 615,900 years, and 418,060 years, respectively. Strictly speaking, the periods of the secular inequali- ties of the eccentricities and perihelia are the same for all the planets; and the same remark is equally applicable to the nodes and inclinations. jut the principal inequalities of the several planetary orbits are different, unless they are connected by some permanent relation, similar to that which exists between the perihelia of Jupiter and Uranus, or the nodes of Jupiter and Saturn. Thus the principal inequalities affecting the inclination of the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn have the same periods for each planet, and these periods are, for the two prineipal inequalities, 01,280 years, and 56,303 years. In like manner the prineipal inequali- ties in the eecentricities of Jupiter and Saturn depend on their mutual attraction, and have a period of 69,141 years. The secular inequalities of those orbits which have no vanishing elements are composed of terms, of very different orders of magnitude; and it frequently happens that two or three of these terms are greater than the sum of all the remaining ones. In such cases the variation of the corresponding element very approximately conforms to a much simpler law, and the maxima and minima repeat themselves according to definite and well-defined cycles. But with regard to the orbits of Venus, the Earth, and Mars, the rigorous expressions of the eccentricities and inclinations are com- posed of twenty-eight periodic terms, having coefficients of considerable magnitude; and this circumstance renders the law of their variations extremely intricate. The method we have adopted for finding the coefficients of the cor. rections of the constants, depending on finite variations of the different planetary masses, consists in supposing that each planetary mass re- ceives in succession a finite increment, and then finding the values of all the constants corresponding to this increased mass in the same man- ner as for the assumed masses. By this means we have a set of values corresponding to the assumed masses, and another set corresponding to i? RECENT RESEARCHES ON THE a finite increment to each of the planetary masses. Then, taking the ditference between the two sets of constants, and dividing by the incre- ment which produced it, we get the coefficient of the variation of the constants for any other finite increment of mass to the same planet; but, on account of the importance of the earth’s mass, and the probable in- accuracy of its assumed value, we have prepared separate solutions cor- responding to the several increments of 35, 3), and 35 of its assumed mass; and a comparison of the values which the different solutions give for the superior limit of the eccentricity of, the earth’s orbit has sug- gested the inquiry whether there may not be some unknown physical relation between the masses and mean distances of the different planets. The same peculiarity in the elements of the orbit of Venus is also found to depend upon particular values of the mass of that planet. But with- out entering into details in regard to the peculiarity referred to, we here give the several values of the masses of these two planets which we have employed in our computations, and the corresponding values of the superior limit of the eccentricity of their orbits: For the earth, maxi- Mass. For Venus, maximum ¢’. Mass. pen gn! Mt 0. 070633 am se mn’ mn tsa 0. 074872 my a bach . VOTIEe mi! o (1+-3'5) 0. 076075 my (1+55) : my (1+4,) sent if 2, 0. 069649 9 20 0. 075029 mn (1-++-25) ee ang (1+ 55) a ij 20 0. 062089 ‘ 50 oI ne 0 20 | 0. 072098 mn o (143%) These numbers show that if the mass of Venus were to be increased, the superior limit of the eccentricity of her orbit would also increase until it had attained a maximum value, after which a further increase of her mass would diminish that limit; and the same remark is also applicable to the eecentri¢ity of the earth’s orbit. The above numbers indicate that the superior limit of the eccen- tricity of the orbit of Venus is a maximum if the mass of that planet is equal to m/(1+2;%*), or, if m/= 3,745 Of the sun’s mass; and the superior limit of the Dente of the earth’s orbit : a maximum if the earth’s mass is equal to m)(14+1-643), or, if m! =z 7¢l750 Of the sun’s mass. But this value of the earth’s mass earenonds ay ‘ solar paral- lax of 8.730, a value closely approximating to the recent determina- tions of that element. If, then, the mass of Venus is equal to z5,7;99, and the mass of the earth is equal tO s;¢so9) it follows that the orbits of these two planets will ultimately become more eccentric from the mutual attraction of the other planets than they would for any other values of their respective masses; and we may now inquire whether such coincidence between “SECULAR VARIATIONS OF THE PLANETARY ORBITS. 213 the superior limits of the eccentricities and the masses of these two planets has any physical significance, or is merely accidental. Since the mean motions and mean distances of the planets are invari- able, and independent of the eccentricities of the orbits, it would seem that there could be no connection between these elements by means of which the stability of the system might be secured or impaired; but a more careful examination shows that, although the mean motions or times of revolution of the planets are invariable, their actual velocities, or the variation of their mean velocities, depends wholly on the eccen- tricities; and were any of the planetary orbits to become extremely elliptical, the velocity of the planet would be subject to great variations of velocity, moving with very great rapidity when in perihelion, and with extreme slowness when in the neighborhood of its aphelion; and it is evident that when the planet was in this latter position a small for- eign force acting upon it might so change its velocity as to completely change the elements of its orbit, by causing it to fall upon the sun or fly off into remoter space. A system of bodies moving in very eccen- trical orbits is therefore one of manifest instability; and if it can also be shown that a system of bodies moving in circular orbits is one of unstable equilibrium, it would seem that, between the two supposed conditions a system might exist which should possess a greater degree of stability than either. The idea is thus suggested of the existence of a system of bodies in which the masses of the different bodies are so adjusted to their mean distances as to insure to the system a greater degree of permanence than would be possible by any other distribution of masses. The mathematical expression of a criterion for such distri- bution of masses has not yet been fully developed; and the preceding illustrations have been introduced here, more for the purpose of calling the attention of mathematicians and astronomers to this interesting problem than for any certain light we have yet been able to obtain in regard to its solution. 18s 71 gue shee pune < : we wih@ biti. 2s DA i, 27 nieve ‘ eile ed. Fs. asta 3 . 4 gr AS, NR 7 ‘> ? ine oe ’ iy bade # dig, Heap hae sift Daa : ye ie iy he a ON SOME METHODS OF INTERPOLATION APPLICABLE TO THE GRADUATION OF IRREGULAR SERIES, SUCH AS TABLES OF MORTALITY, &., &e. By Erastus L. DE Forest, M. A., Of Watertown, Connecticut. [The portions of the following methods of interpolation comprising the formulas 2, 8, A, B,C, D, E, F, 11, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, and 50, were presented to the Smithsonian Institution for publication in the year 1868, The method of constructing tables of mortality from two successive census enumerations was first given in January, 1869, and the formulas 40, 41, 42, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 59, in January, 1870.—J. H. ] We have no analytical formula which expresses the law of mortality with precision, and at the same time with such simplicity as to be prac- tically useful. or all the purposes of life insurance and life annuities, it is expressed by numerical series. The law is known to vary in dif- ferent localities, and even in the same locality at different epochs. That which prevails in any community, at a given period, can be ascertained by enumerating the persons living at the various ages, and the deaths which annually occur among them. Reduced to one of its usual forms, it is expressed in a statistical table, showing, out of a certain number of persons born, how many survive to complete each successive year of their age. These numbers of the living form a diminishing series of about one hundred terms, whose first differences are the numbers dying during each year of age. We have reason to believe that a true law of mortality is a continuous function of the age, free from sudden irregu- larities, so that in a perfect table the second, third, &c., orders of differ- ences of the series ought to go on continually diminishing, and each order by itself ought to show a certain degree of regularity ; in other words, the table should be well graduated. But, in point of fact, all purely statistical tables are irregular, especially when the popula- tion observed has been small, and every table of mortality now in use has been graduated artificially. It was not strange that the Carlisle table, derived from records of population and deaths in a single town, should show many irregularities. They have been adjusted to some extent, but very imperfectly. The Combined Experience table, also, which was compiled from the records of seventeen British life insurance offices, owes its better graduation to art rather than to nature. Farr’s English life-table, No. 3, for males, derived from the census returns of 1541 and 1851, and from the registry of deaths in England and Wales 276 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. for the seventeen years from 1838 to 1854, though perhaps the best ex- pression we have for the law of general mortality, is by no means well graduated. In this case the population observed was so large that if the tables had been formed directly from the enumeration of persons living and persons dying in each single year of age, and if these obser- rations could have been relied upon as accurate, any irregularities then existing in the series might possibly have been thought to result trom something peculiar in the law of life at certain ages. But it was neces- sary to combine the single years of age into groups, owing to the impos- sibility of ascertaining ages with precision. All persons were required to give their exact ages at last birthday, but the reports state that round numbers, such as 50, 60, &c., were disproportionately numerous, showing that the ages were not always correctly given. In forming the life-table No. 3 the years of age were grouped together into decennial periods chiefly, and the whole term of life was then divided into five unequal parts, so as to form a chain of sub-series, each of the fourth order, and not continuous at their points of junction. We must con- clude, then, that the great irregularities now found at certain points in the series result from imperfect distribution, and not from any irregu- larity in the true law of mortality. A good system of distribution or adjustment, though not positively essential in practice, is nevertheless desirable, first, because a judiciously adjusted table probably comes nearer to the truth than an unadjusted or ill-adjusted one; that is, nearer to what the statistics would show if the population observed could be made indefinitely large, and if the numbers for each year of age could be independently determined. Secondly, if the primary table is well graduated, all the various series of numbers derived from it, forming the usual “ commutation tables” and tables of premiums and valuations of assurances and annuities, will be well graduated also, and this will sometimes facilitate the computation of such tables, because a part of the tabular numbers can be accurately found by ordinary interpolation, and errors of com- putation can be discovered by the method of differences. Many writers on the law of mortality have treated of the subject of adjustment, as may be seen in the pages of the London Journal of the Institute of Actuaries and Assurance Magazine, and elsewhere. The rule of least squares was used to adjust the American table given in the report of the United States census of 1860, (See the Appendix on Average Rate of Mortality, pages 518 and 524.) The series there given, however, is not very thoroughly graduated, as can easily be shown by taking its successive orders of differences. In England, the “law of Gompertz” has been chiefly taken as a basis. But it is not necessary to adopt any exclusive theory respecting the precise nature of that function which expresses the law of mortality. The following system of distribution and graduation is based upon principles which apply to any continuous series of numbers, and is analogous to the ordinary methods of inter- METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. QT polation. It is not without interest when regarded from a purely mathematical point of view. The general question as to how an irregular series can be made regular is answered by means of the obvious principle that, although single terms in a series may deviate considerably from the normal standard, yet the arithmetical means of successive groups of terms will be less fluctuating, because the errors of the single terms which compose each group tend to compensate each other, and also because the means of two groups which are partly com- posed of the same terms must necessarily approximate toward each other as the number of terms common to both is increased. In ordinary interpolation, we proceed from some known single terms in a series to find the values of other terms; in the present case, however, all single terms are unreliable, and the problem is to determine the single terms in a series when only the arithmetical means of some groups of terms are given. To find expressions for the sum, and consequently the mean, of the terms in any group, we shall make use of the known principle that, in a continuous series whose law is given or assumed, the sum of a limited number of terms can be regarded as a definite integral, which is the ageregate of a succession of similar integrals corresponding to the terms considered.* FIRST METHOD OF ADJUSTMENT. We know that when equidistant ordinates are drawn to the parabola— y=A+ Be4+ Cx? they form a series of the second order; that is, their second differences are constant. Let ¢ represent the distance from one ordinate to another ; the area of the curve included between two such ordinates will be— ' +e 5 ni hig’ dx =c [A+ Ba! 4+ O(a’? + 75 &)] gl where x is the abscissa corresponding to the middle ordinate of the area. Since this area is a function of the second degree in 2’, it follows that when values in arithmetical progression, such as 1, 2, 3, &e., are assigned to a’, the resulting areas will form a series of the second order. This being premised, let us assume any three areas, S;, S:, Ss, So situ- ated that the middle ordinates of S,; and S; shall fall respectively to the left and right of the middle ordinate of S,, which is taken as the axis of Y. Let, nz, 3, be the portions of the axis of X which form the bases of these areas, and let a, and a3 be the portions of the same axis inter- cepted between the axis of Y and the middle ordinates of 8, and 8; respectively. Then we have— i ata dy — ny [A—Ba, + C(a?-+75nr)] —a4—tm +4 == r : "y dx=n,(A + 715Cn,’) —t Nz * See a note by M. Prouhet, appended to Vol. II of Sturm’s Cours d’ Analyse de V Ecole Polytechnique. METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. : b>— =I co Sf ; "y dzx—=n;{ A+ Ba,+C(ae+ j4n,°)] —in; Let S be a fourth area whose base is n, and let «# be the abscissa cor- responding to its middle ordinate ; then— s=f7,, y dan A+ Ba! +C(a!? + 75n)] « . « (1) Eliminating A, B, C, from the above four equations employing P, Q, R, as auxiliary letters, and dropping the accent from x’, we have— P—=a,[a?+ 7),(u’—n2’)|—a[as’?+ 45(ne—n)] Q=a, [a+ 7(wW—n,’)|+af[a?+,(n?—n,’)] R=a,{a?+ js(m? —n’) |+ay[ae+ y(n? — 1”) ] > (2) SG) Ga This enables us to find the wees S of an area whose position only is given, when the three other areas 8), S2, 83, are given both in magni- tude and position. Now let each of the four areas be divided by equidistant ordinates into as many subdivisions as there are units in the bases 2;, 22, 3 and n respectively, these bases being supposed to represent whole numbers, and let a, a3, and # be each a whole number or a whole number and a half, according as 2+ n», N2+Ns, and n2-+n are respectively even or odd; then all the subdivisions of the areas will be so situated that the ab- scissaS corresponding to their middle ordinates will be terms in an arithmetical progression, and, consequently, the subdivisions themselves will be terms in a series of the second order. We may regard these subdivisions as representing not areas merely, but magnitudes of any kind, and the areas Sj, S:, 83, and S being the sums of groups of sub- divisions, we see that formula (2) enables us to find the sum 8 of any group of consecutive terms in a series of the second order when the sums S;, S:, Ss, of the terms in any other three groups in the series are given. From the sums of the terms in each group their arithmetical means are known, and vice versa, for 4, N2, 23, and n are given, and these are the numbers of terms which the several groups contain. ‘The groups may be entirely distinct, or they may overlap each other so that some terms belong to two or more of them at once. The intervals be- tween the middle point of the group S., and the middle points of the groups 8;, S;, and S are a, a3, amd aw respectively ; the interval between the middle points of any two consecutive terms being unity. We must regard a and a3; as always positive, while « may be either positive or negative. When x is made equal to unity, the ape gives the value of a single term S by means of the sums Sj, 82, S3, of the three given groups of terms. The results are exact when a sbiies taken is of the second order, but if it follows some other law, or is irregular, approxi- mate or adjusted values for S will be obtained,vand if the same groups METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. Too are constantly used as data, the single terms interpolated from them will themselves form a series of the second order. Assuming any three groups of terms in any given series, regular or irregular, we can con- struct a new series of the second order, such that the arithmetical means of the terms in the three corresponding groups in it shall be severally equal to those in the given series. In the special case in which the three groups are consecutive, and con- tain n, terms each, taking formula (1), which expresses the sum 8 of any n terms in a group, the abscissa of the middle point of the group being x’, we may assign to wv’ its three values —n,, 0, and +7, in succession, obtaining the three equations— S,;=7, (A—B n+ 43 C n,’) S.=7 (A+ )5 Cm’) Ss=m (A+ Bay +750 me’) These suffice to determine the three constants A, B,C; and dropping the accent from «’ in (1), we have— 1 VO a es A= 26 Si Ss Ss re 2— (Sip °) ud ‘ = 5 n 3(S3—S:) a (A) =5—[(Si+8:)—2 8] Oe 2 S=n(A+ 55Cr’+Ba+C 2’) This can be used in place of the more general formula (2), in all eases where the three groups are consecutive and of equal extent. We have here a means of approximating to the population living within each single year of age when the statistics are given by decades or other intervals of age, as is often the case in census reports. If we take nj=10, and let wv represent what S becomes when n=1, then form- ula (A) will reduce to— i ee s090[ 866 S2—33(S; +8 3) +40(8;—S je+4(S i+ S3—2 S2)a \a “| ose (3) If, for example, §,, S., S; are the numbers aged 30 and under 40, 40 and under 50, 50 and under 60, respectively, then giving « the values — 4,+43,+3, &c., in succession, the resulting values of « will be the num- bers aged 44 and under 45, 45 and under 46, 46 and under 47, Xe. If instead of taking n=1 we take n=4 or n=4, then by assigning the proper values to # we may find the population living within any desired half-year or quarter of a year of age. (See Milne on Annuities, Vol. 1, Ch. 3.) The same formula (3) enables us to distribute among the single years of age the deaths which occur within any three consecutive de- cades of age during a given period of time. If the population or deaths were thus distributed within every decade by means of the totals for 280 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. that decade and the two others nearest to it, the result would be a chain of sub-series of the second order extending throughout the term of life, but not forming a well-graduated series, because in general it would not be continuous at the points of junction between the decades. It might, however, be made approximately continuous afterward by means of the second method of adjustment, which will soon be explained. We must observe, too, that at the ages before 20 or after 80 the population and deaths vary so rapidly, that, in order to secure a good distribution by these methods, the data for those ages ought to be given by intervals of five years, or some other number less than a decade. In the ages of infancy they should be given for each single year. Reverting now to the general formula (2), we observe that the quan- tities S 8 8: Ss, are the mean values of the ordinate within the NM? Ny’ Ne’ N3 several areas, so that the formula enables us not only to interpolate the arithmetical mean of a group of n terms in a series when the means of the terms in three other groups are known, but also to interpolate the mean value of a function within any interval 2 when its mean values within three other intervals 2, %2, 23, are known; so that if we know the mean annual rate of mortality for three consecutive decades of age, we can find the mean rate for each single year of age by formula (3), since S,, S., S;, are simply ten times the given mean rate for their respective decades. When any one of the intervals 71, 2, 2; or m is diminished, the mean value of the ordinate within such interval will evidently approximate to the value of the middle ordinate of the interval, and will become equal to it at the limit, when the interval becomes zero. Hence, making »—0, we have S for the ordinate corresponding to the abscissa a, and (2) n fee ce Q y= 1-= a Ne ie a ys y+ R Xz 23 2) (4) When §;, 8:2, a denote the population living within given intervals of age, the area y dv may be regarded as denoting the number living at the ‘exact age indicated by a, and if the population is a stationary one— that is, neither increasing nor diminishing, the product n/y will repre- sent the number of persons who attain that exact age during the interval of time »’; so that when the ages are grouped by decades, and we have n— 0, formula (A) will give for the number of persons who annually attain the age indicated by a, since n/ is unity, Y¥=sdov [650 S, —25 (S; + 83) + 30 (Ss—S;)2 + 3 (S8i4+ S3;—282)a7] . (5) For example, when §,, 82, 83, denote the population aged 30 and under 40, 40 and under 50, 50 and under 60, respectively, if we assign to # the values —1, 0,41, &c., in succession, the resulting values of y will be the numbers annually attaining the ages 44, 45, 46, &c. It has usually been the practice to consider these numbers as being represented by METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. " Q8i the population living between the ages 434 and 444, 445 and 454, 454 and 464, &e., respectively, and a comparison of formulas (3) and (5) shows arat the two sets of numbers would be almost identical, though not precisely so. The difference between them is— Y — U= aqhog (Z42— 81 — 5) a number so small that it will not ordinarily affect the first five signiff. cant figures of a result. A considerably larger error is involved in the assumption that the ratio of the deaths annually occurring within any decade of age to the population living within such decade represents the annual rate of mor- tality at the exact middle age of the decade. (Assur. Mag., Vol. EX, p. 125.) Let 5), 82, 83, be the deaths, and 8), 82, Ss, the population, for any three consecutive decades, then the deaths annually occurring at the exact middle age of the middle decade are, by formula (5), making r=0, y dx =51, [268; — (8,483) |dv and the population living at the same age is, Ydr= st, [26 8. — (8S; +8,)ldax so that the annual rate of mortality at that exact age is, an tt eee ee 2 6 ea Yo 26S8.— (Si +8s3) The difference between this and the assumed value ~ is sufficient to i alter the fourth significant figure of the quotient, and even the second and third at the older ages, as can easily be verified by assigning to S;, s,, &e., the numerical values for the various decades given by their log- arithms in Table III of the Preface to the English Life Tables. As regards the general accuracy of interpolations made by formula (2), it must be noted that near the middle point of the middle interval nm, the values obtained will be more accurate than they will be at its extremities, and the accuracy attainable will diminish as we proceed out of the middle interval into either of the lateral ones. This is analogous to what we know to be the case with ordinary interpolations by second differenees. And just asthe degree of accuracy is increased by taking third differences into account, so here we can increase it by taking four intervals instead of three. This will give a curve of the third degree, which admits a point of inflexion, and is, therefore, better adapted than the common parabola to represent the form of a series whose second difference changes its sign. Tor the sake of simplicity, let us assume that the four areas S;, S,, Ss, S,, are symmetrically arranged with respect to the axis of Y, so that the distances from the middle ordinates of S, and 8, to that axis shall be each equal to a, and the corresponding distances for S, and S; each equal to a, while the bases of the first and fourth areas are each equal to n;, and those of the second and third are each equal to nm. Then taking the curve— y= A+ Bart Ca’? + Dz 282 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. we obtain the integral— "e+ en i Sa ¥ de=n[A+Br+C (x P44 nm) + Da (a?+in’)] . . (7) which expresses the sum § of any 2 terms taken in a group, the abscissa of the middle point of the group being x Substituting for n the four values 2, 22, M2, 4, in succession, and for x the four corresponding val- ues —d, —y, +4, and +a, we obtain the four equations— S:= 7% [A — Ba+€ (a?+ yy? Day (a? +41’) | =n, [A — Ba, +C (a? ae ) — Day (ao? + 4n,”) ‘ Bae Bag +C (a+ 7bie”) + Daz (et)? +4n.’)| S,=m [A + Bay+ (a? ae *) + Da, (a?+A4n))| These are sufficient to determine the four constants A, B, C, D, and, arranging (7) according to the powers of 7, we have— il (ee 2 1yNo 12(a? — ay”) +n —n,’ ae iE cae a?+n,’)(S;—S»2 ») = Ago 4 ay? + 2? > 2 Ayden Ny 4(aP?—a,’)+n—n? 6 Canes (S.+8 ) (8) — Yi NyNy 2(ay— a” yn? —Ny 9 c= (S,—S:)—aun, =) ~~ Cydia Ny 4 (a? —dy”) + ny? —n,” S=n[(A+ 4,0 n*)+(B+4D n*)e+C a’ +D a7] This formula enables us to interpolate the sum S of any» terms in a group precisely as (2) does, but more accurately. It gives exact results when the series taken is of an order not higher than ‘the third, and approximate or adjusted ones in other cases. With any given series, taking four groups of terms symmetrically situated on each side of a middle point which becomes the origin of codrdinates, we can construct a new series of the third order, such that the arithmetical means of the terms in the four corresponding groups in it shall be equal to those in the given series. -If the four groups are consecutive and contain 4 terms each, we have— m=3m, dg=hny and the constants reduce to— 1 AS oa! (S2+S8s)—(Sit5y)] it B=-— ne 3[ 1 5(S3—S82) — (Su—S))] (B) C=, See (Se+8s)] o 1 =F pil (Ss Si) —3(Sa+ 82) | METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 285 . + When the sums §;, S2, S3, Sy, denote population living or deaths occur- ring within four consecutive decades of age, and wu denotes the numbers for a single year of age, then we have— R= 10; Tec S=u and consequently— : DO ‘ 990/a , U=7 599g 983(S2+ Ss) —133(8:+-8,)] + aqyqpgl2997(8s— 82) —199(8,—8)) , au : je + aggl(Si+ 8.) — (S++ 8:)] ae 0/24 a + 000! (81-81) —3 (83-82) When the values of A, B, C, D, are substituted in the equation of the curve, the number of persons who annually attain the age indicated by « is expressed thus: 1 ma. Y= ool (Bet 8s) — (Si +84 +7500! (S$) —(8.-8)] ) ~ (10) 2 Pe) re (S-+8.)—(Se+ $.)]+Gg900l(Ss —S 1)—3(S;—S.)] \ These last two formulas may be used instead of (3) and (5) when greater accuracy is desired. It will be easy to obtain similar ones for cases in which the ages of a population are taken by intervals of five, twenty, or any other number of years. Let us now assume five or more groups, with a curve of the geseral form— y=A4Bre4-Cves4De+Hau+Fk P+G +H av7+&e. and, to make the case as simple as possible, let the groups be consecu- tive and composed of n, terms each. The sum of any n terms in a group will be— etn y dx (12) +(F+7H 1’)? +6 a+H a+ &e.] If we assume only five groups, the series will be of the fourth order, the constants F, G, &e., will be zero, and by substituting for # in formula 11) the five values —2n,,—2,, 0, +7, and +27,, in succession, and put- ’ 9 V5 ’ ) ’ ] ‘ting 2, for n, we shall obtain five equations by which to determine the five constants as follows: 284 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. A= 7999 y,[2134 S:-+9(Si+8s)—116(8:+8,)] paz) [648,-8,)—3(% 8) Oxy gu sll2St 8) 28: (84+ 89] (0) D=igaal( 8-28 —8)] B=5, “A Sr+(Si+8))—4S48,)] This, in connection with formula (12), enables us to express the sum S of any group of ” terms in a series of the fourth order by means of the sums §j, S2, Ss, Sy, Ss, of the terms in any five consecutive groups of n, terms each. In case the given series is of a higher order than the fourth, or irregular, we can find adjusted values for each term, and for any given set of groups assumed these values will form a series of the fourth order. If we take n;—10, formulas similar to (3) and (5) may be obtained, by which to interpolate numbers for each single year when statistics of population and mortality are given by decades of age. Particular relations exist between the numerical coeflicients of S;, S:, &e., inthe values of the constants A, B, &e., in this and similar formulas. In the expression for A, the factor + 2134 belongs to a single quantity S;, while the factors +9 and —116 belong each to two quantities. So we have— 2134 + 2x9 — 2x116 = 1920 and 1920 is the numerical part of the denominator of the fraction out- side the bracket. In the expression for B a different relation appears. From the middle of the group S, to that of S, is a distance of two inter- vals, while from §; to S; there are four intervals. We have accordingly— 2x34 — 4x5 = 48 and 48 is the numerical part of the denominator of the fraction without the bracket. Similar relations are found in the expressions for C, D, and H, except that the totals are equal to zero instead of to the denomi- nator of the fraction. Again, assuming six consecutive groups of equal extent, with a curve of the fifth degree, whose origin of coordinates is at the point of division between the third and fourth groups, and pursuing the same method as before, we find that the six constants are— i A=Gpq 137 7(S3+-S,)+ (Sit- Se) —8(S2+8s)] if B= 79 p21245(Ss—8s) +2(Ss—81) + 29(8s—®)] 1 D2 ce [11(S;—82) —28(S,—S) —(Ss—80)] 36 n;4 (D) 1 B= 3g 70(2(Ss+S:)+ (Si + Ss) —3(82 + 85)] 1 P= 75 ,2110(S:—Ss) + (Ss—S1) —5(85—®e) METHODS OF INTERPOLATION, 285 Tn like manner, assuming seven groups, with a curve of the sixth degree, we find the seven constants— C= 3549p al3435(S:-+8s)-+37(Si-+ S,)—6020 8,—462(8, +85) 1 7 = 107520 y, 121004 S.+-954(8:+ Ss) —7621 (85-485) —75(S+8;)] 1 ~ ; pelea eee a O81) Aes sO) ili 1 5 D355, [92(Ss—8:) —83(8;— 85) —7(S:—S)] 1 . E=55 0 et S,+54(S.+ Sc)— T1(S3+8; )—5(S:+8,)] Ae P40) 7 61 5—Ss)-+ (S:—81) —4(Se—8)] 1 G— 720 ny >a 15(S3-+8s5)+ (Si+58;)—20 S,—6(S8.4 S.)] So also with eight groups, and a curve of the seventh degree, the eight constants are— 17640 14, — 1 7 ~ 6040 nel 1 no Fy, ~ =FB0 npl2%38Sst Se)-+ (Si+8,)—215(8,+8; )— 65(S, +8-;)] va: | ~ 1440 1, T4400? A=.) _111193(S,+8;) +609(S)-4+S,)—2919(S,-++ 8.) —63(8;+8,)] 175(Ss—S,)+119(S;—8,)—889(S¢—8,)—9(S;—81)] 7(Se—Ss3) + 7(S,—S8,) —1365(8; —S,)— 1 ea ny 5[11(Sy+85) +8(S.+8,) —18(S;-++85) —(8i+8,)] f F=Zy9 yf 7(Ss—8:) +11(S;—S8,) —41(8,—S,)—(S—8))] 1 ; G= F770 n,19(8s+ Se) + (Si + S)—5(S, +85) —5(S. + S,)] 1 =50i0n 27 1(Ss—Sy)+(Ss:—S,)—35(8;—8,)—7(8;—S8,)] In the same way we might determine the nine constants for a curve of the eighth degree, and so on; for the operations required, though some- what tedious, are always possible.* We have found, then, a very simple and general method by which, when any m+1 consecutive groups of — equal extent are assumed in a given series, a new series of the mth * See formula (G) in Appendix I. 286 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. order can be constructed, such that the arithmetical means of the terms in the m+1 corteepenainne groups in it will be severally equal to those in the original series. Let us now proceed to apply this method to the graduation of an irregular rate of mortality. Column (a) in Table I shows the proba- bility of dying within a year, at each age, from 20 to 79, as experi- enced by the life insurance companies doing business in Massachu- setts for seven years ending November 1, 1865, and given in the commissioners’ report. The terms of the series are 100 times the quo- tients arising from dividing the number of deaths in each year of age by the number of years of life exposed to mortality at that age. For example, the number 1.98 opposite the age 59 signifies that of the insured persons who attained that age about 2 per cent. died within the following year. The great irregularity of this series is apparent at a glance. The observations on which it is based were not such as to give it very high authority as a law of mortality, and it is introduced here merely to illustrate the method of graduation. The rate which it shows is too low throughout almost all the ages, owing mainly, no doubt, to the recent selection of most of the lives observed. The life insurance companies of America are of recent and very rapid growth, and in the present case the average duration of the policies observed probably did not much exceed, if it equaled, three years. It is well known that in a class of persons aged fifty years, for instance, who have been recently pronounced healthy by a medical examiner, the rate of mortality may be expected to be lower than among another class of similar age, whose examination was made ten, twenty, or thirty years earlier; for some of the latter will have tonaanied disease in the mean time, hile others, probably among the healthiest lives, will have surrendered their policies or allowed them to lapse, thus deteriorating the average vitality of the insured. The present rate, therefore, cannot be regarded as a permanently reliable one. At the ages 20, 21, and 22, however, the rate is too high. This may be merely accidental, owing to the fact that only a small number of lives were observed at line ages. In the first place, let us construct a representative series ofthe fourth order. The sixty terms of series (a) form five groups of twelve terms each ; their sums are— Si Galo S2==9.06, S3; = 13.03, S4—=28.51, S5=87.84 and when we take— m—=12, ds p= formulas (C) and (12) give— 2432.081 Re iteres) 67.19 39.79 __ 12.445 =qeaae’? “B=aazy C=ieaae P= aay B= Gar and consequently— - METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 287 TABLE I. ‘ Age. (a) (d) (ce) | Age. (a) ) (c) | | ——— Desa ee 2 92 | 1.07937 PAGS 50 eee ee .97 | 1.07582 1. 09695 Oyen ee too. 90 . 97386 . 74606 || 51 ..-.2..- 1.01} 1.12001 1. 14758 OD 2 92 . 88650 . 76615 || 52....--- 1.06 |} 1.17063 1, 20202 Orie wes. | .67 . 81545 £77713 | 5Siac.ncue.| 1,32} 1, 22884 1. 26399 OA amc e-> gee 4 aerooe? |) . 78100. 5412.82 = 2 1.80 | 1.29589 | 1.33140 DE ee Ban .70 .71543 .77949 || 55 2.4 --- 1.21} 1.37314 1. 40629 OGM ee. . 67 . 68326 <204N0" || 56222. 1.33 | 1. 46206 1. 48989 ase .66 . 66105 .76605 || 57 ...----. 1.65] 1.56419 1. 58362 Deca wee a Pol s67 |) 464744"), 757231 58-2 ...2-~ 1.70} 1.68121 | 1.63910 tne eee .68 . 64119 FATTO: iO! 2st oc 1.98} 1.81487 1. 80815 B (ess oe ri . 64117 73887 || GO ..-.---. 2.09 | 1.96703 1. 94283 Big evens 80 . 64632 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 289 and let w/ represent what S becomes when we take— n=1, a0 then aw will be the middle term of the middle group S:, and the lateral groups 8; and 8; will be similarly situated on each side of the middle group and its middle term. We have then Ny ae Si+8; 9 Shara, 2 a+ ne —ne [R= (re =|. C7) This formula enables us to adjust the ite of any term in an irregular series, by taking it as the middle term with an arbitrary number of ad- jacent terms on each side of it, all together forming the middle group in which the sum of the terms is S, and their number is nm, and taking two other arbitrary groups, S; and Ss, containing n, terms each, and situated one on each side of the middle term and equidistant from it. The dis- tance from the middle point of the middle group to that of either lateral group is a. The simplest case which can arise is where we take five consecutive terMs, WU), We, Us, U4, Us, ANd assume the three middle ones as the middle group and the first one and last one as the two lateral groups; then i= o, Mt, a,=2 and formula (13) gives, as the adjusted value of the middle term u,, =,;),[4 S.—(S:+8s)] | = YJ [4 (uot Us Uy) —(*1+ Us) | ( When seven terms are taken, five in the middle group and two in each lateral one, so that the second and sixth terms belong to two groups each, we have— (14) =, m=2, a= > Bb or ch Se @ mb So ee 5 = — ~ . dln (15) = Ff 138 (ug Uy + Us) +8 (a+ Ug) —5 (a+ U7) | The accuracy of formulas (14) and (15) can easily be tested by trial with any series of the second order, the adjusted value of the middle term being in this case the same as its original value. A simple relation ex- ists beween the numerical coefficients of uj, %w, &e. For example, in formula (15) the coefficient +13 belongs to three terms, +8 to two, and —®5 to two, and we have— 38x13 + 2x8 — 2x5=— 45 and 45 is the denominator of the fraction outside the bracket. The numerical coefficients within the bracket may therefore be regarded as the weights of the terms to which they belong, so that the weight of each of the terms u3, wy, and uw; is 13, that of uw, and ug is 8, and that of um, and u; is —d. By varying the positions of the groups in formula (13), and the num- 19s 71 290 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. ber of terms in each, we might find an unlimited number of adjustment formulas, but (14) and (15) will serve as specimens. Similar results can also be arrived at by another method, which is very simple. We know that in a series of the third or any lower order the fourth differences are zero; that is, any five consecutive terms are connected by the relation— Us—4Uyt 6 Uzg—4 M+ U,=0 and, consequently, we have— 10 U3 =4 (dot Ug + Uy) — (Ui +Us), U3 =p 4(to+ Ut Us)—(r+Us)] . . . (16) This is identical with formula (14), which is thus shown to hold good and to give exact results when applied to a series of the third order as well as the second. It is therefore equally well adapted for graduating any series, whether it has a point of inflexion or not. The same is true of (15) and all other formulas derived from (13), When applied to an irregular series, such formulas can be modified so as to give adjusted values which will approximate to the original ones more or less closely, as may be desired. Take, for instance, formula (16). If we add ku; to both members of the equation next preceding, it will stand— (10+h)ujs=(4-+4) ty + 4(Ue+ Uy) — (4+ Us) and hence we have— 1 oe rerepens ll net a) Us A (Ue Uy) — (* + Us) | This formula differs from (16) in no respect except that the coefficient of us; Within the bracket, and the denominator of the fraction without the bracket, have both been increased by the same quantity k. Since k may have any value whatever, we see that the weight of the middle term wy, can be increased or diminished to any desired extent, the denominator of the fraction without the bracket being increased or diminished by the same amount. Thus if we desire that the weight of wu; shall be 9 instead of 4, the formula will stand— U3 = FED Ug +4 (Mot U4)—(U+Us)] . . « (17) In this way the value of each term in an adjusted series can be made to depend on, and approximate to, that of the corresponding term in the original series to any extent that may be required, and, of course, the closer this approximation, the more nearly will the form of the new series resemble that of the original one. When more than five terms are to be included by an adjustment for- mula, the relative weights of the terms can be varied by combining two or more formulas together. For instance, (15) gives, if we drop the accent from w’,, 45 Ug ==13(Ug+ y+ Us) + 8 (Ue + Ug) — 5(U + U4) METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. . 291 and (16) may be written— 10 hug — kl 4( Ust Uy + Us) —— (V+ ug) | Adding these two equations, we obtain— Us S344 Ie} (Us Ug Us) + (S—h) (t+ Ug) — 5( ty + Us) ] Since / may have any value, let us determine it so that the excess of the weight of w; and wu; over that of w. and wz, shall be equal to the ex- cess of the latter weight over that of uw, and wu; This gives— 13+4hk—(8—hk)—8—k+5 and, consequently, k—=4. The formula then becomes— Uy ge [LL (ats yt ts) +4 (e+ Ue) — BM G)] 6 6. (18) and, if the weight of the middle term is increased by 7, we have finally — Ug qg[18 wy 11 (03+ U5) + 4(Mo+ U6) —B3(H+uz)] 2. . . (19) Here the weights increase in arithmetical progression, from the extreme terms to the middle one. To obtain a sunilar formula including nine terms, we may proceed as follows. In a series of the third or any lower order the fourth differ- ences are zero, and any five consecutive terms are connected by the relation— Us—4 Uy+6 Uzg—4 UW+uy=0 In a series of the fifth or any lower order the sixth differences are zero, and for any seven consecutive terms we have the relation— Uz—6 Ug +15 Us —20 Ug +15 w—G6 w+u4=0 In a series of the seventh or any lower order the eighth differences are zero, and any nine consecutive terms are connected by the relation— Ug—S8 Ug+2S U;—I6 Ug + 70 Us — 5G Uy + 28 Ug —8 Uy+ Uy, = 0 Hence, considering any nine consecutive terms in a series of the third or any lower order, we have— 126 5 = 96 (Uy + Us + Ug) — 28 (3+ Uy) + 8 (e+ Ug) — (+ Uy) 3D kus==15 hug us+ Ug) — 6 kus Uz) + hue Ug) 10 kl us 4 he! (yt Us Ug) —h! (Ug Uz) Adding these three equations together, we obtain— (1264-55 +10 h’)us = (G64 15k 441/) (tg 5+ Ug) — (28+ 6 k+ 1k!) (Usb u;) + (S841) (2+ Ug) — (Uy + Uy) which expresses a general relation between any nine consecutive terms in a series of the third or any lower order. The numbers k and k/ being entirely arbitrary, we may make the coefficients in the second member of the equation form an arithmetical progression by taking— (8+h)+2(28+6k+hk’)+(56415k+4 hk’) —0 —1—2(8+hk)—(2846k+hk')=0 292 ; METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. These two conditions give the two values— ‘ k=+ 3, lit so that the equation reduces to— 27 Us—=F(Ugt Us+ Ug) + 2(Us+ Uz) + 3(Uo+ Us) — (41 + Uy) ’ and adding 3 xu; to both members, we obtain— Us = qg[10 ws+ T(Ug+ Ug) A(Ug+ Uz) + (Ue Usg)— 2(%+%y)] . « (20) The same result can also be reached by deriving from formula (13) any three special adjustment formulas comprising five, seven, and nine consecutive terms respectively, and then combining them together in the manner above indicated. There is evidently no limit to the number of terms which might be included in formulas found by these methods. With eleven terms, we have the following : Ug—= _h;[45 Uet+3 (Us Uz) + 23 (y+ Ug) + 12 (U3+ UW) l (1) + (a+ Uy) — 10(u+%11)] § _ in which the weights are in arithmetical progression.* If we consider any seven consecutive terms in a series of the fifth order, placing the sixth difference alone equal to zero, the equation thus formed will give— Uy = ge [15 (Us+ y+ Us) — 6( ay + Ug) + (U4 + Un)". 6 (22 This might be used as an adjustment formula, possibly with good effeet in continuing the graduation of a series already approximately adjusted. It will give exact results when applied to a series of the fifth or any lower order, and the weight of the middle term w, can be increased or diminished if desired. So, too, when the eighth difference is placed equal to zero, we obtain the formula— Us = 745 [06 (tat Us + Ug) — 2B(Us+ Uz) + 8(U2+Ug)— (Us +Uy)] . . (23) which will give exact results if applied to a series of the seventh or any lower order. The second method of adjustment can be applied to the logarithms of a series of numbers instead of tothe numbers directly. If, for instance, the logarithms form a series of the third or any lower order, then for any five consecutive terms formula (16) gives— py [4(log w+log u;+log uy) — (log w+ log us)] qy{log (aeust4)4— log (aus) | and consequently— UoUgtls)* \a- ag —( ats)” \r0 Uy Us log us; ll II This relation will evidently hold good for any five consecutive terms in a geometrical progression, because their logarithms are in arithmetical progression; that is, they form a series of the first order. We can easily see how any similar adjustment formula can be transformed at *For improved formulas of this nature, see*“Appendices I and I. METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 293 ‘onee in this way. The weights of the several terms become their expo- nents, the terms with positive weights become factors in the numerator of a fraction, while those with negative weights are factors in the denom- inator, and the fraction without the bracket becomes the exponent of the whole. Thus (22) is transformed into— ean PG (tert 7) \ 35 Ne - : (Uotte)° which expresses a relation existing between any seven consecutive terms in a series whose logarithms form a series of the fifth or any lower order. In all formulas under the second method, the weights of the several terms, depending on the position of each one with reference to the mid- dle term whose adjusted value is sought, may be called local weights, to distinguish them from the intrinsic weight which any term may have by virtue of the relative goodness of the observations taken to deter- mine its value. We may regard the total weight of a term as com- pounded of these two elements, so that if, for instance, the local weights of five consecutive terms are taken as in formula (16), and if we wish also to take the intrinsic weights ¢, ¢, ¢;, &e., of the terms into account, the adjusted value of us will then be— Pee A (Coy ak + OsUy) — (Cty + Css) te (24) . 4 (Co C3 C4) — (C1 + 6s) We know that this formula gives exact results when the series w, %, &e., is of the third or any lower order, and the intrinsic weights ¢, ©, &e., are all equal, and we may naturally expect that the results will be approximately correct when the series u,, tt, &¢., approximates to regu- larity, and the intrinsic weights of the terms do not differ very much from one another; so that in such cases something will be gained,in accuracy by taking the intrinsic weights into account. By the use of formulas such as (16), (17), (19), or (20), we can grad- uate approximately all the terms in a series except the first two and last two. These also can be reached by means of the general formula (2). Let us take six consecutive terms in three groups, so as to have— 1=3, No=2, N3=1, a,=3, a3=3, n=1 Then for the first term we have— and the formula reduees to— m=1(5 S:—5 S.-+ 4 Ss) ) - (25) =F[5(Uyt Uo + Uy) —5 (Ug Us) + 4 UG | \ For the second term we have— “= oy S=u, and oe U.=7,(14 S,+4 S.—d S3) ? 6 (26) = 75[14(a+ e+ Us) + rail a Us) —5 Ug| j 294 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. These formulas give exact results when applied to any series of the second order. Let us now make man even number in formula (2), and assume as before— N3=N1, A3=(y, S and let y’ represent what ar becomes when we take— n=0, r=0 then y’ is the middle ordinate of the middle area 8,, and we have this formula : A ea ms! Se af Sit 8s (27) a in Gene i Ny a When §,, 82, 8; denote stationary population living within three inter- vals of age, the two lateral intervals being of , years each, and their middle points being each distant a, years from the middle point of the middle interval, which consists of m2 years, then y/ is an adjusted value for the number of persons who annually attain the exact middle age of the middle interval. The simplest case is where we havethe populations U1, U2, Uz, U4, living within four consecutive years of age, and take the two middle ones as the middle group, and each of the others as a lat- eral group ; then— o and (27) reduces to— i N,=2, a=3 \ = 7)5| 7 (e+ Us) — (ti +m) | \ For example, if a, %, Ws, Ww, denote stationary population living within the ages 38 to 39, 39 to 40, 40 to 41, and 41 to 42, then y/ is the number annually attaining the age 40. And even if the population is not stationary, but increases or diminishes from natural causes or by migra- tion, still, if a4, w, &e., denote the mean population living within the ages named during a given number of years, then y/ will be the mean number annually attaining the age 40, as before. Adjustment formulas analogous to (13) and (27) can also be derived from (8) by taking v=0 and n=1 or n=0. It can be shown that (13) and (27) are particular cases under these, so that all the special adjust- ment formulas derived from them will give exact results when ¢pplied to series of the third order as well as the second. ee , S: S& 8; Sis If in formula (8) we take n;=2=0, then - a Sy =) ands wall ey Ny Ng Dey Ny resent ordinates to the curve, and may be denoted by y, Yo, Ys, and Ys If we also take— : — aie, 2—0, a,=3, @=1, n=1, Sw then (8) reduces to— w= IS(Y+Ys)—(YitYa)] -% + + (29) Pa METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 295 Here ¥;, Ye, Y3, and y, are four equidistant ordinates to a curve of the third or any lower order, and w’ is the area between the two middle ordi- nates. Hence, when the mean numbers of persons annually attaining ach of four consecutive ages are known, the mean population living between the two middle ages can be computed by this formula. For instance, ify, Ye, Ys, and y, denote the numbers annually attaining the ages 39, 40, 41, and 42, then w is the population living between the ages 40 and 41. Let us now make a practical application of the second method of adjustment, in graduating the irregular rate of mortality given in column (ad) of Table IL. This is a new experience table quite recently published in England in an unadjusted form. It is probably correct in its essential features, and suited for practical use, having been prepared by the Insti- tute of Actuaries, from the experience of twenty British life insurance companies, all of which had been in existence more than twenty years, so that the average duration of the policies observed was about nine years. The original publication not being at hand, the data have been taken as they are given in the Massachusetts and New York State Insurance teports of 1869. The probabilities of dying within a year at each age, according to these data, and multiplied by 100, are as they stand in column (d), for the ages 15 to 91 inclusive. The original series ex- tends from the age 10 to 96, but a few of the earliest and latest terms show such irregularities as to be evidently worthless for the purpose of graduation. This is owing to the paucity of observations at those ages. There were no deaths at all at the ages 11, 16, and 94, and no survivors at the age 97. The eight terms from 10 to 17 are therefore rejected here, and their places supplied by others taken from the English life- table, No. 3, for males, reduced a little to correspond with the new rate. The sum of the terms for the eight ages 18 to 25 is 5.1862 by the new table, and is 6.6775 by the table No. 3. Accordingly, each of the first eight terms in series (d) is taken from the table No. 3, but diminished in the ratio of 66775 to 51862. The eight last terms, from 92 to 99, have been obtained in a similar way, using the sums of the terms for the eight ages next preceding, so as to increase the values given by the table No. 3 in the ratio of 18456 to 18456. Series (d) thus com- pleted, has been approximately adjusted by means of formula (20), which reaches all the terms except the first four and last four. The result is given in column (e). For instance, at the age 30 the adjusted term is— Us gip[8-2341-+ 7.740004 .72927) +4 (.77808 4- 83635) "4 (.65324-+ 83200) —2(.6 9197 + .87346) | = to At the ages 13 and 96 the adjustment has been made by formula (18), at the ages 12 and 97 by (16), at 11 and 98 by (26), and at 10 and 99 by (25). To diminish some irregularities still existing in series (¢), the adjust- ment has been repeated, only this time formula (16) was used throughout. 296 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. The result is shown in column (f).* This is a roughly adjusted series, approximating closely to the form of the original series (d); too closely, however, for it retains at least one undulation which is abnormal, and would doubtless not have appeared if the number of observations on which the earlier portion of series (d) is based had been very greatly increased. Itis an acknowledged principle that after the age of 12 or 13, at which the probability of dying within a year is a minimum, the rate of mortality ought to go on increasing continuously up to the limit of old age. But in series (/) it increases up to the age 22, then diminishes up to 25, then increases again continuously. To remedy this fault, and also to perfect the graduation, some further process of adjustment will be required. TABLE II. Age (d) (e) (Tf) Decade. (7) (h) Age os ae bobs sake) SEs Wo ansa ot Ma 4-13 GAOSOL sate iin ae fae. 10... © 43626 © ABO44 43143 pia 5. 3587 -42670 | 10 11. " 392G9 "39460 39407 6-15 4, 8884 "40437 | 11 12. 37047 37034 37184 7-16 4. 6001 "39659 | 12 13... 36576 " 36580 "36420 8-17 4. 4594 "40030 | 13 ae "37692 37919 37120 9-18 4. 4365 "41283 | 14 15: "40177 "39639 "40160 10-19 4. 5052 "43190 | 15 16. ‘ 43719 "45493 44966 11-20 4. 6434 45559 | 16 17. " 48163 51192 "51820 12-91 4, 8323 | "48231 | 17 18... 60556 “58421 "57807 13-22 5, 0562 51074 | 18 162 70219 "62583 "62494 14-23 5. 3021 "53984 | 19 20.. "58236 "65223 " 66049 15-24 5, 5597 56879 | 20 21.. 70084 "68776 "67539 16-25 5, 8210 "59700 | 21 Qy_ "62151 67417 "68445 17-26 6, 0798 “62404 | 22 23. 77380 "67688 " 67164 18-27 6. 3318 "64966 | 23 24. "68369 ” 65849 " 65506 19-28 6.5743 67373 | 24 25. 51630 ” 63396 * 64249 90-29 6. 8058 69625 | 25 Geil "69197 “65258 "64742 21-30 70261 ‘71731 | 26 97_. " 65324 ‘67830 " 68305 99-31 7.2357 73708 | 27 28 - "77808 "72668 "72526 23-39 7.4361 75580 | 28 29. 74000 “76574 "76056 24-33 7. 6292 77374 | 29 30.. " 29341 “77770 "78223 25-34 7.8176 “79122 | 30 31. "72927 79659 "79489 96-35 8) 0042 "0858 | 3 39 ” 83635 81111 "81229 97-36 8 1921 "82618 | 32 33. " 83200 " 82694 " 92432 98-37 8. 3845 "94437 | 33 34. " 87346 " 83797 " 84023 99-38 8. 5848 "86351 | 34 35. " 22319 86430 " 86433 30-39 8 7964 98399 | 35 36. " 87678 | "00344 90477 31-40 9, 0298 "90613 | 36 37, "95530 "95256 95107 32-41 9, 2672 93023 | 37 33..| 1.03600 "99555 "99828 33-42 9. 5330 “95660 | 38 39__| 1.05880 10312 10240 34-43 9, 8234 “os582 | 39 Oe. "98504 1. 0310 1. 0345 35-44 10, 142 1.0180 | 40 41. 1.0440 1. 0387 1. 0404 36-45 10, 491 1.0529 | al 42. 1. 0798 1. 0626 1. 0587 37-46 10.874 1.0917 | 42 43. 1.0540 1. 0936 “11000 38-47 11, 295 1.1345 | 43 44. 1.1793 1. 1615 1. 1557 39-48 11.757 1. 1812 44 ae 1. 2447 1. 2210 1. 2207 40-49 12. 263 1.2396 | 45 46. 1.2474 1. 2848 1. 2887 41-50 12. 818 1.2888 | 46 47..| 1, 4079 1. 3689 1. 3650 42-51 13, 425 1.3505 | 47 49..| 4.4147 1. 4501 1. 4547 43-52 14, 090 1.4177 | 48 49..| 1.5997 1.5444 1.5439 44-53 14. 816 1.4907 | 49 50..| 1.6497 1. 6220 1. 6120 45-54 15. 611 1.5714 | 50 *In all the terms of series (d), (c), and (/), the fifth figure might as well have been neglected. It has no real value, and does not assist the graduation. METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 297 TABLE IJ—Continued. > Ki ge CO ww ' DOUG or en en OT he —s oo 1 2 er LS aon 7 9) 9) 87 7 97 8 7 SO MNOVUEWHWHS | (a) (e) Ga) Decade. (9) (h) Age. 17333 1. 6581 1. 6655 46-55 16. 481 1. 6593 51 1.7070 1.7281 1, 7251 47-56 17. 432 1.7549 52 1.7221 1, 8234 1, 8259 48-57 18. 473 1. 8599 53 1, 8996 1. 9857 1. 9764 49-58 19. 614 1, 9750 54 2, L966 2.1514 2, 1326 50-59 20, 864 2.1008 55 2, 3045 2.2701 2.2783 51-60 22,935 2, 2392 56 2.3903 2, 3998 2.3976 52-61 23.740 2, 3909 57 2.5133 2.5368 2.5308 53-62 25.391 2.5571 58 2, 5285 2, 6990 2.7195 54-63 27.205 2.7402 59 3. 1197 2, 9688 2.9541 55-64 29, 108 2. 9417 60 3, 2552 3, 2234 3, 2248 56-65 31. 388 3. 1630 61 3. 4551 3. 4873 3. 4953 57-66 33.793 3. 4064 62 3. 7474 S711 3.7525 58-87 36. 435 3. 6741 63 4, 0101 4, 0053 4, 0133 59-68 39, 33 3. 9679 64 4, 3602 4, 3065 4, 3256 60-69 42.514 4.2911 65 4, 6350 4.7110 4, 6986 61-70 5, 999 4. 6454 66 4, 8932 5. 0639 5, 0409 62-71 49, 812 5, 033 67 5, 5425 5, 3338 5, 3803 33-72 53, 980 5. 4584 68 6. 0968 5.7196 5, 629 64-73 58, 528 5, 9224 69 5. 6156 5, 9548 6. 0544 65-74 63, 482 6. 4286 70 6.2011 6. 6791 6, 6521 66-75 G8. 868 6. 9794 71 7.9269 7.5365 7.5263 67-76 74,711 7.5778 72 7, 8041 & 4413 &, 4927 68-77 81, 036 8, 2260 f| 10. 5370 9, A102 9, 3078 69-78 87. 865 8. 9269 7 9, 4621 9.9458 10, 000 70-79 95.221 | 9.6824 7 10. 624 10.575 10. 568 71-80 103. 12 10, 493 76 10, 869 11. 278 11. 269 72-81 111.58 11. 366 ae 12. 303 12.101 12. 101 73-82 120.62 | 12,298 78 13. 594 13, 185 13. 250 74-83 130, 23 13. 226 79 4. 080 14, 658 14, £99 75-84 140.42 | 14.336 80 15. 970 16.039 | 16,058 76-85 151. 19 15, 452 81 7.214 7.477 | 17.578 77-86 162, 53 16. 623 R2 20. 673 18. 968 18. 639 78-87 174. 40 7. 849 R83 18. 020 19, 487 19. 930 79-88 R6.79 19. 133 84 21. 627 21.294 21.070 80-89 199. 65 20, 465 85 21, 698 22,214 22, 020 81-90 212. 93 21. 845 86 21, 687 22,307 22.747 82-91 226.56 | 23,259 87 QR. 452 23.571 23. 056 3-92 240.45 | 24.703 | 88 19. 355 23. 608 23. 958 84-93 254.51 | 26.167 89 22, 667 25,172 2, 247 85-94 262, 61 27, 638 90 31. 034 27.515 27.206 86-95 222, 62 29, 100 91 29, 427 29,141 | 29.510 987-96 | 295,36 30, 539 92 30. 979 31.644 31. 336 88-97 309. 66 31. 935 93 32.53 32.927 | 32.921 R9-98 322, 28 33. 262 94 34, 251 33. 975 34, 182 90-99 333, 99 34.500 95 35, 805 35, 839 35. 687 91-100 344.50 35, 618 06 37.541 | 87.458 | 37.521 92-101 353, 50 36, 584 07 39, 133 39, 250 39, 155 93-102 360. 63 37, 363 98 41. 089 40, 962 A1, 226 94-103 365, 50 37.914 99 ee el. Sees 95-104 367. 66 39, 494 100 eee rls et 96-105 366.62 | 42.102 101 Sie ee BR ss lig.qle oo ioe. Dees Pee ee eee ed 70 102 Pas No te ae ee oe oe © OR De yas 50, 404 103 Pee ee ook oe. cs ee an aed cee bee 5G, 098 104 es ee ee eo 2 ee 62, 821 105 Pee ee eee ke Oi ee 70.573 106 1 Men, Ae Bop, SERS. ork « eee Ao, See eeu pre ee S| 79.853 107 ti Sh ees.” 89, 162 108 Sle ae es eho Rd, PRD eae 100, 000 109 298 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. The foregoing method affords a ready means of diminishing the irregu- larities of a series without removing them altogether. It can be proved that in a series of the mth order, if any m +1 or more consecutive terms are adjusted by any single formula, such as (16) or (20), the adjusted values will themselves form a series of the mth order. But, although the order of the series remains unchanged, the absolute values of the differ- ences are in general diminished, and thus an approximate graduation is secured. THIRD METHOD OF ADJUSTMENT. The second method can be combined with ordinary interpolation in such away as to furnish an adjusted series of any given order, extending to any desired number of places of decimals. For example, let the terms of series (f) in Table IL be grouped together by decades of age, as was done in forming (¢) in Table I. The ninety terms form nine groups of ten terms each. Their sums are— S, = 4.50521 S,— 12.26340 S;= _ 95.22130 S. = 6.80581 S; = 20.86420 S, — 199.65500 S; = 8.79641 Se — 42.51440 Sy = 333.99100 These nine values form a series which has eight orders of differences, as follows: 4,= 2.30060 4,—1.786389 4,—2.38714 4,== —16.70885 Ay = —.31000 4, 1.87103 4¢—3.44640 4g=—— 7.75719 Using the ordinsry formula for interpolation by finite differences, we ean obtain nine equidistant values between every two terms of this series, So as to make 81 terms in all, forming a perfectly graduated series of the eighth order. The terms of this series are approximately the sums of the terms in (/) for every possible decade of age, commencing with 10 to 19, 11 to 20, 12 to 21, &e., and ending with 90 to 99. To con- struct the series, nine consecutive terms were carefully computed, their eight orders of differences were taken, and the rest of the series was constructed therefrom by simpleadditions and subtractions. One great advantage of this mode of procedure is, that the agreement of the values thus found for the decades 10-19, 20-29, &c., with the given values Sj, S., &c., furnishes a convenient test of ine accuracy of the whole work. It is necessary, however, to carry out the values of the function and the differences to a large number of places of decimals, otherwise the error represented by the neglected figures will accumulate so as finally to vitiate some of the results. In the present case, the decimals were carried out as far as they would go; that is, to twenty places. The series is readily extended by the same law, so as to comprise all the possible decades of age from 4-13 to 96-105. Thus completed, it is given in column (g). Now let Sj), S:, 83, Sy, be any four consecutive terms in it, and in formula (8 ) take— My ==%=10, | =3, a=}, c=0,"*n=1, S=wv - METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 299 then we have— ui = J [21(8.4+8;)—17(S,48)] . . . (380) This formula gives an adjusted value for any term in series (f) by means of the sums of the terms in the four nearest decades as given in series (yg). For instance, at the age 35 the value obtained is— Jy [21 (8.7964. + 9.0228)—17 (8.5848-++9.2672)] == ,00000 Column (hk) shows the graduated series, carried to as many places of decimals as are needed in order to give five significant figures. It is of the eighth order, and the arithmetical means of the terms in the nine decades 10-19, 20-29, &¢., are approximately equal to those in series (f), though not precisely so. This method of adjustment, however, has one advantage, namely, that it enables us to divide a given series into a large number of groups, and make the graduated series of as high an order as we please, without previously obtaining formulas like (I) and (F), which require some labor when the number of groups is increased. If the number of terms in a group is other than ten, it will be easy to find a corresponding formula similar to (30). When it is an odd nam- ber the formula will be derived from (13) instead of from (8). For ex- ample, with eleven terms in a group we have— au! | Niji") —— | F. qs) and (13) becomes— uw’ =S.— 75, (SitSs) 2... . (81) giving the adjusted value of a term by means of the sums of the terms in the three nearest groups of eleven terms each. Series (h) shows a@ minimum at the age 12, and increases continu- ously thereatter. It terminates at the age 99, and must not be ex- tended farther by the same law, for since (g) isa series of an even order with the final difference, 43, negative, it will, if produced far enough, diminish at both ends instead of increasing as the rate of mortality does. The limit of old age is evidently not reached until one year after the point where the probability of dying within a year becomes unity, that is, certainty. The position of the limit is very doubtful. The old Combined Experience table places it at 100, the Carlisle table at 105, the English Life Table No. 5 at 108, the French table of Deparcieux at 95, the tables of Duvillard and De Montferrand at 110, and the United States census table of 1860 at 106. Owing to the paucity of reliable observations at the greatest ages, the termination of series (1), or that of any other graduated table, must necessarily be somewhat artificial. This is not of much consequence in practice, for the chance of attaining any age beyond 100 is so small as to make but little difference in the value of an assurance or annuity fora person in middle life. If we assume 110 as the limit in the present case, then from the three known values of the probability for the ages 98, 99, and 109, the values for the 300 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. ages 100 to 108 can be computed by ordinary interpolation. Formula (2) may be used for this purpose. If we take— Ri y=, == al, S=4 Si=uy, S=w, S,;=—4a, that formula reduces to— P = a3x7(x—a3) Q = ayx(x+a)) / R= a)a3(a,+ 43) A (32) “= Rue —P—Q)H+PH4+Q U5} \ Tf wy, %, U3, denote any three terms in a series, and the origin of coér- dinates is at w%, and a and a; denote the positive distances of uw, and u; from w%, the above formula enables us to interpolate any fourth term, u, Whose abscissa is x If we now take— Gi), a3=10, U,=37.363, U2=371.914, u3=100 oe formula (32) becomes— u=37,.914+4 1.0653 x+.51433 2 When the values 1, 2,5, &c., areassigned to vin this equation, the result- ing values of w will be the desired terms for the ages 100, 101, 102, &e., as they stand in column (hk). The continuity of this added portion with the rest of the series may be improved a little by adjusting, with form- ula (20), a few of the terms adjacent to the point of junction. The ad- Justed values are as follows: Age. DOM ee hee AN OLIaD Doe feohle Vera eel et SOUS DOU fay eae seu oO OO Mad AMY ten MOSEL: OO eM iat che, WoO NODA sate pe k! TAS ASE Series (i), thus amended, is ready for practical use in the construction of commutation tables. It is not claimed that this series is the best one which ean possibly be obtained by similar methods. The preliminary adjustment by the second method admits of some variation, and repeated trials would be required to determine whether the form of the final series might not be varied with advantage by making it of some other order than the eighth, or by taking the groups between some other limits than 10 and 99, or by both these modifications together. But it is believed that the graduation here obtained is accurate enough for practical purposes, and will com- pare favorably with that of any table now in use. . We do not know, and perhaps never can know, anything definite re- specting the precise analytical form of that function which we eall the law of mortality. Various formulas, mostly transcendental, have been devised to express it, but no one of them has yet received universal recognition as correct to the exclusion of all otliers. While this state METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 301 of the case continues, the problem of constructing a table of mortality must be regarded as, to some extent, an indeterminate one. Not only is absolute accuracy unattainable, but we cannot even decide, by the method of least squares, that a certain result is the most probable of any; for the true form of the function being unknown, any particular residual error, or difference between the observed and computed values of a term, will in general be the aggregate of two errors, one of them due to the difference of form between the assumed function and the true one, and the other due to the error of observation or difference between the observed value and the true value. The latter portion only can be of the nature of accidental errors, so as to be subject to that law of dis- tribution which the method of least squares assumes, and which is derived from the theory of probabilities. Hence, we cannot infer that because we have made the sum of the squares of the residuals a mini- mun, the resulting values of the constants which enter into the assumed equation of the series must be the most probable values. To justify such an inference, it would be necessary to make the sum of the squares of the accidental portions of the residuals alone a minimum; but we have no means of effecting this, for we cannot separate the accidental portions from the others. When the method of least squares is applied under circumstances like these, it loses its peculiar claiins to theo- retical accuracy, and becomes merely a method of interpolation, whose merits are to be judged, like those of other methods, by the amount of labor required in obtaining the final results, and by the degree of ac- curacy with which these results represent the observations. We may presume that the best method of reduction for tables of mortality is that which will give, in the simplest manner, a graduated series conform- ing to those conditions which are known to govern such tables, and representing the observations with the necessary degree of accuracy. In behalf of the method here proposed, it may be said that the process of computation is comparatively simple; that the observations are represented with great accuracy throughout all the middle ages of life, which is just the portion where accuracy is most important in practice; and that a transcendental formula, if it contains not more than three or four constants, will be very likely to prove inferior in this respect. From all the foregoing considerations we conclude that a very good way to graduate an experience rate of mortality for insured lives will be, to form a series like (d), expressing the probability of dying within a year, at each age, and to adjust it approximately, in the first place, by some formula or formulas under the second method, and then, dividing the adjusted terms into the proper number of groups, to complete the graduation by either the first or the third method. Treated in this way, the arithmetical means of the terms in the several groups will be brought nearer to their normal value than they would be if the approximate or preparatory adjustment were omitted. In constructing a rate for general population from census returns and 302 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. registration of deaths, it will probably be best to adjust the population for each year of age at each census approximately by the second method; that is, by (20) or some similar formula. The returns of two or more census enumerations. thus adjusted will enable us to compute approxi- mately, by known methods, the mean population living within each year of age during the period embraced by the registry of deaths; and from this series the mean number of persons who annually attained each year of age during that period can be found by (28) or some similar formula. The mean number of deaths annually occurring within each year of age must also be adjusted approximately by the second method, and then we shall only have to divide these annual deaths for each year of age by the mean number of persons annually attaining suchage, toobtain an approx- imately adjusted series expressing the probability of dying within a year at each age. The graduation of this series can be completed by either the first or the third method, and from it we can construct the usual series of the numbers who live to attain each year of age out of a given number of persons who are born. It should be remarked, however, that in infaney and early childhood the rate of mortality varies so rapidly that the years ought not to be grouped together as in the first and third methods. But these years are unimportant so far as life insurance and annuities are concerned, and for practical purposes it will suffice to have a completely graduated series from the age of ten or fifteen up to the limit of old age, and to adjust the series at the earliest ages by the second method ouly, or not at all. The latter alternative is perhaps the best, since the ages of young children can be ascertained with greater certainty than those of adults. The aceuracy of a series obtained by the first or the third method will be greatest at and near the middle, and least at the extremities. If it should be found that the graduated values at either end of a table of mortality thus constructed are sensibly erroneous, they can be rejected, and their places supplied by the original values, and the adjustment of these, and their continuity with the graduated portion, can be approximately secured by the use of some formula under the second method. METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING A TABLE OF MORTALITY WITHOUT ANY REGISTRATION OF DEATHS. It has been proposed to determine the law of mortality for general population throughout a whole country by means of two successive cen- sus enumerations, taken, for instance, at intervals of ten years, as is now the case in the United States and in Great Britain, together with a reg- istry of the immigration and emigration which occurs during the inter- vening ten-year period. If at the first census a certain population, P,,, is returned as aged m and under m+1 years, then at the second census the survivors among them will be returned assaged m+10 and under METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 303 m+11 years, and the difference P,, — P,, + 10 between these two enumer- ations will be the number of deaths which have occurred out of the pop- ulation P,, within the ten-year period, if there has been no immigration or emigration, orif the immigration and emigration have been equal, so as to balance each other. Mf we regard P,, and P,, 4 1 a8 representing the numbers annually attaining the exact ages m+4 and m+104, then the fraction Pm +10 will denote the probability that a person aged m m-+4 will live ten years. In the United States, however, the number of immigrants contin- ually entering the country is so large as to become very important in this connection. Emigration from the country is comparatively small ; but assuming, for the sake of generality, that there has been a registry kept of the ages of both immigrants and emigrants, let us denote by I the number of persons who have entered the country during the ten- year period, and who are of such age as to have been m and under m+1 years old at the time of the first census, and let 2 denote the number of persons of similar age who have left the country during the same period. Also let D be the number of deaths which have occurred in the country out of the excess I—E of immigrants over emigrants, and let P+ 19 denote the population returned as aged m4+-10 and under m+11 at the second census. Then the portion of I—E surviving at the second census is I—E—D, and the difference P,, + 1.— (l1— E— D) is equal to that portion of the initial population P,, which survives at the time of the second census. The probability that a person aged m+4 will live ten years is therefore expressed by— Pr +0—(I—E—D) led All the quantities involved in this fraction are known excepting the deaths D; and as this is a small number compared with the others, the result will not be seriously affected if we compute the value of D, or, what amounts to the same thing, compute the survivors (I—K—D), by means of any good table of general mortality, considering separately the excess of immigrants of the suppssed age who have entered the country in each one of the ten years. (See the Assurance Magazine for April, 1867, page 289.) We can thus obtain the probability of living ten years for the middle of every year of age throughout the whole term of life. If the statistics of population and migration are given in the first place by decades or other intervals of age, the numbers can be distributed among the single years by means of (3) or some similar formula derivable from (2), (8), or (C). On the other hand, if the statistics are given for single years, the irregularities of the series can be diminished by using some formula under the second method of adjustment. We may assume, then, that the probability of living ten years has been ascertained for the middle of each single year of age, and that these probabilities form an approxi- 304 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. mately adjusted series. The problem which remains to be solved is, to find the probability of living one year at each age when the above-men- tioned probabilities of living ten years are given. It is an interesting point in relation to the whole subject of graduation of numerical series, that, instead of graduading a given series directly, we can take a constant function of each term in it, thus forming a new series, and, having graduated this, we can inversely derive from each of its terms a graduated value for the corresponding term in the original series. One consequence of this principle is, that if we take the loga- rithm of each term in the given series, and divide the series of logarithms thus formed into groups and graduate it by the first method, and then take the numbers corresponding to the graduated ipocaaties we shall have a graduated series representing the given one, and possessing this property, that the products of the terms in the assumed groups in it will be severally equal to the products of the terms in the corresponding groups in the given series. This is evidently the case, because the sums of the logarithms of the terms in the assumed groups are equal in the two series. Furthermore, since the equation of the graduated series of loga- rithms enables us to interpolate the sum of the logarithms of the terms in any group when the sums of the logarithms of the terms in the assumed groups are given, it follows that when the products of the terms, in any assumed groups in a numerical series, are known, we ean find, by interpo- lation, the product of the terms in any other group, or any single term. Now let Pu+ x3 Pim +1%9 Pm +249 &., denote the probabilities of living one year at the exact ages m+4, m+14, m+24, &c. The chance of living through any one year of age is contingent upon having lived through the years which precede it,so that the probability that a person aged m+4 will live two years is equal to the product py +1, ~Pm+1,, and the proba- bility that he will live ten years is equal to the continued product— Pm +3 X Pm +13 X Pm + 23 x hd <0. Fae eras oe comune X Pm + 9% It appears, then, that the probabilities of living one year at each age form a series such that the product of any n terms taken in a group is equal to the probability of living m years at the age corresponding to the first term in the group; and hence, according to the principles which have been stated, we can find, by interpolation, the probabilities of liy- ing one year when the probabilities of living ten years are known. Any twelve consecutive terms in a series will form three groups of ten terms each, and formula (2) will enable us to find any single term by means of the sums of the terms in the three groups. If we take— Nj —No—n3—10, a—=—4;=1, i. SsS=u then (2) reduces to— u=-,[T48 3, —33(S +8; \+4(S; Sije+4(S its S2).v?] ee (33) Let S;, Ss, and S; represent the logarithms of the Wbconies of living ten years at the ages m+4, m+1a, and m+24, respectively ; then if we METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 305 assign to x the values —$, +4, +3, &¢., in succession, the resulting values of w will be the logarithms of the probabilities of living one year at the ages m+54, m+64, m+74, &e. Tf we take x=0, the value of wu will be the logarithm of the probability of living one year at the age m-+6, and we shall have the simple formula— log Pm +6 gy /4 So —33(S;+8s)] sj as (34) To illustrate the use of this by an example, and to test its accuracy at the same time, let us suppose that there is no migration, and assume that, in accordance with the English Life Table, No. 3, for males, the population living at the first census, between the ages of 54 and 55, 55 and 56, 56 and 57, respectively is— P54 212061, P;;== 206984, Ps 201772 and that the survivors at the second census are— Pe= 154139, Pes = 147319, Peg = 140299 The logarithms of the probabilities of living ten years at the three ages 544, 554, and 564 are therefore— Si: —log Pg: —log P;,= 1.8614518 S.—=log Ps; —log P55 = 1.8523219 S;—=log Pes —log Psg = 1.8421937 and since m=54, we find that the logarithm of the probability of living one year at the age m+6=60 is— log Poo=ay[74 S2—33(S,-+ 8s)]=1.9856440 This value differs but very little from the one which is actually given by the English table, namely— log poo=log Ig, —log Igo=log 176421 —log 182350=1.9856445 The method followed in the above example will be found sufficient for the determination of the probability of living one year after every birth- day, except the first nine or ten of childhood and the last seven of old age. With the help of formula (33) we can find the probabilities for all the ages of childhood, except the first three or four, by assigning to a the nega- tive values —1, —2, —3, &c., which will give values for log pm 45, log Pm +4, lO Pm43, Ke. So, too, for the last years of life, we can find 10g Pm+ % 1OE Pm + 8) 10 Pm+ 9, &e., by assigning to # the positive values 1, 2, 3, &e. This will complete the series of values of log p from early child-. hood to extreme old age. Asit will be already approximately adjusted, nothing more will remain but to divide it into groups of an equal num- ber of terms each, and to make the final graduation by either the first or the third method. There will be a convenience in graduating the logarithms instead of the corresponding numbers, because log p, and not p itself, is what we require for computing in the most expeditious manner the numbers living to attain each year of age out of a given. 2U 8 71 306 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. number of persons who are born. It is quite possible, too, that the form of the series may be improved by this mode of procedure. The foregoing method of reduction will evidently apply to cases where the interval between the two census enumerations is any whole number of years other than ten, or even a fractional number. Suppose it to be ten and one-half years for instance, and take— M=N=N3 =), 4 =0,=1, til, S=u then formula (2) reduces to— S= 7os[970 S.—437(S;4+8,)+48(S;—S))7+48(8,4+8;—2 S,)a?] . .. (35) Let §,, S:, and 8S; be the logarithms of the probabilities of living ten and one-half years at the ages m+4, m+14, and m+24 respectively ; then if we assign to x the values —4, —4, + 3, &c., in succession, the result- ing values of w will be the logarithms of the probabilities of living one year at the ages m+5, m+6, m+7, &c. When x=—4, the formula becomes— log Pn+6=3$7(482 S.—211 8;—2238;) . . (36) from which values of log p can easily be found for all but the extreme ages of life. If the interval is either exactly or approximately an odd number of years, there will be a slight advantage in deriving the formula of reduc- tion from (8) rather than from (2). Suppose, for instance, that the second census is taken five years after the firstone. In the series of logarithms of the probabilities of living one year at each age, any eight consecu- tive terms will form four groups of five terms each, and formula (8) will enable us to find any single term by means of the sums of the terms in these groups. If we take— Ny =N_=5, a,=3, ay=3, vie S=u then (8) reduces to— u=J, [17 (S+8;)—9 (Si+8,)] + 7, Jap (405(Ss—S2)—103(S.—S)) ] 2 3 ) +59 ((Si1 +8) —(S:+8s)] +75 l(Si 81) —3 (8-83) ] Let S,, S., 83, S,, denote the logarithms of the probabilities of living five years at the ages m+4, m+14, m4+25, m+434, respectively ; then if x takes the values —1, 0, +1, &c., in succession, the resulting values of u will be the logarithms of the probabilities of living one year at the ages m+3, m+4, m+5, &c. For e=0 we have the simple formula— log Pm+4=eol[17(So+ S3)—9(Si:+8,)] ee (38) which affords a ready means of determining log p for all the birthdays except the extreme ones of childhood and old age. Oo METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 307 The general plan for graduating irregular series of numbers, whose application to the construction of tables of mortality has now been in- dicated, will undoubtedly be found useful in other directions. Every physieal law is a mathematical relation between one or more variables and a function. To ascertain the form of this relation, or the law of the natural phenomenon, we must obtain, by observation or experiment, a number of values of the function corresponding to known values of the variable, and then endeavor to find some analytical formula which will connect and express them all. For a statement of the nature of this general problem, and of the graphical and tentative methods which have been employed for its solution, see the discussion of experiments for ascertaining the law of variation of the density of water at different temperatures, given by M. Jamin in the Cours de Physique de lV Ecole Polytechnique, Vol. I, pages 39 to 50. The number of observed values of the function is ordinarily much greater than the number of constants in the desired formula. If there is but one independent variable, and the observed values of the function are plotted as ordinates to a curve, the corresponding values of the variable being the abscissas, this curve will be a more or less irregular or wavy line, because the ordinates which fix successive points in it are subject to the errors of observation. In ran exact equation of this line, the number of constants would, in gen- eral, be as large as the number of observations taken. The problem presented is, to simplify the equation by reducing the number of con- stants, while preserving a form of curve which shall approximate to the original one as closely as possible. Our first method of graduation secures such approximation by taking the ordinates of the original curve in groups, and making the arithmetical means of the ordinates in the corresponding groups in the new curve severally equal to those in the original one. ‘The equation of the new curve can only contain as many constants as there have been groups assumed. This plan has obvious advantages over the one usually followed, which is, to select or compute as many normal ordinates to the original curve as there are to be con- stants in the equation of the new one, and then subject the new curve to the condition of passing through the extremities of these ordinates, thus making the accuracy of the new curve depend on that of the observa- tions, as represented by the selected ordinates, instead of depending alike on all the observations in each group. When it is not convenient to have the observed values of the function correspond to equidistant values of the variable in the first place, they ean be reduced to equidistant ones either graphically, or by ordinary interpolation with Lagrange’s formula, or with (32), which is merely one form of a special case under it. The irregularities of the series may then be diminished by the second method of adjustment, and, finally, the first method will give an equation which will express the law of the 308 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. -phenomenon so far as that law can be expressed by an algebraic and entire function.* In practice, when this method is to be applied to the graduation of a particular series, it will not be essential to have the assumed groups contain an equal number of terms each, nor to make the groups consecu- tive. Their positions, and the number of terms they contain, may be entirely arbitrary. The integral— Sa [TP (A+ Bart Cae+ ope tubes! (gery sn seh arate eee ce expresses the sum S of the terms in any group in a series of the mth order by means of the m+1 constants A, B, C, &e., the number n of terms which the group contains, and the abscissa x# of the middle point of the group, each term in the series being regarded as an area occupy- ing, on the axis of X, a space equal to unity. In the case of any one of +he assumed groups, we know the sum 8 of the terms in it, and their number n, and the abscissa # of their middle point, so that we have an equation of condition which, besides the m+1 constants A, B, C, &e., contains only numerical quantities. Each group assumed furnishes one such equation. By assuming m-+1 groups we shall have as many equa- tions as there are constants A, B, C, &e., to be determined, and hence it will always be possible to find the numerical values of the constants. Substituting their values in the general expression for S, arranging the terms according to the powers of a, and puttingn=1 and S=w, we shall have an equation of the form— Wa Al Bip Cars| yur le fy oe ee which will be the equation of the graduated series, and from which that series may be constructed. It will have its mth differences constant and the arithmetical means of the terms in the corresponding groups in it will be severally equal to those of the terms in the m+1 groups assumed in the original series. But although the positions of the groups and the numbers of terms which they may contain are thus unlimited in theory, it will probably be best in most cases to make them consecutive and consisting each of the same number of terms. When the law of a series varies very rap- idly in some places, and slowly in others, it may indeed be necessary to assume, at those portions of the series where the variation is most rapid, a larger number of groups, consisting of fewer terms each, than will be required in the portions where the variation is slow. But with a fixed number of groups, the process of finding the values of the constants A, B, C, &e., will be simplified if the groups are assumed so as to be sym- metrically situated on either side of the origin of codrdinates; that is, situated in such manner that for every group of terms whose abscissa *The constant difference of the abscissas or arguments is here assumed to be unity. But if we wish to regard it as any other quantity h, we shall merely have to substitute, 1G in the final equation, ; in the place of x. . 1 h } METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 309 is +’ there shall be a group of an equal number of terms whose abscissa is —w’, and vice versa. Cases will often occur where the whole number of terms in a series is not an exact multiple of the number of groups we wish to assume, and therefore will not form the desired number of consecutive groups con- taining each an equal and entire number of terms. But itis not neces- sary that the number of terms in a group should be a whole number. If we suppose it to have a fractional part, then certain terms in the given series must be divided each into two portions, and each portion must be joined to its proper group. Every such term being geometric- ally represented by an area whose base is unity, and the two parts into which this unit is divided being known, the problem is, to divide the area into its two corresponding parts. We can often do this accurately enough for practical purposes by assuming that the two portions of the area are proportional to the two portions of the base; but amuch closer approximation will be made by taking the term in question and the pe others nearest to it as data for an interpolation by formula(A). Let S., Ss, be the three terms, and let » denote the first one of the two anne into which the base of S, is divided; then if we take— te x=—3(1—n) formula (A) reduces to— S=7(2 S:t58S 32 —S3 s+ 3 —S,)r+(Si+8;—2 S.)n?] ° é . (3 ye where S is that portion of the area S, which corresponds to the first fractional part of the base. The other portion is of course S.—S. For example, if we wish to divide the ninety terms of series (/) into seven consecutive groups of an equal number of terms each, the number of terms in a group will be 9®=12S, The sum of the terms in the first group will be composed of the twelve terms for the ages 10 to 21 inelu- sive, together with so much of the term for the age 22 as corresponds to the fractional interval x=. The three terms for the ages 21, 22, and 23 are— Si= . 67539, S.= . 68445, S3;= . 67164 and formula (39) gives “for that part of Ss which belongs to the first group the value S=.58695, and the sum of the terms in the first group is therefore 6.42804. The portion 8.—S=.09750 belongs to the second group. After the sums of the terms in all the other groups have been formed in the same way, the equation of a graduated series of the sixth order can be obtained by means of formula (I), just as when n, is a whole number. The ACCUTACY of this last part of the work can be ‘tested by the condition that the sum of all the terms in the graduated series must be precisely equal to the sum of all the terms in the original series (/). * This formula can also be written— SB (Si 48.48 ats" a, ) where A; and A; are the finite differences of the series 8), 82, §3 310 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. We have remarked that when a series is graduated by means of formulas such as (A), (B), (C), &c., the accuracy attained is greatest at the middle of the series and least atits extremities. The question then arises, whether the errors cannot be more equally distributed through- out the whole series by making the number of terms in a group smaller at the extremities and increasing up to the middle, instead of having the number the same for all the groups. When any particular law of increase is adopted, there will be no difficulty in finding corresponding formulas similar to (A), (B), &c., by which to compute the values of the constants. For the results of some recent investigations by Tchebitcheff with regard to the best arrangement of the data in making ordinary interpolations, not from groups, but from single terms or ordinates, see the Traité de Calcul Différentiel of J. Bertrand, pages 512 to 521. These naturally lead to the supposition that when the method of groups is used, the best representation of a given series by another of algebraic form will be obtained by regarding the whole interval which the series occupies on the axis of X as being divided, not into equal portions, but into portions which are the projections upon it of equal divisions of a semicircle drawn upon that interval as a diameter, the number of these divisions being made equal to the number of groups assumed. Of course the number of terms in each group will in general be fractional. Fora series of the second order, the numbers of terms in the three assumed groups will be— =N3=5N( 1—cos; )=4iN vo where N denotes the whole number of terms in the series, so that $N is the radius of the semicircle. In equation (1), S=n{A+ Br+C(2’+4 jn’) | we substitute for n its three values 2,, 22, and 3 in succession, and for x the three corresponding values— x=—3N, == (0; c= IN thus obtaining the three equations of condition— S:=1tN(A—3BN+4CN’) S2=2 N(A+ 7, CN") S)>=1N(A+2BN+2, CN’) These determine A, B, and C; and arranging the original equation according to the powers of x2, we have the formula— pes ad a A=3yl! S2—(Si+S8s)] 16 B= S;—S =3y2(Ss—) (40) 16 C= wall 1+83)—Sy] S=n(A+ 4, Cv+B r+ a METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 311 In the same way we can find the values of four, five, &c., constants in the general formula (12). For a series of the third order, the numbers of terms in the four groups are— m=n=}N( 100s} )=32— V2)N M=N3=1N cos qui V2 and the distances from the origin to the middle points of the groups are m=1(2+ V2)N, @=1N VO When these values are substituted in formula (8), the constants reduce to— “(2 V2—1)(S2+8s)—(Si+8,)] N 4 ; B=5/8(8:—S2)—(S,—8))] (41) C= I(Si+8))—( V2—-1)(S-+59)] = il (8u—Si) —(8s—8) For a series of the fourth order the numbers of terms in the five groups are— 1 —=N5=2 Ne — cos 5 = 0954915 N ye and proceeding as in the case of formula (40), we find that the constants are— bo al o| N= INC cos 5 = —COS > 7 =.3090170 N A=5[3.777709 S)-+1(Si+8s)—4111456(8,48)] ih 2 eN — = jl 13.088544(8, —S8,)—4°(8;—8))] C= 5 5[55.33 370(S2+8,)—71.73251 S;— 144(S;+85)]) (42) 1 P > a D=y,[* 42.(8;—S 1) —63.28668(S,—8,.) | 256 B= [Ss+-(81-+8s)—(S2+8))] We might go on in the same way to find formulas for constructing series of still higher orders. It will be noticed that in all these cases, in the expression for the final constant, the sums 8), S:, &¢., have the same coefficient when taken without regard to sign, so that all the terms in a given series will be of equal weight in determining the coefficient of the highest power of a. 312 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. ' Nevertheless, such trials as have been made with this system of group- ing have not resulted favorably for its use in constructing mortality tables. The series seems to be rather distorted by it. This is shown when we construct by formula (42) a series of the fourth order to repre- sent the given series (f). Here we have N=90, and consequently— Ny =N5=8.594235, N=M4=224, 23=27.81153 so that the sums of the terms in the five groups, as found by the aid of formula (39), are— S:= 3.63932 S;= 68.3619 == 17.60021 S4=337.0553 S;=297.960 the five constants are found to be— A=1.919514 =.008277894 B= .1673728 D=.0001512150 E=.0000006635611 and the equation of the graduated series stands— u=1.920204-+ .1674106 7+ .008278226 xv + 0001512150 a + 0000006635611 at If the values —4, +4, +3, &c., are assigned to x, the resulting values of w are the terms in the eraduated series for the ages 54, 55, 56, &e. The sum of all the terms in the series is equal to the sum of all the terms in (7), as it should be. But it does not afford a good representation of (/), especially in the first half. It begins at the age 10 with the value 14024, goes on increasing up to the age 27, where it has a maximum of .81152, then diminishes up to the age 36, where it has a mini- mum of .77662, then increases to the close, having the value 41.690 at the age 99. On the other hand, if we construct by formula (C) the equation of a similar series from hee consecutive groups of eighteen terms each, the sums of the terms in the groups are— Si= 9.82520 S3;= 39.94320 S,=16.89333 S,=154.96600 §;=502.98900 the five constants are— A=2,023103 C=.007188222 B= .1433032 D=.0001722763 E=.000001434104 and the equation of the graduated series is— U=2.023702+ 1433463 x + .007188939 2+ 0001722763 x + .000001434104 x4 This represents (7) with a considerable approach to accuracy, commenc- ing at the age 10 with the value .32319, increasing continuously there- after, and terminating at the age 99 with the value 43.443. This exam- METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 313 ple seems to indicate that so far as has yet been ascertained, the most advantageous mode of grouping is to make the groups consecutive and composed of an equal number of terms each; a system which has, besides, the merit of greater simplicity.* The algebraic and entire function— y=A+Br+C 2?+ &e. is of course not the only one which it is possible to employ for the purpose of graduating a given irregular series. If we take any other continuous function— 10.0) 6 0 ret Frame! be) then, as before, the io a "WA, TSO) et ate ta aims pt x—tn will express the sum S of the terms in any group in the graduated series by means of the number » of terms which that group contains, the abscissa w of its middle point, and the constants A,B,C, . . . TT. By assuming in the given series as many groups as there are constants, and giving toS,n, and & their numerical values taken from these several groups, we shall have as many equations of condition as there are con- stants to be determined; and if we can perform the operations necessary for finding the numerical values of the constants from these equations, then the equation of the graduated series can be easily formed, and the series itself can be constructed therefrom. This series will not have any one of its orders of differences constant, but it will be a graduated Series nevertheless, and the arithmetical means of the terms in the cor- responding groups in it will be severally equal to those in the original series. It will, no doubt, sometimes be possible to find in this way a transcendental equation which will express a given series more advan- tageously than an algebraic equation could do. We may here notice a peculiarity of the circular function— y=A+B5 sin Cy ")+Ceos (E =x" +p sin? (GR ") 3 a i. +E cos2 (FQ )+ reins x" +6 e0s3 (EF = x" + &e. in which N denotes the number of terms in the circular period, or the length of the period measured on the axis of X, so that if the values a’, “+N, v/+2N, &e., are successively assigned to a, the value of y will remain unchanged. The arithmetical mean of any » terms taken in a group, aud also the mean value of the ordinate within any interval n, will be— e497 Maa=> [ en" yde | —in *This may be a too hasty conclusion. Other trials have since shown that (40), (41), and (42) do sometimes, and perhaps generally, give the best results. 314 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. is Da TL sin( = us +)+e eos( 5 eae >) N, 7 D—m D-: — sin 22" we [D sin2 =X" )4Beos2 & x) Ui oe Ina +e sin Bee [® sin 3(7R : ")+6 cos 3 CR “x )| +&e. The expressions for S and M are thus identical in form with the expres- sion for y, the constants B and ©, D and EB, F and G, &e., being merely multiplied, in the expression for M, by the known factors— : an gi yon a 3TzN Cay) Gam Gam &e This property has already been discovered, and utilized in forming the equations of curves representing annual variations of temperature, the observed monthly means being taken as data.* (See the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal for July, 1861, and the American Journal of Sci- ences and Arts for January and September, 1863.)} The quantity M is there regarded as the mean value of the infinite number of ordinates, or “instantaneous temperatures,” which fall within the interval , and not as the arithmetical mean of a finite number n of terms taken in a group. In general, to obtain an expression for the sum S of the terms in a group, itis not necessary that any integration should be performed. Since the form of the function ¢ is arbitrary, it follows that the form of and consequently— Me Aes f ydv is arbitrary also, and may be assumed at pleasure. Denoting by J(v) any continuous function of one variable, let us substitute in the place of the variable first +4 and then «—4, and let the difference between the two results be— u=fet+s)—flw—3) . . . (43) Let values in arithmetical progression, whose constant difference is unity, be successively assigned to # in the above expression. In the series formed by the resulting values of wu let any group of » terms be * For the purposes janice Vip reece G = B. va) y=! +x ’ 3; SIN oe “ec 1 we yt 2 sin 2 ra + C2 cos 2 Ge ae ( ed s Bs sin st oe cos (= y + &e. Then, after integrating, we shall . ie— g— {z 27x C S An + Ss B : 41 COS in ) sin N +C, 9 : By ; 2x C S Q7rax + sin : " sin 2 ( N + Cz cos 2 Ta + sin 3 = : Bs sin 3 eee + C3 cos 3 ) N For other formulas, see Appendix IV. . t These articles are by J. D. Everett. JU METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. OL considered, and let a be the value of x corresponding to the first term ; then the sum of the terms in the group is— S=fa+3) Sa) + Ma 9) Met Dt Ma+ Met +....2... $f(atn—$)—f(a4+n—3) which cancels at once to— S=/(a+n—3)—f(a—3) Now, if x’ be the value of 2 corresponding to the middie of the group, we have— x’=a+4(n—1) and consequently — a=wv'—sn+4 so that the expression for S reduces to— S=f(a'+4n)—f(x'—4n) . . . (44) We can conceive that, by varying the form of the function f and the values of the constants which it contains, the series of values of wv can be made to approximate more or less closely to any given series of equi- distant numbers which follow some general law. Hence, to graduate such a given series, we have only to assume a function f(x) of suitable form, and substituting in it first 7+4n and then «—4n in place of the variable x, the difference between the two results will express the sum S of the terms in any group in the graduated series by means of the number x of terms which that group contains, the abscissa x of the mid- dle point of the group referred to an assumed origin of coédrdinates, and the constants which are involved in the function f(x). In the case of any single group the values of n and x are known, and the value of S being taken equal to the sum of the terms in the corresponding group in the given series, we shall have an equation of condition containing only the unknown constants and numerical quantities. By assuming aS many groups as there are constants, we obtain a number of equations just sufficient to determine the values of the constants. Substituting these values in formula (45), we obtain the equation which expresses the empirical law of the given series, and from which the graduated one may be constructed. The arithmetical means of the terms in the assumed groups in the graduated series will be severally equal to those of the terms in the corresponding groups in the given one. If we assume more groups than there are constants, there will result a number of equations of condition greater than the number of con- stants to be determined. The values of the constants can then be found by the method of least squares. In this way we may expect, in certain cases, to increase a little the degree of general accuracy with which the graduated series represents the given one, without at the same time increasing the number of constants and raising the degree of the equa- tion. But of course the arithmetical means of the terms in the cor- responding groups in the two series will now be only approximately 316 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. equal to each other, and the operations of finding and verifying the equation of the graduated series will become much more laborious. If we do not know beforehand what form the function ought to have, the most effectual means of increasing the accuracy of representation will be to increase the number of constants equally with the number of groups assumed, For instance, it is probable that a series of the sixth order, obtained either by the first or the third method, will represent an approximately adjusted series, such as (f/) in Table II, more accurately than any series of the fourth order, whether obtained with or without the aid of the principle of least squares, can possibly do. The method of least squares can of course be used independently, for the purpose of graduating an irregular series of numbers. But every term will furnish one equation of condition, so that the number of equa- tions will be as great as the whole number of terms in the series, and if this number is large the amount of labor required to find and verify the values of the constants becomes very considerable, while the method cannot be expected to have any advantage over the method of interpo- lation by groups, as regards the general accuracy of the result, except in cases where the assumed function is capable of expressing the true law of the natural phenomenon, or of approximating to it so closely that the errors resulting from the difference in the form of the function will be everywhere small enough to be neglected in comparison with the errors of observation. Applied to an algebraic and entire function, the general effect of the method of least squares will be to increase a little the accuracy of representation at the extremities of the series, at the cost of increased errors in the remaining portion. To illustrate this by an example, let us compare two equations, taken of the second degree for the sake of simplicity, each of them representing the first six terms of series (i), the first equation being obtained by the method of groups and the second by the method of least squares. In the three consecu- tive groups of two terms each the sums are— §,=.83107, S2=.79689, S;=.84473 and since n,=2, formula (A) gives for the equation of the new series— w=.39717-+.0017075 #+-.0051262 a2 If we assign to x the values — §,—3, —4, &c.,in succession, the result- ing values of wu are the terms in the new series, as follows: = A2494, U;=.39760, Us=.41126 U,=.40614, Us=.39930, Ug=.A3348 When these are compared with the original values in series (h), their differences or errors, taken without regard to sign, are found to be— 00176, OOLOL, OO1LST 00177, .00100, . 00158 The sum of the squares of these errors is .0000132. Next, we form six equations of condition of »the second degree from METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. at the first six terms in series (h), and find that by the method of least squares the equation of the new series is— u=.39710+ .0015743 x+ 0051468 x? This gives for the terms in the new series— U,=.42533, U3=.39760, Us=.41104 U=. 40632, U,=.39918, Ug == .4332 the errors are— 00137, 00101, .00179 .00195, 00112, 00131 and the sum of the squares of the errors is .0000129, which is a mini- mum. Comparing these results with the ones obtained by the method of groups, we see that nothing has really been gained in accuracy by employing the method of least squares, since the maximum error has been increased by it from .00177 to 00195. Besides, the method of groups has a great advantage in the simplicity and brevity of the cal- culations required.* The sum S of the terms in any group can be expressed in still another form by means of a series. When f(v+4n) is expanded according to the powers of $n, it becomes— pect Hela) ae) ta fea) tego (5) + &e. where f’(x), f(x), &c., are the successive differential coeflicients of f(z). Consequently we have— S=flet$n)—f(w—$2n) . ie 2 aa o =[P@tsf’"O(@) traaal/G) bun 1 wy A tran 2 + &e. | This series will terminate if f(2) is algebraic and entire. To illustrate its application, let us assume— S'(e)=A+Br+ C2? then the other derivatives are— f'"(@)=B42Cx file) =2C while f(x), f’(x), &c., are zero. = have accordingly — son rts ri(8) a [A+ Br-+O( eel n*) | * There is still another method of interpolation, devised by Cauchy, which can be used in cases of this kind. It is, however, more laborious than the method here pro- posed, and trials which have been made indicate that it does not secure any greater accuracy. For some account of it, see the American Journal of Science for July, 1862, and Lionville’s Journal, vol. 18, page 299. 318 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. which is identical with formula (1). It will be found that the general formula (11) can be obtained in this way more easily than in any other. The particular feature of the first method of adjustment, that it makes the arithmetical means of the terms in the corresponding assumed groups in the new series precisely equal to those in the original one, is also characteristic of a method which has sometimes been employed in solving equations of condition. (See the Calculs Pratiques Appliqués aux Sciences W Observation, by MM. Babinet and Housel, page 81.) If the law of a series is to be represented by an equation of the form— y=A+Bo¢(x)+Cy(a)+ &e., where ¢(x), y(x), &c., do not contain any constants to be determined, then there will subsist between any given terms or ordinates 41, Yo, Ys &¢., and the corresponding abscissas 2, %, #3, &c., the following equa- tions of condition : . y=A+ Bog(ax,) +Cy(a7))4+&e. y= A+ Bo(x2) 4+ Cw (x2) + &e. Y3=A-+ B¢(xs) + Cy (x3) + &e. we. &e. Let us suppose for example that there are only three constants, A, B, and ©, and that the number of terms in the given series is any greater number, for instance six. Then to reduce the six equations of condition to only three, we may add them together in pairs or groups of two, and, denoting the sums of the terms in the three groups by 8), S2, Ss, we shall have— S:=2 A+ B[¢(a@1)+ ¢(#2)|4+C[y(a1) + ¥(%2)| S.=2 A+ B[¢(a3)+ ¢(#s)|+C[Y(as)+ Y(a4)] S.=2 A+ Blo(as) + ¢(@e)|-+C[ (es) + ¥(a0)] Here there are only as many equations as there are constants to be de- termined, and since 8), S:, 83, and 2, #2, &c., are known from the origi- nal series, we can obtain the numerical values of the three constants. Let these be A’, B/, and ©’; then the equation of the graduated Series is— y=A!+ Bi o(x)4+C'y (a) and when the values 2, %, #3, &¢., are suecessively assigned to the vari- able in this equation, the resulting values of y will be the terms of the graduated series, and the arithmetical means of the terms in the assumed groups will be the same in it as in the original series. This will always be the case, without regard to the number of terms in the series, or to the number of constants and groups to be assumed, or to the extent or position of the groups. Itis not even necessary that the terms grouped together should be consecutive, nor that the abscissas 2, 2%, #3, &¢., should be in arithmetical progression. This method, however, labors under certain disadvantages when com- pared with the one which we have proposed. The computations it in- volves are much more laborious, especially when the number of con- METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 319 stants or the number of terms in the series is large; it does not give any general expression like (12) or (44) for the sum S of any » terms taken in a group, and it does not permit the use of groups composed of a frac- tional number of terms. ADJUSTMENT OF A DOUBLE SERIES. By methods entirely analogous to those which have been applied to functions of one variable, we can proceed to graduate an irregular dou- ble series or table of values of a function of two variables. The table is supposed to be arranged in the usual rectangular form, the successive values of each variable being equidistant. The intervals between any two such values, however, are not necessarily the same for both varia- bles. The algebraic equation— =A+Br+Cy4+D2’?+Eyt+Fary+ &e. is the equation of a curved surface. The rectangular table being sup- posed to be situated in the plane of X Y, with its sides parallel to the axes of X and Y, and its middle point coinciding with the origin of co- ordinates, let a series of equidistant vertical planes be drawn parallel to the plane of ZY, and another series of planes in like manner parallel to the plane of Z X, so that the intersections of these planes with the plane of X Y shall form the divisions of the given table. Each of these divisions is the base of a solid which is limited at the sides by the ver- tical planes and at the top by the curved surface. Every such solid may be regarded as representing the corresponding tabulated value of the function, and the sides of the bases are taken as unity, but the units lying in the directions of x and y are not necessarily equal to each other. If we assume a group of adjacent divisions of the table, situated so as to form a rectangle whose sides, parallel to the axes of X and Y, consist each of m and n units respectively, then the solid included be- tween this rectangular base, its limiting vertical planes, and the curved surface, will be represented by the integral— y'+4hn x! er = € ly y'—tn —}m where a and y’ are the codrdinates of the middle point of the rectan- gular base. Performing the integrations indicated, and omitting the accents from a’ and y’, we have— S=mn{A+Bae+Cy+D(e?+ fem) + Ey + ion) +Faey+&e.] . . . (46) This solid is evidently the sum of the solids which belong to the several divisions of the assumed group, so that the formula expresses the sum § of the terms in any rectangular group in the table by means of the numbers m and » of terms contained in each one of the sides of the group lying parallel to the axes of X and Y respectively, the cobrdi- nates w and y of the middle point of the group, and the constants A, B, Q, &c. For any group assumed we know the numerical values of S, m, 320 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. n, v, and y, so that every such group furnishes an equation of condition which, besides the constants A, b, C, &c., contains only numerical quantities. By assuming aS many groups as there are constants, we shall always be able to find numerical values for the constants, and sub- stituting them in formula (46), and making— Mii ie S=u we shall have an equation of the form— u=A!/4+ B/e4+Cyt+D/v??+EY’+F’ey+&e. which will be the equation of the graduated table, and from which that table can be constructed by assigning to # and y the proper series of values differing from each other by unity, so that they shall represent in succession the codrdinates of the middle point of each division of the table. We ean also make an approximate adjustment of a double series by formulas analogous to those which we have already found under the second method for adjusting an ordinary series. For example, any nine adjacent terms %, U2, Us,----Ug being grouped in a rectangle with three ce b! a U3 Uy aN: terms on each side, as in the figure, let it be required to find a formula by which to adjust the value of the middle term ws. Let us suppose that the equation of the curved surface is— e=A+Br4+Cy+D7+Ey then F and all the succeeding constants disappear, and formula (46) becomes— S=mn[A+Be+Cy+D(a?+ ym’) 4+ E(y?+ ysn’)] . 6. (47) Now, in the rectangle aa’ we have— S=UWy4+ Ut ts, m1, —os ils 70 so that (47) reduces to— ! U+U2.+Uj=3(A+4 B+13D+2E) So, too, in the rectangle bb’ we have— S=uUg+Ust Us, Ms, i=3, @c—0, J—0 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. ood and (47) becomes— Ug + U5+ Uj =3(A+55D+3E) Likewise the rectangle cc’ gives— Uz Uy + U9 =3(A—B+13D+3E) Again, for the rectangle ad’ we have— Sy tb Ug + Ug-+ Us + Uy + Usgy m=, M2, x and (47) reduces to— Uy $ Uy UUs + G+ W=6(A+4 C+3D+,, EB) In like manner the rectangle de’ gives— Uz Us+ Us+ Ug + Ugt Ug =6(A—$ C+? D+ 5 EB) We have thus obtained five equations by which to determine the five constants A, B, C, D, E, in terms of the tabulated values 1, u, w3, &e. Now, in the middle one of the nine divisions we have— II S 4 ll rw Us, it a= Ue Z—U, y=0 and formula (47) becomes— U;=A+ 1,D4+ 3455 Substituting in this the values of the constants A, D, and E, we arrive at the result— Us=4[D Us + 2 (Ug Ug + Ugt Us) — (MA U+U+HUs)] « . (48) and this is the adjustment formula required. Its accuracy can easily be tested by trial with any table constructed from an equation of the form— u=A/+ Ble+C/yt Dv? + EY’ the adjusted value being in this case the same as the original one. In- deed, we shall find that the result is exact, even when the table has been constructed from a complete equation of the third degree. Again, to adjust the value of a term occupying the middle of one side of the assumed rectangle, as wz, for instance, we have— S=t, m=. (i i, y=0 and consequently— Wm=A+B+413 D4+,4E Substituting the values of A, b, D, and E, we obtain the adjustment formula— Ug=FD Ug 2(Uj + Ust Us+ Ug) —(Ug+ Up tUs+Uy)} ~~ (49) In a similar way the adjusted value of a term like 4, occupying one: corner of the assumed rectangle, is found to be Uj =H UWA 2(Ug+ Uz + Uy + Uz) —(Us+ Up + Ugt Uy)] . » (50) By one or other of the three formulas here given, the value of any term in an irregular table can be approximately adjusted, and, asin the case of an ordinary series, the weight of the term to be adjusted may be in- creased or diminished at pleasure. 218 71 322 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. APPENDIX I. IMPROVED ADJUSTMENT FORMULAS. We have seen that in (16) and similar formulas used for making pre- paratory adjustments by the second method, the local weight of the middle term can be increased or diminished if desired, and that, when the for- mula includes more than five terms, the weights of other terms besides the middle one can also be made to vary. We have employed this pro- perty in assigning to the several terms, weights increasing in arithmeti- cal progression, from the extreme terms to the middle one, as in formula (20). But further investigation has shown that this arrangement of the weights, aithough it gives formulas which are very simple and easy of application, is not the best one in theory. To determine what the best arrangement is, we must consider that when one of these formulas is ap- plied at any part of a series, all those terms which are not included by the formula have the weight zero; that as the adjustment progresses, when a term is first included by the formula its weight is negative, it then becomes positive, attains its maximum when the term occupies the mid- dle position, then diminishes till if becomes negative again, and finally resumes the weight zero when the term is no longer included by the for- mula. To make this transition as unbroken and continuous as possible, it is evident that if we regard the weights as ordinates to a curve, the form of this curve should be as shown in the annexed figure, for a formula including seven terms whose postions 1,2, 3,008 6) i045 are laid off equidistantly on the axis of X. The curve is symmetrical with respect to the middle ordinate or axis of 5 Y, and is tangent to the axis of X at the points 0 and 8, which are the positions of the two nearest terms not included by the formula, Such a curve has four points of inflexion, so that if it is of algebraic form, it must be of a degree not lower than the sixth. we are enabled to interpolate the sum § of any x terms taken in a group, or any single term, and to form a recurring series of the third order, such that the arithmetical means of the terms in the six assumed groups will be the same in it as in the given series. The equation of the grad- uated series will be of the form— u=B" 9? 4+C"74+ De When the assumed groups are consecutive, we shall have h=n,. The METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 30 three roots of the equation of relation must in all cases be positive; if any of them are negative, the inference will be that the given series cannot, for purposes of interpolation, be represented by an equation of the proposed form. If the number of constants is odd, for instance, seven, we shall find the scale of relation from the four equations— A,(Sp—= A+ Ai(Si—A)+ Ao(S;—A’)+ (S,—A)=0 Ao(Si— A’) + many o(S3—A’)+ (S,—A’)=0 Agiss— A+ A,(S;— A) Ao(S,—A4£(S;—A)=0 ee en lie 5— A’) +(Sp— A’) =0 first eliminating A’ by subtracting each equation from the succeeding one. The equation of relation will be of the same degree as in the pre- vious case, and the values of A’, B’, C’, and D’ will be found from the four equations of condition— So=A/+ B/+C’4 D! =A/+B/3'+C//"74+-D!0 Sh S.=A/+ B/ 3+C/ y+ dD! yd S = A/+B/ 33*+4 0/74 D/ 6 If the number of constants and of groups assumed were eight or nine, the mode of procedure would be precisely similar to the above. The scale of relation would contain four terms, and the four roots of the equation of relation— ei+ A; 4 / 92” Ay z+A,=0 would be the values of the four constants /3”, 7", 0", <. In the simplest case of all, we have the curve— emt id whose equidistant ordinates are in geometrical progression. If we assume— y=A+(B log’ 8) it is easy to obtain the following: _ ea i= (= —S ees iat (3 18 a — 3-3 m) (67) [Ss -(3=*) nh GE Bc pe This can often be used with advantage in place of (3) or any similar 302 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. formula, in making a distribution of population or deaths at the earliest and latest ages of life, where the values vary so rapidly as to give the series an exponential rather than a parabolic torm. But when our object is merely to graduate an irregular series whose terms are all separately given, the easiest way to put it in an exponen- tial form will be to take the common logarithms of all the terms, as has been already suggested, and adjust them by the second and first methods, and then take the numbers corresponding to the graduated logarithms. The equation of the final series will be of the form U=104+bx-+c2?+&0.) the simplest case of which— Uu=10(4+b2) represents a geometrical progression. APPENDIX II. Among the various methods which can be used for fixing the values of the local weights in adjustment formulas, the following one is perhaps deserving of especial notice : Assuming that the true law of a given series of numbers may be regarded as algebraic and of an order not higher than the third, and that the irregularities in the series are of the nature of accidental errors or deviations from this true law, and that deviations of a given amount are as likely to occur in one term as in another, let it be required to find that system of weights which will render the probable value of the fourth differences of the adjusted series, taken without regard to sign, @ minimum, Considering, in the first place, the most general form of an adjustment formula comprising only five terms, which may be written— [Ie Ws 4 (te Uy) — (U4 +Us)]. . (68) U3= u k+6 we have for the values of five consecutive terms in the adjusted series— w= ErGlh Us+4(Uo+ Uy) — (t+ Us) | w= eagle Us 4 (Us Us) —(U2+ Uo) ] u = Ealt Us 4( Us Ug) — (Us +t) | Wo=erglh Ug A(Us+ Uz) — (Us+ Us) | a! =e s| fe z+ 4 (e+ Us) — (Us +us)] METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. wou The fourth difference of these terms is— 4=6 W'5s—4 (Wg +6) + (+2) and consequently — A. [(6k—34)u;—(4 k—32)(Us+ Ug) + (kK —22) (34+ uy) +8(U2+ Ug) — (+ Uy) | If we suppose that the series 4, %&, U3, &e., is of an order not higher than the third, the adjusted series w’s, wy, ws, &e., will be of the same order, so that its fourth differences will be zero, and both members of the above equation will be equal to zero. Butif each of the terms aw, %, &e., is liable to an accidental deviation or error, whose probable amount is denoted by <, then the probable value of 4,, taken without regard to sign, will be— (4) =- 75/6 k—34pP-+2] (4b—32)P-+ (k— 22-8" 1] ut k+6 which reduces to— 5 7121 ELA (4) rapes k?—1008 k+-4302 Regarding (44) as a function of the variable k, we have the equation— (Ag) _ alles from which to find that value of k which makes (4,) aminimum. This is k=111; and substituting it in (68), we obtain— Us=7h5[111 U3+56(U2+ u4)—14(u4us5)] . . (69) which is thé adjustment formula sought. To find a similar one including seven terms, we may take the most general form as used in obtaining (52), or, what amounts to the same thing, by proceeding as in the demonstration of formula (20), we can get— i UW=7—_ | (h'+ 4k —15),4+ (4 k—15) (34 aie uOnesso! fos eee Mate B= Ottis) +(6—k)(U2+ U6) —(U1+%4)] Since k’ affects only the weight of the middle term, we may, for the sake of brevity, denote that weight by k’ alone, and so write— if ” Us =F G Ranh at (K-15) (Uo + Us) + (6K) (tat Ue) — (t+ te] ee EU) The expression for the fourth difference of the adjusted series then is— it 46 R20 + (ki —22 k4-100) (4,4 ug) —(45—8 k) (3+ Uy) + (10—k)(u2+ Uo) — (t+ Un) | 6k! —34k4-132)ug— (4k! —32 k-+130)(ats-+ uz) 334 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. and when each term is supposed to be affected by a probable error or deviation «, the probable value of 4, becomes— (41) = preg pag (OF —BERF BE +2 (EW 32 kf 130P + (k’ —22 k+100)?+ (45—8 k)?+ (10—k)? +1] which reduces to— (Ay) =p 6a 70k! 2-4-4302 k2— 1008 kik’ +4064 k! — 35896 k-- 75476 Regarding (4,) as a function of the two independent variables k and k’, we have the two es 4 (44) (44) “i =O dk! mS giving the values k=} and k’= 489, which render (4,) a minimum. Substituting these in (70), we get the adjustment formula sought— Us = zqWp [469 Wy +324(U3+ Us) + 54(Uo+ Ug) —60(Uj+U7)] . . (71) It is found that in each of the formulas (69) and (71), the whole series of weights, taken together with the eight nearest zero weights, consti- tutes a series of the tenth order. By means of this property, we can construct with greater facility the following similar formulas: Us = zag g| 2884 U5 2268 (4+ Ue) + 918 (s+ Uz) —132 (2+ Ug) a9 (2 —297(uj;+ %9) | Ug=qebgq| 1308 Up+6160(u5+ Uz) +3410(U,+ Ug) + 660(Us+ Uy) 73 —T15 (t+ U0) —572(% +41) | > vi ) Ur= oat s7 [48636 U;+ 42768 (Ug + Ug) +27 918 (5+ Ug) + LOSGS (Us M4) —1287 (Us 41) —5148 (2+ U2) —2860(24 + tH) | gis U:= =a7195 [S2764. Ug T4844. 27+ Ug) + 54054 (G+ Uo) + 28028 (U5 U1) 75 0 D733(Ug+ U2) — 6552 (U3 43) — 8092 (2+ M4) — 8672 (044+ ths ;)| If the smallness of the fourth differences of the adjusted series is to be taken as the ultimate and only test of its regularity of curvature, it will follow that these formulas ought to be used in preference to (53), (54), (55), &c., from which, indeed, they do not differ greatiy, as can be seen on comparing their decimal weights. The probable errors of the ad. iusted terms, however, are increased a little, and the weights follow a curve which is not precisely tangent to the line of the zero weights. At all events, the same principles can be usefully employed in fixing the weight of the middle term in formula (48), so as to give greater reg- ularity to the adjustment of a double series. By a process precisely analogous to that by which (69) was obtained, it can be proved that in order to render the probable value of the gomplete second difference METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 385 442 of the adjusted double series a minimum, the weight of the middle term must be increased from 5 to 84, so that— Us=qlg[83 Us+8( Us Us Upt Us) —4(WF UstUi+Uy)] . « (76) will be the bets required. APPENDIX III. Since the present memoir was written, the author has met with a small work by Schiaparelli, designed with especial reference to the reduction of meteorological observations, and entitled Sul modo di rica- vare la vera espressione delle leggi della natura dalle curve empiriche; Mi- lan, 1867. That work, it is proper to acknowledge, anticipates to a certain extent the second method of adjustment here given. It con- tains, in section 45, a development of the general relation, or system of conditions, which exists between the numerical coefficients or weights, in formulas for adjusting the middle one of any group of an odd num- ber of terms in a series. The mode of demonstration is quite different from the one here followed, and its author does not obtain any of the special adjustment formulas which have here been constructed and _ re- commended, such as (17), (19), &¢., (53), (54), &c., or (69), (71), &e. He gives instead, on page 17, that special case under our formula (13) which arises when we take— N=, a,=4(n;—1) and also gives, on page 47, the formulas which render the probable error of the adjusted term a minimum. We have seen that these last can be derived from equations of condition by the method of least squares; that their weights form series of the second order; and that the adjustments which they make are not nearly so smooth and regular as those made by formulas whose weights follow a curve which is continuous with the line of the zero weights. The method of least squares presupposes that the assumed algebraic equation, of a degree not higher than the third, can accurately represent the true law of the natural phenomenon throughout the whole group of terms included by the formula; and, more- over, to give full scope to the method, the number of terms included ought to be large. These conditions will be but imperfectly fulfilled in practice, and since the true law of the natural series is supposed to be continuous and not irregular or broken, it appears probable, or at least quite possible, that the system of Sena which makes fhe smoothest adjustment will also make the most accurate one. The method which Schiaparelli gives on pages 23 to 30 of his work, for obtaining the values of the constants in empirical equations of alge- braic or circular form when the arithmetical means of the terms in cer- tain groups are taken as data, is not equivalent to the first method here proposed. It requires for completeness two sets of formulas, one to be 336 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. used when the number of terms grouped together is odd, and the other when it is even; it regards the terms as being geometrically represented by ordinates, instead of areas, and does not permit the use of groups composed of a fractional number of terms, and it is not generally appli- cable to functions of other forms than those specified. APPENDIX IV. ADDITIONAL FORMULAS FOR INTERPOLATION WITH A CIRCULAR FUNCTION. Denoting by N the whole number of terms in the circular period, let OS us write Wm then assuming the curve— y=A+}0o[B, sin (w9)+C, cos (#)|+ 3 6[Bsin2(x6)+ C,cos 2(a 9)| ) + 30[B, sin 3(a@ 0)4+C; cos 3(x 0) |4+&e, ¢( we shall have for the sum of the terms in any group— S= An + sin 4 (n0)[B, sin (v0)4C, cos (x0)] ris sin 3 (n0)[B. sin 2 (70@)+C, cos 2 (x 0)] (78) 3 (n 0)[B; sin 3 (w0)+C; cos 3 (x 0)|4+&e, From this we can derive formulas for computing the values of the con- stants A, B,, Ci, Bo, C2, &e., just as formulas (A), (B), (C), &c., were derived from the algebraic formula (11) ; or, otherwise, we can determine the constants by treating the equations of condition in the manner peculiar to the method of least squares. The results are the same in either case. When the N terms are divided into three consecutive groups of equal extent, we shall have— =(S-+8:+8;) / Bi=3(S:—S)) (4) C,=4 sin 609[2 S.—(S8;+8s)] \ With four groups, we get— meen [(Ss—S2)-+(Si—S1)] ) () =H 8) J=(848 =1{(S —(S,—S))] We omit the formulas for five, seven, nine, &c., groups, which are not required in practice, the common use of monthly or hourly data in ih wl ~ sb i- METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 9" = wot meteorology making it convenient to have the number of groups a divisor of 24. With six groups, the constants are— A= (5 51+ 8.+83-+8,+85-+85) —— [2 (55 —S,.)+(S,;—S8;)+(Ss—S))] C,;=2 sin 6( aes J—(Si +g) | (c) Beis. =S0 <(G 2S C.=2 8 sin GO°[ (Ss +5,)+ (Site )- 2(S.+85) | B;=7| Bi—(Ss—S:) | With eight groups— 1 _ A= (Sit8+ - = -.--- +5.) B,=1}(2 sin 45°+1)[(S,—S;)+(58,—8,)]+4[(8,—8,)+(S8,—8,)] C,=1(2 sin 45°41)[(S,+8,)—(8,+8,)]+2[(8,+8,)—(S.+8,)]| B,=1{(8,—S,)+(S,—S,)—(S,—S.)—(S,—8,)] (d) C,=1[(S,+8,)+(8,+8,)—(S,+5,)—(8.4+8,)] B;=6,— sin 45°9[(8,—S;)+(8;—5,) | O- Ort HE +8) + G:F 8)— (S;-+5,)—(8.+S,)] B,=1{(8;—S,)+ (S,;—S.)—(8,—S,) —(8,—8,)] And with twelve groups— 1= =}(S sin 60°+1)|(S gaae ae ee +(Si—S8.)]+3(8 C,=}(sin 60°+1)[(S,+8, \—(8,48,. 2(sin 60°+4)[(S;+8,) —(s, +811))+; ral Sy —(S3+8,)] B,=}[2(S, —S, J+(S; —, 6+ S)—S,)— 2 (S,—8,)— (Sio—5s) —(S,—§))] C,=} sin 60°[(S,+8,)+(S,+8,.)—(S,+8,)—(8,+58,,)] B,=1[(8,— —S,)+(Ss—-55)+ (Su —S) + (8, 2—S — (Sy =n) —(8)—8,)] () C, a=sL(Ss +5, )+(S3+ Spo) + (82+ 51)—(Ss+8,)—(S,+5,) —(S,:+8,2)] JS B,=t[(8;—Se) + (S83) —(S)—S,) — (SS) ] O,=} sin 60°[(S,+S,) + (Sit Si) +(S:+ Si) +(Si:+-8,,) —2 (S; s+ Ss) —2(8.+581)] B,=(S;—S,.)+ +(Ss—S;)+ (Su, )+(8,—S,)—B,—4 B, C,=(8,+8,)—(S, ie —C,—20, By=7's[(8;—S,) + (8,—8,) + (Su—S8.)— (Ss—S8;)—(Si>—S) “8, 2»—S,)I To illustrate the use of these formulas by an example, let us take the series employed in illustrating Cauchy’s method of interpolation in the 228 71 338 METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. United States Coast Survey Report for 1860, page 392. Column (1) of the following table shows the terms of the given series corresponding to each hour of the day: Hour. () (2) Hour. | (i) | (2) Hour. | (1) (2) —— o | 19 .187 || 8 =e 104 16 =, —. 080 aie nee [176 9 01 .000 || 7 —.18 —.173 2 | .05 .114 10 . 10 .109 || 18 20 —, 220 3 | ("04 . 019 11 .19 . 192 19 119 —. 211 th eG —. 082 12 29 . 233 20 12 —.148 5 =n4 161 13 19 214 21 01 —. 050 6 2219 = 196 14 si3 142 22 04 . 057 7 a= ETS 15 .06 . 035 | 23 .12 144 It is required to represent this series by a formula containing five con- stants. We will not make any preliminary adjustment by the second method, as that is not indispensable to our system of interpolation by groups, although it is generally desirable, as, indeed, it would be in a less degree with Cauchy’s method, which also depends on the summa- tion of irregular series of quantities within certain intervals. Dividing our 24 given terms into six groups of equal extent, we get— Si 45 Me S515 S,=—.75 S.=—.07 Si==-00 Se 05 Computing by formula (ce) the values of the first five constants, and substituting them in (78), we have— S=.0008+4 sin 1(n 0)[— .0667 sin (.c 0)+.1848 cos (x 0)| + sin : 0)[.3067 sin 2(a 0)+.7544 cos 2(x 0)] which we transform into— S=.0008-+ .1965 sin 3(n 0) sin (@ 04+109°51’) +.8144 sin (70) sin (2 @ 0467903") This expresses the sum 8 of any group of n terms in the graduated series, the abscissa of the middle point of the group being z, and each term being supposed to occupy, on the axis of X, a space equal to NS my The angle 0 is Oy a a . If we further take n=1 and S=w, we obtain the equation of the graduated series— unity. u=.001+.026 sin (# 04+109°51’)+4 .211 sin (2 # 0467953") Frem this the values in column (2) are computed. The sums of the terms in its six groups are, of course, not precisely equal to those in column (1). To make them so, it would be necessary to add to the equation the term containing the sixth constant B,. This term is— +.018 sin 3(7 0) The origin of co-ordinates is at the middle of the series. If we wish to METHODS OF INTERPOLATION. 339 transfer it to the first term, we put v—11} in the place of xv, and thus get— u= .001+ .026 sin (# 04297921’) + .211 sin (2 # 04+82°53/) which does not differ greatly from the equations obtained by Cauchy’s method and the method of least squares, as given in the Coast Survey Report. Similar results would be obtained by dividing the given series into eight or twelve groups, and computing the values of the first five con- stants from formulas (d) or (e). These results would probably be a little more accurate than the preceding, being in accordance with the prin- ciple of least squares, as already stated. In cases where the data for interpolation are the mean values M,, M,, M,, &c., of the ordinate, taken within intervals formed by equal divisions of the circular period N, our formulas (a), (0), (ce), &e., will still be ap- plicable. For instance, with three intervals, we shall have Si — SiN, S.=2 M,N, S3=2M,N Formula (a) then gives the values of the three constants, and since S=Mn, formula (78) becomes— M=A+ 7 on 4(n 0)[B, sin (wv #)4+-C, cos (vc 0)| which expresses the mean value M of the ordinate within any interval n. To illustrate this, let us take the corrected mean temperatures at New 92 Haven (Transactions of the Connecticut Academy, Vol. I, p. 233) for intervals of four months: dannary to April.i.....02.¢-..2.. M,=34°. 35 Fahr. May to August................-- M,=66°, 84 September to Déecember..-....-.-- M,=46°. 15 To obtain from these an equation for the series of daily means, we have N=s651, and consequently— S:=4182, Se O10, S;=5619 Formula (a) then gives— A=49,11, 33, = 958, C,=2492 and (78) gives— peu : ae . M=19.11-42670( =) sin 1(2 0) sin (7 0+68958’) This equation expresses the mean temperature of any interval of n days. The angle ¢ is— ie ai 0= 5557 =0°59'.138 3651 ‘ If we also take n=1, the equation of daily means is found to be— M=49. 11+ 22.91 sin (wv 0+68°58’) The origin of co-ordinates is at the middle of the year. . 5 ‘ q { rl Bt ry (i y ‘i Che rd « nl ; pu Le TAAL AER Ee a a Be ah hi has eon ie Spee nit noite iy Ai) tu Bay Stern | ; Gil ey ‘* TE) SU Bftead. ny $ Fs 1 ~ * of ‘ ‘ . - . , KE : 2 iy i mi diy tothe ane eye ) ‘ j ” te Vey oor iz sty Sityt “ty VHS ee hear Asstt cat, Wall 190 Aaee Sa Oia . ey came a d ip) Sgn aah : SE a | . : 06g a “ ‘wall: shard yes feel : ; ‘ + cur! Mo pune ae ear 4 eee dee? t - Binns it) eee oe ele og RD eA Mo? aa (es . i : ‘ Me 7 Gy * Le i Tener P Hin leet ed oe BAe Cae ae ogee * f ies a We 7 me ; 7 Hurd ade rw to bi. ce Ciao at ga RE weed Gad hahiiu gent Tone Hal heh Oe ae eee ae co. \ fb uti ; hy pl Raa in Sta yids PaaS ey Pe oa oy 4 { \ EN ES GD as pn ists. isefp ; i . ' ° * u “ ; Li ny WAP a a) ret). 40) ve ole 7 : ara) : 5 he o 4 . mene «' Crean AV Worl) sC a: tana BS AT at ae: ; 7. sii) 2a & rfl eet ” y DAs. 78 ; i Py | < : ae Pola Aires a ; ‘ Lal (tte Prete Oe 0% 5 pea wy a ote ! a et ’ Yuck ny Sal 5 et si ea REPORT ON THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA, FROM JUNE, 1870, TO JUNE, 1871. By M. HENRI DE SAUSSURE, PRESIDENT. [Translated for the Smithsonian Institution. ] The year which has just passed has been marked by events which have left but little time for the peaceful occupations of science. The war burst upon us almost at the moment that our scientific year com- menced, and we can hardly yet say that it has terminated. If Switzer- land has not been oppressed by belligerent armies, she has, neverthe- less, been obliged to play an active part in the duties which her neutrality imposes upon her, and there are few present who during this sad period have not been in one way or another diverted from their regular occupations. Several members of the soeiety have not hesitated to make the sacrifice of their precious time to works of charity which the evils of war have rendered every day more indispensable ; in fact no one has been able to escape the preoccupations occasioned by the important events which have transpired in a neighboring theater of our frontier. , On this account the convocation of the scientific congress, announced for the second half of the year 1870, has been countermanded. The Helvetic Society of Natural Sciences, convoked at Frauenfeld for the month of August, has not been able to assemble, and a geological con- eress, organized at Geneva under the superintendence of MM. Favre, father and son, and of M. F. J. Pictet dela Rive, has been obliged to be postponed to some other time. We can therefore scarcely be sur- prised that our society should itself be somewhat affected by the exte- rior agitations, and that the meetings should have been less frequented than in ordinary times. It, however, the catastrophes to which I have alluded, have some- what diminished the activity of our members, they have procured us, by akind of compensation, the inappreciable advantage of having seated among us a number of foreign savants, who, exiled from their homes through the vicissitudes of war, have found in the shelter of our neu- trality a refuge both peaceful and hospitable. In attending our meet- ings, and in favoring us with their communications, they have cast upon our reunions a luster of which our records will preserve the remembrance. These savants were M. M. Regnault, of the Institute, and M. P. Cap, of the Academy of Medicine at Paris; M. le Professor Fée, of Strasburg ; 342 SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. and M. Guénée, of Chateaudun. Theassiduity with which these gentle- men have associated themselves with us in our labors, the desire which they have manifested to continue with us in relations in which the interest of the society has been so largely increased, has induced us to confer upon them the title of honorary members; and your president before resign- ing his place to his suecessor had the pleasure of expressing to them the faithful interpretation of our sentiments. To the names of the savants whom I have just mentioned, I must add those of several gentlemen who have sojourned with us only a short time, particularly M. Bigot and M. Duperrey, who have only appeared at our meetings at brief intervals. Lastly, we have welcomed in our city our emeritus member, M. Dumas, perpetual secretary of the Acad- emy of Sciences, whom we delight to claim as one of ourselves; for none of you can forget that it was at Geneva that M. Dumas published his first works, and that he stands to-day among the elders of our soci- ety of physics. It is very seldom, gentlemen, that a year passes without our being called upon to mourn the departure of one of our colleagues. To-day we have to lament the death of a highly esteemed savant, who was admitted into our ranks only a few short months ago. Dr. Augustus Waller was born, in 1816, at Elverton, near Ferusham, in the county of Kent, England. He pursued the study of medicine in France, and received in 1840 a diploma of doctor of medicine from the faculty of aris. He then returned to England and established himself at Ken- sington, where he practiced medicine for several years. But the ordi- nary occupation of the physician was not sufficient to satisfy his inves- tigating spirit, and he always found time to devote himself to scientifie researches in the domain of anatomy and physiology. His principal investigations were directed to the nervous system, which did not fail to lead to important discoveries, and some well-known experiments which he made in London upon the degeneracy which the nerves and the nervous center undergo, obtained for him.the title of member of the Royal Society, and the grand prize of physiology fromthe Academy of Sciences at Paris. Not finding in London all the facilities necessary to his researches, he resolved to change his residence, and did not hesi- tate to sacrifice to his studies a practice which had become extensive. He removed with his family to Bonn, where he had full leisure to con- tinue his physiological and microscopical investigations upon the ner- vous system. The researches which he made in physiology, either alone or in col- laboration with Professor Budge, entitled him to more honorable dis- tinction on the part of the Academy of Sciences at Paris. He obtained for the second time the great prize of physiology on account of his dis- coveries relative to the functions of the great sympathetic nerve, and to the influence of the spinal marrow upon the pupil. From Bonn, Waller repaired to Paris, and after having labored for several years in the SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. 343 laboratory of Flourens, he was called to Birmingham to occupy a chair of physiology and a position as physician to the hospital of that city. ‘He even then felt the first symptoms of the diseases which subsequently earried him off, and was obliged to give up some of his labors on account of his failing health. . He next removed to Switzerland, and after having lived in the Canton Vaud for several years, he came in 1868 to reside in Geneva. Although Waller had been obliged to abandon his regular labors, his mind, unusually. active and ingenious, could not remain idle, and he never entirely ceased to occupy himself with interesting questions in physiology and medicine. At Geneva, his health having improved, he devoted himself anew to medical practice, to which he was always much attached, and his large experience in that line rendered him especially eminent. In 1869 he was received as a member of our society. The same year he had the honor of being invited to deliver the Croonian lecture to the Royal Society of London, and for that purpose repaired to England. His health, which appeared to be confirmed, was not established. He had suffered several severe attacks of quinsy, a malady which suddenly terminated his existence on the 18th of September, 1870, at the age of fitty-five years. It would take too much time to analyze all the labors of our lamented associate; we Shall limit ourselves to a short summary of those which have excited the most interest in the scientific world, particularly bis work upon the degeneracy of the nerves. The nerves which are distributed through different parts of the body are, we know, composed of different fibers, intermixed with each other—those which call into action motive-power, and those which convey impressions of sensibility. At their origin, that is to say at their point of emergence, from the spinal marrow, the motor nervous fibers are separated from the sensitive nervous fibers; the former constituting the anterior roots and the latter the posterior. After having demonstrated by experiment that when a complex nerve is cut, the outer segment, suddenly arrested, withers and degenerates, while the central segment, remaining in communication with the nervous center, continues unchanged, Waller studied the degeneration of the nerves taken at their origin. Beginning at the nervous roots, he proved that the nervous center, which maintains intact the nervous fibers of the anterior roots, is seated in the spinal marrow itself, while the nervous center, which continues intact the nervous fibers of the posterior roots, is situated in the intervertebral ganglion, united to their posterior roots. It was by means of sec- tions of these roots taken at different distances, that Waller made these important discoveries, the application of which immediately occurred to him. The changes which take place in the structure of a nerve after the cutting are so evident that the experimenter can avail himself of it as a means of tracing the distribution of their fibers in the different tissues. It is in this way that he succeeded in perceiving the 344 SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. terminations or ends of the nerves in the tongue, a study which he made for the most part upon the tongue of a living frog. This new method of investigation in regard to the nervous system, which obtained for Waller the prize of physiology from the Academy of Sciences at Paris, has been of great service. In order to give a just idea of its merits we shall quote the words of Professor Vulpian, who in his Course of Physiology of the Nervous System, describes with care this method, to which he proposes to give the name of the Wallerian method. After hav- ing given numerous examples from the experiments we have already cited, M. Vulpian adds: ‘To this day we have not deduced from this method all the results which it is able to furnish; but sooner or later we will institute some special researches, taking it as our point of de- parture, and without doubt we shall discover important and valuable truths in regard to anatomical physiology.” An important discovery of Waller is that of the exudation of the white globules of the blood from their vessels. The memoir which he published upon this sub- ject in 1846 had been forgotten, when Cohnheim and other microsco- pists rediscovered the facts in 1867, and from them deduced a new theory in regard to inflammation. M. Stricker, of Vienna, in an inter- esting article which appeared in 1869, awarded to Waller all the honor of the priority of this discovery. We have confined ourselves to the analysis of the works of Waller, and for more ample in- formation we refer the reader to the list of his publications. It will suffice to give at least an approximation of the extent of the researches of this eminent man’s investigations, all of which bear the stamp of true originality. Waller had, indeed, a mind essentially ingenious. The experiments which he devised, the subsequent operations he empioyed, the new methods he put in practice, all, to the minutest details, exhibit the char acteristics of an eminently inventive genius. He also possessed the very valuable trait of never allowing himself to be carried away by hypotheses. Whatever opinions he advanced, he desired to prove mathematically. As long as there remained any doubt on his mind, he would have recourse to new experiments and imagine new methods by which it might be removed. His talent for exposition was remarkable, as we all know by experience in listening to the communications he made to our society. In him science has lost a man of rare merit, while Geneva was only too happy to include him among her residents. Having rendered all due respect to the memory of our lamented col- league, I will give a rapid sketch of the labors of the society, in accord- ance with the plan adopted for the report of each year. PHYSICAL SCIENCES. It is principally in this domain of science that we have listened to the most numerous lectures ; partly because the stranger savants who have visited us were principally physicists, partly because of the SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. 345 accidintal absence of our excellent colleague, M. BE. Claparede, always rich in communications on other subjects of a character to interest the society. Unfortunately the condition of his health this winter causes us the greatest anxiety. General Dufour has given a summary of the results of the exper- iments upon which he has been engaged for some time in regard to the relative movement of material points, a question which is of interest to general astronomy. 1. In studying the movement of two stars around a supposed fixed point, it is demonstrated by observation that this point must be in motion. 2. The curve being plane, and the stars remain- ing in the same plane during their translation, it may therefore be con- cluded that the stars have all received an impulse resulting in a parallel movement. 35. The movement of the apsides proves that the center of gravity of the system is displaced, not following a straight line, but de- scribing a curved one. Professor Emile Plantamour has made this year, as formerly, a sojourn among the mountains, in order to determine the astronomical co-ordinates of the different stations of Switzerland. The Simplon was the place he selected for his operations in 1870. The latitude of this station, as derived from his observations, is 46° 14/ 59’.4, with a pos- sible error of a quarter of a second. The unusually cold winter which we have experienced has naturally attracted the attention of meteorologists, and M. Plantamour, according to his custom, has given some results deduced from the compared course of the temperature of different years. The months of December and January of this winter have shown a mean temperature of 2°.45. This period of the winter is very similar to that of the winter of 1837~38, of which the mean temperature was — 2°.3; but the winter of 1529, the remembrance of which is still traditional throughout the country, was colder still, as in December and January, the mean temperature was 4°.7. Colonel E. Gautier has presented frequent communications rela- tive to the constitution of the sun. In a paper read at the April meeting he gave an account of an important memoir from Professor L. respighi, director of the observatory of the capitol, upon some spectro- scopical observations continued for fourteen months, and which have been made principally with reference to the protuberances of the edges of the sun. The author infers from his observations that the sun must have an exterior liquid envelope, compressing the overheated gases in its interior. ‘These gases at times force themselves through the envelope, and occasion formidable eruptions ; after which they disperse and combine with the elements of the surface of the sun. In consequence of these combinations, obscure points appear which in agglomerating forra the spots on the disk of the sun. These masses float at the surface of the incandescent globe as dross a result arrived at by M. Gautier several years ago in trying to re-establish the theory of Gallileo, and of Simon 4‘ 346 SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. Marius. The paper of M. Gautier has been inserted in the Archives of Science 1871, volume XLI, page 27. He has continued to keep us informed in regard to important discoveries made in the domain of gen- eral astronomy. Professor Cellérier presented a paper upon the molecular constitution of gas. According to modern hypothesis, gases are composed of mole- cules, endowed with a movement of translation in every direction, and freed during the major part of the duration of this movement, from all mutual action, this action only revealing itself by shocks. Whatever be the nature of the latter, their consequences, according tothe general laws of mechanics, can only be similar to those which are produced by the shock of two perfectly elastic bodies. The movement after the shock depends either upon the direction of the movement before the shock, or, upon fortuitous circumstances, such as the direction of the plane of the shock. If we admit that, during a certain time, the di- rection of this plane is always parallel to one or the other of the three rectangular planes, the result must be that the diffusion of the densi- ties, in all the masses would occur immediately, contrary to all experience. It would be the same for an infinity of other directions of the plane of the shock. M. Cellérier has therefore concluded that the theory of gases which Clausius and other physicists have proposed is not absolutely admissible, at least under this simple form. This communication has given rise to some observations by A. de la Rive, upon the impossi- bility of doing without the intervention of ether, in explaining the phenomena which the gases present. Our compatriot, M. Duperrey, for a number of years professor at Paris, has taken advantage of a sojourn at Geneva, to lay before the so- ciety some researches which he has undertaken, to find a simple and practical relation between the temperature and the maximum tension of steam... He has obtained the following result, remarkable for its sim- plicity, that this tension represented in kilogrammes by square, centi- meters, is nearly exactly equal to the fourth power of the temperature. M. Serra Carpi, a Roman engineer, in passing through Geneva, has given some details relative to the variation of the mean temperature at dif- ferent heights, a subject treated in a pamphlet, of which he has given to the society a copy. Professor Marcet, in a letter addressed from London to M. de la Rive, has given an account of the last observations of Dr. Carpenter upon the waters of the Mediterranean. These observa- tions were extended to a depth of 3,000 meters. At this depth the water is turbulent, and containsa great quantity of dissolved gas. Theden- sity changes from 10°.27 at the surface, to 10°.29 at 2,000 meters, and to 10°.28 at 3,000 meters of depth. The denser water rests therefore upon water less dense; this singular fact can be explained by currents, of which Dr. Carpenter has without doubt confirmed the existence. In the domain of physics, Professor Regnault has presented to the society an important communication, which oceupied an entire meeting. SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. 347 This distinguished academician gave his views as to the manner of un- derstanding and studying meteorology, also as to the best form to be adopted for the instruments which are employed in this branch of science. He thinks that meteorology should be considered less as a dependence of astronomy, than as auxiliary to physiology, since it assists especially in determining the isothermal lines, and its principal object is to give account of the physical circumstances which favor or retard the develop- ment of organized beings. As to the instruments, he is in favor of simplifying them in order to render them accessible to the greatest number of people. He proposes particularly to attach to barometers and thermometers photographical registering apparatus moving by clock-work, which will record without trouble the variations of these instruments and enable us to read them with perfect exactness. Instru- ments constructed upon this model would be of great assistance in the researches within the domain of physiology, botany, agriculture, ete. The phenomena relative to the aurora borealis have been, as in the past, the object of different communications from Professor A. de Ja Rive, who continues to keep the society informed upon this subject. The same member has given an account of the important researches which he has made in regard to the rotatory magnetic power of liquids. Atter having devised the apparatus he employed, and the new methods he had adopted to avoid as much as possible all sources of error, he has studied successively diferent liquids in order to determine their magnetic rotatory power, such in particular as sulphurous acid, which had not previously been submitted to this kind of experiment, different mitxures of solutions, and a certain number of isomeric bodies of which none presented the same magneto-rotatory power. The influence of temperature has also been analyzed with care, and it has been to prove that it tends to diminish this power, which is evidently due to the man- ner in which the particles are grouped. M. dela Rive has also presented in concert with M. Edward Sarasin, a work which they have made to- gether on the action of magnetism upon rarefied gases traversed by discharges of electricity. In operating successively upon atmospheric air, upon carbonic acid gas, and upon hydrogen, these two physicists have found that the magnetism produces in the portion of gas directly traversed by the discharge an increase of density, and besides an aug- mentation or a diminution of resistance to the conductibility according as the electrical jet is directed equatorially or axially between the poles of the electro-magnet. These augmentations and diminutions vary with eachgas. They arenothing in certain positions of the jet with reference to the magnet, and are probably due, when they manifest themselves, to the perturbation caused by the action of magnetism in the disposition which the gaseous particles affect when they propagate electricity. (These two memoirs are inserted in the archives.) M. L. Soret read a memoir upon the polarization of light by water, as studied upon that of different lakes, upon sea-water and upon snow-water. He shows that 348 SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. the phenomenon is more intense when the water is clearest, and that the polarization takes place for all parts of the spectrum equally. Dis- turbed or muddy waters give no polarization. The same physicist has also given an account of some experiments he has made in order to verify the results obtained by M. Christiansen and by M. Kundt, upon the ab- normal dispersion of the light of bodies of superficial colors. The two works which I have mentioned have been published in the Archives of Science, and I refer you tothem. M. Raoul Pictet has presented a paper on the resistance a body experiences in its motion through the air, witha uniform velocity. It would be difficult to give an analysis of it in a few words. This resistance is expressed by the formula R = Ky’, which is indicated by calculation, and experimentally verified. The same savant has repeated, at the meetings of the society, var- ious experiments, having for their object to show the emissive and absorbent powers of ice for heat, and the influence which they exercise upon its formation and its fusion. In order to prove experimentally the radiant power of ice for black heat, M. Pictet has made a piece of ice contract rapidly by the action of this radianey, in immersing it at the level of the surface of water at 0°, and in exposing it to the air under a serene sky. From another side he has shown that ice is almost entirely diathermal for luminous heat, and altogether diathermal for black heat. In projecting a ray of luminous heat through a block of ice inclosing specks of foreign bodies there is formed around each corpus- cle a drop of water, resulting from the absorption of the black heat which these bodies radiate under the luminous rays; and when these foreign bodies are sufficiently numerous the ice is disintegrated through its entire depth, and is melted. If, on the contrary, aray of black heat is projected upon the block of ice, as this does not penetrate into the sub- stance of the ice, it produces a fusion of the superficial stratum only, and does not affect the interior parts. Professor Marignac has communicated to us the result of his researches upon the specific heat of saline solutions. (Inserted in the Archives, vol. XX XIX, page 217.) M. Morin read a memoir upon the azotized substances found in the embryos of herbivorous animals, and especially in their eggs. Our emeritus member, M. Dumas, has laid before the society various important questions, which were discussed by the Academy of Sciences at Paris during the siege of that capital. The necessity of having re- course to balloons for carrying on correspondence led to various improve- ments in the art of zronautics. It was necessary, on account of economy, to construct the balloons of cotton material, and in order to render this impermeable, a varnish of India rubber was used. But M. Dumas showed that India rubber is permeable to gas, and proposed to superimpose on it some substances soluble in water, especially gelatine. By superposing the two substances, a varnish was obtained impermeable both to gas and the moisture of the air. It was also observed that it was best to SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. 349 launch the balloons about 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, because at that hour they were covered with dew, of which the gradual evaporation lightened them during the morning hours, and allowed them to maintain the same height without it being necessary to throw out ballast. Nu- merous trials, which seem to have some success, have been made in regard to directing balloons, but have not yet been completed. The scarcity of food has induced many persons attempt to imitate the elements of first necessity, and M.- Dumas has read on this subject a me- moir in which he proves the impossibility of producing milk artificially. The fabrication of this substance has been frequentiy attempted and has been practiced upon a great scale, but the artificial milk can never take the place of the natural milk, for the latter exhibits an incontestable organic structure which cannot be reproduced chemically; the fat cor- puscles are enveloped in a pellicle, which prevents ether from dis- solving them. We find these globules with their pellicle even in the milk extracted from the lacteal vessels at the moment when the secre- tion of the glands takes place, which proves that they have a physio- logical origin. M. P. Cap, who we ail know has been remarkably assid- uous at our meetings, has read two papers concerning the history of chemistry. The numerous historic notices which proceed from the pen of this author are so well known to those who follow the progress of science, that it is hardly necessary to mention how peculiarly well qual- ified he is to treat these subjects. In his memoir upon the discovery of oxygen he has proved that this body was in the first place discovered by Bayat,a French chemist, fallen unjustly into oblivion, and that the work of Priestley and of Scheele is confined to making known the properties of oxygen, as well as those of its compounds. But Lavoi- sier’s eminently generalizing mind gave to this discovery its true import- ance, and deduced from it its now recognized relations to the nomen- clature and the science of chemical combinations. M. Cap has also given an account of the discovery of iodine by Bernard Courtois, in which he particularly dwells upon the first phases of this discovery, and upon the biography of its author. These notices have appeared in the Journal of Pharmacy, so it is not necessary for us to speak of them further. NATURAL SCIENCES. Geology.—Professor Alphonse de Candolle has examined the ques- tion whetier in case the fora which exists should be reduced to a fossil state, we would be able to discover any characteristic which would determine in a precise manner the geological age of the strata in which it occurs. Now, he has proved that there is no such general char- acteristic among the phanerogamous plants which are now found at the surface of the earth, and it is not probable there exists any among the cryptogamous plants. It has probably been the same at all other epochs, and consequently the similarity between two geological strata, 350 SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. situated in different parts of the earth, does not prove them to be of the same age. The term geological epoch, which always implies some dis- tinction in the flora and in the fanna, in reference to other epochs, is, therefore, not adapted to the scientific signification for which it is intended. The above-mentioned idea is being more and more intro- duced into science. Professeur D, Colladon has placed before the society some beauti- ful photographs, which represent cuttings of the earth upon the hill of Geneva, executed upon the Tranchées, a hill which is believed to be a product of the ancient alluvion of the river Arve. He published in 1870, in the Archives, (vol. VX XIX, page 199,) an extended notice upon this subject, and also drew attention to the study of the terraces of the southern shore of Lake Léman. M. Ernest Favre has presented an interesting communication on the geology of the mountains of the region southwest of the canton of Fribourg, composing the chain of the Nivemont, the Moléson, the Verreaux, and that of Saint Cray; he compared the structure of this solid mass with similar formations, which have been observed in the Tyrol and in the Carpathes. (This has appeared in the Archives.) Finally Professor Thury has measured the thickness of the section of the glacier of the Oldenhorn, such as it presents from the lake of Rhéto. He estimates it at 45 meters, and has counted from 70 to 80 horizontal strata, each one having a thickness of about 60 decimeters. Botany.—Since the works of Darwin have attracted the attention of naturalists to the question of the origin of organic species, their descent and their affiliations, the manner of distribution of these species over the surface of the globe, which has great interest on the bearing of this question, has been studied with more attention than in the past, and is becoming every day the object of new and important researches. M de Candolle has shown that botanists have found in the flora of the Fortunate Islands.hardly any plant similar to the western coast of Africa, while they contain a large number in common with those of Europe. This fact would indicate that the islands in question have been formerly united to Europe, by a terrestrial communication, while it seems to have always remained separated from Africa. It is true we are by no means certain of the flora of the high mountains of Maroe, which throws some doubt upon the conclusions we would be inclined to infer from the above observations. Dr. Miiller contributed an article, accompanied with drawings, upon a new species of hair discovered upon two Asiatic plants of the combretacious family. These hairs have the general appearance of scales or the plates of a shield, but instead of exhibiting a disk formed of numerous cells en- tirely radial, they are formed of a regular net-work of cells, which is only one cell in thickness, like the ordinary leaf of mosses. Dr. Miiller described these curious scales and proposed to give the name of Lépide réticulée, SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. Jol Professor Fée, of Strasburg, read a memoir upon the determination of plants mentioned by the ancients; in which he shows especially how excessively difficult it is to arrive at a sufficiently definite determina- tion which would enable us with any degree of accuracy to apply the old nomenclature to the new. A recent work by M. Bubani, far from settling the inherent difficuities of this question only furnished a new proot of its complexity. ZOOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY. Among the strangers who have attended our sessions, Messrs. Guénée and Bigot have for several months given their time to the arrangement of the entomological collections of our museum; especially the first of these gentlemen, who for six months has been at work in our lJabora- tories. Mr. Bigot has classified the Diptera and M. Guénée the Lepi- doptera. As the collections are about to be removed to the new academic buildings, where they will be properly exhibited, such a classi- fication, by competent men, is of great importance. M. Guénée discovered in our cases several new species of Papilio and allied genera; also a Bombicide, which exhibits a very remarkable vase of hermaphrodism ; in this the organs of the two sexes, instead of being localized, are mingled and distributed through nearly all parts of the body. The article on this subject by M. Guénée will be inserted in our memoirs. M. Claparede has studied the cysts of a féra sent to him by M. Lunel. The muscles of this fish inclosed various cysts, most of which contained a liquid greatly resembling milk. In one of them was a cheesy, whitish substance, evidently produced by the metamorphosis of a lacteous liquid, similar to that in the other cysts, but the more fluid elements of which had been re-absorbed. The constituent elements of these cysts were psorospermies, resembling each other, and composed of a head of len- ticular form, and a tail double from its base. With these psorospermies there was always found a granular protoplasm, at whose expense the psorospermies were developed. ‘These facts have been observed betore, but what was especially remarkable in the féra in question was the presence of other cysts in the mucus of the gills, but with psorosper- mies very different, and much smaller, having a diameter of only one- fourth to one-tenth of a millimeter. Their abundance gives to the entire bronchial apparatus a grayish tint. These psorosphermies were not lenticular, but perfectly spherical, and without a tail, each inclosing a spherical kernel, very refracting, and some smail grains. M. Claparéde thinks there must be a generic connection between the small cysts of the gills and the large cysts of the muscles, However, no observations have as yet confirmed this hypothesis. Upon one of the arches of the guls was a cyst of about a millimeter in size, of which the contour was very different from the other gill-cysts, and resembled somewhat those of the muscular cysts. These psorospermies are distinguished from 352 SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. those of the large cysts by their shorter tails. However, with a great many of them the tail was bifarcated at the end. Prof. Claparéde also exhibited the plates of a new work upon the histology of Annélides, and has given some details as to the process he employs for the arrange- ment and preservation of his preparations. M. Herman Fol read before the society a long and important memoir upon the Appéndiculaires, a family belonging to the class of Tuniciers It confirms the near relation that several authors have established be- tween these animals and vertebrates, and proposes to place them at the base of the genealogical tree of the latter. M. ol has been made a member of our society on account of this work, which will be printed in Volume XX of our memoirs. M. Godfrey Lunel has given some interesting facts observed at Ge- neva relative to the metamorphoses of the A.xrolotes. We know that these batracians are transformed sometimes by the loss of their bron- chia, and, from being aquatic, as they generally are, they become pul- monary animals, living in free air. Several Axolotes, placed in running rater, did not experience any change; while of two others, left in a wash-basin, badly cared-for and exposed to the cold, one died, and the other was transformed by the loss of its bronchia; but, after having been replaced in a normal condition, it re-assumed its first form so perfectly as not to be distinguished. This fact, which constitutes a see- ond transformation in a retrograde direction, is entirely new. Dr. J. L. Prévost has given an account of experiments relative to the mode of action of anesthetics and of chloroform upon the ner- vous center, and he has obtained results contrary to those of M. Cl. Bernard. This physiologist states that the chloroform, in acting up- on the brain, affects not only that organ, but acts also, at a distance, upon the spinal marrow, without being in contact with it. M. Prévost has repeated the principal experiments of M. Bernard, which consist in stopping the circulation in frogs, by placing a bandage below the shoulders, then injecting diluted chloroform into one set below the skin of the anterior cut, and into the other below the skin of the posterior eut. In varying the position of the frogs, M. Prévost, after trial, has found that chloroform introduced in the posterior part can, contrary to the opinion of M. Bernard, anzsthetize the anterior part when the frog is placed with the posterior members in the air, while the chloroform introduced in the anterior part does not anesthetize the posterior part if we are careful to place the frog with the head down- ward. He thinks that M. Bernard has not been sufficiently careful to guard against the filtration of the chloroform through the tissues. M. Prévost,in applying pure chloroform to the denuded brain of a frog, of which the aorta was tied, and placed in the position above indicated, has anewsthetize the head only of the animal, leaving intact the functions of the spinal marrow. Afterward, when he has untied the aorta, these frogs have returned to their normal state, which proves : SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA, 353 that the chloroform acts in this experiment simply as an anesthetic, and not as a caustic, which destroyed the brain, leaving the frog in the state of a headless animal. From these experiments M. Prévost has come to the conclusion that chloroform anxsthetizes in the nervous cen- ter only the parts with which it is directly in contact, and that it does not act at a distance, as M. Bernard believed. M. Brown-Sequard has produced some phenomena of epilepsy upon Guinea pigs by means of hemisections of the marrow or of the section of a sciatic nerve. Dr. Prévost has obtained the same phenomena by the amputation of a thigh of one of these animals. In order to provoke a nervous attack it is sufficient to excite the zone called epileptic, which comprises the half of the surface corresponding to the member amputated, and immediately the animal is thrown into convulsions. The excitability of this zone decreases, however, with the continuation of the experiment, and it is always more difficult to pro- voke a new crisis. The study of this artificial epilepsy will, without doubt, throw some light upon the kind and nature of natural epilepsy. MEDICINE. Dr. Lombard has been investigating for several years the climate of mountains, a Subject which more than any other ought to interest the physicians of Switzerland. His later researches are directed to the effect which these climates exercise upon pulmonary phthisis, a question which he had been appointed to investigate by the commission estab- lished at Samaden, for the purpose of its elucidation. He estimated that a residence in high altitudes would prevent the development of the phthisis, and even cure it, either in developing the pulmonary em- physema, or by favoring the functional periphery activity. (The work of M. Lombard has appeared in the Medical Bulletin of Switzerland.) Finally, M. Alphonse de Candolle read a notice which likewise de- serves to be registered in the medical rubric. It is, in fact, an appli- cation to this science of the Darwinian principles deduced from natural history, inasmuch as it treats of an effect of selections rendering variable the intensity of maladies when they are very deadly. According to the author, when a disease has severely attacked that portioa of the popula- tion not advanced in years, the following generation, descending from persons not disposed to take this disease, will also be in the same condition by an ordinary effect of the hereditary law. There is, there- fore, a reason for the diminution of the epidemic. We can likewise explain why its attacks are most severe the first time it appears among a population, and why it afterward becomes rare or less fatal, which has been the case with most of the diseases of this kind. At the end of several generations, however, a population moderately attacked by a disease resembles the condition of a population who have never had it, and the result is a double intensity. Applying these principles to the small-pox, M. de Candolle estimated that at the time when Jenner 23 8 71 354 SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. introduced vaccine, the variolic affection was weakened relative to the anterior epoch. Vaccine ought, therefore, to be as much more efiica- cious when it is applied in a similar condition. Small-pox having nearly disappeared in Europe, during two generations a new population appears less exempted from its attacks, and this cause of receptibility ought to-day to render vaccine less efficacious. The author does not pretend to say that this is the only acting cause, but he thinks that, independently of others, it exists as a necessity, and that it ought to be taken into account. In giving a concise account of the labors of the society I have omit- ted many communications of a less important character, serving as themes for those discourses with which our meetings generally terminate. These familiar conversations, in which each one gives an account of his studies, and which are often succeeded by interesting discussions, con- tinue to occupy our meetings in the most useful and agreeable manner. They not only maintain between the members an intimate relation which we all appreciate, but likewise establish a sort of oral bulletin of the most recent discoveries, allowing each one to follow in a general man- ner the progress of science outside of his own specialty. INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. Having given a summary of the papers presented at our meetings, it only remains for me, gentlemen to give you a brief account of the in- terior transactions of the society. Col. Emile Gautier has been elected president for 1871-72, and M. E. Sarasin has been confirmed in his position as secretary. If we have had the misfortune to lose one of our colleagues, we have also had the satisfaction of gaining two new ordinary members in MM. Raoul Pictet and Herman Fol, and we have likewise increased the list of our free associates by the addition of MM. Georges Prévost, H. P. E. Sarasin, J. L. Micheli, and H. Barbey. The number of our ordinary members, which, in 1867, was forty-one, to-day amounts to forty-nine, but the number of our free associates, which at the same date was forty members, has decreased to thirty-eight, including the admission of several associates to the title of ordinary members. You have also nominated as honorary members, in addition, MM. Régnault, Fée, and Cap, who were mentioned above, Prof, de Notaris, of Genes, well known from his works upon botany, and the director of the Smith- sonian Institution, of Washington, Professor Joseph Henry. This savan has been associated with us a long time, in relations which we esteem infinitely precious, and assisted at one of our meetings in 1870. As to our publications, they have followed their ordinary course. The Society of Physics publishes each year half a volume, which they reserve as much as possible, on account of itssize, for the memoirs accompanied with plates giving to the archives of science those which do notrequire illus- trations. Itwas inthe year 1821 that the firstmumber of our memoirs ap- SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. 300 peared, and we finished the twentieth volumein 1870. Youhave decided to make a general index of this series, in order to facilitate researches which will become every day more difficult to examine in proportion as the number of our volumes are increased. This index, which will ap- pear at the same time as the present volume, has been prepared by our colleague, Alfred Le Fort, who very obligingly devoted his time and labor to our interests. Jam commissioned, in the name of the society, to tender him our sincere acknowledgments. The recapitulation of the material contained in our first twenty vol- umes has shown that it includes in all three hundred and fifteen notices and memoirs, some of which constitute complete works. This publica- tion constitutes, therefore, an important collection, which can claim a most honorable place among the scientific transactions of Europe. Lastly, I will add that, although at an expense somewhat exceeding the means of the society, the rich herbarium, for which our city is in- debted to the generosity of the family of DeLessert, has been placed in the botanical conservatory prepared for that purpose, where it is now definitely arranged in such a manner that botanists may have free ac- cess to it. Before concluding this report, I desire, gentlemen, to communicate a circumstance which appears to me to have peculiar interest for us, as it refers to the origin of our society. In a preceding report, one of your presidents, Dr. Grosse, proposed at the fiftieth anniversary of the first scientific congress heid at Geneva to give you, with a talent you all know how to appreciate, the history of the Society of Physics, of which his father was ome of the founders. In some researches to which I have devoted myself this winter, in order to find in the papers of my family some documents relative to the history of this society curing the first years of its existence, I have found a piece which appears to me worthy of your regard. It is a letter of M. A. Pictet to my grandfather, in which he announces the formation of the society and incloses the names of its founders. I will give the most important part of the letter: ae “Tam commissioned, my very dear colleague, to offer to you, as likewise to your son Theodore and M. Necker, membership of a society with which I have the honor of being connected. I delayed mentioning it to you until I could send at the same time the rules, a copy of which I received yesterday. In reading them you will be informed of the obligations imposed, which I hope will not frighten you. I have already attended a meeting, and I assure you that, by the interest with which it. has inspired me, I judge it will prove a favorable and useful project for the progress of natural science and the personal advantage of the in- dividuals who compose this society. ‘¢ Below are the actual members : “M. M. Colladon, Tolfot, Gosse, Vauché, Jurine, Gaudy de Russie, 356 SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. Pictet. Members elected unanimously: M. M. de Saussure, father and son, Necker de Saussure, Sensbier, Tingrey. ‘¢ Perhaps there are one or two others whom I have forgotten to men- tion, as I made this catalogue from memory. The next meeting will be the first Thursday after the 15th, at M. Tollet’s, and if you accept your election, as we all hope you will, your membership dates from the present, as well as that of your son and M. Necker, to whom I beg you to have the goodness to communicate the rules. ‘“¢ Accept the sincere attachment of your devoted servant and colleague, ‘“ PICTET. “GENEVA, Saturday, October 8, 1791.” This document refers, as we see, the definite constitution of the Society of Physics to the year 1791. It shows that it was composed first of twelve savants of Geneva, and that the original meetings were held on Thursday, as in our days, though lately we have changed to Wednes- day. The limited number of its members continually increased, and we now have the satisfaction of seeing it sustained at a level which tends rather to rise than to fall. The construction of new academic buildings, in proportion to the new demands, is a speaking testimony of the increasing progress of the intellectual activity of our city. The extensions which could be made in the library, the laboratories, and the museums would furnish a new element to this activity, and would not fail to contribute to the extension of the taste for science in . which Geneva ought to occupy a position before the world superior to that which would be assigned her, merely taking into consideration her population and the smallness of her territory. In concluding, we will hope that the year, so fraught with agitation, through which we have just passed may be succeeded by a period of calm, of repose, and of prosperity, in which the peaceable occupations of science may take the place of the clamorous commotion with which we have been too long disturbed. Our society will then return to its la- bors with new ardor, and more fully maintain the honorable position so long occupied by our country, through the memory of the men who lave distinguished it, and of whom the traditions are well preserved wherever profound truth is cherished. Appendix to the report of the president. EDWARD CLAPAREDE. GENTLEMEN: A few days after you had heard the reading of the report of your president upon the operations of the year 1870~71, we received the afilicting intelligence of the death of our excellent col- league, M. Edward Claparéde. In view of the deep and unanimous regret which we all experience at the loss of one who ranked among the first savants of our city, we concluded it would be too long to wait SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. 357 until next year’s report for the testimony of esteem and affection in which you all desire to unite, and we think it more suitable to add to this year’s report a notice which shall from os day recall the memory of Claparéde. Edward Claparéde, born in 1832, was from an ancient family in Geneva. He commenced his studies at the Academy of this city, where he was even then remarkable for his pre-eminent resources. Hn- dowed with a decided taste for natural sciences, he was the pupil of Professor Pictet de la Rive, who, by his instruction, developed in him a taste for zoology. In 1853 he went to the University of Berlin, where he studied with the distinguished Jean Miiller, who was not long in recog- nizing his merits, and of whom he became one of the best pupils. Even while pursuing his studies, he composed several memoirs upon the inferior animals, one of which treats of the anatomy of Cyclo- stoma elegans, which served him as a thesis for the doctorate. It was also at this time that he commenced, in common with his friend Lach- man, a great work upon the Jnfusoria and the Rhyzopodia, which made a considerable advance in the science of these animals, and which obtained for him the great prize of physical science from the Institute of France. Made Doctor of Medicine in 1857, Claparéde re- turned to Geneva, where he continued his labors with great assiduity, notwithstanding impaired health, and sufferings which would have dis- couraged almost anyone else. He was soon elected to a professorship, and displayed in his instruction the brilliant qualities which contribu- ted to increase the reputation of our Academy. He also gave several public lectures, which always attracted a large audience, thanks to his great erudition, and to the fluency of speech which gave to his instruc- tion an irresistible attraction. Although his tastes led him to prefer the study of inferior animals, he was occupied with various subjects, and we find in the memoirs of the Archives de la Bibliotheque Universelle numerous articles of his upon different branches of science, in which he gave a résumé of works in foreign languages, also a number of analyses, as learned as varied, upon many subjects, which added much to the value of the bulletin. Understanding nearly all the languages of Europe, he could give an account of a great many works entirely inaccessible to others, while his critical appreciation bore the mark of a true scientific genius. _ The desire to pursue his researches upon marine animals induced Ciaparéde to make numerous journeys to the sea-shore, and on each occasion he collected the materials for important investigations, the re- sults of which appeared either in Geneva, in the Memoirs of the Society of Physics, or inGermany, in the Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie of Siebold and KGlliker, in the Archives of Miiller, &c. The class of Annélides more particularily arrested his attention. Almost every year he made it the subject of some new publication, and finally devo- ted his great work to the Annelides of Naples, which, unfortunately, 358 SOCIETY OF PHYSICS AND NATURAL HISTORY, OF GENEVA. was the last labor of his life. There is, however, still another exten- sive work by him, not yet printed, which will appear, treating of the history of these animals. ; Besides his study of marine animals, Claparede made at Geneva very varied researches on other subjects. He published memoirs upon Din- ocular vision, and numerous works upon the embryology of the Arthr- opodes. In 1860 the Society of the Sciences, of Utrecht, awarded him a gold medal for his beautiful investigations relative to the evolution of the Aranéides, which were followed by his studies° upon different crustaceous and acarious animals, which include many new facts, and which are all important works in the progress of science. In fact, Claparéde, always noted+ for the correctness of his eye, ended by becoming an authority of the first order in all questions to be deci- ded by the microscope, and in this respect he exercised throughout the entire world a well-merited authority. His eminent genius for obser- vation, the clearness of his judgment, which comprehended all diffi- culties, naturally led Claparéde to the study of Darwinism, of which he became a decided defender, and in relation to which he published sey- eral remarkable articles. In reading the numerous and important works of Claparéde, no one would imagine the sad condition of his health. Afilicted with serious organic maladies, his life was one long martyrdom. the vessel; and Dr. Besseis shall, in such case, us as chief of the scientific department, directing all sledge journeys and scientific opera- tions. In the possible contingency of their non-agreement as to the course to be pursued, then Mr. Buddington shall assume sole charge and command, and return with the expedition to the United States with all possible dispatch. You will transmit to this Department, as often as opportunity offers, reports of your progress and results of your search, detailing the route of your proposed advance. -5 =-=- 15 inancesiof the Lostitutionam 18/122 2 ae 4.2 cscs ose coseee -- eee eee a 13,99 Wire; Indiansmode of obtaimtng-< 2252 un. 2e.5-- JAE esc eee 9 2c eos ate eel _ 420 Fishes’ food, inquiries relative to, by Professor Baird...---.-.--..------------- 27 . Foreign institutions in correspondence with Smithsonian Institution. ..-------- 16, 19 Fourier, Joseph, biography of, by M. Arago.......-...-----.----» ------ -----:- 137 Franking privilege desired®by Smithsonian .........--.-----.----------++-+-- 103, 105 Freights free by railroad and steamship lines .....-.-. He Cee CIEE Ben teres 19 Fund, statement of Smithson ....<=2.22-.22d2 (Seco wenn ewes ~- nose === a= == 13; 99 Fungi; researchesolc. qacee = cccccc sam cee cents nese ae seers 23 lbprariygotsGOneress ss -mescs ac einiscis eiclsisae oleenciem aiicis creations eee eee 22 Mifeinsuramcetables —sesercnier sos cts elise eco aeeieee cise asia ene opener Sees 275 Light-House Board, services rendered to, by Secretary of Smithsonian Institu- PLOM oes aie oe oinle ele leialieiateieyaaiie ie labiealctajel ojeciecieinias stan s (ejaialetaieistone tole isieselhe lnieiers 36 hichtnine-rods\circularpprinted fo syoe cn cccinl oma oS eleiae seksi apnea eee ies 17 Liquids, researches on. (See Graham.) iV COUMS CHCOUTAD OMEN bi LO keene wismieefoinn\-ei-telainiel seisiae ec eisist mie oie =i tee eerie 35 yon ais. antiquities im New MexicOjcs-. lees ss -slacl carci neic eens sees siete oe een ee eee ee eater 137 ThomasiGrahame sei see aclccee- = =e 5s s54 Sfascaantiee Seeeeeie eterno 177 Bdwardi@laparede eer ciecicae acerca ee cteee easy seeece eee eis acereeeec 356 AT oUStUSs AW allen sec cme cleo in cic eles a eee aie = ete eee 342 Metagenesis, researchesjOn= esse eels sees mies iso Se ene ieee © osm see eee 236 Meteorology, account of Smithsonian system of ....-...-..---------.---------- 23 Meteor ological articles received by the Institution and deposited in the Library of Congress: AUTOLAS So Bk eo = bin Sere Hon ieee Rees cic eee eee obs ee Seles 5 Regulations for international exchanges... 2-2 2... ... 22.220 220. seen ee cae es eee 20 Relation of physical sciences to science in general, lecture by Helmholtz on..... 217 Reichardt, Henry William, present knowledge of cryptogamous plants. ....---- 249 Report, new edition from stereotype-plates recommended ........---..-.-.----- 17 Report of PLotessor ElLenry.. 52.52.50. cfc s conc cet oe ee ia doe eee erase 13 Reporu or therumecutive Committees... 5-2 2 oe Ss fb ones Sot cee sees 99, 104 Rhees, William J., list of institutions in United States, by..-.....---..----.-.-- ay Robeson, George M., instructions to Captain C. I’. Hall..........-..--...----.- 361 Reehrig, F. L. O., language of the Dakota or Sioux Indians.......-. ...-..-.--. 43 Schieffelin, H. M,, publication of Anderson’s exploration of Musardo by....---- 20 School-books presented to Japan....-....---.--- Ee re ee ee oT Schott, Arthur, ancient relic of Maya sculpture.........---...----.----------- 423 Science, importance of promoting abstract ........-... 2.22.22 2-2 eee eee eee 37 Science, relation of, to physical sciences..... ...-.. 1.22 2.022. eee eee eee ee eee 217 Scientific associations, encouragement to...........--------0-. eee eee eee ee eee oo Ova Gul) Ge Ges PLANS SCO MCs aeeeee seas omen eee wend te eee one, arc eee 34 Shell-heaps. (See Ethnology.) Signal-service meteorological system ..-.-........6-s2s0steos: J2-oco-e-se sc eee 23 Smith, F. O. J., relative to electro-magnetic telegraph.........--.......------- 105 MMNGHSONSaWill.5.5- <6 cess sce acre ae wo ceces ayaa ee a 22 Weare, Sree rage Seas eee eae 7 Spainhour, J. M., antiquities in North Carolina........---..----.---..---.. ---- 404 Stable erected on Smithsonian grounds.......-<-- 020. 0.-20s2eeeeseeeeece sees 104 Stable on Smithsonian SLowndss. 2. ..cs- eases veeceoucias -oo5 52 osee ae oae sone 104 Steamship-lines, free freights by..-......--..-------- Dey eee Nee ee eee ee eee 19 Stockwell, John N., secular variations of the planetary orbits meee Bis So 18 Siete ee 15, 261 PRAMS RLON Oe ACCOMM Olas 2)— a5 ne cee cee srsis, sreaterss aitiersis octeeints ys miere Se rsicim reise vee ame 34 Velegraph, electro-magnetic. (See O’Rielly; Smith.) ‘lemperavure; reductions: of, account of-<.....: 2.20 ences. ces onc cece cee oeet Sec ebee 25 ‘Tbunder-storms, circular printed... .........-- eyes iee Wess ete = Sete) ae ae ia Tornadoes and tempests, (see Meteorology)....-...---. -.-- 22-22 eee eee eee 451 Trambull,.L., acts of, as-Regent.......2