218 Smee (Alfred, F. R. S.) A Memoir 
 1818-1877. By His Daughter. With Steel 
 Portrait. 18 illustrations. (Smee was a 
 very Eminent Surgeon and Metallurgist, 
 and distinguished writer on the sub- 
 jects). 8vo., cloth. $1.00. Lond., 1878. 
 

MEMOIB 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 ALFRED SMEE, F.E.S 
 
beTtsen* 
 
MBMOIE 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 ALFRED SMEE, E.B.S 
 
 BY 
 
 HIS DAUGHTER. 
 
 ^ "H.v^wi <s> juu-L- 
 
 WITH A SELECTION FROM HIS 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS, 
 
 LONDON: 
 GEORGE BELL AND SONS, YORK STREET, 
 
 CO VENT GARDEN. 
 
 1878. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, 
 STAMFORD STREET AKD CHARING CROSS. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IT is with much diffidence that I submit this Memoir to the 
 public. It was undertaken partly as a duty to the memory of 
 my father, partly in the belief that it would not be unacceptable 
 to the many readers of his different works. His pursuits, indeed, 
 were so earnest and various, and his writings extended over such 
 a wide range of subjects, that some account, however imperfect, 
 of his doings, and some selection, however incomplete, from his 
 writings, could not, I felt, be without interest to the general 
 reader. 
 
 I was further desirous to bring under public notice a record 
 of my father's inventions and researches, especially in that 
 branch of science to which he first gave the name of Electro- 
 Metallurgy. His treatise on this subject, which went through 
 several editions, has long been out of print. From it has been 
 taken the introductory chapter on the history of Electro-Metal- 
 lurgy, included in the present selection. 
 
 I have devoted considerable space, also, to the enunciation 
 and discussion of my father's views on Mental Philosophy, and 
 have extracted several passages from ' The Mind of Man/ his 
 last work on this his favourite subject, and the last published 
 work of his life. 
 
 The numerous scientific papers, lectures, pamphlets, anony- 
 mous and other writings of my father have also furnished con- 
 tributions to the present volume. Artists will find something 
 to interest them in his remarks on binocular vision, and on the 
 methods resorted to by various eminent painters to produce 
 
VI PEEFACE. 
 
 effects whereby the results of binocular perspective are more 
 or less successfully imitated. 
 
 In connection with the potato disease, the views put forth 
 by the subject of this Memoir in 1845-47 receive fresh interest 
 from the confirmation afforded them by the recent researches of 
 Mr. Worthington Smith. 
 
 My father's knowledge of gardening and love for natural 
 history in all its branches meet with frequent illustration. Some 
 account more especially is given of the experimental garden 
 which he formed at "Wellington, in Surrey, now, indeed, become 
 almost of celebrity through his well-known book entitled ' My 
 Garden.' It may interest many to know that this garden is 
 still kept up, in tribute to its founder's memory, by my brother, 
 Mr. Alfred Hutchison Smee. 
 
 E. M. 0. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 AGE - TO 161818 TO 1834. 
 
 1818. Alfred Smee, born June 18th Family Infancy His love for fruit 
 Is precocious Goes to St. Paul's School His natural power of 
 observation displayed as a boy Fights a bully Other traits in his 
 character as a boy An adept in climbing trees Ignorant of all games 
 Love of animals shown Dislikes cruelty to dumb creatures 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 AGE 16 TO 211834 TO 1839. 
 
 1834. Leaves St. Paul's School, age sixteen, and becomes a medical student 
 at King's College, London. 1836. Distinguishes himself at King's 
 College Takes the first prize for Chemistry. 1837. Takes the first 
 prize for Anatomy and the first prize for Physiology His answers in 
 Divinity. 1838. Reads his first paper before the Geological Society, 
 ' On the State in which Animal Matter is usually found in Fossils ' 
 His second paper, ' On the Chemical Nature of the External 
 Envelope of the Frog's Spawn ' Leaves King's College and goes to 
 St. Bartholomew's, where he carries off the prize for Surgery Nearly 
 loses the sight of one eye by a chemical experiment. 1839. Invents 
 a form of splint for fractures, and writes a paper on it, * On the 
 Formation of Moulding Tablets for Fractures' Also one on 'Gutta 
 Percha Splints ' His paper on ' Photogenic Drawing ' Reads a paper 
 before the Royal Society, ' On the Structure of Normal and Adven- 
 titious Bone ' His experiment-book Account-book Laboratory 
 Life at the Bank of England His love of music 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 AGE 22 TO 241840 TO 1842. 
 
 1840. Twenty-second year of his age " Smee's Battery " Marriage of 
 Alfred Smee, June 2nd Paper 'On the Ferrosesquicyanuret of 
 Potassium' His first book, published in December, on 'Electro- 
 Metallurgy ' His researches in that science Gives the name Electro- 
 Metallurgy. 1841. Letter of Brande, the chemist Alfred Smee gives 
 a lecture at the Royal Institution, January 26th, 'On the Laws 
 regulating the Voltaic Precipitation of Metals' His specimens in 
 Electro-Metallurgy shown at various places The coppered cucumber 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 PACK 
 
 Lectures before the Numismatic Society, 21st January, on Electro- 
 Metallurgy Elected Surgeon to the Bank of England Elected Fellow 
 of the Royal Society, 10th June, in the twenty-third year of his age. 
 1842. Elected Surgeon to the Royal General Dispensary, Aldersgate 
 Street Paper 'On the New Definition of the Voltaic Circuit, with 
 Formulas for ascertaining its Power under different Circumstances ' 
 Writes various medical papers Makes a durable writing ink. 1843. 
 Lecture at the Royal Institution, ' On the Cause of the Reduction of 
 Metals when Solutions of their Salts are subjected to the Galvanic 
 Current ' Paper ' On the Inhalation of Ammonia Gas as a Remedial 
 Agent' ".. 16 
 
 r CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AGE 25 TO 291843 TO 1847. 
 
 1843. ' Sources of Physics ' (book), published 1st September Is Lecturer to 
 the Aldersgate School of Medicine. 1844. His introductory lecture 
 His lecture ' On the Detection of Needles impacted in the Human 
 Frame.' 1845. Paper ' On the New Application of Electricity to 
 Surgery ' Paper ' On Vessels in Fat smaller than the Capillaries ' 
 His carmine injections Visit to Switzerland. 1845-46-47. Potato 
 disease. 1846. Publishes ' The Potato Plant, its Uses and Properties, 
 together with the Cause of the Present Malady' (book) Corre- 
 pondence on the Potato disease Rancorous animosity and skits on 
 A. S. Aphis vastator, nomenclature of. 1847. Famine Food soiree 
 Lecture at the London Institution on the ' Potato Plant ' Skeleton 
 of the lecture drawn up by Alfred Smee Prepares many hundred 
 microscopical preparations of aphides and slices of diseased potato 
 Their use in 1876 Last researches on the potato disease The rate at 
 which aphides multiply Alfred Smee is engaged on the ventilation 
 of large buildings Invents an ether-inhaler .. .. .. .. 25 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 AGE 30 TO 31-1848 TO 1849. 
 
 1848. Publishes The Eye in Health and Disease ' (book) Smee's opto- 
 meter Smee's horizontal fish-tail burners Sheet of ' Directions for 
 Accidents and Emergencies ' Royal Society : Mr. Smee's opinion on 
 its reducing its number of Fellows ; also on the system by which the 
 publication of learned papers are determined Paper * On Electric 
 Light and Gas Companies,' &c. Personal appearance of Alfred Smee 
 Love of his family His powers of abstraction His untidiness Indif- 
 ference to dress His walk Jingling keys Quick temper Quick in 
 action Sensitive to a slight Not jealous Impatient of opposition 
 Disliked arguments Expected others to have the same quickness of 
 apprehension as himself Worked for others Disposition Never feared 
 responsibility His dislike of routine work His charity Genial and 
 social Loved society, yet disliked the London season being in summer 
 His readings Keen sense of imagination and of fun .. ... .. 38 
 
CONTENTS. ix 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AGE 31 TO 361849 TO 1854. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1849. ' Electro-Biology ' is published (book) Lecture on Electro-Biology 
 ' Principles of the Human Mind 'Article on ' Gutta-percha and its 
 Uses' The Cholera, article on. 1850. 'Instinct and Reason' 
 (book) Why written Sketch of the general plan of the work 
 Smee's hot and cold detector. 1851. Third edition of * Electro-Metal- 
 lurgy ' brought out, and Alfred Smee also publishes ' The Process of 
 Thought' (book) Relational and differential machines Writes long; 
 articles in the 'Illustrated London News' and in the 'Morning 
 Chronicle' Article on Wardian cases, and on plants that can be 
 grown in London or a smoky town Lectures at Newbury and else- 
 where Writes a Memoir of Wyon First visit to Paris Is an angler 
 Is a regular attendant at St. Paul's Cathedral Power of prayer .. 50 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 AGE 36 TO 401854 TO 1858. 
 
 1854. Second edition of the 'Eye' Binocular Perspective Soire'e 
 On Education Is the originator of the educational lectures at the 
 London Institution, and delivers the first of them there, for which 
 he draws up a diagram showing the faculties of the human mind 
 at different periods of life Alfred Smee originates and establishes a 
 new form of printing the Bank of England note. 1856. Letters to the 
 Society of Arts' Journal on the ' Practical Application of the Decimal 
 Coinage,' and on the ' Relation between Decimal Coins and Weights 
 and Measures.' 1857. Lecture at the London Institution on 'The 
 Monogenesis of Physical Forces 'Visit to Paris. 1858. Eclipse of 
 the sun Experiments at Blisworth with Smee's photometer . . . . 63 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 AGE 41 TO 481859 TO 1866. 
 
 1859. ' Debility and Defective Nutrition ' is published (book) To Switzer- 
 land Making of garden at Wallington The Saturday reunions 
 Sewage Croydon Local Board Injunctions against, extending over 
 some years. 1866. Water supply and pre-existing sewage. 1860 to 
 1865. Proposed spoliation of Finsbury Circus by railways Import- 
 ance of gardens for London Advocates for trees to be" planted along 
 the Thames Embankment. 1860. Introduces the French system of 
 pisciculture into England His fish-breeding house at Wallington 
 Alfred Smee was a sportsman as well as a fisherman, and also fond of 
 yachting. 1861. He was the first in England to discover the comet of 
 June 30th, 1861. 1862. Effect on hearing a sermon Writes an 
 anonymous pamphlet on ' Reasons for not hanging Garrotters and 
 Burglars 'Other anonymous satires from his pen. 1863. Controversy 
 with the Oratorians Private and secret burial-grounds, &c. . . 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 AGE 46 TO 521864 TO 1870. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1864-65. Alfred Smee contests Rochester Election in 1865 Anony- 
 mous pamphlets * The Puppet Parliament,' and ' The Final Reform 
 Bill 'Becomes a Freemason. 1866. Projected movement for the 
 City of London College School to be associated with the London 
 Institution defeated by Alfred Smee Visit to Paris Writes a letter 
 to Dr. Gray, F.R.S., of the British Museum, and strongly advocates a 
 large aquarium to be established at the Zoological Gardens Describes 
 the Monde de la Mer at Paris Writes several letters to the ' Times,' 
 &c., on " Locked-up Money," for which he suggests a remedy. 
 1867. Brings out another form of * Accident Sheet,' which is illustrated 
 by woodcuts Professional life of Alfred Smee. 1868. Illness, and 
 goes to Whitby There nicknamed the Professor of Ferns Writes a 
 letter to Mr. Gassiot on the importance of posting up weather telegrams 
 at Whitby Another election at Rochester Letters to his family from 
 Rochester Why defeated Speech at complimentary dinner given to 
 him at Rochester His speeches How delivered. 1870. Visits Italy, 
 and returns with plants and ferns found in that country Extracts from 
 letters to his son on the states of vegetation in Italy, &c. Various 
 anonymous papers written at different periods of his life ' On the 
 Unseaworthiness of Ships ' ' On Chancery Reform,' &c. .. .. 92 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 AGE 52 TO 571870 TO 1875. 
 
 1871. ' The Widow and the Rabbits,' a fairy legend, is published anony- 
 mously (book) Extracts from. 1870. Letter to the 'Times' on 
 St. Saviour's church being struck by lightning Letter on the aurora 
 borealis which occurred the 26th October, 1870. 1872. Letter to the 
 * Times ' on a violent gale, in which he urges the invention of cheap 
 barometers for the use of fishermen Letter to the ' Times ' on Brixton 
 church being struck by lightning ' My Garden' ' is published (book) 
 Plan of work Lectures delivered at the London Institution A 
 'Gossip on Gardening:' why given Village fete at his garden, at 
 which he gave prizes to the school children for collections of wild 
 flowers Alfred Smee is an active supporter of flower shows, or rather 
 the exhibitions of window plants grown within the City The prizes he 
 gave Letters to his daughter, showing the activity of his character 
 and his love for Nature. 1874. He attends an International Botanical 
 Congress at Florence, as representative of the Royal Horticultural 
 Society of England, and reads a paper at the Congress on ' The best 
 Varieties of Fruits cultivated in England ' More letters to his daughter 
 from abroad Again contests Rochester Presentation of plate Speech 
 Letter, &c. 1875. Letters on the manner the Members for Council 
 of the Royal College of Surgeons are elected .. .. .. .. 105 
 
CONTENTS. Xi 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 57TH YEAR OF HIS AGE 1875. 
 
 PAOK 
 
 April, 1875. ' The Mind of Man ' is published (last book) Plan of work 
 Extracts from. 1873-1876. Sewage question Alfred Smee's views 
 on Correspondence on milk, typhoid fever, and sewage. 1873. Paper 
 read before the Health Section of the Social Science Congress at 
 Norwich. 1875. Paper read before the Society of Arts on ' Proposed 
 Heads of Legislation for the Regulation of Sewage Grounds ' Alfred 
 Smee's reply to the discussion, January 1876 .. .. .. .. 126 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 AGE 57 TO 581876 TO 1877. 
 
 Book on Fishing Hard working Letters from abroad Letters to the 
 ' Times ' and various newspapers : August 17th, 1876, on " A Homicidal 
 River;" October 17th, "On Distribution of Seeds by Panthers;" 
 November, 1876, his last published letter on "Bird-catching extra- 
 ordinary " Death of Alfred Smee, January llth, 1877, aged fifty-eight 
 Buried at St. Mary's, Beddington, Surrey, within sight of his garden, 
 January 16th, 1877 134 
 
 [APPENDIX. 
 c 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 KO. YlAR. PAGB 
 
 I. 1838. On the State in which Animal Matter is usually 
 
 found in Fossils. Paper .. .. .. .. 143 
 
 II. 1838. On the Chemical Nature of the external Envelope of 
 
 the Frog's Spawn. Paper.. .. .. .. 145 
 
 III. 1839. On the Formation of Moulding Tablets for Fractures ; 
 
 and On Gutta-percha Splints (1846). Papers .. 147 
 IIlA. 1839. On the Structure of Normal and Adventitious Bone. 
 
 Paper .. 151 
 
 IV. 1839. On Photogenic Drawing. Paper 157 
 
 V. 1840. On the Principle, Construction, and Use of Smee's 
 
 Battery ; its various Forms, with full Directions for 
 its Manipulation, more especially in the Processes 
 of Electro-Metallurgy. Transcribed from Paper 
 read before Society of Arts, and from ' Electro- 
 Metallurgy,' &c 164 
 
 VI. 1840. On the Production of Electrotypes. Paper.. .. 172 
 VII. 1840. On the Ferrosesquicyanuret of Potassium. Paper . . 174 
 VIII. 1840. History of Electro-Metallurgy, with the Researches 
 
 of Alfred Smee in that science . . . . . . 181 
 
 IX. Receipt of a Writing Ink 187 
 
 X. 1843. On the Cause of the Reduction of Metals. Paper .. 188 
 XI. 1843. On the Inhalation of Ammonia Gas as a remedial 
 
 Agent. Paper 194 
 
 XII. 1843. The Sources of Physical Science. Plan of the book. 
 (This plan was not written by ALFRED SMEE.) 
 With the concluding Chapters of * Sources of 
 Physical Science.' (By ALFRED SMEE) . . . . 199 
 
 XIII. 1844. Introductory Lecture delivered at the Aldersgate 
 
 School of Medicine. Lecture .. .. .. 213 
 
 XIV. 1844. On the Detection of Needles and other Steel Instru- 
 
 ments impacted in the Human Body. Lecture .. 221 
 XV.A. 1847. An Account of the various Breads exhibited under 
 
 the title of " Famine Food" at Mr. Smee's house. 
 
 (This account was not written by ALFRED SMEE) . . 225 
 XV.B. 1847. On the Potato Disease and the Aphis vastatw. 
 
 Lecture 227 
 
 1846-47. Also Monthly Reports and Correspondence on Aphides 235 
 XV.c. 1876. Recent Researches on the Potato Disease. (This was 
 
 not written by ALFRED SMEE) . . . . . . 252 
 
 XVI. 1849. Electro-Biology. Plan of the Book. (This was not 
 
 written by ALFRED SMEE) . . . . . . . . 255 
 
 XVII. 1849. On Electro-Biology; or, the Voltaic Mechanism of 
 
 Man. Lecture .. .. .. .. .. 260 
 
 XVII.A. 1849. Principles of the Human Mind deduced from Phy- 
 sical Laws. PampMet 269 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 No. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 XX. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 YEAR. 
 1849. 
 
 1854. 
 1853. 
 1854. 
 
 XXII. 1854. 
 
 XXIII. 
 XXIV. 
 
 XXV. 
 XXVI. 
 
 1857. 
 1858. 
 
 1867-69. 
 1863. 
 
 XXVII. 1863. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 XXXIV. 
 XXXV. 
 
 1864. 
 1864. 
 1866. 
 
 1871. 
 
 1868-74, 
 
 XXXVI.A. 1873-76. 
 
 XXXVI.B. 
 XXXVI.C. 
 
 1873. 
 1875. 
 
 1876. 
 
 On the Production of Cholera by insufficient Drain- 
 age. Paper .. .. .. .. .. .. 276 
 
 Investigations in Binocular Perspective, with rules . . 279 
 
 On Education. Letter 283 
 
 Introductory Discourse on the Objects and Advan- 
 tages of Educational Lectures. Lecture .. .. 289 
 On the new Bank of England Note, and the Sub- 
 stitution of Surface Printing from Electrotypes 
 
 for Copper-plate Printing. Paper 299 
 
 On the Monogenesis of Physical Forces. Lecture . . 317 
 On the Eclipse of the Sun. (Experiments with 
 Smee's photometer.) Letter .. .. .. 326 
 
 On the Water Supply of London. Speech, Letters.. 328 
 Rejoinder to the Manifesto of Dr. Dalgairns, Principal 
 
 of the Oratory, Sec. Pamphlet 332 
 
 On the Practical Remedy for Extortion and Intimi- 
 dation practised by the aid of the Superior Law 
 Courts. Pamphlet: ANON. .. .. .. 343 
 
 The Puppet Parliament. Pamphlet : ANON. .. 347 
 
 The Final Reform Bill. Pamphlet : ANON. .. 350 
 
 On Locked-up Money. Letters .. .. .. 354 
 
 Various Letters : ANON. .. .. .. .. 357 
 
 On the Unseaworthiness of Ships sent to Sea. 
 Letters: ANON. .. .. .. .. .. 358 
 
 On Chancery Reform. Letters : ANON 362 
 
 A Gossip about Gardening. Lecture .. .. 366 
 
 Part of two Speeches delivered at Rochester. 
 
 Speeches 374 
 
 Milk, Typhoid Fever, and Sewage, Correspondence 
 
 on. -Letters 382 
 
 On Sewage, Sewage Produce, and Disease. Paper 394 
 Proposed Heads of Legislation for the Regulation 
 of Sewage Grounds. Paper . . . . . . 403 
 
 Reply to the Discussion of the above. Speech .. 415 
 
( xiv ) 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 IG - PAGE 
 
 PORTRAIT .. .. .... Frontispiece. 
 
 1. Alfred Smee's working-room in the Bank of England .. .. .. 13 
 
 2. Smee's Ether-inhaler 37 
 
 3. Optometer .. .. 38 
 
 4. Gas-burner and jet .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 39 
 
 5. Hot and cold Detector .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 54 
 
 6. Alfred Smee, with his son, fishing in the Thames .. To face 135 
 GA. Roman coin found at Clerrnont .. .. .. .. .. .. 137 
 
 7. View of St. Mary's, Beddington, from the Garden .. To face 141 
 7A. The Grave of Alfred Smee 142 
 
 8. Smee's Battery, compound six cells .. .. .. .. .. 169 
 
 9. Smee's Battery, for Electrotype 170 
 
 10. Smee's Odds-and-Ends Battery 170 
 
 11. Covered wire, as generally used for the formation of Electro-magnets . . 222 
 
 12. Electro-magnet 223 
 
 13. Magnetized Needle, for discovering needles within the body .. .. 224 
 
 14. Kesting-spores of the Potato Fungus within an Aphis . . . . . . 254 
 
 15. Resting-spores of the Potato Fungus within the cellular tissue of 
 
 Potatoes 254 
 
 16. Illustration showing the Interpenetration of Objects when seen by 
 
 two eyes, and the geometrical law on which it is founded . . . . 280 
 
 17. Diagram of the Faculties of the Human Mind at different Periods of 
 
 Life 291 
 
 18. Smee's Photometer .. .. 326 
 
 LIST OF BOOKS BY ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 YEAR 
 NO. PUBLISHED. 
 
 I. 1840. Elements of Electro-Metallurgy. 
 II. 1843. Sources of Physical Science. 
 
 III. 1846. The Potato Plant : its Uses and Properties ; together with 
 
 the Cause of the present Malady. 
 
 IV. 1848. The Eye in Health and Disease. 
 V. 1849. Elements of Electro-Biology. 
 
 VI. 1850. Instinct and Reason. 
 
 VII. 1851. Process of Thought. 
 
 VIII. 1859. Debility and Defective Nutrition. 
 
 IX. 1871. Fairy Legend : The Widow and the Rabbits. ANON. 
 
 X. 1872. My Garden. 
 
 XI. 1875. The Mind of Man. 
 
 XII. 1876-77. A Book on Fishing. (Not completed.) 
 
MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 1818 TO 1834. 
 
 Alfred Smee born June 18th, 1818 Family Infancy Love for fruit Goes to 
 St. Paul's School His natural power of observation displayed as a boy 
 Fights a bully Other traits in his character as a boy An adept in climbing 
 trees Ignorant of all games Love of animals shown Dislikes cruelty to 
 dumb creatures. 
 
 ALFRED SMEE, the subject of this biography, was born on the 
 anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, the 18th of June, 1818. 
 He was the second son of William Smee, who held the position of 
 Accountant-G-eneral to the Bank of England. The Smee family 
 is derived from an ancient English stock. From the time of 
 Charles I. the family was to be found in the county of Suffolk ; 
 previously to the turbulent times of the Civil Wars, they crossed 
 the country from the north. Many curious traditions exist in 
 the family ; but as I am not writing the history of the Smees, 
 but of one of its members only, there is no need here to narrate 
 them. It suffices therefore here to say that my father's great- 
 grandfather was a man of considerable influence and wealth in 
 the county of Suffolk, and was, like the rest of the family, a 
 staunch Tory ; his high character and integrity were known to 
 all around him. He was, as I have heard, on intimate terms with 
 Sir Hans Sloane and with Lord North, and he knew also the 
 renowned Wedgwood. On the tombstone of this ancestor of ours 
 are the significant and laconic words : " An honest man." 
 
 Alfred Smee's father, William Smee, was being educated at 
 St. John's College, Cambridge, when family misfortunes obliged 
 him to leave the University to seek his own livelihood. I have 
 heard my grandfather say how he wept on the bridge at 
 Cambridge at the thought of being obliged to leave that aca- 
 demical town. Had Lord North not been dismissed from office, 
 
 B 
 
MEMCI& QB- V ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. I. 
 
 my grandfather wxxirljl'. fea^'e had a good government appoint- 
 ment given to him ; however, that was not to he, and so William 
 Smee entered the service of the Bank of England. He, like 
 his grandfather, hore a high character for integrity ; and that, 
 coupled with uncommon talents and an iron will, made him re- 
 spected and esteemed throughout the mercantile community of 
 the City of London. On his death a long resolution was passed 
 at the Court of Directors of the Bank of England, testifying to 
 the " high integrity of his character and his indefatigable exer- 
 tions " in the discharge of his duties, and to the high esteem in 
 which he was held hy all who knew him. Some years previously 
 the directors wished him to become a member of their body, but 
 my grandfather declined this honour ; and when the time for 
 the election drew near, he disqualified himself from becoming a 
 director by withdrawing certain sums of money from the Bank 
 stock, and so remained in his old position. Whether he acted 
 in this case wisely may, I think, be considered an open question. 
 When William Smee was between thirty and forty years of age, 
 he married a young Suffolk lady of the name of Bay, and she 
 was ever to him a wise, frugal, and an intelligent companion. 
 For several years they resided in a house of their own at Cam- 
 berwell, and it was here, amidst fields and trees and orchards 
 (for Camberwell fifty-eight years ago was very different to the 
 Camberwell of the present day), that Alfred Smee was born, and 
 spent the first few years of his life. 
 
 As a child, Alfred Smee was singularly precocious, and, like 
 many precocious children, gave, as my grandmother used to say, 
 a great deal of trouble to his nurse; indeed, that unfortunate 
 attendant must have had a very hard time of it, if the various 
 anecdotes that my grandmother was wont to tell about this 
 madcap boy are to be credited. From his earliest years 
 Alfred Smee had an inordinate love for fruit, to obtain which 
 he would but too frequently rise with the sun, and, eluding 
 the vigilance of the servants, stroll into the garden, climb the 
 trees, and satisfy himself to his heart's content. One day, as 
 my grandfather was walking in his garden, his attention was 
 attracted to a peach-tree full of fruit, which was just ripe. To 
 his dismay a small piece was bitten out of every peach, and all 
 the fruit bore unmistakable signs of a child's teeth. Little 
 Alfred, who was by his side at the time, and who was then 
 about four years old, could not forbear inquiring into the fact 
 whether snails have teeth. Besides an excessive love for fruit, 
 
CHAP. I.] FIGHTS A BULLY. 3 
 
 which remained with him till the last, my father ever had 
 from infancy a great love of natural history in all its branches. 
 When he was four years old, through running and over-heating 
 himself on a hot day in June, in a hay-field, after a favourite 
 rabbit that had escaped from its hutch, he became ill with what 
 was then supposed to be a kind of croup, but which proved to 
 be the first attack of hay-fever, a complaint of rare occurrence 
 at that time ; but from that summer to a late period of his life 
 he was always a great sufferer from that disagreeable disorder. 
 
 In my grandfather's account-book for June 18th, 1823, is the 
 following entry, which shows the far-seeing character of the 
 former in the estimation of his second son's abilities, this son 
 being at the time five years old. 
 
 This day I have transferred 10 Imperial 3 per Cent. Annuity into the 
 names of William Smee, of the Bank, Gentleman, and Alfred Smee, of 
 Camberwell, Gentleman. I have been much gratified with the good con- 
 duct and zeal displayed by my dear Alfred in his studies, and I hope the 
 Almighty will continue such dispositions, which I confidently think will 
 lead to a brilliant result. 
 
 After my grandfather had left Camberwell to reside at the 
 Bank of England, my father went, as did his elder brother, to 
 St. Paul's School. At that school, which prides itself on having 
 educated Milton, Marlborough, and many distinguished men, 
 Alfred Smee did not shine as a scholar ; but notwithstanding his 
 want of book learning, he left a mark, and at St. Paul's School his 
 name is held in respect. As a schoolboy his powers for natural 
 observation were a strong feature in his character. One of my 
 father's schoolfellows (afterwards one of our judges) amused him 
 one day by telling him that, on first coming to school, Alfred 
 Srnee's first words to him were, "What a long back you have got!" 
 The other boys were questioning him on his name, age, parentage, 
 &c., but only Alfred Smee noticed this peculiarity of his. "I 
 have often," added the judge, " laughed over this observation of 
 yours." 
 
 While he was a small boy at school, his prowess was shown by 
 thrashing a " big bully " some years older than himself and 
 though Alfred Smee was not a fighting boy, and small and 
 unskilful in the art, yet his temper could not brook the im- 
 perious tones of a bully. The unfortunate boy who had incurred 
 his ire was wofully " mauled," to the delight of the rest of the 
 school. Another trait of his character we see in the following 
 anecdote. At the time he was at St. Paul's, the schoolroom clock 
 
 B 2 
 
4 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAI-. 1. 
 
 was fast, consequently the boys got into trouble for coming late. 
 The clockniaker was made aware of the fact, but several mornings 
 passed, and the clock was not set right. In my father's class the 
 master was very strict, and, quite ignoring that the fault lay in 
 the clock, caned the unfortunate boys for being late. This was 
 more than young Smee could submit to it was an injustice ; he 
 accordingly hit upon the following expedient to set right such 
 a dismal order of affairs. He persuaded the classes under his 
 master to march up Cheapside in single file to the clockmaker's at 
 the Koyal Exchange. Then every boy in turn, according to his 
 age, was to enter the shop, and taking off his cap, say, " Please, sir, 
 master's compliments, and will you put the schoolroom clock 
 right ?" At first the man was very civil, but as naturally may 
 be supposed, after about the tenth boy had appeared with the 
 same message, he became excessively irate. Young Smee entered 
 the shop, saw the fury the man was in, made a wry face at him, 
 did not wait to say anything, but rushed out of the shop. " What 
 did he say ?" was the eager inquiry. " Oh, nothing," replied young 
 Smee. In went the next boy (a very stupid boy I have heard, who 
 turned out badly in life), but it was too late : the man, exasperated 
 beyond all endurance, caught him and thrashed him. Off went 
 then the boys round the Exchange, running in and out of the legs 
 of the sober merchants, and finished their amusement, much to 
 the discomfiture of that respectable body of citizens. It is 
 almost needless to add that the schoolroom clock was speedily set 
 right, and though the clockmaker made a complaint to the master, 
 yet the latter was too much amused with the story to chastise 
 the boys for their audacious expedient. After this adventure it 
 was a long time before St. Paul's schoolroom clock went again 
 in advance of Greenwich time. 
 
 About the same time a very favourite amusement of Alfred 
 Smee's was to climb trees. In this accomplishment he excelled. 
 He would climb the highest trees where no other boy would 
 venture, and, to use his own expression, weave in and out the 
 branches, swaying the while like a bird, and ascending, and 
 ascending, until he reached the topmost branch ; when, waving his 
 cap to his schoolfellows below, it was duly acknowledged by that 
 august assembly that he had done "their dads." One poor 
 boy, however, tried to emulate him, but not being so skilful, 
 fell into a pond of water beneath, from the effects of which 
 he died; and so young Smee remained undisputed master of 
 the trees. 
 
CHAP. I.] LOVE OF ANIMALS SHOWN. 5 
 
 With cricket or other amusements of schoolboys my father 
 never meddled. In after-life he never entered into such recreation 
 as billiards, backgammon, or whist, or any other game. Strange 
 though it may seem, yet he was ignorant of any of the games 
 belonging to cards, and not only did he not know their names, 
 but he was also totally ignorant of the names of the cards 
 themselves. 
 
 While he was a schoolboy, as at other periods of his life, he 
 was extremely fond of animals and birds. Not many days before 
 my father's death, an old schoolfellow of his came to see him, and he 
 talked with him about the innumerable rabbits in hutches simple 
 contrivances, all made by young Alfred Smee that he used to go 
 and see in a court of the Bank, between the hours of school. 
 Here it should be stated, that from early boyhood my father 
 showed a great aptitude for carpentry. A few old boxes, and 
 a few pieces of wood, nails, a saw, gimlet, hammer, and a few 
 of the like common implements, were sufficient for him to 
 make many ingenious contrivances. We have still an old table 
 that had a fractured leg, which was bound up and mended by 
 him when he was but a boy of eight years old, and I think 
 even an indifferent person would admit that a grown-up man, or 
 even a carpenter, could scarcely have done the job better. 
 
 Besides keeping innumerable rabbits at the Bank, he used 
 also to keep some pigeons. In one of the anecdotes in ' Instinct 
 and Season,' he relates how he once, on leaving London for some 
 days, left the birds in charge of a servant. Upon returning, the 
 first question naturally asked was, as to the health of the favourite 
 birds. 
 
 But (says he) I received the startling answer, " Lor', indeed, sir, I never 
 once thought of them." Their fate seemed inevitable ; and up I ran to the 
 dovecot, to confirm, as I thought, my worst fears. To my astonishment, 
 however, all the birds were in good health. The young ones looked fat, and 
 the old ones had built new nests, although not a particle of food nor a drop 
 of water was to be found. As the birds had done so long without food and 
 water, I thought they could not hurt by waiting a little longer, and there- 
 fore I determined to see what they did. After a little time the birds 
 became uneasy, and, after pluming their feathers, they all flew off. I 
 watched them as far as the eye could reach, and I could trace them beyond 
 Shoreditch Church ; and after an hour and a half they came back. There 
 is no doubt that they had flown off to the fields for food, and thus were not 
 the least the worse for the servant's inattention. 
 
 Besides pigeons and rabbits, young Smee had, when a boy, 
 other pets. One of these was a magpie, who u*ed to be allowed 
 
6 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. I. 
 
 his liberty in the room where Alfred Smee and his elder 
 brother were having their early breakfast, before the rest of 
 the family, previous to their setting off to St. Paul's School, 
 where the boys had to be, at those times, by 8 o'clock. This 
 magpie was, like his young master, partial to buttered toast, and 
 he would hop about the table, making a good breakfast. When 
 Mr. Mag had partaken of as much toast as was consistent with 
 his comfort, he would betake himself to tease the dog, who was 
 basking before the fire, by hopping up to the poor beast and 
 awakening him by a violent tug at his tail. At first the 
 drowsy dog would just raise his head, give a growl, and would go 
 to sleep again, upon which Mr. Mag would repeat the same dis- 
 agreeable operation. When, after several repetitions of the like 
 affront, the poor dog would be fairly roused from his slumbers, 
 then the magpie used to hop round the room in a state of exulta- 
 tion, crying, "Mag, mag, mag!" 
 
 But this dog was not always doomed to be made miserable, 
 for my father and his brother were fond of taking him to bed 
 with them, although it was strictly forbidden them to do so. 
 As this anecdote is forcibly given in ' Instinct and Eeason ' as an 
 example of reason in animals, I will quote the rest from that 
 work. 
 
 The mamma was determined to stop the practice, went at night into the 
 room, and turned the dog out, and he was compelled to sneak down stairs 
 with tail between his legs. On the next night, however, the boys put the 
 dog into one of the drawers and shut him up, so that, when the mamma 
 came, no dog was found, and the boys afterwards took him to bed. The 
 dog seemed fully to appreciate the boys' movements, and used perfectly to 
 fall in with their plans. Some nights, indeed, the dog was discovered, but 
 generally he was hid up in such an ingenious manner that he was not dis- 
 covered. If the dog was called or whistled he took no notice, but used to 
 lie perfectly quiet till the boys took him out of his hiding-place. 
 
 My father always retained t his love for animals, and incul- 
 cated that love in his own children. I suppose few other children 
 (if any) have been brought up from infancy with so many kinds 
 of birds, animals, reptiles, and fishes. We had pets in thrushes, 
 blackbirds, canaries, goldfinches, bullfinches, and even nightin- 
 gales; we had pets in pigeons, pheasants, godwits, magpies, 
 sea-gulls, owls, and hawks. We kept, at different times of our 
 infancy, pet dogs, cats, guinea-pigs, and, amongst many other 
 animals too numerous to enumerate here, was a domesticated wild 
 rabbit. This rabbit used to be allowed to come out at dessert- 
 time, when it would immediately jump up on the table, and glide 
 
CHAP. I.] DISLIKES CKUELTY TO DUMB CREATURES. 7 
 
 so dexterously in and out among the glass, that it never broke 
 one or even knocked a wine-glass down, but would stop at the 
 plate of each person present until it received a piece of fruit, 
 after eating which it would continue its walk around the table, 
 allowing everyone to pet and caress it. 
 
 This rabbit was specially fond of my father, and he of it, 
 and great was the grief in the family when Bunny at last died of 
 old age. He kept pet hedgehogs and tortoises, and a pet Guernsey 
 lizard, which would partake *as a bonne louche of a dish of black 
 beetles for breakfast. He had also at one time a pet toad, which 
 was caught by my father during one of his walks in the wood 
 which formerly existed on the spot where the Crystal Palace 
 now stands. This toad was quite a baby when he first became 
 possessed of it, but it throve so thoroughly upon black beetles, 
 that in due course of time it became a full-grown toad, and lived 
 many years. My father took a great liking to this toad, and 
 was wont, whenever a friend dined with him, to show, as soon as 
 the cloth was removed, to the astonished guest the wonderful 
 powers which this creature possessed of seeing, and its rapidity 
 and unerring seizure of its prey. The unfortunate toad at last 
 met with an untimely death, through a quarrel arising with the 
 Guernsey lizard over one delicious black beetle. The toad re- 
 ceived a blow on the head from the lizard which paralysed it. 
 It lingered some time, but ultimately died from its effects. He 
 kept besides pet mice and even a pet rat. The latter's favourite 
 place was in a person's pocket, where he would remain for a long 
 while quite still and comfortable. When he was tired of that 
 locality, he would walk out and sit upon the shoulder, and nestle 
 to a person's neck. In this manner this rat used to frequently 
 perform little journeys through the streets of London ; but I am 
 bound to say my father never took him out. The very goldfish 
 knew my father's voice, and when he whistled to them would 
 come up from amongst the various water-plants which were kept 
 in a large tank in the greenhouse at the end of the garden of 
 Finsbury Circus, and take the food from his fingers. Others 
 might whistle to them, but the goldfish took no notice (though 
 it might even be at feeding time) of any other voice but that 
 of my father. 
 
 Mr. Smee ever abhorred cruelty to animals, especially when it 
 was occasioned through wanton wilfulness. But, on the other 
 hand, he considered that there are times when animals must 
 suffer for the weal of man ; then morbid sentimentality ought 
 
8 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. j. 
 
 not to be permitted to step in to stop experiments which are 
 needful to be made, in order to obtain knowledge by which the 
 sufferings of the human race may be relieved ; at the same time 
 those experiments should be conducted in such a manner as to 
 cause as little suffering to the poor beast as it is practicable. 
 The best plan to prevent wanton cruelty to animals is to bring 
 up children from their tender years to love all the lower creatures, 
 and to teach them that God has made them all, and has implanted 
 into them feelings, curious instincts, and to a certain extent 
 reason. 
 
 When a boy my father made a fair collection of insects, and a 
 collection of birds' eggs, both of which still exist. He also made 
 a collection of what fossils his limited resources could procure. 
 These are dispersed, but by the catalogue of them, which he 
 neatly wrote in a book, there seem to have been some interesting 
 specimens among them. In this book the names are given, the 
 stratum each specimen was found in, the locality, and whether 
 found by himself, or how otherwise procured. 
 
CHAP. IL] LEAVES ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL. 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 1834 TO 1839. 
 
 Leaves St. Paul's School, age sixteen, and enters as a medical student at King's 
 College, London Distinguishes himself at King's College; age seventeen 
 Takes more prizes; age nineteen Alfred Smee reads his first paper; 
 age twenty His second paper Leaves King's College and goes to St. Bar- 
 tholomew's Hospital Takes more prizes in 1838 Invents a splint ; age 
 twenty-one Experiment-book Account-book Laboratory Life at the 
 Bank of England His love of music. 
 
 IK midsummer 1834, Alfred Smee left St. Paul's School, and in 
 October of the same year he commenced his studies for the 
 medical profession, and became a medical student of King's 
 College, London. Up to this time we have seen him as a boy 
 endowed with strong feelings, possessing a strong will, keen 
 susceptibilities, and an innate love for natural history ; a sharp 
 pair of eyes which nothing passed unheeded, a keen sense for fun, 
 an open and very generous disposition, and a kind heart towards 
 his fellow-creatures and the lower animals. 
 
 But up to this period of his life he had not shown any dis- 
 position for book lore. His literature when a young boy was 
 limited, and it consisted principally of a few works on natural 
 history. For Gilbert White's ' History of Selborne' he ever 
 entertained an unbounded admiration, as he did also for the 
 immortal works of Shakspeare. By this it will be seen that 
 Alfred Smee was not what is termed a " reading man." Of the 
 plays of Shakspeare the ' Tempest,' supposed to be the last 
 written by the poet, was his favourite. Perhaps it may not be 
 out of place here to mention that my father, to the last year of 
 his life, never ceased to speak of the marvellous and unrivalled 
 manner in which Shakspeare's plays were put on the stage by 
 Macready in 1839-40.* 
 
 * For a full account of the exquisite pains which Macready gave-himself in 
 putting on the stage the plays of Shakspeare, I refer the reader to the interesting 
 diary of that tragedian, edited by Sir Frederick Pollock. 
 
10 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. II. 
 
 But to return to my subject. As a medical student, Alfred 
 Smee became studious. Indeed, from the moment he became one 
 he never ceased from the most laborious work. At the time my 
 father began his professional career, medical students, as a rule, 
 were not all that could be desired. But too many of them were 
 addicted to idleness, drinking, and other vices ; and, indeed, they 
 had the character of being but too frequently very rough members 
 of society. Young Smee, however, though full of fun and of 
 buoyant spirits, was noted for his unexceptionable good conduct, 
 steadiness, and sobriety, and was besides a most hard-working 
 young man.* 
 
 Alfred Smee had not been more than two years at King's 
 College before he carried off the silver medal, the prize for 
 Chemistry; Professor Daniell, so well known to the scientific 
 world as the inventor of a battery which bears his name, being 
 professor at King's College at the time. The following year, in 
 1837, Smee took the silver medal for Anatomy, Partridge being 
 professor ; and he also took the silver medal for Physiology, Todd 
 being professor. For the latter he used to prepare the experi- 
 ments for the lectures which that distinguished physician deli- 
 vered. In 1837 young Smee also contended for the theological 
 prize at King's College. He lost it by one mark only, and it 
 appeared that his answers on the one hand, and those of the 
 winner of the prize on the other, were so even, that there were 
 thoughts of giving two prizes, as the examiner, the Bishop of 
 London's chaplain, said that the answers in divinity were so 
 excellent as to entitle Alfred Smee to take orders for ordination. 
 I mention this fact particularly, as it shows how, at a very early 
 period, my father's mind was imbued with religious thoughts, 
 which hereafter proved a very remarkable feature in his 
 character. 
 
 On the 4th of April, 1838, Alfred Smee's first paper was read 
 before the Geological Society ; it was ' On the State in which 
 Animal Matter is usually found in Fossils/ and it was communi- 
 cated by Professor Koyle of King's College. The paper will be 
 found in the Appendix, No. I., of this work. 
 
 In the following month, on the 26th of May, 1838, appeared 
 in the * London Medical Gazette ' the second paper from his pen. 
 
 * In all the testimonials which Alfred Smee received from his masters 
 and professors, his extreme steadiness and good conduct, and the great talent 
 which he displayed in his various professional attainments, are made a great 
 point of. 
 
CHAP. II.] INVENTS A SPLINT. 11 
 
 This was entitled * On the Chemical Nature of the External En- 
 velope of the Frog's Spawn.' For this see the Appendix, No. II. 
 
 The same year Smee left King's College and entered his 
 name on the books at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. King's 
 College Hospital was not then erected, and therefore it was 
 essential for the aspirant to medical fame to gain practical 
 knowledge elsewhere. He became dresser to the eminent surgeon 
 Lawrence, and held the dressership a whole year. Alfred Smee 
 was not long at St. Bartholomew's before he carried off the 
 surgical prize, which consisted of three volumes of books by 
 Lawrence. As at King's College, so did young Smee distin- 
 guish himself at St. Bartholomew's by his good conduct, his 
 steadiness, and by his untiring industry. When he was only 
 eighteen years of age, he became engaged to a young lady, whom 
 he married shortly after he had finished his medical education. 
 
 In 1839, besides giving much attention to surgery, he also 
 employed himself upon chemistry, and some of his numerous 
 experiments were given to the public the following year. 
 Through an explosion which ensued in conducting one of these 
 varied experiments he met with an accident to one of his eyes, 
 which at the time it was feared would cost him the sight of it. 
 Through the skilful treatment of Sir William Lawrence, the eye 
 was saved, although that eminent surgeon had for two or three 
 days almost despaired of it. 
 
 Besides these experiments, Alfred Smee about this time 
 invented a form of splint for fractures, and wrote a paper on it, 
 which appeared in the ' London Medical Gazette ' of the 9th of 
 February, 1839. It was published also in the ' Lancet,' and it was 
 also translated into French and into German. The title of the 
 paper was, * On the Formation of Moulding Tablets for Fractures.' 
 The splint was tried in every hospital in the metropolis, and was 
 used at St. Bartholomew's, as well as in other hospitals. Some 
 years later (in 1846), after gutta-percha had come into use, he 
 invented a modification of the above tablets, and the article on 
 * Gutta Percha Splints ' was also published in the ' London 
 Medical Gazette.' Both these papers will be found in the 
 Appendix, No. III., of this work. Following these two papers 
 will also be found a very curious paper on * Photogenic Drawing,' 
 which he wrote in 1839, in the ' Literary Gazette.' See the 
 Appendix, No. IV. 
 
 During the year 1839 the 'Experiment Book' of Alfred 
 Smee shows that his mind was employed upon other subjects 
 
12 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. II. 
 
 besides splints and surgery and photogenic drawings. He was 
 at work on the * Contractility of Tissues,' which was intended to 
 be exemplified by many hundred experiments. He was at work 
 on ' Melanosis,' which was designed for a paper, but which was 
 abandoned before its completion for other more weighty subjects. 
 He was experimenting on inks. He was experimenting on a 
 waterproofing liquid. He was besides making his researches on 
 his important paper on the ' Ferrosesquicyanuret of Potassium ; ' 
 he was devising his " battery," and was besides carrying on other 
 experiments relating to electro-metallurgy. 
 
 By the account-book of Alfred Smee, we find that up to the 
 time he left school, when he was sixteen years old, he only 
 received ninepence a week for pocket-money. This money 
 he carefully husbanded, and expended on retorts and other ne- 
 cessaries for chemical experiments. Even after he became a 
 medical student he had not more than 30 a year, which had 
 to suffice for the expenses of his wardrobe, for obtaining objects 
 for dissecting, and for the various other objects required to 
 carry on his numerous researches. I have heard my father say 
 how pinched he was in early life for money, and what a benefit 
 it would have been to him throughout his life had he, at the 
 commencement of his career, had more money at his disposal. 
 But he made the most of his small means. His microscope was 
 given to him, but it was a very inferior one. With a five- 
 pound note, given to him by his father on gaining one of the 
 prizes, he procured for himself a J-inch lens, which he had long 
 coveted to possess. I must here exonerate my grandfather's 
 memory from the supposition that he was either a mean man, or 
 an unnatural father. On the contrary, he was very fond of his 
 children, and particularly proud of his son Alfred. But my grand- 
 father had been brought up in the school of adversity. He had 
 seen his father's fortune go from him ; he had lived in turbulent 
 times, when the revolution of France had filled men's minds with 
 horror ; he had, as a young man, lived in the society of French 
 noble refugees, amongst whom was an archbishop who had 
 escaped to this country for protection against the oppressions 
 of their own countrymen : thus my grandfather having from his 
 youth witnessed the instability of fortune, it had thereby caused 
 him to become in middle age more prudent, more cautious in 
 money matters than it was his natural disposition to be. 
 
 The room in which he carried on his numerous experiments 
 where all the experiments for ' Electro-Metallurgy ' were worked 
 
CHAP. IT.] 
 
 LIFE AT THE BANK OF ENGLAND. 
 
 13 
 
 out, where " Sinee's Battery " was devised was one having a 
 stone floor which led out of one of the drawing-rooms at the 
 house my grandfather occupied at the Bank of England. This 
 room, which produced such great works, was not worthy of the 
 appellation of laboratory. 
 
 Through the kindness of my mother, I am enabled to give 
 a picture of this room. It was etched on copper by her brother, 
 the late Mr. William Hutchison. The lines which appear below 
 
 FIG. 1. 
 
 the etching were written by my father on a copy belonging to 
 my friend Miss Fooks, which she kindly placed at my disposal. 
 In this room my father worked ; he had no assistant to help him ; 
 every single experiment for ' Electro-Metallurgy,' &c., had to be 
 carried out by his own hands ; and his pecuniary means were, as 
 already observed, small to a degree. Think of this, young men 
 of talent, and turn your abilities to as good an account as Alfred 
 Smee did his, and with such a pittance ! 
 
 The home life at the Bank was a singularly simple one. 
 
14 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. II. 
 
 According to the rules of the Bank of England, its gates were 
 locked and barred at 10 o'clock at night (a few years later than 
 the time I am now writing about, the gates were not closed till 
 11 o'clock); consequently balls and evening parties were interdicted 
 to the members of the Smee family, for to have the Bank gates 
 opened after they were closed for the night was attended by so 
 much formality, such as ringing up the chief cashier, and having 
 the names of the party entered in a book, that practically it never 
 was done unless in a case of urgent necessity. Thus in a great 
 measure society was a sealed book for the young people, and 
 they were obliged to seek their amusements in themselves. After 
 dinner, which was always precisely at 5 o'clock, the family generally 
 used to devote themselves to music. Some played the piano, 
 another the violin, and another the violoncello, and the daughter 
 of the house sang ; and thus by delightful duets, trios, and even 
 quartetts and songs, the long evenings were beguiled. My grand- 
 father was a skilful amateur performer on the piano ; he had been 
 a pupil of Battershill, the well-known pupil of Handel. My grand- 
 father had, besides, a thorough knowledge of musical composition. 
 He would read off musical compositions as he would an ordinary 
 reading book. It is not, therefore, surprising to find that a 
 talent for music was inherited by the children, though in 
 various degrees. My father was generally too much engaged 
 with his numerous researches to be able to take a prominent 
 part in these musical soirees. He, however, was very fond of 
 music, and played a little on the violoncello. He had an 
 infallible ear for rhythm, and it was painful to him to have to 
 listen to performers (however skilful they might otherwise be in 
 their playing) if they did not give the precise accentuation : the 
 slightest fault his ear detected. His fayourite musical works were 
 those by Mozart, more especially the music of ' Don Juan ' and the 
 * Zauberflote ;' those by Meyerbeer, the music from 'Roberto ' being 
 the favourite ; and the music of ' Der Freischutz,' by Weber. He 
 liked, too, classical chamber music, although he used to say he 
 found that class of music too fatiguing to listen to after a long hard 
 day's work. He was especially fond of sacred pieces, such as the 
 ' Messiah' by Handel, the 'Elijah' by Mendelssohn, the 'Creation' 
 by Haydn, and other oratorios. For some years he regularly took 
 two stalls at Exeter Hall, and there weekly he and his family en- 
 joyed by turns the magnificent rendering of the various oratorios by 
 the great masters. Besides oratorios, my father liked chorals and 
 hymns, Pergolesi's ' Hymn of Praise ' being among his favourites. 
 
C;?TAF. II.] SETS UP AS A SURGEON, 15 
 
 At his house on a Sunday he wonld not permit other than sacred 
 music to he performed. He was also particularly skilful in 
 analysing the musical works of the great composers, in which 
 he could detect the particular phrase or subject upon which 
 the work he it a sonata, an oratorio, or an opera was framed; 
 and he would come home from an opera, for instance, humming 
 the snhject upon which the opera was hased. He was very 
 fond of a good opera, and had stalls at one of the opera 
 houses for several years, and he was very fond of a good hallet. 
 He was no dancer himself, hnt it afforded him pleasure to see 
 others dance, and he liked dance music for the rhythm's sake. 
 His ear was not, however, acute for tune; for whether the 
 instrument were somewhat flat or sharp made hnt little difference 
 to him, provided the rhythm or the accentuation of the playing 
 was strictly correct. 
 
 In speaking of the home life of the Bank, I should not omit to 
 mention that Alfred Smee was much attached to hia father, towards 
 whom he ever hehaved in the most filial and respectful manner, 
 and he was devoted to his mother and to his only sister. His 
 sister seems to have possessed mnch of my father's zealous and 
 active disposition ; hut she died young, leaving hehind her not a 
 few traces of uncommon talent, and the memory of a sweet dis- 
 position which was treasured hy those who knew her. 
 
 After Alfred Smee had completed his medical education at 
 King's College and at St. Bartholomew's, he hecame for a short 
 time (a month or two) an articled apprentice of a general prac- 
 titioner, and later, in 1840, he hecame rnemher of the Eoyal College 
 of Surgeons, after which he set up in Finshury Circus as a con- 
 sulting surgeon. 
 
16 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. III. 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 1840 TO 1842. 
 
 Twenty-second year of his age "Smee's Battery" Marriage of Alfred Smee, 
 June 2nd, 1840 ' Ferrosesquicyanuret of Potassium ' paper * Electro-Metal- 
 lurgy ' published December 1840 ; age, twenty-two Alfred Smee's re- 
 searches in electro-metallurgy Base coinage Delivers a lecture at the Royal 
 Institution, February 1841 ; age twenty-three His specimens in electro- 
 metallurgy shown to the Prince Consort Surgeon to the Bank of England 
 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society Makes a durable ink Elected Surgeon 
 to the Royal General Dispensary, Aldersgate Street Paper on the ' Reduc- 
 tion of Metals ' Lecture at the Royal Institution on ' Reduction of Metals ' 
 Paper on ' Inhalation of Ammonia ' Other scientific papers, &c. 
 
 THE year 1840 was, perhaps, the most momentous one in my 
 father's life, for in this year many of his inventions and dis- 
 coveries were given to the public. On the 29th of February his 
 paper was read before the Boyal Society, ' On the Galvanic Pro- 
 perties of the Principal Elementary Bodies, with a Description of 
 a new Chemico-Mechanical Battery ' now of world-wide repute, 
 and known by the name of the " Smee Battery." The same sub- 
 ject was made a paper, which was read at the Society of Arts, 
 June 1st, 1840. For the latter paper, the Gold Isis Medal, which 
 he received from the hands of the Duke of Sussex, was bestowed 
 upon him. Millais, the celebrated artist, also received a medal 
 on the same day. 
 
 " Smee's Battery " was devised through conducting a series 
 of experiments on the ferrocyanuret of potassium, which gave 
 frequent occasion for the use of a galvanic battery. 
 
 I found (Mr. Smee adds in ' Electro-Metallurgy ' *) that although the 
 batteries of Daniell and of Grove were admirably-contrived instruments, 
 yet it was very desirable to possess one that could be set in action at 
 a moment's notice, and with comparatively little trouble. It became 
 
 * Page 23. 
 
CHAP. III.] SMEE'S BATTERY. 17 
 
 thenceforth my endeavour to construct one that should require little 
 or no labour in its employment, and this was followed by devising the 
 Cbemico-mechanical battery. 
 
 This battery, after I had minutely investigated every property which 
 belongs to the metals of which batteries are constructed, was made upon 
 noticing the property which rough surfaces possess of evolving the 
 hydrogen, and smooth surfaces of favouring its adhesion. 
 
 The value of the battery process, Smee's battery (he writes in his 
 ' History of Electro-Metallurgy ' *), over all others, is its applicability to all 
 cases ; moreover, when we use a single cell of the battery, the quantity of 
 zinc dissolved to do any amount of work is the same, or even less, than 
 attends the use of the other apparatus, because the local action in a battery 
 of this construction is less than in the single-cell apparatus, and lastly, the 
 quality of the precipitated metal can be regulated with the utmost nicety. 
 
 The platinized silver battery is peculiarly suitable for the operator, 
 for when it is in action it communicates to him the degree of work 
 that it is doing; in fact, it completely talks to its possessor. If the 
 current is very feeble, a faint murmur is heard ; if a little stronger, the 
 battery whispers ; if a moderate current is passing, it hisses ; but if a 
 violent one, it roars. At this present moment I have nineteen batteries at 
 work in the same room where I am writing, and they are each telling me 
 the work they are performing. This very instant the fall of a heavy 
 ledger in a neighbouring office has jarred two wires into contact, and 
 the roar of that one battery has immediately informed me of the fact, 
 notwithstanding the action of the eighteen others ; I have separated the 
 wires, and the universal singing communicates to me that all are now 
 working satisfactorily. Any local action on zinc in the same manner is 
 immediately notified by its different and peculiar voice, and I have been 
 surprised how quickly the experimenter catches the characteristic pecu- 
 liarity of each noise, which is learnt more readily than the sound of different 
 bells in a strange house. 
 
 As soon as this new battery was made known it created 
 a great sensation throughout the country. The great manu- 
 facturers entertained so high an opinion of it, that before the 
 year had closed some thousands of them, or about 2000 worth, 
 were sold to the country. Thirty-six years have now passed since 
 its invention, and yet it is still in use. 
 
 As with most, if not with all inventions, there are always to 
 be found a few persons to endeavour to cry down any important 
 novelty, so it may be supposed that " Smee's Battery " did not 
 escape the ire of the jealous few ; but in this case, as in all other 
 cases where merit exists, it only brought its worth more into 
 view, and thus it became the one employed by the great 
 manufacturers of this country. Soon its fame reached other 
 countries, where it was likewise employed. 
 
 * P. 23. 
 
 f This was written at the time when he lived at his father's house at the 
 Bank of England. 
 
 C 
 
18 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. III. 
 
 In the Appendix, No. V., a description of this battery will be 
 found, illustrated by woodcuts, with a very full account for 
 the working of the same. 
 
 The day following that on which Alfred Smee received the 
 gold medal from the Society of Arts for his battery, he was 
 married to Miss Hutchison, a young lady of Irish descent, 
 to whom he had been engaged at the early age of seventeen. 
 The marriage took place at 8 o'clock on the morning of the 
 2nd of June, 1840 (before the Bank of England was opened 
 to the public), at St. Margaret's, Lothbury, the venerable Arch- 
 deacon Hollingsworth officiating, in the presence of six members 
 only of the two families. This privacy was occasioned through 
 my grandfather's official position at the Bank ; and as my mother 
 was an orphan, and Mr. and Mrs. Smee were her guardians, 
 she and her brother lived with them. Alfred Smee was ever a 
 most devoted husband, and his great affection for his wife is 
 shown in the dedication to her of ' My Grarden.' 
 
 In April 1840, he wrote a paper on electrotypes, which I have 
 inserted in its place in the Appendix, No. VI. 
 
 The next paper, of Alfred Smee's was a very important one : it 
 was the one through conducting the experiments for which he had 
 invented his battery, namely, 'On the Ferrosesquicyanuret of 
 Potassium.' It was read before the Eoyal Society on his birthday, 
 the 18th of June, 1840, only sixteen days after his marriage, and 
 it was printed in the ' London and Edinburgh Philosophical Maga- 
 zine :' see Appendix, No. VII. Although in this paper he pointed 
 out, before Schonbein's discovery of ozone, that electrolytic oxygen 
 converted the ferro- into the ferri-cyanide of potassium, yet for 
 some reason or other, best known to that learned body, or to the 
 set or clique which at that time governed it, this highly im- 
 portant paper was, like its predecessor on the battery, ordered to 
 be deposited in the archives of the Society ; that is to say, it was 
 not allowed to be published in the Koyal Society's c Proceedings ' 
 or * Transactions.' In consequence of this treatment Alfred Smee 
 did not for some time send any more papers to the Eoyal Society, 
 but published them elsewhere. 
 
 ' Electro-Metallurgy,' the first great work of Alfred Smee, was 
 published on the 1st of December, 1840. 
 
 Although most of the subjects contained in that book are now 
 generally known to the public, yet few only are aware that the 
 greater part, and indeed a very important part, of the science 
 of electro-metallurgy was the creation of his brain, and that at 
 
CHAP. III.] ' ELECTRO-METALLURGY ' PUBLISHED. 19 
 
 the time this work was written, now thirty- seven years ago, it 
 was the only important contribution and the only complete 
 exposition of the subject embraced therein. The very name of 
 the science, electro-metallurgy, owes its name to him. The 
 late Prince Consort graciously allowed the book to be dedicated 
 to him. In the Appendix, No. VIII., will be found the history of 
 this science, as it is given in every edition of ' Electro-Metallurgy,' 
 as well as a brief view of the various subjects treated of in the 
 work itself. It suffices, therefore, here to enumerate some of the 
 more important researches which Mr. Smee made in the science 
 of electro-metallurgy. The important ones, therefore, were : 
 
 1. " The laws regulating the reduction of all metals in different 
 states." By these laws, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, 
 iron, and almost every other metal, can be thrown down in three 
 states ; namely, as a black powder, as a crystalline deposit, or as 
 a flexible plate. 
 
 It is these laws (he says) which raise the isolated facts hitherto 
 known as the electrotype into a science. The hundreds of experiments (he 
 adds), I may even say the thousands, that have been tried to elucidate these 
 laws, conld never have been executed had I not first discovered my galvanic 
 battery ; for its simplicity alone enabled me, without any assistance, to 
 undergo the laborious undertaking. 
 
 2. The processes for platinating and palladiating, until de- 
 scribed in his l Electro-Metallurgy,' were facts altogether un- 
 known to science ; for the reduction of those metals into any other 
 state than that of the black powder had hitherto been always 
 considered impossible. By these processes, reliefs and intaglios 
 in gold and nearly every other metal were enabled to be executed. 
 
 3. To Mr. Smee we are also indebted for being the first to 
 discover the means by which perfect reverses of plaster could be 
 obtained : for it may seem singular that although every writer on 
 the subject had previously given directions for making moulds of 
 plaster casts in metal, yet before Smee's investigations no perfect 
 reverse of plaster had been obtained. He soon found out that the 
 reason of the failures lay in the extreme porosity of the plaster, 
 and he removed the difficulty by rendering the plaster non- 
 absorbent. In speaking of this matter he says : 
 
 The success of this department of my experiments has amply repaid 
 me for my labours and expense ; for there is not a town in England that I 
 have happened to visit, and scarcely a street of this metropolis, where pre- 
 pared plasters are not exposed to view for the purpose of alluring persons 
 to foUow the delightful recreation by the practice of electro-metallurgy. 
 
 4. He also extended the use of white wax, bees'- wax, and resin. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. III. 
 
 5. Amongst the many other novel facts first brought forward 
 in this work, ' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy,' a work which 
 naturally created a great sensation at the time, is the novel appli- 
 cation for the coating of fruit, ferns, leaves, &c., with copper. 
 As this would afford a pleasant recreation for ladies, I have tran- 
 scribed the directions for coating these natural objects in the 
 author's own words (see the Appendix, No. VIII.) 
 
 Besides being well reviewed, from the moment ' Electro-Metal- 
 lurgy ' was published, numerous were the letters which poured in to 
 my father about some matter or other appertaining to the subject, 
 not only from most of the manufacturers of this country, but also 
 from those of other countries. Indeed, up to the time of his 
 death, he never ceased receiving letters or seeing persons engaged 
 in the application of electro-metallurgy, all seeking for informa- 
 tion respecting either Smee's battery or some matter connected 
 with the process. As my father always gave his advice gra- 
 tuitously, his family have often been surprised and pleased by 
 receiving some small token made by the above kind of battery 
 as a recognition of some service, in the form of advice, 
 given by my father. As may be expected, there were not 
 wanting forgers of base coin to take advantage of the process 
 of electro-metallurgy for counterfeiting the coins of the realm. 
 In the prosecution of such cases my father was frequently called 
 as a witness. 
 
 I have dwelt long upon Smee's ' Electro-Metallurgy,' because 
 that work is now out of print, and it has been my desire to show 
 exactly to what extent Alfred Smee contributed to this science, 
 for other works are now appearing on that subject, in which 
 his name is more or less being ignored. I have also given many 
 details of Smee's battery, so as to serve as useful hints to those 
 employing the same ; for now the inventor is dead, his advice con- 
 cerning its management can be heard no more. 
 
 On the 4th of January, 1841, the distinguished chemist, 
 Brande, wrote from the Koyal Mint to Mr. Smee, thus : 
 
 MY DEAR SIB, Mr. Palmer has been good enough to send me a 
 copy of your valuable essay on Electro-Metallurgy, and as it will shortly 
 fall to my lot to give an evening at the Royal Institution, I am inclined to 
 take up that subject, provided you will lend me your aid. I was in hope 
 Faraday would have done it, but he is not well enough to take an active 
 part at present. Pray give me a line to tell me your feelings upon the 
 subject, and whether you will allow me to talk the matter over with 
 you in a day or two. Yours faithfully, 
 
 W. T. BRANDE. 
 
CHAP. III.] ELECTRO-METALLURGY. 21 
 
 Ten days later the same wrote : 
 
 Should you happen to be this way on Monday forenoon next and 
 would look in, you will find me at work on electrotypes, and might perhaps 
 be able to give me a little practical advice. 
 
 The lecture was delivered at the Koyal Institution on Friday 
 evening, January 22nd; and on the following month, Friday 
 evening, February 26th, 1841, one was delivered by Alfred 
 Srnee ' On the Laws regulating the Voltaic Precipitation of 
 Metals.' The theatre was densely crowded on both occasions, 
 and from letters from members of the Royal Institution and 
 from other sources, it would seem that Mr. Smee's lecture was 
 a great success, as was that of Brande. Previously to this, 
 Mr. Smee had also given a very successful one before the Numis- 
 matic Society, on the 21st of January, 1841. 
 
 In April of the same year my father showed his various 
 specimens of electro-metallurgy to the late Prince Consort, at 
 Buckingham Palace. The Prince was greatly interested with 
 them. A cucumber that my father had coated with copper was 
 shown to her Majesty, and she became so interested with the 
 subject that she broke the casting with her finger, to see if really 
 the cucumber was inside. This coppered cucumber with the hole 
 is still in existence, as well as some of the other first specimens 
 in electro-metallurgy that were made by Alfred Smee. These 
 specimens were also frequently shown at the various great soirees 
 of London. 
 
 Besides the works already described, Alfred Smee had other 
 occupations to engross his time and attention. We find that on 
 the first Thursday in January, 1841, he was elected Surgeon to 
 the Bank of England. This appointment was specially created 
 for him, and for it he was mainly indebted to that eminent 
 surgeon, Sir Astley Cooper. Sir Astley had taken a great 
 interest in the young man, and came several times to the 
 Bank to see his various experiments. Being a friend of the 
 Governor of the Bank, Sir John Kay Keed, Sir Astley Cooper told 
 him to be sure " not to let Mr. Alfred Smee leave the Bank," for, 
 said he, 
 
 You don't know what a treasure you have got in that young man ; 
 he has shown signs of working out problems for himself which will be sure 
 to be useful some time or another. 
 
 I give this conversation as I have been told it by one (not the 
 person interested) who heard it. Evidently Sir Astley Cooper 
 
22 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. III. 
 
 thought that " It is not the place honours the man, but the man 
 the place." * Besides being surgeon to the Bank of England, my 
 father held other public offices : he was also in private practice, 
 and was considered eminent as an oculist. 
 
 How he got through his various avocations is a marvel, but 
 the truth is, he was never idle. His mind was ever employed 
 upon some matter or other, and it resulted in his mind wearing 
 out his body while he was only in middle age. 
 
 On the 10th of June, 1841, before he was twenty-three years 
 old, he was elected Fellow of the Koyal Society. There was some 
 opposition got up from a quarter least expected ; but on the 
 eminent mathematician and actuary (B. Gompert) and some 
 others taking the matter up warmly, and on that gentleman, 
 on the day of the election, entering the room where it was to 
 take place, and signifying his intention of noting down the name 
 of every Fellow that voted, and how he voted, with a view of 
 publishing it to the world, those who led the opposition ended 
 by voting for Mr. Smee, who was duly elected. 
 
 The close of 1841 saw Mr. Smee the father of a son, an only 
 one. 
 
 In 1842 Mr. Smee succeeded in making a writing ink for the 
 Bank of England. Various specimens of writing made with his 
 ink about this time, thirty-six years ago, now exist, the letters of 
 which are as black as jet. Other specimens of writing made by 
 some of the manufacturers of ink at that time are more or less 
 faded, in some cases so much so that the writing is scarcely 
 legible. As the receipt for making this ink is no secret, it may 
 interest some of my readers to know what its ingredients are, 
 and how it is manufactured. I have, therefore, endeavoured to 
 satisfy them by giving the receipt in the Appendix, No. IX. 
 
 While I am on the subject of inks it will not be out of place 
 here to add that my father, to use his own words, made at various 
 times " almost innumerable examinations of different inks." In 
 Bush's case,t all the inks found in Eush's house were sent to my 
 father's house for examination, together with the paper thrown 
 into Stanfield Hall, with the inks from a large portion of the 
 county of Norfolk, to compare with that with which the document 
 was written. Another time his chemical analysis of some ink was 
 the means of showing that a gentleman who had been accused of 
 carelessness had been the victim of fraud, and thereby he had the 
 
 * See Talmud. f A celebrated murder case in 1847. 
 
CHAP. III.] SCIENTIFIC TAPERS. 23 
 
 gratification not only of sustaining his reputation, but of saving 
 him from the payment of 1000. 
 
 In February of 1842 Mr. Smee was elected surgeon to the 
 Koyal General Dispensary, Aldersgate Street. The " success " to 
 this election " is much enhanced," writes Lord Carington, " by 
 the handsome majority." 
 
 During this year a paper of Mr. Smee's appeared in the 
 twenty-first number of the ' Philosophical Magazine,' and also in 
 the second volume of the 'Archives de I'filectricite.' It was entitled 
 ' On the New Definition of the Voltaic Circuit, with Formulae for 
 ascertaining its Power under different Circumstances.' This 
 paper was afterwards incorporated in the second edition of 
 ' Electro-Metallurgy,' on which Mr. Smee was this year hard at 
 work. During this same year he wrote a few medical papers, 
 among which may be mentioned, ' On Glossites producing Sup- 
 puration,' to be found in the ' London Medical Journal ' of March 
 10th ; ' On the Treatment of Syphilis,' and an account of 'Violent 
 Hysteria in a Man.' 
 
 On the 9th of March, 1843, Mr. Smee read before the Koyal 
 Society his paper, ' On the Cause of the Keduction of Metals 
 when Solutions of their Salts are subjected to the Galvanic 
 Current.' This paper was also incorporated in the second edition 
 of 'Electro-Metallurgy.' The paper itself will be found in the 
 Appendix, No. X.* The following evening he delivered a lecture 
 on the subject at the Eoyal Institution, which appears to have 
 been very successful. 
 
 Previously his attention had, with others, been directed to a 
 plan for conducting a Medical Association for Clerks, in connection 
 with the Provident Clerks' Benefit Association and Benevolent 
 Fund. It is a long draft, and the MS., which is in his hand- 
 writing, consists of several sheets of paper. The gist of the plan 
 was to ensure for those gentlemen who are occupied as clerks in 
 the city of London the benefits of being attended by the highest 
 medical skill, and for procuring for them the best medicines and 
 all the various comforts applicable in cases of sickness at a rate 
 commensurate with the pecuniary means of such seeking benefit 
 therefrom. The institution was to be in a central position, and 
 was to have baths, drugs, and a dispensing department. Medical 
 
 * This paper was published in the fourth volume of the * Archives de 1'Elec- 
 triciteY in 1844 ; in Majocchi, Ann. Fis. Chim.' vol. xv. 1844 ; in the * Philo- 
 sophical Magazine,' vol. xxv. 1844 ; in the ' Proceedings of the Royal Society ;' 
 and in the ' Poggend. Annal.' No. Ixv. 1845. 
 
24 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. III. 
 
 men were to be on the spot to attend to patients. There are 
 long rules and numerous regulations, which show that the 
 most minute detail was fully considered for the management of 
 this institution. I believe the scheme fell through for want of 
 funds. 
 
 The ' London Medical Gazette ' for April 3rd, 1843, contains 
 a paper by his pen, 'On the Inhalation of Ammonia Gas as a 
 Eemedial Agent.' See the Appendix, No. XI. 
 
 This year his only daughter was born to him. 
 
CHAP. IV J * SOURCES OF PHYSICS ' PUBLISHED. 25 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 1843 TO 1847. 
 
 'Sources of Physics,' second book, 1843-1844 Lectures on * Detection of 
 Needles' 1845 Paper, * Application of Electricity to Surgery' Carmine 
 injections Potato disease 1846 Third book on the * Potato Plant' 
 Aphis vastator, nomenclature of 1847 -Rancorous animosity and skits 
 on A. S. Famine Food soire'e Skeleton of lecture Lecture Ventilation 
 Smee's ether inhaler. 
 
 THE same year appeared Alfred Smee's book on ' The Sources of 
 Physical Science,' which was specially written as an introduction 
 to the ' Study of Physiology through Physics,' and which comprises 
 the connection of the several departments of physical science, their 
 dependence on the same laws, and the relation of the material to 
 the immaterial. This work was published on the 1st of Sep- 
 tember, 1843. It is divided into seven chapters, thus : 
 
 CHAP. I. The Fundamental Sciences. Matter Arithmetic Attraction. 
 
 II. On the Sciences of Matter under Attraction. Chemistry 
 Crystallography Geometry Trigonometry Gravity Mag- 
 netism. 
 
 III. On the Sciences of the Disturbance of Attraction. Electricity 
 Mechanics Hydrostatics Pneumatics. 
 
 IY. The Sciences of Actions and Reactions. Time Heat Light 
 Sound Odour. 
 
 V. On the Performance of Human Operations. 
 
 VI. On the Complex Sciences. 
 
 VII. On the Relation of the Material to the Immaterial. 
 
 He had originally intended to draw up a slight sketch of 
 physical science to form an introductory chapter to his great 
 work, ' Electro-Biology,' which appeared about six years later ; 
 but finding that he was unable to compress the matter of the 
 intended chapter within three hundred pages, he resolved to 
 publish the work as a separate treatise. 
 
 At the commencement of my physiological inquiries (he writes) I 
 had no idea of dedicating a separate volume to the Sources of Physical 
 
26 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV. 
 
 Science, nor should I have published it if I could have referred to any 
 sufficiently condensed work on these subjects. But having felt the want 
 of a work considering the subjects of the sciences, and showing their 
 relative position, I conceived that my own attempts to forward these 
 inquiries might not be unacceptable to many lovers of scientific knowledge. 
 If I shall hereafter find that my labours have been useful to society, or 
 have induced others to produce a more perfect treatise, I shall feel most 
 amply rewarded.* 
 
 From these words we learn that Alfred Smee was the first 
 who published a condensed yet exhaustive view of the physical 
 sciences. 
 
 Although since this work was written, now thirty-four years 
 ago, great strides, nay, colossal strides, have been made in physical 
 science, yet it must be borne in mind that ' Sources of Physics ' 
 was the forerunner of all the numerous treatises which have since 
 been issued in this branch of knowledge, and it was therefore at 
 the time of its publication a most original work. 
 
 In this work he impresses the reader with the importance of 
 studying physics as a whole, not in divisions. 
 
 For (says he) by the investigation of the phenomena of one science 
 we become more acquainted with its details ; but when we are desirous 
 of contemplating the real nature of the phenomena, and the cause of their 
 production, we must study the effects as a whole, to prevent erroneous 
 conclusions and vain creations of imponderables.! 
 
 The tendency of the present day is to take up one branch of 
 knowledge only nay, to divide one branch of knowledge into 
 various subdivisions, and to investigate only the details of one of 
 these subdivisions, thereby narrowing the mind ; for as the sight 
 of man is injured by viewing objects only through the microscope, 
 so in a similar manner is the mind narrowed by only using it for 
 the investigation of mere matters of detail. 
 
 In another placet m y father advocates for different classes 
 more freely to interchange ideas. 
 
 The tendency of the period (says he) is for society to group 
 together in classes ; even the Royal Society for the Promotion of Natural 
 Knowledge is most exclusive to all but actual followers of natural science. 
 The clergy separate themselves, the doctors congregate together, but a 
 continual intercourse in a right spirit has a tendency to perfect the mind 
 of all ; and whether they work in the upper, lower, or middle departments 
 of their minds, all should accord. 
 
 * See * Sources of Physics,' Preface, p. vii. f Idem, p. 254. 
 
 J See Mind of Man/ p. 106. 
 
CHAP. IV.] ' SOURCES OF PHYSICS ' LECTURES. 27 
 
 My father also always held that the older a person grew 
 the more he should cultivate the acquaintance of young people ; 
 for by these means mutual benefit is derived. A young person 
 brings the new facts and feelings of the age added to a freshness 
 and vigour of mind, and thus prevents the elder from growing 
 old in intellect. 
 
 To return to ' Sources of Physics,' a full analysis of that work 
 will be found in the Appendix, No. XII., together with the two 
 concluding chapters, which, as they treat on the relation of the 
 material to the immaterial, are there given in entirety, as they not 
 only strongly bear upon subjects in his mental philosophy,* but 
 further they fully demonstrate how Alfred Smee's mind was, as 
 a young man as in middle-age, ever dwelling upon that which is 
 infinite ; and how he was ever demonstrating that that which is 
 infinite must not be limited, neither must time be confounded 
 with eternity, matter with space, the body with the soul, or 
 material actions with God. 
 
 Mr. Smee had for some time previously been elected lecturer 
 to the Aldersgate School of Medicine. In the Appendix, 
 No. XIII., is the Introductory Lecture delivered the 5th of 
 October, 1844, and in the same place at No. XIV. is part of 
 another lecture delivered before the same audience on the 9th 
 of December in the same year. The latter was embodied in a 
 paper entitled 'The Detection of Needles impacted in the 
 Human Frame.' During this year he received pressing letters 
 from the Koyal Institution authorities to lecture before that 
 scientific body, but I am not aware that he did so. 
 
 His lectures were clearly delivered, and as it has been re- 
 marked of him, " he possessed great perspicuity of language," 
 and "his manner was pleasing;" but unfortunately he did not 
 possess a good voice. He suffered as a young man much from 
 affection of the throat, which often deprived him in a great 
 measure of the use of his voice, and rendered him for a 
 considerable time afterwards husky and hoarse. He used to 
 deplore his not possessing a melodious voice, which was indeed 
 a great drawback in his lecturing and in his speaking before 
 public meetings, which he did frequently throughout his life. 
 
 A paper on the ' New Application of Electricity to Surgery ' 
 
 was published in the 26th volume of the ' Philosophical Magazine.' 
 
 The same year he was elected Vice-president of the Medical 
 
 Society at King's College. I should not omit to mention that 
 
 * See ' Electro-Biology,' and < The Mind of Man.' 
 
28 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV. 
 
 when he was a student of King's College, he belonged to their 
 Debating Society, and it was there he learned to speak in public. 
 He would speak on any question that was before the meeting in 
 order to acquire a fluency of language a custom from which, he 
 observed in later life, he had derived considerable benefit. 
 
 In March 1845, he wrote a paper for the Microscopical Society, 
 'On Vessels in Fat smaller than the Capillaries.' Curiously 
 enough the paper was lost by that society, which caused him 
 considerable irritation and annoyance : * for this paper contained 
 the description of the process he adopted in the preparation of his 
 beautiful carmine injections of the brain and spinal cord. These 
 injections were exceedingly difficult to prepare : they were made 
 by using a solution of carmine in ammonia mixed with size. The 
 preparations were then dried and placed in balsam, so that they 
 are permanent, and, being transparent, constitute the most lovely 
 microscopical specimens which can possibly be perceived. These 
 carmine injections will bear a very high magnifying power. 
 They were the very first that were made. Over a period of more 
 than thirty years these beautiful microscopic preparations have 
 been constantly shown at the various great soirees of London, 
 and up to the present day never are they exhibited without 
 filling the mind of the spectator with wonder and admiration.! 
 
 Early in the summer (June 1845), my father and mother, 
 with her brother, went to Switzerland for a month. Since 
 the time of his marriage, this was the first holiday he had been 
 enabled to take. It was the first time he had seen the 
 snow mountains, and from his intense love of Nature we may 
 well imagine his feelings of delight on beholding the Alps, 
 where 
 
 " The palaces of nature 
 
 Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps, 
 
 And throned eternity in icy walls 
 
 Of cold sublimity." BYRON, Childe Harold. 
 
 In the summer of the same year a disease appeared in Europe 
 among potato plants, which caused the tubers to decay. The 
 first communication of the fact was in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' 
 on the 16th of August, 1845, by Dr. Bell Salter. No sooner 
 had this letter appeared than other communications were sent 
 to that journal, stating that the disease had existed to a large 
 extent the previous season, although such an important state- 
 
 * It was supposed to have been stolen, 
 f See 'Mind of Man,' p. 233. 
 
CHAP. IV.] WORK ON THE POTATO DISEASE. 29 
 
 ment had not previously been chronicled. The disease was at 
 first considered a totally new malady, but Mr. Smee found, on 
 inquiry, that in Germany, in 1830, Martius wrote on the subject, 
 and that he attributed its effect to a fungus. Berkeley, the great 
 fungologist who, though differing in opinion from Mr. Smee, 
 always carried on the controversy in the most courteous 
 manner, and whom my father held in great respect and esteem 
 considered the fungus called the Botrytis to be the cause. 
 My father became interested in the subject, and began making 
 his own researches. He concluded that the first cause of the 
 disease was occasioned by an aphis which punctured the leaf, 
 sucked the sap, and destroyed the relation between the leaf and 
 the root, thus causing the leaf or some other part of the plant to 
 become gangrenous, and die. After the attack of the aphis, fungi 
 grew, which " growth," he writes, " is probably in many cases 
 materially assisted by the prior attack of the aphis." The results 
 of Mr. Smee's inquiries and researches on aphides, and their 
 relation to the potato and other plants, became so numerous, that 
 he was led, in 1846, into embodying his views on the subject in a 
 treatise containing 170 pages, which is well known by the title 
 of the * Potato Plant, its Uses and Properties, together with the 
 Cause of the Present Malady/ * In this book, which is dedicated 
 to the late Prince Consort, the properties and growth of the 
 potato plant are set forth, as is also its individuality, and the 
 chemistry and use of that plant, &c. ; its gangrene, or present 
 disease, and the chemistry of the disease; the relation of the 
 disease to internal and external causes ; the effect of temperature, 
 light, electricity, upon the disease; the relation of the disease 
 to soils and manures, to fungi; the relations of gangrene to 
 animal parasites. The various aphides are then described. The 
 insect that attacked the potato plant he considered to be an aphis, 
 which, when fully grown, is about a tenth of an inch long, and 
 its colour, either white, olive-green, brown, or inclined to red. 
 This aphis, the destroyer of the potato, he found was identically 
 the same which had been previously known to infest the turnip, 
 and which is called by Curtis on that account the Aphis 
 rapae. On the great confusion attending such a nomenclature, 
 Mr. Smee determined, for the sake of perspicuity, to call it 
 the Aphis vastator, or destroyer of our best provisions: for 
 the Aphis vastator destroys, in a similar manner as it does the 
 
 * This book is still in print, and is published by Messrs. Longman and Co., 
 Paternoster How. 
 
30 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV. 
 
 potato, the turnip, the swede, the beetroot, the cabbage, the 
 broccoli, the radish, the horse-radish, the various wild Solani, 
 some kinds of henbane, the Stramonium, the Belladonna, the 
 clover, the groundsel, the Euphorbia, some sorts of Murex, the 
 mallow, the shepherd's purse, the holy thistle, some kinds of 
 grass, and even wheat, the Jerusalem artichoke and the sweet 
 potato, and perhaps other plants. 
 
 There are many other kinds of aphides, besides the Aphis 
 vastator, which destroy other plants, and even trees, and we had, 
 about five years ago, some large willow-trees totally destroyed 
 by their ravages at "my garden" at Wallington.* Many of 
 these different sorts of aphides and injuries caused by them are 
 also delineated in this work on the potato disease. He also 
 shows the relation of the Vastator and other aphides to fungi ; 
 and he then gives the natural and artificial remedies for the 
 present diseases among plants. The work is illustrated by ten 
 lithographs of potato plants in health and in disease, of diseased 
 carrots and turnips, parsnips, and mangold-wurzel, of the Aphis 
 vastator and of other aphides, and of various fungi. 
 
 Mr. Curtis, the distinguished entomologist, blamed Mr. Smee 
 for having violated the established custom, in not having used 
 the prior name of the aphis. " But it appears," says my father, 
 " that Mr. Curtis named this self-same creature rapte, when it 
 had the former name, dianthi, assigned to it, as Mr. Walker has 
 informed me." Thus we have Aphis vastator (the destroyer) alias 
 rapte, alias dianthi. How many more aliases will this dire scourge 
 to mankind receive ? 
 
 The moment this book on the potato plant was published, 
 it was assailed in the most extraordinary way. The writers did 
 not attempt to attack his facts or his reasoning, but they mis- 
 represented his views, and indeed but too frequently made my 
 father say the very reverse of what he did say, and then they wrote 
 their own fabulous versions of his writings.f 
 
 The controversy which ensued during this potato pestilence, 
 and the violence of various parties, were truly a reproach to science. 
 At last, as my father has said,} 
 
 Foolish people used to amuse me by sending threatening letters by 
 nearly every post (many of these have been collected together), cautioning 
 me that I should be amply punished if I dared to continue to write upon 
 
 * See ' My Garden,' second edition, p. 477. 
 
 f See 'Instinct and Reason,' p. 263. J Idem, p. 265. 
 
CHAP. IV.] PERIOD OF POTATO DISEASE. 31 
 
 the subject (his life was even threatened). Notwithstanding all this, it was 
 very curious to notice how kindly the public used to supply ine with facts 
 for my guidance ; and I received valuable communications, some of them 
 of great length, though, when the controversy was at its height, they 
 were sent anonymously. By the middle of summer nearly every agricul- 
 turist was made acquainted with my investigations despite this rancorous 
 animosity. 
 
 I can just remember the time of the potato disease. Our 
 drawing-rooms were ornamented with innumerable specimens of 
 diseased potatoes. Potatoes were on the mantelpieces ; potatoes 
 were on the tables ; potatoes innumerable were on the floor. I am 
 by no means sure that the chairs were not occupied by potatoes ! 
 Wherever the eye glanced, diseased potatoes met the view. 
 
 In the Appendix, No. XV.B., will be found a selection from the 
 voluminous correspondence which Alfred Smee carried on in 
 various newspapers on the potato disease during the years 1845, 
 1846, and 1847. 
 
 In the ' Annual Register ' for 1805 it is stated in an article upon the 
 aphis, " In some years the aphides are so numerous as to cause almost a 
 total failure of the hop and potato plantations ; in other years the peas are 
 equally injured, while exotics, raised in stoves and greenhouses, are fre- 
 quently destroyed by their depredations." In the Linnsean Transactions 
 Mr. W. Curtis states, " To potatoes, and even to corn, we have known the 
 aphides to prove highly detrimental, and no less so to melons." Mr. Curtis 
 further states that " the aphis is the grand cause of blights in plants, and 
 that erroneous notions are entertained, not only by the vulgar and 
 illiterate, but even by persons of education, that aphides attack none but 
 sickly plants, with other notions as altogether false in fact as unphilo- 
 sophical in principle."* 
 
 Besides the rancorous animosity of the ignorant and of the 
 bigoted, Mr. Smee was subjected to be taken off in humorous 
 skits. Mr. Punch, of course, was not behindhand. 
 
 In the pantomime at Drury Lane appeared : 
 
 Scene, a Village Fair with Shows, &c. &c. 
 Little Boy looking at a peep-show. 
 
 Showman. This is the Aphis vastator, as you may see, 
 
 Yery much magnified by Mr. Smee. 
 
 Boy. Please, sir, which is the aphis and which is the tater ? 
 
 Showman. Whichever you like, my young investigator. 
 
 The Knight and the Wood Demon ; 
 or, One o'clock. 
 
 ' Instinct and Reason,' p. 263. 
 
32 MEMOIK OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV. 
 
 In one of the newspapers appeared the following humorous 
 lines : 
 
 Lines on reading Mr. Smee's Account of the Aphis vastator, supposed by 
 him to cause the Potato Slight. 
 
 Well ! this confounded tater blight 
 
 Is now clear'd up by Smee ; 
 And for a cure all people must 
 
 To fumigation flee. 
 
 Let all peruse his handsome book 
 
 About the wondrous fly, 
 Which is the cause of all the ill 
 
 So says his theory. 
 
 On reading first the title-page 
 
 (I say it in no joke), 
 From seeing F.R.S., I thought 
 
 The thing must end in smoke. 
 
 That some large bugs have been the cause 
 
 We've had some keen debaters ; 
 But none till now thought little flies 
 
 Could turn out such vast (e)aters. 
 
 That this vast-eating insect thrives 
 
 On its new kind of food, 
 There is no doubt, for milliards are 
 
 Born daily to the brood : 
 
 Which shows potatoes 'mongst all plants 
 
 Still hold the foremost place, 
 In making insects breed in swarms, 
 
 As well's the human race. 
 
 Alas ! how many other crops 
 
 This aphis now will finish ! 
 And though we may have gammon left, 
 
 We'll have no more of spinach. 
 
 On turnips, carrots, and on beets, 
 
 They jump about in flocks ; 
 Even dandelions are not free, 
 
 Nor nettles, grass, nor docks. 
 
 Let some strong dose be now devised 
 
 By chemic speculators, 
 To massacre, this very year, 
 
 These terrible vastators. 
 
 Other lines appeared elsewhere, such as 
 
 " The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-mal 
 All jump'd out of Alfred Smee's rotten pot; 
 
 and others I might enumerate had I space so to do. 
 
CHAP. IV.] FAMINE FOOD SOIRE& 33 
 
 But in the midst of the investigations, in the midst of the 
 bitter controversies and the humorous skits on the subject, the 
 disease still went rapidly on, till the scourge became so great 
 that a famine ensued in the land, and in Ireland the people were 
 dying of starvation. Then, in the midst of their distress, the 
 people bethought them of turning to Heaven for assistance ; 
 and accordingly we find that, on the llth of October, 1846, 
 prayers to the Almighty were offered up in all the churches 
 and chapels in England and Wales, for relief from the dearth and 
 scarcity then existing in parts of the United Kingdom. A few 
 months later, on Wednesday, the 24th of March, 1847, a form of 
 prayer was used in all churches and chapels throughout England 
 and Ireland, that being the day appointed by proclamation for a 
 general fast and humiliation. 
 
 Meanwhile, my father was trying various experiments to 
 ascertain how far other kinds of food might be employed for 
 the relief of the poor starved population of these realms. On 
 Saturday, the 6th of February, 1847, he held a large soiree at 
 his residence in Finsbury Circus, expressly to exhibit his famine 
 food, at which between 200 and 300 of the most distinguished 
 professional and literary men of the metropolis were present. 
 The account of the various kinds of bread constituting the 
 famine food is given in the Appendix, No. XY.A. 
 
 The company tasted all the samples prepared, and pronounced 
 Mr. Smee to have succeeded beyond expectation in his attempt. 
 Though a mere child at the time, I have a distinct recollection of 
 the nauseous taste of the Iceland moss bread ; but the hay bread 
 and the hay biscuit I remember having found very sweet and 
 palatable. It should here be added that my father did not himself 
 believe that any of these breads, excepting the cereal breads, could 
 compete with wheat in nutritive power or price, so that, besides 
 being inferior in quality, they could never be brought into use 
 from their additional cost.* 
 
 On the 10th of March of the same year Mr. Smee delivered a 
 lecture at the London Institution on aphides being the cause of 
 the potato disease. Whenever he delivered a lecture or wrote a 
 book, he always drew up on a card, or on one sheet of paper, 
 the plan of the lecture or of the book. This he called the 
 " skeleton." And in lecturing he only employed such brief notes 
 as were contained in his "skeleton." I will here subjoin the 
 skeleton of the lecture he delivered on the cause of the potato 
 
 * See ' Instinct and Reason,' p. 106. 
 
34 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV. 
 
 disease, as it is a very good example of all of them. The lecture 
 clothed in its proper form will be found in the Appendix, No. 
 
 XV.B. 
 
 Insect Plagues. 800,000, St. Augustine. Barnes, 2000 miles 
 
 covered by them. 
 Aphides. 
 Demonstration : 
 
 1. Live plants. 
 
 2. Healthy. 
 
 3. Sucks juices. 
 
 4. Impairs qualities. 
 
 5. Alters properties. 
 
 6. Bad sap not nourish. 
 
 7. Imperfect tissue dies. 
 
 8. Death local, remote. 
 
 9. Remote death entirely kill the plant. 
 
 10. Wild plants resist better than cultivated. 
 
 11. Cultivated plants ill resist. 
 
 12. Deposition of fibre. 
 
 13. Propagation of diseased fibre. 
 
 14. Injury to plants hastens transformation. 
 
 15. Growth of fungi. 
 
 Destroyers of aphides ladybirds, gauze-wings, synphidse, ichneumons, 
 Chalcididse, birds. 
 
 Great fleas and little fleas have smaller fleas to bite 'em ; 
 These smaller fleas have lesser fleas, so on ad infinitum. 
 
 Aphides live on all plants. 
 Yastator potato no novelty. 
 
 Gangrene. 
 Yastator, name, leaf, root, history, anatomy, chemistry. 
 
 Subsistence. 
 
 Tendrils. Oxyhydrogen. Microscope. 
 
 Future prospects, transitions. 
 
 " I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, and it shall not destroy the 
 fruits of the ground." 
 
 Whenever my father found a plant infested by an aphis, 
 he used to secure some specimens, put them in a pill-box, and in 
 the evening place them in Canada balsam so as to carefully 
 examine them. In this way he preserved all his evidences 
 upon this point for future reference, and the name of the plant 
 on which the insect fed was immediately scratched on the glass 
 with a diamond, so that no source of error could possibly arise. 
 The mode of fixing the insect in Canada balsam was very simple : 
 a slip of glass was warmed over a candle, and a drop of the 
 
CHAP. IV.] MICROSCOPIC PREPARATIONS. 35 
 
 balsam was then placed upon it; the insect, whilst yet alive, 
 was then placed on the balsam, and the glass was again very 
 gently warmed in order to kill the insect ; another piece of the glass 
 was then heated over a candle and placed on the insect, when the 
 creature was hermetically sealed up for ever. 
 
 It is necessary (lie says) that the insect should be dry when it is 
 mounted, and we must take especial care not to apply too much heat, 
 which will corrugate the antennae and destroy the form of the insect. I 
 strongly recommend to all entomologists this mode of preserving small 
 insects; and having once properly secured them, they will last for an 
 indefinite period, and can be handled without the slightest risk of 
 injury.* 
 
 Mr. Smee mounted many hundreds of these microscopic 
 preparations of the Aphis vastator, and of slices of diseased 
 potatoes ; and these slides have, after the lapse of nearly thirty 
 years, been the means by which this great controversy on the 
 potato disease has probably at last been settled. For in the winter 
 of 1876, when Mr. Worthington Smith was investigating the 
 subject of diseased potatoes, my father placed in his hands for 
 examination 360 slides of diseased potatoes and of aphides, all of 
 which the latter had himself mounted during the great potato 
 murrain of 1846-1847. On placing these slides under a 
 powerful microscope, Mr. Smith discovered that some of the 
 aphides were completely filled with the fungus internally and' 
 covered with it externally, and that gentleman has further demon- 
 strated that this insect punctures the potato, and inserts in it the 
 fungus. A full account of these recent observations of Mr. Smith, 
 together with two drawings which that gentleman has kindly 
 made for me from my father's mounted specimens of the Aphis 
 vastator, and of a diseased potato showing the resting spore of 
 the fungus within the aphis, will be found in the Appendix, 
 No. XY.c. By this it would appear that the primary cause of 
 the potato murrain of 1846-1847 was the aphis, and the 
 secondary cause the fungus. 
 
 The following question, which my father addressed to a well- 
 known actuary, is transcribed for the amusement of those who 
 may be fond of figures : 
 
 An aphis arrived on my cucumber, January 1, 1861. It had ten young 
 ones at the end of ten days, ten more in ten days' time, and every suc- 
 ceeding ten days. Every young one had ten young ten days after birth, 
 
 * See ' Potato Plant,' p. 14. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV. 
 
 and again every other ten days, till December 31st, 1861. How many 
 aphides in all, if the mother aphis and her whole progeny were alive on the 
 31st of December ? 
 
 Every aphis weighed y^ grain. What was the total weight of the aphides 
 so produced ? ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 Answer. 
 
 Let a total number of generations from the mother aphis = 36. 
 Let b = the number at each birth = 10. 
 
 The formula will be 1 + ab + (a - 1) V + (a - 2) b 3 + etc 
 
 (a - 35) 6 36 . 
 
 The answer to the first question, i.e. what number of aphides in all, 
 
 is 
 
 1,234,567,901,234,567,901,234,567,901,234,567,861 aphides, or nearly 
 H sextillions of aphides. 
 
 The answer to the second question is 
 
 78,728,820,231,496,422,293,148,463 tons weight, or nearly 78! quad- 
 rillions of tons weight. 
 
 Besides interesting himself with aphides, we find him occu- 
 pied on other subjects ; for in 1816, in conjunction with one of 
 the managers, he was engaged on the ventilation of the theatre 
 of the London Institution. To draw comparisons is odious : yet we 
 cannot but wish that all public rooms were as well ventilated as 
 is the theatre of the London Institution. During different periods 
 of his life he was employed on the ventilation of various large 
 buildings, and the Grand Hotel at Brighton owed its proper 
 ventilation to him. 
 
 During 1846 he was invited to take part in a discussion at 
 the Civil Engineers' on the explosion of boilers, as he was known 
 to have turned his attention to the subject. 
 
 In 1847 he invented an ether-inhaler, which was exhibited 
 at his soiree. The first one was made by Messrs. Maw, of 
 Aldersgate Street. The ' Illustrated London News ' * says 
 
 In a former number (245) we called attention to the important medical 
 discovery, whereby a state of the body could be produced by the inhalation 
 of ether, which renders the patient insensible to the pain of the most 
 severe operations. Since the discovery has been promulgated, medical 
 men have been actively engaged throughout the country in prosecuting 
 their inquiries upon the subject, and numerous forms of apparatus have 
 been devised for conducting the inhalation. 
 
 It is found by experience that the more rapidly the effect is produced 
 
 * January 30th, 1847. 
 
CHAP. IV.] 
 
 SMEE'S ETHER-INHALER. 
 
 37 
 
 on the body the better is the result for the patient. It is upon this 
 idea that an inhaler has been contrived by Mr. Alfred Smee, surgeon 
 to the Bank of England, whereby the evaporization of 
 ether is promoted by warmth given to the apparatus from 
 a little chamber of hot water. 
 
 Mr. Smee's inhaler, which is here figured, was made 
 by Mr. Ferguson, of Smithfield; and consists of a tin 
 vessel, either circular or oval, about eight inches long 
 and three wide, divided into two compartments one 
 smaller (A), to contain hot water; the other larger (B), 
 to contain the ether. The larger compartment is divided 
 into two by a diaphragm, and has another opening to 
 admit the ether and the entrance of the air (D). Into 
 this larger compartment a tube is fixed, which has a valve 
 at the extremity (E), for inspiration, and another valve (G) 
 near the mouth-piece, for expiration. The mouth-piece 
 (p) has an india-rubber covering, to adapt itself to dif- 
 ferent mouths. 
 
 When this instrument is to be used, the smaller 
 chamber is filled with hot water (c), and a little ether, 
 an ounce for instance, is placed in the larger compart- 
 ment, which has sponge placed in it, to prevent its 
 moving about. On inhalation, the current -of air passes 
 in the direction of the arrows, and is said to produce 
 far more rapid effects than when any other instrument is employed. 
 
 This instrument, with other ingenious arrangements for the inhalation 
 of ether, have been submitted to us by the proprietor of the celebrated 
 Depot for Inventions, 201, Strand. 
 
 FIG. 2. 
 Smee's Ether-inhaler. 
 
38 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. V. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 1848 TO 1849. 
 
 ' The Eye,' fourth book Smee's optometer Smee's horizontal fish-tail burners 
 Sheet of Accidents and Emergencies Royal Society : on its reducing its 
 number of Fellows Personal appearance of Alfred Smee Love of his family 
 His powers of abstraction His untidiness Indifference to dress His 
 walk Jingling keys Quick temper Quick in action Sensitive to a slight 
 N"ot jealous Impatient of opposition Disliked arguments Expected 
 others to have the same quickness of apprehension as himself Works for 
 others Disposition Never feared responsibility His dislike of routine 
 work His charity His genial and social disposition Loved society, but 
 disliked the London season being in summer His favourite authors. 
 
 ON the 16th and 23rd of March, 1848, Alfred Smee gave a course 
 of two lectures on Vision at the London Institution ; he also gave 
 other lectures at the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital, which 
 were afterwards incorporated in a book, and published under the 
 title of "The Eye in Health and Disease.' The book had an 
 extensive sale and was translated into French. In it there is an 
 account of one of his clever contrivances for the adaptation of 
 glasses for impaired, aged, or defective sight. The optometer for 
 
 FIG. 3. Optometer. 
 
 such is the name of the instrument is most simple in its con- 
 struction, yet most useful, and it should invariably be employed 
 by the optician before spectacles are sold to the applicant. The 
 instrument consists of a convex lens to which a graduated scale 
 is affixed of such a length, that convergent, parallel, and diver- 
 gent rays may be brought within a reasonable scope, and thus 
 the eye may be tested by it. In this book is also an account of 
 a novel kind of photometer, which he designed to judge of the 
 
CHAP. V.] IMPKOVEMENT IN GAS-BUKNEKS. 39 
 
 amount of light; but I shall have to speak of this instrument 
 when I give an account of its being used at the eclipse of the 
 sun in 1858, so that there is no need of further describing it 
 here. There is also a description of his ingenious contrivance 
 for the better lighting of rooms by horizontal fish-tail gas- 
 burners. 
 
 It occurred to me (he writes) that the light should be placed at about 
 an angle of forty-five degrees if placed about the centre of the room, or if 
 near the ceiling, almost horizontal. 
 In my own library (and in his dining- 
 room, too), I am using a star with 
 three fish-tail burners, so arranged 
 that the gas passes out horizontally, 
 a direction which causes the flame to 
 assume a curve eminently calculated 
 to illuminate the table. An enormous FlG - 4 - Gas-burner and jet. 
 
 increase of light is obtained by these means. From the very great 
 superiority of the illuminating power obtained by this very simple 
 arrangement, I feel but little doubt that it will be at last generally 
 adopted. 
 
 He lived to see it universally adopted, although few if any 
 beyond his intimate circle of friends know to whom they are 
 indebted for originating this perfect manner of illumination. 
 
 The treatise contains also fifty short rules for the preservation 
 of sight, and for the choice of spectacles. 
 
 It may suffice here to add that the eye was my father's 
 speciality, and that over a series of years he was largely con- 
 sulted on that subject by a high class of patients. It is to me a 
 source of regret that other inducements caused him to abandon 
 in a great measure this part of his profession, in which he was, 
 to use the words of Sir David Brewster, " so distinguished." 
 
 In 1848 he also brought out a sheet of Directions for Accidents 
 and Emergencies to be used before the arrival of medical aid. 
 This sheet was specially designed for the poor. For the title of 
 the sheet, which was made ornamental so that the poor should 
 hang it up in their cottages, an engraving after a painting 
 by Sir Joshua Keynolds, in the Dulwich Gallery, was selected. 
 In this painting the idea of life is represented by an angel, 
 death is depicted by another figure, and disease in the form of 
 a child. 
 
 A few other short papers also appeared from his pen during 
 this year, amongst which may be mentioned one in the ' Illus- 
 trated London News' for December 2nd, 1848, 'On Electric 
 Light and Gas Companies.' 
 
40 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. V. 
 
 This year lie was elected member of the Hunterian Society. 
 
 During the same year (1848), Mr. Smee's mind seems also to 
 have been bent on setting the Council of the Eoyal Society to 
 rights, for the ' Athenaeum ' on the 25th of November contains two 
 anonymous letters from his pen. Here it should be mentioned 
 that he was always adverse to the Eoyal Society curtailing its 
 number of Fellows, whereby he considered the strength of the 
 Society was proportionately reduced. If the Institute of France 
 be taken as an example, then certainly his suppositions relative 
 to the Eoyal Society would give some grounds for apprehension. 
 He was also opposed to the system by which the publication and 
 rejection of learned papers are determined. In speaking of the 
 rejection of a valuable paper by Mr. Spencer, we find in his 
 history of Electro-Metallurgy these remarkable words : - 
 
 It is improper to throw the whole blame of the rejection of that paper 
 upon Dr. Lardner, for this is by no means the only essay of importance 
 which has been consigned to oblivion. The rejection of valuable papers is 
 a fault of the system, not of the man. At all the learned societies a paper 
 submitted to the society is referred to persons to report upon its merits, 
 and upon that report the committees act with regard to its publication 
 or suppression, which, in some cases, is facetiously termed a careful 
 deposition in the archives of the society, which expression literally means, 
 that it is placed in some large box from which it will be excluded from the 
 cheering influence of the sun's rays for ever. The examination into the 
 merits of any particular paper is, however, a most unthankful, disagree- 
 able, and troublesome office. And it is not, therefore, surprising that the 
 referees should sometimes exercise their characters as men, in supporting 
 their own or the opinions of their friends and those to whom they are 
 under obligations, and occasionally forget their situation as judges. Their 
 services being gratuitous, entitle the referees to the heartiest thanks of the 
 public ; but an important office like that they occupy, in which the pros- 
 perity of the whole country is interested, should decidedly not be held 
 without remuneration, and when remunerated the officers should be held 
 responsible for their decisions. One never can tell to what great end a 
 single new fact or application, though in an ill-drawn-up paper, may not 
 ultimately tend.* 
 
 These remarks, it will be seen, are also applicable to other 
 societies. 
 
 Perhaps before this I should have given an account of my 
 father's outward appearance. He was short, not exceeding 5 feet 
 8 inches in height. As a young man he was very slim ; became, 
 however, in the prime of his life corpulent; but the last eight 
 years again became very thin, and indeed emaciated. Although 
 
 * See ' Electro-Metallurgy," p. xix. 
 
CHAP. V.] PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 41 
 
 short, he would have been taken for a tall man when seen sitting in 
 a chair. There appears to have been an arrest of growth between 
 his hip and his knee ; otherwise, as his family frequently heard 
 him remark, he ought to have been a man nearly six feet high. 
 He always sat bolt upright, and disliked lounging chairs. His 
 face was singularly handsome, and he possessed delicate yet well- 
 defined features. He was very dark, and had a clear complexion, 
 his cheeks being slightly tinged with colour. Through intense 
 mental work his hair became grey at the early age of eighteen. 
 When I first remembered him, his hair was of an iron grey and 
 very short and curly. When a boy, he had, as I have heard, 
 beautiful long ringlets which fell over his shoulders, and all 
 who saw him called him the " beautiful boy." In the prime of 
 life his curly locks used to glisten like silver in the sun. If, 
 however, he were not quite well, his hair would assume a 
 leaden tint ; but no sooner was he again better in health, than 
 his hair resumed its usual silvery beauty. His forehead was 
 broad and prominent, and singularly square. His mouth was 
 small, his lips thin and firmly set, and his face was set off by 
 a pretty dimple in his chin, which, when he was animated in 
 conversation or when he smiled, enhanced the beauty of his 
 countenance. Later in life he wore a beard which robbed him 
 of a part of his good looks. He had also small ears, a well- 
 formed nose, small hands singularly handy in manipulation 
 and small feet. But perhaps the most striking feature of his 
 appearance were his eyes, which were truly wonderful. All who 
 saw him in former days can testify to this. When a young 
 man, they would flash fire. I have myself seen many instances 
 of the marvellous power of a glance of his eye on persons trying 
 to conceal any matter or to prevaricate. It was terrible to such 
 persons ! 
 
 Here I must remark that my brother and myself from early 
 childhood were constantly with my father. We were always 
 with him at his breakfast and frequently during his dinner, for 
 my father, unless conducting his experiments or seeing patients, 
 was never thoroughly happy unless he had his family around 
 him. In the morning he used to write at the breakfast-table 
 whether his books or his pamphlets, or his papers, or his 
 reports or letters whilst my brother and myself were supposed 
 to be playing about the room. But too often our play was 
 stopped to make observations upon him. Yet at other times we 
 were quite noisy, and would have, as we used to say, a bear-fight 
 
42 MEMOIR OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. V. 
 
 between ourselves, when down we would go on the floor on our 
 hands and knees and pretend to be two bears fighting. Nothing of 
 our play or conversation escaped my father, busy and seemingly 
 absorbed as^he was with his writings. Afterwards I have heard 
 him observe, that during those breakfast hours he obtained a 
 greater insight into our separate characters than he would have 
 done had he seen us only when we were fully aware that he was 
 watching us, for we as children looked upon him as an extra- 
 ordinary man, who was so absent that we might do what we 
 liked, and he would not notice it. How differently perhaps 
 should we have behaved had we known that his eyes too were 
 upon us ! 
 
 In this way we heard and saw much of great interest, for 
 he had the remarkable faculty of being able to write on the 
 most abstruse questions with people talking around him in 
 the same room, so great were his powers of abstraction and 
 concentration. It was his custom to write books, as it were, 
 in the mind, as he moved about in any ordinary avocations of 
 life. When composed in the mind, it frequently became, as he 
 has written, 
 
 a mere question of mechanical labour to transmit to paper those ideas 
 when thought out ; and so mechanical is the act of writing, that I 
 frequently find myself using the pen on important matters whilst 
 conversing with those around me on the ordinary trivial subjects of 
 the day.* 
 
 Sometimes his mind could attend to two matters at one time, 
 as instanced above, and sometimes even three operations of the 
 brain would occur to him simultaneously, besides many slighter 
 matters which the mind apprehended, such as the " ticking of a 
 watch or the passage of a figure before the eye," &c. However, 
 in laughing with him over his doing three things at one time, so 
 contrary to the adage, he would own that he " generally made a 
 hash of that." But duality of mental action or thought was an 
 ordinary habit with him. He has written concerning this 
 
 With me it is so constant, that it is my custom to read or even to 
 write upon one subject when my family are conversing upon another. 
 Most of my published treatises have been written, after having been 
 thought out, when I have been talking with my family and friends upon 
 the ordinary subjects which are discussed at a family gathering on a 
 winter's evening.f 
 
 * See ' Mind of Man,' p. 13. t Idem. 
 
CHAP. V.] PEKSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 43 
 
 But against this there were times when the mind required to 
 isolate itself, as it were, from the external world, and concen- 
 trate thought upon the subject to be worked out. 
 
 The ear must not hear nor the eye see. Many times I have been so 
 thoroughly absorbed in developing a general scheme, that whilst walking 
 the public streets I have found myself standing still to grasp, as it were, 
 the relation of one part of the complicated details of the subject to another ; 
 and one day when it poured with rain I was amused on passing a friend to 
 find that I had said, " A fine day," so entirely was my mind engrossed by 
 the consideration of the matter before me. 
 
 This was by no means an uncommon case; for on similar 
 mistakes arising from his absorption of mind, I might quote many 
 laughable occurrences and sources of merriment to his family. 
 His powers of memory were truly remarkable. 
 
 He was once at an important meeting where no reporter was present, 
 and it was considered desirable for a report to appear. Upon application 
 two or three days afterwards, he wrote out such of the speeches as were 
 required, in such a manner that the substance was so correctly given that 
 no person found out that his very words had not been taken down in the 
 room by a shorthand- writer. Those proceedings happened to interest the 
 public, and have been copied from paper to paper, and from newspapers 
 to standard works.* 
 
 After this it may seem a paradox to state that he could never 
 learn anything by rote : to commit Homer or Virgil to memory 
 would have been to him an impossibility. Yet he could quate 
 numerous favourite passages from the immortal Shakspeare's 
 works. When at King's College, he used to write the lectures 
 that he there attended verbatim after he came home. He did 
 not take notes during the lectures, but afterwards, for his memory 
 was so perfect that he could often write them out as they were 
 delivered. It has been told him that he could learn from a book 
 by heart if he only chose, to which assertion he always gave 
 an unequivocal denial. Yet any image that had once been re- 
 gistered on his brain he never forgot. As an instance of this, 
 he would remember thirty years after where he had placed a 
 most trivial object, which ordinary individuals speedily forgot ; yet 
 he did not take any trouble to remember, but did remember 
 nevertheless. I must confess that his family would not have 
 regretted the absence of such a power of memory, for he was 
 particularly untidy and careless ; and as he used every room in 
 the house as his study, and as he never dreamt of sorting or 
 
 * * Instinct and Reason,' p. 52. 
 
44 MEMOIK OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. V. 
 
 arranging his numerous papers and letters (and I think few houses 
 had so many letters and various papers sent to them as his had), 
 it_followed that the house was one huge writing room and waste- 
 paper basket, the intricacy of which no one knew but himself ; 
 and as he quite ignored that there were such creatures as house- 
 maids in the world, he had but too frequently to suffer for his 
 determined forgetfulness of that necessary appendage to society. 
 Then, if some cherished scrap of paper or some letter requiring 
 instant answering (the moment my father had an idea in his head 
 it must be done that very instant), or whatever object it might 
 be that was required, were not instantly forthcoming, then 
 ruesome were the faces in our household ! Whoever could hold 
 his ground, now was the time ! " If you please, mum, master 
 won't have his papers touched ; how am I to clear the breakfast 
 table ? " was the incessant question from the servants. At last I 
 tried to keep his multifarious papers in somewhat like order. He 
 would ask, " Where is that paper or letter which came on such a 
 subject, three or four years ago? I want it immediately;" and 
 matters had to be arranged so that what was required could 
 be found in the twinkling of an eye. All was well so long as 
 I remained at home ; but if by chance I left home for two or 
 three days on a visit (I never left home for more than ten days 
 together, and then never more than three times in my life), then 
 everything went wrong with the papers. On one of these occa- 
 sions I received the following letter from my father : 
 
 MY DEAR MARY, The head magpie lias so badly taught the other 
 magpies that all think themselves quite competent to take the place of 
 the head magpie, and nothing left out for a moment is thrust under the 
 pillows, or behind the sofa, so that the house is so niagpied that every- 
 thing is unfindable. It is a great dispensation of Providence that I am so 
 heavy that they cannot hide me, or I should be hid in an old shoe, or 
 perhaps in the key-hole, and never be able to find myself again. 
 
 My father was also extremely indifferent about his dress. So 
 long as they were baggy and he could slip quickly into his clothes, 
 that was all he required. Unless it was very cold weather, gloves 
 he would never wear, excepting sometimes in the evening, and 
 then he insisted upon having them about two sizes too large for 
 him, that he might put them easily on, his fingers not being 
 inserted more than half-way in them. But they were too 
 frequently never put on ; yet from the peculiar twistings and 
 contortions they had undergone during the evening, they were 
 invariably quite unfit to appear on any future occasion. 
 
CHAP. V.] PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 45 
 
 To show his utter indifference to dress, he was going one 
 evening to a large dinner-party, at which he wished to appear 
 at his best. His dress-clothes were duly put out for him (he 
 never looked to such things himself) in his dressing-room ; hy 
 ill luck, an old worn-out garden coat was lying near : my father, 
 thinking of utterly different things from what he should be at 
 that moment, slipped into his old rusty worn-out garden coat, 
 and went off to the dinner-party ; when to his discomfort, whilst 
 sitting at the table next to the hostess, he suddenly discovered 
 the mistake. Speaking of evening dress, it should be observed 
 that my father ever had a great partiality for tail coats, and 
 for many years of his life nothing could induce him to wear any 
 other form of coat. 
 
 Besides this peculiarity in his dress, my father had also a pecu- 
 liarity in his walk if walk we may call it, for he usually used to 
 run along, taking very short steps ; but what with his short steps 
 and his peculiar run, it was no easy matter to keep up with him. 
 He usually had a large bunch of keys in one hand, which he 
 jingled all the time he was running or walking. Oh, those keys ! 
 I cannot think of them without a horror. What have my nerves 
 suffered through ye, keys ? If he was thinking, jingle went 
 the keys ; if he was writing, again jingle went the keys : when- 
 ever an opportunity was afforded him to jingle those precious keys 
 they were jingled. I have often wondered he did not jingle them 
 in his sleep : if they had been near him, I am sure he would have 
 done so. In later life he gave up this dreadful habit, to the 
 satisfaction of his family. 
 
 My father's temper was quick, as indeed was everything he did. 
 When once his mind was made up for any given action, he seldom 
 paused, but acted immediately, and it is thus he got through such 
 an immense amount of work. Whilst others considered he acted. 
 To a supposed slight he was particularly sensitive : this unfor- 
 tunately caused him at times to take offence when none was 
 intended. He had not the slightest tinge of jealousy, and he was 
 always willing to give, and did continually give, a helping hand 
 to any who required it. As a young man he had suffered con- 
 siderably from the jealousy of others, his elders, and it made 
 him have a feeling heart for others in a similar position. 
 Opposition, however, my father could not brook. What he saw 
 distinctly, that he expected others also to see. This made him 
 an impatient teacher. He always expected his hearers to meet 
 him more than half-way in understanding a subject, forgetting, 
 
~: jEEmm 0r AIJPSJBI^ SHKXL. .VHJJ?. v 
 
 frfeafr tdlsiT Tmi^faf afirft be- enHL eo^TLLSaJlt ot* 
 
 lads tan W&M&: Bois cGmdiastoiis wesre Ib^etiL Argum-enis 
 &trs5tfctL IT Ms maimi. a p*rQpogitiL<ofl> was att&jer rigLt or 
 ami M <m pisrsoa took on* si-die of a, (jmsstaoiL 
 toufc anutflnsr,. no ajaoimtr of argmrmgiait, ke 
 aJhnar nil** opinion of edi]i*sr pajriry. 
 mi32nif gerTirntiAaons in niwar respectiin* TOWS. So 
 TILT tEuhftifrTr waiuLi. njj^nHT "cermin JUL aTrgnrmxwi-t; tiG' fe^ etum^ii on by 
 Ms- presence* vkieii was offago. vesafiioss to 
 Ltsoioifrs Ctfin^ o am :irgr trTn ^^ fra-^r^ 
 tamL ot' min'i.. JL is Eas "been just aJsove ob&3rreii, 
 hr (Ttiiik zi is om!e saznig ifc points of & ^TMStioi^ or in 
 
 1-. This, m^aiti ^rm raiolfirant; 
 fa ot&urs ; ajui eaiee Tia-yfn-.g- 
 of isTGioiL.. TungPifn.cr wQuLi orritate 
 Uo feteJrn to. talk or iiiscu^ upon tliac 
 ia*i aJrpa*iy pereerweti, aHowed of only 
 Woe ftiMri-i^- tiai lEaJbrGTinate nL&ixiiiaL 
 *&i3rc Ms- ~ tr^adJIe.^ B^it 
 is (lonuninticii a. apritrvf^ns mistakev fef 
 OE (iiLaj*a*inear BJ nofc BQEIL in. 
 uman/r pryprz wanlii be wuiLuded on. b^a^ HoM in 
 
 na-.FIr was iLQti wQmn Ksstsiiniaf HQ Tnis T I 
 
 T71 ULT TTLtT^t^y'^ (iKaiTaClidr. 
 
 Ka*i a. Tnaji i ^-rnii^r Reaarfe 
 labour wsnilki. kfr ILQC grv^ farmLsrelf fof ^fa> 
 oRe .Inmnmtrf^- cirefe)^ ffis 
 $aitbtiitHLiji"7" piillajLtinropiie 
 ~ Wk ib QTL work 
 
 be tfirKnirpij: ia it or. S^-tuuI-^j wiH not 
 
 MTT^n <r 
 
 tiese IizLe* Taai zniniiiably to auii. * fcr ofiiuffiBS w&@> 
 mm iisiHr^^ in.. :7 TThifiy W5& bus to<8' t^fttHi dn* da^fr - &ft Bnag 
 
 tifritc iii waft nat ^q^ia; tn tio ^eii onl wiaL w& weir^ jaore o 
 
 aiway* taryoi^r to' <i 
 <mfrucL. JJiniai Smee waa atlise moss knui-aeartaL ami 
 
 wiBfigfy nutnc paiiL by W*IEI air Honk,. <ar by aiitioii, to aaty 
 <ir crefficrcgi. imfem. injiftaiL lia EC& waff Mnaei by fefficog' 
 miiL*a&iii.. oar pezsiMLaHy aboaei.. (iitfier bv wjsirfe <5r 
 
 if 
 
. TJ HL* DLLIKE OF KOTTnfE WfMfL 
 
 anyone " trod on hk toes ;" then be fpsred JM* ha foe, bit 
 Ins pen he eat deep mntil lie made lib adrenary writh* ago 
 MT father merer feared respwmbOilT, neither did he 
 
 i---~::::-r *.:.i.: ":-.'.:- :. : : . . "- - . : :-'-: - " '- '"--: "-'- ; - "-' "- * "- ":.-.-'-. . 
 shrunk, he rentured ; wbete others marered, he decided : b 
 essentially a nan of actkn. He trusted Lir 
 aeted up to them. He had a great idea of persons foBC3Bg t 
 
 --.-;--;- [_--._'_: -..'. '-.-I i.:r^.i- *:. *.: 
 
 He writes to his son rom abroad, on a qvectam k: fef sd^ r 
 mn=t :.:_: :: ::--. ." :. '..-:-- -.-'- - ---i cjELiiiL 
 
 contend for a Terr i-rfxi;^ eovrae of action spon the I*ST -:f 
 
 -_.: lii. "-. v ::m^: 
 
 :: -_ L -;:-,::- .i TTT! lis :^Le 
 
 - -.:..i . : . - -.:_.:: - _ :. : L-. 1111^:1 : :. i - : _ -: : v : _ .- 1- : - 
 
 : '_."- " .-: -i ~ 
 
 .: -.- . - - - - 1_; :^^ 
 
 .: i_.ii::. _"!_ u_= : ~i H::LT~ n-in-rr*- >". n~: _ :. ~T:: i- 
 IT :;: 1;-- ---::::-: ,iL ::: li= ILIL^T i^I ^ --i 
 
 rir: 
 
48 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. V. 
 
 this woman get her own livelihood ? He accordingly accosted 
 her, and asked her, Why did she always sit there doing nothing? 
 Why did she not sell newspapers to the passers-by, and thereby 
 earn something instead of begging. It was a good position for 
 that purpose, for the house was a corner one, in a busy and 
 frequented part of the city of London. " Alas," replied the poor 
 woman, " I have no money to get the newspapers, and nobody 
 will give me credit." " If that is all," said my father, " take this 
 sovereign, and get some newspapers, and let me see you to- 
 morrow selling them." The woman did so, and for many years 
 she might have been observed at the same corner, selling her 
 stock of papers, and looking much happier than when she solicited 
 alms of the passers-by. She is now dead having died of old 
 age. I doubt not that sovereign given her in that manner 
 enabled her to end her days in more comfort, and certainly 
 with greater happiness. For her little business throve every 
 year more and more ; indeed, it must have become a capital 
 speculation, for after her death another old woman appeared 
 carrying on tfye same business. 
 
 Many instances similar to the above might be enumerated to 
 show my father's beneficence. After his death, how many of the 
 poor came to tell his family that they, too, mourned his loss 
 that they, too, had indeed lost a true friend ! 
 
 From Alfred Smee's genial and social disposition it may be 
 inferred that he loved society, and shone in it. Much as my 
 father liked being in society, yet never could he tolerate the 
 London season being in the spring and summer months, when 
 the country was looking its best. For no sooner did the 
 flowers begin to bloom, the trees to push forward their buds, 
 and the birds to warble their melodious songs, than his soul 
 panted to be amidst such scenes, rather than in hot ill-ventilated 
 rooms during the lovely months of May, June, and July. Why 
 the season could not be in winter, when people would more 
 enjoy social intercourse in warm rooms than they could in hot 
 weather, he never could understand. He was not a fox-hunter 
 himself, and perhaps had not sufficient sympathy with the par- 
 takers of that sport, and, therefore, he could not appreciate the 
 motives for persons preferring the country in the winter to the 
 summer. 
 
 My father's mode of reading was cursory. He had a peculiar 
 facility in seizing at once what was valuable in any book without 
 perusing it from beginning to end. He would read philosophic 
 
CHAP. V.] HIS FAVOUKITE READING. 49 
 
 works or books on travels, but novels lie never could be induced 
 to read, and always declared, and indeed boasted, he had never 
 read a novel through in his life. If he saw anybody about him 
 with a novel, he would contrive to get hold of it, and would 
 then amuse himself by holding it up to ridicule by picking out 
 in an instant one of the weaker parts of it, and, reading aloud 
 the passage, would then, to the discomfort of the reader, laugh- 
 ingly inquire, " What pleasure could be derived by reading such 
 stuff?" He disliked books where truth and fiction were so inter- 
 woven that the one could not be distinguished from the other. 
 But books of fiction, such as fairy tales, and other works of 
 imagination or satire, he liked. And so those wonderful con- 
 ceptions from the vivid imagination of Shakspeare were to my 
 father the most delightful specimens of the kind. My father's 
 keen sense of imagination and of fun enabled him to enjoy 
 farces, comedies, and pantomimes, and I doubt whether any child 
 had more delight in the transformation scenes of a pantomime 
 than had my father. He therefore delighted in taking children 
 to see them. On a friend's not allowing his children to see a 
 pantomime until he considered them old enough to go behind 
 the scenes and see how delusive everything was, my father ex- 
 pressed his utter disapprobation of such a course, and remarked 
 that children should be brought up to know that no one is 
 exempt from being taken in by his senses. Those children, 
 my father asserted, who were brought up without imagination, 
 and who never saw tricks played before them without having 
 them all explained, were sure to be the ones who would be the 
 most likely to be deceived in after-life, and to become the victims 
 of designing men. 
 
50 MEMOIR OF ALFKED SMEE. [CHAP. VI. 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 1849 TO 1854. 
 
 Fifth book, ' Electro-Biology ' Lecture on Electro-Biology ' Principles of the 
 Human Mind ' Cholera Cholera medicine given away 'Instinct and Eeason ' 
 written to illustrate Electro-Biology Sketch of the general plan of the work 
 Smee's hot and cold detector Third edition of ' Electro-Metallurgy ' 
 brought out ' Process of Thought' written Long articles in the ' Illustrated 
 London News ' Plants that can be grown in London Lecture at Newbury 
 Writes a memoir of Wyon Lectures to the clerks of the Bank of England 
 on 'Instinct and Reason' First visit to Paris Alfred Smee an angler 
 A regular attendant at St. Paul's Cathedral Power of prayer. 
 
 ALFRED SMEE'S great work, ' The Elements of Electro-Biology,' 
 which embraces his ' Natural System of Mental Philosophy,' 
 appeared in February 1849. On this work he had been engaged 
 at intervals for the last ten years. The important researches 
 detailed in this work cost him an immense amount of time, 
 labour, and thought, and they were nearly all worked out at his 
 residence in Finsbury Circus, " unaided," as he has sadly written, 
 " by the advantages which public laboratories afford to their 
 fortunate occupiers." Indeed, he had not even an assistant to 
 aid him, if we except the services at times of a young lad in 
 his teens, who was only too pleased to run and search for cats, 
 or perform other little services for my father.* At one time the 
 dearth of cats occasioned by these electro-biological researches 
 was so great, that friends used to shut up their pussies to prevent 
 them falling into the hands of the enemy. The anxiety among 
 the ladies became at last so distressing, that one young lady, a 
 personal friend, wrote the following amusing letter : 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, Having been apprised by my brother of the instruc- 
 tions which you have given to your page to obtain violent possession of the 
 
 * This lad was bright and intelligent, and he learnt a good deal from my 
 father. He has since done well in life. 
 
CHAP. VI.] LECTURE ON ELECTRO-BIOLOGY. 51 
 
 sacred person of my only and beloved child, I beg to say, that if such 
 instructions are not countermanded, I shall be obliged to put personal 
 restraint on the actions of my darling ; in consequence of that restraint he 
 will pine away and sink into an early grave, leaving a tender mother and 
 a doting grandmother to bewail his loss. Mr. Smee, you are a father, and 
 to your feelings as a father I appeal. I need say no more, I am sure. Be 
 generous, and my thanks, my warmest and most unbounded gratitude, 
 shall be yours. 
 
 The carrying out of the numerous experiments required for this 
 great work was laborious, and his private practice and his official 
 duties taking up the best part of the day, he was obliged to steal 
 those hours that are by most persons devoted to rest and sleep. 
 The physical experiments relating to the laws of voltaic electricity 
 are to be found in ' Electro-Metallurgy,' and we have seen that 
 * Sources of Physics ' was expressly written as an introduction to 
 the ' Elements of Electro-Biology.' There is such a lucid plan 
 of this book in ' Chambers's Edinburgh Journal ' that I have 
 transcribed it among my father's writings, at No. XYI. of the 
 Appendix. I do not know by whom the account was written. 
 
 In April of the same year Mr. Smee delivered a lecture at the 
 London Institution on Electro-Biology before a crowded audience. 
 At this lecture Mr. Smee's injections of the brain were ex- 
 hibited, which elicited these words from one of the daily papers, 
 " These injections were of surpassing beauty, and well illustrated 
 the exclamation of the inspired Psalmist, 'How fearfully and 
 wonderfully are we made !' " 
 
 The lecture was afterwards printed, and published with the 
 ' Principles of the Human Mind,' written as a sequel to ' Electro- 
 Biology.' This as the learned Dr. Pereira wrote, " Your lec- 
 tures on Electro -Biology and the Principles of the Human Mind 
 are very briefly but clearly drawn up, and will aid much in read- 
 ing your longer copy " I have transcribed in the Appendix, 
 No. XVII. Besides this lecture, Mr. Smee gave others on the 
 same subject elsewhere. Throughout the country he was re- 
 peatedly asked to deliver lectures, but he had not time at his 
 disposal so to do. 
 
 This year also he wrote (the 3rd of March, 1849) in the 
 'Morning Chronicle' a short article on Gutta-percha and its 
 Uses. 
 
 The summer of 1849, it may be remembered, was a sad one 
 for numbers of persons ; for that direful scourge, pestilence, in 
 the form of cholera, had made its ravages felt throughout the 
 
 E 2 
 
52 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI. 
 
 length and breadth of the land. My father was himself attacked 
 by it towards the close of the summer : happily he recovered, yet 
 I believe he permanently suffered from its effects. In September 
 we find him investigating into the cause of this direful malady, 
 and the results of his inquiry are incorporated in a paper 
 which appeared in the ' Lancet/ (See Appendix, No. XVIII.) It 
 should here be observed that whenever an epidemic of cholera 
 ensued, he had large quantities of cholera medicine (his own 
 prescription) made up and largely distributed. No one who came 
 to the house and asked for cholera medicine, whether for himself 
 or for friends, was refused. Numbers of persons flocked to the 
 house and availed themselves of this privilege. 
 
 The close of this year was to bring a heavy affliction to Alfred 
 Smee, in the loss of his mother, to whom he was devotedly 
 attached, and for whom he held the highest respect and esteem. 
 He felt this loss most acutely, and his mind seemed for a- time 
 quite unable to throw off its sorrow and pursue further scientific 
 investigations. At length Dr. Koupell, the senior physician to 
 St. Bartholomew's, persuaded him to write an illustration or key 
 to ' Electro-Biology/ whereby the abstract principles of that 
 important work could be illustrated by facts, so that it might be 
 more readily comprehended by a larger portion of mankind. No 
 sooner did my father commence this new work than his wonted 
 energy was roused, and he entered with such heart and soul into 
 ' Instinct and Eeason ' (for that was the name of the book) that it 
 was published in April 1850. 
 
 He did not even commence to write the book till the begin- 
 ning of that year, and it is a matter of surprise how such a work, 
 full of coloured plates and of various woodcuts, could have been 
 got out in such a marvellously short period. 
 
 In the first chapter of ' Instinct and Reason ' he treats of the 
 relation of Mind to Life, in which he makes the comparison 
 between man, animals, plants, stones, and pieces of mechanism. 
 For an example of animal existence he gives the dog, and shows 
 how the volitions of animals are regulated by experience, to prove 
 which he gives numerous facts ; and, indeed, I may here observe 
 that the great charm of this treatise consists in the most abstruse 
 laws of mental action being all made palpably clear to the mind 
 by various facts set forth in the form of interesting anecdotes, 
 nearly all of which were facts that had come under the range 
 of his own observation and experience. After showing how the 
 
CHAP. VI.] ANALYSIS OF ' INSTINCT AND REASON.' 53 
 
 mind is dependent upon the brain and nervous system, he passes 
 on to consider the Organs of Sensation in man and in animals. 
 Then pleasure and pain are fully described ; pain being proved 
 by abundant illustrations to be absolutely necessary to our 
 welfare, and its absence impossible in a material world. The 
 fourth chapter is devoted to Memory in Man and Animals. 
 Without memory all that ennobles man is destroyed, and he is 
 lowered almost to the condition of a plant. Eeason in Man and, 
 Animals is then exemplified. Up to this part of the treatise, it 
 has been shown that man, in respect to the powers of mind which 
 he possesses, is similar to animals ; and yet we know that man 
 far exceeds all living creatures in the faculties of the mind. If 
 mankind possessed no further faculties than what have been 
 already enumerated, he would be no whit better than the beast ; 
 therefore, in the chapter following that on Keason, those other 
 faculties which entitle man to hold the first place in the scale of 
 Creation are considered, and so the greatest works of man are 
 here set forth as illustrations to prove his superiority over the 
 brute beast. Passing from the operations of man, he next treats 
 of Instinct. Accordingly, the works of animals, birds, and other 
 creatures occupy the greater part of the seventh chapter. Instinct 
 is also shown to exist in childhood. This chapter is particularly 
 interesting to those possessed of the taste for natural history. 
 Beautiful coloured plates illustrating the various and curious 
 specimens of bird-nests, wasp-nests, spider-webs, ant-nests, bee- 
 hives, and nests of other creatures, form a valuable adjunct to 
 this chapter. Then he proceeds to define Intuitive Ideas, and 
 shows their influence on mankind. Thence he proceeds to show 
 that man has the faculty of expressing his ideas by sounds or 
 marks. From words and language he proceeds to compare the 
 works of man with the works of Nature, and shows that there is 
 a limitation of the works of man. He then passes on to the 
 Theory of Instinct and Eeason, devotes a chapter to Keason and 
 Faith, and another to Perverted Keason. Then he gives a 
 chapter to the various Families of Man, and shows that even the 
 savages and the lowest types of man possess faculties which give 
 to him a superiority over all animals. A great gulf divides the 
 mental powers of the lowest type of man from that of animals, 
 which can never, he declares, be bridged over. The natural 
 Classification of Mankind ends this highly original and interesting 
 work on Instinct and Keason. Jhe illustrations to this book are 
 very beautiful : it has ten large coloured plates, and is, besides, 
 
MEMOIR OF ALFEED SMEE. 
 
 [CHAP. VI. 
 
 interspersed with numerous woodcuts.* Although the work itself 
 is based on such an abstruse subject as mental philosophy is 
 generally considered to be, yet it is so interwoven with anec- 
 dotes, most of which had come under his own observation, on 
 natural history and other subjects, that not only does the book 
 afford a forcible illustration to ' Electro-Biology ' and ' The Mind 
 of Man,' but it is also admirably suited to be placed in the hands 
 of the young ; for by interesting the reader in the investigation 
 of Nature, he is led on to discipline the mind, and thereby able 
 to seek a knowledge of the laws of God, obey the divine will, and 
 act rightly to his fellows. I know of no better book for a prize 
 at school than is ' Instinct and Eeason.' Unfortunately at the 
 present moment the work is out of print ; but I hope that a new 
 edition may appear, as it would afford a lucid illustration to that 
 work which has been based on ' Electro-Biology,' namely, ' The 
 Mind of Man.' | 
 
 In ' Instinct and Eeason ' is a description of one of Mr. Smee's 
 clever little contrivances, which he called the Hot and Cold 
 
 FIG. 5. Hot and Cold Detector. 
 
 Detector ; " a trifle " which he conceived in order to inform him 
 of the temperature of a small hot-house behind his house.f 
 
 * The illustrations for ' Instinct and Reason,' such as the various bird-nests 
 and birds, wasp-nests, fossils, minerals, the South Sea Islanders' various im- 
 plements, &c., were arranged in a long case which formed one complete side of 
 our drawing-room at Finsbury Circus. 
 
 f 'The Mind of Man* was published in 1875, and was written as another 
 edition of ' Electro-Biology.' 
 
 J See ' Instinct and Reason/ p. 97. 
 
CHAP. VI] THE HOT AND COLD DETECTOK. 55 
 
 Now my plants (lie writes) would be injured if the heat fell below 50 
 or rose above 90, and I therefore wished to have some contrivance which 
 should inform me in my own study whether the temperature were remain- 
 ing or not within these limits. For this purpose a thermometer was made 
 for me into which two platinum wires were inserted, which came in contact 
 respectively with the mercury at those two points (fig. 5). By this con- 
 trivance, when the heat either fell below or rose above these two points, 
 the mercury and platinum were not in contact, and a voltaic current could 
 not be maintained. Telegraphic communications were laid down from 
 these two platinum wires to my dwelling-house, and a large pair of zinc 
 and copper plates were sunk into the ground for a battery. By attaching 
 the wires to a galvanometer we can always ask how the temperature is ; 
 and, by attaching an alarum, a gardener might be warned of any accident 
 at any time of the night. I must say, that had I the care of so valuable 
 a collection of plants as that of Kew, I should never be easy till I had 
 such an apparatus in my bed-room to tell me if any of my plants were 
 under unfavourable circumstances. 
 
 This hot and cold detector was also modified and used under 
 other circumstances than telling the temperature of a hot-house. 
 Many years ago Mr. Smee's father had a cottage at Clapton, on the 
 hanks of the river Lea. The garden abounded with fruit, which the 
 hoys in the neighbourhood were only too glad to avail themselves 
 of generally choosing the time for their thefts when the family 
 were at dinner. Now one day my father attached fine thread to 
 the wires of the battery, in such a manner that as soon as the 
 boys were fairly in the garden they must insensibly move one of 
 these threads. Immediately down went the alarum in the house, 
 out ran my father, followed by his brothers and by his brother-in- 
 law. The boys, surprised in the very act of taking the fruit, were 
 soundly thrashed, and one of them having a squint was marched 
 off into the house by my father, and then and there had to submit 
 to the operation of having it cut. I am afraid that boy's ideas of 
 right and wrong must have been from henceforth rather confusing. 
 He had done wrong, for the effect of which he immediately 
 derived benefit, which he would not have derived had he done 
 what was right and had kept out of the garden. Let us hope, how- 
 ever, that he possessed a contented mind, and that he went not forth 
 again to steal fruit, in order to derive further benefits therefrom. 
 
 The beginning of 1851 found Mr. Smee re-writing and bring- 
 ing out in an enlarged form a third edition of ' Electro-Metal- 
 lurgy.' This was followed in the month of March by a short 
 treatise from his pen on ' Process of Thought,' which contains a 
 lengthy description of the ^Relational and Differential Machines.* 
 
 * Woodcuts and explanations of the relational and differential machines are 
 to be found in the ' Mind of Man,' pp. 94, 100. 
 
56 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI. 
 
 As this treatise has since been incorporated in his last work, 
 ' The Mind of Man/ I refer the reader to that book for further 
 information on the subject. 
 
 In May he became one of the jurors to that most interesting 
 of all exhibitions the one held in Hyde Park. 
 
 Between the months of May and of September he wrote 
 several long and interesting articles for the ' Illustrated London 
 News,' on various articles exhibited in the Exhibition. Amongst 
 these may be mentioned ' On the Origin of the Forces which 
 have been employed in the Manufacture of the Articles exhibited,' 
 which appeared in that journal on the 10th of May, 1851, as well 
 as another article, ' On the Application of Electricity.' On the 
 17th of May that journal contained the following articles from 
 his pen : ' Light and its Applications ;' ' Electricity ' (Supple- 
 mental Notice) ; ' Dumas's Expanding Model of a Man.' On 
 May 24th, ' Heat and its Application.' On June 7th, ' Mechanical 
 Force.' On June 14th, ' The Food of Man.' On June 21st, 
 'Ibbetson's Castings.' On July 5th, 'Chemitypy, Stylegraphy, 
 and Gralvanography ; ' ' Microscopical Preparations ; ' ' Food of 
 Man' (No. 2); 'Philosophical Instruments.' On July 19th, 
 1 Food of Man ' (No. 3). On August 2nd, ' Wardian Cases.' On 
 August 9th, ' Surgical Instruments.' 
 
 Besides these long articles in the * Illustrated London News,' 
 there are long articles on ' Electricity,' ' Electro-Metallurgy,' and 
 other matters, in the ' Morning Chronicle ' for the 15th and 31st 
 of May. 
 
 The following extracts from the article in the ' Illustrated 
 London News ' on Wardian Cases is here quoted, as it may 
 interest those who are fond of plants, and who are obliged to 
 dwell in a smoky town, to know which can be grown under such 
 adverse circumstances. 
 
 In London (says he) but very few plants will thrive. The Oriental plane 
 rears its head in the heart of the city, in Cheapside, and forms a stately tree. 
 Russell Square and Guildford Street exhibit also noble specimens of this 
 beautiful tree ; yet by coming into leaf late, and shedding its foliage early, 
 it is not so susceptible of those influences which injure other plants. The 
 lime-tree will also partially flourish ; and in the very centre of the Bank 
 two noble and ancient limes shade the parlour from the scorching sun of 
 summer, and yearly cast forth delicious perfume from abundant flowers. 
 With these exceptions, flowers and vegetable structures can scarce be 
 cultivated in London, except with the aid of a Ward's case. Residing in 
 the very centre of the metropolis, we now write with two beautiful Ward's 
 cases before us, which exhibit the most luxuriant foliage. In these cases 
 we have at this moment the beautiful wax-plant, or Hoya carnosa, in 
 
CHAP. VI.] WARDIAN CASES. 57 
 
 abundant flower. We have recently introduced the newly-imported and 
 lovely Soya bella, which is also now in flower ; and the odoriferous Francisco, 
 Hopeana is always ready to refresh us by its scent on opening the door of 
 the case. We have five species of Lycopodia, which gratify the eye by 
 their luxuriant green ; and no less than fifteen or sixteen species of exotic 
 ferns gladden the eye by their charming forms, their verdant foliage, and 
 luxuriant appearance. The leaves of the Maranta bicolor, never soiled by 
 wet, are of surpassing beauty; and several species of Achomenes are 
 rapidly growing, to display their brilliant colours in the latter part of 
 summer. Many of our plants have been in their present situation for 
 ten years, and so the delight which we have had in the observation and 
 cultivation of them in the Wardian case makes us look with increased 
 interest upon those first examples of construction which Mr. Ward has 
 contributed to the Exhibition. 
 
 We take this opportunity of calling attention to the Wardian cases, 
 because, much as their use has increased, still they are not nearly so much 
 employed in large towns as they ought to be. The cultivation of plants is 
 an occupation delightful in itself, and one that is calculated to afford 
 intense pleasure to those who follow the amusement. In that gloomy 
 prison of Pentonville, where the inmates are not allowed from their cell to 
 see a passing cloud, it is recorded that the only pleasure which a prisoner 
 could find was to watch from day to day the growth and flowering of a 
 few pieces of grass, shepherd's purse, chickweed, and groundsel, when he 
 took his daily airing in the little space allotted to his walk. Every London 
 child should have his Wardian case, if on ever so small a scale. The love 
 of the cultivation of plants would grow with the knowledge of their per- 
 fection, and the mind would be led insensibly by the true and natural 
 process of thought from a study of Nature's works to the contemplation 
 of Nature's God. 
 
 And the following account taken from * Instinct and Eeason * 
 will further show my father's observation on this question. 
 
 In this vast metropolis so much poisonous gas and smoke is exhaled 
 from the chimneys of the thousands of houses and manufactories here 
 accumulated together, that the sulphurous acid poisons the plants, and the 
 absence of light is fatal. Under such circumstances, horticulture seems 
 futile ; and yet, when I say that, despite these difficulties, I have now, in 
 the middle of January, lilacs, azaleas, an oncidium, and an epidendrum, in 
 full bloom, it must be acknowledged that even here plants may be grown 
 not altogether in vain, although in less perfection than in the horticultural 
 gardens surrounding London. 
 
 As far as appertains to the foul sulphurous acid and smoke, Ward has 
 taught us that by simply covering the plants with a glass shade, they may 
 be effectually grown. In my dining-room I- have had two of these cases 
 for nine years ; and the plants which I first purchased from Loddige's are 
 still alive. In fact, the luxuriance of their growth is so great, that I am 
 periodically compelled to remove large quantities of the plants. Besides 
 ferns, I attempt the growth of a few flowering plants. I commence with 
 crocuses ; I go on with hyacinths, and an occasional tulip or narcissus. 
 Later in the year the common cereus is generally covered with flowers, 
 affording a gorgeous display. However, this plant generally blooms itself 
 
58 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI. 
 
 to death. In July, my Hoya carnosa, or wax-plant, gives rise to a dozen 
 or a dozen and a half of fine flowers ; and I am now venturing to try the 
 charming Stephanotis floribunda. During the fall of the year I obtain a 
 fine display of Achomenes, and my ferns and Lycopodiums form an elegant 
 green covering all the year.* 
 
 Now, from observation and experiment, I think I can communicate 
 a great secret as to the plants which will do well in a London atmosphere ; 
 for I find that the tropical plants, as a general rule, flourish nearly as 
 well as in the country. We read that the lights of tropical countries are 
 apt to be yellow, like the dismal yellow lights of London. Palms, bananas, 
 and many plants of this description will thrive. 
 
 Some orchids, although they do not like the sun, require much light, 
 and they do not thrive, though others may be grown satisfactorily. 
 
 I have lately constructed a portable hot-house which can be heated 
 by a candle, oil, or coal-gas. The one which I have is like a Ward's case, 
 but has a compartment to hold water at the bottom, through which is 
 inserted a copper tube, to carry the heated air and warm the water. 
 I hope to be enabled, by this contrivance, to obtain the more beautiful 
 orchids and tropical plants in ordinary dwelling-rooms ; and I question, 
 if I can fully succeed, whether the largest conservatory in the most 
 extensive orchideous house, when cultivated by the hired gardener, can 
 give half as much pleasure as this little portable hot-house. 
 
 My father also, assisted only by a lad, constructed a green- 
 house at the bottom of a narrow strip of ground at the back 
 of his residence in Finsbury Circus. This house he heated by 
 pipes, and in it he grew many varieties of tropical plants. The 
 sugar-cane here throve. Besides, he had a tank in it with 
 hot - house water-plants, and which also contained gold - fish. 
 These gold-fish knew their master, and it was most amusing to 
 see them come to the water's surface when he whistled, and take 
 the morsels of bread from his hand. In ' Instinct and Eeason ' 
 he gives an interesting account of the breeding of gold-fish in 
 this tank in the hot-house at the bottom of his garden. He 
 afterwards converted the hot-house into a green-house, where 
 all the British ferns were to be found growing in the greatest 
 luxuriance. Amidst my father's numerous avocations he always 
 found time to attend to his beloved green-house, and even to paint 
 it whenever it was required. How well do I remember the times 
 of painting the green-house, what fun it was, and what trouble 
 
 * See ' instinct and Reason,' p. 131. Jn the obituary notice of Alfred 
 Smee in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' January 27th, 1877, we read 
 
 " Many years ago the tern-cases in his dwelling-house in Finsbury Circus 
 were as remarkable, and attracted almost as much attention, as those of the late 
 N. B. Ward. The writer of these lines well remembers the time when he was 
 in the habit of passing and repassing the windows in Finsbury Circus, with the 
 sole object of ascertaining what were the species that throve under such dis- 
 advantageous circumstances." 
 
CHAP. VI.] VISIT TO PARIS LOVE OF FISHING. 59 
 
 we children got into afterwards with the higher powers of the 
 nursery ! 
 
 On the llth of September, 1851, Mr. Smee gave the opening 
 lecture of the session at the Newbury Literary Institution, ' On 
 the Kesults of the Great Exhibition ;' and later on, the 8th of 
 November, he had the melancholy satisfaction of writing in the 
 1 Illustrated London News ' the memoir of his much-lamented 
 friend William Wyon, E.A., the chief engraver to the Mint, 
 whose numerous medals of high artistic worth have given the 
 name of Wyon a wide celebrity. 
 
 On the 25th of November Mr. Smee delivered a lecture be- 
 fore the Bank of England Literary Association, on Instinct and 
 Eeason. 
 
 During the early part of the summer of 1851 there was a 
 reunion of English savants at Paris, under the auspices of 
 Napoleon III., then President. This occasion was the first visit 
 of my father and mother to Paris, and it was the first holiday of 
 more than a day's duration that my father had since 1845. He 
 used, however, to take at times a day's holiday, and spend a few 
 hours at a favourite pastime fishing : for my father was a keen 
 fisherman, and as his love of and skill in angling were well 
 known among many, he had always abundant orders and invita- 
 tions to fish in some choice spot or other. Jack-fishing was a 
 favourite sport of his, and in his dining-room was a very noble 
 specimen of that ferocious fish. Its form is perfect ; it weighed 
 twenty-two pounds, and was killed by a small hook. To hear 
 my father describe the landing of this fish, one could fancy one 
 was listening to a page of Izaak Walton. But my father did 
 not disdain other kinds of fishing. He would sit in a punt on 
 the river for hours, angling for any fish that would come to his 
 hook. 
 
 In such times the scenery of the river, the singing of the 
 birds, afforded him ample enjoyment, and his overworked brain 
 found rest and solace in the charms of Nature. He knew the note 
 of almost every bird, and loved to teach the different songs of 
 the songsters to his children. In trout-fishing he was an adept. 
 During the summer months my grandfather used to take a house 
 for himself and for us in the country, at such a distance from 
 London that he and my father could daily attend their businesses 
 in London, and thence return in the cool of the evening and enjoy 
 the quiet solitude of a country life. Somehow or other our country 
 
60 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI. 
 
 house was generally situated near a river, and so my father in the 
 cool summer evenings had frequent opportunities of exercising 
 his skill in fishing. At these times he was generally surrounded 
 by his family. My grandfather, too, frequently mingled in our 
 sports ; and when the latter caught a fish, how speedily did the 
 length of the fish increase until it grew to a wonderful size ! 
 But in fishing, as in other things, my father generally won the 
 laurels : but what fun it was for the domestic circle each to 
 contend for our places as skilful fishermen, none can appreciate 
 but those who have tried their hand in the art ! The distinguished 
 chemist and investigator Professor Graham (former Master of the 
 Mint) had similar tastes to my father. How amusing it was 
 to spectators to hear them intermingling their conversations on 
 abstruse chemical and philosophical theories with their theories 
 on the art of fishing ! 
 
 On Sundays my father used with his family to be a regular 
 attendant at the morning service at St. Paul's Cathedral. In 
 various parts of this work it has been shown that one of the 
 great peculiarities of Alfred Smee's mind was that it belonged 
 to that class (Pneuma-Noemic) which is particularly capable 
 of appreciating spiritual qualities. He was ever labouring to 
 demonstrate that religion and reason were not discordant. 
 After my father had fulfilled the duties of attending a service 
 at a place of worship, he would then with his family betake 
 himself into the country, and there investigate Nature, and, 
 contemplating the Author of all things, would rejoice in the 
 works of the Almighty, and sing in his heart, Glory be to God 
 most High ! 
 
 Although the following anecdote is perhaps unconnected 
 with my present subject, yet it is so typical of the minds of 
 the two men Faraday and Alfred Smee, both electricians, and 
 both possessing a fervent and deep-rooted religion, though each 
 of his own kind that it may not be out of place to mention 
 it here. It was on one Sunday morning, now many years ago, 
 as my father and myself were going to attend the 10 o'clock 
 morning service at St. Paul's Cathedral, that we met Faraday 
 close to the General Post Office. He was hurrying to the San- 
 demanian Chapel, not far from St. Martin's-le-Grand, where he 
 was wont to preach. He stopped us, and after a few words of 
 conversation suddenly inquired where we were going to at that 
 early hour in the morning. " To St. Paul's," was the reply. 
 
CHAP. VI.] A BELIE VEK IN PKAYEK. 61 
 
 "Is there anything particular going on there, then?" exclaimed 
 Faraday, in a hurried manner. "Nothing particular," said my 
 father, " only the ordinary morning service." " Ah ! " replied 
 Faraday, " we are then all three bound for the one great object." 
 The fervent manner in which he uttered the last few words made 
 a great impression upon us. I never hear the name of Faraday 
 mentioned without seeing him as I saw him then, his fine intel- 
 ligent face lit up with reverence and devotion. 
 
 Alfred Smee was a firm believer of the power of prayer, as we 
 find in the following lines : 
 
 Some men learned in many sciences have called in question the effi- 
 cacy of prayer to alter the natural course of events. These men argue that, 
 becaruse God governs the world by immutable laws, He heeds not prayer. 
 Experience shows that the direct course of the affairs of the universe 
 is not interrupted by prayer : the sun never reversed its course in con- 
 sequence of prayer ; nor did any person rise, contrary to gravity, from one 
 floor to another by praying. But a study of the human mind indicates 
 that in all human actions prayers have great effect in governing men's 
 actions, and leading to results. When a man prays with earnestness and 
 sincerity, it affects his whole mind, and all his actions are directed to 
 obtain the result for which he prays. When many men pray for one 
 object, the purpose of many persons is directed to one end, and all con- 
 tinue in heart and will to obtain the desired object. 
 
 The influence of prayer on human actions, if tested by experience, will 
 be found to be immense. In producing resignation, and in confirming 
 action, its power is great, although its influence to control the laws of the 
 universe is void, and of no effect.* 1 
 
 In ' Instinct and Keason ' is the following illustration, showing 
 the power of prayer over the actions of man, during the great 
 trial of the year 1849 : 
 
 During the prevalence of cholera in the infected districts, neither 
 writing, nor talking, nor preaching, could cause the inhabitants to rouse 
 themselves and prepare to endeavour to ward off death from their habita- 
 tions. At length, however, when Death had extensively accomplished his 
 work, men were afraid, and in some parishes they even sacrificed a week- 
 day's profit to pray that the malady might be stayed. To their prayers 
 and supplications they added all their endeavours to stop the pestilence : 
 they subscribed for the poor; they provided attendance, remedies, and 
 visitations ; and immediately the effect was felt, and the disease was lessened. 
 The people saw the necessity of acting vigorously and decidedly according 
 to the laws of the attack of the malady, which were, in fact, the laws of 
 God; thus their prayers were instantaneously followed by more or less 
 beneficial results, f 
 
 * See ' Mind of Man,' p. 128. f See Instinct and Reason,' p. 226. 
 
62 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI. 
 
 The following prayer was written by himself when he was a 
 young man : 
 
 Most gracious God, the beneficent Author of every good thing, we bless 
 Thee for all Thy mercies bestowed upon us. We magnify Thee for our 
 creation, preservation, and existence. We truly thank Thee for Thy goodness 
 in granting us senses, intellect, and inclination to love and enjoy Thy noble 
 works. We render Thee our sacrifice of praise for food, clothing, and 
 habitation. We worship Thee for warding off dangers and averting afflic- 
 tions. We glorify Thee for the peace and happiness conferred upon us. 
 We heartily adore Thee for averting death and promising us everlasting 
 life through our Saviour Jesus Christ ; and finally, we acknowledge Thee 
 the only time God, Father Almighty, to whom all blessing, praise, love, 
 worship, and adoration are due from everlasting to everlasting. 
 
CHAI-. VII. ] BINOCULAR PERSPECTIVE. 63 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 1854 TO 1858. 
 
 Second edition of 'The Eye 'Binocular Perspective Soiree at which ladies 
 were first present Lecture on Education at London Institution Originator 
 of educational lectures at the London Institution Alfred Smee originates and 
 establishes a new form of printing the Bank of England notes Decimal 
 coinage Lecture on Monogenesis of Physical Forces Visit to Paris Eclipse 
 of the sun ; experiments at Blisworth Loses his father. 
 
 IN the beginning of 1854 Alfred Smee brought out another edition 
 of ' The Eye.' This edition contained a long account of his inves- 
 tigations on Binocular Perspective, which will be found in the 
 Appendix, No. XIX. It will be sufficient, therefore, to notice here 
 that Mr. Smee possessed several paintings executed purposely for 
 him in this Binocular Perspective system, by the late Mr. Price 
 of the Bank of England. Mr. Smee had also many photographs 
 taken for him by the moving camera. These photographs were 
 shown by my father to the late lamented Prince Consort, who 
 was considerably interested in the system, and compared these 
 delicately shaded photographs to the soft tones of Eembrandt. 
 In June of the same year these paintings and photographs, illus- 
 trating the system of Binocular Perspective, were shown at a 
 large soiree held at Mr. Smee's residence in Finsbury Circus. 
 I believe this was the first time that ladies were present at a 
 reunion hitherto only resorted to by distinguished members of 
 the sterner sex. 
 
 Mr. Smee further devoted much attention to the system of 
 education, which he not only considered to be in a deficient state, 
 but too frequently based on a wrong principle. He contended 
 that in youth the observation and registration of facts should 
 be carefully cultivated and practised, and upheld the system in 
 Germany, " where the youths are taken out in the country to be 
 shown the flowers and plants, the rocks and stones and soils, so 
 
64 MEMOIK OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VII. 
 
 as to acquire rudimentary botanical knowledge, as well as a 
 knowledge of mineralogy and geology. Accurate ' Syndramic ' 
 knowledge is a department of education which requires cultiva- 
 tion in England." * Mr. Smee was ever from the first a consis- 
 tent and strong opponent of the present system of " cramming," 
 and of competitive examination, both of which he contended 
 materially injured the functions of the brain, and thereby les- 
 sened the mental faculties of man. In the Appendix, No. XX., 
 is a long letter on education from Mr. Srnee's pen addressed to 
 the Committee of Industrial Instruction in London. For his 
 further views on education I must refer the reader to the chapter 
 on that subject in ' The Mind of Man.' 
 
 So firmly was Alfred Smee's mind bent upon endeavouring to 
 improve the education of the youths of the city of London, that 
 through his means he induced his co-managers of the London 
 Institution to allow educational lectures to be given two after- 
 noons every week in the lecture-room, on astronomy, botany, 
 chemistry, geology, and zoology. They were delivered by 
 eminent professors. At first his brother managers tried to laugh 
 my father out of the idea. I remember one of them saying in my 
 presence, " Smee, whatever are you thinking of now ? Just as if a 
 parcel of children could understand or care about lectures." One 
 of the parcel of children that heard this remark was considerably 
 offended, I remember, and it was a long time before the writer of 
 this entertained friendly feelings towards that gentleman. 
 
 But my father pressed the matter, and the managers con- 
 sented to try the experiment. The first lecture of the first course 
 of educational lectures at the London Institution was delivered 
 by Alfred Smee on the afternoon of Saturday, October the 14th, 
 1854. The object of this lecture was to set forth the objects and 
 advantages of educational lectures, and it was based on his 
 " natural system of mental philosophy." The lecture-table and 
 space around was covered with apparatus for experiments. The 
 children were delighted and learnt much ; the adults were 
 delighted, and also found that they had much to learn. The 
 success of the various educational lectures was greater than 
 even my father had anticipated. For myself, I shall never 
 cease to think of those years during which I regularly attended 
 those lectures without grateful feelings for the units of know- 
 ledge which I thereby acquired, and regret only that I was not 
 more diligent in taking advantage of such golden opportunities. 
 
 * See chapter v. on Education, in ' Mind of Man,' p. 34. 
 
CHAP. VII.] A NEW MODE OF FEINTING BANK-NOTES. 65 
 
 The lecture is to be found in its place in the Appendix, 
 No. XXI. 
 
 For some time past a considerable part of Alfred Smee's time 
 had been devoted to arranging a new mode of printing the Bank of 
 England notes, which he at last succeeded in effecting with the 
 assistance of Mr. Hensman, the engineer to the Bank of England, 
 and Mr. Coe, the superintendent of the printing department to 
 that establishment, after enormous labour, and after having to 
 surmount innumerable difficulties. A full description of the 
 process will be found in the Appendix, No. XXII., in a paper ' On 
 the New Bank of England Note and the Substitution of Surface 
 Printing and Electrotypes for Copper-plate Printing,' which was 
 read before the Society of Arts on the 22nd of December, 1854. 
 
 Previously to the establishment of this new form of printing 
 the bank-notes by Alfred Smee, the Bank authorities had been 
 thrown into a state of alarm by discovering that some ingenious 
 persons had succeeded in splitting the old form of note so that 
 two notes were obtained in the place of one. The matter was 
 brought before Alfred Smee, and he soon found that, with a 
 little practice, it was by no means so difficult a process as at first 
 would appear. By the new form of Bank of England note this 
 " splitting " of it could not be effected. 
 
 There was some talk in 1856 about introducing into this 
 country the decimal coinage, and the two following letters will 
 show the interest Mr. Smee took in the subject. 
 
 PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE DECIMAL COINAGE. 
 To the Editor of the Society of Arts' Journal. 
 
 SIR, Permit me to occupy a, short space in the Journal to detail a 
 practical plan for introducing decimal coins into our monetary system. 
 
 The difficulty which has to be encountered arises from our penny, 
 which, as the -^ part of a pound, cannot be converted into a decimal 
 fraction ; and unless some system be adopted, by which our present coins 
 shall bear a definite relation to decimal coins, decimals must remain a 
 bugbear to the million, and their use be unpopular if not almost impossible 
 in practice. 
 
 The thought which has occurred to my mind is, to construct our 
 decimal and present systems in definite relations, which shall be evident 
 to the mind through the medium of the senses, so that, on throwing 
 two masses of coins upon the table, they may be either sorted into the 
 decimal or ordinary systems, and one may be rendered exactly equal to 
 the other. 
 
 The decimal coinage might consist of the Pound, the Florin, the 
 Decat, and the Mil. 
 
66 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VII. 
 
 The penny, however, cannot possibly bear any relation to decimal 
 coinage, and we cannot afford to neglect the consideration of this coin, as 
 probably more than 2000 tons, and possibly as much as 6000 tons of copper, 
 are in circulation over the country. 
 
 To meet this difficulty a set of small copper coins should be issued, 
 called the mite, half-mite, and quarter-mite, the mite bearing the value of 
 the i of a mil. A penny would be equal to four mils and one mite, the 
 halfpenny to two mils and half a mite, and the farthing to one mil and a 
 quarter-mite. 
 
 By the conversion of our present money into mites, the untaught coiild 
 always tangibly satisfy themselves of their mutual relations, and they 
 would find that, by dividing the number of mites by six, the result would 
 represent decimal coins. 
 
 This mode of dealing with the question, which is applicable to weights 
 and measures, as well as money, has been forced upon my mind upon 
 psychological grounds, based upon the properties of matter on the one hand, 
 and on the powers of the mind on the other. In support of it, I would 
 refer to the statement of Mr. Bidder, the great mental calculator, who tells 
 us that he satisfied himself of the properties of numbers through the 
 medium of the senses, as he made the multiplication table for himself, by 
 grouping sets of objects and counting them, thus demonstrating to his 
 own mind, that the multiplication table was an absolute fact of universal 
 application. I remain, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 7, FINSBURY CIRCUS, ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 June 10th, 1856. 
 
 RELATION BETWEEN DECIMAL COINS AND WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
 
 SIR, The serious objections which exist against the adaptation of 
 decimal coins to our currency again must be pleaded as a reason for 
 my addressing the Journal, to point out the practical manner by which 
 they may be probably introduced with least injury, and be rendered suffi- 
 ciently attractive for the mass of people to desire their adoption. 
 
 In my last letter I recommended for practical use the additional issue 
 of the -j^ of a florin, and the y^ of a florin, with the superaddition, for 
 adjustment, of little coins of the value of the -J- of the -j^ of a florin, the 
 T T 2- and the -^ of the same, to be called respectively mites, half -mites, and 
 quarter-mites. 
 
 Without unnecessarily occupying space in your Journal with abstract 
 views on this question, which I have fully considered in my 'Sources 'of 
 Physical Science,' I have here to propose that the new coins be brought 
 into relation with our weights and measures, so that, tens of centuries 
 hence, upon the discovery of these coins, a near approximation may be 
 obtained of the standards of value, length, weight, and capacity used in 
 our times. 
 
 The decat or ^ of a florin might represent also the j 1 ^ of a pound of 
 avoirdupois, the ^fa of a foot, the ^ of the -fa of the weight of an imperial 
 gallon of water, and the -fa of the -^ of the bulk of an imperial pint. 
 
 To accomplish this object the decat must weigh 700 grains, be the 
 T a o of a foot in diameter, and the metal must either have a specific gravity 
 
CHAP. VII.] LETTER ON DECIMAL COINAGE. 67 
 
 of 875, or, if copper, have its rim raised to compensate the excess of spe- 
 cific gravity, which is from 8'8 to 8'9. 
 
 The mil might represent the -^ of the T ^ of a pound avoirdupois, 
 and be 5 inch diameter. 
 
 The mite should weigh 10 grains, the half-mite 6 grains, and the 
 quarter-mite 1 grain, which would be useful weights for chemists and 
 other dealers in small quantities of matter, and thus coins would be 
 brought into relation with apothecaries' and troy weights. 
 
 As this letter is merely suggestive, I do not think it necessary to enter 
 minutely into all the practical results which would be attained by the 
 above system. It is manifest, however, that it would give a basis of a 
 decimal division of value, weight, length, and bulk, and at the same time 
 afford a material relation between the decimal division and the other 
 modes of division now in use. 
 
 If the principle be adopted, the nomenclature would have to be care- 
 fully reconsidered ; and it appears to me, whether we consider value, 
 breadth, surface, weight, or capacity, from five to ten of the decimal 
 divisions should have definite words assigned to them. At first we should 
 have both systems in operation at once, but by degrees, hereafter, all 
 divisions not found to be practically convenient might be gradually 
 withdrawn. I remain, Sir, 
 
 Tour obedient servant, 
 BANK OF ENGLAND, ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 June 28th, 1856. 
 
 A very interesting lecture was delivered by Mr. Smee on the 
 18th of February, 1857, at the London Institution, on the Mono- 
 genesis of Physical Forces. This lecture is a connecting link 
 between ' Electro-Metallurgy,' 'Sources of Physics,' 'Electro- 
 Biology,' and later ( The Mind of Man.' The lecture itself will 
 be found in the Appendix, No. XXIII. 
 
 In the autumn of this year my brother fell ill, and an entire 
 change of air and scene was considered necessary for him. We 
 were taken to Paris. It was our first visit to the Continent. 
 During our stay there my father had the greatest possible delight 
 in taking my brother and myself to see all the sights of Paris : 
 he never wearied. One of our favourite amusements used to be 
 to go into the Tuileries Gardens and take part of our breakfast 
 roll and feed the wild pigeons who used to eat out of our hands, 
 and the sparrows who used to hover about in the air before us 
 and catch the morsels of bread we threw up to them. 
 
 The following spring there was a total eclipse of the sun. 
 The astronomical savants flocked, on the 17th of March, 1858, 
 to Blisworth in Buckinghamshire, that being considered the bestv 
 spot to observe the phenomenon. We that is to say, my father 
 and mother, my brother and myself also betook ourselves 
 
 F 2 
 
68 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VII. 
 
 thither, for my father had a great desire to try the effects of 
 his photometer.* We were located for the day in a stiff clay 
 ploughed field rendered extra stiff and disagreeable for quick 
 locomotion by some continued rains previously. There was a 
 hut hard by at which the savants and the ladies of their party 
 retired to warm themselves and refresh the inner man, when 
 their presence was not required for observing the great natural 
 phenomenon. There were some amusing accounts of these savants 
 and of the eclipse sight-seers in some of the journals of the time, 
 especially in the local papers. 
 
 It came on to rain, and at the end of the day we all left that 
 ploughed clay field, thankful that we could get out of it : yet most, 
 if not all, felt that they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and 
 had lived a day to be remembered always with delight. The 
 results of my father's experiments with his photometer were 
 published in the 'Times,' the ' Morning Chronicle,' and some other 
 papers. For his letter to the t Morning Chronicle,' with the 
 drawing and description of the photometer, see the Appendix, 
 No. XXIY. 
 
 A brilliant comet followed this total eclipse of the sun, and 
 later, in the middle of November, my grandfather died, just nine 
 years and one day after the death of his wife. As 1849, so 
 did 1858 both eventful years in physical phenomena close 
 in sorrow to Alfred Smee. 
 
 * See p. 39. 
 
CHAP. VIII.] BOOK ON DEBILITY. 69 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 1859 TO 1863. 
 
 Sixth book, on ' Debility and Defective Nutrition ' Switzerland Making of 
 garden at Wallington Hot-water pipes Croydon Local Eoard Injunctions 
 against Pre-existing sewage Spoliation of Finsbury Circus Trees on the 
 Embankment Comet, July 1st, 1861 Pisciculture Anonymous pamphlet, 
 entitled '"Reasons for not hanging Garrotters and Burglars' Oratorians 
 Extortion and intimidation of the superior Law Courts. 
 
 THE oration of the Hunterian Society was delivered on the 
 9th of February, 1859, by Alfred Smee, one of the fellows of that 
 society. The subject chosen by him was ' Debility and Defective 
 Nutrition : their Causes, Consequences, and Treatment. 5 The 
 oration was published in a small volume consisting of about ninety 
 pages, which are divided into six chapters. In the first chapter 
 his views on the structure of man, and the proper nutrition 
 required for the use of the body, are detailed. In the second the 
 varieties and symptoms of debility are given. He shows that de- 
 bility is often mistaken for disease or incubation of disease, and 
 he dwells on capricious appetite, by which a person in affluence 
 may, amidst the greatest delicacies which a skilful cook can pre- 
 pare, yet not take sufficient food to sustain nature. He then 
 shows the various causes of debility. He also treats of excess in 
 drink, and shows how the frame of the drunkard is debilitated 
 throughout, until' he is prematurely cut off by one or other of 
 the maladies attendant on debility. " If the career of a drunkard 
 be watched, it is astonishing how soon he passes away, as if the 
 voice of Nature exclaimed, 'Cut it down; why cumbers it the 
 ground?'" 
 
 My father was always an extremely sober man, and had a 
 great horror of, and indeed disgust for, spirit-drinkers. He never 
 took spirits himself, and even within a few days of his death 
 
70 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 would constantly refuse even small quantities of brandy. When- 
 ever he saw an inclination in any person to spirits, he would 
 warn them in the most solemn manner of the danger they were 
 thereby incurring. He considered spirits ought to be used only 
 as a medicine, and then only when ordered by the doctor. 
 
 In speaking of Alfred Smee being a sober man, I may here 
 add that he never took wine excepting at dinner, and sometimes 
 at his luncheon. He considered the taking of a glass of wine, 
 with or without a biscuit, as being most destructive to the 
 digestive organs. 
 
 Opium-eating, smoking, and other causes for debility are also 
 examined in the above treatise. The fourth chapter is devoted 
 to the consequences of debility, the fifth to its treatment, and the 
 relation of debility to different periods is given in the sixth and 
 last chapter. 
 
 There is an interesting appendix to this little work, in which 
 is given the chemical composition of various substances of food, 
 &c., as well as a table showing the solid constituents in one 
 gallon of water supplied to towns, which was compiled for him 
 by Professor Attfield, F.C.S., Chemist to the Pharmaceutical 
 Society. This little book has had a good sale a second edi- 
 tion was issued in 1862 and it is a serviceable little book for 
 families to possess, for much practical and useful information 
 concerning one's every-day life may be obtained from it. 
 
 In August 1859, my father went with his wife and his two 
 children to Switzerland, and enjoyed for a month the grand and 
 sublime scenery which that country affords. A dreadful accident, 
 attended by loss of life, had occurred at Zermatt the day previous 
 to our arrival there, which occasioned some letters to the ' Times ' 
 on the bad organization of the guides at that place. Among 
 these letters is an anonymous one on the 16th of September, 
 1859, from the pen of Alfred Smee. Before leaving this sub- 
 ject I will here merely add that, during this visit to Switzer- 
 land, my father amused himself by taking many observations 
 with his photometer, the description of which will be found in 
 his letter on the Eclipse of the Sun in 1858, No. XXIY. of the 
 Appendix. 
 
 During this visit the natural flower-garden of the valley of 
 Zermatt was robbed of many of its choicest specimens, to be trans- 
 ferred to that garden near London which has now become of world- 
 wide repute. 
 
 The trout-fishery of the Wandle was what first attracted 
 
CHAP. VIII.] MAKING OF GAKDEN AT WALLINGTON. 71 
 
 my father's attention to Wallington. Already, in 1858, he had 
 rented that fishery, and a little later obtained a narrow strip 
 of land, where he grew a few peas, beans, &c. At that time 
 what is now " my garden " was a barren field, which it was 
 impossible to walk across without sinking above your knees in 
 water. A few willows divided the field almost midway, and along 
 the side of the road it was skirted by tall elms, and a little thicket 
 of trees in Beddington Park enclosed it on another side. This 
 field, this waste land, the soil of which was singularly devoid of 
 vegetative qualities, Alfred Smee converted into an experimental 
 garden where there is grown the largest collection of fruit-trees 
 and other species of plants of any private collection in Europe, 
 for the description of which I must refer the reader to his great 
 work, ' My Garden.' The forming of this garden, and the experi- 
 ments he there carried on for the cultivation of various plants, 
 were ever the recreation of my father from his multifarious mental 
 labours and anxieties of life. The objects of this garden are seen 
 in my father's dedication" In Lucem, Lucrum, Ludum." The 
 dedication of a garden is new in England, yet in Italy it fre- 
 quently occurs, and it was from the latter country that my 
 father borrowed the idea. From the year 1859, most of the 
 Saturdays were spent in this garden, among his beloved plants, 
 and here he would throw off all cares, and show in a remarkable 
 way how his genius was not to be confined in one path. In the 
 memoir of him in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' * we read that this 
 garden 
 
 contains something of everything. Though the surface is flat, landscape 
 effects and artistic surprises are numerous. The visitor passes in a 
 moment from a bold bit of lake scenery to a tiny fern-clad ravine, through 
 which meanders a crystal stream, laving as it goes a host of lovely bog- 
 plants. A turn, and the visitor is in a rose-garden, or admiring a choice 
 collection of alpines. Now long shady walks invite attention ; now the 
 treasures of the herbaceous border attract notice. Nor is the more 
 utilitarian part of gardening omitted: on the contrary, it is in places 
 somewhat too obtrusively prominent. Be this as it may, the collection 
 of vegetables, and specially of fruit-trees, is very remarkable. No mere 
 amateur's collection within our experience rivals this one in extent and 
 variety. As to the houses and garden structures, they are numerous and 
 efficient. They have no architectural pretensions ; indeed, one object of the 
 proprietor was to show how, at a comparatively very slight expense, men 
 of very moderate means might enjoy the pleasures and luxuries of a green- 
 house, a fernery, a stove, or a vinery. Mr. Smee's " poor man's houses " 
 
 * See ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' January 27th, 1877. 
 
72 MEMOIR OF ALFKED SMEE. [CHAP. VII I. 
 
 exactly realize this ideal. They are sufficient to give profit, pleasure, nay, 
 luxury, to the mere labourer. Of course it is not to be expected that the 
 keeping or the condition of the houses, or of the plants in them, would 
 satisfy a head-gardener on a ducal estate ; but from the point of view of the 
 proprietor they are all that could be desired or expected, and relatively to 
 the outlay we should not be surprised if the produce were larger, as the 
 pleasure to the proprietor was certainly greater, than in establishments of 
 greater pretensions. Insects, fishes, birds, fossils, nothing came amiss to 
 the hospitable proprietor of this garden. How keen his interest, how 
 great his delight in these matters, is evidenced in his work, ' My Garden,' 
 reviewed in these pages at the time of publication. 
 
 What happy days were those to us those which were bestowed 
 on the laying out of that garden ! From a narrow strip of land came 
 a little more under cultivation, then a little more, until the whole 
 plot of ground consisted of nearly eight acres of land and water. 
 Well shall I ever remember how we looked forward to the Satur- 
 days, on which days my brother and myself had always a holiday, 
 and when we two with my father betook ourselves to Walling- 
 ton, my mother joining us in the afternoon. Well shall I ever 
 remember the excitement of the Friday evenings, fearing lest we 
 might not awake betimes on the morrow, and thereby miss getting 
 to the embryo garden by the dawn of day. And the planting of 
 trees, the forming of the bowers, the walks, the constructing of the 
 glass houses, the bridges and other works of the like kind, which 
 must necessarily interest children who had from their earliest 
 years imbibed a love of Nature ! for who could live with Alfred 
 Smee without becoming a votary to her shrine ? The entertain- 
 ments which my father and mother gave during the summer 
 months, commencing on the 1st of May, the first day of trout- 
 fishing, at " my garden " at Wallington, will long be remem- 
 bered by the hundreds who not only enjoyed their hospitality, 
 but who were benefited by the botanical knowledge obtained 
 therein, whereby many had awakened in them a keener appre- 
 ciation of Nature's works. The ' Gardeners' Magazine ' for the 
 4th of July, 1868, contains an interesting description of one of 
 these Saturday reunions. Many friends have told us how from 
 year to year they have looked forward to spend some Saturdays 
 with Mr. Smee in his garden. 
 
 In an anonymous little pamphlet in which one of the members 
 of the B's * amused himself by portraying in verses some of the 
 
 * The B's is a club composed of some of the leading chemists of the day. 
 They call themselves B's because the department for chemistry was grouped in B 
 section at the Great Exhibition of 1851. 
 
CHAP. VIII.] CROYDON LOCAL BOARD. 73 
 
 leading characters of his chemical brothers, my father is hit off 
 in these few witty lines : 
 
 " Smee, the vivacious, who, as chance may wish, 
 Invents a battery, or hooks a fish, 
 Famous in both exploits as well can be 
 (An old inhabitant of Finsbury) 
 The welkin rings with his ecstatic shout 
 When from the stream he lands the spotted trout ; 
 Now wrapt in science, then a thought will strike 
 His varied mind, and straight he trolls for pike ; 
 Or, at that pleasant spot in Surrey, shares 
 A market-gardener's spoils without his cares 
 Grapes, nectarines, peaches, figs, bright apples, plums, and pears." 
 
 But my father was not long destined to enjoy his fishery and 
 his garden without molestation, for the Croydon Board of Health 
 carried all the sewage into the river which passed through 
 Beddington Park to his garden, and as he said, " the effluvium 
 was noxious ; the fish died, and foul mud was deposited at the 
 bottom of the river." It became a question whether he should 
 abandon the fishery and the garden. Fortunately he determined 
 otherwise, and commenced instead an agitation, which, with 
 intervals, lasted two years, to stop the pollution of rivers.* 
 "Communications were made to the Privy Council; a series of 
 bills in Chancery were filed nearly simultaneously by three 
 separate landowners ; and injunctions were obtained restraining 
 the Board of Health from polluting the stream. The Croydon 
 Board resisted the law till a committal was signed to commit the 
 members of the Board to prison." Indeed, the members of the 
 Croydon Local Board were very near being incarcerated on one 
 Christmas Day ; and if I remember rightly they have to thank my 
 father that such a misfortune did not overtake them, though I 
 must admit that I thought at the time, and think so now, that 
 they would have richly deserved the punishment for the unfair 
 manner of their proceedings. Through them the ratepayers were 
 involved in great costs ; but in the end the law proved too strong 
 even for a Board of Health, and so my father was again permitted 
 to enjoy his garden in peace. The correspondence between the Local 
 Board of Health of Croydon and my father is curious and highly 
 instructive, especially to those interested in the manner in which 
 Local Boards of Health sometimes conduct their proceedings. 
 
 The cholera which devastated the East of London in 1866 
 resulted in many warm discussions on the quality of water 
 
 * See ' My Garden,' p. 32. 
 
74 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 supplied to the metropolis; for it may be remembered that the 
 cholera in that part of London was attributed to the drinking of 
 impure water. Into this question Mr. Smee entered with his 
 usual enthusiastic temperament, and spoke at various meetings on 
 the subject. Moreover, some of the daily newspapers contained 
 several letters from his pen. For his opinions on the subject see 
 the Appendix, No. XXV. 
 
 During five years, from 1860 to 1865, we were greatly dis- 
 mayed at finding Finsbury Circus was threatened to be taken 
 away from us by a railway. Headed by Alfred Smee, the inha- 
 bitants determined to resist this encroachment. The fight com- 
 menced by resolutions passed by the inhabitants on the 12th of 
 December, 1860, who viewed 
 
 with surprise and dismay the proposed demolition of Finsbury Circus, 
 which comprises by far the most beautiful open space in the city of London. 
 Whilst affording a choice spot for exercise and recreation, both to the poor 
 of the district and also to the higher class of residents in the City, it is 
 used by the professional and mercantile men compelled to live within the 
 precincts of the City, as one of the few places where houses available for 
 residence are left. This meeting pledges itself to use its utmost influence 
 to preserve it in its present state, and to oppose any attempts to encroach 
 upon it by railroads. That the directors of the Circus be requested to pre- 
 pare a memorial in accordance with the foregoing resolution, to be presented 
 to the Aldermen and Common Council, to her Majesty's Government, to the 
 members for the city of London, and to both Houses of Parliament. 
 
 This was followed by the accompanying letter from Mr. Smee, 
 which appeared in the ' Times,' Christmas Day, 1860, as well as 
 in the ' City Press.' For this letter, in which all the beauties of 
 Finsbury Circus Gardens are highly coloured, he was greatly ban- 
 tered by his friends. Everybody read the letter ; and everybody 
 who knew my father and the Circus, smiled. In one of the 
 journals of the day (the ' Athenaeum ') Finsbury Circus was termed 
 Mr. Smee's " Paradise," and this term ever clung to him. But he 
 said he intended to highly colour the beauties of the garden, and 
 he certainly did so. It was this letter, followed by energetic 
 action, which has saved Finsbury Circus from being converted 
 into a huge, unsightly railway station. 
 
 THE PROPOSED DEMOLITION OF FINSBURY CIRCUS. 
 To the Editor of the City Press. 
 
 SIR, I trust that the importance of the subject will excuse the occupa- 
 tion of your space with this letter, to call public attention to the proposed 
 demolition of Finsbury Circus, the most important spot of the city of 
 London. 
 
CHAP. VIII.] FINSBUEY CIKCUS. 75 
 
 As an open area it is of priceless value to the citizens, for all experience 
 shows that open spaces are of paramount consequence to secure the health 
 of the inhabitants of the City. The area of this open space is so arranged 
 that it forms a complete semicircle, with a south aspect on one side, which 
 is protected against all cold winds, and on which every ray from the sun 
 can in the cold spring months fall. 
 
 At that period of the year hundreds of the young and tender, of the 
 old and infirm, of the sick and weak, resort to this delightful sheltered 
 spot to enjoy the air and genial breezes. 
 
 The centre constitutes a circle planted with exquisite taste with the 
 choicest trees, and forms a tout-ensemble which might be admired in any 
 part of the world. It challenges for beauty the garden of any square in 
 London, and it is the admiration and astonishment of foreigners as an 
 affair of private enterprise, and not a creation of the State. 
 
 A return made by the gardener states that it contains three trees 60 
 feet high, and 180 feet in the circle of the head ; 20 trees between 45 and 
 55 feet high ; 34 trees between 35 and 45 feet high ; 60 trees between 25 
 and 35 feet high; and 107 trees between 15 and 30 feet high; besides 
 upwards of 700 fine shrubs and several beautiful weeping trees, all of more 
 than half a century of growth. The effect of trees in the centre of towns 
 cannot be too much appreciated. They carry up large quantities of water 
 into the over-dried atmosphere, and this little forest of trees must play an 
 important and beneficial part to the neighbourhood. 
 
 At the present time the City is too crowded, and contains by far too 
 few open spaces and trees. There are (it is true) two trees in the Bank of 
 England, and one in Cheapside, two or three smaller ones in St. Paul's- 
 churchyard, and a few others scattered about, but where are the trees 
 which we possess in Finsbury Circus ? 
 
 Nevertheless, regardless of beauty, healthfulness, or of any considera- 
 tion but gain, a speculative terminus has been projected to utterly annihilate 
 Finsbury Circus, with its beautiful gardens and excellent residences ; but, 
 as such a garden could never be formed in our time, it behoves all who 
 reside in the City to be up and stirring to avert a calamity which cannot 
 be remedied during the days the present generation may reasonably expect 
 to live. Half a century has passed away while these trees have made their 
 growth. Half a century would be required for a second Finsbury Circus, 
 even could a suitable space be found. 
 
 As long as London stands professional men must live within its 
 precincts. Finsbury Circus is in one of the few spots adapted for their 
 purpose, and many of its residents are in dismay, asking each other where 
 they can find a suitable habitation. The Bank of England, the banking- 
 houses, the large mercantile firms, must have residents to protect the 
 wealth therein deposited, and where can the daily constitutional walk be so 
 well taken as in Finsbury Circus ? 
 
 If a great central railroad terminus is to be made to bring persons 
 from everywhere and take them everywhere, let those who live in London 
 exact that by its construction an additional lung be created for the City, 
 that disease may be lessened and the value of life increased. I am, &c., 
 
 ALFRED SMEE, 
 7, FINSBURT CIRCUS, A Director of Finsbury Circus. 
 
 Dec. 24th, 1860. 
 
76 MEMOIR OP ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 In 1869, the unfortunate Circus was threatened by no less 
 than three railways, as is shown by the following resolutions : 
 
 That the inhabitants of Finsbury Circus regard with surprise and 
 regret, after the determination of the Legislature to protect the gardens 
 of the squares of the metropolis, that no less than three railroads, includ- 
 ing the Metropolitan, are projected, which involve the reckless spoliation 
 of the gardens of Finsbury Circus. 
 
 That a committee of the House of Lords having carefully framed rules 
 for the guidance of railroad projectors in the formation of lines through- 
 out London, it is the opinion of this meeting that the wilful neglect of 
 these rules is not only disrespectful to the Legislature, but a wanton dis- 
 regard of private rights; and that the repeated parliamentary notices 
 which year by year have harassed the inhabitants of Finsbury Circus, 
 inflict great and unnecessary injury upon them. 
 
 That the inhabitants request the Committee of Management to oppose 
 the Metropolitan and other railway lines seeking to spoliate the garden, 
 and in conformity with the above views to present petitions to both Houses 
 of Parliament, the Board of Trade, the Board of Works, and to petition 
 that the railroad projectors who seek parliamentary powers to construct 
 lines, in contravention of principles laid down by the Legislature, may be 
 made amenable for any injury inflicted upon individuals by loss of trade 
 and deterioration of property caused by their act. 
 
 The fight between the inhabitants of Finsbury Circus and the 
 promoters of the railways waxed yearly more fierce. It was 
 proposed in 1864 that one of the railways should contribute 12 
 annually for the maintenance of the gardens. In consequence of 
 this paltry sum being offered, the following handbill was imme- 
 diately sent round to all interested in the matter. 
 
 FINSBURY CIRCUS SPOLIATION. 
 
 The committee of the House of Commons yesterday declared the 
 preamble to the Metropolitan Extension Bill proven. 
 
 They recommended clauses for the protection of the garden, and a 
 sum to be paid of 12 annually for its maintenance. 
 
 The practical effect of this decision is to give to the Metropolitan 
 Railroad land worth many thousand pounds for the paltry pittance of 
 12 a year, and to destroy the garden, which is so attractive to the neigh- 
 bourhood. 
 
 The City of London, who engaged to defend the garden, neglected to 
 call more than three witnesses ; but it is hoped that so great a violation of 
 private rights, and so great a public injury, may not receive the sanction 
 of the House of Lords. 
 
 ALFRED SMEE. 
 July 6th, 1864. 
 
 Various petitions against these railways were presented from 
 the owners, lessees, and occupiers of house property in Finsbury 
 
CHAP. VIII.] FINSBURY CI11CUS GAKDENS. 77 
 
 Circus, from the Corporation of the London Institution, from the 
 Ophthalmic Hospital, from the inhabitants of the district who use 
 and frequent Finsbury Circus, &c. &c., to both Houses of Parlia- 
 ment. There were numerous deputations also against the rail- 
 ways to the Board of Trade to the First Commissioner of Office 
 of Works, &c. Yoluminous, too, was the correspondence between 
 my father and the late Lord Derby, Sir William Tite, Sir Joseph 
 Paxton, and many others, on the subject. But I think the rail- 
 way promoters wished Alfred Smee had lived in any other part 
 of London than in Finsbury Circus. 
 
 The result of this fight was that the railways were all worsted 
 with the exception of the Metropolitan, which only carried the bill 
 by the insertion of a clause that it was only to tunnel underneath 
 the garden, and not to destroy any of the houses or the garden, 
 and was to pay 100 for the annual keeping up of the latter. 
 Here again we find that my father's energetic character carried 
 all before him. I must here plead guilty, as having done my best 
 to fan the flame of opposition to the railways, for even those 
 who had no unfriendly spirit towards them were like chaff driven 
 before the wind, and found themselves opposing that which they 
 would otherwise have let go unheeded. 
 
 That Mr. Smee did not cease to take an interest in Finsbury 
 Circus Gardens after the termination of this fight, is shown by 
 the following letter. He also greatly assisted and promoted the 
 holding of Horticultural Shows in the Gardens. We thus see 
 that even in small matters he was as enthusiastic and as energetic 
 as he was in more weighty matters. So far as he himself was 
 concerned, he was perfectly indifferent whether Finsbury Circus 
 was or was not converted into a railway station. Still, in so 
 crowded a place as the city of London, it must be a matter of 
 gratification to the citizens that one open space is reserved for 
 them. 
 
 FINSBURY CIRCTJS GARDENS. 
 
 According to promise, I have made an inspection of Finsbury Circus 
 Gardens. 
 
 The contractors were willing to meet the views of the inhabitants, 
 inasmuch as they undertook to provide any reasonable quantity of earth 
 to improve the design of the parts of the garden injured by the railway 
 works ; and it was hoped that this London garden might in some manner 
 have partaken of the picturesque features of Paris gardens. 
 
 However, the general curves and contour lines, which were exceedingly 
 well laid in the former garden, are now arranged in such an extraordinary 
 
78 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 manner as to be offensive to the eye, and from the upper windows of the 
 houses present a comical appearance, as in its general effect the garden, 
 besides a general bad design, is divided into two unequal and unsymmetrical 
 portions. 
 
 A rare opportunity for the improvement of the garden has been lost, 
 which is much to be regretted, as the error cannot now to any great extent 
 be rectified. 
 
 The grass-plot is not level, which will be detrimental to the game of 
 croquet, for which lawns are used in many of the other London square- 
 gardens. 
 
 The garden as a whole, excepting the trees and grass, which always 
 have an agreeable appearance, is little more than a dreary waste, which 
 has been arranged in effect, if not in intention, to require the minimum of 
 labour. Should the inhabitants think fit, the gardens may be kept up in 
 their present condition by a labourer employed on an average one or two 
 days a week, as there is really no occupation for a gardener. In bygone 
 years there used to be abundance of flowers, and the atmosphere of the 
 City is better now than it was at that time. 
 
 As Finsbury Circus possesses a scientific institution, with its Professor 
 of Botany, there is no reason why the garden should not be rendered 
 instructive as well as ornamental, and there is now a good opportunity for 
 this to be done, as our accomplished Treasurer is well versed in botanical 
 knowledge. Such a plan will only require the vigilance of a competent 
 gardener, as, from the influence of many of the inhabitants, the plants 
 could be obtained gratuitously for an educational object, and the natural 
 families of plants might be illustrated by interesting growing plants. 
 
 By raising the character of the garden, order and decorum can be 
 more rigidly maintained than it has been of late years. 
 
 It was particularly desired that the playground should be so enclosed 
 by a sufficiently raised border that it should not be seen by the factory 
 boys who frequent the road, who are apt to throw stones : this has been 
 neglected. The interior of the playground has been lined by a wall of 
 loose brickbats, which is actually a source of danger to the children, as its 
 materials are well known to be liable to move and crush the limbs or bodies 
 of children, who will and now do climb to the top of it. This rough wall 
 should be immediately removed, to prevent destruction of limb or life, and 
 perhaps legal liability to the inhabitants. 
 
 In the rough manner in which the swings, &c., are used by full-grown 
 men and women, some serious accident may, and in all probability will, 
 arise ; to prevent which the gardener ought to exercise a supervision at 
 those times when the playground is frequented by children, and be held 
 responsible for a proper use of the apparatus. 
 
 The earth which has been selected for the flower-beds is perhaps the 
 very worst which could have been obtained from any source. It is the old 
 moor earth of the ancient Moorfields, and contains the leaves of moor 
 plants and the shells of water snails. At the present time it is utterly 
 unfit for horticultural purposes, and can only be made so by much 
 expense and skill. 
 
 The few recently-planted trees, which are important for the general 
 effect, should at once be taken up and replanted in topspit fibrous soil, such 
 as has been used for the trees on the Thames Embankment. 
 
CHAR VIII.] FINSBURY CIRCUS GARDENS. 79 
 
 Where flowers and plants are to be grown, a similar soil should have 
 been employed as is now being used in the Temple Gardens ; and, to show 
 the importance of using this soil, I may mention that about forty years 
 ago the circle of lime-trees in the Circus showed signs of decay, and some 
 actually perished. At that time every tree at much cost had its roots laid 
 bare and topspit loam, placed against it, since which time the trees have 
 grown to their present size. 
 
 The contractor is in my judgment bound to supply a reasonable 
 quantity of topspit fibrous mould, and more especially as the inhabitants 
 have facilitated the operations of the railroad. 
 
 The gravel in the playground and elsewhere (if it is finished) is bad, 
 and the loose stones should have been removed by the gardener. 
 
 The new shrubs and trees have been planted in defiance of all hor- 
 ticultural principles. The kinds of trees appear to have been selected 
 without judgment, and many of them have been planted so deeply that 
 they can hardly be expected to live, even if the earth had been suitable for 
 their growth. 
 
 The planting of all the evergreens at one spot looks singular, and the 
 whole of the newly-planted trees should be inspected by some person who 
 understands planting, and many should at once be replanted. 
 
 Many of the roots of the old trees have been covered so deeply with 
 earth that it may be anticipated that the roots will perish and become the 
 nidus of fungi, which sooner or later will kill the trees. This effect occurs 
 with different rapidity in varying circumstances, but there is no doubt that 
 many will be killed by the depth to which they have been covered. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that no part of the restoration of the garden 
 exhibits the slightest gardening talent or merits approbation, whilst so 
 much which has been done necessitates severe condemnation, inasmuch as 
 grave errors might have been avoided by a minimum of knowledge and 
 attention. 
 
 That my father was an advocate for having trees in a town 
 is also seen from the following extracts from a letter in which he 
 pleaded for a row of trees to be planted along the whole line of 
 the Thames Embankment. 
 
 The effect of trees planted along the edge of the pavement (he writes) 
 is well seen in Paris, where not only on the Boulevards but along the line 
 of the Seine the trees are tended with the utmost care. Plane-trees 
 would probably be best adapted to the situation, as the noble plane in 
 Cheapside and in our squares shows how well they grow in London. Limes 
 might also succeed, as the two beautiful trees in the Bank of England 
 testify. 
 
 He then goes on to show how in 
 
 no other city in Europe are there so few trees as in London, where they 
 are so much required. Should the Board of Works consent to adopt these 
 suggestions, now would be the time to begin to select the trees suitable 
 for the situation, so that they may be planted in October or the beginning 
 of November, and become well rooted before next year. 
 
 My father was fond of late years of rising with the sun, and, 
 
80 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 when lie could, of going to bed with the same orb. One summer's 
 evening (Sunday, June 30th, 1861), he was going upstairs to bed 
 about a quarter before nine o'clock, when on the staircase he 
 suddenly espied a comet in the heavens. This was too interesting 
 and too novel a spectacle, so, to the surprise of all of us, down he 
 came again into the drawing-room, sent for his telescope, and the 
 result was the following letter, which appeared in the ' Times ' the 
 next morning. 
 
 SIR, It may interest your readers to hear that an enormous comet has 
 this moment appeared in the north, having been suddenly discovered by the 
 passage of a large cloud. 
 
 Its nucleus is of great dimensions, much larger and brighter than a 
 star of the first dimensions ; and its tail, which extends many degrees in the 
 heavens, is of the same form, and will probably equal in extent the comet 
 which visited this country in 1858. At the moment I write it is not so 
 bright as the comet of 1858 in its brightest periods, but it is only second 
 to that in relation to any comet which has appeared within my memory, 
 and therefore everyone should witness this object when it again becomes 
 visible this evening. 
 
 At twenty minutes past 11 o'clock it is twelve degrees east of north, by 
 a magnetic needle, and about ten degrees above the horizon ; but these 
 measurements are only rough estimates, as I have not accurate instruments 
 at my command. 
 
 I remain, Sir, 
 7, FINSBURY CIRCUS, Tour obedient servant, 
 
 Sunday Evening, half-past 11 o'clock. ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 Alfred Smee was the first to discover this comet in England. 
 The President of the Astronomical Society an old friend of my 
 father's was greatly surprised on his going to town on the 
 Monday morning to read in the ' Times ' the discovery of a new 
 comet, he having, like other astronomers, missed seeing the 
 phenomenon. 
 
 Alfred Smee was the first to introduce the French system of 
 pisciculture into England. He introduced it into this country in 
 the beginning of 1860, and on the 24th of April of the same spring 
 he wrote the following letter to the ' Times :' 
 
 SIR, The great interest which is now taken in pisciculture induces 
 me to call more particular attention to the French system devised by 
 Professor Coste of the College of France in Paris, and practised on a large 
 scale at Huninguen. I learnt the system at Paris in 1859, and brought 
 it at once to England, but even now it is not as sufficiently known or 
 appreciated as it deserves. The plan consists in placing the ova on a grid- 
 iron of glass, where they remain with a jet of water passing over them till 
 the young fish are hatched. Coste's system is absolutely perfect, and leaves 
 nothing to be desired, provided excess of light is excluded. Any number 
 
CHAP. VIII.] PISCICULTURE. 81 
 
 of fish may be hatched at a cost and trouble almost nominal, for I do not 
 think that I lost 5 per cent, this year of good eggs subjected to the process. 
 Much however has still to be learnt with respect to the treatment of the 
 young fry, for it is still a debatable question whether we should place them 
 in small streams full of weeds and animalcules, their natural food, or cram 
 them, as the French recommend, with the flesh of frogs or powdered bullock's 
 liver. I adopt the former plan, but am not so confident as to its superiority 
 to consider it the sole good treatment of these delicate juveniles. The 
 great liberality and kindness of the French Government in gratuitously 
 aiding English pisciculturists is beyond all praise, but the time has surely 
 arrived when all English society might imitate the works of the French 
 State and stock our rivers with salmon, trout, and grayling. The breeding 
 boxes which I have had made in England far surpass in excellence those 
 sold in France, and had M. Coumer's unqualified approbation on his 
 visit to England last summer. One of these may now be seen at the ' Field ' 
 office in the Strand ; and until a piscicultural society on a large scale is 
 formed, I shall be happy to hatch and distribute to the Thames any number 
 of thousands of salmon ova which our northern proprietors may send me. 
 
 I remain, Sir, 
 7, FINSBURY CIRCUS, Tour obedient servant, 
 
 April 24th. . ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 The first fish he hatched according to this system were young 
 salmon. In 1861 he sent salmon ova to Hampton to Mr. Ponder, 
 chairman of the Sub-committee on Pisciculture. My father was 
 continually being asked for information on this subject, not only 
 from various persons in this country, but also from America. 
 And he was constantly sending ova or young fish to stock different 
 rivers. His own fish-breeding house, which he conducted on a 
 large scale at his garden at Wallington, was highly interesting, 
 and during the early spring months many came there specially 
 to see it. For a fuller account of pisciculture, see ' My Garden,' 
 page 497. 
 
 My father was not only a complete angler and lover of pisci- 
 culture, but was also during parts of his life fond of shooting. 
 From 1863 to 1866 he rented with a select party some pheasant- 
 shooting of considerable extent in Hertfordshire, where he used 
 to spend one day a week, and from which he always returned in 
 raptures with the beautiful woods and the country. In 1867 he 
 held with others some shooting at Tunbridge Wells, but this he 
 did not enjoy so much as his Hertfordshire shooting. He had, 
 besides, many pleasant days of sport at different times with friends 
 on their estates and at their shooting-boxes. After 1867, with 
 the exception of a few hours on the moors at Whitby, he shot 
 no more. 
 
 Besides being a sportsman, he was very fond of yachting, 
 
 a 
 
82 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 and would delight in a sail at the mouth of the Thames in his 
 son's yacht, the Snowfleck* Often on these yachting excursions 
 he would betake himself to his old and favourite pastime, fishing, 
 and obtained not a little experience in sea-fishing. At other times, 
 when not engaged in catching fish, he would station himself by 
 the helm, and would employ himself in, to use his own words, 
 " looking out for dangers." This, his family would jokingly tell 
 him, was to him a source of great amusement. He did not, how- 
 ever, seem to appreciate such levity, and was, I believe, thoroughly 
 convinced that he was thereby the means of preventing sundry 
 dire accidents, such as collisions with steamboats or sailing boats, 
 or being shipwrecked by running on sandbanks, wrecks, &c. 
 But his being on the look-out for accidents generally ended by 
 his going to sleep, to the no small satisfaction of the crew. After 
 all these " outings," whether he had been yachting, fishing, shoot- 
 ing, or gardening, he returned home, his mind invigorated and 
 refreshed, and would work with redoubled energy. 
 
 London was much alarmed in 1862 by its houses being 
 broken into in the dead of night by burglars, and by its sober- 
 minded and respectable citizens being garrotted in the streets. 
 Some of the sentimental part of the community held that burglars 
 and garrotters ought not to be severely dealt with ; whilst others, 
 again, viewed with horror the spreading of this pestilence to 
 society, by which it had become unsafe for persons to be out of 
 doors after sunset, or to sleep with safety of a night, and these 
 urged strong measures for the suppression of such crimes. Whilst 
 these two conflicting opinions were running high, the following 
 anonymous pamphlet appeared from Alfred Smee's pen. Shortly 
 after its appearance (it was widely circulated) a Bill was passed 
 for the flogging of garrotters, and soon after the Bill was put 
 into force the citizens of London were left unmolested by these 
 ruffians. In ' The Mind of Man,' at page 63, the best manner 
 for dealing with our criminal classes is given in the chapter on the 
 government of mankind. " Our present system," he says, " is as 
 useless as it is unphilosophical, as the professed thief goes to 
 prison to come out and repeat his career as before." 
 
 It is curious that this anonymous pamphlet on garrotters 
 was entirely thought out one Sunday, while one of our eminent 
 preachers was giving a long sermon at Westminster Abbey. My 
 father was observed at the time to be seemingly listening with great 
 
 * The yachting commenced in 1867, when a friend kindly lent us his yacht 
 for the season. Afterwards my brother built himself a yacht. 
 
CHAP. VIII.] PAMPHLET ON GARROTTERS. 83 
 
 attention to the sermon. On being asked after the service by a 
 friend, one of the clergymen of the Abbey, his opinion of the 
 sermon, my father replied, " Oh ! I liked it very well." " Liked 
 it very well ? " exclaimed his friend ; " I am surprised to hear 
 you say so, for I have often heard you denounce similar sermons 
 to that which you heard to-day." My father, finding he was 
 thus driven into a corner, confessed he had not heard one word 
 of it. This still more perplexed his friend the clergyman, 
 for Mr. Smee had appeared to be paying marked attention to 
 it. "Well," said my father, "I must tell you the truth. I 
 have been mentally writing an anonymous pamphlet the whole 
 
 time has been preaching ; and so intent have I been upon 
 
 my subject, that I have not heard a single word of the 
 sermon." And he added, " I will send you the result of my 
 work, providing I have your promise not to divulge from whom 
 it came." 
 
 The pamphlet was written out within twenty-four hours, and 
 it was published within a week. It was sent to the clergyman, who, 
 I believe, was never after thoroughly convinced that Mr. Smee ever 
 listened to any sermon, however intent he might appear to be. 
 And I am afraid that but too frequently he was correct in such 
 conjectures ; for as soon as the preacher ascended the pulpit, then 
 was that quiet time when he could think out his various projects. 
 The following is the aforesaid pamphlet. 
 
 PHILOSOPHICAL REASONS FOR NOT HANGING 
 GARROTTERS AND BURGLARS. 
 
 BY A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS ! ! ! 
 
 Preface. 
 
 DEAR FRIENDS, Stirring times have come upon us, when it behoves 
 us all to be up and moving, or all our devices for centuries past will be 
 undone, and all the schemes which we have successfully promulgated for 
 comforting the assassin, the burglar, and the garrotter, will be swept away 
 at one fell swoop. 
 
 It is by our care that a goodly race has arisen, which is not without 
 its proper influence on society. Persons are now nightly stopped, and are 
 either eased of " the root of all evil," or, by suffering bodily injury, are 
 deprived of " the incentives to personal vanity." 
 
 A panic has, however, all at once seized the people ; and unless the 
 Society of Friends wake up, and use all the instruments under their 
 control, as sure as Friends are meek and humble and wear broad-brimmed 
 hats, an Act of Parliament will be passed to hang every man caught com- 
 mitting an act of burglary, or garrotting. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 To prevent this interference with the scheme of creation, which has 
 formed Quakers or good people, and burglars or evil people, I write 
 earnestly that thou mayest be primed with arguments to resist the inven- 
 tion of the enemy, and retain those whom worldly-minded men call felons, 
 to balance the order of creation. 
 
 Remember, it is only by a strong pull, a long pull, and a pull altogether, 
 that it is possible, with the present morbid temper of the public, to 
 preserve to society the burglar and garrotter ; but with great exertions they 
 may be retained for the blessed operations of a second Elizabeth Fry. 
 
 I remain, 
 MEETING HOUSE, Thy affectionate Teacher, 
 
 November 18th, 1862. AN ELDER. 
 
 Arguments. 
 
 1. The first great argument for not hanging burglars and garrotters 
 is the terrible example which would be set to others, as the capture and 
 execution of a few would have such an effect upon the remainder, that 
 there would be speedily none left, and at once an important section 
 of the community would disappear. In my young days a burglary or 
 highway robbery was never heard of, but it is only since the human 
 mind has been more enlightened, and the beautiful model of Thugs 
 has been exposed to view in the British Museum, that the taste for 
 burglary and garrotting has been developed; but to stop suddenly the 
 progression of the thinking mind, would be to fly in the face of 
 Providence, who has created both bad and good. So, we Friends and 
 thinking people must stop so terrible an exigence, and preserve the 
 garrotter and burglar to the world. 
 
 Police Argument. 
 
 2. If we regard the consequences of the burglar and garrotter, we 
 find that the guardians of the peace, frightened out of all propriety, 
 have doubled the police force, and thus we see how beautifully evil produces 
 good, for winter is coming on, many honest men will have employment 
 in the police, and be kept by an over-fattened public simply to look after 
 them. It is quite clear that this additional force will cause the garrotter 
 and burglar to take sufficient exercise before they obtain their end. 
 And it may be likened to the wise dispensation in natural history, which 
 causes the tiger to prowl for a long time before it finds its victim, and 
 to seize it with more relish from the keen appetite it has obtained in its 
 pursuit. 
 
 As long as burglars are not hung they do not care now very much 
 about the inconvenience of being caught ; and whilst they take all reason- 
 able care to overcome or escape the police, they constantly get away, and, 
 in fact, are so rarely taken, that their chase causes them to experience 
 the same pleasing excitement which the Indian feels in hunting the 
 tiger. 
 
 Fire-arms Argument. 
 
 3. Lancashire is now weeping from lack of employment, owing to 
 the dearth of cotton, but Birmingham thrives by reason of the burglar 
 
CHAP. VIII.] PAMPHLET ON GARROTTERS. 85 
 
 and garrotter. What a powerful evidence of design to fill the stomach 
 of the infant and mother is here to be traced to the presence of the 
 burglar and garrotter ! The public, strong in their own conceit, say they 
 will not be robbed, they will not have their houses invaded at night. 
 For resistance they are now arming themselves with guns, pistols, and 
 swords, to enter into combat with their opponents. As a Friend, I 
 naturally make acquaintance with these people, and my acquaintances 
 tell me that " they go for plunder, not for bullets and bayonet wounds." 
 For this object they parade in twos and threes, and their system is to 
 half -kill their victim before he ' knows he is attacked. One man said, 
 " Would he not like to poke a man's weapon into his own torso ? " a senti- 
 ment worthy of classical times. That man told me that " the gun and 
 pistol dodge would soon come to an end, for they would be shooting 
 the wrong man, and what a lark it would be to make one victim shoot 
 another, a circumstance which would frighten the public, and render the 
 garrotter safer than ever." 
 
 Besides, said he, " our noble judges are so good that they never allow 
 the hair of a garrotter to be ruffled." He must be taken by the police, that 
 is, if they can catch him at all, as tenderly as a lover handles his sweet- 
 heart. Our considerate law administrators sometimes have men more 
 severely punished for resistance than they have the robber. Nobody can 
 doubt but the burglar simply desires to possess something the other man 
 has. Would it not be a proper Christian act to give at once what is desired, 
 when the possessor might dispense with fire-arms, and be spared the chance 
 of an attack ? 
 
 Hope and Anxiety Argument. 
 
 4. Untrained minds indulge continually in the lower feelings. How 
 grovelling was that picture at the International Exhibition of a young 
 mother with an infant in her arms drawing aside the blind to look after 
 the lost husband, the prop and support of the home. What an untrained 
 mind does the mother show to be anxious! For the father is either 
 alive or dead : if he is alive, she ought to exhibit hope, not anxiety ; and 
 if he has been proved to have been garrotted and past all hope, then she 
 ought to exhibit resignation. To my female friends say I, Train thou thy 
 mind, and when thy husband is proved to be garrotted, then exert thy- 
 self and get another. What a blessed instrument in mind-training might 
 the burglar and garrotter become, and how great ought to be our exertions 
 to prevent their being hung ! 
 
 The Fog Argument. 
 
 5. During the severe fogs of November persons are now fearful of leav- 
 ing their homes because fog gives to the garrotter an easy chance of carrying 
 out his plans. This is surely a most unreasonable accusation against 
 garrotters, because, in this instance, they do a positive benefit by keeping 
 people out of the influence of a fog, which is known to be extremely bad 
 for their constitutions. Such, however, is the perverse character of the 
 human mind that they would use the liability of being maimed or killed by 
 robbers during the prevalence of a fog, as an argument for hanging them, 
 as a terror to other evil-doers. During great fogs in London gentlemen 
 are watched from their clubs, when there are scamps who think it great 
 
86 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 fun to seize suddenly their hats and bolt with them without fear of pursuit. 
 This fooling pastime and small robbery is checked by the garrotter, for 
 many who do not care for the mere chance of losing a hat, are kept at 
 home when they fear to lose their lives, and then their wives and children 
 know where they are. 
 
 The Over -Population Argument. 
 
 6. Nobody doubts that the country has plenty of people to take any 
 place which may become vacant, when its present occupants are killed. A 
 great fuss was made last year, because an M.P. was strangled in Pali Mall, 
 when returning from his parliamentary duties. What could it have 
 mattered if he had been so far garrotted as to have lost his life ? There 
 would be still too many in Parliament to transact its business properly, 
 and not only too many, but a hundred applicants for every vacant place. 
 What is true of a Member of Parliament is true of any other occupation ; 
 for there is not a clergyman in the country who would not delight to take 
 the office of a bishop, if one should unfortunately be garrotted, though, as 
 Friends, we must consider that bishops are altogether superfluous. Under 
 the present system there is not a person in the kingdom who may not be 
 destroyed by the burglar or garrotter; and should one be so destroyed, 
 there would be plenty delighted to take his place. Now, Friend, I would 
 ask thee this question, Why should we hang a garrotter or burglar who 
 may, in pursuing his usual avocation, give delight to any person in this 
 over-populous country ? 
 
 Timidity Argument. 
 
 7. When a burglar enters a house at the dead of night, and kills the 
 inmates, such as was done at the celebrated Frimly murder, it is a vulgar 
 fashion for other people, neither killed nor attacked, to take on great fear. 
 In secluded houses the inmates remain sleepless all the livelong nights, 
 fearing each noise, and listening to every rustle of the leaves, and spending 
 their lives in terror and trembling. Other persons witnessing these results, 
 revile the burglar and wish him to be hanged, that their friends may enjoy 
 their homes in peace and conlfort. Now, in these cases, as members of 
 the advanced thinking community to which we belong, we should like to 
 put the burden on the right shoulder, and, instead of punishing the burglar, 
 would severely reprimand the nervous sufferers, and command them to 
 sleep soundly, even when they are conscious that burglars have broken in 
 the front door. 
 
 Assurance Argument. 
 
 8. Assurance Companies are frightened out of all propriety by gar- 
 rotters and burglars, because they say that lives are lost, and claims arise 
 therefrom. It is quite clear, however, that there would be no assurances if 
 there were no deaths ; and, surely, Accidental Death Assurance Companies 
 must derive business from the knowledge which the public possesses, that 
 no person can tell whether he will be attacked on any given day, and 
 maimed. Nothing can more completely show that the complaints of the 
 Assurance Companies are quite groundless, and not to be entertained for 
 a moment, when the great social problem of petting great criminals is at 
 stake. 
 
CHAP. VIII.] PAMPHLET ON GARROTTERS. 87 
 
 Injury Argument. 
 
 9. If we believe the doctors, who are always dogmatical, we shall hear 
 that cases of personal violence leave traces for life. Dr. Forbes Winslow 
 may say that insanity is often traced to blows on the head inflicted years 
 before. The brain doctors tell us that epilepsy, apoplexy, and with females, 
 the most severe and terrible hysteria, are brought on by a shock to the brain. 
 We hear oculists declare that vision is often impaired. Aurists tell us that 
 persons are rendered deaf. Some persons are deprived of smell, others of 
 taste, and innumerable cases of stiff joints and lameness are produced by 
 personal violence arising from resistance to the demands of the garrotter 
 for his victim to give up his personal property, or to the burglar from 
 entering his house. It is, thereupon, argued that garrotters and burglars 
 are so savage and relentless in their course, that death by the gallows should 
 be their doom. Can anything be more foolish ? for a damaged man is a 
 patient for life, a certain annuity to the doctor. Under these circumstances, 
 medical men have no cause for grumbling ; but, on the contrary, ought 
 rather to rejoice that the garrotte and house-breaking have so deep a hold 
 upon our social system. 
 
 The Expense Argument. 
 
 10. Mean hardhearted citizens consider that, as they work for their 
 living, they have no right to keep hundreds in idleness and greater luxury 
 than their own workpeople. Nothing can be more futile than this argu- 
 ment, although it must be confessed that it is very hard to drive it out of 
 their heads, that it is not right to give a garrotter meat when the workmen 
 live on bread and cheese. He argues, naturally enough for a mere counting- 
 house man, that the criminal should not be better off than the honest work- 
 man. The more comprehensive mind will discover that the criminal is the 
 pet of pets of a certain section of the thinking community, and the honest 
 man may go to the wall. 
 
 Outbreak Argument. 
 
 11. All experience shows that it is no easy matter to keep a number of 
 burglars and garrotters, used to every kind of cruelty and violence, in due 
 subjection. With the greatest care caged murderers will do violence to 
 the gaoler. Used to every brutality, they stand very badly the slight re- 
 straint imposed upon them by a prison life. What can be greater proof of 
 the folly of catching them, when, by convicting them of a murder, you 
 induce them to commit two or three more ? As a matter of fact, wouldst 
 thou like a house-breaker or murderer to live in thy family ? and if thou 
 wouldst not like him in thy house, is it fair and equitable to expose the 
 warders to his influence ? 
 
 The War Argument. 
 
 12. In warfare how many brave men sacrifice themselves simply as a 
 matter of duty to their country, or a sense of manly feeling to protect their 
 wives and families. When in battle we see thousands of the good and just 
 fall in a single day, unthinking people inquire why should millions of 
 Englishmen be kept in terror by one or two score of worthless, degraded 
 reprobates. But the fact is that neither the garrotter nor burglar is a brave 
 
88 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 or just man. He is an arrant coward. It never entered his head to be 
 killed or even to be hurt, and he maims or kills his opponent as an act of 
 cowardice for his own protection. Under these circumstances the fate of 
 the brave man who is killed in war, and fears not his doom for the sake of 
 duty, is not to be compared with the cowardly miscreant who is f earf ul and 
 cruel. For this reason the entire population had better be kept in con- 
 tinual terror than that the garrotter or burglar shall receive the doom 
 which he never contemplated. 
 
 The Food Treatment. 
 
 13. It is now very difficult to catch a burglar or imprison a garrotter. 
 This might all be obviated by properly regulated prisons. If there was no 
 restraint, and they could go where they liked, they would undoubtedly 
 come into prison of their own accord ; that is, if they had sufficient induce- 
 ment for so doing. Now, bread and water continuously is no inducement 
 for anybody; but a well-ordered prison with parks, pleasure-grounds, 
 winter- gardens, fish and game preserves, with a proper supply of such fare 
 as turkey and plum-pudding for Christmas, and of the various delicacies 
 at the earliest possible moment they respectively come into season, would 
 soften the garrotter's heart, and, instead of assaulting the police as they do 
 at present, they would freely admit their own guilt, save all the expenses 
 of prosecution, and come into gaol when they felt they had had enough of 
 their adventures. What a beautiful sight it would be to see troops of 
 garrotters and burglars coming to repent every morning of their wickedness 
 done in the night ! 
 
 The Bump Treatment. 
 
 14. No member of the Society of Friends nor thinking individual can 
 doubt but that the cruelty of the burglar and garrotter is due to certain 
 bumps of the head which are too prominent. The first process in the 
 treatment would be effectually to gauge the head. Possibly an humble 
 petition numerously signed by Friends and Unitarians would secure for 
 that object the services of Dr. Carpenter, whom some people consider to be 
 as great in his physiology as sound in his religion. Under his instruction 
 gentle young ladies might be employed to manupress the cruelty bumps 
 and draw forth with an exhausting tube the benevolent ones. Who knows, 
 when the heads of garrotters are rubbed into models of benevolence and 
 kindness, how many cases of affection may spring up between the garrotter 
 and bump-represser, which would give to the young robber-changer a most 
 amiable partner for life ? The process is so efficacious that gorillas can, by 
 the manipulation of their bumps, be turned into perfect men. How many 
 gorillas ha,ve been so changed nobody can tell, unless it be the Bishop of 
 Oxford, who at the British- Association appeared to have some special 
 knowledge of these creatures. What more powerful reason can be given 
 for stopping the stupid Legislature from hanging garrotters than the 
 possibility of their being rubbed into judges, bishops, or members of 
 Parliament ? 
 
 African Project. 
 
 15. In looking at the question of dealing with great criminals we must 
 not overlook the proposition to send burglars and garrotters to Sierra 
 
CHAP. VIII.] PAMPHLET ON GARROTTERS. 89 
 
 Leone, or West Coast of Africa, for the purpose of performing the labour 
 necessary for an experimental growth of cotton, sugar-cane, or other tropical 
 productions. As Friends we must not tolerate such a proposition, which 
 might cause criminals to live no longer than honest, virtuous men. Upon 
 the whole, the question may be safely left to competent statisticians, and 
 no doubt such an able man as Mr. Newmarch would settle the duration of 
 life to the thirty-ninth place of decimals, and would rather the globe itself 
 on which he lives should dissolve than allow a criminal to have no longer 
 a duration of life than an upright, honest working man. 
 
 The Whipping Project. 
 
 16. Not a few persons are to be found who commend whipping for 
 brutalized criminals ; and when a citizen has been severely maimed by a 
 person of this class, the evil passions of his neighbours naturally desire 
 to see the criminal well flogged. It is difficult to meet the argument ; but 
 if whipping is allowed, the Friends' trust must be in the doctor, who 
 should receive orders to discontinue the process the moment the pulse 
 rises one beat, or any emotion can be detected. The arguments against 
 whipping are very awkward to be applied, as flogging has proved to be an 
 admirable remedy against attacks upon her Majesty, or in cases of wanton 
 destruction of works of art. Nevertheless, thou hadst better ask those who 
 recommend its application, how far they would like the cat-o'-nine-tails 
 themselves ; and if they would dislike it, why apply it to the garrotter ? 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 17. Those who read the arguments against hanging garrotters and 
 burglars must perceive that, although the reasons are strong, it will require 
 the greatest possible exertion to prevent the gallows from rearing again 
 its lofty head. London is nightly patrolled by garrotters ; England has 
 a nest of cruel, cowardly assassins, who terrify the peaceable and well- 
 disposed. Men and women have such an antipathy to robbery with 
 violence, that they instinctively desire to shoot their dastardly maimers, 
 or hand the man to a terrible justice. In this great emergency it behoves 
 all Quakers, and other thinking men, to bestir themselves vehemently, and 
 the more fear is exhibited by the public of being killed, robbed, or per- 
 manently maimed, the more will be our merit to protect the ill-doers. 
 When people are killed, or paralysed, or maimed by law-breakers, in the 
 eyes of mankind the robber is thought to be a great criminal ; and the 
 greater the criminal, the greater pet should we make of him. A vulgar 
 public will treat a felon, brutalized by every vice, and degraded by every 
 cruelty and passion, as they would a mad dog, or a venomous snake. A 
 thinking man, however, would supply him with every comfort, and give 
 him food, clothes, habitation, and luxuries, beyond the means of honest 
 working men. 
 
 Friend, there is one thing, in conclusion, that I would have thee never 
 forget, and that is, when a burglar and garrotter is hung, he is never able 
 to rob or kill again, and others are deterred by his example. Remember, 
 when criminals cease, sentiment is done, and Quakerdom and cant must 
 fall. 
 
90 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII. 
 
 In July 1863, commenced the celebrated fight between 
 Alfred Smee and the Jesuits. My mother's brother had joined 
 one of their confraternities, and had during this month died, 
 leaving the whole of his property inherited from his father to the 
 Principal of the Brompton Oratorians. For many years before 
 my father had wished to have a passage of arms with the Jesuits, 
 and would have done so had not my mother been fearful lest they 
 should send her brother to some monastery on the Continent 
 where she could never see him again, and she ever indulged in 
 the hope that her brother might one day be rescued from the 
 clutches of the Oratorians. This hope, however, was not realized, 
 for he died in the forty-first year of his age ; though I think that 
 had he recovered from his last illness he would have been induced 
 to leave the Oratorians, and live under the roof of his sister 
 and her husband, both of whom he had, previous to joining 
 the Komish Church, ever held in great affection. After my 
 uncle's death the fight commenced : there was a lengthy corre- 
 spondence in the press during the summer and latter part 
 of 1862, and the beginning of 1863, to which I must refer the 
 reader. The will was contested, and it was not until it was 
 brought into court that any information could be obtained. 
 However, the case was lost : there was not sufficient legal 
 evidence which we were not surprised at. But it was as well 
 the will was put into court, for it thereby showed to the world 
 the manner in which the wills of the members of the Brompton 
 Oratory are made. It awakened against them a feeling of dis- 
 gust among those who love the liberty of Protestant England. 
 Already, long before his death, my uncle was a poor man : 
 the bulk of his property had gone. Where? My father also 
 contested the right of religious communities to have private and 
 secret burial-grounds. Here, again, the correspondence was 
 lengthy, but the gist of it is that my father complained, " 1st, 
 That the Oratory has a private and secret burial-ground, without 
 public access or boundary walls, which has no public register 
 of burials, and where the names on the tombstones are changed ; 
 2nd, That this private and secret burial-ground, and the means 
 of concealment you have in your houses, are used to obtain 
 money from converts under religious intimidation." 
 
 During this summer a party wishing to see the grave were 
 refused, as they had no private order from the Oratorians with 
 them. This private and secret burial-ground is in the garden 
 attached to a house they have at Sydenham. Great interest was 
 
CHAP. VIIL] FIGHT WITH THE JESUITS. 91 
 
 felt in the Brompton Oratorian case throughout the country. It 
 was referred to several times in the House of Commons. 
 
 In the Appendix, No. XXVI., is the rejoinder to the manifesto 
 of Dr. Dalgairns, Principal of the Oratory, entitled ' The Private 
 and Secret Burial-Ground of the Oratory,' together with a corre- 
 spondence with Sir George Grey, and a petition to the House 
 of Commons. 
 
 My father was always a consistent opponent of religious 
 houses such as monasteries and nunneries, and in 1871 he gave 
 evidence against them in the Committee Boom of the House of 
 Commons. 
 
 The pamphlet ' On the Practical Kemedy for Extortion and 
 Intimidation practised by the aid of the Superior Law Courts ' 
 was written by my father in 1863. This pamphlet had the 
 desired effect of drawing the attention of the Legislature to the 
 abuses there alluded to. Such extortion can now be no longer 
 practised, for by an Act passed in 1867 it was provided that any 
 person against whom an action for malicious prosecution, illegal 
 arrest, illegal distress, assault, false imprisonment, libel, slander, 
 or other action of tort, may be brought, may make an affidavit 
 that the plaintiff has no visible means of paying the costs of 
 the defendant ; and thereupon a judge of the court in which the 
 action is brought is empowered to stay the proceedings, unless 
 full security for the defendant's costs is given. See Appendix, 
 No. XXVII. 
 
92 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IX. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 1865 TO 1870. 
 
 Contests Rochester Alfred Smee a Freemason and an Oddfellow London 
 Institution saved from becoming a clerks' school Aquarium at Paris 
 Accident Sheet Professional life of Alfred Smee Illness Visit to Whitby 
 Posting up storm telegrams at Whitby Contests Rochester a second 
 time Speeches Visits Italy Anonymous writings on the Unseaworthiness 
 of Ships, on Chancery Reform, &c. 
 
 AT the General Election of 1865, Alfred Srnee contested 
 Rochester, and there brought forward political views under a 
 new phase, which he termed " Conservative Progress." Although 
 enthusiastically received at that city, he was unsuccessful. He 
 was surrounded by his family during the contest, and I still 
 always look back to that general election as a very agreeable 
 phase of my existence. The year after he wrote two political 
 skits, the one termed * The Puppet Parliament,' and the other 
 ' The Final Reform Bill.' Neither of the pamphlets bore his name. 
 See the Appendix, Nos. XXVIII. and XXIX. 
 
 In that entitled ' The Final Reform Bill,' he says :- 
 
 There are four great diseases before Parliament this year: 1. The 
 rinderpest, or death of cattle ; 2. The cholera pest, or death of mankind 
 both bodily diseases, to be treated after an exact study of Nature's works : 
 3. The nigger pest, white murder by blacks; 4. The Fenian pest the 
 annihilation of social order and religion both mental epidemics, to be 
 treated after an earnest study of God's moral laws. 
 
 Who shall legislate upon these serious maladies ? Shall they who 
 have bought their parliamentary seats by money, and pandered to the 
 follies of their age ? Or shall they who represent independent, thoughtful 
 voters, and who have studied Nature's works and followed moral laws ? 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Smee was made a Freemason at Gundulph's 
 Lodge at Rochester, and he was about the same time also elected 
 a member of the Oddfellows in the same city. On the 22nd of 
 February, 1867, he was elected a member of Jerusalem Lodge, in 
 London, one of the oldest lodges. Although he took a warm interest 
 
CflAF. IX.] A FREEMASON. 93 
 
 in Freemasonry, yet he was too idle to learn the symbols, and never 
 attained the rank of Master. Many of his Freemason brethren 
 had determined to make him at last a Master, and I doubt not 
 that in course of time, had he lived, they would have cajoled him 
 into learning the requisites necessary to attain that office. He 
 always declared he never could learn by heart ; but as it has been 
 seen that his memory was so excellent that he was able to take 
 down on one occasion some important speeches two days after 
 they were delivered, and as he used always to take down the 
 lectures delivered at King's College verbatim on his return home 
 in the evening, it would seem that, had he so willed it, he could also 
 have learnt by rote. However, he did not do so ; but whether he 
 could not, as he said, or would not, is very doubtful. He had several 
 decorations and orders in Freemasonry, and he was present at the 
 installation of His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales as Grand 
 Master at Albert Hall. I mention this because it was extremely 
 difficult to obtain an invitation to that installation, and I suppose 
 he was the only one present who had not ranked as a Master. 
 He was extremely pleased at being present at that ceremony, 
 which interested him much, and thoroughly appreciated the kind- 
 ness of the donor of the invitation. 
 
 In 1868 he was admitted, on the 7th of February, among the 
 first five hundred of the City Carlton Club, a Conservative club in 
 the City. He was also admitted among the first hundred members 
 of St. Stephen's Club. He had previously, it should be added, 
 belonged to the Reform Club, but had to leave it on his contesting 
 Eochester. He had not joined the Eeform Club for political 
 motives, for until he contested Eochester in the Conservative 
 cause he had never previously taken a leading interest in party 
 questions, and, indeed, had not troubled himself to use his vote 
 at political elections. He had several friends at the Eeform 
 Club, and it had other attractions in possessing a good library, 
 and better still a good cuisine, for Francatelli was at that time 
 the chef. 
 
 In 1866 there was a movement for a clerks' school (the City 
 of London College) to be associated with the London Institution. 
 By this project the London Institution was to keep the building 
 of the college in repair, the students of the college were to 
 have access to the educational lectures, the life shares of the 
 London Institution were to be given as prizes to the students, 
 and the students were to have access to the library, besides sharing 
 in other emoluments. It may seem surprising, but nevertheless 
 
94 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IX. 
 
 true, that one of the managers tried his utmost to bring about 
 this arrangement. Mr. Smee wrote to him as follows : 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have read with very great care your proposal to 
 annihilate the London Institution. 
 
 It does seem to me to be a most highly objectionable project, and one 
 which I hope there will be but little chance of carrying out. 
 
 It is a total change of purpose to convert a literary and scientific 
 institution into a mere boys' school, but one step better than that of a 
 charity school. 
 
 You have fixed the meeting at a time when I am afraid I cannot 
 possibly attend, next Wednesday, which I extremely regret, as I fear that 
 I shall feel it my duty to oppose it with all my might. 
 
 My doctrine would be to improve what we possess, not to radically 
 destroy. 
 
 Mr. Smee went to the meeting, which was attended by the 
 proprietors and managers, and in a long speech denounced the 
 movement as being most pernicious to the London Institution. 
 When he finished his speech, the proprietors rose en masse, and 
 cheered and cheered him again and again. The scheme was 
 upset, my father victorious, and the London Institution saved. 
 
 "While my father and myself were on a short visit to 
 Paris in the autumn of 1866, we visited a splendidly fitted-up 
 aquarium, which had recently been established, and which, 
 before the Brighton Aquarium was made, was a master one 
 of its kind. This aquarium in Paris fired my father's ima- 
 gination, and forthwith he considered that it was a grievous 
 pity that an equally good if not a better one should not be 
 immediately established at the Zoological Gardens in London. 
 Accordingly, the next morning, when I came down to breakfast, 
 before 9 o'clock, I found he had written off to the late much 
 lamented and distinguished naturalist, Dr. Gray, of the British 
 Museum, on the subject, and I found afterwards the aforesaid 
 letter published in the ' Annals of Natural History,' 3rd series, 
 vol. xix.* 
 
 THE " MONDE DE LA MER." 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have just returned from a visit to the " Monde de 
 la Mer," a noble aquarium opened to the public at a charge of two francs 
 per head within the last week, on the Boulevard Montmartre. It is 
 arranged as a large grotto, with cement stalactites, and the light almost 
 entirely comes through the glass front of the aquarium. There are no less 
 than thirteen aquaria, with glass fronts, about 15 feet long and 4 feet deep ; 
 
 * The Brighton Aquarium was not in existence when this letter was 
 written. 
 
CHAP. IX.] THE " MONDE DE LA HER." 95 
 
 and there are glass facings to brick and cement tanks, 5 or 6 feet wide. 
 These thirteen are for salt water alone; but there are others for fresh 
 water, and two little ponds 10 or 12 feet across. The aquaria are lit by 
 gas-lights placed above, which light up in the most efficient manner the 
 interior, and show every fish most perfectly. There appears to be no 
 confervoid growth ; and doubtless the gas-light is unfavourable to such 
 vegetation, but gives an illumination more resembling the natural con- 
 dition in deep water. A gas-engine is employed to change the water, 
 which continually runs to a tank below, and is pumped back, the jet 
 being thrown with such force as to carry down a great quantity of air in 
 very minute division so much, in fact, that I thought it was done by an 
 air-pump, until the attendant obliged me by allowing me to go behind the 
 scenes and inspect the contrivance. The " Monde de la Mer " in these 
 tanks were truly wonderful : large fish a yard long, soles and skates of 
 ample proportions, with lobster, crayfish, and numerous species of fish of 
 brilliant colours from the Mediterranean. Hundreds of anemones made 
 a sort of flower-garden ; and the effect was so interesting and so beautiful 
 that it has to be seen to be believed and appreciated. 
 
 The aquarium at the Zoological Gardens, which formerly attracted so 
 much attention, was a mere baby to it, and gave no idea of the behaviour 
 of the great-grandfather fish which are here contained. 
 
 It occurred to me, that if I was a child and fell in love with this 
 beautiful exhibition, there must be hundreds and thousands of grown-up 
 children who would also like to be introduced to the " Monde de la Mer." 
 Then why not get up a bigger " Mer," and a more distinguished " Monde " 
 at the Zoological Gardens ? 
 
 The place would be the bank sloping to the canal, looking towards 
 the north : for fish have a decided natural objection to be cooked by a 
 southern sun. And the moment I arrive in England I shall rush to the 
 Zoo to see if perfidious Albion has copied the idea and out-Mer'd and out- 
 Monde'd the " Monde de la Mer " of Paris. 
 
 I remain, my dear Sir, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 HOTEL MEURICE, Paris, ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 Nov. 19th, 1866. 
 
 In 1866, it will be remembered, a great monetary panic occurred 
 in the city of London, when many families lost large fortunes, 
 and when, to add to the misfortune, the discount house of Overend 
 and Gurney stopped payment. To endeavour to stop the stagna- 
 tion which was occasioned by large sums of money which were 
 not lost, but not get-at-able, in fact " locked up " for a consider- 
 able space of time, an ingenious remedy was suggested by Alfred 
 Smee, which will be found in the Appendix, No. XXX. This 
 panic was succeeded by hardships which had to be endured by 
 unfortunate shareholders of public companies in liquidation, 
 and which elicited some anonymous letters from Mr. Smee's 
 pen. These letters follow those on ' Locked-up Money,' in the 
 Appendix, No. XXXI. 
 
96 MEMOIK OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. IX. 
 
 In 1867, Mr. Smee brought out another form of Accident 
 Sheet somewhat similar to, though in a more complete form than, 
 the one he published in 1847.* 
 
 Up to the present time very little notice has been taken of 
 my father's professional career, beyond his being a surgeon of 
 no mean repute, and of his being more especially eminent as 
 an oculist. That part of his work which has hitherto been 
 given was performed mostly in his leisure, and was chiefly 
 the intellectual pastime of his prolific brain, but the greater 
 part of his time was taken up by his medical profession, and 
 by various companies, to some of which he was medical officer, 
 whilst of others he was a director. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that the office of Surgeon 
 to the Bank of England was specially created for him when 
 he was only twenty-two years old. He was also elected at 
 an early age, and almost immediately on entering his profession, 
 Surgeon to the Koyal General Dispensary, in Aldersgate Street, 
 to the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital, and was besides 
 surgeon to several other important institutions. He was medical 
 officer to several Life Assurance Companies, amongst the more 
 important of which may be mentioned the Accident Company 
 and the Gresham, of both of which he was one of the founders. 
 But the latter company was materially assisted by my grand- 
 father, Mr. William Smee, Accountant-General of the Bank of 
 England, who was also one of the trustees of the Gresham, 
 in conjunction with the Chief Cashier of the Bank, Mr. Matthew 
 Marshall, and the banker Mr. Oldham. Without my grand- 
 father's assistance the Gresham would not have existed. As 
 it was, it was born in the dining-room of 7, Finsbury Circus, 
 during the autumn of 1847. 
 
 One of the companies to which he belonged caused, for a 
 space of time stretching over several years, my father a great 
 deal of anxiety, and added many cares to his life. Fortunately 
 these anxieties came to a satisfactory termination. Through the 
 indomitable courage and high principle of Alfred Smee many 
 were saved from pressing cares and losses; but, unhappily, 
 the intense mental excitement and labour attending it, left an 
 indelible mark upon his bodily powers, and sowed the seed of the 
 disease which he succumbed to at the early age of fifty-eight. 
 
 * This Accident Sheet can be either obtained in the form of a sheet or in a 
 small book, at the printers', Messrs. Collingridge, Long Lane, or at the office of 
 the Accident Company, 37, Old Jewry, E.G., for the small sum of one penny. 
 
CHAP. IX.] STOEM SIGNALS. 97 
 
 From the huge packet of MS. papers, of printed speeches, 
 various reports, written and spoken by Alfred Smee for the benefit 
 of sundry companies to which he belonged (which ! had the 
 curiosity to collect and preserve), it would seem that he must 
 have been the moving spirit in them, and in losing him they 
 must indeed have lost a friend and a strong supporter. 
 
 In the summer of 1868 my father had a serious illness, which 
 at the time was supposed to be a severe form of colic, but which 
 would appear to have been rather the beginning of the disease 
 which proved fatal to him at the beginning of last year : for 
 from that moment he lost his stoutness, and became year by year 
 thinner and thinner. From that moment, too, he cannot be said 
 to have enjoyed robust health. Through the kind attention of 
 his old friend Dr. Jones, he rallied from this illness, and when 
 convalescent he went to Whitby, where he thoroughly enjoyed 
 himself, sometimes in fishing, sometimes on the moors, sometimes 
 amidst the rocks, searching for fossils embedded in the lias or 
 oolitic strata, and sometimes in the beautiful woods in the vicinity, 
 searching for ferns for his beloved garden at Wallington, which, 
 when absent from it, was never forgotten by him. At such times we 
 would return to Whitby with the carriage so filled with oak ferns, 
 beech ferns, and other sorts of ferns, that our heads only would 
 just be visible above the mass of lovely foliage, much to the 
 amusement of the good folks of that seaport, who thereupon 
 styled my father the "Professor of Ferns." Besides these in- 
 nocent amusements, which tended to restore his health, he took 
 steps to promote the interests of the fishermen of Whitby, as will 
 be seen from the following letter, which he wrote immediately 
 on his return to London, to the late Mr. Gassiot, F.E.S. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, I have been at Whitby during the last equinox, and 
 took great interest in the storm signals on that dangerous coast, and 
 I write the general result for you to lay before the committee for their 
 information. 
 
 1. The barometer was of the highest importance to the fishermen. 
 Every morning they walked up the pier to examine it, and their decision 
 was most materially guided by its rising and falling. 
 
 2. The storm signal seemed to be of secondary importance to the indi- 
 cation of the barometer, though of great use taken in conjunction with it, 
 and the reason for its being hoisted. Upon this matter I have a suggestion 
 to make. I found that whenever the drum was hoisted, every sailor knew 
 the reason of its being hoisted from the Preventive Service men, and they 
 would tell me that there was a great storm raging in the Channel, a high 
 wind on the coast of Scotland, and 'one day that there was a storm so near 
 as Yarmouth. 
 
98 MEMOIR OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. IX. 
 
 Now, I recommend that the reasons for the hoisting of the drum be 
 always posted up in writing, as I am quite confident that these men are 
 thinking of the bearing of the question all day long, and gradually 
 they will use the drum in conjunction with the barometer, and obtain 
 for each place much closer results than can be obtained by any other 
 method. 
 
 Practically my recommendation is to give the fishermen facts for 
 them to apply. I think then great results will ensue, and they will be 
 able to bring the foretelling of the weather for a few hours to as near a 
 certainty as possible. 
 
 It was resolved by the Meteorological Committee of the Koyal 
 Society that Mr. Scott be instructed to take steps to promote the 
 posting up of the weather telegrams at Whitby. The following 
 summer, on our second visit to Whitby, my father took much 
 interest in the working of the same. 
 
 In 1868 there was another election at Eochester. His address 
 to the electors was issued from Whitby, where he was staying on 
 account of illness, and he was on that account obliged to postpone 
 appearing among his friends and supporters for several weeks. 
 He, however, wrote many addresses to them, and amused himself 
 with drawing up rules and regulations for the organization of the 
 Conservative party in that city ; and before he was quite recovered 
 from his indisposition he, against the advice of his medical adviser, 
 Dr. Jones, and of his friends, threw himself heart and soul into 
 the contest, quite regardless of his own health. He went to the 
 poll, but again met with unsuccess. That he had good grounds 
 for expecting success will be fully seen from the following letters 
 sent to his wife and others during the heat of the contest, and by 
 the speech he made at the complimentary dinner which was given 
 to him by his supporters in the city of Eochester on the 17th of 
 December, 1868. His family have heard since, from information 
 obtained from the Eadical side, that Mr. Smee was so beloved at 
 Eochester, that had he but paid a select number at the rate of a 
 day's wages he would have been elected= But bribery he would 
 not allow to be resorted to. Not very long after this election a 
 great many men emigrated from Eochester. Their last act on 
 leaving Chatham for their ships was to give three cheers for Mr. 
 Smee. " Had we returned him as our member for Eochester," they 
 exclaimed, " we should not have been obliged to leave Eochester 
 and emigrate." My father was not a little pleased when he heard 
 of this demonstration of affection and esteem. for him. 
 
 MY DEAR ELIZABETH, "We have had a most extraordinary meeting at 
 Rochester ; 20,000 people out, all the road lined. The moment I arrived 
 
CHAP. IX.] ELECTION AT ROCHESTER. 99 
 
 at the station, tremendous cheering, a great procession of torches, with red 
 fire, with a boy dressed in pink, typifying Conservatism, with a band pre- 
 ceding. We marched through the town, all the people calling out, " There 
 he is, he has come at last," till we got to the King's Head, where the 
 crowd was so great that policemen had to keep order, and the pressure so 
 tremendous that the windows were broken. I gave my speech, a pretty 
 violent one. 
 
 I told the people that they must do the work, as I could not, and read 
 my parody on Longfellow. It is reported that Kinglake has resigned on 
 the strength of it, but that is improbable. I must see on Monday, 
 and am to see Elliot to-morrow. Mary would have enjoyed the fun. 
 KING'S HEAD HOTEL, Rochester, 
 October 29th, 1868. 
 
 MY DEAR ELIZABETH, Great meeting this evening "to protest 
 against recent attempts to stir up class feelings in the city." The whole 
 meeting called for Smee, and I was sent for, and entered the room amidst 
 the most uproarious cheering. I got up on the platform, and shook Martin 
 warmly by the hand (with such a scene as you never saw), but after waiting 
 for two hours neither of us could be heard, so we agreed to leave the 
 meeting quietly, when the police rushed in and cleared the hall. I was 
 enthusiastically cheered, and all is now quiet, the Blue magistrates being 
 furious. Promises pour in to me, and we have a good chance. 
 KING'S HEAD HOTEL, Rochester, 
 
 November 13th, 1868, 10 o'clock. 
 
 Overwhelming show of hands in favour of Smee; all going on 
 gloriously. 
 
 ROCHESTER, November 17th, 1868. 
 
 This telegram was sent to us after the nomination, and the 
 day before the poll. 
 
 In a letter he wrote after the election he says : 
 
 SIR, I have lately contested Rochester in the Conservative interest 
 and although not successful, from special reasons appertaining to that 
 city, yet I think that I have found the key to obtain the enthusiastic 
 support of the masses for the Conservative cause from the following 
 principles : 
 
 1. Conservatives desire a step by step progression from that which is 
 good to that which is better ; in fact Conservatism is a continual growth 
 and improvement. 
 
 This doctrine always flashed in the people's minds, and when illustrated 
 by natural phenomena, always delighted and enchanted them. 
 
 2. The interests of the working men have a natural affinity with those 
 of the gentry and aristocracy, and both should act together. 
 
 This always stirred up marked enthusiasm. 
 
 3. The Church belongs to the people, the clergy having ever de- 
 fended the people against oppression, and is the source of England's 
 freedom. 
 
 This carried conviction, but I did not find it desirable to say too much 
 upon Church questions. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IX. 
 
 4. The liberal doctrines of Bright, Mill, and Co. really amount to the 
 lowest pay for the largest amount of labour, and the least quantity of the 
 necessaries of life for the largest amount of money. 
 
 This was almost too exciting for the masses. It completely carried 
 them away, and completely turned the tables against the employers of 
 labour and the small shopkeepers, the enemies of the Conservative cause. 
 
 5. Labour and capital equally suffer from disagreement, and members 
 of Parliament should be their mediators. 
 
 6. The Conservative Reform Bill has given the power to the people, 
 but at present the people are not freemen, as their masters compel them 
 to vote as they please, to their own injury. 
 
 This doctrine was generally met with shouts of the names of the 
 Government contractors at Rochester, who command the electors, and 
 frequently with suggestions for the ballot. 
 
 7. Violent political struggles are inimical to the interests of the 
 people : hence Gladstone had done great injury by stirring up the Church 
 question. 
 
 By this line of argument I showed that the aristocracy, gentry, and 
 clergy constitute the Conservative party, with the working men, but that 
 the Liberal party were composed of the employers of labour and the small 
 shopkeepers. 
 
 The Liberal party were furious at the enthusiasm produced by these 
 doctrines, and called an indignation meeting, but the multitude completely 
 foiled the attempt. 
 
 At Rochester I carried the clergy, the gentry, and the working men 
 with me, and I have no doubt that we have the key to the future Conserva- 
 tive government of the country. A large majority of working men were 
 compelled to vote as their masters dictated. v 
 
 And again, at the complimentary dinner given to him at 
 Kochester on the 17th of December, 1868 : 
 
 It is with a great deal of diffidence that I rise to express the thanks 
 which I feel for the honour you have done me this day in asking me to 
 come amongst you after the defeat we have experienced at the late election. 
 We have unmistakably had a great defeat in Rochester, a defeat which we 
 did not expect. The moment I entered the city I received numerous promises 
 of support ; those promises came rolling in day by day till 10 o'clock each 
 night ; they amounted at last to 1024 on the day before the nomination. 
 After the nomination, at which, as you know, we gained the show of hands, 
 that same evening no more promises came in, but promises began to fall 
 off; withdrawal began to be made, which showed the city must be under 
 the power of certain persons in it (sensation) ; and on the next day these 
 1024 promises degenerated into 702 performances (shame). Accustomed as 
 I am to numbers, I sat ticking off the votes at the Guildhall as they came 
 in, and I soon saw that there was something wrong. I sent word to my 
 committee, " Why don't the voters come up ? " No answer came. I 
 wrote again : " Tell me, why don't the voters come up ? " A slip of paper 
 then came with s. d. upon it (sensation). I understood at once the 
 meaning. Now there must be some very potent reason which prevented 
 1024 promises from realizing more than 702 votes. In the first place I 
 
CHAP. IX.] VISIT TO IT.AIJY. J V '" y. ;, ; 101 
 
 think many good Conservatives were victims to despair. I found they 
 worshipped success, and the moment they saw we were not likely to be at 
 the head of the poll, they stayed at home and did not vote (shame). 
 
 In speaking before public meetings Mr. Smee varied not a 
 little. Generally his speeches were fluently delivered, and were 
 at times most brilliant ; at other times his speeches would fall 
 flat, and then he would search for the words to use. When he got 
 up, no one could predict whether he was in the humour and would 
 give one of his brilliant speeches, or whether it would be painful 
 to listen to him. Two sentences were, however sufficient for 
 those who knew him well to tell whether the speech would be a 
 success or not. His facts he would generally, not always, get 
 up beforehand, but the manner in which they were to be arranged 
 was always left till the time of speaking. But perhaps the 
 most brilliant and most effective of his speeches were those 
 which he took no trouble about, when he rose on the spur of the 
 moment and delivered them off-hand. 
 
 In the spring of 1870 my mother and I accompanied my 
 father to Italy, and there enjoyed all the beauties which that 
 classic land can yield. How much the charming scenery of the 
 Eiviera delighted him, and Florence that lovely city where 
 
 " Sculpture with her rainbow sister vies ! " 
 
 " Girt by her theatre of hills, she reaps 
 Her corn, and wine, and oil, and Plenty leaps 
 To laughing Life with her redundant horn." 
 
 From Florence we went to Naples, which city and its 
 neighbourhood afforded Mr. Smee, as may be supposed, fresh 
 novelties of intense interest. He was greatly surprised to find 
 the Ceterach fern thriving almost at the summit of Mount 
 Vesuvius, and the Maidenhair fern luxuriating in all its glory 
 in the ruined amphitheatre at Pozzuoli near Naples. 
 
 Some of the fronds (he writes) were eighteen or more inches in length, 
 and the earthen walls were covered with sheets of this lovely fern, stand- 
 ing out at right angles from the wall, or hanging down from the roof. I 
 must confess that, when I beheld this great and glorious sight, I was 
 more impressed with it than with the thought that I was present on a 
 spot where dramas of blood were enacted centuries before. I speedily 
 collected a number of plants, to the no small disgust of the cicerone, who 
 could not do the amphitheatre at his usual gallop, and who shrugged his 
 shoulders at my utter want of taste in gathering useless weeds. Some of 
 these plants now grow at my garden in the fern cave. 
 
102 > ' : .MBWIH OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IX. 
 
 My father, wherever he went, found something new or tempt- 
 ing for his garden. His portmanteau was hut too frequently 
 converted into a flower-garden hefore he reached England again, 
 and which not a little surprised the Customs' officers, when they 
 inspected his luggage. Plants were the primary consideration, 
 clothes secondary, if they could claim any consideration at all. 
 At Pompeii he found more Maidenhair ferns growing on the 
 walls of that ruined town, to which he paid repeated visits. At 
 Eome he was much impressed with the grand buildings and ruins. 
 He went daily to St. Peter's, the Coliseum, and was much struck 
 with the nohle proportions of the Pantheon. The pictures and 
 sculptures afforded him much pleasure, and it was during this 
 visit that he made those curious notes on Binocular Perspective 
 which are alluded to in the Appendix, No. XIX. My father 
 gained much recreation and enjoyment, and would have re- 
 turned, I doubt not, a stronger man, had he not, unhappily, 
 been obliged by untoward circumstances to stop, and not only 
 doctor, but also help with my mother to nurse, severe cases of 
 illness. He was urgently required in London, and he could not 
 leave, and the worry and anxiety attending this delay greatly 
 marred the enjoyment of this visit, and prevented that benefit 
 to his health which his family had hoped to see. What 
 a keen interest he took in the new forms of vegetation he met 
 with in beautiful Italy, the following extracts from letters 
 to my brother, who was in England acting as his deputy, will 
 show : 
 
 March 16th, 1870, Florence. To compare with Carshalton. 
 Almonds now in flower; some peach-trees and pear-trees swelling 
 their buds ; anemones in flower ; sloe-trees in full flower. 
 
 April 6th, 1870, Florence. I forgot to tell you that swallows appeared 
 at Naples on March 28th, and I saw them here on March 31st. 
 
 April 12th, 1870. The country is really very beautiful with wild 
 tulips, wild flowers, and all the fruit-trees in flower, and the mountains 
 look lovely. 
 
 M. is still very weak. I do not know how I am to get home ; I shall 
 be so thankful to write and state that we are on the move. 
 
 April 23rd, 1870. I heard the nightingales last night, April 22nd ; 
 compare with Carshalton, for I believe the birds distribute well over 
 Europe on the same day. Inquire at Carshalton, and make a note of it. 
 
 April 24<th, 1870. Nightingales in quantities. I heard yesterday also 
 the cuckoo the first time. 
 
CHAP. IX.] ON UNSEAWORTHINESS OF SHIPS. 103 
 
 April 25th, 1870. People must clearly know that illness is the cause 
 of my absence. Poor Carshalton has not seen me this spring. I hope 
 everything is properly attended to. 
 
 Lilies are now in flower. The May is just coming into flower. Pear- 
 trees are beginning to go off. Plum-trees are mostly gone off. Peach-trees 
 are generally off. The vines are beginning in warm situations to sprout 
 (not in the vineyards). The spotted orchis is in flower. 
 
 April 25th, 1870. The swallows are building. The buttercups and 
 tulips, all over the fields, red and yellow, are in flower. The white mulberry 
 is just breaking. The first leaf of spring is coming over the poplars and 
 elins. The underwood has much leaf. 
 
 Before Mr. Plimsoll, to whom great praise is due, had the 
 courage to bring forward his Merchant Shipping Bill to the 
 notice of Parliament, there had appeared numerous anonymous 
 letters in the ( Insurance Times,' besides some pamphlets circulated 
 elsewhere, in which was shown in a very strong light the un- 
 seaworthiness of ships that were (according to these writings) 
 " sent to sea at the peril of men's lives." These letters and 
 pamphlets caused a good deal of excitement at the time among 
 persons interested, among owners of ships, underwriters, and 
 marine companies. Frequently half-a-dozen short pithy letters 
 would appear in the same paper on one day, followed up for some 
 weeks by others equally short and telling. Many of these letters 
 were from the pen of Alfred Srnee. There was a great grievance, 
 he conceived, to be remedied only by strong measures. In many 
 of his anonymous writings he writes as if he were himself a 
 sufferer ; but that form, it will be speedily seen, was merely used 
 as a figure of speech, so as to bring more forcibly forward the 
 grievance which he was endeavouring by agitation to redress. 
 The following spring Mr. Plimsoll brought forward his Mer- 
 chant Shipping Act, which my father thought erred only by 
 being " too lenient ;" and the remarks that gentleman uttered 
 in the House of Commons on the unseaworthiness of ships 
 sent to sea came, I have heard my father say, " far within 
 the mark : " yet the virtuous indignation with which Mr. 
 Plimsoll was assailed may still be remembered. But although 
 the Bill was lost that Session, the storm was fairly roused, and 
 the sailors were in a body with Plimsoll, and in 1876 the 
 Government deemed it expedient to pass an Act to stop unsea- 
 worthy ships being sent to sea. A selection from the various 
 anonymous letters from Alfred Smee's pen on the above subject 
 is placed in the Appendix, No. XXXII. It must be remem- 
 bered that these letters are not to be looked upon as specimens 
 
104 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CiiAr. IX. 
 
 of logic or of literature; they were purely intended for one 
 end, and that was to bring forward in a prominent way before 
 the public the above subject. 
 
 Mr. Smee was throughout his life frequently writing various 
 papers or pamphlets to which he did not affix his name : amongst 
 the most important of these anonymous writings are those on 
 Chancery Reform. Although the papers were not written 
 during the years treated of in this chapter, yet as this and the 
 preceding one contain most of the anonymous writings of Mr. 
 Smee, it may not be out of place to mention them here. These 
 papers were printed separately, and were from time to time 
 distributed by post among the leading members of the legal 
 profession, and more especially among the members of the 
 Chancery bar. The perusal of these papers will suffice to 
 show their extreme importance to the public. They are placed 
 in the Appendix, No. XXXIII. 
 
CHAP. X.] ' THE WIDOW AND THE BABBITS.' 105 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 1870 TO 1875. 
 
 ' The Widow and the Rabbits 'Letters to the ' Times ' My Garden,' seventh 
 book Impromptu lecture The marriage of his daughter Attends an 
 International Botanical Congress Letters to his daughter from abroad 
 Address at Rochester Letter to the Council of the Royal College of 
 Surgeons, England. 
 
 IT would occupy too much space to insert all the anonymous 
 writings of Alfred Smee, for they were voluminous. I cannot, 
 however, refrain from giving a few extracts from one more 
 of his little works, to which he did not attach his name, more 
 especially as it forms a link to show his vivid imagination, his 
 unwearying energy, and how numerous and various were his 
 publications. This was written in the autumn of 1871, when he, 
 myself, and my mother went for a short trip to Scotland. We 
 were hospitably entertained for a while at a friend's house, after 
 which we travelled over the wildest and most beautiful parts of 
 Scotland : 
 
 " So wondrous wild, the whole might seem 
 The scenery of a fairy dream." 
 
 SCOTT'S Lady of the Lake. 
 
 My father was an early riser, and was generally up before the 
 rest of the family. For two or three mornings before breakfast he 
 amused himself by writing ' The Widow and the Kabbits.' This 
 fairy legend by a Ferret, which is really a humorous skit, as the 
 following dedication shows, is very prettily illustrated.* 
 
 * Published by Messrs. Rixon and Arnold, 29, Poultry, London. 
 
106 MEMOIR OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. X. 
 
 THE WIDOW AND THE BABBITS. 
 To ELIZABETH MARY, WHO HAS VISITED MANY HAPPY YALLEYS AND 
 
 OBSERVED THE ILL EFFECTS OF EXCESSIVE RABBIT PRESERVA- 
 TION, THIS STORY is DEDICATED BY HER FATHER. 
 
 The story opens thus : 
 
 In the North of Scotland there is a very beautiful valley. A 
 foaming river runs through it, where abundance of trout disport them- 
 selves in the sun and rise to every little fly which settles upon the water. 
 When rain falls, the river swells and overflows its banks; but amidst 
 the roar of the water, the salmon rush up the torrent from the sea, 
 and thus a delicious food is afforded to the fishermen. These catch 
 them with an artificial fly, and not only supply the people of the district 
 with fish, but exchange them for other luxuries with the inhabitants of 
 Edinburgh and London, who have neither trout nor salmon in their rivers. 
 The whole valley was formerly filled with villages, the people of which 
 tended their flocks and herds, and cultivated their fields. The inhabitants 
 were good and kind to each other, and aimed at promoting the happiness 
 of all. As the land was good, and Providence was bountiful in bestowing 
 the fruits of the earth, everyone was thankful for the gifts he received, 
 and rejoiced in the lovely scenes which he daily saw, from the time the 
 sun rose in the morning till it gave f orth its heat in mid-day, and set in 
 the west in the evening ; when the villagers, after they had uttered their 
 praises for the blessings already received, and had prayed for a con- 
 tinuance of their joys in the future, retired to rest. 
 
 The valley is surrounded by high hills to the west, so that no man 
 has ever been able to pass. It has rugged hills to the north, which almost 
 constitute a wall, and to the south there are also hills, leaving only one 
 narrow entrance for foreigners to come in, or for the inhabitants to go out. 
 It was, therefore, always called " The Happy and Secluded Valley of the 
 North." 
 
 About 1000 years ago, more or less, for the learned have never been 
 able to decide the exact time ; some say it was in the year 770, others in 
 790 ; but the most reliable, from documents existing in the great library of 
 Kamskatka, consider that it was in the year 772, a foreigner named Lord 
 Gryndum came with numerous retainers, and took possession of this 
 happy valley, and built himself a great castle. The villagers, always 
 happy and living in peace with each other, were never accustomed to 
 resist ; and, in fact, they never had either an army or policeman to protect 
 them, and so the villagers suffered the foreign Laird to take possession of 
 their valley and charge them rents for their lands. Not contented with 
 this, he soon after took their hunting-grounds from them, where they were 
 wont to kill game, especially deer, white hares, and grouse for their winter's 
 use ; and the Laird liking himself to kill fish (as he had nothing else to do 
 but fish, shoot, and hunt) ordered his retainers to drive the villagers from 
 the river, and prevent them catching a single salmon, or even killing a 
 trout. He was not even satisfied then, and his aggressive disposition 
 caused him to bring some rabbits from England, which he forbade to be 
 killed under the pain of a severe fine, or even of imprisonment. The 
 
CHAP. X.] * THE WIDOW AND THE BABBITS.' 107 
 
 better to carry out his wicked device, lie made interest with the king, by 
 bribing the attendants with haunches of venison and with salmon, to 
 make him a magistrate, by which he had power to cruelly ill-treat his 
 tenants, and to punish the peasantry for the slightest offence. 
 
 The rabbits multiplied exceedingly, and the whole valley became a 
 vast rabbit warren, from which the creatures sallied forth by armies at 
 night and devoured all the grass in the fields ; and when they had finished 
 the grass, they ate the turnips ; and when they had eaten the turnips, they 
 attacked the corn ; and when they could get neither grass nor corn, nor 
 turnips, they set to work and destroyed the young trees by eating the 
 bark and young shrubs. 
 
 The poor people in vain encircled their garden plots with close 
 palings, for wire fencing was not invented at that time. The rabbits 
 either scrambled over them, or burrowed underneath. Sometimes it is 
 recorded that they actually ate their way through the wooden palings, and, 
 when under the pressure of hunger, they smelt the poor men's cabbages ; 
 they have been seen to jump over the fence, when, in a short time, the 
 vegetables were eaten and disappeared. It was particularly noticed that 
 they always took the choicest and sweetest vegetables in the garden. 
 What they did not eat they spoilt, so that nothing was left for use in 
 
 the winter. 
 
 ****** 
 
 In ten short years the rabbits so changed the Happy Yalley of the 
 North, that all the population were wretched, and it became known in 
 more southern countries as " The Yalley of Misery and Woe." 
 
 At this time there was a poor widow named Mary Suffermuch, whose 
 family had lived in the village more than five hundred years. She had lost 
 her husband by the fall of an ash-tree which overhung the road, and 
 which was blown down in a high wind, after the rabbits had undermined 
 the tree by cutting the roots with their sharp teeth, which are formed like 
 
 chisels. 
 
 ****** 
 
 But on the 10th of November, which in that year 780 fell on a Monday, 
 the poor widow looked at her prospects, and she found that the rabbits 
 had so far destroyed her crops that she had no turnips left for her cow, as 
 the interior of every one was eaten out, and merely the outside shell was 
 left. The ground was covered with snow, as winter had set in early that 
 year. She had only porridge for two days more. The barley had all been 
 sold, and the money expended for shoes for the children. The poor widow, 
 when she realized her position, was miserable indeed, and cried most bitterly. 
 ***** * 
 
 The widow then goes off to a relation for assistance in her 
 misery, but finds him as destitute as herself. On her way thither 
 she admires the beauty of the country. Dispirited and dis- 
 heartened with her fruitless errand (all this is most pathetically 
 told), she sets off to return home. 
 
 To rest herself she sat down on a bench in a beautiful wood, where 
 the waters of the river ran alongside, roaring among the rocks and large 
 stones ; there, too, the bright mid-day sun shone upon the white barks of 
 
108 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X. 
 
 the birch-trees, and on the deep-coloured branches of the ever green Scotch 
 pines. She cried very much when she thoiight of her past happiness and 
 present misery, till she was quite exhausted and fell sound asleep. 
 
 A fairy here suddenly appears before her, coming " with a 
 rush of wind." After a long colloquy between the fairy and the 
 widow, 
 
 the lovely fairy, who was quite distressed at such grievous misery, gazed 
 with the tenderest compassion upon the face of the sorrow-stricken 
 widow. In a tone of authority, the fairy said, with earnestness but 
 sweetness : " Homeward go, Mary ! Babbits shall no more trouble thee ! 
 This day I have full power over the rabbits in this valley." And then 
 with a clear, shrill, musical voice the fairy cried, " Change, bunnies, change." 
 The sound in the dead stillness echoed through the woods from rock to 
 rock, and from tree to tree, " Change, change, change," and died away 
 in the extreme distance, echoing " Change, change, change," till the last 
 murmuring was scarcely audible to the most delicate ear. In an instant 
 the snow was torn up like a whirlwind, and, with a rushing sound, the 
 fairy passed away in the cloud of snow the wind had raised 
 
 On her way home the widow saw, to her surprise, 
 
 a large black cat rush out of a rabbit hole and prowl about, seeking 
 for food ; presently she saw many other cats, some black, some black and 
 white, but there was not a tabby amongst them. The words " Change, 
 bunnies, change," came to her mind, and she perceived that the rabbits 
 had been changed, and that their tails had grown long, and their ears had 
 become short, and that it was perfectly clear the rabbits had been changed 
 into cats. 
 
 As she slowly continued her journey homeward, she noticed the rooks 
 wheeling in circles to the south, and then fly away in the direction of the 
 next valley. After that, a long zigzag line appeared in the sky, which she 
 knew to be a flock of wild ducks. Later an immense pack of grouse, 
 screaming wildly, flew out of the valley towards the highest hill of the east. 
 Then the linnets and warbling tribes of small birds, which she could not 
 exactly distinguish, formed a great flock, and darted about like flies in the 
 air, and then flew out of sight. Even the owls, although it was only two 
 o'clock in the afternoon, were on the wing, screaming in B flat. The 
 herons, with their immense wings, flew away to distant places. 
 
 The widow sat to rest herself on a large granite stone by the side of 
 the river, and she was surprised to see that the salmon were jiimping over 
 the stones and swimming down to the sea as fast as they could. She then 
 plainly understood that all living creatures were leaving the valley for fear 
 of the number of black and black and white cats which were prowling 
 about. 
 
 The quaint and cunning description of the " Kabhit Protec- 
 tors " here follows, and should be read to be appreciated, but is 
 too long for these pages. 
 
 A stone, long since decayed, was placed over the grave, with the 
 inscription : " To the Perpetual Memory of the thirty-four Babbit Pro- 
 
CHAP. X.] ' THE WIDOW AND THE BABBITS.' 109 
 
 teciors, of the Yalley of Misery." Two of the keepers ran down the road 
 to England, one of whom escaped across the sea in a trading vessel to 
 Holland, where he was heard of many years afterwards. Seven went to the 
 South, and were never heard of again ; but as they had to cross a river, it 
 was surmised they were all drowned, and that their bodies were carried out 
 to sea. Two quarrelled over a piece of cold venison ; and one had his leg 
 broken by a kick by his companion, and perished in the snow. His com- 
 panion was tried and executed at Edinburgh. One got into a deep snow- 
 drift directly he started, and perished; but the remaining nine were 
 sheltered by a compassionate old woman at the north of the village, and 
 returned after two weeks' time, and became good labourers, declaring they 
 never would be Babbit Protectors again. In this way the whole forty- 
 seven were exactly accounted for. With regard to those who crossed the 
 river, it is stated by the great historian Findout, that several bodies were 
 washed ashore one November, at the parish of Seaside, not seven miles 
 from the mouth of the river ; but Mr. Exact, in his popular account of the 
 district, points out that the year is not mentioned, or the number of 
 bodies stated, nor was the identity ever proved ; so whether they were the 
 bodies of the keepers, or of sailors from the wreck of some ship, can never 
 be discovered. 
 
 Thursday came, and the cats, from exposure to the intense frost of the 
 preceding night, were very hungry, and were prowling about in all direc- 
 tions for food. It was particularly mentioned that, although the birds 
 flew over the valley that day, none settled when they saw the terrible army 
 of cats ready to devour them. 
 
 In the evening the Laird was in a state of wild passion at not having 
 his grouse for dinner, and went to bed half stupefied, after having drunk a 
 bottle of brandy. The cats, in the desperation of famine, attacked the 
 house by myriads, and tried to get in ; but the windows and doors were 
 securely bolted. As the Laird heard the shrieks and cries of the cats, he 
 shivered with fright in his bed ; when of a sudden the Fairy appeared in 
 a sheet of fire, standing on a table before his bed. " Who are you, and 
 whence do you come ?" cried he ; " how did you enter when all the doors 
 were locked and the windows barred? Tell me quick." The Fairy, 
 unmoved by his violent gestures, sweetly replied, " I am the Fairy Dogood : 
 I am flesh and blood like you, but not so gross. I dwell where I like ; 
 where all is peace; but generally at the mountain top, to overlook the 
 valley. Sometimes I lie in the scarlet flower of a lichen; sometimes I 
 nestle amidst the pollen of Linneeus' flower : when I go abroad, I flit on the 
 wings of a blue butterfly to survey the flowers, or I soar in the air between 
 the wings of a gnat to enjoy the evening breeze. I practise gymnastics on 
 the delicate thread of a spider's web, and dance on the top of a thorn of 
 the gorse ; I feed upon the odour of the sweet gale ; I drink the invisible 
 water of the air, and eat the blue bloom which covers the fruit of the dew- 
 berry ; I bathe in the particles of the mist as it rises over the mountain 
 top, and I swim in the dewdrops which hang on the flowers ; I slide on 
 the snow-flakes as they drift in the air, and I skate on the hailstones as 
 they drop from the sky. When I suspect wrong, I leave the mountain top ; 
 and I have dwelt in the key-hole of your bedroom to see what you have 
 been about. When I see injustice, I ride upon the whirlwind and gallop 
 in the flames. I have come to visit you through a crack in a pane of glass 
 
110 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X. 
 
 in your bedroom window, which, although you can scarcely see, is quite 
 wide enough for me to pass through." 
 
 At these words, the Laird shook and shook again, as well he might, 
 and covered his face with the bedclothes ; but he saw the Fairy neverthe- 
 less, and could not hide her from his view. In a stentorian voice which 
 shook the very walls of the house, the Fairy continued : " I have answered 
 thy questions fully, and perhaps more fully than you expected; now 
 answer mine. Will you compensate the villagers for the damage the 
 rabbits have caused ?" " I will," he quickly cried, " but spare me, O Fairy 
 Dogood." " Will you promise never to keep Babbit Protectors again ?" 
 " I will," he wildly shrieked, more dead than alive with fear ; " but, O dear 
 Fairy Dogood, keep the cats from devouring me." The Fairy with a voice 
 like thunder exclaimed, " Don't call me dear, but keep thy promise ; for if 
 ever thou breakest it, the proprietorship of the lands of the valley shall 
 never descend in the direct line in thy family; and mark, if thou art ever 
 guilty of further extortions, the lands you have acquired by conquest will 
 be taken from you, and given back to the people from whom, in plain truth, 
 you have stolen them. Power has only been given to me by Queen Mab over 
 rabbits, but not over cats," said the Fairy ; " I cannot help you, and would 
 not if I could." And then in a flame which lit up for a minute the whole 
 valley, and was seen by many persons hundreds of miles around, the Fairy 
 instantly disappeared through the same crack she had entered, saying with 
 a voice like thunder, " Keep thy promise." A great scientific man, Mr. 
 Factfinder, who carefully examined the pane of glass with a lens, is 
 reported to have been of opinion that the flames fused the two sides of the 
 crack which the fairy passed through, as he could not find any reflection 
 on the surfaces ; though he clearly perceived the direction of the cut by a 
 slight irregularity in the glass. 
 
 In the celebrated collection of Baron Oldfinder, a window was men- 
 tioned in the catalogue one pane of which showed signs of having been 
 cracked. A minute investigation showed a central part of the disturbance 
 of the substance of the glass, from which irregular curved lines radiated. 
 It is possible that this might have been the very pane of glass which Fairy 
 Dogood went through. It is impossible, however, to clear up the mystery, 
 as the heir of the seventh Baron Breakeverything Larky, when a boy, and 
 not knowing the priceless value of this antiquity, used it as a target to fire 
 at, and literally smashed it to atoms. He ever regretted the circumstance, 
 and used to say, in after-years, that any object which could throw light on 
 the important legend of the Widow and the Babbits was of great interest 
 to the whole civilized world, and he deeply deplored, that he had inad- 
 vertently destroyed this important link of the evidence. 
 
 After the flames, which occurred three minutes past midnight, and are 
 recorded in all good astronomical books of a subsequent period, the air 
 became very still and cold, in fact colder than ever has been known before 
 or since. How cold it was, never can be known, for no thermometer has 
 ever been made to register such extreme cold as prevailed that still night. 
 The cats, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, succumbed to the frost, and lay 
 dead in all directions. The next day, when the villagers looked out of the 
 windows, the white snow was literally strewn with dead cats; the black 
 cats were very distinctly visible on the white ground, though the white ones 
 were not visible, as they could hardly be distinguished from the snow. 
 
CHAP. X.] 'THE WIDOW AND THE BABBITS.' Ill 
 
 In the course of Thursday, the Laird, who was still afraid, and very ill 
 from the effects of the brandy which he had drunk and from the fright he 
 had received, sent his trusty forester, Mr. Treecarer, to the village, to say, 
 that he would compensate all those who had suffered injury from, the 
 rabbits, and he begged them at once to make out their accounts that he 
 might discharge them. When the villagers heard this, their joy was 
 unbounded, and they cried : " Away with misery and woe ; now come back 
 happiness and joy." One old man, however, said, " Do not waste your 
 time in merry-making too soon : we should not be wasteful, if we were rich ; 
 but now we are poor, we should waste nothing. Remember that a good 
 cat-skin is worth fourpence, so skin the cats and sell the skins." All the 
 villagers thought this good advice, and started off at once with a hurrah, 
 and up to Saturday night got as many skins as realized 2,500 exactly, at 
 fourpence each. Thus it is proved that 150,000 rabbits existed before 
 they were turned into cats ; and as the valley contained 15,000 acres, it is 
 proved that there were 10 rabbits to every acre of land. But this is not 
 quite exact, for rain set in on the Sunday, which spoilt the skins of many of 
 the black cats, and many of the white cats had been passed over, as they 
 could not be seen in the white snow. It is possible that the total amount 
 of rabbits which lived in the valley were 15 per acre, or 225,000 in the whole. 
 After much consultation and consideration the villagers were compensated 
 by a return of five years' rents, which actuaries consider fair under the cir- 
 cumstances ; because the rabbits had been brought to the valley ten years 
 back. At first there were very few rabbits, and they did but little harm ; 
 gradually they increased, by a geometric progression, till the above enormous 
 quantity was bred. By accepting five years' rents as compensation, a fair 
 average was struck, and a very difficult discussion avoided. The lawyers 
 indeed wanted to go into fractions, because in some years the rabbits 
 multiplied more than in othprs, and hence the progression was not uniform. 
 One lawyer, Mr. Stirupstrife, desired to file amicable Bills in Chancery as 
 to the appropriation of the money ; but the villagers were too sensible by 
 far to listen to this proposition, although Mr. Barrister Helplawyer 
 strongly advised that course. All legal difficulties were surmounted : and 
 the lawyers were prevented from eating up the funds, which they very much 
 wanted to do, by each payment of the Laird being a free gift, subject to 
 the terms and conditions of the giver, which were equitable in each par- 
 ticular case where the money had to be divided amongst the children who 
 had lost their parents. 
 
 On Thursday the birds, seeing that the cats were dead, returned to 
 their own haunts ; and on Sunday a rapid thaw took place, which caused a 
 great flood, and on Monday morning the salmon returned by shoals to the 
 river ; and all was again prosperity and peace. 
 
 The villagers, out of the proceeds of the sale of the cats-skins, bought 
 the poor widow a new house, with a farm of thirty-five acres of arable and 
 grass land, and seven roods of wood. She also had ample compensation 
 for the damage done by the rabbits. The remainder of the money was 
 spent in building a new church which was badly wanted the round 
 arches of which exist to this day. Unfortunately the builder, who came 
 from a town called Cheatem, took the villagers in, or they would have 
 been able to construct a bridge over the river. To this day, 1,000 years 
 afterwards, the river has to be crossed by a ford, to the great peril of 
 
112 MEMOIK OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X. 
 
 the inhabitants ; and when I went to the ford, had I attempted to pass, I 
 should certainly hare been drowned, showing how long the effects of 
 roguery may be felt. 
 
 The Laird carried out honestly his compensation to the peasants and 
 his promises to the Fairy; and was always happy and contented after- 
 wards. All the villagers ever since have protected his partridges, grouse, 
 and deer, and reserved to him three miles of river, containing five fine 
 salmon pools, for his own private use. He lived to the ripe old age of 91, 
 and on his tombstone he ordered to be engraved, after his name, date of 
 birth, and age at death 
 
 BEWARE OF BABBITS ! ! 
 
 The previous year the two following letters were published in 
 the ' Times : ' 
 
 It was known all over London that the venerable church of St. 
 Saviour's was this morning struck by lightning, when the majestic peal 
 of thunder rolled throughout the metropolis at about half -past eight, and 
 this afternoon I examined the course of the electric force in its destruc- 
 tive career. 
 
 The church has a noble central tower, with four stone turrets, one at 
 each angle, and each turret is surmounted with a large copper vane, over 
 which is placed a copper ball. The south-east turret has been struck 
 by lightning ; and as a result, the stones of which it was composed were 
 thrown off in all directions, exactly as the bark of a tree is thrown off 
 when that is struck by lightning. The force with which the stones com- 
 posing the turret were scattered may be appreciated when it is stated that 
 one stone was thrown at least fifty yards to the western extremity of the 
 churchyard, where it broke two iron rails and then injured a house. 
 Other stones were thrown on the roofs of the houses near London Bridge. 
 Some were thrown on the roof of the church, breaking through to the 
 pavement below, and all the surrounding houses bear more or less 
 the marks of violence with which large stones were thrown from the 
 turret at the top of the tower. 
 
 An inmate of one of the almshouses below told me that what with 
 the lightning, the roar of the thunder, the pelting rain, the falling 
 stones, and the breaking in of the roofs, she really thought the end of the 
 world had arrived. The copper ball at the top of the vane bore the marks 
 of the lightning discharge. The turret itself being composed of stone, 
 and therefore a bad conductor of electricity, offered a resistance to the 
 transmission of the electric force, and was consequently disintegrated 
 and its component parts thrown outwards. The electric force then passed 
 to the flat lead roof at the top of the tower, and was thence conveyed by a 
 water-pipe to the lead-gutters on the roof of the southern aisle of the nave. 
 From this roof it passed down two other water-pipes to the churchyard. 
 On the most easterly of these pipes, or the nearest to the tower, the pipe 
 showed a curious lateral discharge, forming a funnel-shaped hole, and on 
 the more westerly water-pipe a dilation existed, but without the aperture. 
 From the examination which I made, it is demonstrated that, had there 
 been a conductor from the vane to the water-pipes, at a cost of two or 
 three pounds, the present damage, which is roughly estimated at 500, 
 
CHAP. X.] LETTERS TO THE * TIMES ' AND ' STANDARD.' 113 
 
 would have been spared ; and the moral may be leamt, never to have two 
 surfaces of metal in so high and exposed a situation without a lightning- 
 conductor. I have lived in a house struck by lightning where the 
 lightning-conductors, from being badly constructed, were really lightning 
 attractors, but in this case the mischief is due entirely to the parsimony of 
 the parish authorities. Thunder and lightning is in no part of Europe, 
 not even excepting the high Alps, so terrifically grand as in the centre of 
 the city of London ; and when to this marvellous natural phenomenon is 
 superadded its power of destruction of the more beautiful works of man, 
 the interest attending its operation is materially increased. 
 July 26th, 1870. 
 
 Another magnificent display of the aurora borealis occurred last 
 night. I was driving from Carshalton to London when I noticed that it 
 suddenly became very chilly, and that the sky exhibited much the same 
 appearance as when a beautiful aurora occurred at Oxford about five weeks 
 since. The remark had hardly been made when the first light appeared in 
 the south-east. Within two or three minutes a grand display of red 
 light appeared overhead, with 'streamers stretching down to the northern 
 horizon. A few minutes afterwards the light showed itself towards the 
 west, with streamers of light stretching to the western horizon. The 
 glorious scene was ever changing, when a vast mass of red light appeared 
 in the north-east. This resembled the light of a large London fire, and 
 was in the greatest perfection whilst we were on Clapham Common, about 
 a quarter to 6 o'clock. It continued, however, till we arrived in London, 
 and ceased about 7 o'clock. These great displays of northern lights so 
 early in the season are unprecedented in my recollection. 
 
 Oct. 26th, 1870. 
 
 On January 24th, 1872, a violent gale passed over the 
 metropolis, which occasioned a letter to the ' Standard ' on the 
 25th, on barometric pressure, and which called for the invention 
 of cheap barometers for the use of our fishermen, so that they 
 might thereby be enabled to prognosticate a coming gale. 
 
 The violent gale which passed last night over the metropolis was accom- 
 panied by corresponding changes in the barometer. Yesterday the barometer 
 stood at 29*03, but in consequence of the violence of the gale which raged 
 this morning I examined the barometer at half -past 4 and found that it had 
 fallen to 28*35, and that at 5 o'clock it had receded to 28*34. The flint 
 glass barometer of the London Institution, which is a duplicate of the 
 famous instrument made for the Royal Society, with a platinum ring in 
 the tube, recorded at 6 A.M. 28*37 inches of pressure, and at 6 P.M. 28*87, 
 showing a rise of half an inch in twelve hours. I kept my mountain 
 aneroid barometer, specially constructed for me by Messrs. Home and 
 Thornthwaite, under observation the entire day. By 9 o'clock it had risen 
 to 28*6 ; by 10 to 28*65 ; by 11 to 28*7 ; at noon it stood at 28*74. Then a 
 storm of wind and rain ensued, when by 1 o'clock it had fallen to 28*73. 
 By 2 o'clock the mercury rose again to 28*76 ; by 3 o'clock to 28*84; by 4 
 to 28*86 ; by 5 to 28*87, when it remained stationary till half-past 9, when 
 it reached 28*9. At 11 o'clock P.M. it stood at 28*93, when the observations 
 
 I 
 
114 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X. 
 
 were discontinued, as the mercury had returned to nearly its former 
 position. The mercury in the large tube in the barometer of the Bank 
 of England was at noon in a state of visible motion from the rapidity of 
 the variation of the atmospheric pressure. It is important to call the 
 particular attention of our mariners to the occurrence of great gales, with 
 rapid changes in barometric pressure ; and he who can invent a cheap, 
 delicate, and practical instrument for the use of our fishermen and seamen, 
 to enable them to prognosticate a coming storm, will be the greatest 
 philanthropist of the age, by tending to the protection of life from the 
 perils of the winds and waves. 
 
 On July 25th, 1872, a letter was written to the ' Times ' on 
 the incident of Brixton Church having heen struck by lightning 
 in the storm. 
 
 The intensity and violence of the storms throughout Europe this 
 summer naturally attract general attention. On Thursday, July 11, so 
 frequent were the electrical discharges that I counted in one hour 394 
 flashes of lightning. The storm over London on Tuesday was severe, but 
 singularly enough at Carshalton, although the roars of the peals of thunder 
 came from every side, and the repeated flashes of lightning were dazzling 
 and terrific, scarcely a drop of rain fell. Between Carshalton and London 
 the full force of the storm was experienced, and the steeple of Brixton 
 Church was struck by lightning. I was curious to examine the injury, 
 and to trace the course of the electric force. I found the steeple was 
 built of stone, and had a stone ornament at the summit, with a stone 
 cross. All this was supported by stone columns, and there was no good 
 electric conductor between the stone cross and the earth. The electrical 
 discharge shivered the stone ornament, breaking it into fragments, which 
 were dispersed in all directions. Some fell upon the roof of the church, 
 breaking the slates and even the rafters, but many of the pieces of broken 
 stone were thrown to the churchyard beneath. In this particular instance 
 the electrical discharge did not appear to have passed between the clouds 
 and the earth by any water-pipe, gas-pipe, or other electric conductor 
 connected with the part of the steeple struck, but probably was carried by 
 the down-pouring rain, which is itself an efficient conductor of electricity. 
 I remember this steeple to have been struck by lightning about thirty years 
 ago, and this second injury indicates that even a stone steeple in an 
 exposed situation is not safe without an efficient metallic lightning- 
 conductor. 
 
 These letters on storms show the great interest which Mr. 
 Smee evinced in such phenomena. Indeed it was seldom that he 
 heard of a building or tree in the metropolis or its vicinity being 
 "struck by lightning, but he would hasten to the scene to take 
 observations on the occurrence. 
 
 ' My Garden ' was the next published work from Alfred Smee's 
 pen. It was written in every spare moment as a solace to his 
 mind. The work, now so well known, details the geology of the 
 
CHAP. XJ THE PUBLICATION OF 'MY GARDEN.' 115 
 
 district. The Celtic, Koman, and Anglo-Saxon periods of its 
 history are exemplified, as are also the mediaeval. The prin- 
 ciples of gardening are given, and the very tools that are neces- 
 sary for that operation fully described. The construction of glass 
 houses, with their ventilation, and the curious and novel modes 
 for heating them, are also explained. The arrangements for the 
 propagation of plants, the management of garden vegetables, 
 of the fruit garden, the general flower garden, the special flower 
 garden (comprising the roses, orchids, climbing plants, Alpine 
 flowers, ornamental grasses); weeds and wild plants; the algae, 
 mosses, lichens, liverworts, fungi ; the ferns, lycopods, &c., are 
 all fully set forth. Forest trees and shrubs are duly noticed 
 (this chapter was written during the three weeks he was in Scot- 
 land, in the autumn of 1871, when he also wrote ' The Widow and 
 the Babbits'); and the animal kingdom, from the animalcules 
 in the river Wandle and insects of the garden to the larger 
 animals. The birds and the fish and the reptiles hold an im- 
 portant part in the work. The climate and spring frosts are 
 recorded ; and the work ends with a calendar of plants in flower 
 under glass and out of doors, of fruit, of vegetables, of garden 
 operations, and of the natural history, during every week for the 
 year 1871. ' My Garden ' is illustrated by 1300 engravings, 
 nearly all taken from nature ; it is not only a work of reference, 
 but it is fitted, from the beauty of its illustrations, for the 
 drawing-room table. This book has been compared to White's 
 1 Natural History of Selborne.' To those who are lovers of 
 gardening this book is indeed a prize !* 
 
 Not many months before ' My Garden ' was issued to the 
 public, Professor Huxley, who was giving a course of lectures 
 at the London Institution, fell suddenly ill. The audience were 
 already assembling in the theatre of the London Institution. 
 What was to be done ? Some one rushed off to our house, a 
 few doors off, and fortunately my father came in at that very 
 moment. " It is a pity," he said, " that so many should come, 
 some a long distance, and should go away disappointed. Suppose 
 I give them a lecture ?" " Yes, do ! " was the eager exclamation. 
 Then my father said he would give them a lecture, a gossip about 
 gardening. So, without any preparation, he walked into the 
 theatre, crowded with people who had come to hear Professor 
 Huxley on Biology, but who remained to hear what Mr. Smee 
 
 * ' My Garden ' is published by Messrs. Bell, York Street, Co vent Garden. 
 
 i 2 
 
116 MEMOIR OF ALFKED SMEE. [CHAP. X. 
 
 had to say about gardening. Without any notes or premeditation 
 he commenced. On another occasion, within a few months, my 
 father delivered another lecture on the same subject at an equally 
 short notice, but this is the only one which has been preserved, 
 through the kindness of Mr. Shadbolt, a proprietor, who took 
 shorthand notes of it, and which was afterwards printed in the 
 Journal of the London Institution, February 5th, 1872. (See 
 Appendix, No. XXXI Y.) My father's family are naturally proud 
 of this fresh" demonstration of his genius. 
 
 A few weeks after the publication of ' My Garden/ he gave 
 in August 1872 a fete in his garden, on the marriage of his 
 daughter. On this occasion he invited the children of the neigh- 
 bourhood to exhibit wild flowers, so as to "develope in them 
 intelligence, observation, emulation, and the sense of the beau- 
 tiful." He gave rewards in useful books to those who exhibited 
 the most beautiful collection of wild flowers, of which the species 
 were the most varied or which were arranged with the best 
 taste. The exhibition took place and was a great success, and 
 contributed to the interest of the fete. 
 
 My father was an active supporter of flower-shows being held 
 in the city of London. Of late years, flower-shows, or rather 
 exhibitions of window-plants grown within the City, have been 
 held in Finsbury Circus, and he gave prizes for wild flowers 
 at these little horticultural displays. He gave two prizes in 
 1,875, three in 1876, and in 1877 he had intended to give no less 
 than six prizes for wild flowers, which were to be collected by 
 any resident in the city of London coming within the limits of 
 the society. 
 
 The first prize will be for the best collection of wild flowers, correctly 
 named. 
 
 2nd. Second best collection, correctly named. 
 
 3rd. The best collection of wild flowers, unnamed. 
 
 4th. Second best collection, unnamed. 
 
 5th. The best collection of wild flowers tastefully arranged. 
 
 6th. The second best tastefully arranged. 
 
 The judges are empowered to withhold any prize if in their opinion a 
 sufficient standard of excellence is not attained. 
 
 ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 These prizes were distributed last summer by my mother, 
 according to the wishes of her husband. These shows have been 
 very successful, and they have already realized the hopes of the 
 most ardent of their supporters. 
 
CHAP. X.] LETTERS TO HIS DAUGHTER. 117 
 
 My father laid out our garden at Oxford and stocked it 
 with the choicest kinds of the fruits and outdoor plants which 
 were grown in his own garden, and he always looked upon the 
 former as a miniature Carshalton garden. After my marriage 
 rarely a day passed, if ever, without his writing to me 
 one, and sometimes two letters, in nearly all of which some 
 advice or information is given appertaining to the little garden 
 formed by his skill. These letters, perhaps more than anything 
 else, show the energy and extreme activity of his character, as 
 well as his love for Nature, which was with him a veritable 
 passion. 
 
 I shall not come down till Thursday, and then will stop till Tuesday. 
 Go and hurry on the workmen to-day (Wednesday) to finish the green- 
 house, to get it painted inside, and to have the ends ready that I may 
 plant on Saturday, to save Sunday. To be precise : 
 
 Have the greenhouse painted twice inside and glazed (glazed first). 
 
 Get the end glazed and fixed if not time to paint. 
 
 Get the ventilators up. 
 
 Make B. get the vine borders ready. 
 
 I hope that all the vines will be growing by Saturday. 
 
 In another letter he says : 
 
 There is a cart-load of things waiting to come to you, and cart-load 
 after cart-load will follow. Drive them on. You would make a bad nigger 
 driver. You do not fluster them half enough. 
 
 Got home all right. 
 
 We tumbled into the work yesterday pretty well ; but there is a lot 
 to do. 
 
 Tell your husband he was right about the axis of the croquet lawn ; it 
 was out about 15 inches. I adjusted roughly, but it will require the most 
 minute adjustment at the finish. 
 
 I do not like the south part of the walk near the park. It is like a 
 hedge and looks vulgar. 
 
 Give B. the enclosed drawing, and tell him to get out the earth as in 
 the enclosed drawing, beginning right down at the path, and carrying it 
 back somewhat in the enclosed form to the very verge of the croquet 
 ground, &c. 
 
 Whenever my father came down, he always found the work 
 done wrong. I was only too glad his instructions were not 
 properly carried out in his absence, for by that means I got him 
 down oftener than I otherwise should have done. My father 
 took great interest in our garden, and I was always having 
 letters about it, and I was well lectured if I did not give that 
 amount of attention to it which his enthusiastic spirit wished. 
 
118 MEMOIK OF ALFKED SMEE. [CHAP. X 
 
 An immense hamper of plants will be sent from Carshalton, and I 
 have made arrangements for Saxifrages, Seinpervivums, and Sedums to be 
 sent, as well as a stock of bedding plants. 
 
 The hampers had better be sent back to Carshalton. 
 
 I have ordered my largest Wistaria to be taken np and sent to cover 
 your verandah. 
 
 I have ordered some lavender and the various herbs to be sent. I 
 think that they had better be planted under the peach-trees near the road, 
 but perhaps they had better wait till I come down. 
 
 Drive on the men ! Get in the earth. Get me lots of stones, and 
 give B. the enclosed plan for him to finish the park. side. You must 
 worry them three times a day at least, for you will gain a year by working 
 hard this month and getting in your crops. 
 
 I shall bring some seed-peas with me and other seeds to be planted at 
 once, and the rest will follow. 
 
 Let me know every day what is done. 
 
 I have made inquiries about some peat, for I must contrive that you 
 have a few American plants if I can manage it. 
 
 I have ordered your Azaleas and Camellias to be sent directly, also 
 some Alpine plants. I have also sent a hamper full of bulbs, so neces- 
 sary to make your garden beautiful in spring. The Hyacinths and 
 Narcissi are to be planted in pots for the greenhouse; the Scillas on 
 the mound. 
 
 Then follows a drawing how the bulbs should be arranged. 
 
 We have just come back from Carshalton. The garden is most 
 lovely ; all our Cacti are planted out. Many of the little ones are in 
 flower; most interesting. Our Cacti have only been watered once this 
 winter. 
 
 I am quite afraid your man will seriously damage yours, so plant them 
 all out forthwith, but label them first. I should have gone to bed 
 straight, but I did not like you to spoil your plants, &c. 
 
 There is an anemone on the mound, with a white flower somewhere in 
 this position (here follows a drawing). I think you had better either 
 eradicate or curtail it to a very little bit. It is a most aggressive rascal. 
 Mine has eaten up nearly twenty species, and has almost driven me wild. 
 
 Whit Monday, 10.20. 
 
 For some years previously he had been a member of the 
 Council of the Eoyal Horticultural Society ; he was chairman 
 of the fruit committee, as well as a member of the scientific 
 committee, of the same society. Just before his death he was 
 elected vice-president of the scientific committee. He ever took 
 an active part in these committees, and was rarely absent from 
 them. 
 
 In May 1874, an International Botanical Congress was held 
 at Florence, and Alfred Smee was sent there as representative of 
 
CHAP. X.] LETTEES FROM ABROAD. 119 
 
 the Koyal Horticultural Society of England. He read a paper at 
 that congress on l The best Varieties of Fruits cultivated in 
 England/ with a view of advancing horticulture by communicat- 
 ing from one country to another the experience which has been 
 obtained of the cultivation of flowers and fruit under varieties of 
 soils and differences of climate. He received a few months later 
 a silver medal from the King of Italy. 
 
 Whilst abroad I received many letters from him; two or 
 three of which are here transcribed. 
 
 You have passed the Semrnering, and you remember how we turned 
 round to ascend the pass. Well, we left Yienna and slept here, stopping 
 at the station at the turn round at the eleventh station. (Here follows 
 a diagram.) 
 
 Semmering. The place is most beautiful, with a face of rock of 
 astounding grandeur behind the hotel. This morning we started about 
 8 o'clock and drove up the gorge, which is perhaps the finest in Europe. 
 The first mile or two was flat, and we saw the waterworks for Vienna, 
 which come out of limestone rocks, as the water comes from the ground at 
 Carshalton. After a time the valley narrows to a gorge, only sufficient 
 room for . the river and the wood. At one place the road is carried on 
 planks over the course of the river thus (here is a drawing). The whole 
 road had abundance of wild flowers ; amongst the most remarkable were 
 Sempervivums, Sedums, Saxifrages, the blue Hepatica, the Cyclamen, the 
 grape Hyacinth, the beautiful Gentian Yerna. Several plants I never 
 saw before the wild Auricula, the Trolleus Europreus, the green-stalked 
 Spleenwoi't, all of which I sent many specimens, of which you shall come 
 in for your fair share. I was quite tired grubbing up the plants, and got 
 a large quantity. On our return many of the party saw a number of 
 chamois, seven of which rushed up the mountain, sending down the stones 
 and mightily delighting the observers. 
 
 From the cold and wet we have had lately, the tips of all the moun- 
 tains, which are about 5000 feet high, are covered with snow; and the 
 Cupivah of snow-clad mountains, pine-clad sides, the clear, sparkling 
 river, and the cumulous clouds casting their shadows over each and 
 towards the mountain-tops, produced a scene which was truly delightful 
 in itself, and caused us all to think that the day was one never to be for- 
 gotten. You must never go to Yienna without visiting this mountain 
 gorge, which is superior to anything which I have ever seen before. It 
 is much larger and finer than the Hellerthal of the Black Mountains; 
 it is wider and finer than the gorge which you saw in Switzerland ; and 
 it is much larger, and the mountains higher, than the gorge of the 
 baths of Pfeffers, which you have so often laughed at me for so much 
 admiring. 
 
 We are all well, and your mother is behaving like a brick, getting up 
 at seven in the morning. She is now drying some flowers. 
 
 To-morrow we go to Trieste, thence to Yenice, Hotel Europe ; but it 
 will be no use sending any more letters till we arrive at Florence, where 
 we hope to be on May 10th, in the evening. 
 
 SEMMERING, May 3, 1874. 
 
120 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X. 
 
 "We came yesterday (Monday) to Trieste, arriving at ten at night. 
 As you have done the road, I need not describe it. It is a very fine 
 journey, the Seminering being covered with the lovely Gentian Yerna. 
 The Edelweiss was sold by ragged boys at the stations. I bought you a 
 little bouquet of flowers. I wanted to have got a lot of roots, but 
 somehow or other Herr B. did not act with sufficient energy, and I only 
 bought two plants of the gardener at English prices, one for you and one 
 for myself. 
 
 We did our journey amidst cloud and rain, which made the effects in 
 the mountains very fine and beautiful. To get from here to Yenice we go 
 either by water or by rail. Some want one way and some another, where- 
 upon an argument arises. 
 
 I shall remain calm upon the point, as I do not care one hair's breadth 
 which way we go. 
 
 I have been much pleased to watch the progress of the trees, for 
 although we are so much south, we are still much in the same state as 
 you are in England : for example, the apple-trees are in the beginning of 
 flower; the horse-chestnuts in the same state. The vines have barely 
 started, so that when they begin they will go on at a terrible rate, to make 
 up in summer for the lost time in winter and spring. 
 
 Keep your house moist. Give water to the atmosphere by watering the 
 floor and walls eveiy day, and, above all things, do not permit cold blasts of air. 
 
 Yesterday I despatched a box of alpines to England of my own 
 getting, but really, when you are out for the whole day, there is very little 
 time for plant-hunting, which is tiring and wearisome. 
 
 I am writing this letter, looking over the Adriatic, with its ships 
 and port. 
 
 Write and tell me how your little man is (his grandson) .... I must 
 bring him home a little plant, as we must make him love fruit and 
 flowers, &c. &c. 
 
 Yesterday we had the most lovely day at Trieste; one of those 
 grand sunshines which Italy only can offer. We drove along the 
 bay to the house of Maximilian, one of the most beautiful houses 
 which I ever saw. It was faultless in design, fitted up with the 
 most exquisite taste. The gardens were delightful, and for the first 
 time the nightingales sung their delicious tunes. All was lovely, whether 
 within or without. But where were the proprietors ? The lady in a 
 mad-house; the master dead from the ruthless bullets of foreign bar- 
 barians ! Avoid too much ambition. Do not desire to have the baby 
 grow as high as St. Paul's, or write poetry like Homer before he can 
 speak. 
 
 " Who pants for glory, finds but short repose ; 
 A breath revives him, or a breath o'erthrows." POPE. 
 
 At Trieste we found the Maidenhair fern, and got a pretty good 
 handful. If you show due obedience, and speak veiy prettily, I will give 
 some to you. 
 
 The Wistarias were in full blossom, and all Nature is putting f orth 
 its spring attire. 
 
 Poor Yenice looks more decayed than when you were here ; but we 
 will let you know further when we have seen more, &c. &c. 
 
CHAP. X.] TESTIMONIAL FKOM WORKING MEN. 121 
 
 Here we are, and asked for a letter from you, but, alas ! no letter to 
 hand. Are you weary ? are you dreary ? or are you too cheery to write ? 
 
 Perhaps little Georgey attracts all attention, and poor is 
 
 forgotten. 
 
 The setting sun fades, the rising grows higher and brighter ; so grand- 
 papa grows less, grandson bigger. You may be able to telegraph to me 
 till Saturday if you think of coming to us in Switzerland. [There was some 
 talk of myself and my husband joining them abroad, but it fell through.] 
 
 I am writing to you with a thunderstorm raging over the Apennines. 
 It is warmer here than before. 
 
 The king opens the Horticultural Exhibition to-morrow at half -past 
 eleven. We are all well. As you have seen Florence, I need not describe 
 it. There is an absence of swifts which is remarkable, as there was a 
 great number which used to skim by the windows when we were last here. 
 
 In January 1874, the Conservative candidate for Kochester 
 having withdrawn at the last moment, Alfred Smee suddenly 
 stepped into a train and found himself at Rochester the day only 
 before the nomination, causing a great fright among the Radicals, 
 who thought they were going this time to walk the course. Not- 
 withstanding such a short notice, he telegraphed to Rochester to 
 say he would address them that same evening. The room was 
 crowded so as to cause great inconvenience, even the road outside 
 the house being blocked up ; and what was most peculiar was, 
 that the meeting was almost entirely of working men. He polled 
 835 votes,* and for his pluck in coming forward like this at 
 the last hour he received from the working men of Rochester a 
 very handsome testimonial, consisting of a silver claret jug, cups 
 and salver, accompanied by an illuminated scroll, containing the 
 signatures of 600 subscribers. On the claret jug is the following 
 inscription: 
 
 " Presented to Alfred Smee, F.R.S., by the Conservative freemen and 
 electors of the city of Rochester, in recognition of his spirited conduct 
 in contesting the city on constitutional principles, April 2nd, 1874." 
 
 The presentation was made the occasion of a very imposing 
 demonstration. One of the papers recording the speeches says, 
 
 Mr. Smee and some London friends arrived at the South Eastern 
 Railway Station at Strood about 7 o'clock in the evening, and was met 
 by a large and enthusiastic gathering of his followers, accompanied by a 
 strong band and by bearers carrying flags and banners. A carriage and 
 pair had been provided f pr Mr. Smee, and several of his followers were also 
 in carriages. Immediately on Mr. Smee's arrival a procession was formed, 
 headed by the band, and the principal streets of the borough were paraded 
 
 * Mr. Smee polled upwards of 200 more votes than were ever before 
 recorded for a Conservative candidate for Rochester. 
 
122 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X. 
 
 by the imposing gathering. Red lights were burned all along the route, 
 and gave a romantic touch to the procession. Crowds of persons watched 
 the progress of the demonstration through the streets, windows were 
 thrown open, handkerchiefs were waved, and the cheering was immense. 
 The Corn Exchange was entered at about half -past eight, and was soon 
 entirely filled with Mr. Smee's warm-hearted supporters. The silver 
 articles forming the presentation lay upon a table on the platform. Mr. 
 G. "Watson, jun., hon. secretary to the presentation fund (a true, zealous, 
 and steadfast supporter of Mr. Srnee), read some letters from various 
 gentlemen who signified their gratification at Mr. Smee having a pre- 
 sentation. Major McCory was in the chair, and after an excellent speech 
 Mr. C. J. Carter, a working man, in appropriate terms presented the testi- 
 monial. Mr. Smee then rose to reply. 
 
 A full report of his speech, as reported in the ' Kochester 
 Journal,' is in the Appendix, No. XXXY. 
 
 Previous to this and immediately after the election, I received 
 this letter from my father : 
 
 MY DEAR MARY, The Rochester affair is quite a romance, and too 
 long to tell you. I went down and had only half-an-hour to sign the 
 preliminary forms. 
 
 I found that the party was so split up that I determined to return to 
 London ; but having called a meeting at about three hours' notice, when 
 the hotel was full and the whole street was full, I felt bound to address 
 them. I was received with extraordinary enthusiasm, and my voice being 
 much more than usual obedient to my will, I made a most elegant and 
 eloquent speech, which fetched the whole audience. 
 
 At the end I told them that the party were not sufficiently organized, 
 and that I should go back to London. 
 
 There was the greatest uproar you ever heard, and I believe, if I had, 
 some of the Conservative leaders would have been lynched. The whole 
 room called upon me to stand, but I replied that the money came out of 
 my pocket, and I could not, in justice to my family, permit it. 
 
 I required half-an-hour for consideration, and the chairman was taken 
 by me from the working men. They appointed four delegates to wait 
 upon me, who said they wanted neither money nor beer, but wanted me to 
 be their member, whereupon a solemn compact was formed between us 
 that I should pay nothing for organization, that they would do all the 
 work for nothing, and I, on my part, should stand and pay the Act of 
 Parliament expenses. 
 
 The most enthusiastic and exciting affair took place, and they kept 
 their word. They brought up eight hundred and thirty-five people, and we 
 had only thirty-six hours' notice. Carts and waggons and more remark- 
 able than all a donkey-cart decked out in pink ribbons stood before the 
 King's Head all day in case they should be required. 
 
 Not one drop of beer or wine was given away, and not one shilling 
 
 The election would have been secured by the distribution of a few 
 half-crowns among the very poor. 
 
 We had two enormous meetings on the day before the poll, at one of 
 
CHAP. X.] THE ROCHESTER ELECTION. 123 
 
 which the Admiral came from Chatham and spoke strongly in my 
 favour. 
 
 The city was perfectly quiet. The present members received me with 
 every courtesy. Martin spoke of the rows of former times, and said what 
 a fright he was in. He spoke of it with laughter, and said if I did not get 
 in he hoped I would write another book, as he had bought ' My Garden,' and 
 was very much pleased with it. Mr. Goldsmith was purposely courteous, to 
 show there was no ill feeling. I spoke to Foord and Aveling and the town 
 clerk and Steele, the chairman of the other side. He roared when I told 
 him that I offered a man a sovereign at the last election to cover his house 
 with my bills, to give him a hint as to how he should vote ; but I told him 
 he was afraid of the Bench. We had also a good laugh with the mayor 
 and town eouncil in solemn conclave assembled. There was a question 
 whether I might or might not stop in the council chamber, when I told 
 them perhaps I had better stop, or they would form a committee to oppose 
 my return, which caused the member and some of the council who saw the 
 joke to roar with laughter ; but some of the Blues did look blue indeed at 
 having their dignity trifled with. The result of the election is looked 
 upon as a gain for Conservatism, by the manner I have worked the in- 
 dustrial classes ; but I have lost, and there is an end of it. 
 
 Perhaps it may not be out of place here to insert the kind 
 terms in which Mr. Martin, the Liberal member for Kochester, 
 referred to Mr. Smee in a speech delivered to his constituents 
 shortly after my father's death, for it shows so well the generous 
 nature of Mr. Martin and the entire absence of ill feeling 
 between them. 
 
 Mr. Martin, on rising to address the meeting, was received with a 
 round of applause. He said, before proceeding to the topics of his speech 
 he would do what he felt was only English and manly to do, and that was 
 to refer to one who had just departed this Jife. The person he meant did 
 not belong to their side, but he had known him many years and had four 
 times contested that city with him. He referred to the late Mr. Alfred 
 Smee. (Applause.) He was a man of great good humour, of pleasant 
 manners, and an able man in his profession. He was affectionate and 
 pleasant in his private life, and although they had fought he hoped they 
 had never interrupted their friendship. (Applause.) Although an oppo- 
 nent, Mr. Smee used to send him a copy of all his new books, and he 
 (Mr. M.) must acknowledge that he was a most formidable opponent. At 
 the last election, by his plucky manner and great good humour, he not 
 only got the votes of nearly every Conservative in the city, but he also 
 got more neutral votes than any other man could have got, and he (Mr. M.) 
 deeply regretted that he had been removed from amongst them. (Loud 
 applause.) 
 
 In 1875, he put forth the hypothesis that the Council for the 
 Koyal College of Surgeons in England should be elected from 
 Fellows by seniority of their membership, and not of their Fellow- 
 ship ; and on that principle he offered himself as a candidate for a 
 
124 MEMOIR OP ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X. 
 
 seat on the Council. For this purpose the following circulars or 
 letters were published : 
 
 GENTLEMEN, I beg to return my thanks to the numerous Fellows 
 who have answered my last circular, asking their opinion whether seniority 
 should be determined by the date of membership or Fellowship. 
 
 The Fellows, in the proportion of nearly twelve to one, have expressed 
 an opinion that seniority should rank from the date of membership. 
 
 One of our most distinguished army surgeons adds these significant 
 words : " Just as in the army, medical service time for progressive increase 
 of pay counts from the date of the first and lowest commission." 
 
 It has been suggested to me that there is a combination of medical 
 schools to return their own men, which, if true, would practically amount 
 to a disenfranchisement of the Fellows, as no individual candidate can 
 stand against a combination of interests, and thus the creation of the 
 Fellowship for independent election is absolutely frustrated. 
 
 To the minority who desire seniority to rank from the date of Fellow- 
 ship, I would point out that, as in the past the members were deprived of 
 their just seniority by the institution of the Fellowship, so in the future 
 there is nothing to prevent the Fellows from being deprived of their 
 present seniority by the creation of a new class, such for instance as the 
 institution of doctors of surgery, from whom the Council might be chosen, 
 to the exclusion of the remainder of the Fellows. 
 
 It now clearly appears, that the Fellows who approve the principle of 
 seniority from membership cannot come to the College to vote without the 
 almost prohibitory inconvenience of a journey to London. 
 
 It must not be forgotten that, from the peculiar properties of members 
 in connection with election matters, it will be necessary (particularly if 
 combination exists) that plumpers and only plumpers be recorded, in 
 order that the election may be secured. 
 
 For that reason, as this is a contest of principle, and not, as far as I 
 am concerned, a fight between rival competitors, I earnestly beg all those 
 Fellows who desire that a seniority once obtained should never be taken 
 away by any subsequent legislation, to vote for myself, without any respect 
 to personal consideration, but solely as the representative of the principle 
 of seniority by membership. 
 
 SIR, The last election at the Royal College of Surgeons has revealed 
 a wide- spread discontent among the Fellows. It is assumed that the 
 members of Council are elected by the Fellows at large ; but the election 
 takes place at the College in London, whilst the majority of the electors 
 reside in the country, hundreds of miles distant, so that it is not possible 
 that any election can represent the opinions of the general body. 
 
 It is a mere mockery of justice to bestow a franchise on Fellows 
 which in many cases they cannot possibly use, because they are unable to 
 leave their duties and incur the cost, the loss of time, and fatigue of the 
 journey, simply to enable them to drop a voting-paper into a ballot-box. 
 Every man entrusted with a vote is bound to have a bond fide opportunity 
 of recording it; for if he have not, he is virtually disfranchised. For 
 this reason, Parliament has wisely decreed that the members of Univer 
 sities, who are in a similar position with respect to residence to the 
 
CHAP. X.] LETTER TO ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS. 125 
 
 Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons, can vote by papers without the 
 necessity of a journey. 
 
 By the Act 24 & 25 Viet. cap. 53, the members of the Universities 
 of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin are empowered to employ voting- 
 papers. This privilege was extended to members of the London Univer- 
 sity by 30 & 31 Viet. cap. 102 ; and the details of election were further 
 simplified by 31 & 32 Viet. cap. 65. The College of Surgeons having been 
 shown the way, has only to take advantage of the precedent by procuring 
 an Act, of a few lines in length, rehearsing the University Election Acts, 
 and applying their provisions to the particular case of the College of 
 Surgeons before the next election takes place. The question has only to 
 be raised for its propriety to be admitted ; for where is the surgeon who 
 would not rather watch a serious case, when life or death may depend, 
 than neglect his patient, that he may formally hand over a printed paper 
 to the recognized official of the College of Surgeons? To obtain the 
 desired end, proper means must be taken. The body of country Fellows 
 must ask before their request can be granted ; and I shall be glad to 
 receive the names of every Fellow desirous of voting by papers, that we 
 may at once take steps to obtain the Act of Parliament necessary to give us 
 our just due. (Signed) ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 P.S. Only fifty-seven country Fellows voted at the last election. 
 
126 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XL 
 
 CHAPTEE XL 
 
 1875. 
 
 'The Mind of Man,' eleventh book 'Plan of work Religion not discordant 
 with Reason Different classes of men should associate more together 
 Sewage Question begun, 1873 to 1876. 
 
 IN the spring of 1875, 'The Mind of Man, a Natural System 
 of Mental Philosophy,' was published. This was the last printed 
 book from Alfred Smee's pen, and was based on his earlier work, 
 * Electro-Biology.' 
 
 In ' The Mind of Man ' we find that mankind is primarily 
 divided into five great classes or groups, according as man 
 exhibits more or less of each particular quality of mental power. 
 These classes or groups are again subdivided into lesser divisions. 
 Thus : 
 
 1st Class. Aisthenic ideas, from alcrOfia-is, meaning " sensation." 
 
 2nd Class. Syndramic, from o-vvSpa^etv, " to combine." It 
 means the possession of ideas, and is the result of all the actions 
 on the ultimate fibrils at any one instant of time. 
 
 3rd Class. Noemic, from vovs, "mind," is the faculty of 
 inducing laws and acting upon them, and evinces the higher 
 powers of mind. 
 
 4th Class. Pneuma-Noemic, from Trvev^a, ''spirit," as it 
 appertains to the appreciation of spiritual qualities, where the 
 qualities of the mind are regulated by the consideration of the 
 soul, of eternity, of heaven, and of hell. 
 
 5th Class. Dynamic, from StW/u?, " force." Individuals may 
 be comprised in this class who evince great activity either from 
 an external stimulus upon their organs of sensation, or from the 
 internal stimulus of their own thoughts. All active men there- 
 fore belong to this class. Activity may have its origin at various 
 parts of the nervous system. 
 
 Each of these groups or classes admits of subdivisions : thus 
 
CHAP. XL] ' THE MIND OF MAN.' 127 
 
 the Aistlienic group admits of six subdivisions, five of which 
 represent the mental power derived from the respective organs 
 of sensation and one from knowledge derived from bodily 
 feeling, as 
 
 Eye sensations or Opsaisthenics. 
 
 Ear Ousaisthenics. 
 
 Taste Ghimaisthenics. 
 
 Odour ,, Rhinaisthenics. 
 
 Feeling (bodily) Coenaisthenics. 
 
 Feeling (mental) Somaisthenics. 
 
 Each of these divisions may be again subdivided : thus a man 
 may have a powerful vision for small objects, a great range of 
 adjustment, a power for the appreciation of colours, or a quick- 
 ness in the perception of objects. 
 
 Every other organ of sensation may be likewise subdivided. 
 
 The Syndramic group comprises not only all those qualities 
 of the mind which appertain to the first or Aisthenic group, but 
 also superadds to them the faculty of receiving information from 
 the words and writings of others : and this second quality again 
 presents many varieties, from the classes of knowledge which the 
 mind of any particular man is competent to receive. Again, all 
 the above varieties of mind are also doubled by the consideration 
 that the same impression may variously affect different men : for 
 instance, " the same amount of light, though a delight to one 
 man, is a pain to another." 
 
 "As there may be three qualities in each subdivision of this 
 group, it follows, therefore, that no less than eighteen divisions 
 of this class may be rioted." 
 
 The Noemic group are likewise also governed by all the lower 
 subdivisions, but have also characteristics superadded, so that 
 this group may also be considerably subdivided. We read that, 
 under Noemic reason, "There is a gap in the powers of mind 
 between the human reason and the reason of brutes. The mind 
 deals with its various ideas, and forms abstract conceptions. It 
 forms the notion of mankind apart from any particular man : 
 the notion of heat apart from hot things ; of light apart from 
 illuminated bodies. The capability, of using these higher abstrac- 
 tions confers upon all men powers not possessed by the lower 
 animals. Mankind alone of all the animal creation uses words 
 and language for the communication of ideas; employs fire to 
 cook food ; lamps to illuminate rooms ; electricity to convey intel- 
 
128 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XL 
 
 ligence, or tools by which mechanical force is regulated. No 
 animal but man has the power of abstraction or of using abstract 
 ideas." For further illustrations of the great difference there is 
 in the mind of animals and the mind of man, I refer the reader 
 to ' The Mind of Man,' as well as to ' Instinct and Eeason.' 
 
 The Pneuma-Noemie group. Where the faculties of dwelling 
 upon that which is infinite such as the Deity, the soul, eternity, 
 heaven, hell " bear a proper relation to the other faculties com- 
 prised within the former classes, the man is greatly dignified and 
 raised above his fellows. In cases where these properties of the 
 mind are shown, to the exclusion of the other faculties, the man 
 degenerates to the degraded position of the wild fanatic and 
 devotee." 
 
 We must (he adds, in ' Instinct and Reason ') not mistake cases of per- 
 verted reason for instances where these faculties are fully developed. For 
 instance, the Hindoo priests induce the widow to sacrifice herself on the 
 funeral pile only by an intense excitement of her nervous system ; so also 
 the Popish priests ensnare their victims for nunneries and convents in a 
 similar manner. In like manner the fanatical enthusiasts of America are 
 so over-stimulated that it is recorded that they not only injure their bodily 
 frame, but occasionally damage permanently their mental powers. All 
 these cases do not come under this class ; but the sufferers exhibit the 
 natural degradation of perverted reason under the false guidance of a 
 heartless priesthood. 
 
 The Dynamic group. There are also many varieties or sub- 
 divisions of this group. 
 
 Some persons are quick of action, others indolent; some act by 
 aisthenic impressions, others direct their actions by thought. Some are 
 governed by religious impressions ; others act solely from the immediate 
 impressions of pleasure or pain. 
 
 Throughout all these subdivisions the human mind is modified 
 by memory or forgetfulness. 
 
 All these states of the mind, too, are governed by the age of the indi- 
 vidual. The boy exhibits properties in the various departments of the mind 
 different from those of the child, the youth from the boy, the adult from 
 the youth, advanced life from the adult, and senility from advanced life. 
 
 This is beautifully shown in the diagram accompanying the 
 fifth chapter on ' The Mind of Man,' in which he speaks of education, 
 and how it should be conducted, so that no one department of the 
 mind should be brought into play to the exclusion of the rest. In 
 ' Instinct and Eeason ' is a pretty illustration of the difference in 
 
CHAP. XL] PLAN OF ' THE MIND OF MAN.' 129 
 
 the mental faculties that is required according to the profession 
 or calling of the individual. Thus he shows how the lawyer 
 requires the second and third class of faculties (Syndramic and 
 Noemic) more especially to be brought into play. The doctor 
 has a more extensive range, and requires for his profession the 
 first three classes of faculties to be fully developed (Aisthenic, 
 Syndramic, and Noemic). The engineer requires faculties in 
 almost all respects similar to those which the doctor must 
 possess for the successful exercise of his profession, and the 
 clergyman should have a full development of the faculties of 
 the second, third, and fourth classes (Syndramic, Noemic, and 
 Pneuma-Noemic). 
 
 Besides dividing the mental faculties into the above-named 
 classes or groups, he further proves that the nervous system is 
 a voltaic circuit. 
 
 All batteries (says he) in animal bodies are compound batteries, one 
 battery being in the body, the other in the brain ; and, moreover, it is not 
 only a compound battery, but is also one in which its fibres interlace in a 
 wonderfully complex manner. 
 
 This he most fully sets forth and further illustrates by maps, 
 diagrams, and various woodcuts. In two diagrams at page 213, the 
 theoretical nervous combination of lower animals and that of man 
 are demonstrated. It suffices here to mention that these two dia- 
 grams show a marked difference between the nervous combination 
 of lower animals and that of man. In the diagram showing the 
 nervous combination of man, we find that the Aisthenic occupies 
 the lower department of the mind ; higher in the mind we come to 
 the Syndramic department ; then higher still the Noemic, until we 
 reach the Pneuma-Noemic, which is the highest department of all 
 of the mind. 
 
 Such is the rough sketch of the general plan on which the 
 ' Mind of Man ' and earlier ' Electro-Biology ' are based. Upon 
 this model were all Alfred Smee's writings and speeches con- 
 structed. His whole course of life was modelled upon this his 
 cherished metaphysical and moral structure. 
 
 This work treats extensively of the supposed discordance of 
 religion and science : for to show, and indeed to prove, that for 
 the welfare of mankind religion and science must go hand in 
 hand, was ever the favourite task of his life. In this work he 
 has fully proved where the fallacy lies ; how it is to be remedied, 
 so as to prevent idolatry, ignorance, and matter- worship on the 
 
 K 
 
130 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XI. 
 
 one hand, and conceit, infidelity, and ignorance on the other. 
 We read 
 
 There are two modes by which, the human mind may be affected, and 
 all our actions regulated to a common purpose : one by the impression of 
 the nervous system by induction from below upwards, that is, from the 
 action on the nerves of sensation through the mind to general laws ; and 
 the other from the effect of general laws, which act downwards by deduc- 
 tion to the particular instance. 
 
 The one by induction is the ordinary result of the natural mind as 
 detailed in this work. The one by deduction is by the reception of the 
 laws of God as given us by religion. 
 
 Are religion and reason discordant? No! One affects from above 
 downward, the other from below upward ; and if both are right, they must 
 agree, they cannot possibly differ. The doctrines of religion would be vain 
 unless they are the laws of God and the word of God. In like manner it 
 must be remembered that the inductions of the human mind, if made in 
 sincerity and truth, are equally the result of the mechanism created by God. 
 
 Man should therefore accept as a fact that the results of the true 
 reason of man are identical with the laws of God, and the one originating 
 inductively from the human mind should accord deductively with the 
 results which are obtained by the ordinances of religion. 
 
 Mentally, if both are right, there can be no disagreement ; for whether 
 we examine the question from above downwards or from below upwards, no 
 difference can possibly exist, inasmuch as the mind is one whole. Then why 
 should there be, therefore, these continual differences between the teachers 
 of religion and the teachers of science ? At the present time it is difficult 
 to enter a church without hearing the name of science being held from the 
 pulpit to disrespect ; and it is equally difficult to enter the chambers of 
 science without hearing the pastor of religion in a like manner spoken of 
 with dissatisfaction. And why? The pastors of religion are, as a rule, 
 profoundly ignorant of the physical laws which govern the universe, and 
 the teachers of science are equally ignorant of the moral laws which govern 
 the actions of mankind. 
 
 Then a little further on we read 
 
 The fault of the present day is the education of teachers of religion 
 at one school, where physical science is not only discarded but ignored, 
 and the education of teachers of science at another school, where the laws 
 of religion are almost as equally ignored. 
 
 The remedy for this gigantic evil would be to teach all men to a 
 certain extent knowledge in common, so that when they diverge afterwards 
 into their special studies, science shall not be without religion, nor religion 
 without knowledge 
 
 The priest trained to the study of the external world, and of the 
 natural operations of the human mind, is a totally different man from the 
 priest who ignores knowledge and the effect of reason. The one sees 
 Nature and God as they are, the other only by his own unenlightened mind, 
 which leads many to inconstancy, idolatry, and man- worship 
 
 "Wherever religion and science do not exactly accord, the discrepancy 
 marks error. It is then worth any labour to make them agree, by the con- 
 
CHAP. XI.] HIS OPINION OF DARWINISM. 131 
 
 joined operations of the labourers in religion and science, that truth may 
 prevail. 
 
 For the last five-and-forty years I have been a regular attendant at St. 
 Paul's Cathedral, and consequently have heard most of the preachers of 
 mark in the metropolis of this century. It is clear to any rational mind 
 there is error in the pulpit : one affirms, another denies, whilst it is 
 the property of truth ever to remain unchanged, and to stand the test 
 of fair inquiry. 
 
 And further on we read 
 
 Those who love their church, and view it as an inestimable blessing 
 to mankind, most earnestly wish that the pastors should so discipline 
 their own minds by knowledge that they might appeal to the minds of their 
 hearers from the general law to the particular instance, and from the par- 
 ticular instance to the general law, for the teachings of religion and science 
 must be identical when both are true. It is a lamentable fact, but never- 
 theless one which admits of no contradiction, that religion, as frequently 
 taught in the pulpit, is not the religion of the mass of the congregation of 
 ordinary knowledge and intelligence. Religion is often brought forward in 
 a form positively distasteful to the minds of many. The omnipotence of 
 God, and the importance of His almighty laws, are neglected for human 
 traditions and mediaeval superstitions. This very serious position cannot 
 long remain without danger to the community, for reason and religion are 
 one, and cannot be divided ; and, above all things, it is of paramount im- 
 portance that religious teachings, involving as they do the laws of God, 
 should be in every minute particular based on absolute purity and 
 unswerving truth. 
 
 And in another part 
 
 Every good follower of religion must admit that the time which ought 
 to be spent in the elucidation of the moral laws of God to regulate actions, 
 is frequently spent in discussions of the propriety of frivolous garments, or 
 the vain conduct of idle ceremonies, and on the discourse on vain supersti- 
 tions, till those who pretend to be teachers show that they ought to be 
 taught, as they bring the doctrines of religion into contempt. 
 
 On Darwinism, or the gradual development of the higher 
 animals from the lower, he writes : 
 
 There appear to be some persons who imagine that every conceivable 
 f orm of organic being is produced by chance, or a fortuitous concurrence 
 of atoms; and of these all which are not suitable for surrounding cir- 
 cumstances perish, and only those which are suitable for the circum- 
 stances live. 
 
 When we regard the intricate complexity of many parts of organic 
 beings, to say nothing of the requisite relation of one organic being to 
 another, as for instance an insect to a flower, it requires a much stronger 
 exercise of faith than such persons themselves would like to admit, when 
 they adopt a theory of chance where infinite contrivance and wisdom 
 seem so clearly to manifest themselves. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XI. 
 
 I have lingered long over this last and important work of 
 Alfred Smee, because it embraces his great system of Mental 
 Philosophy, which should be studied by every intelligent youth, 
 that he may conduct on a sure basis the discipline of his own 
 mind, and his relations with his fellow-men. Of all the 
 books Alfred Smee wrote this was unquestionably his favourite. 
 The frontispiece contains an admirable likeness of him drawn 
 by Mr. H. R Eobertson, which was most delicately and finely 
 engraved for this work by the celebrated engraver Mr. C. H. 
 Jeens. The picture was expressly taken for the above work, and 
 was the gift to my mother from one of the public companies to 
 which my father belonged, as a kind token of grateful recognition 
 for some great services he had done it. There are besides 
 fifty-eight woodcuts, and the book, like ' My Garden,' is beauti- 
 fully got up, and published by Messrs. Bell. 
 
 In the summer of 1873 there was an outburst of typhoid fever 
 in the West-end of London, in the close vicinity of Cavendish 
 Square. The question was raised that this pestilence was caused 
 by the milk from cows fed upon sewage grass, and a controversy 
 ensued whether or no sewage grounds were hurtful to health. 
 For some years Alfred Smee had been investigating the question 
 of sewage ; and his son, Alfred Hutchison Smee, who kept a 
 small herd of cows at Wallington, had also been making various 
 experiments on the feeding of cows, the results of which the 
 latter gentleman has embodied in a valuable little treatise full of 
 important statistics, which is entitled ' Milk in Health and 
 Disease.' * No sooner did this controversy on sewage begin in 
 the daily papers than my father wrote his own experience. 
 The correspondence of Alfred Smee on ' Milk, Typhoid Fever, 
 and Sewage/ will be found in the Appendix, No. XXXYI.A., as 
 also the paper he read before the Health Section of the Social 
 Science Congress at Norwich, October 3rd, 1873, on < Sewage, 
 Sewage Produce, and Disease.' (See Appendix, No. XXXVI.B.) 
 Later, on December 3rd, 1875, Alfred Smee read a paper before 
 the Society of Arts, on ' Proposed Heads of Legislation for the 
 Kegulation of Sewage Grounds.' (See Appendix, No. XXXYI.c.) 
 The discussion on this paper was adjourned to January 19th, 
 1876. To this discussion Alfred Smee replied, and that evening 
 was the last time I heard my father speak before a public meet- 
 ing. Little did I think that evening that exactly in a year and 
 
 * This little book is published by Messrs. Newman, Devonshire Street, 
 Bishopsgate Street. (1875.) 
 
CHAP. XL] THE SEWAGE QUESTION. 133 
 
 three days we should have laid him in his grave. Happy it is 
 for us that we cannot read the future ! 
 
 One of the members of the Croydon Board of Health made 
 an eloquent speech on this occasion, in which he several times 
 reproached Mr. Smee with the absurdity of wishing to draw a 
 concord round the farm at Beddington. The absurdity was 
 evident to other persons besides the speaker, for as he sat down 
 amid general cheering, the following epigram was handed to 
 Mr. Smee : 
 
 " To think a man the Croydon Board on 
 Should take a concord for a cordon I " 
 
134 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XII. 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 1876 TO 1877. 
 
 Book on Fishing Hard-working Letters from abroad Letters to the ' Times/ 
 * Standard,' and the ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' His death, January 11, 1877, 
 aged fifty-eight Buried at St. Mary's, Beddington, within sight of the 
 garden, January 16, 1877. 
 
 IN the beginning of the year 1876 we have seen Mr. Smee discussing 
 the heads of legislation which he had drawn up for the regulation 
 of sewage grounds ; this was immediately followed hy his taking 
 a great interest in the fresh facts relating to the potato disease 
 (see p. 35, also the Appendix, No. XY.c.). He was also interesting 
 himself in the Colorado beetle, and was carrying on a correspon- 
 dence in America and Germany, finding out all that was known 
 of the devastation and habits of the insect. He had himself 
 obtained a dead Colorado beetle from a friend, and had had a 
 woodcut made of it. Besides this, in the midst of his other 
 business, he was, in spare moments before breakfast and after a 
 late dinner, busy writing a new book on Fishing. Much was 
 written ; still the finishing touches of the master hand were re- 
 quired for those chapters which were otherwise completed. This 
 book was to have been copiously illustrated ; and from some of 
 the woodcuts which have come under my notice, and from frag- 
 ments of the manuscript which my father read to me from time to 
 time, I should say that this work on Fishing bade fair to rival 
 its sister book, ' My Garden.' But this work was not to be com- 
 pleted ; and as Longfellow tells us : 
 
 " Labour with what zeal we will, 
 
 Something still remains undone. 
 Something uncompleted still 
 Waits the rising of the sun." 
 
 My brother has kindly offered me one of the illustrations for this 
 work. It is a woodcut taken from a water-colour drawing, of 
 
CHAP. XII.] HIS LOVE FOR HIS GRANDSON. 135 
 
 my father and my brother in the latter's boat on the Thames. 
 The one is fishing and the other rowing. 
 
 In May, Mr. Smee went abroad on business connected with 
 one of the companies to which he belonged. That he contrived 
 on this journey to see some of his favourite haunts, will be 
 perceived in the following letters he sent to his daughter. He 
 had intended to go in March ; but as he writes to her 
 
 The weather indeed has been awful : terrible snow-storms ; horrible 
 gales and tempests; excessive rain; darkness; floods; eruptions of 
 Vesuvius. 
 
 I intended to have gone abroad, but did not like the aspect of things. 
 
 The poor children must suffer from this detestable weather. Tell 
 Georgey I really love him very much and should like to see him, and I 
 hope nice warm weather will come, and then his pretty flowers will grow 
 and grow, &c. 
 
 Here I should perhaps give a passing allusion to an extra- 
 ordinary attachment (if I may so call it) which had sprung up 
 between himself and his little grandson; for no one who had 
 not been a witness to it could appreciate this attachment to 
 its full extent. Upon the child what pains would not the 
 grandfather bestow ! He would never tire of explaining to him 
 the different plants, and would take him frequently to the 
 Zoological Gardens to teach him not only the names of the 
 animals, but the habits of the various creatures that are 
 there kept. So often did they go that the keepers knew my 
 father and his little charge, and were only too eager to show 
 the child the peculiarities of the different animals committed to 
 their care. Even in the midst of business hours this grandson 
 was still often in his grandfather's thoughts, and he would at 
 those times go and search for books or toys, or send him letters 
 which, although written with the simplicity of a child, yet at 
 the same time always contained some knowledge worthy of a 
 great and good man. 
 
 On sending a lock of his little grandson's hair, his daughter 
 received the following letter : 
 
 Many thanks for your kind wishes and handsome donation, which 
 you only could have sent. This gift of gifts deserves a crystal box to 
 preserve it, and perhaps after I have attained my hundredth year, -and I 
 return to the earth of which I am made, and your kind present returns to 
 you, this little token of affection will be looked upon by you, himself, 
 and peradventure his descendant, with rare and curious interest, and 
 your thoughts will be carried back to time about persons past and with 
 hopes for time and persons to come. 
 
136 MEMOIR OF ALFRED 8MEE. [OHAP. XII. 
 
 From Zurich, May 13th, 1876, he writes : 
 
 "We have been to Brussels, from thence to Frankfort, thence to 
 Passan, from Passau to Lintz down the Danube, and then from Lintz 
 to Vienna by the Danube. 
 
 We then went to Ansteller, from thence to Salzthal across to Inii- 
 spruck, by the most wonderful road that you could imagine. 
 
 It was a single line which ran through gorges over mountains by bad 
 curves, by terrible inclines, across mountain torrents, altogether a remark- 
 able ride through mountains, for hour after hour, till the eye became 
 weary. Acres of lovely violets covered the ground. Masses of marsh 
 marigolds lit up the fields ; the lovely gentians gladdened the eyes ; and 
 literally acres of violets or rather pansies, yellow and tricoloured, formed a 
 natural flower garden gorgeous to behold. The skirts of the woods were 
 Nature's own landscape-gardening, with curved lines of woods and shrubs 
 on the sward of emerald green grass mixed with flowers. Then the moun- 
 tains were snow-covered and cloud-capped, and different views were 
 opened out at every turn of the road. 
 
 Every now and then an eagle or huge hawk traversed the valleys. 
 
 Any traveller must go right through, for the accommodation is queer, 
 as you may judge when I tell you that we took our meals at a restaurant 
 at a station, and slept in a cottage. 
 
 I sent the boy (his grandson) a letter. Tell your mother how he liked 
 it, and she can tell me when she writes. 
 
 I suppose your husband will be off before this arrives ; if not, give my 
 love, and tell him I wish him a happy and prosperous voyage. 
 
 The weather has been very bad cold, dark, and cloudy ; in fact we 
 have not seen the sun for fourteen days. 
 
 The Tyrol Pass was not altogether free from danger. We saw a 
 railroad carriage which had been smashed to atoms in a mountain torrent 
 below, and we did not go more than three to ten miles an hour. We could 
 not go over the Madler Pass or up the Engadine, because there was so 
 much snow ; in fact some patches of snow were lying at below 3000 feet. 
 
 The snow mixed with the black pines and bright green foliage was 
 very striking. We shall move from here to Lucerne ; thence to Yevey ; 
 thence to Lyons, Toulouse, Nantes, and home : altogether 3000 miles. 
 Kiss the boy and girl. 
 
 In another letter he writes thus : 
 
 I wrote a letter to the dear boy (his grandson) which I thought would 
 do for the dear girl that is, you also ; but I have not heard how your 
 little daughter progresses. 
 
 We have had an extraordinary journey : we went down the Danube 
 from Passau to Lintz, from Lintz to Yienna, which I much enjoyed. It 
 was so bitterly cold that we were compelled to keep in the cabin, where 
 the views were as good as out of doors. 
 
 We then crossed the Tyrol by a new route to Innspruck, the worst 
 travellers' route which ever was seen. The way lay south of Salzburg. 
 
 Then he speaks of the flowers he saw, which have been already 
 alluded to in the former letter, and continues : 
 
CHAP. XII.] LETTERS FROM ABROAD. 137 
 
 From Innspruck we took a drive up the Bremer and crossed the 
 Lake Constance, and came to Zurich. From Zurich we came to Lucerne. 
 From Lucerne we went up the railway to the Rigi : there was so much 
 snow that we could not get to the top, but only one-third the way up. 
 
 The mountains about here are covered deeply with snow. Pilatus is 
 snow a long way down. All the mountains up the lake are well covered, 
 which makes the views intensely beautiful. We went up the lake to 
 Fluelen, and have returned to table d'hote. The lake never looked so 
 lovely, and, what is best of all, we are not troubled with numerous tourists. 
 We are still like the premature swallows. I enjoy my rest excessively; 
 and as I have nothing to do, not even to settle accounts or railway 
 tickets, it is a thorough rest to me, which I feel I want.* We have been 
 at least 1600 miles in fourteen days, which is more than 110 miles a day. 
 
 I hope the tall boy (the gardener) does his work in the garden, for soon 
 all the succulent plants must take a promenade. Write to me to Hotel de 
 France, Bordeaux. I have seen a glorious sunset over Pilatus, also a sun- 
 rise. We have had a fish in the lakes of Zurich and Lucerne, without 
 being troubled with any weight of fish to carry afterwards. With best 
 love to boy and girl. 
 
 During this visit my father visited Clermont in France, and 
 was interested with the geological formation of that place. One 
 of the mountains at Clermont is an extinct volcano, and from 
 there he brought home a Eoman coin. This Koman coin was 
 " found," he writes, " in digging the foundation of an observatory 
 on the top of the Domo, about 5000 feet high, the centre of a 
 huge series of extinct volcanoes at Clermont, in the centre of 
 France." My brother has kindly allowed me to take a woodcut 
 of the coin, which is here given. 
 
 FIG. GA. Roman Coin found at Clermont. 
 
 On the 17th of August he wrote the following letter to the 
 < Times ' on " A Homicidal Kiver." 
 
 The river Lea was as famous for its annual deaths half a century 
 ago as it is now. For several summers 1 resided on its banks, and on 
 
 * When they came to sundry towns, it should be observed he had to 
 attend to weighty matters of business ; but, although he was travelling at the 
 rate of 110 miles a day, even this was a rest compared to his mental work in 
 London. 
 
138 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XII. 
 
 no year did we escape witnessing terrible calamities. On one day about 
 twenty-two were drowned by a boat casualty. Continually there were 
 deaths from swimming misadventures, notwithstanding that an almost 
 fabulous number of lives were saved by a skilled boatman named 
 Solomons. 
 
 The bed of the river Lea is unequal. At every curve there is a deep 
 and dangerous hole, with under back currents, and there are deep shelves 
 in many parts of the banks. Hence the ordinary apparatus used by the 
 Royal Humane Society for dragging the river is comparatively useless, and 
 the boat hook has to be relied upon. 
 
 I have been present when bodies have been raised. The exact position 
 to a foot has been known. The body could be felt by the hook and eren 
 turned over, and yet could not be raised till repeated trials had been made. 
 All this caused so much delay that the last spark of life had fled before 
 the body could be recovered ; and well do I remember the terrible scenes 
 of grief which were witnessed among the surviving relatives at so sudden 
 a bereavement. 
 
 No person ought to venture to swim in the river Lea unless an 
 expert swimmer, and then only when thoroughly conversant with the 
 peculiarities of the river, and the boats ought to have police surveillance to 
 see that they are sound in structure, and that they are not let to an undue 
 number of persons. 
 
 There was always a popular idea that the water of the Lea was 
 particularly deadly, but at that time the water was clear and pure. Pro- 
 bably its deadly character is to be ascribed to its sluggishness, its great 
 depth, to its undercurrents, and to the difficulty of reclaiming bodies from 
 the dangerous shelves at the bottom. 
 
 " This is true glory and renown ; when God, 
 Looking on the earth, with approbation marks 
 The just man, and divulges him through heaven 
 To all His angels, who with true applause 
 Recount his praises ! " 
 
 MILTON, Paradise Regained. 
 
 His health now broke down. Being anxious to see his 
 daughter, who was ill at the time, he came down to Oxford 
 with the intention of staying two or three days. I was shocked 
 at the change in his appearance since I last saw him, about 
 three weeks previously. He said he was tired, and had been 
 examining medically about a dozen persons. He stayed between 
 four and five weeks with us at Oxford, and then returned to 
 his house in London, and at our urgent solicitations he promised 
 to give his whole attention to his own health, and to put himself 
 under the care of Dr. Moxon, one of the senior physicians of 
 Guy's Hospital, whose skill in medical knowledge is only equalled 
 
CHAP. XII.] HIS LAST ILLNESS. 139 
 
 by the extreme thoughtfulness and kindness of his disposition. 
 Dr. Moxon was ever a great favourite, they having many sym- 
 pathies in common, and both being lovers of Nature's works. 
 But my father was beyond human skill, and the eyes of his family 
 were rudely opened to the shock that nothing could save him. 
 His lungs were too far gone ; and he was also suffering from 
 that seemingly incurable complaint, diabetes. But his family 
 owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Moxon for the untiring zeal 
 and kindness he displayed in lessening and soothing his patient's 
 sufferings. 
 
 Throughout his illness my father's vigour of mind never 
 forsook him : to the last he retained the full use of his faculties. 
 At first he took delight in reading, in looking through and 
 properly arranging his carmine injections ; and when he became 
 too weak to write himself, he dictated to others. The following 
 letter from his pen, on the " Distribution of Seeds by Panthers," 
 appeared in the ' Standard ' on October 17th, 1876 : 
 
 An interesting fact in natural history was revealed during the recent 
 visit of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to India. In one of 
 the hunting excursions in the neighbourhood of Baroda a panther was 
 shot, and numerous seeds were found to be attached to the skin. The 
 seeds had two perfect hooks, manifestly designed to attach themselves to 
 foreign bodies. As the panther moved about it collected the seeds on the 
 skin and carried them about wherever it went, but when it rubbed against 
 the shrubs it of necessity brushed some off, and thus distributed them. 
 These seeds were taken from the skin by an officer who was one of the 
 hunting party, and several came into the possession of Mrs. Home of 
 Staines, a great lover of horticulture, who did me the favour of sending me 
 specimens. I was so struck with the incident and the remarkable character 
 of the seed, that, after accurately figuring it, I desired it to be sown at 
 " My Garden," when it rapidly grew into a handsome plant, and produced 
 beautiful clusters of tubular flowers. It was immediately recognized to 
 belong to the genus Martynia, and on examination both Professor Oliver, 
 of the Royal Gardens, Kew, and Dr. Masters agree that it is Martynia 
 diandra, a plant which, although introduced into this country as far back 
 as 1731, has scarcely ever been cultivated for many years. I have 
 placed my specimen in the hands of Mr. Sowerby, the secretary of the 
 Royal Botanic Society, Regent's Park; and the plant, with one of the 
 seeds taken from the panther's skin, are now exhibited in the great 
 conservatory. 
 
 Later, in November, he dictated the following little letter, 
 which was sent to the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' and was copied 
 into many papers : 
 
140 MEMOIK OF ALFKED SMEE. [CHAP. XII. 
 
 BIRD-CATCHING EXTRAORDINARY. 
 
 In " My Garden " a somewhat large collection of ericas is grown, and 
 many of their beautiful flowers are coated with a layer of sticky and viscid 
 material, the use of which is by no means apparent. It is somewhat similar 
 to the viscid material which is found on the so-called carnivorous plants. 
 During this summer a little bird, probably one of the hedge-warblers with 
 which the garden abounds, entered the greenhouse in which the plants 
 were located, alighted upon the heath, when the feathers adhered so 
 tightly to the plant that the bird was retained a prisoner. When the 
 gardener came, he could only set free the bird by detaching a number of 
 the feathers. Of course it is not to be supposed that the erica is a 
 carnivorous plant, and that it eats up little birds ! This remarkable event 
 has been twice noticed this year at " My Garden." 
 
 Throughout his illness he took pleasure in seeing his friends, 
 and was vexed when any were denied him ; for so many would 
 come every afternoon to see him, that his family were sometimes 
 fearful lest he should he over-tired. In the mornings he would 
 drive with my mother, myself, and his dearly loved little grandson 
 along the Thames Emhankment. 
 
 Throughout his last illness Alfred Smee showed himself a 
 true philosopher, and was most thoughtful and solicitous for the 
 comfort and welfare of others. He was soon to reap the reward 
 of his labours, for ahout 5 o'clock on the morning of Thursday, 
 the llth of January, 1877, amidst the wild storm of a raging 
 wind, he gently passed away without a sigh. The problem of his 
 life was now solved ; But how solved, he was unable to impart 
 to us. Many who mourned his loss came once again to see him, 
 and these, though parting in sadness, yet went away in a firm 
 and steadfast belief that to a righteous man death has no 
 terrors. 
 
 A few days later, on Tuesday, the 16th of January, 1877, a 
 sad procession left 7, Finsbury Circus, and passed on its way 
 the Bank of England, Kennington, Clapham Common, Mitcham, 
 along the road which skirts that beautiful garden at Wallington, 
 which is delineated in the book ' My Garden,' and stopped before 
 the schools of St. Mary's, Beddington. Thence the mortal remains 
 of Alfred Smee were borne to the church by the gardeners and 
 by the men of my brother's yacht. Though the family wished 
 the funeral to be strictly private, yet so many testified their 
 respect to Alfred Smee that St. Mary's Church was full of 
 persons, that church which but four years before had been 
 
CHAP. XII.] HIS BURIAL AT ST. MARY'S, BEDDINGTON. 141 
 
 filled with friends who had thither repaired to show their 
 sympathy with him on the occasion of his much-loved daughter's 
 marriage, that church which received his dear grandson as a 
 member of the. Church of England, and to which his own eyes 
 had so often turned with pleasure during the happy hours spent 
 in his garden. It is thus he speaks of it in his book : " The 
 church with its churchyard is one of the most picturesque near 
 London. It has been supplied with a melodious peal of bolls, 
 which record the sorrow and declare the joy of the inhabitants. 
 The tower of the church is seen through a vista of trees from 
 my garden, and then reflected from the transparent waters of the 
 lake, as though Nature ordained that so good an object should 
 be twice seen." 
 
 The service was choral, and the lessons were most impres- 
 sively read by the much esteemed rector, the Reverend A. H. 
 Bridges ; and after the beautiful and touching hyrnri which 
 commences 
 
 ' Christ will gather in His own 
 
 To tlie place where He is gone, 
 
 Where their heart and treasure lie, 
 
 Where our life is hid on high " * 
 
 the sad procession wended its way to the little cemetery in 
 Boddington Park; and there, after the most solemn yet most 
 exquisite singing by the choir, of Dr. Dyce's hymn 
 
 " Days and moments quickly flying 
 Blend the living with the dead ; 
 Soon will you and I bo lying 
 Each within his narrow bed " f 
 
 there, amidst the sobs of the multitude of high and low estate, we 
 laid in his grave all that was mortal of Alfred Srnee. In his life- 
 time flowers he loved : we covered him with flowers in his grave, 
 and left him, the investigator of Nature, he whoso thoughts 
 were ever contemplating the Author of all things, in that 
 little cemetery seen from his garden, amidst the scenes which he 
 in his lifetime had so much loved. 
 
 The numbers of persons who came, many from long distances, 
 to pay their last respects to Alfred Srnee, and the sobs of the 
 multitude, showed how much he was beloved, and how much his 
 
 * From a German chorale. See 'Hymns Ancient, and Modem/ No. 400. 
 f * HymriH Ancient and Modern,' No. 2J. 
 
142 MEMOIR OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. XII. 
 
 loss was deplored. The poor said : " We have indeed lost a good 
 and kind friend ; we shall never have one like him again." 
 
 " Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your 
 good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." 
 
 " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord ; for they rest 
 from their labours, and their works do follow them." 
 

 s I 3 a s 
 
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 H oT e 2 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 ON THE STATE IN WHICH ANIMAL MATTER IS USUALLY 
 FOUND IN FOSSILS. By ME. ALFRED SMEE, Student of King's 
 College, London, and communicated by PROF. BOYLE, M.D., F.G.S. 
 
 (Proceedings of the Geological Society of London, No. 57. 1838.) 
 
 THE author first describes briefly the composition of those parts of 
 recent animals capable of being preserved in a fossil state; and then 
 proceeds to detail his investigations into the composition of fossil organic 
 remains. 
 
 For the sake of arrangement, he divides fossils into two great classes, 
 one in which animal matter is present in various states, the other in which 
 it has been removed. The first class he further subdivides into three 
 cases : 1. Comprehending those fossils in which animal matter retains its 
 original condition. 2. Those in which it has been partially changed. 
 3. Those in which only the carbon of the animal matter remains. 
 
 1. The following examples were given of the first case. 
 
 Small portions of the tooth of a horse, of an ox, and a stag, from the 
 chalk rubble at Brighton, were submitted to the action of diluted muriatic 
 acid ; and after the earthy portions had been removed, the animal matter 
 retained the shape of the bone, was white, and of the consistence of 
 cartilage. Fragments of a tooth of a mammoth from Norfolk, and of a 
 rib of a mastodon from Big-bone-lick in Ohio, when similarly treated, 
 gave the same results. A thin slice of the rib exhibited under the 
 microscope the structure of recent bone. Fragments of a stag's rib and 
 horn, of an ox's head, and the tusk of a boar, found near the Bank of 
 England, associated with Roman implements, retained their animal matter 
 unaltered. Small portions of a Terebratula and of two species of Productse, 
 from the Silurian rocks of Malvern, were placed in very diluted muriatic 
 acid ; and when the earthy portions had been removed, small flocculi of 
 animal matter, resembling the recent membrane of a shell, floated in the 
 solution. A minute fragment of Asaphus caudatus yielded little shreds of 
 animal matter. The experiments on the shells were repeated several times 
 with the same results. Under the microscope these fossils exhibited also 
 the structure of recent shells. 
 
 2. The second case in which animal matter has been partially changed 
 was illustrated by the following experiments : Portions of a stag's jaw 
 
144 APPENDIX. [No. I. 
 
 from the Brighton chalk rubble, of a fish-bone, and a shark's tooth from 
 the London clay, when dissolved in diluted muriatic acid, gave only a 
 brown powder ; and the animal matter of a fragment of the humerus of a 
 mastodon from Big-bone-lick exhibited but little flexibility, and was 
 easily torn, particularly in the longitudinal direction. It was found 
 impossible to make sections of the jaw-bone of the stag or the humerus of 
 the mastodon for microscopic observation. Part of a human parietal bone 
 found upon the site of the cathedral of Old Sarnm, and human bones 
 obtained from the churchyard of St. Christophe le Stocks, on part of 
 which the Bank of England stands, were ascertained to have had their 
 animal matter reduced to the same state as that of the stag's jaw. A 
 fossil oyster from the Isle of Wight, when placed under the microscope, 
 showed black spots over its surface, and the structure of the shell was 
 apparently destroyed. A fragment of a Pecten from the lias also exhibited 
 opaque spots. Part of an ammonite when dissolved left a substance 
 resembling sepia. 
 
 3. The third case, where only the carbon of the animal matter 
 remains, was explained by two series of experiments, one of which 
 proved it to be associated with bitumen, and the other that it existed 
 by itself. The scales of Dapedium politum and other fishes from Lyme 
 Regis, when acted upon by acid, left carbon undissolved ; and when heated 
 under a test-tube gave a considerable quantity of bitumen. 
 
 Portions of the bones of the Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus from the 
 lias yielded a black residuum, which deflagrated with red-hot nitre, and 
 the resulting mass gave a precipitate with chloride of calcium. To prove 
 that the carbon was a portion of the bone and not an adventitious 
 ingredient, a section was made, and the greatest quantity of carbon was 
 found in the thickest part ; and an analysis showed that the proportion of 
 carbon was about the same as in the animal matter of a similar mass of 
 recent bone. A still further proof was adduced, in no gelatine having been 
 detected after thirty-six hours' boiling of a fragment of the fossil. A 
 section of recent bone displayed, when carbonized by heat and charged 
 with crystals of alum or a composition of whiting, a similar appearance in 
 the arrangement of the carbon as in the fossil bone. No bitumen was 
 given off, when fragments of these bones were acted upon by heat under a 
 test-tube. 
 
 With respect to the second great class in which the animal matter 
 has been removed, the following cases were mentioned : Portion of the 
 external and internal parts of a mammoth tusk from Siberia did not 
 blacken by heat, and dissolved completely in muriatic acid. The internal 
 part of a tusk from Ohio gave the same results, but the external part was 
 found to contain a considerable proportion of animal matter. In bones 
 from the crag, the animal matter had been abstracted. Human bones 
 which had been long buried were found to be in the same state. 
 
 The paper concluded with the following remarks : As the different 
 states in which animal matter is found in fossils pass insensibly into each 
 other, and as many of the changes occur in churchyard and other bones, 
 it follows that no extraordinary circumstances are requisite to produce 
 these alterations, but that they may be effected by the ordinary processes 
 of putrefaction. Even- the carbonization of animal matter may be 
 accomplished by similar processes without the aid of heat, as bones 
 
No. IT.] APPENDIX. 145 
 
 become black by being macerated too long. It is also to be observed 
 that the parts of animals preserved in the fossil state are those which 
 longest resist putrefaction. It having been likewise shown that the degree 
 of change does not depend upon the age of the bed in which the fossil 
 occurs, it is a curious subject of inquiry for the geologist to ascertain how 
 far the conditions necessary to putrefactive air, a certain temperature and 
 moisture, were present in those strata in which the change has been great; 
 how far they were absent in those in which the change has been small. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 ON THE CHEMICAL NATURE OF THE EXTERNAL ENVELOPE 
 OF THE FROG'S SPAWN. By ALFRED SMEE, Student of King's 
 College. (' London Medical Gazette/ May 26, 1838.) 
 
 THE nature of the envelope of the spawn of the frog does not seem to 
 have been investigated chemically, some authors stating generally that 
 it is of an albuminous, others that it is of a gelatinous nature. To me, 
 however, it appears to be neither of the above substances, but rather a 
 form of mucus, as the following observations show : 
 
 1. When the envelope is separated from the ova, it gradually sinks 
 in water. 
 
 2. It is not soluble either in hot or cold water, but swells considerably 
 when first placed in it, after which it may be dried without losing any of 
 its former properties, for on the addition of water it will again swell to its 
 former size and appearance.* 
 
 3. When portions of the external covering were boiled in water, it was 
 not dissolved, nor was there any coagulation. 
 
 4. When the spawn was treated with nitric acid, there was no coa- 
 gulation, but after a short period the external covering was dissolved, 
 leaving the ova. 
 
 5. Sulphuric acid had the same action on the spawn as the nitric. 
 
 6. Muriatic acid, like the preceding acids, did not coagulate, but 
 dissolved the envelope. 
 
 7. Acetic acid, even when pretty strong, produced little or no effect 
 on the spawn. 
 
 8. The action of the oxalic acid was found to be the same as the 
 acetic acid. 
 
 9. The envelope was then treated with a solution of caustic potash, 
 when it was dissolved. 
 
 10. Ammonia produced apparently no effect on the envelope. 
 
 11. When the ova were treated with alcohol, no coagulation ensued, 
 nor was the envelope dissolved. 
 
 12. Tincture of galls was also found to produce no effect on the 
 envelope. 
 
 * It does not appear, after a long time, to be dissolved, as after five or six 
 weeks ; but probably here decomposition may, in some manner, alter its nature. 
 
 L 
 
146 APPENDIX. [No. II. 
 
 13. "When the ova were placed in a solution of prussiate of potash, no 
 coagulation or other change ensued. 
 
 14. When the envelope was placed in a strong solution of corrosive 
 sublimate in alcohol, no change took place. 
 
 15. Solutions of muriate of ammonia and common salt produced no 
 change. 
 
 16. The solution of the envelope in nitric acid was treated with 
 ammonia when it was not again re-precipitated. 
 
 17. The solution was then treated with potash, when the result was 
 the same as before. 
 
 18. A solution of tannic acid gave a white precipitate with the acid 
 solution. 
 
 19. A solution of gallic acid failed to give a precipitate with the 
 solution. 
 
 20. When the acid solution was neutralized and treated with ferro- 
 cyanates of potassa, no change ensued. 
 
 21. The acid solution was found to give no precipitate with acetate 
 of lead. 
 
 22. The gelatinous, or rather the mucous envelope, was found to be 
 neutral, neither changing the colour of litmus-paper to red, nor restoring 
 reddened litmus-paper, and it was also found to have no action on 
 turmeric paper. 
 
 From these experiments it is decidedly proved that this covering is 
 neither albuminous nor gelatinous : for had it been the former, many of 
 the above tests would have coagulated it ; and had it been the latter, water 
 would have dissolved, and tincture of galls had a sensible effect on it, &c. 
 The nearest animal product then, which it approaches in its general 
 characters, is mucus, which is known to differ in different situations of 
 its secretion. 
 
 This mucous envelope is found to be a product exclusively of the 
 oviduct, for the ova at no period of their existence in any way possess it, 
 the proof of which is obtained from killing a frog just before spawning is 
 expected, when the ova in the ovaries will be found to have no covering, 
 and when placed in water do not swell out. Those ova, however, which 
 have found their way into the oviduct possess the mucous covering, and 
 when placed in water do swell out. The oviducts do not form the mucus 
 suddenly when the ova are about to be discharged, but keep forming it for 
 a considerable period, as I have found the oviducts to be distended with it 
 six months at least previous to the period of spawning, and even immediately 
 after the ova have been discharged are not entirely free from it, though 
 they are much contracted in size. That the substance contained in the 
 oviducts and the envelope of the ova after their discharge is identical, 
 is proved by the following experiments : 
 
 1. When a portion of the oviduct was placed in water, it swelled as 
 the envelope when first excreted ; and if a frog before spawning be killed 
 and cut open, and then placed in water, the contents of the oviducts will 
 swell to an almost incredible size. 
 
 2. When the contents of the oviducts were placed in acid, they 
 dissolved, and did not coagulate. 
 
No. III.] APPENDIX. 147 
 
 No. III. 
 
 ON" THE FORMATION OF MOULDING TABLETS FOB FRAC- 
 TURES. By ALFRED SMEE, Dresser at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. 
 (' London Medical Gazette,' February 9, 1839.) 
 
 THE importance of a substance that can be moulded accurately to any 
 part of the body at a moment's notice, must be admitted by every member 
 of the medical profession, yet many difficulties attend the formation of a 
 composition which shall at the period of its application be so yielding and 
 soft that it may take an accurate cast of any part, and when dry shall still 
 retain the form given it, and become sufficiently hard to resist external 
 impressions, and at the same time shall be tough, elastic, and devoid of 
 brittleness and much flexibility; and further difficulties present them- 
 selves, where the capability of its being quickly dried is required. The 
 advantage of lightness and cheapness is also a great desideratum. 
 
 As I had frequently noticed that the composition of gum-arabic and 
 whiting, when dry, possessed great hardness and toughness, and yet was 
 so free from brittleness that it could scarcely be pounded in a mortar, 
 I was determined to ascertain how far it would answer to make tablets 
 which might be used to form extemporaneous splints. 
 
 For this purpose a piece of coarse sheeting was copiously brushed 
 over on one surface with a thick solution of gum, after which it was 
 covered with a composition made by rubbing whiting with mucilage, con- 
 tinually adding the powder until the whole was of the consistence of a 
 thick paste; a second piece of sheeting was now rubbed over on one 
 side with the solution of gum, and the moistened side applied upon the 
 composition with which the piece of sheeting had been covered, and we 
 thus had two thicknesses of sheeting, with an intervening layer of the 
 composition of mucilage and whiting, the thickness of which may be 
 increased or diminished as strength or lightness is desired. The whole 
 was then dried, and formed a tablet about the thickness of slight 
 pasteboard. 
 
 This experiment succeeded beyond my most sanguine expectations ; 
 for whilst the tablet remained dry it was exceedingly hard, and, when 
 sponged over with a little warm water, became so yielding that, by mould- 
 ing it with the fingers, a cast could be taken of any part of the body. The 
 hand and knuckles were defined with great accuracy, and I succeeded by a 
 little management in taking a cast of the greater part of the face. It is 
 sometimes advisable not to allow the substance to dry upon the part on 
 which it is moulded ; but after the depressions and elevations have been 
 traced with the fingers, it should be carefully removed and partially dried 
 before the fire, and as soon as the texture is sufficiently dry to retain its 
 shape it may be placed near a stove, or even on the hob of a grate, without 
 fear of corrugating or becoming otherwise deformed. In most cases, 
 however, this drying is quite unnecessary, it being requisite only to 
 envelope the moist tablet with a bandage. A cast thus taken is extremely 
 hard and tenacious, so that when not much thicker than a wafer, it may be 
 struck violently and repeatedly against any hard substance and not be 
 destroyed. It possesses but slight flexibility, and after being bent returns 
 
 L 2 
 
148 APPENDIX. [No. III. 
 
 to its previous form, allowing considerable elasticity. It is neither liable 
 to be torn nor broken ; and, lastly, it possesses the advantage of light- 
 ness combined with durability. Whilst in search of a moulding sub- 
 stance, I thought it advisable to try various compositions in order that 
 the best might be selected, but none appeared so excellent as that last 
 described. 
 
 [Several paragraphs here follow of other ways for making these 
 tablets, which I omit here.] 
 
 Of all these preparations, and many others that were tried, few were 
 applicable, and none in all respects equal to the composition of gum 
 and whiting, both of which substances are always easily obtained, and 
 have the additional advantage of cheapness. The solution of gum which 
 was found most adapted contained 10 or 12 ounces of gum to the pint 
 of water. As far as regards the nature arid texture of the cloth it is 
 to be remarked that linen is stronger than cotton, and less liable to be 
 torn, and therefore to be preferred. Of the various kinds of linen, 
 none moulds so perfectly as moderately coarse old sheeting; for when the 
 tablets were made of finer Irish, they were inferior in this respect. The 
 application of these tablets is rather extensive ; they may be used with 
 great advantage for all fractures of the metacarpal bones, also for those of 
 the forearm, or even for the humerus. When the humerus is fractured, the 
 method which has been adopted is to cut a piece of paper somewhat into 
 the shape of the required splint. It should cover a portion of the pectoralis 
 major, and extend as high as the bend of the neck, and include the whole 
 of the scapula. From this broad plate a piece descends to the bend of 
 the elbow, and should be sufficiently wide to cover about two-thirds of 
 the outer part of the arm. The paper is then placed on one of the 
 prepared tablets, which is cut to a similar shape. The piece thus prepared 
 is moistened until it becomes perfectly soft, and it is then moulded on the 
 arm and neck. From the general shape of these parts, there will be found 
 a superfluity of substance about the deltoid, which must be pinched up 
 and turned down so as to form a fold over the other part. The splint 
 then may be in a degree dried, and its inner surface lined with lint. The 
 whole is to be enveloped in a starched roller.* 
 
 This mode of proceeding may appear tedious, but it is a source of 
 much comfort to the patient ; for whilst the upper arm is enveloped in this 
 hard case, so that it is quite immovable, the forearm and hand may be let 
 loose, and the patient may in some degree enjoy the use of them. The 
 benefit of this mode of treating fractures is not confined to the patient 
 only ; it lessens also the labour of the surgeon : for when the injured limb 
 is once put up in this manner, it requires no further attention for days, 
 weeks, or even till the cure is accomplished. Its application to chronic 
 diseases of the joints will be found particularly useful. In these cases two 
 lateral splints are to be formed, and enveloped in a starch roller. It is 
 hardly necessary to add that in fractures of the lower jaw it must prove a 
 valuable auxiliary. Great, however, as these advantages may be, perhaps 
 they are trifling in comparison with the importance of its application to 
 simple fractures of the leg. The mode of treating these fractures at 
 
 * The roller is merely soaked in boiled starch and wound up in the usual 
 manner before it is applied. 
 
No. III.] APPENDIX. 149 
 
 St. Bartholomew's Hospital lias been for some months the method first 
 adopted by Mr. John Lawrence, of Brighton. His plan was to form 
 two strong splints on either side of the injured leg by successive 
 layers of pieces of bandage, united together by white of egg and flour. 
 Now, as far as this method is concerned, it requires no improvement, as 
 durability, strength, and an accurate cast are obtained by this mode of 
 proceeding, and the numerous cases which have been treated by it at the 
 hospital show its complete success. By using the tablets formed of gum 
 and whiting, upon the same plan as that of Mr. John Lawrence, a great 
 saving of the surgeon's time is effected, and equal firmness and durability 
 obtained. The mode in which I have made splints for the leg is first to 
 obtain the exact shape by drawing a piece of sheeting or paper round the 
 limb, and marking the part which corresponds to the tibia for the whole 
 length of the leg, and continuing the line on the foot to the extent that it 
 may be considered necessary to cover.* By this means, it is apparent that 
 the exact size of the limb is obtained ; but as the leg is to be enclosed by two 
 splints, it becomes necessary to divide the cloth into two, which will give 
 the exact pattern of either splint. These splints are to be moistened and 
 moulded ; and after being first lined with lint or leather, the whole is to be 
 enveloped by a roller soaked in boiled starch. This composition of gum 
 and whiting has answered perfectly in all the cases in which it has been 
 tried, and splints made with it are perhaps superior to the splints made 
 with flour and white of egg, because, when dry, they preserve accurately 
 the shape of the limb, and do not at all corrugate, which all compositions 
 of flour are liable at times to do. 
 
 Fractures of the patella are treated in a similar way, a splint being 
 placed on either side of the knee, extending from about the centre of the 
 thigh to about the centre of the leg. The patella is not to be covered with 
 these splints, but a gap left corresponding to its shape, and the two pieces 
 or splints are not to meet accurately at any part, but an interval is to 
 be left of about three-fourths of an inch, or an inch, throughout their 
 whole extent. 
 
 In enveloping these splints for fractures, they are not to be applied 
 when there is much inflammation or swelling, but the part should be 
 allowed first to get into a perfectly quiet state. Leeches, cold water, or 
 poultices should be applied, if necessary, to effect this object. In general, 
 a delay of a week, ten days, or even sometimes three weeks, is required, but 
 in some favourable cases there is no occasion to wait, and the splints may 
 be applied with safety and advantage onthe second or third day after the 
 accident. This mode has also been adopted in favourable cases of com- 
 pound fracture, but most surgeons are agreed never to cover these wounds 
 with concealing bandages. 
 
 It is not for me to expatiate upon the advantages with which this method 
 of treating fractures is attended, for that belongs rather to Mr. John 
 Lawrence as the first adapter of the principle ; but the fixing of the bones 
 more firmly and securely than can be accomplished by any other method, 
 the prevention of loss of health by enabling the patients to walk on the 
 
 * Either splint should overlap the heel and under-surface of the foot in 
 where they are used immediately after the accident, but where this application 
 is delayed this is of no importance. 
 
150 APPENDIX. [No. III. 
 
 fourth or fifth day after receiving the accident, and permitting them to be 
 moved to a situation more healthy and airy. The prevention of stiff joints, 
 and more speedy and final uniting of the bone, are advantages too great 
 to be passed over unmentioned. These benefits are likely to be enjoyed by 
 a greater number when the time required for the first application of the 
 splints is diminished, and the objection is removed of allowing the limb to 
 remain without bandages during the time required for drying the splints. 
 The tablets which I have described possess these additional advantages, 
 and with them superior cheapness is also subjoined. 
 
 [Some years later (in 1846), after gutta-percha had come into use, he 
 invented a modification of the above tablets for fractures, and the following 
 article " On Gutta Percha Splints " was published in the London ' Medical 
 Gazette,' the same paper in which his first invention had been made known 
 to the world.] 
 
 At the introductory address to the Medical Society of King's College, 
 I called attention to a novel surgical application of the new material called 
 gutta-percha. I have employed this substance, when rolled out into 
 tablets, for the formation of splints, similar to those which I described 
 as being made from the moulding tablets in the ' Medical Gazette ' and 
 ' Lancet ' for the year 1839. It has advantages over the moulding tablets 
 which I then described, inasmuch as tablets of this material, rolled to the 
 required thickness, are more easily moulded into the required form when 
 soaked in water. 
 
 It has moreover advantages in its being impervious to and uninjured 
 by water, alcohol, ether, acid, and alkaline solutions, and therefore espe- 
 cially applicable to interrupted splints where an aperture is required to be 
 left for the application of these substances. It is not so good however as 
 the moulding tablet, inasmuch as it retains the perspiration, whilst the 
 moulding tablet transmits it. This difficulty may be overcome by punc- 
 turing numerous holes in the gutta-percha, or by lining it with a piece of 
 thin lint, which allows the perspiration to escape. If the perspiration is 
 retained, it irritates and excoriates the skin. I have employed this sub- 
 stance for fractured limbs and diseased joints. I have also found it of 
 great value after the division of tendons for contractions, and in cases 
 where pressure and counter-pressure are to be employed, as the force may 
 be then distributed over a large extent of the body. The moulding tablets 
 for fracture are, in my opinion, not so much employed as they deserve to 
 be; solely, I believe, because surgeons do not like the trouble of their 
 preparation. Under these circumstances, I hope that gutta-percha tablets 
 will lead to a far more extensive adoption of this form of splint. 
 
No. III.A.] APPENDIX. 151 
 
 No. III.A. 
 
 ON THE STRUCTURE OF NORMAL AND ADVENTITIOUS 
 
 BONE. 
 
 To the Editor of the ' Medical Gazette: 
 
 SIR, The enclosed paper contains the results of observations on the 
 structure of bone, made at various times during the last three years. It 
 was read before the Royal Society last winter, and I have now added here 
 and there new matter from my physiological note-book. 
 
 I remain, Sir, 
 
 BANK OF ENGLAND, Your obedient servant, 
 
 Oct. 27th, 1840. ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 The intimate or microscopic structure of bone has been the subject of 
 much investigation both in this country and abroad, yet there still appears 
 to be much scope for further discoveries. To the uninitiated the structure 
 of bone under the microscope is one of the most splendid sights possible. 
 To the initiated, though he may often have participated in the pleasure of 
 examining it, yet the beautiful arrangement never ceases to afford the 
 greatest delight. 
 
 The best mode of preparing the sections of bone is to cut portions, of a 
 convenient thickness, with a saw, and then to rub one surface quite smooth 
 on a hone, and afterwards to polish it upon a piece of leather ; a slip of 
 glass is then to be obtained, and one or two drops of balsam of Canada are 
 to be placed on one surface : the polished side of the bone is to be put on 
 the balsam, the glass is to be heated, which melts the balsam, and causes 
 it, when cool, to fix the section firmly on the glass. The next operation is 
 to polish the opposite side of the bone, and render it sufficiently thin to be 
 translucent, which is to be effected either by grinding it upon a hone, or, 
 if the section is very thick in the first instance, by filing the bone down to 
 the required thinness; lastly, the specimen is to be polished as before. 
 Occasionally the structure is best seen by scraping down the bone, but this 
 is a tedious operation and seldom required. 
 
 The sections by these processes are made extremely thin, and are now 
 fit for examination by the microscope. The canals of Havers are seen 
 conspicuously when the bone is moderately magnified. They are irregular 
 canals running for the most part in the direction of the long axis of the 
 bone, and frequently anastomosing with each other. They are frequently 
 seen to arise either from the external or internal margin of the bone. 
 
 Around these canals are small irregular bodies, arranged in circles, 
 and having the surfaces parallel to the long diameter, looking towards their 
 several canals. Apart from these series of corpuscules, attached to the 
 Haversian canals is a row running round both the exterior edge of the 
 bone and the edge of the medullary cavity. These run round every 
 filament of the cellular tissue of bone, which, unless any portion happens 
 to be very thick, has more of the Haversian canals. 
 
 A junction is effected between the corpuscules and the Haversian 
 canals, and also between the corpuscules and the margins of the bone, by 
 numerous little fine lines which communicate in every direction with the 
 neighbouring corpuscules. These fine lines also connect the corpuscules of 
 
152 APPENDIX. [No. III.A. 
 
 the extreme circles round each Haversian canal with the corresponding 
 corpuscules of the neighbouring canal. Between the system of corpuscules 
 surrounding the Haversian canal there is no row taking the general 
 direction of the bone, as some have asserted. 
 
 If the Haversian canals are examined in a recent subject, where the 
 capillaries are well filled with blood, they are observed to contain vascular 
 tubes, and the blood can be distinctly recognized in them. To ascertain 
 this fact it is better that the bone be scraped, and no heat applied to fix 
 the bone ito the glass. 
 
 The corpuscules are arranged around the Haversian canals in a series 
 of rows proportionate to the size of the canals : thus a small canal has one, 
 two, or three rows round it, while a large canal has five or six rows. It is 
 to be noticed that the rows around the medullary canal and external edge 
 of the bone seldom exceed two or three series. 
 
 An opinion is very prevalent amongst physiologists that these little 
 bodies are solid ; and many consider that they consist of the phosphate of 
 lime and earthy matter of bone ; but this opinion appears to be incorrect, 
 from viewing sections of bone under different circumstances. 
 
 A similar opinion has been entertained of the fine lines running from 
 the corpuscules, which have been termed the calcigerous tubes, but I would 
 suggest the name of corpuscular lines or tubes, as the truth of this will be 
 shown presently. 
 
 When a section of fresh bone is examined, these bodies appear opaque 
 as well as their lines ; but when a section from the same bone is thoroughly 
 boiled in balsam of Canada, the balsam enters the canals of Havers, the 
 corpuscular lines disappear, with few exceptions, and some of the corpuscules 
 become transparent and nearly invisible, and others partially transparent. 
 The same effect has been produced by our forefathers in their process of 
 embalming ; for in the tibia of a mummy which I possess, the corpuscules 
 are transparent, and most of them are decidedly filled with a yellow matter 
 similar to that which exists in the blood-vessels. The corpuscular lines 
 are so translucent as to be scarcely visible. In this case the canals of 
 Havers were also filled with yellow matter. 
 
 When the section of recent bone is ground down to the utmost possible 
 limit, the corpuscules either appear as a transparent irregular oval ring, or 
 they have the appearance of containing some shrivelled matter in their 
 interior. In these cases the section of bone is only a portion of corpuscule 
 in thickness. 
 
 The corpuscules with the lines are exceedingly opaque when a section 
 of bone is examined in which the canals of Havers are filled apparently 
 with adipocere, which occasionally happens after maceration. 
 
 If a thin section of bone is thoroughly calcined, then soaked in oil, 
 and afterwards carefully ground down extremely thin, the canals of Havers, 
 the corpuscules, and corpuscular canals will be quite visible in the sub- 
 stance of the bone.* _^ 
 
 * The labour and care required to make these specimens are very great. It 
 is better to calcine a thin section in a crucible, over a hot fire, then to place it in 
 oil, and keep it there for a very long period, when it may be fixed to the glass 
 with balsam of Canada. No heat should be applied, but it must be allowed to 
 remain till it spontaneously dries, when its thickness may be further reduced. and 
 gently polished. 
 
No. III.A.] APPENDIX. 153 
 
 When the earthy matter is removed from calcined bone, the corpus- 
 cular lines disappear, but the corpuscules themselves, though transparent, 
 are still visible. 
 
 In these instances the examination has been made by transmitted 
 light ; but differences, according to circumstances, are seen when the object 
 is viewed by light thrown on the surface. The corpuscules with the lines 
 appear white when a thin section is examined with a dark ground under- 
 neath it ; but a thick polished piece of bone, or a section of bone with a 
 portion of white paper underneath it, does not present these appearances. 
 The reflection of light from the deeper corpuscules is the reason why the 
 corpuscules are not apparent in a thick section, nor when white paper is 
 placed underneath one of greater tenuity. Those corpuscules which present 
 a transparent ring by transmitted light still appear white when viewed by 
 reflected light, for some are seen as white rings on a black ground, and 
 others as rings having a little irregular white matter in the centre. The 
 whiteness of the corpuscules is owing to the reflection of light from 
 the surface of the corpuscules, whilst between them it passes to the 
 back, and is absorbed. The same effect is produced when a piece of 
 black cloth or scratched glass is viewed under similar circumstances, in 
 which cases the elevations on the one and the depressions in the other 
 appear white. 
 
 If, however, the piece of mummy-bone before mentioned be examined 
 by reflected light, the transparency of the corpuscules allows the light, in 
 some degree, to pass, and that part which is reflected appears of the same 
 yellow colour as when the section is viewed by transmitted light. 
 
 Such are the principal circumstances which modify the appearances of 
 the corpuscules, and which may be thus summed up : first, that the earthy 
 matter is associated with the animal matter, and pervades every part of 
 the bone, which is shown in the section of burnt bone; secondly, that the 
 corpuscules may exist without any earthy matter being there, as in the 
 cartilage of the shark, or the animal matter of bone which is left after 
 maceration; thirdly, that the corpuscular canals communicate with the 
 Haversian canal, as the specimens boiled in Canada balsam prove ; fourthly, 
 that the corpuscules present themselves under two circumstances, for they 
 are either opaque, as in recent and adipocere bone, or transparent, as in 
 those boiled in balsam of Canada, as are also those of the mummy-bones. 
 
 All these facts show that the corpuscules and corpuscular lines are 
 themselves cavities into which the various substances enter. We have 
 already mentioned that, in the bones of mummies, a yellow matter is found 
 in the corpuscules similar in appearance to that filling up the Haversian 
 canals. That they are cavities is farther proved by the corpuscules 
 appearing as rings when the section is reduced to extreme tenuity. 
 
 Attempts were made to fill the cavities with a coloured substance by 
 various methods, such as had been effected in the bones of the mummy, 
 but watery solutions penetrated only for a short distance into the Haversian 
 canals, so that double decomposition of f errocyanate of potass and sulphate 
 of iron were found to be useless. 
 
 Balsam of Canada and dragon's blood were melted together, . and 
 pieces of bone were then boiled in the mixture. On the examination of 
 thin sections of this, the Haversian canals were found filled with the com- 
 pound, but whether it entered farther I could not so satisfactorily make 
 
154 APPENDIX. [No. III. A. 
 
 up my mind as to enable me to state the fact positively ; but, upon the 
 whole, after numerous examinations of various specimens prepared in 
 this manner, it may be stated that there was an appearance in those 
 corpuscules immediately surrounding the canals, of its having pene- 
 trated the cavities; but, perhaps, the facts already adduced require no 
 confirmation. 
 
 Having proved by the results of direct observation that the corpus- 
 cules are cells, and therefore ill named corpuscules, but better cellules, 
 their use is the next point which demands our notice; but this will 
 probably be for ever theoretical. Perhaps they act the same part to 
 compact tissue of the bones as cells do to the cellular ; namely, that of 
 giving lightness without materially diminishing their strength. 
 
 What the particular structure of the bone is between the corpuscular 
 lines and corpuscules there appears to be no means of ascertaining ; for 
 the highest power in the thinnest section only exhibits a transparent 
 homogeneous texture. 
 
 Whether the corpuscular tubes contain blood perhaps we may also for 
 ever be ignorant, but, considering that they communicate with decided 
 blood-vessels, this opinion is far from improbable. It is certain they are 
 much too small to carry the globules, but the opinion of their being blood- 
 vessels may receive additional weight from the fact that in bone there are 
 no canals smaller than the Haversian. 
 
 The size of the corpuscules or cellules is about equal to two or three 
 globules of blood ; they appear for the most pa.rt broader when viewed in 
 a section parallel to the Haversian canals, than when seen in a section 
 perpendicular to them : if it is really the depth which is seen in the 
 longitudinal section of bone, it follows that these little bodies are deeper 
 than they are broad, and we have already noticed that their length is much 
 greater than their breadth. I conceive that the form of the corpuscules 
 may be exactly given by taking a piece of wood twice as deep as it is 
 broad, and twice or three times as long as it is deep, and then rounding off 
 all its angles. Sections in different planes through this would present 
 every form which is observed in the corpuscules. 
 
 Thus we have seen that the structure of bone is extremely simplified, 
 as there is a medullary cavity from which spring the corpuscular tubes, 
 and three or four layers of corpuscules or cellules around it. The same is 
 seen with regard to the exterior part of the bone. Between these two 
 layers run tubes for blood, irregular as to size, frequently anastomosing 
 with their neighbours, and having the general direction of the bony tissue 
 in which they are imbedded. 
 
 Radiatory lines are spoken of by some as existing round the Haversian 
 canals, but they have no real existence, and are only the corpuscular canals 
 or lines seen deep in the section, and out of focus ; and they are only to 
 be seen when these lines are opaque, and the section thick. 
 
 The cellular tissue of bone has no Haversian canals ; for there the cells 
 have the same relation to the bony structure of each cell as the Haversian 
 canal has to the bone immediately surrounding it. 
 
 With regard to the laminae of ^one which have been described by 
 other authors, they appear to me to exist only as the result of the inge- 
 nuity of the anatomist, for we see that the shaft of a long bone consists 
 of a large medullary cavity, with a series of corpuscules and corpuscular 
 
No. III.A.] APPENDIX. 155 
 
 lines, and a number of Haversian canals containing blood, with their series 
 of corpuscules around them. Now, if a bone has long undergone putre- 
 faction, it can be torn precisely in this manner. It will, in fact, tear to 
 shreds, and a transverse section of each of these shreds shows the Haver- 
 sian canal in the centre, and the corpuscules around it. 
 
 The corpuscules are to be seen in every true bone of the body, and 
 form a good criterion to distinguish bone from other tissues. It is worthy 
 of remark that but little difference exists between the structure of different 
 bones, and even the intense hardness of the temporal bone immediately 
 surrounding the semicircular canals presents no microscopic difference to 
 account for that peculiarity. 
 
 The changes which bones undergo in the interior of the earth are very 
 interesting. They may have their animal matter entire ; they may have 
 the animal matter removed; they may have the earthy matter partly 
 removed ; or, lastly, the animal matter may be carbonized. 
 
 The bones which exhibit the animal matter entire are those which 
 have lain in certain situations not exposed to the air. I find them in this 
 state from Beg Bone Lick, in Kentucky ; and I have sections of the bones 
 of the mastodon from thence, showing the structure in the most beautiful 
 manner. Some bones found in making a sewer behind the Bank of 
 England, together with Roman sacrificial utensils, were in a similar state. 
 In both these instances, as well as in others, the Haversian canals appeared 
 to be full of black matter. 
 
 The relation which the proportion of animal matter bears to the 
 earthy, I have examined by calcination in twenty different species. The 
 bones were all well macerated, and not greasy. The proportion in these 
 varies but little one way or another, and that more from the state of the 
 bone than anything else ; for the average is as near as possible 60 per 
 cent, of earthy material. 
 
 When the animal matter is removed, we may always venture an opinion 
 that the bone has been imbedded in a sandy or gravelly stratum. In every 
 churchyard with this soil that I have examined, bones have been found 
 with the smallest trace of animal matter, and others not so far advanced 
 in decomposition have been noticed. Many fossil bones possess their 
 phosphate of lime, with so little animal matter as scarcely to be coloured 
 by heat. None of the bones without animal matter can by any contrivance 
 whatever be made to show the corpuscular structure, although the Haver- 
 sian canals are distinct to the naked eye, and the general appearance of 
 the bone is not materially altered, except perhaps being white, and of a 
 somewhat mineral aspect. 
 
 The next division is that in which the animal matter is too abundant, 
 part of the earthy matter having been removed. This condition is rare, 
 and in these cases the bone will tear into shreds, each containing its 
 Haversian canal and series of corpuscules. I do not know under what 
 conditions this takes place. 
 
 The last change is the conversion of animal matter into bitumen or 
 carbon. This change is common to the blue clay and blue lias, as here the 
 bones retain their usual quantity of phosphate of lime, but their animal 
 matter is converted into coal. This alteration appears quite unconnected 
 with heat, and takes place as a spontaneous change in a moist situation, 
 to which no air has access. I have seen different bones in every transition 
 
156 APPENDIX. [No. III.A. 
 
 of this change from different situations ; they mostly show not only the 
 Haversian canals, but even the corpuscules. 
 
 We have next to examine adventitious bone ; which may be arranged 
 under the heads reproduction of bone, growths from bone, and ossifica- 
 tions of other tissues. Of the former a piece of callus from a simple 
 fracture was examined, and was not found to differ in any respect from 
 true bone ; it had the cellules with their lines, and the Haversian canals, 
 precisely as normal bone. The same thing was noticed in a section of 
 callus from a compound fracture. The new bone after necrosis, or even 
 the necrosed portion, exhibited no diversity from this structure. The 
 reproduction of bone is particularly interesting, as the new deposit is 
 precisely the same as normal bone, with almost all the tissues ; the repro- 
 duced part widely differs from the normal tissue. 
 
 Of the different growths from bone, a piece was examined which had 
 been thrown out from two anchylosed vertebrae for additional strength, and 
 this presented the appearance of true bone. 
 
 Hard bony exostoses were examined with exactly the same result. 
 Ossifications may be divided into two classes bone of cartilages, 
 and bone of other tissues. Ossifications of the thyroid and coracoid 
 cartilage in the human subject were examined, and both presented the 
 cellules, and the former the Haversian canals not at all different from 
 recent bones. 
 
 The human trachea is not in general sufficiently ossified to show the 
 corpuscules of the natural size, for in partial ossifications large cells are 
 seen, but a section of a small part showed these cellules of the size natural 
 to bone. The trachea of the macaw, and the inferior larynx of the 
 widgeon, which are naturally bones, also present no difference from the 
 general appearance of bone. 
 
 Examinations of the structures of the costal cartilages when ossified 
 were attended with like results. 
 
 The ossification in the thyroid ligament was examined, which showed 
 here and there the cellules. 
 
 The fibrous membranes when ossified do not generally exhibit this 
 structure : in fact, we may say never, unless they be connected with bone. 
 A portion of ossified tendon attached to bone was examined, which had 
 these cellules differing in no respect from bone. 
 
 A section of a fibrous tumour of the uterus was examined. This had 
 the fibres running in the osseous matter, but no cellules nor anything like 
 cellules could be discovered. 
 
 Of the serous membranes, the pleura is sometimes ossified, but that 
 appears to be only a deposit of irregular granules, and no structure could 
 be detected. 
 
 The arterial tissue is frequently ossified, and then its appearance 
 is similar to that of the pleura; it displays a granular mass and no 
 cellules. 
 
 Thus we may state that ossifications are of two kinds : first, that of 
 true bone, which, in a word, always exists when any enlargement of bone 
 in any way takes place, either as an ossification of the neighbouring tissues, 
 or in any other way. Secondly, ossification of the tissues not at all related 
 to bone, which presents nothing but a mass of granules. 
 
 The structure of bone from a very old person was examined, which. 
 
No. IV.] APPENDIX. 157 
 
 after six weeks, had made no effort at reparation, but no difference could 
 be detected. 
 
 A section of a femur was examined, in which the head of the bone was 
 affected by scrofula, but no change could be detected in the cellules. 
 
 A transverse section of enlarged femur had the cellules in the enlarged 
 part, but in this case the canals of Havers did not run in the direction of 
 the long axis of the bone, but ran from the exterior edge. 
 
 The structure of bone and that of the cellules have been examined in 
 numerous specimens of recent bone from different parts of the body. 
 The long, the round, the flat, the sesamoid bones, have all received their 
 share of attention, and these, with macerated bones, mummies' bones, bones 
 altered by chemical agents, diseased bones, and ossifications connected 
 with cartilage or bone, possess these cellules. 
 
 The bones of animals and of birds which have been examined also 
 possess them. The bones of some fish, as the sturgeon and porpoise, and 
 the ossific plates or the skin on the former, agree in possessing these 
 cellules. Even the cartilaginous fishes are not destitute of them. 
 
 The structure of bone is not only such at the present moment, but has 
 been the same from the earliest period, for the mighty ichthyosaurus, the 
 tyrant of the water in former ages, and the vast mastodon, the giant of the 
 land, possessed these cellules. Although six thousand years had elapsed 
 before the microscopic structure of bone was made known to the anatomist, 
 yet in every age, in every country, geological and antiquarian researches 
 have revealed that the same structure has existed. The imperfection of 
 our instruments has been the cause of our previous ignorance, and doubt- 
 less there is now ten times more to be learned than is already known. 
 
 In every case where the corpuscules or cellules exist, they can be 
 distinctly perceived to be hollow. Let, therefore, the universality of this 
 fact be the only apology for its communication. 
 
 For the following measurements I am indebted to the kindness of 
 Mr. Bowerbank : 
 
 Haversian canals. 
 
 Small. Large. 
 
 3^3 jfe in diameter. 
 
 Corpuscules or cellules seen in a transverse section. 
 
 One of the largest. One of the smallest. 
 
 Diameter ^ Length ^ . Diameter ^^ . Length 
 
 Longitudinal section. 
 
 One of the largest. One of the smallest. 
 
 Diameter ^4 Length -^ . Diameter ^Vo . Length |- 7 - 
 
 No. IV. 
 PHOTOGENIC DRAWING. (' Literary Gazette,' May 18, 1839.) 
 
 VARIOUS have been the methods detailed for the preparation of paper 
 which can be acted upon with facility by the powerful agency of the light 
 from the sun; yet, notwithstanding all that has been written on this 
 
158 APPENDIX. [No. IV. 
 
 interesting subject, the practical student in this art finds that great 
 difficulties occur in every department of photogenic drawing. 
 
 In the first place, he finds that the paper which he has prepared the 
 preceding evening is by no means equal in its qualities, as sometimes he 
 may have two or three sheets very excellent, so that, when they are 
 exposed to the light, they become in every part of a uniform dark colour ; 
 sometimes, on the contraiy, he finds that the paper, after it has been 
 similarly acted upon by the solar rays, becomes black over the greater part 
 of its surface, yet numerous white spots occur throughout which detract 
 much from the beauty and effect of drawings made with it ; and, lastly, it 
 occasionally happens that some sheets are not affected by the most 
 powerful light, except, perhaps, at a few points. 
 
 Indeed, should the paper be good, and the drawings made, yet, with- 
 out the greatest care in the fixing of them, they may be found to have a 
 ground of an irregular tint, or they may be imperfectly stopped, and even 
 the colour may be altogether removed. 
 
 To surmount with certainty these various difficulties, numerous 
 experiments have been performed in every department of the manufacture 
 of photographs, which we shall now describe ; first as regards the chemical 
 substances, then the paper, and, lastly, the most efficient stopping 
 solution. 
 
 The various compounds of silver have been long known to be acted 
 upon powerfully by the solar rays : this property is possessed by far the 
 greater number of the preparations of that metal, yet not by all ; and 
 upon the former, the effect of light differs materially in its degree of 
 sensitiveness. 
 
 The two soluble salts of silver with which we are most acquainted are 
 the nitrate and sulphate, both of which communicate to organic textures 
 and substances made from them a black stain when exposed to light ; but 
 these, neither on paper nor in combination with albumen, gelatin, gums, 
 or glutea, have sufficient delicacy to be applicable for the manufacture of 
 photogenic drawings. 
 
 The ammonia-nitrate of silver will be found considerably more 
 delicate than either the nitrate or sulphate, and may be used where 
 rapidity of action is not required, particularly as it lessens the trouble, by 
 the application of only one solution to the paper. 
 
 The chloride of silver is the substance to which we principally look 
 for the ready action of the solar rays, and the modes of its application to 
 the paper are numerous. It is by itself very insoluble in water, and, on 
 the contrary, easily dissolved by ammonia; but, unfortunately, the 
 ammonia- chloride of silver cannot with good effect be used for the pre- 
 paration of this paper, and thus we are compelled to form a chloride upon 
 it by a more circuitous process. This object may be effected by the 
 application of either chlorine, chloride of an oxide, chloride of metal, or 
 hydrochloric acid, first to the paper, and afterwards a solution of nitrate 
 of silver. 
 
 When a nearly saturated solution of chlorine is used, it should be 
 applied lightly with a sponge to the paper, taking care that every part 
 is moistened by the liquid : the paper should then be allowed to dry, 
 and the solution of nitrate of silver applied also with a sponge, in a 
 similar way. 
 
No. IV.] APPENDIX. 
 
 159 
 
 This form of chloride is not quite so delicate as some others, and 
 requires a long time to become quite black. It has its advantages from 
 enabling the most highly-glazed papers to be prepared with great facility 
 and certainty, and it becomes of a beautiful brown, which is but slightly 
 altered by the stopping agents. 
 
 The chlorides of oxides, such as the chlorides of soda and of lime, 
 may be advantageously applied in some cases where the chlorine is useful. 
 .... The chloride of soda, however, must not be used for absorbent 
 papers, such as those used in printing ; but with the glazed papers it 
 becomes very delicate and sensitive to light, whether it be applied before 
 or after the solution of silver. The strength which was found most useful 
 was that usually employed for medical purposes. 
 
 The solution of chloride of lime was made by adding twelve grains of 
 chloride of lime to an ounce of water, and allowing any insoluble part to 
 subside. This is found applicable both to printing and to glazed papers, 
 but is more certain when used prior to the nitrate of silver. 
 
 The chlorides of metals, as common salt, require more care in their 
 proportions than the foregoing substances ; and an experiment which was 
 tried, shows the absolute necessity of using an excess of nitrate of silver. 
 
 A weak solution of nitrate of silver (twenty grains to the ounce) was 
 treated with excess of chloride of sodium, when an insoluble chloride was 
 precipitated : this was exposed to the direct rays of the sun, without the 
 slightest change; the supernatant liquor was then poured off, and the 
 precipitate well washed two or three times with distilled water, to remove 
 any superfluous salt which might perchance be present ; the chloride of 
 silver was again exposed to the light for many hours, when only a slight 
 brown tint was produced. On the contrary, when the nitrate of silver was 
 treated with such small quantities of salt that part of the solution of 
 silver remained in excess, the light speedily blackened the chloride exposed 
 to its action Similar experiments were tried with chlorine, chlo- 
 ride of lime, and chloride of soda, when excess did not prevent the black- 
 ening; but when muriatic acid was used, the same phenomenon was 
 
 observed Without 'endeavouring to explain the difference of the 
 
 action of light under these different circumstances, a,n important practical 
 inference is to be drawn from them ; for if any circumstance prevents the 
 nitrate of silver being in excess, no action will be produced. 
 
 The proportions given by Mr. Golding Bird are evidently so designed, 
 that an equivalent proportion of each substance should be used; for 
 although he employs only a 20- grain solution of nitrate of silver to the 
 ounce, with a 12-grain solution of salt, yet, by using the silver twice, 
 it becomes equal to the single application of a 40-grain solution. To 
 insure success, the ratio of the chloride of sodium to the nitrate of silver 
 should be about one to five. As the relative proportions of these two sub- 
 stances are of importance, great care must be taken in the application of 
 the salt in the first place to the paper. A 10-grain solution of salt should 
 be sponged over one surface of the paper, and all superfluous moisture 
 carefully removed by the sponge wrung dry ; the paper ought then to be 
 allowed to dry, but taking care that the salt does not settle in any part, 
 and thereby cause an excess ; when the paper is dry, the solution of nitrate 
 of silver is to be applied in a similar way. An advantageous mixture 
 can be made of the chlorides of oxides and chlorides of metals: thus, 
 
] 60 APPENDIX. [No. IV. 
 
 a very excellent paper may be made by a solution containing ten grains 
 of salt and twelve of chloride of lime to the ounce of water. 
 
 Dilute muriatic acid may also be used for the manufacture of the 
 photogenic paper, in the proportion of about twenty-four drops of the 
 distilled acid, sp. gr. 1*12, to an ounce of water. It may be used either on 
 the glazed or absorbent papers, but for the latter it should not exceed half 
 the strength. The same observations apply to any excess of muriatic acid 
 as were noticed to. apply to the fluoride of sodium. This forms a delicate 
 paper, and becomes of a very even colour. 
 
 A more sensitive paper may be prepared by using the bromide of 
 silver instead of the chloride ; but the expense of bromine and its com- 
 pounds is an objection. 
 
 A solution of bromine in water cannot be used in a way similar to a 
 solution of chlorine with any good result, and recourse must be had to the 
 bromide of potassium, of which twelve grains to the ounce, applied in the way 
 described when treating of the chloride of silver, and afterwards conjoined 
 with a solution of nitrate of silver (fifty grains to the ounce), will be found 
 a suitable proportion. 
 
 Other salts may be used besides the chloride and bromide, such as the 
 phosphates, chlorates, &c., but have the disadvantage of not being so 
 sensitive to light. A benefit, however, attends the use of the phosphates, 
 &c. ; for while any excess of the chlorides must be carefully avoided, an 
 undue proportion of the latter salts is attended with no inconvenience. 
 
 The expense of the nitrate of silver renders it desirable to reduce the 
 quantity used ; but if a dark ground is wanted, a smaller quantity than 
 fifty grains to the ounce cannot well be employed. 
 
 Having considered the chemical substances which may be used for 
 the photogenic paper, the different kinds of paper, and those suited to 
 each particular preparation of silver, next demand attention. 
 
 Papers may be divided into three classes the bibulous, the absorbent, 
 and the highly-glazed papers. Of the bibulous papers, blotting-paper 
 and tissue papers are examples ; but none of them will be found at all 
 applicable to the purposes of the photogenic art. These papers are made 
 from rags, but there are papers made from other substances, such as old 
 sacking, &c., which possess great strength, as well after they have been 
 moistened as before. 
 
 The finest paper of this sort is called "double small ends." That 
 which I employed, when sponged over, seemed to be equally moistened 
 in every part, and was found well adapted for the intended purpose, as 
 there was not, after being prepared with the solutions, a single spot that 
 resisted the action of light in any one of the sheets. There are, however, 
 disadvantages attending the use of this paper, for it is not so smooth as 
 others more highly glazed, and therefore not so well adapted for every 
 description of photographs. 
 
 The absorbent papers, or the papers used in printing, possess a finer 
 texture than that last described; and when they can be obtained good, 
 they answer very well for photogenic purposes. 
 
 Of the various papers which have been tried of this description, a 
 thin paper used for printing newspapers, called " double copy," was found 
 the best ; for the thicker papers, that have much plaster of Paris added 
 to increase their substance and weight, do not answer so well, as they 
 
No. IV.] APPENDIX. 161 
 
 are apt to absorb the solutions unequally. These papers are fittest when 
 the common salt and nitrate of silver are used. 
 
 The highly-glazed papers, or writing papers, require no particular 
 observation, for if either chlorine, chloride of lime, or chloride of soda be 
 used, the colour will be found uniform ; and the finer and more highly 
 glazed the paper is, the better will it suit the intended purpose. These 
 will be found advantageous, not only from possessing a smooth and 
 uniform colour, but also from a smaller quantity of the solution of 
 nitrate of silver being used in their preparation, as it is applied only on 
 the surface, and does not penetrate any distance into the texture. For 
 this latter property, paper such as the satin post may be prepared on 
 both surfaces, should that be deemed advisable. 
 
 The modes of applying the chemical substances to the paper have 
 been already noticed, and the sponge was mentioned as being the agent 
 employed. 
 
 The extent to which the paper should be moistened is, that such a 
 quantity of solution should be used, that it may, as artists term it, 
 " bear out " in every part of the surface ; that is, that a slight layer of 
 moisture should appear at every point after the usual absorption has 
 taken place, and that all superfluous moisture is to be carefully removed 
 by a pressed sponge. 
 
 After the paper has been prepared, it will be hardly necessary to state 
 that it must be kept carefully from the action of the light. 
 
 The mode of making the drawings has been sufficiently detailed in 
 various publications. When prints are to be copied, the printed side 
 must be pressed by a piece of flat glass close to the prepared paper, and 
 exposed to the light of the sun. When drawings of feathers or other 
 irregular bodies are desired, a piece of the photogenic paper is to be laid 
 upon any yielding substance, as folded linen, flannel, or, what is perhaps 
 better, a layer of sand or bran ; the object is then to be covered with a 
 square of flat glass, and, if necessary, pressed down by weights, and is to 
 be finally exposed to the light of the sun. 
 
 The paper will be found to be most rapidly acted upon by the direct 
 rays of the sun, but this is by no means indispensable, as a clear sky is 
 very effectual, and even on a very cloudy day a delineation is produced, 
 only it requires a longer time. The circumstances which appear most 
 to retard the photogenic properties of the solar beam, are those dense 
 collections of smoke which hover over the metropolis when the wind has 
 not sufficient power to disperse the deleterious particles of which they are 
 composed. 
 
 Most of the modes of preparing the paper which have been described, 
 are applicable to the camera obscura with a short focus ; and those 
 prepared with the chloride of soda, chloride of lime, and bromide of 
 potassium, do extremely well. Its use in this department will for ever be 
 limited, for a portion of an object only can be represented accurately, as, 
 for every distance, the camera requires a different adjustment of its focus ; 
 so that to take a landscape a hundred different foci would scarce suffice. 
 For this reason, it certainly appears that the results of M. Daguerre's 
 experiments must be exaggerated. 
 
 The fixing of the drawings after they have been made is completely 
 a chemical action, and requires as much care as the preparation of the 
 
 M 
 
162 APPENDIX. [No. IV. 
 
 paper. The substances that may be employed for this purpose are dilute 
 muriatic acid, chloride of sodium, hydriodic acid, hydriodate of potash, 
 iodic acid, hyposulphites, and sulphocyanate of potash. Before using any 
 of these substances, the drawing ought to be soaked in common water for 
 a few minutes, to remove any excess of the salt of silver; the stopping 
 solution is then to be applied with a sponge to every part of the surface 
 equally. 
 
 No particular advantage attends the use of the muriatic acid, but it 
 will be found to stop pretty well when in the proportion of about twenty- 
 four drops of the distilled acid to an ounce of water, but it is not quite 
 permanent. The chloride of sodium, or common salt, is very effectual in 
 stopping any further action of the light, as drawings fixed by this agent 
 have not undergone the slightest alteration from many hours' exposure to 
 the brightest sunshine. When the impressions are very dark, they do not 
 change colour, but lighter drawings become altered to a yellowish brown : 
 the addition of a little sesquichloride of iron corrects this, and gives a 
 pink tinge to them. The solution recommended by Mr. Bird answers very 
 well ; it contains two ounces of salt, and one ounce of the sesquichloride 
 of iron, to the pint of water. The hydriodic acid, and the hydriodate of 
 potash, are also very effective in preventing any further action of the 
 solar rays ; they turn the white parts to a pale yellow, and are very apt, 
 if the solution be too strong, to remove the colour of the dark ground, 
 especially if the drawing has been exposed to the light for only a short 
 time : for this reason, the solution of hydriodate of potash ought not to 
 exceed ten grains to the ounce of water. A solution of iodic acid, fifteen 
 or twenty grains to the ounce, is very excellent for stopping photogenic 
 drawings ; it is particularly applicable to delicate drawings of feathers, 
 when it is desirable not to allow them to remain long in the light ; and 
 at the same time the contrast of black and white heightens the effect, 
 Care must be taken not to apply too strong a solution, for that is apt to 
 whiten the dark ground, but it never turns it to any other tint. 
 
 The hyposulphates of potash and soda have been much used for the 
 fixing of drawings, but, if exposed to the sun, they do not appear quite 
 so effective as the common salt, or hydriodate of potash ; they have the 
 advantage, however, of stopping them a darker colour. The sulpho- 
 cyanate of potassa is also found to stop these drawings ; it changes the 
 colour of the ground to a brown, and has no particular advantage. 
 
 The different effects of these several fixing- solutions can be turned 
 to good account by suiting the colour of the drawings to the fancy of the 
 artist, or the nature of the subject ; and a still greater alteration of tint 
 may be produced by varying the duration of time which the light is 
 allowed to act upon the paper. 
 
 Many other chemical substances have been tried for fixing the draw- 
 ings, but none attended with success. The following are the principal : 
 Chlorine, chloride of soda, chloride of lime, tincture sesquichloride of 
 iron, chloride of manganese, chloride of tin, chlorate of potassa, solution 
 of iodine in water and in alcohol, carbonate of potash, hydrocyanic acid, 
 dichromate of potash, biborate of soda, oxalate of ammonia, fluate of 
 ammonia, benzoate of ammonia, succinate of ammonia, phosphate of soda, 
 gallic acid, arsenite of ammonia, and sulphite of soda. 
 
 Should it from any cause be thought desirable to remove from the 
 
No. IV.] APPENDIX. 163 
 
 paper the colour which it acquired by light, this may be performed either 
 by a strong solution of corrosive sublimate, which will render the paper 
 quite white, or by a strong solution of hydriodate of potash, which gives 
 it a yellow tint. If to the saturated solution of corrosive sublimate a little 
 gum be added, it may be used with a quill pen, either to prevent the 
 action of light, or to make white lines or marks after the action of the 
 solar rays. Drawings may be made with great effect in this way, 011 
 paper previously exposed to the sun ; and this is by far the best mode of 
 proceeding, when naturalists or others are desirous of circulating a few 
 copies of any delineation among their own friends ; for, as the white parts 
 are exceedingly diaphanous, and the black impervious to light, the draw- 
 ings made by this means are much more distinct than those made by the 
 ordinary described processes. This mode will be found exceedingly valu- 
 able where a few copies of any drawing of machinery are suddenly wanted 
 for estimates of prices or other causes ; and the strongest light will never 
 affect the original drawing. 
 
 By the common method of making photogenic drawings, should any 
 be imperfect or otherwise damaged, it will be better to expose them freely 
 to the action of the sun ; by which means a uniform black ground will be 
 produced, which will be suitable for the use of the corrosive sublimate : 
 and thus any waste will be prevented. A thin paper, which should be 
 slightly moistened before use, is most applicable to this mode of drawing. 
 The photogenic paper may be blackened either by a dilute solution of 
 protosulphate of iron, or by hydrosulphate of ammonia. 
 
 The principal points in every department of the photogenic art have 
 now been described; and if the minutise which have been detailed are 
 strictly followed, and the preparation of silver suited to the kind of paper 
 as here laid down, the student in this interesting and new field of science 
 will be enabled not only to prepare his paper, but also to make and fix his 
 drawings with ease and certainty. 
 
 An omission was made in the paper on Photogenic Drawing, which 
 was inserted in the last Number of the Literary Gazette ; for, whilst 
 treating of the ammonio-nitrate of silver, I forgot to mention the pro- 
 portions which were found most suitable : this may seem unimportant in 
 a paper which is not very sensitive, but, as the ease and certainty of its 
 preparation, as well as its cheapness, exceed all other described papers, it 
 possesses a particular claim on our notice. Twenty grains of nitrate of 
 silver are to be dissolved in an ounce of water ; then a few drops of 
 ammonia are to be added, which at first throws down a considerable 
 precipitate ; this, by a further addition of ammonia, redissolves, and the 
 solution becomes quite clear, when it will be ready to be applied by a 
 sponge to the paper. The most suitable paper for this preparation of 
 silver is the " double copy." The whole cost of photogenic paper does not 
 exceed, by this process, one penny for a sheet equal in size to large 
 foolscap, which, if bought of vendors, would cost between one shilling and 
 fourpence and four shillings. The cost of all other papers does not exceed 
 twopence-halfpenny the sheet, except that prepared with the bromide of 
 potassium ; which, for the same quantity, would be about one penny more 
 expensive. The preparation of paper suitable for the use of the corrosive 
 
 M 2 
 
164 APPENDIX. [No. V- 
 
 sublimate is still more simple, for here it is only necessary to sponge over 
 a very thin paper with a 20-grain solution of nitrate of silver, and expose 
 it to the action of the light of the sun. Drawings made in this way have 
 analogy with etchings executed on glass, covered with black varnish, but 
 are more easily made; the white parts of the paper are, however, not so 
 transparent as the glass. An error requiring notice has also crept into 
 my paper; for the hyposulphcttes, instead of the hyposulphites, are there 
 mentioned as stopping agents. 
 
 No. V. 
 
 THE PRINCIPLE, CONSTRUCTION, AND USE OF SMEE'S 
 BATTERY; ITS VARIOUS FORMS, WITH FULL DIRECTIONS FOR 
 ITS MANIPULATION, MORE ESPECIALLY IN THE PROCESSES OF 
 ELECTRO-METALLURGY. (Transcribed from Paper read at the Society 
 of Arts, June 1st, 1840, and from Smee's ' Elements of Electro- 
 Metallurgy,' &c.) 
 
 THE most valuable instrument which chemists employ for their ana- 
 lytical experiments is, no doubt, the galvanic battery ; but so much trouble 
 attends its use, that, except in the laboratory of the professed chemist, it 
 is not employed to any considerable extent. Experiencing this incon- 
 venience in the experiments which I conducted on the red ferrocyanate of 
 potash, it became a matter of the greatest importance to ascertain how far 
 a battery could be constructed, that at once should possess a capability of 
 being used at a moment's notice, and have besides considerable power 
 united with cheapness of action, and, at the same time, without the 
 necessity of much laborious cleaning after its employment. 
 
 After experimenting with the batteries before known to the public, I 
 became convinced that it was of the highest importance to supersede the 
 necessity of diaphragms, attended as they are with continual trouble and 
 expense; and as the power of the battery seems to depend upon the 
 facility offered to the evolution of the hydrogen and preventing its 
 adhesion to the negative metal, whereby it is coated as with a varnish, and 
 the action almost entirely destroyed, all my experiments were directed to 
 this object. I first perceived that the gas was not evolved equally from 
 every part of the surface of a smooth piece of platinum, but chiefly from 
 the corners, edges, and points. Following this hint, I roughened the 
 metal with sand-paper and found the evolution of the gas to be increased ; 
 and when the surface of other metals, as silver or iron, was roughened by 
 some acid, I found the gas also to 'be much increased. Moreover, zinc 
 shavings, which present the singular anomaly of having one surface ex- 
 tremely bright and the other of a delicate frosted appearance, show this 
 property well, gas being freely given off from the rough, but adhering 
 firmly to the bright surface. The same differences are also observed when 
 rough and polished steel are employed. These experiments induced the 
 idea that spongy platinum, which may be considered as a mass of metallic 
 points, would be very efficient in forming a galvanic circuit ; and on trying 
 
No. V.] APPENDIX. 165 
 
 the experiment, the quantity of hydrogen evolved from a minute portion of 
 this substance, when touched with a piece of zinc, was truly astonishing. 
 The mass in this state was so fragile that the hydrogen disintegrated it 
 almost instantaneously, showing that in this form it could not be used for 
 a voltaic battery. 
 
 My next experiments were to coat other metals with this finely-divided 
 platinum; and I found that platinum, palladium, or silver, answered 
 admirably for the reception of it, and similar help was afforded to the 
 evolution of the hydrogen, as the contrast between the gas given off from 
 the smooth metal and rough metal forms a most striking experiment. 
 Other metals received the platinum with advantage ; as plated copper or 
 iron, and even charcoal, was benefited to a similar extent.* 
 
 The metals thus roughened by platinum have, in addition to their 
 power, some properties which are very interesting : thus, when a piece of 
 the prepared metal is placed in dilute sulphuric acid and touched with a 
 small rod of zinc, gas is not given off from its whole extent, but only from 
 the space of a sniall circle ; and when contact is completed with a smooth 
 piece of platinum, the gas will not be given off from the latter, but will 
 travel principally to the rough portion, there to be evolved. This curious 
 experiment affords a marked difference from those cases where the hydro- 
 gen is absorbed, as when a piece of silver is touched with a rod of zinc in 
 dilute sulphate of copper, for in this case an immense circle of copper will 
 be thrown down. 
 
 A difficulty now arose in this stage of the proceeding, for the finely- 
 divided platinum was so easily rubbed off that it could not be practically 
 used with advantage. However, when the silver or other metal was first 
 roughened by the removal of the surface by an acid, then the adhesion was 
 so great that a piece of platinum thus prepared was sent accidentally to 
 the instrument-maker, where the workman mistook the finely-divided 
 platinum for dirt, and could only remove it with sand-paper. 
 
 It now became desirable to ascertain the power of metal thus prepared 
 relatively with the other batteries, and also with metals uncovered with 
 the finely-divided platinum; and to make this comparison, I perceived that 
 considerable difficulty occurred, for as this preparation of the metals in- 
 creases the quantity, but does not interfere with the intensity, a fair com- 
 parison cannot be made where there is any impediment or difficulty to 
 be overcome, unless that difficulty be superseded by increasing the number 
 of cells of the battery : and therefore, had I at first taken the decomposi- 
 tion of water as the test for my numerous experiments, they would have 
 been attended with an immense expense ; had I taken the heating of wire 
 as my test, that would also have been uncertain, according as the heating 
 of large or small wires was estimated, but I considered that a close rela- 
 tive estimate of power could be ascertained by the magnetical effect ; for 
 by using large wires round the temporary magnet, but little impediment 
 was offered to the current, and thus the quantity, independent of the in- 
 tensity, could be accurately ascertained; and in repeating my experiments, 
 at different times, on the same magnet and with the same surface of like 
 
 * Charcoal and plumbago might be considered to afford points enough for 
 the escape of the hydrogen, but to these there is great adhesion of the gas. 
 
166 APPENDIX. [No. V. 
 
 metals, I found that they coincided with remarkable accuracy, and only 
 one cell was required for the experiment. Though the weight, which was 
 supported even by a small magnet with large wires, was inconveniently 
 great, I determined to ascertain the distance at which a small but lesser 
 weight was attracted. 
 
 The following are the results of like surface of metal with the same 
 metal : 
 
 Layers of paper. 
 
 Smooth silver, supported keeper through ... 2 
 
 Smooth copper 1 
 
 Silver heated, quenched in acid 9 
 
 surface removed by nitric acid .... 9 
 
 Iron rough 8 
 
 Daniell's battery 6 
 
 Platinized silver 20 
 
 iron, two or three varieties .... 20 
 
 platinum '.18 
 
 Grove's battery 26 
 
 platinized platinum 30 
 
 Plain platinum heated, quenched in acid ... 12 
 
 By these experiments we see the great advantage of the rough metals 
 and those covered with platinum over the smooth metals and Daniell's 
 arrangement. 
 
 The only metal which may take the place of finely-divided platinum is 
 palladium, but probably rhodium, iridium, and osmium would have the 
 same property, as they are precipitated in a fine black powder by zinc. 
 The cause of this black colour is not at all evident ; and the form of the 
 black deposit has eluded not only my own but the observation of others, 
 although aided by the microscope. Probably, however, the colour is owing 
 to the particles being too small to reflect the light, as is said to be the case 
 with a specimen of quartz in the cabinet of the Duchess of Gordon, but 
 this is merely hypothetical. 
 
 We have now seen that platinum, palladium, silver, plated copper, or 
 iron, are suitable for the finely-divided metal, and these are to be first 
 roughened, the two former with sand-paper, and the three latter with a 
 little nitric acid, which is to be again cleaned off by washing. The metals 
 are then to be placed in any convenient vessel with a little dilute sulphuric 
 acid, to which a small quantity of nitro-muriate of platinum has been 
 added ; a porous tube or paper bag, containing a piece of zinc, with more 
 dilute sulphuric acid, is also to be placed in the vessel, when, as soon 
 as the circuit is completed, the platinum is precipitated on the metal 
 placed for its reception. The cost of this process will be best under- 
 stood by mentioning that the assayers sell one ounce of the prepared 
 silver for one shilling above the price which is charged for the silver 
 alone. 
 
 The zinc which is used for the battery should be the best thick rolled 
 zinc, as this is far preferable to the cast zinc, and it is to be amalgamated 
 with mercury aided by dilute sulphuric acid ; for the application of this 
 process to the zinc of my battery will be found, unlike other batteries, not 
 to require repeating. 
 
No. V.] APPENDIX. 167 
 
 The form which is most suitable for the battery appears to me a 
 matter of fancy rather than of importance one circumstance alone being 
 requisite ; that is, if we are desirous of obtaining the greatest power with 
 the utmost economy of silver, it is requisite that every portion of silver 
 should be opposed to a piece of zinc, but the size of the latter, within 
 moderate limits, is but of little consequence.* Thus, if we use the many- 
 celled porcelain trough, it is better to surround the silver by zinc in the 
 same way as the copper surrounds the zinc in the old Woollaston battery. 
 If the circular form be adopted, a piece of zinc should be placed in the 
 interior as well as the exterior of the cylinder, as by that means both sur- 
 faces of the silver are brought into action; if the GruiksLanks be adopted, 
 one surface is necessarily lost, but in this case plated copper answers 
 sufficiently well, as the edges are sunk into the cement which, if exposed as 
 in the other forms, are apt to have a portion of the copper dissolved, which 
 is again deposited on the silver, and is liable to become oxidized and be 
 detrimental to the power of the battery. The closer the zinc can con- 
 veniently be brought to the other metal, the more favourable will it be. 
 
 Whichsoever form is adopted, the power will depend on the series and 
 size of the plates. For decomposition of water and most other purposes, 
 it is better to have twelve pairs of plates and then to increase their size. 
 The battery having twelve 5 -inch plates, which was exhibited to the Com- 
 mittee of the Society of Arts, gave off fifteen cubic inches of mixed gas in 
 the first minute, and showed great calorific power by immediately burning 
 stout steel music wire. 
 
 The duration of the action of the battery will depend, like a fire, upon 
 the quantity of fuel supplied to it in the first instance, for, as there is no 
 local action, it follows that the solution of the zinc will be exactly propor- 
 tionate to the power produced ; and for this reason, w r heu the battery is 
 required to continue in operation for a long period, as in the method 
 which I detailed elsewhere for the production of electrotypes, a larger 
 receptacle for acid should be employed, or a contrivance can easily be 
 adopted to carry off gradually, by means of syphon tubes, the saturated 
 solution of sulphate of zinc, whilst at the same time dilute acid is supplied 
 from another tube. 
 
 A galvanic battery thus constructed owes its increase of power to the 
 mechanical evolution of the gas ; and as the experiments of Faraday have 
 shown that the source of power in any voltaic pile is chemical action, I 
 have ventured to call my form of apparatus the " Chemieo-Mechanical 
 Battery." 
 
 To those versed in electrical science it may be needless to mention 
 that, this form of battery simply increasing the quantity of electricity, it 
 is most important that large communications and large wires should be 
 used in its construction, or else the whole of the additional power might 
 be lostf 
 
 The advantages of the Chemico-Mecnanical Battery are, the cheap- 
 
 * It is of great disadvantage to employ the zinc too small, as a simple rod to 
 a large cylinder of silver. A certain quantity of zinc seems absolutely necessary 
 to elicit the full power of this arrangement. 
 
 f Tins I have actually known to be the case ; the power of the battery being 
 almost destroyed by the use of small wires and small connexions. 
 
168 APPENDIX. [No. V. 
 
 ness in its employment, and its requiring not only less manipulation 
 than any other battery, but also less cleaning. It can be put into action 
 at a moment's notice, and, after having been used, can be as readily laid 
 by. When in the fluid, it will be quiet till communications are made, and 
 will then possess considerable power. It neither gives off poisonous fumes 
 nor requires the aid of strong acids, and but one fluid is employed ; and, 
 lastly, the amalgamation of the zinc does not require to be renewed. Such 
 are the principal advantages of this battery, and they appeal* to be suffi- 
 cient to entitle it to the very extensive application which it has met with ; 
 but, in conclusion, I wish to be clearly understood that it does not possess 
 the absolute constancy of Daniell's, or the intensity of Grove's battery. 
 
 Smee's Battery was invented through noticing the property which 
 rough surfaces possess of evolving the hydrogen, and smooth surfaces of 
 favouring its adhesion. 
 
 " Thus, whatever metal we use for our negative plate, we take care 
 that it be roughened, either by a corrosive acid, as iron by sulphuric acid, 
 copper and silver by nitric acid, or mechanically, by rubbing the surface 
 with sand-paper. Even by these means the metals are rendered much 
 more efficient; but, to take advantage of this principle to the fullest 
 extent, I cover platinum with finely-divided black powder of platinum by 
 galvanic means ; that is, I place the platinum as the copper is placed in a 
 Daniell's battery, but, instead of employing sulphate of copper in the 
 outer vessel, I use a small quantity of nitro-niuriate of platinum, so that 
 the finely- divided metal is thrown down on the sheet platinum previously 
 roughened by sand-paper. In this way it was also placed on palladium, 
 silver (roughened by nitric acid), plated copper, iron of every sort, and on 
 charcoal, with the same good result ; but no other metal was found to 
 answer for its reception. The metal generally employed is silver, because 
 of its cheapness and its not undergoing any alteration. But whatever 
 metal be used, the principle is the same, viz. the affording a surface to 
 which the hydrogen shall not adhere, but from which it shall be evolved ; 
 and the infinity of the points which are presented by such a surface as 
 above described, appears to be the cause of this excellent result. The pre- 
 paration of the silver is now made a separate branch of a trade, and perhaps 
 it is the first application of the decomposing power of the galvanic battery 
 which was publicly sold. The platinized metal can now be bought ready 
 for use ; but for those who desire to perform this operation a brief descrip- 
 tion is here added. 
 
 " The metal to be prepared should be of a thickness sufficient to carry 
 the current of electricity, and should be roughened, either by sand-paper, 
 as in the case of platinum or palladium, or, when silver is employed, by 
 brushing it over with a little strong nitric acid, so that a frosted appear- 
 ance is obtained. The silver is then washed, and placed in a vessel with 
 dilute sulphuric acid, to which a few drops of nitro-muriate of platinum 
 are added. A porous tube is then placed in this vessel, with a few drops 
 of diluted sulphuric acid ; into this the zinc is put. Contact being made, 
 the platinum will in a few seconds be thrown down upon the surface of the 
 silver, as a black metallic powder. The operation is now completed, and 
 the platinized metal ready for use. However, iron when thus prepared is 
 
No. V.] 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 169 
 
 as effectual as silver, and may be sometimes employed with advantage. 
 With this metal all that is required is to rub a little nitro-muriate of 
 platinum over it, and an immediate deposit f the black powder takes 
 place. Palladium and iridium are found nearly as effectual as platinum 
 to coat other metals with, and the platinized silver of commerce usually 
 possesses a considerable quantity of this latter metal. Within the last 
 few months an idea has prevailed in the minds of some, that wire-gauze 
 might be used with advantage ; but it is difficult to conceive where the 
 benefit would lie, for the cost of the material would be greater, the surface 
 for the same weight of metal would be less, and neither space nor power 
 gained by its adoption. 
 
 " The liquid generally adopted to excite this battery is a mixture of 
 one part by measure of sulphuric acid, and seven of water, which will be 
 found amply strong for all purposes. When we desire greater intensity, 
 we can obtain it by the addition of a few drops of nitric acid ; but if too 
 much be used, it might attack the silver. When, however, platinized 
 platiua is employed, the nitric acid may be used with impunity. The 
 electro-metallurgist will frequently find it advisable to use dilute sulphuric 
 
 Fro. 8. Smee's Battery, compound six cells. 
 
 acid, only containing from ^ to the y 1 ^ of the pure acid, and adding some 
 acid when the first is exhausted ; taking care, however, that the quantity 
 of acid never exceeds ^ of the original water, for any excess above that 
 quantity will be useless, as the liquid will then become saturated with the 
 sulphate of zinc. The zinc, acid, and water being severally required to 
 excite the battery, it is possible to regulate them that they should all be 
 exhausted at once, so that the zinc should neutralize the acid, and the 
 resulting sulphate of zinc exactly saturate the water. This, however, may 
 be very interesting in principle, but practically it would be impossible to 
 act with such precision ; yet we must never forget . this fact whenever we 
 charge our batteries. 
 
 "Numerous inquiries have been made as to what arrangement is 
 best suited for this battery; but this must depend upon the purpose 
 for which it is employed. For the student's laboratory the porcelain 
 trough of many cells appears to be best adapted ; and it is some- 
 times so constructed, that any number of cells can be employed, 
 independently of the others, as they may be required. The silver being 
 the most expensive metal, the zinc should completely surround it, so that 
 the whole of the silver may be brought into action. Where a battery is 
 required to continue in action for a very long time, as for days or even 
 weeks, a larger vessel, to contain more dilute acid, must be used : for 
 electro-metallurgical purposes it has been hitherto found most economical 
 
170 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 [No. V. 
 
 to use a vessel of a sixe sufficient to hold liquid to last for seven or ten days. 
 The form of battery now most universally employed 
 for these purposes consists of a piece of silver (s), 
 on the top of which is fixed a beam of wood (w), to 
 prevent contact with the silver. A binding screw 
 is soldered on to the silver to connect it to any re- 
 quired object. A strip of zinc (z), varying at the fancy 
 of the operator from one-half to the entire width 
 of the silver, is placed on each side of the wood, and 
 both are held in their place by a binding screw (b\ 
 sufficiently wide to embrace the zincs and wood. 
 These batteries vary from the size of a tumbler to 
 a 10- or 12 -gallon vessel. In the very extensive 
 application of this battery to the arts, the little 
 pieces of zinc which remain undissolved in the 
 
 riG. y. smee s rsaiiery, - . .... , 
 
 lor Electrotype. battery iorm an important consideration to the 
 
 manufacturer. Some distil the mercury from them, others sell them 
 to the zinc works, whilst others have never turned them to any account 
 at all, waiting patiently in the hope that some more beneficial applica- 
 tion of them might be discovered. These latter have hundredweights 
 of odds and ends in hand which they are desirous to employ. After 
 considering the matter carefully, I have to propose the following use 
 for them ; in fact, I make them the positive pole of a battery, by placing 
 them at the bottom of a vessel and covering them with mercury. A 
 silver wire is then placed down a glass tube into the quicksilver, so 
 that the wire may nowhere touch the dilute sulphuric acid with which 
 the vessel is filled, but simply make a good metallic communication 
 with the mercury. At the other end of the wire a binding screw may 
 be attached, for the convenience of the operator. The platinized silver 
 plate (s) is then to be immersed in the fluid, and placed as near to the 
 mercury as possible, without actually being in contact, whilst no part 
 of it should be more than three inches from it, as a considerable reduction 
 of power would then ensue. This form of battery may be fairly called the 
 Odds-and-Ends Battery ; and though not so philosophical an instrument 
 in its construction as the form last described, yet no manufacturer should 
 be without one to use up the scraps from his other 
 batteries ; and I must say this instrument requires 
 less trouble in its manipulation than any other 
 form I have ever seen. An odds-and-ends com- 
 pound battery, which will only require a binding 
 screw at each end, may be made by placing the 
 mercury and zinc at the bottom of a many-celled 
 porcelain trough ; the platinized silver should be 
 cut into suitable squares, leaving a narrow slip to 
 connect it with the next cell. The strip must be 
 placed in a glass tube, or covered with any non- 
 conducting substance, leaving the end only to dip 
 in the mercury of the next cell. A series of little 
 glasses may be used instead of the many-celled trough for some purposes. 
 The only objection which I have found in this form of compound battery is 
 the possibility of the zinc in one cell being completely exhausted, when the 
 
 FIG. 10. Smee's Odds-and- 
 Ends Battery. 
 
No. V.] APPENDIX. 171 
 
 silver wire will begin to dissolve ; in all other respects it is a delightful 
 instrument when you do not care about obtaining the maximum of power, 
 and you can obtain the galvanic principle by this means at a lower cost 
 than by any other way. The odds-and-ends battery is admirably adapted 
 for gilding and plating, or it may be employed for any operation that 
 requires much time for its performance. The charge for this battery 
 might contain one-third by measure of strong sulphuric acid, as the local 
 action is very trifling ; but it is found more advisable not to employ the 
 solution so strong, as, when nearly exhausted, the sulphate of zinc will 
 sometimes envelope the zinc and mercury, and prevent further action 
 before the top part of the liquid is fully saturated. An advantage of this 
 instrument is, that spelter, or raw zinc, may be used instead of manu- 
 factured zinc, and that no mercury is wasted, as the whole is left after the 
 solution of the zinc. 
 
 " When we desire to employ a battery for manufacturing purposes, it 
 might be as well in some cases to remove the sulphate of zinc as soon as 
 formed, by means of a syphon tube passing to the bottom of the vessel, 
 while fresh acid is continually supplied at the top ; but this is not generally 
 necessary. For these purposes the battery should be so constructed, that 
 any of the zinc plates, when worn out, can be readily replaced. There are 
 many other forms which may be adopted, as the circular with the zinc 
 outside ; or it may be used as a tumbler battery. 
 
 " The characteristic of this battery is the great quantity of electricity 
 produced, and its simplicity ; moreover, it requires but very little trouble 
 in its manipulation. The zinc seldom demands but one amalgamation, as 
 that will generally last till the metal is all dissolved. It is very important 
 to use for batteries zinc as pure as possible, for by that means the chance 
 of local action is materially lessened. The manufacturers of zinc plates 
 have a trick which is very fatal to this metal, for they buy up the refuse 
 or waste pieces which frequently contain solder, a composition of lead and 
 tin, and melt them with the raw zinc. This mixture always tells its tale 
 during the action of the battery, as a light spongy flocculent precipitate 
 rises to the top of the liquid, which is metallic tin, and when any particle 
 touches the zinc a little local battery is formed, which causes great waste 
 of metal. 
 
 " In using this battery it is important that no salt of copper, lead, or 
 other base metal be dropped into the exciting fluid, as by that means the 
 silver would become coated therewith ; the plain consequence being, that 
 a surface of copper, instead of that of the finely- divided platinum, is 
 presented to the fluid. From a want of knowledge of this fact, in some 
 who have used the battery, I have seen the negative metal covered with 
 copper, which, finally becoming oxidated, rendered the platinum useless. 
 When this takes place, it is best removed by immersing the plate in dilute 
 sulphuric acid, to which a few drops of iiitro -muriate of platinum should 
 be previously added ; by this process the baser metals are dissolved and 
 metallic platinum thrown down. Some manufacturers prefer dipping 
 the silver into a solution of this sort every week. In this battery the 
 zinc is never reduced upon the negative metal, from the sulphate of 
 zinc formed during the action of the battery, so long as the exciting 
 fluid contains any acid at all. Other interesting matter connected with 
 this subject will be detailed when treating of the reduction of zinc." 
 
172 APPENDIX. [No. VI. 
 
 After explaining the difference between his battery and the two other 
 batteries, he finishes thus : 
 
 " Professor Daniell's excellent invention being distinguished by its 
 constancy ; Mr. Grove's powerful battery, by its intensity ; and my own, 
 by the cheapness with which the quantity of electricity may be developed, 
 and by its simplicity. By some it (Smee's battery) has been too much 
 extolled, by others too much blamed. Notwithstanding the mis-state- 
 ments on both sides, it has fully stood the test of time, and has been 
 employed by the public in a manner which I had not even hoped. The 
 reason they prefer it for general and especially for manufacturing 
 purposes, appears to be, that it does not require the use of porous tubes 
 or of the strong acids, and that it does not give off poisonous fumes. It 
 usually continues in active operation for six, eight, ten, or more days, 
 when a sufficiency of acid is supplied to it. The zinc frequently demands 
 but one amalgamation; and the time required either for setting it in 
 action, or for maintaining its operation, is comparatively not worth a 
 thought ; and, lastly, the expense of working it is reduced to the lowest 
 possible amount, being exactly proportionate to the power obtained. 
 
 " Although theoretically it is not absolutely constant, yet practically, for 
 the purposes of the electro-metallurgist, its constancy remains for two or 
 three days, or, in other words, until the battery is nearly exhausted ; and 
 then, to replenish the solution of zinc with a fresh supply of dilute acid 
 will not occupy more than half a minute. In recording my own experience 
 of its practical, though not of its absolute constancy, I can at the same 
 time conjoin the testimony of some of the most extensive manufacturers in 
 this country. By the practical manufacturer this instrument is re-charged 
 with acid, at intervals varying from three days to a fortnight, according 
 to the size of the vessel containing the acid. Whilst upon the use of the 
 battery, I may state that the platinum, with proper care, never wears off 
 the silver, and that the platinized silver never undergoes the slightest 
 change, or is affected by the slightest local action. 
 
 " Perhaps I may be expected to give an approximation to the relative 
 cost of working the three batteries. In mine it is the cost of the zinc 
 dissolved by the acid : zinc + acid + a local action. In Daniell's battery, 
 it is zinc + acid + sulphate of copper + much local action. Each cell 
 of this, to do any given amount of work, would cost about twice as much 
 as mine. In Grove's battery it is zinc + acid H- nitric acid reduced by 
 the hydrogen -f- nitric acid combined with ammonia formed during the 
 action of the battery + extensive waste of the zinc = about three times as 
 much as mine." 
 
 YI. 
 
 ON THE PRODUCTION OF ELECTROTYPES. By ALFKED SMEE, 
 Esq., Surgeon. (' London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and 
 Journal of Science,' April 21st, 1840.) 
 
 THE mode of taking copies of medals by the galvanic current is de- 
 servedly occupying much of public attention, and each is striving to add 
 his mite to the perfection of this elegant and useful process. There are 
 
No. VI.] APPENDIX. 173 
 
 two or three points to which I am desirous of drawing the attention of 
 your readers, as they appear to open a new and important field for investi- 
 gation for which I have not the time at present. With regard to the 
 precipitation of the copper, I beg leave to submit a modification of a plan 
 first proposed by Mr. Mason, but I believe also contemporaneously used by 
 other persons, that of making copper form the oxygen side of the battery, 
 which being dissolved is again thrown down at the platina or hydrogen 
 end upon the medal or cast put for its reception. 
 
 The mode which I adopt is, first to obtain a long dish or trough, and 
 then to place a wire in the inside along its bottom, which is connected to 
 the zinc of one of the cells of my battery along the opposite side of the 
 vessel ; a large piece of copper is placed in connection with the silver of 
 the battery, and a solution of sulphate of copper is then added. By this 
 arrangement the current is generated at the zinc, passes to the medal, 
 reduces the copper whilst the oxygen and acid are transferred to the refuse 
 copper, and dissolves a corresponding quantity of copper, and by this 
 means the solution is always kept saturated with the metal. 
 
 When medals are to be copied, they are singly placed in contact with 
 the wire in connection with the zinc of the battery, and in this way many 
 may be done in the same vessel, and either may be taken out and examined 
 without the slightest interruption to the others. The rapidity of the 
 process may be increased without detriment by the use of two to six or 
 even more cells of the battery, as the copper will still be extremely tough. 
 It will be found that my battery will require not the slightest alteration, 
 except once a day, when the liquid should be changed. I have tried other 
 solutions of copper, such as the nitrate : but although the process is 
 hastened, the metal is apt to be brittle, or have other imperfections. 
 
 When engraved plates are to be copied, the first copy is in basso- 
 rilievo, and therefore a second is required to be made which is in " inta- 
 glio," and then ready for printing. Copies may even be taken of non- 
 conducting substances, as woodcuts, &c., by brushing them over with 
 black-lead, taking care that the copper wire is in good contact with the 
 plumbago. 
 
 The great advantages of this mode of proceeding above all others are : 
 first, the quality of the copper is far better than when reduced in the usual 
 way as described by Messrs. Spencer and Solly this advantage is owing 
 to the use of the copper at the oxygen end as suggested by Mr. Mason ; 
 secondly, all the plates or medals, for there is no limit to the number, are 
 in the same vessel ; thirdly, the process may be hurried or retarded, accord- 
 ing as the number of plates of the battery are increased or diminished ; 
 fourthly, the plates will not require to be interfered with till the precipita- 
 tion is completely finished, and there are even many other more trifling 
 advantages which it would be tedious to enumerate. 
 
 The mode of proceeding here detailed differs but little from others 
 which have been described ; but these trifling differences are so important 
 in practice, that this mode will probably supersede every other. In fact, I 
 have had the pleasure of seeing many most valuable copper-plates sub- 
 jected to this process, and the specimen which accompanies this paper I 
 believe is the first which has ever undergone the ordeal of having the large 
 number of impressions, required for any publication, printed from it. Of 
 
174 APPENDIX. [No. VII. 
 
 course it is a perfect facsimile, and therefore this method would be of the 
 greatest importance to bankers for their notes, and is far superior to Mr. 
 Perkins's apparatus for the multiplication of plates, because in that case 
 they almost invariably require to be touched up afterwards, and therefore 
 absolute identity is destroyed. The cost of their manufacture would be 
 trifling, being merely the value of the zinc * dissolved in the battery, and 
 a pound of zinc of the value of sixpence would produce a copper-plate 
 weighing about two pounds ; and I trust that copper will again, from its 
 beauty, take the place of steel engravings. 
 
 So much for the precipitation of the copper : and the next thing to 
 which I have to direct your attention, is a mode of making copper-plate 
 engraving without an engra%dng in the first instance. This is done by 
 drawing upon a smooth piece of copper (such as a plate used for engrav- 
 ing) with any thick varnish or pigment insoluble in water, and then 
 exposing the plate in the usual way to the influence of the current, when 
 first copper will be thrown down upon the uncovered parts and will 
 gradually grow over the drawing, and the electrotype when removed will 
 be ready for. printing. A practical difficulty arises in the application of 
 this for the arts, as unless very thick oil paint is used, sufficient depth is 
 not obtained to hold the ink. However, judging from the sharpness of 
 the edges of the lines, I have but little doubt that this difficulty may be 
 overcome by those who are accustomed to drawing ; and it possesses, as 
 an additional advantage to its cheapness, the valuable property of not 
 requiring the artist to reverse the design. An opposite effect to this may 
 be produced by placing a piece of copper similarly drawn upon at the 
 oxygen end of the battery, when the metal will be acted upon, leaving a 
 drawing in basso-rilievo. 
 
 No. YII. 
 
 ON THE FERROSESQUICYANTJRET OF POTASSIUM. By ALFRED 
 SMEE, Esq., Surgeon. (' London and Edinburgh Philosophical Maga- 
 zine and Journal of Science,' September 1840.) 
 
 THE action of chlorine upon the ferrocyanuret of potassium is a subject 
 of much interest to the chemist, and has not been examined to any extent 
 in this country. It therefore has been my endeavour to investigate this 
 action carefully, and to see under what circumstances the change from the 
 ferrocyanate into the f errosesquicyanuret takes place ; and the methods 
 which are here detailed to obtain this latter salt unconi aminated with 
 impurities, will be found free from the difficulties and uncertainties 
 attending on the present mode of preparing it. 
 
 When a current of chlorine is passed through a solution of ferrocya- 
 nate of potassa, or an aqueous solution of that gas is added to it in certain 
 quantities, the persalts of iron are not precipitated. This solution has 110 
 
 * The zinc in the fluid might be precipitated as a carbonate, for which there 
 is great demand in the arts, and thereby the expense of the electrotype would 
 be further diminished. 
 
No. VII.] APPENDIX. 175 
 
 smell of chlorine, and is changed from a yellow colour to a dark red, and 
 deposits on evaporation red crystals. A similar change takes place when 
 bromine is added to the ferrocyanate, and in both cases the weight of the 
 entire red mass is equal to that of the yellow ferrocyanate, plus the weight 
 of the chlorine or bromine used, but minus the quantity of water which 
 the yellow crystals are known to contain. This indicates, first, that the 
 red crystals are anhydrous ; and, secondly, that the chlorine or bromine is 
 actually absorbed by the salt. The former fact is confirmed by heating 
 the red precipitate in a test tube, when no water is given off ; and the 
 latter fact is also proved by the evolution of chlorine or bromine, on the 
 addition of two or three drops of strong heated sulphuric acid to a few 
 grains of red salt. 
 
 When heated alcohol is added to this red mass, a small portion is dis- 
 solved, which is again deposited when the spirit is evaporated. This salt 
 by its characters is known to be either the bromide or the chloride of 
 potassium. By this method the red ferrocyanate of potassa, which is 
 insoluble in alcohol, becomes purified : but this is a troublesome and 
 expensive process, as the bromide or chloride is but little soluble in the 
 spirit, and therefore a large quantity must be used. 
 
 About half an equivalent of chlorine or bromine is required to effect 
 this change, and great care must be employed to prevent excess of these 
 substances, as they are apt to react upon a portion of the salt. The liquid 
 in this case contains Prussian blue dissolved, which materially discolours 
 the salts, and it can only be precipitated from the solution by the addition 
 of neutral salts, as sulphate of soda, which renders the red ferrocyanate 
 impure. In a similar manner, chloride of soda, as might be expected, 
 forms the red ferrocyanate of potassa. 
 
 From the foregoing details a knowledge is obtained of the action of 
 chlorine and bromine upon the ferrocyanate, for we have seen that chloride 
 and bromide of potassium is formed, and that one-half an equivalent of 
 these substances is necessary for this change. Now it is manifest that 
 half an equivalent of potassium is removed from the ferrocyanate, so that 
 the new salt, instead of consisting of iron one equivalent, potassium two 
 equivalents, cyanogen three equivalents, contains iron one equivalent, 
 potassium one and a-half equivalent, cyanogen three equivalents; and 
 therefore it is rightly named the ferrosesquicyanuret of potassium : that 
 half an equivalent of potassium has been removed from the salt, two or 
 three experiments have verified. 
 
 The acids as a class will not effect a similar change, because as they 
 combine not with potassium but with potassa, water must be decomposed, 
 the oxygen uniting with the metal, and the hydrogen passing to the 
 ferrocyanate, forming hydroferrocyanic acid. 
 
 A question naturally arises whether the potassium may not be removed 
 from the ferrocyanuret by other processes, and we are led to try the 
 action of the anions, and of these I attempted to add oxygen to the salts 
 by the use of nitric acid. This acid, when added in small quantities to 
 the yellow ferrocyanate, acts as the other acids by liberating hydroferro- 
 cyanic acid, which is speedily decomposed into a pale bluish cyanurct of 
 iron. When, however, further additions of this acid are made, the potas- 
 sium takes oxygen, forms potassa, deutoxide of nitrogen is evolved, and 
 
176 APPENDIX. [No. VII. 
 
 the solution becomes dark-coloured. This liquor, when neutralized with 
 potassa, is found to give no precipitate with the persalts of iron, but forms 
 Prussian blue with the protosalts of that metal. The rapidity of this 
 change depends upon the heat of the solution, for when warm the effect 
 takes place immediately, whilst, on the contrary, two or three days are 
 required at a low temperature. When evaporated, a large quantity of 
 nitrate of potassa is deposited ; and, lastly, some red crystals are formed. 
 When acid is more used, the f errocyanate is totally decomposed ; the black 
 mass which is the result has at first a sweet, but afterwards leaves a dis- 
 agreeable metallic taste upon the palate. This process can never be used 
 advantageously to form the ferrosesquicyanuret, from the quantity of acid 
 which is required, the degree of nicety which must be employed to effect 
 the change, and the impurity of the salt when obtained. 
 
 The next highly-oxygenated acid which we have to examine is the 
 iodic : this when added to ferrocyanate of potash becomes decomposed, 
 the oxygen passes to the potassium to form potassa, free iodine is evolved, 
 and the potassa passes to another portion of iodic acid, and is precipitated 
 as the iodate of potassa. The free iodine can be readily removed by agita- 
 tion with a little ether, and in this way a tolerably pure ferrosesquicy- 
 anuret of potassium can be extemporaneously obtained, for the solution 
 contains but little iodate of potassa from its insolubility.* 
 
 Chloric acid operates in the same way as iodic acid, but is more diffi- 
 cult of decomposition, and it requires the action of heat before the smell 
 of chlorine is exhaled and the red ferrocyanate formed. 
 
 If chlorate of potassa be added to the ferrocyanate, and dilute sul- 
 phuric acid be dropped into the solution, red ferrocyanate of potash will 
 also be formed. 
 
 Bromic acid will not act upon the ferrocyanate with the production of 
 the ferrosesquicyanuret, but acts as other acids in forming Prussian blue. 
 A great variety of other oxyacids have been tided, but none were 
 found to part with their oxygen. 
 
 When a large quantity of peroxide of manganese in fine powder is 
 added to a solution of the ferrocyanate of potash, and the mixture digested 
 for a considerable time, the ferrocyanate becomes converted into the 
 ferrosesquicyanuret, and on evaporation crystals of the most beautiful 
 ruby red are obtained. The salt thus procured appears to be very pure. 
 
 If a little dilute sulphuric acid be added to the solution in conjunction 
 with the peroxide of manganese, the action takes place more quickly, but 
 sulphate of potassa is formed, which is a great disadvantage. 
 
 The last process in which nascent oxygen contributes to the formation 
 of ferrosesquicyanuret of potassium, is, perhaps, one of the most elegant, 
 efficient, and simple processes in the whole range of chemistry. This 
 mode I was induced to follow from the consideration, that as nascent 
 oxygen effects a change of the yellow to the red ferrocyanate of potassa, a 
 similar change must be produced by its being subjected to a galvanic 
 current. Accordingly some solution of the salt was placed in a tube bent 
 
 * This elegant process can be employed with advantage when a small 
 quantity of the salt is suddenly wanted, as it scarcely requires a minute to 
 effect. 
 
No. VII.] APPENDIX. 177 
 
 like a syphon, and at the bottom a piece of tow was thrust, in order that a 
 separation might so far be effected, that the solution on one side could not 
 readily pass to the solution on the other. Having thus completed the 
 arrangement, a galvanic circuit was passed through the fluid ; when at the 
 cathode, hydrogen was evolved, and at the anode no oxygen, on the con- 
 trary, was given off, but the solution became of a dark colour. The dark 
 solution was found to precipitate only the protosalts of iron, and on 
 evaporation deposited red crystals of the ferrosesquicyanuret, but at the 
 cathode potash was discovered. The rationale of this change may be 
 deduced from, circumstances attending slight alterations of arrangement : 
 for if on the zinc side of the bent tube a saturated solution of the ferro- 
 cyanate be placed, and on the platinum side distilled water, and then the 
 galvanic circuit be completed, potash will appear at the platinode, and red 
 ferrocyanate at the zincode. On the contrary, if the distilled water is 
 placed at the zinc side and the ferrocyanate at the platinum side, potash is 
 left at the platinode, whilst at the zincode no red ferrocyanate is found, 
 but a substance which does not redden litmus-paper, and which speedily 
 decomposes into Prussian blue : this is probably ferrocyanogen. Thus it 
 appears that one equivalent of the yellow ferrocyanate is decomposed, the 
 free potash travelling one way and the hydrof errocyanic acid the other ; 
 the oxygen unites with the hydrogen of the acid and sets ferrocyanogen at 
 liberty ; this again unites with an equivalent of f errocyanuret of potassium 
 to form the ferrosesquicyanuret. 
 
 Various other attempts were made to form the red ferrocyanate 
 by oxygen, such as heating it with nitrate of potassa, but the 'mixture 
 exploded at a temperature below redness. 
 
 When a mixture of powdered ferrocyanate and peroxide of manganese 
 was heated together, no ferrosesquicyanuret was formed. Several other 
 oxides, as those of mercury, silver, tin, iron, &c. &c., were digested with 
 ferrocyanate of potassa, but none that were tried, except the peroxide of 
 manganese, formed the red ferrocyanate ; many of them were converted 
 into cyanurets. 
 
 A current of oxygen gas passed through the solution of the salt 
 produces no alteration, showing that the gas must be in a nascent state 
 to cause the change. 
 
 The next substance we have to examine is phosphorus, and its action 
 is somewhat remarkable ; for little or no change is effected by the addition 
 of an alcoholic or etherial solution of phosphorus. When a piece of 
 phosphorus is also placed in a solution of the ferrocyanate, or when 
 phosphorus is heated with powdered ferrocyanate, the sesquicyanuret is 
 not produced ; but if a stick of phosphorus is placed in a bottle containing 
 a solution of the salt, and only a portion of it is covered with the liquor, 
 the phosphorus gradually burns away, the solution becomes sour and red, 
 and ceases to precipitate the persalts of iron. This change takes place 
 with a rapidity exactly proportionate to the wasting of the phosphorus ; 
 for if the temperature is below 45, but little action takes place, but above 
 60 the reddening is very speedily produced. The red solution is not to 
 be tested with the salt of iron whilst it is acid, for in that case a copious 
 greenish-white precipitate is produced of phosphate of iron ; but after it 
 has been neutralized with potassa, a solution of baryta is to be added, to 
 
 N 
 
178 APPENDIX. [No. VII. 
 
 throw down the phosphate, and a drop of dilute sulphuric acid may then 
 be added to remove any excess of baryta. 
 
 The solution will now be found not to precipitate persalts of iron, 
 but, on the contrary, a large quantity of Prussian blue is produced with 
 the protosalts. The actual combustion of the phosphorus seems essential 
 to this change ; for if the water in which phosphorus has been allowed to 
 burn be added to the solution of the ferrocyanate, a similar change will 
 not be produced. The cause of this change appears paradoxical, for 
 phosphorus has in other instances a deoxidizing agency, so that a piece 
 placed in a solution of either gold, silver, platinum, or copper, has the 
 metal precipitated upon it. Perhaps it depends upon decomposition of 
 water and the formation of phosphuretted hydrogen ; for a narrow bottle, 
 to which air has but limited access, is more favourable to the change than 
 a wide vessel. If this explanation is correct, the action of phosphorus 
 must be classed with the other oxygenating substances, for oxygen, and 
 not phosphorus, removes the potassium.* 
 
 No mode of abstracting the half equivalent of potassium by sulphur 
 is known ; for if half an equivalent of sulphur be heated with powdered 
 ferrocyauuret, the ferrosesquicyanuret is not produced, and the alcoholic 
 or terebinthine solution of sulphur, added to a solution of the ferro- 
 cyanuret, also failed to produce this change. Even nascent sulphur arising 
 from the decomposition of sulphured of potash by an acid did not produce 
 any effect .f 
 
 A current of cyanogen gas passed through a solution of the salt is 
 gradually absorbed, and it becomes of a very dark colour, but red ferro- 
 cyanate is not formed. 
 
 Doubtless many may be surprised that the action of iodine has not 
 been adverted to before, and more especially that it should not have been 
 mentioned with chlorine and bromine, as to these it has a striking analogy 
 in most of its properties ; but in reality little resemblance exists between 
 the action of iodine on the ferrocyanate of potassa, and that of chlorine 
 and bromine, as we shall immediately see. If iodine is added to a solution 
 of the salt, it speedily becomes dissolved, the solution turning to a dark 
 red, and gives a blue precipitate with salts of either oxide of iron. One 
 equivalent of ferrocyanate of potash dissolves about one equivalent of 
 iodine, which remains in great part uncombined in solution. If the 
 solution is allowed spontaneously to evaporate, the free iodine passes off, 
 and a whitish uncrystallized mass is obtained which has no free iodine, 
 but hydriodate of potassa in its composition. This gives a precipitate 
 with both oxides of iron. Now there is a ready method of ascertaining 
 how much iodine the ferrocyanate will not only dissolve, but combine 
 with, and for this purpose a definite quantity of the salt is to be dissolved 
 in a small quantity of water, and then placed in a phial. Upon the 
 solution ether is to be poured, then the iodine is to be added gradually, 
 when as soon as the ether is discoloured the saturation is known to be 
 effected. Brisk and continued agitation must follow each addition of the 
 
 * No change takes place if the phosphorus is completely under the solution 
 of the salt. 
 
 f It is foreign to this paper to describe the sulphocyanuret of potassium. 
 
No. VII.] APPENDIX. 179 
 
 iodine, in order that the ether may part with any iodine previously to the 
 point of saturation. When evaporated to dryness, more of the iodine is 
 evolved, but still hydriodate of potash may be abstracted from the mass by 
 alcohol. When all the iodine is removed from the mass, a result which is 
 known by its not discolouring starch upon the addition of nitric acid, it 
 still retains its power of forming Prussian blue with salts of either oxide 
 of iron, and still presents the same indisposition to crystallize, for it 
 neither shows itself as the yellow nor the red ferrocyanate of potash, but 
 as a compound having properties intermediate with both. 
 
 When iodide of potassium is added to the ferrosesquicyanuret, iodine 
 is evolved, the solution loses its red colour, and the salt possesses the 
 characters similar to the mass obtained by the action of iodine on the 
 ferrocyanate of potash. Thus it is evident that if a solution of persulphate 
 of iron be treated with the red ferrocyanate whilst an iodide is present, 
 Prussian blue will be formed. 
 
 Whether this is really a mixture of the fcrrocyanuret and ferro- 
 sesquicyanuret or a distinct compound, it is difficult to determine, but 
 the latter is rendered probable from its generally presenting itself as an 
 amorphous mass; yet, however, when the purified mixture is dissolved 
 two or three times in water, a dark mass is deposited, and at last crystals 
 of the yellow salt are formed. 
 
 Every method which has been discovered of converting the ferro- 
 cyanate of potassa into the ferrosesquicyanuret has now been detailed, 
 and we have seen that they may each be referred to the class of anions, 
 for of the cathions the powerful agency of potassium was unable to effect 
 this change. 
 
 Upon the first formation of the ferrosesquicyanuret the colour will 
 occasionally be a very dark red, but this is an adventitious, not a necessary 
 property ; for when prepared by peroxide of manganese or chloride of soda, 
 it does not possess this dark colour. If the red crystals be carefully 
 picked and re-dissolved, in no instance is this seen, and in every case where 
 the dark red exists it yields to liquor ammonia or potassse, with the pro- 
 duction of a small quantity of the ferrocyanate. 
 
 The ferrosesquicyanuret, however prepared, has the same peculiar 
 properties. It has been already mentioned that the protosalts are preci- 
 pitated blue, whilst the persalts are not effected by this agent ; however, 
 the solution in the latter case is always much darkened, and after a time 
 a small quantity of dark-coloured substance is deposited. The mode of 
 preparation of the ferrosesquicyanuret does not influence this result. 
 
 With almost every acid, especially if heat be applied, Prussian blue is 
 formed and hydrocyanic acid is given off ; and thus upon testing for minute 
 quantities of metal, care must be taken to prevent any excess of acid, as in 
 that case the chemist would find iron in everything he examines. With 
 excess of alkali, on the contrary, no precipitate of Prussian blue is pro- 
 duced ; and therefore if search be made for that most useful of all metals, 
 the experiment would declare that iron had no real existence : but if the 
 golden mean be employed, or the solution be but very slightly acid, the 
 ferrosesquicyamiret, as well as the ferrocyanuret, become most valuable 
 and delicate tests, the one for the peroxide, the other for the protoxide of 
 that metal. 
 
 N 2 
 
180 APPENDIX. [No. VII. 
 
 The change by chlorine and bromine has been shown to result from 
 the abstraction of the half equivalent of potassium by the formation of 
 chloride or bromide of that metal, and therefore the f errosesquicyanuret 
 is impure till that is removed by alcohol. We have seen also that the 
 change may be effected by the iodic, nitric, and chloric acids, but by these 
 methods the salt is also contaminated to a great extent by the nitrate of 
 potash, but to a much less extent with the chlorate, and scarcely at all 
 with the iodate ; with phosphorus the salt in a very impure state may still 
 be made. With peroxide of manganese, however, and the galvanic current, 
 it may be made of absolute purity. 
 
 This last mode will probably supersede entirely every other mode of 
 preparation, as with a galvanic battery a large quantity can be readily 
 made. The battery which I have used for these experiments is the 
 platinized silver, which from its simplicity is so well adapted for general 
 purposes, and suitable for long-continued action. 
 
 TABLE OF DECOMPOSITIONS. 
 By Chlorine and Bromine. 
 
 1 eq. f errocyanate ) 
 of potassa . . j 
 
 h eq. of chlorine 
 
 Iron 1 
 Cyanogen 3 
 Potassa 2 
 
 = 1 eq. red ferro- 
 cyanate . . 
 
 Iron 1. 
 Cyanogen 3. 
 Potassium 1. 
 
 s eq. chloride of potassium. 
 
 Bromine acts in the same way. 
 1 eq. ferrocyanate "I 
 
 By the Galvanic Current. 
 Iron 1 
 
 of potassa . .) ~ Cyanogen 8 
 Potassium 2 
 I eq. of oxygen. 
 5 eq. of hydrogen from decomposition 
 
 . , 
 
 cyanate . .Cyanogen 3 
 I Potassium l 
 3 eq. of potassa. 
 2 eq. of hydrogen evolved. 
 
 of water. I 
 
 The action of the acids, &c., has been already sufficiently adverted to. 
 
 TABLE OP PRECIPITATES WITH THE IODO-FERROCYANATE 
 OF POTASSA PURE. 
 
 Gold solution red, no precipitate. 
 
 Platinum .... a little white deposit. 
 
 Mercury, bichloride white, becoming green. 
 
 Lead white, abundant. 
 
 Silver white, with a little reddish tinge. 
 
 Bismuth .... white, afterwards yellow. 
 
 Zinc white. 
 
 Copper dark brown. 
 
 Iron protosalts . . Prussian blue. 
 
 Iron persalts . . . Prussian blue. 
 
No. VIII.] 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 181 
 
 TABLE OP PRECIPITATES WITH THE RED FERROCYANATE 
 OP POTASSA. 
 
 Gold . . 
 Platina . 
 Palladium 
 
 Silver . 
 
 Nickel 
 Copper 
 
 Mercury 
 
 Bismuth 
 Tin. . 
 
 Iron 
 
 Antimony < 
 
 Cobalt . 
 Zinc . . 
 Cadmium 
 Curanium 
 Lead . . 
 Alumina . 
 
 Baryta . I 
 
 Strontia . 
 Lime . 
 
 chloride . . 
 chloride . . 
 nitrate . . . 
 nitrate . . . 
 sulphate . . 
 acetate . . . 
 nitrate . . . 
 sulphate . . 
 ammoniuret . 
 protonitrate . 
 bichloride . . 
 nitrate . . . 
 protochloride 
 protosulphate 
 persulphate . 
 potassio- 
 tartrate . 
 chloride . 
 chloride . 
 sulphate . 
 sulphate . 
 nitrate . . 
 acetate . . 
 acetate . . 
 muriate . 
 nitrate . . 
 nitrate . . 
 muriate 
 
 solution darker, no precipitate. 
 
 solution darker, small crystals deposited. 
 
 red-brown precipitate. 
 
 deep orange. 
 
 red brown. 
 
 yellow brown. 
 
 deep-greenish brown. 
 
 at first yellow brown, then white, then green. 
 
 none. 
 
 pale yellow brown. 
 
 white, gelatinous. 
 
 Prussian blue. 
 
 none, with iodide, potassium, Prussian blue. 
 
 none. 
 
 sepia. 
 
 chocolate brown. 
 
 buff. 
 
 pale yellow. 
 
 deep red brown. 
 
 solution brownish, none. 
 
 none. 
 
 none. 
 
 none, 
 none. 
 
 No. VIII. 
 ELEMENTS OF ELECTRO-METALLURGY. By ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 THE ' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy ' was first issued to the public on 
 the 26th December, 1840. The first edition was speedily sold off, and 
 the second edition appeared at first in parts, thus : the first forty pages 
 appeared on the 1st April, 1842; forty pages more were ready on the 
 1st May ; the third forty on the 1st July ; the succeeding forty on the 
 1st August; the fifth part, containing forty-four pages, was published 
 1st September ; the sixth part, to the 236th page, on the 1st October ; the 
 next forty pages on the 1st November, and the remainder on the 1st of 
 December, when all the parts were published in one volume. 
 
 During these two years (1840 to 1842) Alfred Smee had prosecuted his 
 labours in this branch of knowledge to such an extent that the second 
 edition of the ' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy ' bore rather the feature 
 of a new treatise than of a second edition ; for the work had been doubled 
 in bulk and partly re-written. 
 
182 APPENDIX. [No. VIII. 
 
 The book commences with a brief but lucid exposition of galvanism, 
 and then proceeds to describe the most approved batteries, concluding 
 with a general view of the one invented by himself, which has been 
 employed by him in all the processes of electro-metallurgy. The second 
 part of Electro-Metallurgy treats of the apparatus to be employed for the 
 reduction of the metals ; of the substances capable of receiving the metallic 
 deposit ; and of the laws regulating the reduction of the metals. 
 
 Although the laws which regulate the deposit of every metal appear 
 to be the same, and although they are very simple, yet they cost Mr. Smee 
 much labour for their development. He states them as follows : 
 
 Law 1. The metals are invariably thrown down as a black powder, 
 when the current of electricity is so strong in relation to the strength of 
 the solution, that hydrogen is evolved from the negative plate of the 
 decomposition cell. 
 
 Law 2. Every metal is thrown down in a crystalline state, when 
 there is no evolution of gas from the negative plate, or no tendency 
 thereto. 
 
 Law 3. Metals are reduced in the reguline state when the quantity 
 of electricity in relation to the strength of the solution is insufficient to 
 cause the production of hydrogen on the negative plate in the decomposi- 
 tion trough, and yet the quantity of electricity very nearly suffices to 
 induce that phenomenon. For further information on the reduction of 
 metals I refer the reader to the paper read before the Royal Society, 
 9th of March, 1843, at page 188. 
 
 The third part of Electro-Metallurgy treats of electro-gilding, electro- 
 plating, &c. ; of coppering non-metallic substances, medallions, fruit, 
 vegetables, baskets, earthenware, &c. 
 
 In the fourth part we learn the various applications of the reduction 
 of metals by galvanism : as the multiplication of coins and medals ; of 
 copying seals ; of plaster casts, &c. ; of the multiplication of brasses ; of 
 making dies from embossed surfaces ; of the manufacture of moulds from 
 fruits, vegetables, &c. ; of the application of electro-metallurgy to sculp- 
 ture and other purposes. 
 
 Part the fifth treats of the electrotype : as the multiplication of 
 type ; of plain copper-plates ; of copying engraved copper-plates ; of the 
 multiplication of steel plates ; of woodcuts ; of the daguerreotype. 
 
 The sixth and last part of this work treats of galvanic etching. 
 
 Such is the plan of Smee's 'Elements of Electro-Metallurgy.' In 
 order to show more thoroughly how and to what extent the author of this 
 work contributed towards the discoveries which led to the application of 
 this science not only in this country but throughout the civilized world, 
 I here transcribe its history as it is given in every edition of Smee's 
 ' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy.' 
 
 " We have not," he says, " to extend our inquiry into remote periods 
 to trace the history of the arts of working in metals by the galvanic fluid, 
 for truly it may be said that this art belongs to our own time, and is a 
 characteristic of the present age. Whilst, however, we pursue our investi- 
 gations into the history of this subject, we find that it has had by no 
 means a sudden origin: for, at different periods, various persons have, by 
 degrees, worked out one fact after another, till the comprehensive science 
 has been developed. Electro -Metallurgy may be said to have had its 
 
No. VIII.] APPENDIX. 183 
 
 origin in the discovery of the constant battery by Professor Daniell, for in 
 that instrument the copper is continually reduced upon the negative plate. 
 In his first experiment, this distinguished author observed, on removing a 
 piece of the reduced copper from a platina electrode, that scratches on the 
 latter were copied with accuracy on the copper. In this experiment we 
 have the electrotype ; but the author, in the first paper detailing his expe- 
 riments, had devoted all his attention and centred all his energies to the 
 construction of the battery itself, and this valuable fact attracted but 
 little of his notice. 
 
 "It was but a short time after the discovery of this battery that 
 Mr. De la Rue experimented on its properties. In a paper printed in the 
 1 Philosophical Magazine' for 1836, after describing a peculiar form of 
 battery which he adopts, the following remarkable passage is found : 
 ' The copper-plate is also covered with a coating of metallic copper, which 
 is continually being deposited ; and so perfect is the sheet of copper thus 
 formed, that, being stripped off, it has the counterfeit of every scratch of 
 the plate on which it is deposited ! ' This paper seems to have attracted 
 very little attention; and, what seems still more singular, the author, 
 although well qualified, from his scientific attainments, to have applied 
 these facts, never thought of any practical benefit to which this experi- 
 ment might lead. 
 
 " In this state the subject remained till October 1838, when Professor 
 Jacobi first announced that he could employ the reduction of copper, by 
 galvanic agency, for the purposes of the arts. His process was called 
 galvano-plastic. Immediately upon his discovery being announced in this 
 country, in 1839, Mr. Spencer stated that he had executed some medals in 
 copper, to which the public afterwards gave the name of electrotypes or 
 voltatypes, or, what is better, electro-medallions." The exact value of 
 these primary discoveries " is simply the idea of the application of these 
 facts ; but that idea has been everything for Electro-Metallurgy. The 
 only apparatus which Mr. Spencer employed was, in fact, a simple 
 Daniell's battery. He employed various metals for the reception of the 
 precipitated metal, which, however, was nothing new ; but he does not 
 seem to have succeeded with any non-conducting substances. He executed 
 medals, and perhaps duplicate copper-plates ; but he does not give any 
 details as to the different methods for the reduction of the copper in 
 different states, neither did he succeed with the reduction of any other 
 metal. However, to Mr. Spencer the British public are principally in- 
 debted for the idea of the electrotype ; and perhaps the idea, as far as 
 relates to its application in Great Britain, originated entirely with him- 
 self. I may further notice, in order to confirm what I have already stated, 
 that the galvano-plastics of Jacobi, and the electrotype of Spencer, are not 
 inventions the result of inductive reasoning and laborious research, like 
 Professor Wheatstone's electro-telegraph, or certain elaborate machines, 
 but merely an application of a fact formerly known to Daniell, recorded 
 particularly by De la E/ue, and observed by hundreds of others ; that both 
 Spencer and Jacobi could work only in copper, and in no other metal ; 
 whilst, had they prosecuted their subject as a science, they would have 
 seen that the same laws regulate the reduction of all the metals. 
 
 "Electro-Metallurgy, as first made known to the world by Jacobi and 
 Spencer, was the simplest of all inventions the application of a fact 
 
184 APPENDIX. [No. VIII. 
 
 known and recorded previously ; and it forms another instance of an 
 invention of the greatest magnitude and utility to mankind, arising from 
 the most simple beginnings. 
 
 " The next discovery, which is fully equal in value to the idea of the 
 electrotype itself, was made by Mr. Murray. He found out that non- 
 conducting substances might have metallic copper thrown down upon 
 them by previously applying black lead. Mr. Murray's process is ex- 
 tremely simple and absolutely perfect. The first application of this inven- 
 tion was made in January 1840 ; but it is to be lamented that he did not 
 further extend its application and publish his researches, for his method 
 was communicated orally, in the conversaziones of the Royal Institution, 
 and not by any paper. I lay particular stress upon the value and perfec- 
 tion of plumbago, because some have denied its applicability ; and the 
 reader will find, throughout the whole of the work, that I have extended 
 the use of the substance, to the benefit of the public and to the fame of 
 the inventor. I have made very extensive inquiries in order to ascertain 
 who really first used plumbago for this purpose, and I have the testimony 
 of several authorities that it was Mr. Murray, whose claim, therefore, to 
 
 this invention is rendered quite indisputable 
 
 " Up to April 1840, the single-cell apparatus was invariably used, but 
 then Mr. Mason very ingeniously devised another mode by which the 
 reduction might be effected. He used the single-cell apparatus as a 
 Daniell's battery, which he connected with another cell to reduce another 
 metal. In the second cell he used a copper positive electrode, which was 
 dissolved during the action. By this means he made two metals by one 
 pound of zinc, or, in other words, obtained two equivalents of copper for 
 one of zinc. 
 
 " In the ' London Journal ' for April 1840, as far as I know, is contained 
 the first specimen of printing from an electrotype, by Newton. It is a 
 small rough sketch, but as the first of the kind is peculiarly interesting* 
 
 " The laws regulating the reduction of all metals in different states 
 were first given in this work, as the result of my own discoveries. By 
 these we can throw down gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, iron, 
 and almost all other metals in three states ; namely, as a black powder, as 
 a crystalline deposit, or as a flexible plate. These laws appear to me 
 at once to raise the isolated facts known as the electrotype into a science, 
 and to add electro-metallurgy as an auxiliary to the noble arts of this 
 country. 
 
 " The regulation of the power of the battery to the strength of the 
 metallic solution also required an investigation of the principles which 
 regulated the diffusion of the newly-formed salt, which is of great 
 importance to the operator. In this work I have also appended data 
 whereby the manufacturer may calculate the expense of particular 
 processes before he adopts them. The formulae for ascertaining the 
 work that would be performed by a galvanic battery, under different 
 circumstances, cannot fail to be of great utility to the workman, if he 
 rightly employ them ; and the intimate rationale of the motion of 
 electricity in the battery must be a subject, at least, of great interest to 
 all. The principle regulating the adhesion of the reduced metal is also 
 one of paramount importance in all cases where it has to be removed from 
 the plates on which it is deposited. 
 
No. VIII.] APPENDIX. 185 
 
 " The hundreds of experiments, I may even say the thousands, that 
 have been tried to elucidate these laws (for this book is not a detail of 
 experiments, but rather a digest of them), could never have been executed 
 had I not first discovered my galvanic battery ; for its simplicity alone 
 enabled me, without any assistance, to undergo the laborious undertaking. 
 I am fully aware that some may disagree with me as to the superiority of 
 my battery over all others for experimental and manufacturing purposes. 
 I shall not flinch on this account from stating its advantages, especially as 
 they appear to me likely to contribute to general benefit. 
 
 " The value of the battery process over all others is its applicability 
 to all cases; moreover, when we use a single cell of the battery, the 
 quantity of the zinc dissolved to do any amount of work is the same, or 
 even less, than attends the use of the other apparatus, because the local 
 action in a battery of this construction is less than in the single-cell 
 apparatus ; and, lastly, the quality of the precipitated metal can be 
 regulated with the utmost nicety ; and I have no hesitation in stating that 
 the battery process is the only one that ever can be employed by the manu- 
 facturer with advantage 
 
 " The departments of electro-metallurgy comprising electro-gilding 
 and plating, received great impulses from Elkington ; some of his processes 
 being most admirable. As far as gilding is concerned, he was anticipated 
 by Brugnatelli nearly forty years ago, for which see letter of Brugnatelli 
 to Yan Mons, in the 'Phil. Mag.' for 1805, also 'Archives of Philoso- 
 phical Knowledge.' The process by Brugnatelli differs in nothing from 
 the one now employed, and doubtless ought to be considered as the 
 introduction of electro-metallurgy, being the first instance in which any 
 metal was ever reduced by galvanism for the purposes of the arts. 
 
 " The processes for platinating, palladiating, &c., rest upon the 
 authority of this work ; for hitherto the reduction of these metals, in 
 any other state than that of the black powder, has been always considered 
 impossible. The electro-metallurgist will be enabled, by the processes which 
 he will find here fully described, to execute reliefs and intaglios in gold, 
 and, in fact, in nearly every other metal ; facts altogether new in science. 
 The working of all other metals, as zinc, silver, &c. &c., except copper, 
 is also due to the discovery of the laws regulating the precipitation of 
 the metals. 
 
 " Every author has given directions for making moulds on plaster 
 casts in metal ; but it is singular that by no process hitherto known can a 
 perfect reverse plaster be obtained. In investigating the cause of this, 
 I soon discovered that the extreme porosity of the plaster was the block 
 over which they had all stumbled, and the difficulty was overcome by 
 rendering the plaster non-absorbent. In this work the reader will find 
 that the copying of reliefs in plaster is brought to the utmost possible 
 perfection, and by very simple means. 
 
 " The success of this department of my experiments has amply repaid 
 me for my labours and expense ; for there is not a town in England that 
 I have happened to visit, and scarcely a street of this metropolis, where 
 prepared plasters are not exposed to view for the purpose of alluring 
 persons to follow the delightful recreation afforded by the practice of 
 electro-metallurgy. 
 
 " The extended use of white- wax, bees'-wax, rosin, &c., for the electro- 
 
186 APPENDIX. [No. VIII. 
 
 metallurgist, I trust, will be found acceptable. Their manipulation I have 
 given as the result of my own experience, and therefore, doubtless, those 
 who make a trade of working these substances will find the account not so 
 full as might have been expected or wished ; yet I believe practice alone is 
 required to make the operator perfect in these arts. 
 
 " The application of electro-metallurgy to the copying of leaves, fruit, 
 &c., is for the first time described in this work. 
 
 " The new mode of etching here detailed, I confidently trust, will be 
 also found a valuable adjunct to the knowledge of the engraver. The 
 principle which regulates the adhesion and non-adhesion of the plates will 
 enable the operator to conduct his operations with certainty a cir- 
 cumstance of no small importance to the engraver, ignorance on this score 
 having already produced untoward results 
 
 " The laws which I have given in this work, and the universality of 
 their application, will doubtless influence importantly the attainment of 
 the grand object of using the galvanic fluid commonly among our manu- 
 facturers; and having thus, as I believe, raised the isolated facts called 
 the Electrotype into a vast and comprehensive science, a new name is 
 required which may be suitable to its importance, and embrace its various 
 applications. The term which I have ventured to apply to the science is 
 Electro-Metallurgy, which comprises the principles regulating all the arts 
 of working in metals by the galvanic force ; and the value of the new 
 nomenclature is evident when we consider that it takes in every mode by 
 which it is possible to work metals, either by dissolving or precipitating 
 them, by the agency of the voltaic current." .... 
 
 Directions for coppering fruit, vegetables, leaves, seeds, &c. from Smee's 
 ' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy,' page 221. 
 
 " A pretty application of the art of coppering is suitable to horticul- 
 turists, as by its means fruit, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and various other 
 specimens may be coated with copper, either for ornament or for the 
 purpose of illustrating the size, form, and other peculiarities of the object. 
 Apples and pears may be very readily coppered; they are to be brushed 
 over with black-lead, and then a small pin is to be thrust in at the stalk : 
 to this a wire should be attached, which is connected with the zinc of the 
 battery. It may then be placed in the solution, and the whole arrangement 
 completed by the insertion of a piece of copper, which is to be connected 
 with the silver of the battery. In a similar manner cucumbers, gourds, 
 potatoes, caiTots, and a hundred other vegetables, seeds, and roots can be 
 covered. The form, after the process, is characteristic, and marks so 
 strongly the individual character of each variety, that the horticulturist 
 is at no loss to distinguish the specimens at once. The condition in which 
 the copper is thrown down can, of course, be varied according to the laws 
 set forth in the last chapter. For ornamental purposes the crystalline 
 copper is the most beautiful; but for a specimen intended to illustrate 
 the form of the object, the smooth copper is best adapted. After the 
 objects are completely covered, the pin is to be withdrawn, which will 
 leave a little hole, and that enables the evaporating juices of the vegetable 
 to pass freely out, and thus promotes the complete drying of the encased 
 object. A cucumber which I coated during the past summer appears now 
 
No. IX.] APPENDIX. 187 
 
 to contain scarcely anything inside the copper, and the pears, apples, &c., 
 consist of little else but the metallic coat. The botanist will readily 
 perceive in what way this process may be employed for his advantage. 
 
 " The beauty of electro-coppered leaves, branches, and similar objects 
 is surprising. I have a case of these specimens placed on a black ground, 
 which no one would take to be productions of art. In the same room with 
 them are a couple of those cases in which Ward has taught us to grow in 
 this smoky metropolis some of the most interesting botanical specimens. 
 In these cases are contained varieties of fairy-formed adiantums, verdant 
 lycopodiums, brilliant orchidese, rigid cacti, and creeping lygodiums, all 
 growing in their natural luxuriance. The electro-coppered leaves, however, 
 are beautiful when placed by the side of the productions of this miniature 
 paradise ; and when I state that the numerous hairs covering the leaves 
 of a melostoma, and even the delicate hairs of the salvia, are all perfectly 
 covered, the botanist must at once admit that these specimens have 
 rather the minuteness of nature than the imperfections of art." He also 
 shows how a beautiful effect of metallic surfaces may be obtained by the 
 deposition of crystallized metal on baskets which, "filled with metallic 
 fruit, leaves, insects, &c., might be used as ornaments for the drawing- 
 room, and would greatly exceed in interest the usual appendages." 
 
 No. IX. 
 RECEIPT OF A WRITING INK made by ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 56 NUT-GALLS to 50 gallons of water ; specific gravity 22. 
 
 15 Ibs. copperas to 5 gallons of water. 
 
 15 Ibs. of gum to 5 gallons of water. 
 
 1 gallon of pyroligneous acid. 
 
 i lb. corrosive sublimate. 
 
 Hot water to be poured on the gall-nuts, and this is to be allowed to 
 stand about twenty-four hours. 
 
 The infusion of galls is then to be poured off, and the gum (previously 
 mixed with the five gallons of water) to be first added ; then the copperas, 
 which also has been previously mixed with five gallons of water, the pyro- 
 ligneous acid, and the corrosive sublimate are all to be mixed together. 
 The whole to stand till the ink is dark enough for writing, when bottle off. 
 
 The specific gravity of ink, when made, to be 35-37. 
 
 The ink should be run through sieves four or five, or even six times, to 
 make it clear. 
 
188 APPENDIX. [No. X. 
 
 No. X. 
 
 ON THE CAUSE OF THE REDUCTION OF METALS WHEN 
 SOLUTIONS OF THEIR SALTS ARE SUBJECTED TO THE 
 GALYANIC CURRENT. By ALFRED SMEE, Esq., F.R.S., Surgeon 
 to the Bank of England, &c.* (' London, Edinburgh, and Dublin 
 Philosophical Magazine, and Journal of Science,' December 1844.) 
 
 1. AT the present time, when the new science of electro-metallurgy is 
 improving and multiplying the arts of this already extensive manufactur- 
 ing empire, there cannot be a subject more fit for the consideration of the 
 Fellows of the Royal Society than the cause of metals being reduced when 
 solutions of their salts are subjected to the voltaic circuit. 
 
 2. The opinions of philosophers upon this point, from the period when 
 electricity first lent its mighty aid to chemists, are various. Some have 
 supposed that hydrogen evolved by the decomposition of water reduces the 
 metals, others that the poles directly attract the metals to their surfaces, 
 and lately a paper has been printed in the Transactions of this Society 
 whereby a new constitution of the salts is inferred ; the acid and oxygen 
 being supposed by electrolysis to pass in one direction, the metal in the 
 other. The first opinion was put forward by Hisinger and Berzelius, and 
 may be found in the ' Annales de Chimie,' vol. li. p. 174 : " II resulte de 
 tons ces faits, que Ton a une idee fausse de la reduction operee par 
 1'electricite, puis qu'on 1'attribue au degagement de 1'hydrogene, comment 
 expliqueroit-on la reduction du fer et du zinc, qui ont la propriete de de- 
 composer 1'eau sans 1'electricite." 
 
 A similar opinion has been advocated by Faraday in the ' Philosophical 
 Transactions,' and he applied a new name to this kind of action, giving it 
 the term electro-chemical action. The second hypothesis was promulgated 
 by Sir Humphry Davy, who states, " that hydrogen, the alkaline sub- 
 stances, the metals, and certain metallic oxides are attracted by negatively 
 electrified metallic surfaces, and repelled by positively electrified metallic 
 surfaces ; and contrariwise, that oxygen and acid substances are attracted 
 by positively electrified metallic surfaces, and these attractive and repul- 
 sive forces are sufficiently energetic to destroy or suspend the usual 
 operation of chemical affinity." (Phil. Trans. 1807, p. 28.) 
 
 3. The hypothesis of the direct electrolysis of metallic salts has bepn 
 advanced by Prof. Daniell in consequence of some ingenious experiments 
 which have been detailed before this Society, and in which it is supposed 
 that he directly stopped the metal in its passage to the negative pole. The 
 mode in which the experiments were performed is as follows : A solution 
 of the metallic salt is placed on the positive side of a diaphragm apparatus 
 and a solution of potassa on the other side, when, on the circuit being com- 
 
 * Communicated by the Author ; having been read before .the Koyal Society, 
 March 9, 1813, as recorded in Phil. Mag. 8. 3, vol. xxiii. p. 51. "This paper 
 was also published in the 4th vol. of the * Archives de 1'filectr.' in 1844 ; in 
 Majocchi, 'Ann. Fis. Chim.' vol. xv. 1844; in the * Philosophical Magazine,' 
 vol. xxv. 1844 ; in the ' Proceedings of the Royal Society/ vol. iv. ; in the 
 
 * Poggeud. Annal.' Ixv. 1845. 
 
No. X.] APPENDIX. 189 
 
 pleted by a powerful battery, the metal is deposited on the diaphragm. 
 From this experiment it has been conceived that the acid and oxygen are 
 in combination, forming a proximate principle, which in sulphate of 
 copper is called oxysulphion ; and the salt of copper is believed to be an 
 oxysulphion of copper. When this salt is subjected to the voltaic circuit, 
 he believes it to be directly electrolysed, the oxysulphion passing one way 
 and the copper the other. 
 
 4. This experiment is so much at variance with the electro-chemical 
 doctrine of Dr. Faraday and the inference to be drawn from my cinder 
 experiment, that on rewriting my ' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy,' I felt 
 it to be my duty to examine carefully this hypothesis before I adopted or 
 rejected such an important doctrine. For this purpose his experiments 
 were repeated and varied in different ways ; and with alkalies on the nega- 
 tive side I readily and immediately obtained the metal on the diaphragm, 
 but failed when neutral salts were used on the negative side, or when solu- 
 tions of gold and platinum were employed on the positive. A series of 
 experiments were then instituted on the polarity of solid substances inter- 
 posed between two platinum poles. I placed a series of copper wires in all 
 directions and situations between the poles, in a solution of sulphate of 
 copper, and found that one part of each wire became positive and was dis- 
 solved, and another part of the same wire became negative and reduced the 
 metal from the solution ; so that all the wires were, at different parts, either 
 dissolving "or increasing. I next extended my examination as to the capa- 
 bilities of platinum wires to become polar, and found that a much greater 
 resistance was effected in this case than when other metals were employed ; 
 still, however, by particular management they were readily made to give 
 off abundance of gas (' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy,' p. 53, 2nd edit.). 
 
 5. The polarity of interposed conducting substances having been fully 
 proved, I endeavoured to ascertain how far non-conducting bodies would 
 take on a similar condition, but could not obtain very satisfactory proof on 
 this matter. Sufficient evidence not being obtained to prove the possibility 
 of interposed non-conducting substances to become polar, I determined not 
 to rely on the investigation for the cause of the reduction of the metals on 
 these experiments, but seek proofs from other causes. 
 
 6. I repeated the experiments made in 1839, and communicated to the 
 ' Philosophical Magazine ' in 1840, from which I discovered that porous 
 coke or charcoal, when arranged as the negative pole in dilute sulphuric 
 acid, absorbed a large quantity of hydrogen. The mode in which I repeated 
 these experiments was as follows : A piece of well-burnt charcoal or 
 cinder was removed red-hot from the fire and quenched in dilute sulphuric 
 acid, so that all chance of the presence of oxygen in its texture might be 
 precluded. In this state it had no effect on metallic solutions. It was 
 then arranged as the negative pole in dilute sulphuric acid by connecting 
 it with the voltaic battery, when it became charged with hydrogen, which 
 was ascertained by the circuit being completed some time before gas was 
 evolved from its surface. Pieces of coke thus charged with hydrogen 
 were dipped into various metallic solutions, when the metal was instantly 
 deposited as a brilliant coating on the coke. The deposit of copper 
 affords the most beautiful example, though the deposit of other metals, 
 as of silver and gold, is also striking. Coke charged with hydrogen retains 
 the property of reducing metals many days after its first saturation. 
 
190 APPENDIX. [No. X. 
 
 7. The repetition of these experiments deeply impressed my mind 
 that hydrogen evolved from the decomposition of water is really the 
 cause of the reduction of the metals, and I pursued my experiments to test 
 this idea, the first promulgated on the subject, and the one supported by 
 our eminent galvanist, Dr. Faraday. 
 
 8. The next stage of investigation consisted in inquiring as to whether 
 the transfer of the metal took place uniformly and synchronously with 
 this reduction. It is apparent that such a transfer is absolutely necessary 
 to the theory of the direct electrolysis of the metallic salt, but let us see 
 what is the result. I prepared a uniform solution of sulphate of copper, 
 and placed at the bottom of a tall vessel containing it a positive copper 
 pole, and at the upper part a negative pole of the same metal, forming a 
 circuit by means of one or two cells of my galvanic battery. On the action 
 of the voltaic force bright reguline copper at first appeared at the negative 
 pole ; this was followed by a brittle, this by a sandy, this by a spongy 
 deposit, this by black powder, and finally hydrogen was evolved. 
 
 9. This most important experiment was repeated in a variety of ways 
 and with various metallic salts, with the details of which there is no need 
 to trouble the Society, because the experiment just described as an example 
 points out in the most positive manner that the transfer of metal is not 
 proportionate to the metal reduced. The positive pole indicates the same 
 fact, for it became coated with metallic salt, showing beyond all source of 
 fallacy that the metallic salt was directly formed at one pole and the 
 metal directly reduced from another portion of the metallic solution at 
 the other. In a neutral solution of any metallic salt, as that of copper, 
 the acid is no more equally transferred to the positive pole than the metal 
 is to the negative ; and we find in its decomposition that the positive pole 
 is frequently coated with oxide of copper of considerable thickness, and 
 from the liberation of an equivalent of sulphuric acid from the sulphate 
 the solution speedily becomes acid. 
 
 10. Not only in the above-described experiments have I observed this 
 fact, but in the experiments of the decomposition of above one hundred 
 different salts, including those of twenty distinct metals, which I performed 
 for my work on 'Electro-Metallurgy,' did the results show themselves 
 more or less evidently; and I may state that no electro-metallurgical 
 process can be conducted without the production of these phenomena ; 
 and one of the greatest, if not the very greatest difficulty which the 
 electro-metallurgist has practically to contend with, is the variation 
 in the strength of the metallic salts subjected to decomposition.* 
 
 * Nov. 20, 1844. I happened to call yesterday upon that excellent practical 
 electro-metallurgist, Mr. Home, of Newgate Street, and found that he was 
 making an electro statue of Sir John Crosby, in a mould prepared by the 
 sculptor, Mr. Samuel Nixon, from the original model also executed by him. 
 Mr. Home was engaged about the leg, and he stated that he was much troubled 
 by the non-uniform diffusion of the metallic salt through the solution. The 
 mode in which he overcame the difficulty was very simple : he introduced a 
 glass tube every now and then to the bottom of the leg and blew through it, 
 which caused a proper mixture of the exhausted and saturated solutions. The 
 fact was a pretty practical example of the opinions which I have been endeavour- 
 ing to enforce ; it shows that the theorist may in vain attempt to bolster up 
 
No. X.] APPENDIX. 191 
 
 11. In what way are the metals reduced if they are not transferred 
 from pole to pole ? A careful investigation of a solution depositing its 
 metal will at once explain the phenomenon, for from the negative surface 
 a colourless lighter fluid is seen to rise, which in some cases will destroy 
 the electro -metallurgist's hopes, by causing grooves on the reduced metal, 
 sometimes even to the extent of an inch or more in depth, and the same 
 fluid at other times will cause a sandy or spongy deposit. From these 
 facts it is evident that water is formed at the negative surface, and that 
 hydrogen probably reduces the metallic salt. 
 
 12. We have now as arguments in favour of the reduction of the 
 metals by hydrogen gas liberated by decomposition of the water, first, the 
 results obtained by the cinder experiment ; secondly, the non-transference 
 of the metal ; thirdly, the imperfect transference of the acid ; fourthly, the 
 rise of a light aqueous fluid from the negative pole of a metallic solution. 
 We have, fifthly, besides these cases, the analogy of the reduction of nitrous 
 acid, in Grove's battery by hydrogen, for the removal of the gas by the acid 
 gives to it its intensity ; and in this case no other mode can even be sup- 
 posed by which the decomposition of the acid is effected, save and except 
 its decomposition by hydrogen. The further alteration of the persalts of 
 metals into protosalts favours strongly, by analogy, the same opinion. 
 Such evidence is amply sufficient, but I have now to detail some direct 
 experiments in which hydrogen alone reduces metals from various salts. 
 
 13. The mode in which this satisfactory result is obtained is very 
 simple. The metallic solution to be examined is placed in a glass, a test 
 tube filled with the same solution is then procured, into which a slip of 
 platinum, platinized as for the construction of my battery, is then placed. 
 The whole is then placed within a glass of metallic solution, and a current 
 of hydrogen introduced sufficient to extend half-way up the platinized 
 platinum. It will be seen that the arrangement is similar to that of one 
 gf the tubes of Professor Grove's elegant gas battery, and the various 
 results obtained by this mode of examination it will be my duty im- 
 mediately to explain. 
 
 14. If the solution employed be chloride of platinum, the hydrogen 
 disappears gradually, and the black powder of platinum is coated here and 
 there by a beautiful bright layer of reguline metal. 
 
 15. With a solution of chloride of gold the same result is seen, the 
 platinum being gilt with a beautiful deposit of metal. With this salt the 
 action is immediate. 
 
 16. With nitrate of palladium the hydrogen is rapidly absorbed and 
 bright palladium deposited. 
 
 17. With nitric acid and platinized platinum the hydrogen is gradually 
 absorbed and the acid decomposed. 
 
 18. A solution of sulphate of copper under similar examination yields 
 a plentiful crop of small crystals of copper in a short period. 
 
 19. A solution of persulphate of iron yields rapidly its oxygen and 
 becomes converted into the protosulphate. 
 
 crude notions, for the practical man must, to be successful, not only adopt, but 
 act upon the true rationale of the phenomena. Societies may determine that 
 the metals are directly electrolysed, but the practical man will find that their 
 edicts will have but very little effect upon his processes. A. S. 
 
192 APPENDIX. [No. X. 
 
 20. A solution of nitrate of silver yields slowly small crystals of silver, 
 but the action with this metal is not so rapid. 
 
 21. The hydrogen was slowly absorbed when exposed to a solution of 
 muriate of tin in contact with platinized platinum. 
 
 22. Nickel was slowly deposited from the chloride, when exposed under 
 similar circumstances, as a white deposit. 
 
 23. Hydrogen, contrary to my expectations, did not appear to reduce 
 iodine from iodic acid. 
 
 24. From the solution of protosalts of iron I could not determine that 
 the metal was reduced. 
 
 25. I next subjected to experiment the extraordinary compounds of 
 cyanogen forming the metallo-cyanides. From the aurocyanide of potas- 
 sium I obtained metallic gold. 
 
 26. The argento-cyanide of potassium, in a similar way, yielded slowly 
 silver, the hydrogen becoming at the same time lessened. 
 
 27. These last two results are interesting to the chemist, for it appears 
 to open a path for investigation on the nature of these very curious and 
 now highly important combinations. 
 
 28. Such were my results with platinized platinum and hydrogen ; the 
 hydrogen becoming absorbed and the metals being reduced. It was found 
 that chloride of platinum, chloride of palladium, persalts of iron, chloride 
 of gold, and nitric acid yielded the oxygen most rapidly. It next became 
 my endeavour to ascertain how far other metals, or different conditions 
 of the same metal, might be used ; and smooth platinum was next the 
 subject of experiment. With sulphate of copper or persalts of iron no 
 absorption, however, took place. , 
 
 29. Palladinized platinum was made the subject of experiment ; and 
 when employed with hydrogen in a manner similar to platinized platinum 
 in sulphate of copper, it caused that metal to be reduced. 
 
 30. The effects of silver were then examined, and for that purpose a 
 piece, carefully cleaned by nitric acid, was immersed in a solution of copper 
 in contact with the hydrogen, but no change occurred even after many days. 
 
 31. No better result attended the employment of silver sponge used 
 for the same purpose. 
 
 32. Nor did the black deposit of silver answer better to effect the 
 absorption of the hydrogen, and the reduction of the metal from a solution 
 of sulphate of copper did not occur. 
 
 33. Copper, both in its bright and spongy states, was next examined ; 
 in its blight state, cleansed by nitric acid, no change occurred. 
 
 34. In the spongy state it appeared to be of no greater efficacy to 
 cause the reduction of the metal. 
 
 35. Considering the interest attached to carbon in the cinder experi- 
 ment, detailed in a former part of this paper, a piece of carbon was exposed 
 to the action of hydrogen and a solution of copper, but, singular to state, 
 no deposit of copper took place, nor was any hydrogen absorbed. In fact 
 I have no mechanical method of charging coke with hydrogen, by which 
 it can be made to cause the reduction of the metals. 
 
 36. The last set of experiments which I instituted upon the reduction 
 of the metals by hydrogen was the value of bibulous paper to effect that 
 object. In dilute chloride of gold apparently no action after two or three 
 days took place. 
 
No. X.] APPENDIX. 193 
 
 37. In a solution of sulphate of copper, after many days, no action 
 apparently occurred with paper and hydrogen. 
 
 38. In a solution of nitrate of silver the same negative result with 
 paper occurred.* 
 
 39. The persulphate of iron was not changed into the protosalt by the 
 action of that gas in contact with paper. 
 
 40. As a summary of results obtained on the direct reduction of the 
 metals from their solutions by hydrogen, it may be stated generally, that 
 platinized and palladinized platinum alone were found to be competent to 
 promote that change, negative results being obtained with smooth platinum, 
 smooth silver, black powder of silver, bright copper, spongy copper, cinder 
 or paper. These negative results are by no means to be taken as a proof 
 that under these circumstances hydrogen might not reduce the metals, 
 for it is possible under certain conditions that many other substances, like 
 finely-divided platinum, might possibly take on the power of assisting in 
 this mysterious way the absorption of the gas. 
 
 41. These various direct experiments of the deoxidizing agency of 
 hydrogen gas are valuable to the electrician, as they point out the cause 
 of some of the most interesting galvanic phenomena. To the electro- 
 metallurgist they assume a much higher importance, for they point out to 
 him, that in the decomposition of the metallic fluid the uniform strength 
 will not be preserved by the changes taking place by virtue of the voltaic 
 current. He must therefore remember iii all cases to bring into play the 
 attraction of gravity, not only to cause the diffusion of the newly-formed 
 salt, from which the metal is to be deposited, but the acid to dissolve the 
 oxide formed at the positive pole. The mode in which the metals are 
 reduced may appear quite immaterial to the practical man, but he will 
 find that the non-uniform diffusion of the metallic salt arising from 
 the particular manner in which the reduction takes place, is the cause 
 nearly of all his troubles. 
 
 42. From all these experiments we have an overwhelming body of 
 evidence, of different kinds, to support the notion of the reduction of 
 metals from their solution by hydrogen. The direct reduction in the 
 cinder experiment, the non-transference of the metal, the imperfect 
 transference of the acid, the rise of a light aqueous fluid from the 
 negative pole, the analogous case of the decomposition of nitric acid and 
 persalts of iron, and finally the direct experiments of the reduction of 
 gold, silver, platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, tin, and the decomposi- 
 tion of the persalts of iron and nitric acid enclosed within a tube, appear 
 to set the question to rest, and to point out in the clearest manner that 
 
 * After some time the paper exhibited a black deposition of silver; the 
 surface of the glass tube became encrusted with a brilliant layer of metallic 
 silver. The importance of this experiment is manifest, for it shows that 
 hydrogen and siliceous matter may at any time reduce metals from their 
 solutions, a power doubtless in frequent operation in the bowels of the earth. 
 How far metallic veins are thus deposited remains to be proved by future 
 investigations. The decomposition of organic matter will always yield hydrogen, 
 and hydrogen, under certain circumstances, will always reduce metals from the 
 solutions of their salts. 
 
194 APPENDIX. [No. XL 
 
 hydrogen is the cause of the reduction of the metals. All the experi- 
 ments which I have detailed only add confirmation to the valuable 
 researches of Faraday on Electro- Chemical Decomposition, published in 
 the 'Philosophical Transactions.' To the inquiring mind a question 
 naturally arises as to whether the hydrogen reduces the metal directly 
 from the metallic solution, or whether it reduces its oxide. The former 
 opinion, from the above experiments, appears to be most worthy of credit, 
 though should other facts be discovered to elucidate that action, they will 
 form subjects hereafter of a separate communication to this Society. It 
 follows from these interesting experiments, that when a solution of 
 metallic salt is subjected to the voltaic influence, the water is decomposed, 
 oxygen passing one way and hydrogen the other ; and that this hydrogen 
 at the moment of decomposition on the negative plate performs the same 
 part to sulphate of copper and other metallic salts that a piece of iron or 
 zinc would to the same solutions. 
 
 No. XL 
 
 ON THE INHALATION OF AMMONIA" GAS AS A REMEDIAL 
 AGENT. By ALFRED SMEE, F.R.S. (From the 'London Medical 
 Gazette,' April 7th, 1843.) 
 
 OF all the physical states in which bodies are known to exist, substances 
 in the form of vapour or gas are most readily absorbed by animal mem- 
 branes, producing rapid and powerful effects from very small quantities. 
 As a mass, we are but little acquainted with the properties of gases upon 
 the animal economy, and the little we do know is principally due to the 
 persevering inquiries of Sir Humphry Davy. The rapidly deleterious 
 effects of minute quantities of the vapours of hydrocyanic acid, of 
 bromine, of sulphuretted hydrogen, and even of many other gases, 
 exemplify well their powerful action on the animal economy. At present 
 gases are almost entirely discarded as remedial agents, but doubtless there 
 are numerous cases where substances may be advantageously employed 
 as remedial agents in their gaseous or aeriform state. Without wasting 
 time upon general remarks, let me at once call the attention of the 
 profession to a simple remedy of this nature; namely, the value of 
 diluted ammonia gas for stimulating the mucous membrane of the 
 mouth, fauces, trachea, and bronchi. By its local administration it 
 may exercise its power over the whole system, as this gas may either 
 be made to have a topical or general influence, according to the extent 
 of its application. 
 
 The inhalation of so stimulating a gas as ammonia is well known to 
 be, at first sight, perfectly startling to those who have never either tried it 
 on their own persons or never seen it applied by others, but it is really, 
 in many cases, with proper management, a simple and one of the most 
 delightful remedies that can be employed. If a bottle, containing a solu- 
 
No. XI.] APPENDIX. 195 
 
 tion of the gas, as the common liquor ammonise or hartshorn, be opened, 
 part of the gas escapes. If this comes in contact with the conjunctiva, it 
 stimulates it and causes much fluid to be poured from its secreting sur- 
 face, and its influence on the delicate lining membrane of the nasal cavi- 
 ties is not less powerful. In fact, this vapour appears immediately to 
 cause a secretion of fluid from the parts with which it comes in contact. 
 
 When this gas is absorbed by the mouth in far larger quantities, it 
 appears to cause in a similar manner an increase of the watery part of the 
 secretion, usually passing from all the several parts with which it there 
 can come in contact. A priori it might be expected the glottis would 
 resist the intrusion of the gas, but this is by no means found to be the 
 case when in a diluted state, as it apparently readily passes into the inner- 
 most recesses of the lungs, and, instead of producing disagreeable effects, 
 causes sensations which are extremely grateful and agreeable. The 
 gaseous nature of ammonia allows it to come in contact with every chink 
 of the air-passages, and even the upper and back parts of the pharynx, 
 which from its peculiar construction resists the application of other 
 topical remedies. 
 
 The immediate effect of the inhalation of this gas is to cause the 
 fauces and pharynx, before dry, and perhaps covered with inspissated 
 adherent mucus, to force out a watery fluid to lubricate and relieve the 
 membrane ; the phlegm will then separate and come away, and a more or 
 less instantaneous relief is frequently felt. We all know the expectorant 
 qualities of ammonia, and the value of its sesquicarbonate, whenever the 
 system will bear its administration, as a general remedy, but its qualities, 
 when used as a local agent, seem to be more active in this respect than 
 when used as a general remedy. 
 
 The most convenient mode of administering the ammoniacal gas is to 
 use the vapour that spontaneously exhales from solutions of ammonia. Of 
 these it is preferable not to employ a solution stronger than the liquor 
 ammonise of the shops, or weaker than the same diluted to twenty or 
 thirty times its quantity of water. For general purposes, perhaps, the 
 usual liquor may be employed diluted with ten times its bulk of water ; 
 but the strength of the ammonia must be regulated by the medical 
 practitioner according to the nature of the case, and the susceptibility 
 of the patient, and even according to the strength of the original 
 liquor. 
 
 The liquor ammonise, diluted according to the discretion of the medi- 
 cal attendant, may be placed in a common phial, and as much should be 
 inserted as to occupy about the two lower inches of the bottle. The 
 patient has only to apply his lips to the mouth of this homely contrivance, 
 and draw in his breath, when he will inhale a certain quantity of the 
 ammonia. Before the application of the mouth to the bottle the patient 
 should take care that none of the liquid adheres to the aperture, which on 
 coming in contact with his lips would cause them to smart, and, being no 
 part of the cure, the pain would be perfectly useless. The number of 
 inspirations to be taken at one time may be determined by the strength of 
 the water and the effect of the remedy. Two, three, or four inspirations 
 will in general be sufficient at one time, but this must be repeated three or 
 four times during the day. 
 
 O 2 
 
196 APPENDIX. [No. XL 
 
 A more convenient apparatus than the simple one last described may 
 be readily made and advantageously employed. A bottle may be selected, 
 and a cork procured, bored with two holes. Into one a piece of bent glass 
 tube may be inserted, having the other end dilated for the convenience of 
 applying the lips. Into the second hole of the cork a tube should be 
 thrust, within half an inch of the liquid, so that when the patient inhales, 
 the ammonia passing from the liquid tube, is taken into the chest, and this 
 is perhaps to be preferred to drawing the breath itself through the solu- 
 tion of ammonia. 
 
 Though the last apparatus will answer the purpose more or less effi- 
 ciently, I have yet to describe a far more elegant device to be employed as 
 an inhaling apparatus. A two-necked bottle is procured ; into one mouth 
 a tube is adapted, to serve as a mouth-piece. This tube is ground to fit 
 the neck, and when not used is removed for the insertion of a common 
 stopper, that the strength of the ammonia may be preserved. Into the 
 neck another tube is ground, into the inside of which another stopper is 
 fixed. When the inhaler is in operation, this stopper is withdrawn to 
 allow the air to pass into the bottle, but when not wanted it serves to 
 close the apparatus. This inhaler is most admirably adapted for the 
 desired purpose, and perhaps for gaseous inhalations cannot well be sur- 
 passed. The diluted liquor ammonia? is seen at the bottom of the vessel, 
 extending to within half an inch of the tube. 
 
 The vapour inhaled from the liquor ammonise does not seem to pass 
 away immediately, but may be distinctly tasted for some minutes after- 
 wards, even subsequently to the commencement of its beneficial action. 
 The value of the local application of this gas is seen in cases of what is 
 called dryness of the throat, which appears to arise from a deficiency of 
 the secretion of the liquid which normally lubricates the mucous mem- 
 brane. The mucus from that cause becomes dry, and causes much uneasi- 
 ness to the individual. The common and popular remedy of applying 
 haxtshorn and oil to the throat for various affections is probably in great 
 part owing to the inhalation of the vapour of the ammonia, which ne- 
 cessarily at the same time occurs, as it is impossible that this external 
 application can be effected without a large quantity being imbibed at 
 the same time. 
 
 Ammonia gas is also beneficial in chronic hoarseness, especially in 
 that which is often left as a sequela of influenza. This gas affords great 
 relief and comfort to the relaxed, swollen, and apparently semi-cedematous 
 state of the mucous membrane, which supervenes from remaining in 
 crowded, overheated, and ill-ventilated rooms, where every person not 
 only inhales his own breath over and over again, but is under the inflic- 
 tion of breathing his neighbour's also. In cases of incipient cynanche 
 tonsillaris it appears to be of much value if used at the very commence- 
 ment of the attack ; the slight impediment to deglutition, which is gene- 
 rally the first premonitory sign, is sometimes removed by one or two 
 inhalations. 
 
 There are occasionally cases of syphilitic ulceration of the throat 
 witnessed, where the patient suffers from such debility that the prac- 
 titioner is afraid of applying any remedy capable of depressing the system, 
 where the inhalation of the gas might probably be of great service, 
 
No. XI.] APPENDIX. 197 
 
 but as such a case has not occurred in my own practice for a long period 
 I am unable to speak practically upon the matter.* 
 
 In old-standing cases of asthma, especially in those in which the 
 medical man considers that the internal use of the sesquicarbonate of 
 ammonia is indispensable, in which the extremities are cold, the pulse 
 feeble, and the general vital powers depressed, the local application of 
 ammonia is particularly grateful, the patients feeling, as they describe it, 
 a glow after its exhibition, and the warmth first imparted to the lungs 
 extending by degrees over their whole system. 
 
 In cases where the patient feels a peculiar sense of contraction upon 
 passing into cold atmospheres, as though the lungs resisted the intrusion 
 of so unpleasant an agent, the inhalation of ammonia seems to quiet the 
 spasmodic action, relieve the breathing, and give a comfort to the whole 
 chest, which is delightful to the feelings of the sufferer. 
 
 Perhaps it is almost needless to notice that this remedy would be 
 deleterious when either special organs or the general system are attacked 
 with acute inflammation, for there is but little doubt that the ammoniacal 
 vapour is a decided stimulus, first locally in those parts with which, it 
 comes in contact, and, secondly, on the system in general, by its absorp- 
 tion into the circulation. As a stimulating agent it must obey the laws of 
 stimulants generally. It should not, therefore, be employed when the part 
 with which it comes in contact is inflamed, nor when a dry parched 
 tongue, a full pulse, and a dry skin, denote a feverish system. In all 
 chronic cases, or even occasionally with acute cases, with a feeble circula- 
 tion, in fact, whenever the system is depressed, and stimulants are advi- 
 sable, the inhalation of ammonia may be used with the greatest advantage 
 and comfort to the patient. 
 
 I have made inquiries of those who have to deal with large quantities 
 of ammonia, and are necessarily exposed to the inconvenience of a large 
 escape of gas, but cannot find that even with extensive exposure it ever 
 exercises poisonous or deleterious effects, nor does K-amazzini, in his 
 curious little treatise on tradesmen's diseases, notice its action. 
 
 Not alone to the relief and cure of diseases is ammonia capable of 
 lending its aid as a remedial agent, for it is an invaluable and effectual 
 antidote to certain direct and powerful poisons. One of these poisons, the 
 effects of which it thus counteracts, is bromine. This volatile fluid is per- 
 haps one of the most deadly poisons with which we are acquainted. It 
 lowers the circulation with great rapidity, and makes the action of the 
 heart irregular, and unfortunately, from its volatile nature, cannot well be 
 used without considerable escape. Its hurtful action on the animal 
 economy is instantly counteracted by the vapour of ammonia, for when 
 the two gases meet, dense white fumes are produced, when bromine pro- 
 bably ceases to exert its baneful influence, or at any rate only to a much 
 
 * The inhalation of ammonia might, perhaps, also perform the same good 
 offices to syphilitic ulceration of the throat as cinnabar fumigation is known 
 usually to effect. The use of the cinnabar, however, may be so much dispensed 
 with by the antimonial and antimonio-ferruginous treatment which I have 
 recorded (' Med. Gaz.'), that the ammonia has not been used in any of these 
 cases ; but should further information be obtained upon this point, it will be the 
 subject of a future communication. 
 
198 APPENDIX. [No. XI 
 
 less extent.* I have known persons nearly poisoned by incautiously using 
 this substance, and who have been quite at a loss to know how to proceed 
 to neutralize its action. Those who have to deal with bromine would do 
 well to have an open vessel of the liquor ammonise by their side, which is 
 in general quite sufficient to prevent any unpleasant consequence, by com- 
 bining with any bromine which may pass off in vapour. 
 
 Ammonia is also useful when prussic acid is floating in the atmo- 
 sphere of a room, as in this case it not only neutralizes the acid, but its 
 stimulating properties are directly opposite to the depressing action of 
 the acid. 
 
 As all bodies in burning give off ammonia, a consideration arises as to 
 whether some of the effects of smoking may not be attributed to that 
 agent independently of the active principles that substances used for 
 smoking are known to contain. The possibility of such a thing has been 
 suggested to me, but it is quite certain that only a small portion of the 
 effects of smoking can be attributed to the ammonia. The presence of 
 ammonia in a burning cigar may be shown by collecting its vapour in a 
 bottle containing a few drops of muriatic acid, when abundance of fumes 
 arise. If liquor potassae be added, the ammonia is again set free, and will 
 again exhibit the white fumes if brought near muriatic acid. 
 
 There is an interesting physiological fact connected with the inhala- 
 tion of ammonia, for in determining the lungs to increase their aqueous 
 exhalation, it frequently at the same time causes a similar action on the 
 skin by the exhalation of moisture from its entire surface. For the last 
 two or three years I have occasionally been in the habit of inhaling 
 ammonia as a luxury during the prevalence of the easterly winds, which 
 by their action so dreadfully dry up and parch all living creatures. 
 
 The application of ammoniacal vapour, in the manner which has been 
 already pointed out, is rather an agent of comfort, removing slight ail- 
 ments and troublesome affections, than a remedy which is capable of 
 saving life from violent diseases, except indeed when used as an antidote 
 to certain poisons. Still, however, there is no complaint, however trifling, 
 no system, however unimportant (if attended with discomfort and incon- 
 venience to mankind), that it is not the duty of the medical man to endea- 
 vour to relieve or remove. 
 
 * The production of these white fumes by the admixture of these two gases 
 is interesting, and, so far as I know, has not been noticed by chemists, though 
 I have myself long been in the habit of applying ammonia to distinguish between 
 the fumes of bromine, iodine, and chlorine, the two latter elements having 
 apparently not the same influence when brought into conjunction with ammonia. 
 These white fumes are liable to be confounded with muriate of ammonia, if 
 muriatic acid is present. 
 
No. XII.] APPENDIX. 199 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF ALFRED SMEE'S SECOND BOOK, 'THE 
 SOURCES OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE; on, AN INTRODUCTION TO 
 THE STUDY OF PHYSIOLOGY THROUGH PHYSICS, COMPRISING THE 
 CONNECTION OF THE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE, 
 THEIR DEPENDENCIES ON THE SAME LAWS,' &c. From a Review. 
 Together with the two concluding chapters of 'The Sources of 
 Physical Science,' which treat of the " Relation of the Material to 
 the Immaterial." 
 
 MR. SMEE tells us in his preface that it had long been " a favourite 
 subject with him to endeavour to investigate the physical structure of man, 
 and to endeavour to unravel the mysterious means by which all physical 
 forces, when acting on the human frame, are converted into nervous 
 impressions. To conduct such an inquiry, it became necessary to examine 
 the sources from which the several departments of research, constituting 
 physical science, have their origin." 
 
 For this purpose he intended to draw up a sketch of physical science, 
 which might be prefixed to his physiological inquiries, in the form of an 
 introductory chapter; but the length to which this chapter extended 
 induced him to publish it as a separate volume. 
 
 The work, then, contains a condensed view of the physical sciences, 
 exhibiting the nature and mutual relations of the various divisions of 
 those sciences, and attempting to show the real nature of those forces, 
 such as electricity, magnetism, &c., by which matter is commonly said to 
 be acted upon, and which have often been treated as so many independent 
 existences by various philosophers. 
 
 The first chapter treats of matter, number, and attraction ; and first, 
 what is matter ? how is it comprehended ? 
 
 " Man," says Mr. Smee, " being composed of the material and the 
 immaterial, of body and soul, can have no distinct idea of anything not 
 partaking of his own constitution. He can form no conception of matter 
 without that which gives it properties, nor can he understand that which 
 
 gives it properties without the matter That which men call 
 
 matter is known by its properties ; so that the term matter is given to 
 
 anything which exerts these peculiar properties All the properties 
 
 or influences of matter are dependent on an ultimate property, which 
 confers a power whereby two particles or portions of matter are drawn 
 towards each other by a force exerted in a particular direction." 
 
 But it may be said that it is necessary to prove that matter really 
 exists that what we call the effects and properties of matter are something 
 more than the results of a visionary dynamis. 
 
 "Ingenious persons," says our author, "speculating upon the pro- 
 perties of matter independently of the thing itself, have persuaded them- 
 selves, with some show of reason, that matter has no existence. Their 
 minds have, however, been led astray by their mode of arriving at their 
 conclusions. They have not commenced with a, sound definition of what 
 we designate matter. Defining matter to be that which attracts, and allowing 
 attraction to be its test, obviates all difficulty." P. 3. 
 
200 APPENDIX. [No. XII. 
 
 Having next spoken of the origin, meaning, and right use of those 
 terms which denote the abstract properties of matter, and having treated 
 of the nature of matter, with a glance at the question whether it comprises 
 one element only under a diversity of forms, or whether there really are 
 as many elements as there are bodies yet undecompounded by the skill of 
 the chemist, he then treats of number, that is to say, the abstract idea of 
 a series of particles ; and thus, in the first chapter, he has considered the 
 three points which he assumes as fundamentals that is to say, matter, 
 attraction, and number from which all physical forces and conditions of 
 existence are derived. 
 
 In the second chapter Mr. Smee treats of the " science of matter under 
 attraction," and he proceeds to show that the power of attraction (which 
 has been described as the primitive property of matter and the test of its 
 existence) being exerted with various degrees of energy upon various numbers 
 of atoms, and in various directions, gives to 'masses of matter all the properties 
 which they apparently possess. We may observe, en passant, that Mr. Since 
 gives no credence to the existence of any of the so-called imponderable 
 substances. He treats the idea of the separate existence of heat, light, 
 electricity, magnetism, &c., as a palpable absurdity, and contends that 
 each of these terms merely refers to one class of actions or effects produced 
 by the attraction of matter exerted in various manners. 
 
 In discussing the science of matter under attraction, one of the first 
 points to be noticed is the manner of estimating the force with which any 
 two particles of matter are attracted together, and of comparing that with 
 the force of other attractions. On this point, observes our author 
 
 " As we have not the power of appreciating the units, or atoms of 
 matter, we have not the means of obtaining a perfect unit of the force 
 of attraction. The only absolute unit of this power would be the force 
 of attraction exerted between two ultimate particles of matter, a unit 
 which we can never hope to obtain. 
 
 " As we have not the power of using the primitive atoms of matter, 
 we take a given mass, and assume that to be a unit. The force exerted 
 between this mass and the whole bulk of the earth at the level of the sea 
 is then obtained. This is assumed as a unit of force which is called a 
 unit of weight, and to which all other weights are referred." P. 22. 
 
 " In our artificial standards of weight the unit is the grain, which is 
 the force of attraction of a cubic inch of water to the earth at the tempera- 
 ture 62, barometer 30, divided by 252*5 It has been recommended, 
 
 and perhaps is preferable, to take any piece of matter and assume its 
 weight as an arbitrary standard, for philosophers disagree as to the 
 true weight of a cubic inch of water, or indeed of any other body. The 
 utmost limit to human ingenuity in weighing is about l-10000th part of 
 our comparative unit of weight, or grain ; but in this quantity so many 
 circumstances lead to error as to render the result very unsatisfactory. 
 The finger held over a scale, which by its warmth causes currents which 
 exert a force contrary to that of the earth, will materially influence the 
 result in very small weights. I have tried this experiment with an excel- 
 lent pair of scales, made for the Bank of England by Mr. Bate, and found 
 a most sensible disturbance of the equilibrium of the balance when the 
 finger was held half an inch above one of the scale-pans." P. 24. 
 
 The next point which Mr. Smee adverts to is the fact that the force of 
 
No. XII.] APPENDIX. 201 
 
 attraction is always exerted in a peculiar direction, a series of which 
 attractions constitutes polarity ; and " this peculiarity in the direction of 
 the force, whereby attraction is exerted, is of fundamental importance, for 
 it enables us to oppose one attraction by another. This opposition of 
 attraction enables us to effect decomposition, disintegration, and to give 
 rise to the phenomena of heat, light, sound, &c., at will." 
 
 The author now proceeds to examine seriatim the various properties 
 of matter, and to show how they are derived from simple attraction ; and 
 the first of those which he touches upon is what is called impenetrability, 
 which literally means that two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the 
 same time. This he explains thus : 
 
 " The reason why impenetrability is conferred on matter by the act 
 of attraction is perfectly evident, if the mode of the generation of attraction 
 be carefully examined. The attraction being exerted in a certain direction, 
 one particle of matter, although capable of being attracted so as to adhere 
 firmly to a second portion, would, if the second passed into the first, 
 instantly be destroyed, because the direction of attraction exerted in one 
 atom would oppose, neutralize, or counterbalance the attraction in the 
 other. The attraction, therefore, between two atoms is most violent at 
 contact, but ceases upon one having a tendency to pass into the other. 
 The above observations will be rendered perfectly intelligible by the 
 following notation : 
 
 NP NP 
 
 O O 
 
 " If the two O O represent the two atoms, and the NP NP the ends of 
 the forces with which they are held together, then the very moment one 
 atom had a tendency to pass into the other, the two ' N ' or the two ' P ' 
 would oppose each other ; upon that account the two particles would be 
 firmly attracted till they came in contact, but no further." P. 26. 
 
 Having briefly alluded to shape, he next comes to the volume of bodies, 
 which he shows to be far from an inherent fixed property, but merely to 
 depend on the energy with which attraction is exerted. "We have no 
 proof that matter possesses any absolute volume, for, under different cir- 
 cumstances, the same number of particles exhibits very various volumes." 
 
 " Volume, from the above consideration, seems rather a negative than 
 a positive quality. It is the absence, or the comparative absence, of 
 attraction ; for as the force increases, the volume diminishes. The advan- 
 tages of thus viewing the nature of volume are multifold. It does not 
 require the creation of ' repulsion ' to separate particles attracted together, 
 and it overcomes numerous difficulties which arise from the assumption of 
 a certain size to the ultimate particles of matter. From this view, which 
 is forced upon us from multitudinous evidence, one atom of matter, if 
 alone, and unacted upon by any other atom, would fill the universe." 
 P. 28. 
 
 He next speaks of the science by which size and measure are estimated. 
 The following observations, on the impossibility of finding a standard unit 
 of measure, are interesting enough : 
 
 " But as our organs of sense cannot appreciate the ultimate particles 
 of matter, we never can arrive at, or obtain, an absolute standard of size ; 
 on this account we are compelled to take a certain piece of matter under 
 
202 APPENDIX. [No. XII. 
 
 definite conditions of attraction as unity, and by multiplying or sub- 
 multiplying it we obtain all other measures proportionate to that unit. 
 The Legislature formerly thought fit to take three barleycorns from the 
 middle of the ear, from which they formed a measure called an inch. Of 
 course a unit derived from anything so uncertain as three barleycorns is 
 most unsatisfactory, for every measure thus made would doubtless vary. 
 
 " The greatest anxiety has been felt by all nations to find some unit of 
 length to which at any time posterity might be enabled to refer all future 
 measures, but we have already seen that philosophers have been attempting 
 an impossibility. The French have taken that quadrant of the meridian 
 which passes through Fontenara and Greenwich, the middle of which is in 
 the 45th degree of latitude. This measure they have divided into ten 
 million parts, each part of which they constitute a comparative unit. In 
 assuming this measure, it is perfectly impossible exactly to obtain the 
 greater measure to divide, and even, in fact, we do not know whether the 
 earth, in a series of ages, may not slightly alter in form. The English 
 have assumed the length of the pendulum vibrating seconds in a particular 
 latitude as a unit of measure, but that assumption is highly objectionable, 
 because it infers the existence of something absolute in time, which is not 
 the fact. It, moreover, first requires us to ascertain or determine the 
 duration of a second, which will be as difficult for posterity as the determi- 
 nation of a measure for length. The length of the pendulum vibrating 
 seconds appears to vary not only in the same latitude, but even slightly, 
 from some unknown causes, in nearly the same spot ; and, moreover, no 
 two pendulums, of as nearly the same length as human ingenuity can form 
 them, will vibrate in exactly the same time. The best mode of making 
 and maintaining a new standard of measure for this country has lately 
 occupied the attention of the Government and philosophers, in consequence 
 of the former standards having been destroyed by fire in the Houses of 
 Parliament. Although three or four sets of these standards were then 
 made with the utmost human skill, philosophers cannot determine that 
 these duplicates are exactly similar to those destroyed. This forms an 
 excellent practical proof, not only of the impossibility of possessing an 
 absolute standard, but also the impracticability of using it if we obtained 
 it ; because, as we are unable to weigh below 1- 10000th of a grain, so we 
 are incompetent to measure below a certain amount. Probably, in 
 measuring, we can obtain rough results to the 1 -1000000th of an inch ; but 
 as the measures decrease in length, so the errors increase, as all measure- 
 ments must only be regarded as rough comparative approximations to truth. 
 
 "Under these circumstances, we find that our standards are purely 
 arbitrary, and, therefore, the best mode that can be adopted is, to take 
 any arbitrary length, which should be as near the inch now adopted as 
 possible. This measure we should constitute our arbitrary unit, or inch, 
 to which all other measures should be referred. Several copies, that is, as 
 near as human ingenuity and skill can make copies, should then be formed, 
 and deposited in various places of security for reference. This artificial 
 unit, moreover, should be compared by different observers, and by different 
 instruments, with all the most fixed things in the material world, so that 
 if, by any accident, the primitive artificial standard was lost, posterity 
 might be enabled to compare their measures with ours; and though, 
 doubtless, they would never be able to obtain the exact relative size of our 
 
No. XII.] APPENDIX. 203 
 
 standard, yet they would be able, for all practical purposes, to have ample 
 knowledge of our measures. All other measures would be obtained either 
 by multiplying the inch, or expressing the relation in fractional parts of 
 it." P. 34. 
 
 Referring to the same point, he observes further on : 
 
 "Our standard inch is no longer of the same length, and therefore not 
 an inch if the temperature varies ever so little from that point at which 
 the standard was assumed ; but let the temperature vary ever so much, the 
 number of particles cannot be multiplied or diminished, it is only the size 
 that varies. In conducting the ordnance survey of England, the measures 
 were obliged to be most carefully adjusted for temperature or variation in 
 the thermometer. So also in adjusting the standard bushel, the difficulty 
 was found to be extreme, for it was found that the heat caused by a human 
 body coming near so large a bulk caused a sensible alteration in its exact 
 size." P. 39. 
 
 Having then spoken of the abstract ideas of length, breadth, cube, and 
 other geometrical properties of matter, he passes on to cohesion a state in 
 which a number of particles of the same kind of matter are attracted 
 together into a mass. 
 
 " Bodies," he observes, " in a state of cohesion resist the action of 
 other bodies presented to them to an extent proportionate to that cohesion. 
 Lead, in an extremely divided state, burns vividly upon simple exposure to 
 atmospheric air, whilst the same metal in a state of cohesion, or in a rolled 
 malleable state, undergoes but little change from long exposure. Spongy 
 platinum, and other metals in a finely-divided state, also have very different 
 properties from the same metals in a state of cohesion. There is no more 
 curious instance of the effects of cohesion than in the varieties of coke ; 
 for when tinder, the slightest spark will inflame it; when soft coke, it 
 readily burns; when hard coke, it can scarcely be made to ignite; but 
 when a diamond, it requires a skilful chemist to inflame." P. 44. 
 
 The threefold state in which bodies may exist solid, liquid, or 
 gaseous ; the various properties depending on the degree of attraction 
 such as hardness, softness, &c., are next spoken of in order ; and the author 
 having brought before our notice that attraction exerted between particles 
 of dissimilar matter known as chemical affinity, the remainder of the 
 chapter is occupied with the subjects of atomic weight, heterogeneous and 
 capillary adhesion, endosmosis, the attractions of gravitation and magne- 
 tism all of which topics are set forth in an equally novel, clear, and simple 
 manner. But we must hasten onwards from these to the third chapter, on 
 the sciences of the disturbance of attraction including electricity, mechanics, 
 hydrostatics, and pneumatics. 
 
 "We have shown the mode in which attraction gives quality by 
 chemical affinity ; quantity, by the union of many atoms ; form, by the 
 mode in which the particles are united; size, by the intensity of the 
 attractive force ; and, lastly, position of masses by gravitation." P. 70. 
 
 And we now have to see how these attractions may be disturbed or 
 destroyed by other attractions, acting in an opposite direction. 
 
 In the study of the disturbance of attractions, he begins with con- 
 sidering the effects produced on a compound consisting of two elements, 
 when a third body is presented to it, which abstracts and combines with 
 one clement, setting the other free. 
 
204 APPENDIX. [No. XII. 
 
 Such a circle of atoms is called a voltaic circuit, and the apparatus in 
 which the action is performed, a voltaic battery. 
 
 The decomposable substance, which forms the basis of the battery, is 
 called an electrolyte ; and the substance which decomposes it, by exerting a 
 strong attraction on one of its elements, is called the positive element of the 
 battery. The simplest idea of a voltaic circuit is presented by a particle of 
 water and a particle of zinc; in which the zinc presenting an attraction 
 for oxygen in the reverse direction to that of the hydrogen, the former 
 unites with the metal, the latter is given off. But 
 
 " Had we no means of increasing the length of the interval between 
 the abstraction of one element of the electrolyte, by the new attraction 
 exerted between it and the positive pole and the evolution of the second 
 element, voltaic batteries would be but of little advantage. But we have 
 the power of increasing this interval indefinitely ; sometimes miles inter- 
 vene between those two points. 
 
 " The mode in which we increase this interval depends upon the power 
 of the new attraction exerted between the zinc and oxygen of the water, to 
 propagate the tendency to the destruction of the old attractions of 
 hydrogen and oxygen through a series of particles of fluid. A second 
 point is then placed, at which the hydrogen, or second element, may be 
 evolved. This second point is the negative element." P. 75. 
 
 We thus see that the positive pole or element is the source of all the 
 phenomena manifested in the voltaic circuit. The degree of their energy 
 is the degree of chemical attraction exerted between that positive pole and 
 one element of the electrolyte. Whatever can be an obstacle to chemical 
 affinity can also be an obstacle to voltaic action. 
 
 These obstacles may be briefly stated thus : 
 
 First, there is the previous attraction existing between the two 
 elements of the electrolyte to be overcome. The best way of countervail- 
 ing this seems to be (supposing water the electrolyte as it generally is), to 
 place at the negative pole some substance, holding oxygen in a loose state 
 of combination, with which the hydrogen may combine at the moment 
 of its liberation; so that the hydrogen, finding a new affinity exerted 
 towards it, may be more ready to relinquish its oxygen to the zinc. This 
 is the theory of Professor Daniell's battery, in which sulphate of copper is 
 placed at the negative pole, and is reduced by the nascent hydrogen, and 
 of Mr. Grove's, in which the same purpose is effected by nitric acid. 
 
 A second and third obstacle are offered by the force with which the 
 particles of fluid are kept in their situation, and by the force with which 
 the particles of metal cohere. 
 
 A fourth is frequently presented by the formation of a new compound 
 at the positive pole (sulphate of zinc), which prevents the zinc from coming 
 into contact with the electrolyte. 
 
 Hence it is evident that the measure of the intensity of the voltaic 
 circuit is equal to the excess of the attraction of the positive pole for one 
 element of the electrolyte, over the force exerted by these impediments. 
 
 Mr. Smee next speaks of the compound voltaic battery disposes very 
 summarily of that theoiy which attributes the production of electrical 
 effects to the contact of metals, and mentions the mode in which the 
 voltaic force effects the decomposition of binary compounds in a state of 
 solution ; and then treats at some length of tension, that is to say, " a desire 
 
No. XII.] APPENDIX. 205 
 
 for action ungratified " a force contending with obstacles, ready to act, 
 but not actually in action. 
 
 The effects of tension may arise from a variety of causes, since it is 
 always produced when a new attraction is offered, which is counteracted by 
 a previously existing one. The electrical machine is the instrument by 
 which the greatest amount of tension is procurable. 
 
 " The electrical tension generated by the machine arises from friction. 
 Friction, we shall hereafter show, is the result of force force of some new 
 attractions. Friction, therefore, being derived primarily from attraction, 
 may counterbalance other attractions. In the electrifying machine and all 
 its analogues, where friction is exerted, there must be more or less ten- 
 dency to the destruction of the attractions. This tendency may be called 
 the desire for action, which is opposed by the attraction of cohesion ; this 
 desire for action is the tension." P. 20. 
 
 The theory of the electrical machine, and the phenomena commonly 
 said to arise from induction of electricity, having been disposed of, our 
 author passes to a stupendous chain of phenomena, depending on the same 
 principle, of which we extract his explanation at some length : 
 
 " Having considered galvanic tension and f rictional tension, we have 
 next to describe lightning tension. The tension in this case is evidenced 
 between the surface of the earth on the one hand, and a cloud on the other, 
 the air being the imperfect conductor, at the surfaces of which the ends 
 of the tension are manifested ; that is, one surface is positive, and the 
 other negative. The attraction which is the source of the tension, perhaps 
 present facts have hardly sufficiently proved. Still, when we perceive that 
 a rapid formation of clouds, of rain, and even hail, always accompanies 
 the phenomena, we shall not probably much err in attributing the effects 
 to the sudden attraction of aqueous vapour into cloud, rain, or hail. This 
 new attraction, acting upon the air as a non-conductor, causes a polarity 
 of that air, which is communicated between the surface of the cloud on the 
 one hand, and that of the earth on the other. Such a mode of the forma- 
 tion of a thunder-cloud agrees well with the natural phenomena. It is 
 apparent, from such a cause, that the entire surface of the cloud on the one 
 hand, and the surface of the earth opposed to it on the other, would be in a 
 state of high tension a result which is in perfect accordance with the fact. 
 
 " The electrical power capable of being exerted between the cloud and 
 the earth is enormous. The intensity is so great, that it is capable of 
 passing through a thousand feet, or more, of air during the discharge. 
 The quantity is equally vast ; for the cloud and tension may be exerted 
 over very many square miles, occasionally even for 100 square miles. The 
 electrical effects being equal to the intensity (1000 feet of air) multiplied 
 by the quantity (100 square miles), will produce a result which, when com- 
 pared with the power of an enormous Ley den jar, the intensity of which 
 (half -inch air) is multiplied by 100 square feet, shows so wide a difference 
 that a comparison can scarcely be made. This difference, while it shows 
 to the presumptuous philosopher the vanity and impossibility of attempting 
 to produce this great phenomenon of nature, yet it amply demonstrates to 
 those who undervalue scientific investigation how, by paying attention to 
 minute experiments in the laboratory, the operations of nature may be 
 explained and comprehended. The lightning-cloud almost invariably 
 appears when rain follows long-continued easterly winds, which render 
 
206 APPENDIX. [No. XII. 
 
 the air and earth exceedingly dry; but occasionally the lightning- cloud 
 is formed when the surface of the earth is saturated with wet, and the 
 air highly hygrometric. In this latter case, a dense cloud is generally seen 
 to form in the atmosphere without any apparent cause ; with the utmost 
 rapidity, and within a few minutes, and sometimes within a few seconds 
 of its appearance, hail, rain, and lightning follow. 
 
 "The lightning-cloud sometimes expands itself nearly at the place 
 where it is first formed ; and in this case, perhaps, the cloud and earth are 
 in an uniformly opposite state, which would have the effect, by virtue of 
 the attraction of oppositely electrified surfaces, of causing the cloud to be 
 retained in its position. Sometimes, however, without any wind, the cloud 
 takes a rapid travelling fit, crossing England in a few minutes, and paying 
 our French neighbours a visit, as we find by the account in the papers 
 the next day, striking and carrying devastation in its progress. Some- 
 times the cloud will travel away for two or three hours, and then travel 
 back; sometimes it will take a circular motion, and, in fact, the freaks 
 which a travelling cloud will pay are innumerable. The travelling cloud 
 may possibly owe its properties to an unequal tension at different parts ; 
 for if one end of the cloud, or the entire cloud, had an attraction to the 
 earth under this end, and in advance of it, the cloud would be drawn 
 towards that part ; but as there is a force which resists its direct down- 
 ward attraction to the earth, it moves in the diagonal of the force tending 
 to raise the cloud, and the force drawing all the cloud to one point, when 
 a motion more or less rapid must be the result. In this case we must 
 suppose that the earth under one end of the cloud as it advances imme- 
 diately assumes a violent tension." P. 102. 
 
 The subjects next considered are the effects of the tensive electricity 
 exhibited by the thermo-electric and magneto-electric apparatus, and by 
 the hydro -electric apparatus, in which the force is generated apparently 
 by the friction of steam, a gigantic specimen of which is exhibited at the 
 Royal Polytechnic Institution. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to 
 dynamics force, its origin, and various modes of adaptation to the wants 
 of mankind. But this we pass over, in order to arrive at Chapter IV., on 
 the sciences of actions and reactions. 
 
 Action is the exertion of new attractions ; reaction, the tendency to 
 the maintenance of old ones. When these two forces are nearly balanced, 
 vibrations ensue. Here let us show our author's idea of the nature of time, 
 and its essential dependence on matter. He observes, first of all, how 
 fortunate it is for the economy of the world that attractions meet with 
 opposition. 
 
 " Former attractions act as an impediment to the exertions of the new 
 ones ; the energy of the desire for combustion, of carbon for oxygen in our 
 fires, is held at bay by the former attraction of the particles of coal, which 
 is gradually and progressively overcome. Our fires, therefore, burn 
 regularly and steadily, our candles with slowness and precision, and all 
 other actions, even to the railway engine, take place with an energy pro- 
 portionate to the resistance of the new action which causes the effect. 
 
 " The energy with which a new attraction overcomes an old one is 
 called the time of its performance; and, conversely, the energy of the 
 resistance to a new action by an old one is called the time at the attempt 
 of performance. Time, therefore, is the abstract idea of the energy of an 
 
No. XII.]' APPENDIX. 207 
 
 action and reaction. Time is, therefore, a strictly material property. 
 Without matter we could not have time, and even with matter the pheno- 
 menon of time requires for its manifestation some new attraction to over- 
 come an old one. The tendency of the action of the new attraction to 
 overcome the old one is called the commencement of a unit of time ; the 
 actual performance of the new attraction, after the destruction of the old 
 one, or the actual resistance of the new attraction by the old one, is called 
 the termination of a unit of time. The absolute performance or resistance 
 of a new action that is, its commencement and termination constitutes 
 an event, and, according to the energy of this event, it is said to be of 
 shorter or longer duration." P. 161. 
 
 Having thus shown time to be a material property, its abstract idea to 
 be that of resistance to an action, and having treated of the instruments 
 for its measurement, he next reviews the effects produced by matter when 
 under the influence of conflicting forces. 
 
 " Having seen the conditions of matter in a quiet state, we have next 
 to examine its properties when in commotion ; and the sciences of commo- 
 tion, or rather of actions and reactions, which now fall under our notice, 
 are respectively those of heat, light, sound, and scent. All these terms 
 are abstract ideas of material actions and reactions, and there is no 
 imponderable or essence in either heat, light, sound, or scent, to which 
 matter owes its power of being hot, illuminated, noisy, or odoriferous." 
 P. 172. 
 
 The first of these sciences is that of heat, which he believes to consist 
 in a peculiar vibrating condition of bodies, caused by the conflict of new 
 attractions seeking to overcome former ones. 
 
 " We find, if we take a review of all sources of heat, the phenomenon 
 is owing to some new attraction acting on a body, the particles of which 
 are held together by former attractions. A hot body is, therefore, a body 
 whose attractions are interfered with by other attractions, and heat is the 
 abstract term of this disturbance of attractions in a particular manner." 
 P. 173. 
 
 The sources of heat next come under consideration : and, firstly, those 
 of the heat exhibited during electrical phenomena ; then a much more 
 familiar and important source. 
 
 " The next source of heat after that derived from new attractions 
 producing electrical forces, is that derived from the attraction of chemical 
 affinity. The phenomenon of heat is not manifested by the chemical union 
 of any two bodies, if the combination takes place without being impeded 
 by the other attractions, or if the other attractions are quietly destroyed. 
 If the combination takes place with great energy, however, the rapid ten- 
 dency to the destruction of attractions, reacting against the desire for 
 maintaining them, gives rise again to the phenomenon called heat. In the 
 combustion of coals, the rapid desire for the particles of coal to unite with 
 the oxygen of the air, acting upon the desire of the particles to maintain 
 their old attraction of cohesion, causes that heat to be manifested which so 
 comforts and cheers us in our dreary winter's night." P. 176. 
 
 After describing the other sources of heat, and treating of its pro- 
 perties and conduction, &c., which are clearly and minutely detailed, he 
 passes to light and sound, which, like heat, depend on certain classes of 
 vibrations, perceptible by certain of our organs of sense. Odour he supposes 
 
208 APPENDIX. [No. XII. 
 
 (but does not actually affirm) to depend, in all probability, on a like cause, 
 rather than on an emission of corporeal particles. 
 
 He shows that an infinite number of these interesting, sense-affecting 
 actions may be going on in the universe continually, which our organs are 
 not fitted to recognize. We cannot discern the sights and smells which 
 are at once perceptible to the dog or hawk ; and no doubt there is an 
 unseen world, of countless sights and sounds, hidden from us, but revealed 
 to higher intelligences. Thus the teaching of philosophy is that also of 
 religion. 
 
 Thus we can understand how the seer, " falling into a trance, and 
 having his eyes opened," could discern the horses and chariots of fire en- 
 camped about the tents of the righteous ; how the harmonious movements 
 of the universe may be attended with music, inaudible to mortal ears, since 
 the time when the foundations of the earth were laid ; " when the morning 
 stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." 
 
 If we may recapitulate, we may observe that he commences with three 
 fundamentals matter attraction, the test of matter and number ; parti- 
 cles of matter being attracted together give rise to form, volume, cohesion, 
 adhesion, position ; peculiarity in the direction of attraction causes crystal- 
 lization, polarity, magnetism ; attraction acting on attracted matter causes 
 tension and force ; force, by destroying attractions, causes decomposition 
 and the phenomena of electricity; the effects of force, counteracted by 
 the resistance of existing attractions, produce time, and vibrations ; whose 
 results are heat, light, sound, and perhaps odour. 
 
 THE CONCLUDING CHAPTERS OF ' THE SOURCES OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE.' 
 On the Relation of the Material to the Immaterial. 
 
 Having now traced the manner in which the material universe is 
 composed of atoms, or ultimate particles, to which we give the name 
 " matter," and that the term " matter " is given to whatever attracts, the 
 mind of man is naturally led to consider how and from what cause matter 
 attracts, and by that attraction produces all the varied phenomena 
 observed in the physical world. 
 
 The first question that naturally suggests itself to the mind that 
 attempts this investigation is the probability which is given to the 
 attachment of some imponderable or essence to matter, by virtue of which 
 attachment the power to attract is bestowed on material particles. Such 
 a question appears to be answered without much depth or profundity of 
 reasoning, for if matter exerted attraction by virtue of some principle, 
 essence, or imponderable attached to it, then would that principle exert 
 attraction without matter, or at least we cannot perceive why it should 
 not exert that property. 
 
 From the general views that are forced upon us by our present mode 
 of studying physical phenomena, we must assume that attraction was first 
 exerted before new attractions would produce the effects of electricity, 
 galvanism, heat, light, sound, &c. As attraction must have preceded the 
 greater number of physical phenomena, we may also presume, or in fact 
 we must admit, that attraction itself had a commencement. And time 
 itself, we have already shown, is derived from an old attraction resisting 
 
No. XIL] APPENDIX. 209 
 
 a new one acting upon it. Each event, consequently, must have a com- 
 mencement and a termination. To increase the number of these events 
 will not assist us, for, how far soever we carry back the events, still their 
 character is immutable ; there must have been one event which was prior 
 to all others, and that first event must have had a beginning. 
 
 The beginning of the first event affecting matter was the primary 
 attraction, which the subsequent attraction sought to disturb ; and the 
 great question which the human mind desires to speculate upon, is the 
 cause of this first exertion of attraction. 
 
 The first exertion of attraction, probably, does not -arise from any 
 principle attached to matter ; but still, even if it owed its power of attrac- 
 tion to an imponderable, the cause of the imponderable attaching itself 
 to matter would be the obscure point on which the human mind delights 
 to contemplate ; for the first exertion of attraction, however arising, would 
 alone give to matter its material properties, or, in fact, there would not 
 have been matter (according as we define matter) without the capacity of 
 its particles to set up attraction. 
 
 This power of matter to generate attraction in the first instance would 
 never have arisen from anything inherent : we, therefore, are compelled to 
 admit that from something extraneous it derived its power. If we look at 
 the means necessary to endow matter with the property of attraction, we 
 are instantly astonished at the unbounded magnitude, magnipotence, and 
 magnipresence of that power; for we have evidence to show that that 
 power was evinced over enormous masses of matter separated by hundreds 
 of thousands of millions of miles. If that power is continually being 
 exerted, the Author necessarily appears as the Governor of material phe- 
 nomena ; but if the government of the world is continually being affected, 
 we discover that no variation has taken place in the general properties 
 evinced by matter since the world began : the earth still continues to run 
 its daily and yearly course ; matter continues to be hot, illuminated, and 
 capable of causing sound when acted on in a peculiar manner ; and, as far 
 as we can learn, not the slightest alteration has occurred since the earliest 
 human event was recorded. 
 
 Whether that power was in the first instance implanted for once 
 and for ever, or whether, by a continuance of the exertion of that power, 
 matter continues to attract, are subjects for contemplation far beyond the 
 capacity of human intellect to deduce from physical phenomena. We can 
 only admit that the same power which first caused matter to attract, may 
 also cause, at any given moment, that phenomenon to cease. 
 
 To the source of that immensity of power, which we see either has 
 been exerted once or which continues to be exerted, we attach the name of 
 the Creator or Almighty. 
 
 The attributes of the Creator of all material particles naturally form 
 a subject of the most sublime contemplation for all beings endowed with 
 reason sufficient for that purpose. But here again we must refer to our 
 incapacity to enter into a subject so much beyond human understanding, 
 for man can only appreciate things which are material, and which, by 
 virtue of their properties, communicate impressions through material 
 organs to the human mind. We find that we cannot determine the 
 absolute attributes of the Deity from physical science, but only infer 
 certain attributes by not attributing to His divinity the properties of 
 
 p 
 
210 APPENDIX. [No. XII. 
 
 matter, which solely derives its properties through the exertion of His 
 power. In fact, nothing is more erroneous than the comparison of per- 
 fections in God with natural qualities in man. Out of this have arisen 
 incalculable mistakes. 
 
 If we review the properties of matter, we find that its first property 
 is number; that the juxtaposition of units forms addition and multipli- 
 cation, and the mass of matter so formed is susceptible of diminution and 
 division. The material character of number forbids us to attach that 
 property to the attributes of the Almighty, for His attributes are clearly 
 immaterial, having no connection with the properties which His mighty 
 power caused matter to evince. Natural philosophy, therefore, teaches us 
 that the Almighty has no relation to number ; that, consequently, He is 
 indivisible and incapable of addition. For ages the greatest disputes have 
 arisen, and schisms and heresies sprung up throughout Christian com- 
 munities, by attributing the properties of number to the Deity, and con- 
 ferring material virtues on the Almighty. It is equally incorrect to attach 
 unity as plurality to His indivisibility, for unity infers a possibility of 
 plurality, and. therefore, a possibility of being amenable to number, which 
 property matter solely derives from the will of the Creator. 
 
 As we must discard the very idea of number as being an attribute of 
 God, so must we also deny the possibility of any attribute arising from 
 attracted number. We cannot, therefore, give to His majesty form or 
 size, for these are properties of His created matter. His presence, more- 
 over, cannot be limited to one spot, for position is a material effect. He 
 must extend over space, and consequently omnipresence must be a charac- 
 teristic attribute of His greatness. 
 
 His omnipresence cannot be interfered with by the presence, in certain 
 positions, of created matter. Impenetrability is a property of matter, 
 perhaps by virtue of attraction, and therefore cannot interfere with the 
 Immaterial. The omnipresence of the Deity will not be prevented by 
 attracted matter: but He must be present in the structure of the 
 hardest stones, the most massy rocks; in fact, throughout the matter 
 of this great globe, and even throughout the matter existing over the 
 universe. 
 
 The phenomena of electricity, of galvanism, of motion, are in similar 
 manner material actions, which alone have their existence by virtue of 
 attraction. The immaterial character of the Almighty forbids these 
 phenomena to be attached to His attributes ; indeed, we scarcely imagine 
 how the Deity, whose attribute is omnipresence, can have the property 
 of motion. 
 
 As the material character of the preceding properties forbids their 
 assumption as an attribute of the Creator, so are we compelled to deny the 
 possibility of time, with its dependencies, to be a phenomenon to which the 
 Author of that time should be amenable. The Almighty consequently 
 could have no beginning, no end. Eternity is His distinguishing attribute ; 
 and time can have none, no, not even the feeblest quality of eternity. 
 Time, however exaggeratedly it may be increased, never becomes eternity ; 
 for time is made up of a series of events, each having a beginning and an 
 end. Eternity is not made up of events, and has therefore no beginning, 
 no end. 
 
 The actions called heat, light, and sound, are similarly material, 
 
No. XII.] APPENDIX. 211 
 
 appertaining to particles of matter alone. The Maker of all things 
 cannot, therefore, be supposed to be subject to phenomena which exist 
 by His almighty fiat. 
 
 We have thus seen, that whilst all the properties of matter are 
 strictly material, so the attributes of the Immaterial are purely immaterial. 
 Science, therefore, directs us to attach materiality to the material, im- 
 materiality to the Immaterial ; and by no means at any time, under any 
 circumstance, to confound the properties of matter with the attributes 
 of the Immaterial, or the attributes of the Immaterial with the properties 
 of matter. 
 
 It is, then, the property of matter to attract, and by virtue of that 
 attraction to yield number, size, form, duration. It is the attribute of 
 the Immaterial not to yield number, to be omnipresent and eternal. 
 Matter attracts by virtue of power conferred upon it by the Immaterial. 
 Matter is matter by the volition of the Creator. 
 
 The power which conferred attraction on matter is present not only 
 where matter is, but even where matter is not, inasmuch as position is a 
 material phenomenon. In consequence of that omnipresence, we may infer 
 that He is cognizant of every alteration of each respective particle of 
 matter, which omnicognizance is called the omniscience of the Deity. 
 Our material bodies allow certain expressions to be carried to the mind 
 through certain material organs called the senses, and therefore we only 
 appreciate those impressions which act upon those senses. His omni- 
 presence must know every single change, without respect to any material 
 conditions. His omniscience cannot be interfered with by darkness, 
 quiescence, or temperature. Darkness is no darkness with Him; the 
 stillness of an action cannot cause it to be hid from His observation. His 
 omniscience is derived from omnipresence, not from the properties of 
 matter from which man derives his knowledge. 
 
 We, therefore, are compelled to admit and believe that matter owes 
 its properties to a power conferred upon it by the omnipresent, omni- 
 potent, omniscient, eternal Creator, who first by His Almighty fiat com- 
 manded matter to attract, and who, by the same Almighty fiat, may at 
 any instant will attraction to cease, when worlds would end, when time 
 would be no more. As far as regards all material properties, He must 
 have absolute power. At any moment He may dissolve the earth, the sun, 
 the moon, the stars, and as instantaneously summon their particles to 
 assume new shapes, to occupy new positions. This infinite power or 
 omnipotence is of a totally different character from our power, which is 
 derived from the properties of matter. Man's boasted power is derived 
 from availing himself of attraction. The Deity can control that property, 
 and from that we infer the attribute of omnipotence. 
 
 It is useless to conceal that these great and glorious perfections are 
 quite incomprehensible to our senses : we can only appreciate material 
 impressions ; all else is quite incomprehensible to our mind. To say that 
 God has no relation to number is as unintelligible as His omnipresence, 
 His omniscience, or His eternity. We cannot conceive the nature of such 
 attributes, though we are compelled to believe them because we cannot 
 conceive that such attributes should not exist. 
 
 What other attributes belong to the Almighty we are incapable of 
 ascertaining by physical science ; and even the contemplation of these, we 
 
 p 2 
 
212 APPENDIX. [No. XII. 
 
 must . admit, will suffice to fill our minds with an amazement productive 
 of reverence, submission, and humility 
 
 Conclusion. W^e live in a material world, and can only converse with 
 matter; everything we treat of is material. We can only use material 
 properties to effect material phenomena; and our very existence here 
 depends upon a series of material events taking place in our own bodies, 
 for if these events do not take place, other actions ensue which end in 
 decomposition. An event of definite energy we call a unit of time, and 
 the total of events, taking place in our own bodies in our present condition, 
 we term the period of life. Time itself, therefore, is a material phenomenon, 
 depending solely on material properties. 
 
 But whilst man can only clearly understand material phenomena, and 
 use matter to give rise to material effects, and thus conduct his affairs, 
 yet he has the power, by virtue of an immateriality in his own constitu- 
 tion, to perceive indistinctly through a veil the existence of an Immaterial 
 to whom matter and all material phenomena owe existence. The attri- 
 butes of the Creator of matter are, indeed, in this world quite beyond 
 the comprehension of man's faculties ; and the attributes which man is 
 compelled to attach to the Almighty are but positive expressions for the 
 absence of the properties of matter, which are solely derived from His 
 Almighty will. 
 
 Having completed our inquiries into the sources of physical science, 
 we have found that man has no conception of matter without the existence 
 of a Supreme Being, who endowed it with properties, i.e. caused it to be 
 matter. We have seen that no imponderable attached to matter gives it 
 its properties, but that they are evolved simply from the will of the 
 Almighty. That which gives to matter properties is the will of God, and 
 we have before mentioned that man can have no conception of matter 
 without that to which it owes its property. 
 
 As we can form no idea of matter apart from its Creator, so in our 
 present state, living in a material world, and being ourselves partly imma- 
 terial, partly matter, we cannot form any clear conception of the Almighty 
 totally apart from His wprks. From natural science, man only knows God 
 as being the Creator and Maker of all material things ; but hereafter, 
 when man shall rise again and assume a higher condition, he shall under- 
 stand these glorious mysteries apart from all created matter. 
 
 We have seen that all physical subjects depend on the existence of the 
 Supreme Being, the Creator of matter, from whose will matter is. We 
 have seen that matter is that which attracts; that particles of matter 
 under attraction give to masses of matter their properties; and that 
 this attracted matter, being acted upon by new attractions, produces all 
 physical effects. 
 
 Physical science depends on matter, and its property, attraction ; and 
 the great problem for man to solve, when he desires to perform his various 
 operations, is comprised in the effect which attraction produces on at- 
 tracted matter. The object of this volume has been to contribute to the 
 solution of this problem, and to condense the foundations of human know- 
 ledge into so small a compass, that the reader from its perusal, by simply 
 having attraction and attracted matter, may be able, at will, to give rise to 
 all physical phenomena. 
 
 As a summary of the sources of physical science, I have drawn up the 
 
 J 
 
No. XIII.] 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 213 
 
 accompanying table to show at one view how physical phenomena may be 
 produced, and how the entire range of physical studies constitutes physical 
 science. 
 
 Matter is matter, and solely exists by the will of God, Matter is 
 
 made up of finite particles or atoms 
 the study of number arithmetic. 
 
 Particles of matter attracted together 
 give rise to 
 
 a series constituting number, and 
 
 Form, 
 
 Volume, 
 
 Composition, 
 
 Cohesion, 
 
 Adhesion, 
 
 Position. 
 
 Crystallization, 
 
 Polarity, 
 
 Magnetism. 
 
 Tension, a tendency for action. 
 
 Peculiarity in the direction of attrac- 
 tions produces 
 
 Attraction acting on attracted matter 
 
 causes 1 Force, a capacity for action. 
 
 Galvanic phenomena, 
 Electric phenomena, 
 Force, by destroying the attractions / Electro-magnetic phenomena, 
 of attracted matter, exhibits . . j Motion, 
 
 Disintegration, 
 ^ Decomposition. 
 
 The results of force, in consequence .. ' 
 of the resistance of old or previously ' 
 existing attractions, produce the 
 phenomena called 
 
 Light, 
 Sound, 
 Odour (?). 
 The effects 
 
 , . ,, 7 , , j.**^ v, U v*, w of force generally; 
 
 These latter, being the result ot torce, I -. , , .? ,, , , 
 
 , ., ., ' < and, therefore, capacity for the 
 
 exhibit ) T ,. . . ,. 
 
 destruction ot attractions. 
 
 No. XIII. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY LECTURE DELIVERED AT THE ALDERSGATE 
 SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. By ALFRED SMEE, F.R.S., Lecturer on 
 Surgery at the Aldersgate School, Surgeon to the Royal General 
 Dispensary, to the Central London Ophthalmic Institution, to the 
 Bank of England, to the Provident Clerks' Mutual Benefit Associa- 
 tion, &c. &c. (From the ' Medical Times,' October 5, 1844.) 
 
 GENTLEMEN, The solemn occasion for which we are this day col- 
 lected together, is to inquire into the nature of the studies necessary for 
 the education of a gentleman, to enable him to practise medical science. 
 You will doubtless consider that it will suffice for me simply to enumerate 
 the views of those associations of great men who, in different countries, 
 preside over the members of the medical profession; but, unfortunately, 
 on a more careful examination into their proceedings, we perceive that the 
 
214 APPENDIX. [No. XIII. 
 
 Faculty of Medicine of Paris refused leave to Ambrose Pare to print liis 
 work on the application of ligatures to arteries after operation. This 
 invention, I have no hesitation in asserting, is the most important prac- 
 tical application of science for the purposes of the surgeon which has 
 ever been submitted to the world, and yet, instead of being fostered by the 
 distinguished men of the age, it was opposed, and never would have com- 
 municated its benefits to the unhappy victims of amputation, had not 
 private interest been made with the king to allow the work to be printed, 
 and thus confer its blessings on mankind. Nor is this a solitary instance. 
 Did not the College of Physicians of London oppose the Royal Medico- 
 Chirurgical Society an association of the medical practitioners of this 
 country, unrivalled for the extent of information that it has disseminated 
 amongst those who devote their time to practise the healing art ? The 
 College of Surgeons, moreover, have looked with a jealous eye on that 
 great University of London, which promises, by the talent which it has 
 fostered, to effect great results for the improvement of our profession. 
 These extraordinary instances of ill-directed authority, by men of the 
 highest reputation in their day, show that we must receive with care their 
 edicts, and, instead of taking for granted that the medical education they 
 require is that best suited to make a practitioner of medicine, we must 
 examine for ourselves a subject of such fundamental importance to the 
 whole community. 
 
 Disregarding, then, the orders of human councils, we must take 
 Nature for our guide, and, as a preliminary inquiry, we must study the 
 relation of man to the external world. Now, on a most cursory view of 
 those objects which are presented for our examination, we perceive that 
 bodies divide themselves into two great divisions one set in which no 
 changes are taking place, and another in which continual alterations are 
 occurring. These two sets of bodies we call respectively things with life, 
 or organic things ; things without life, or inorganic things. 
 
 Let us take as a type of a lifeless thing this piece of ice, and consider 
 its qualities. We know that it is a compound of oxygen and hydrogen, in 
 fact an oxide of hydrogen, the two elements being held together by the 
 force of attraction. No change is taking place between these elements, 
 but it possesses its individual characteristic by virtue of that attraction. 
 As long as that attraction exists, it is still oxide of hydrogen, but a 
 destruction of that attraction, or a supervention of a new. one, would cause 
 it to be no longer an oxide of hydrogen, but some other body. I may act 
 upon this compound by external forces, and cause it to assume either the 
 liquid or gaseous state, but it is still an oxide of hydrogen ; and unless 
 I destroy the attraction existing between the oxygen and hydrogen, it 
 remains the same body. I can in the same way make this body hot, 
 luminous, electrical, or vibrating, without any alteration in its composi- 
 tion. I might divide it to its finite particle, or increase its bulk inde- 
 finitely, but still its characteristic as an oxide of hydrogen would not be 
 impaired. 
 
 An inorganic body, then, possesses matter and force ; the force being 
 only exerted between its own particles. Other matter indeed may act 
 upon this matter, though it would not contribute in any way to produce 
 its individual existence. To express these facts in the fewest words and 
 most comprehensive manner, we may state that an inorganic body is a 
 
No. XIIL] APPENDIX. 215 
 
 body which exists by means of forces exerted between the particles of 
 matter of which the mass is made up. 
 
 Proceeding onwards in our investigation, we perceive another class of 
 bodies said to be organic, the particles of which are continually under- 
 going some change of arrangement. The most simple division of this 
 class of bodies is to be found in vegetables or plants, samples of which I 
 now present to your notice in the India-rubber tree, the black-tea plant, 
 and the beautiful filmy fern. We find that the material has tenacity and 
 form, from a certain amount of the particles of which they are composed 
 being held together by internal forces similar to those of inorganic bodies. 
 In this respect stones and plants are identical ; both having matter and 
 internal forces. In the latter, however, we have continual changes occurring, 
 and the mechanism of this change gives to the vegetable its characteristic 
 property. In every plant we find that it is essential to vitality that it 
 should contain not only a solid portion, but also a fluid : hence a plant is 
 in two physical states, solid and fluid ; in other words, it consists of stem 
 and sap. Neither part alone exhibits any signs of life ; a combination of 
 both being required for that object. But the stem and sap, as a whole, 
 will not exhibit change by means of forces generated alone within its own 
 structure, for we find it to be essential for these results that external 
 forces should act upon the whole plant to enable these alterations in the 
 arrangement of its particles to ensue. The absolute necessity for the 
 exertion of these external forces may be learnt from the fact, that if I 
 either increase or diminish the amount requisite for each plant, the 
 actions immediately cease ; and if they cease but for one instant, the matter 
 becomes inorganic, and no human power can ever make it take on the 
 changes occurring in the vegetable or plant. If either this India-rubber 
 tree or tea-plant were frozen, its action would cease for ever ; and in 
 the same way, if this delicate filmy fern, or even the other plants, were 
 either to be over-heated or stimulated too highly by light, electricity or 
 force, they would certainly perish. We thus find that a plant is a body 
 held together by internal forces in two physical states, solid and fluid, 
 undergoing certain changes by means of the action of external forces. As 
 a consequence of this arrangement, a plant cannot be indefinitely divided ; 
 for to possess the characteristics of a plant it must retain all these essen- 
 tials, and we cannot divide it if we desire to preserve its individuality 
 beyond a single cell. As a short expression for the difference between 
 plants and stones, we may state that a plant is a body whose particles are 
 undergoing change from the action of forces from without. This pro- 
 perty, I shall hereafter show you, is common to all organic bodies, so that 
 definition can only be used to ascertain whether a body is a mineral or a 
 vegetable. This expression harmonizes with the phenomena observed in 
 all the numerous forms of plants habitating the globe ; one plant differing 
 from another not by its possessing some new attribute, but from a differ- 
 ence in the nature of the matter which composes its structure, the degree 
 of force holding that matter together, the ease with which its particles 
 assume new combinations, and the amount of external force required to 
 effect that change. Every species of plant of necessity requires a peculiar 
 amount of external force. If the filmy fern which inhabits the cracks and 
 crannies of the rocks at Tunbridge Wells were exposed to the light 
 which this tea-plant requires, it would speedily be killed, and this tea- 
 
216 APPENDIX. [No. XIII. 
 
 plant would very ill bear the shade absolutely required by this little 
 fern. 
 
 Having thus given you a rapid and cursory sketch of the properties of 
 plants, I must now direct your attention to another division of organized 
 bodies, which we term animals. In the diagrams which cover these walls, 
 every form of animal known to Cuvier is delineated, and I have selected 
 as an illustration of a living animal, this interesting little creature, the 
 English dormouse. Here we again perceive the integral or component 
 matter to be held together by internal forces, as we have before noticed in 
 plants and vegetables. We observe, also, changes taking place in tlie 
 arrangement of the particles, through the agency of external forces, as was 
 before exemplified in the examination of the vegetable kingdom. We not 
 only observe these things, but we notice that external forces acting upon 
 the body of an animal make an impression which is not transitory, but is 
 retained to influence the result of subsequent impressions. This registra- 
 tion of impressions gives rise to the effect of memory, which influences, in 
 an important manner, the proceedings of the animal ; for when external 
 forces act upon the body, the effect of these forces is modified by ante- 
 cedent impressions. The choice of action between present and past im- 
 pressions we call volition, which is to be observed throughout the entire 
 range of animal bodies ; you may even observe it in the Hydra viridis, 
 a polyp common in the neighbourhood of London ; but an animal whose 
 structure is so simple, that it has been described as a mere fleshy bag. 
 
 I will no longer occupy your time by narrating instances of actions 
 from past impressions, in the animal kingdom, but will simply state, as a 
 short expression of these facts, that the animal kingdom is peculiar in 
 acting, not only from present, but from registered or past impressions : 
 this property is common, not only to animals, but to man, and therefore 
 can only serve as a mark to distinguish the animal from, the plant or 
 mineral. 
 
 I have now arrived at the more important part of my subject the 
 study of man himself and there is as much difference to be observed 
 between man and animals as between animals and plants, or even between 
 plants and minerals. On examining his structure we find a material 
 frame, the particles being aggregated together, and exhibiting form and 
 volume ; these properties are due entirely to the particles of matter being 
 held together by internal forces, as in animals, plants, or stones. We find 
 that the matter composing his body is in two physical states, the solid and 
 fluid, at the same time, and that changes are continually taking place, by 
 reason of the influence of external forces, as we have already observed, in 
 plants and animals. Man, moreover, we notice to act upon registered or 
 past impressions, as animals are known to do. Man, however, exhibits 
 higher powers, and to these powers I have now to call your attention. If 
 I take this piece of potassium and throw it into a basin of water, you 
 perceive that it inflames, which inflammation is caused by its exerting a 
 powerful attraction upon the oxygen of the water, and setting free gaseous 
 hydrogen. In this experiment I am using the power of attraction, and 
 using it to overcome other attractions. Now the employment of this 
 power is far beyond the sphere of any animal, and can only be exerted by 
 man. (Applause.) I could give you other instances of the application of 
 attraction, as the use of a weight to set in motion a clock, but one instance 
 
No. XIILJ APPENDIX. 217 
 
 of the exertion of a power will amply suffice for my purpose ; I can 
 employ light to give rise to certain actions. On the table before you lie 
 daguerreotypes, calotypes, cyanotypes, chrysotees, enargyotypes, photo- 
 graphs, produced by the action of light. Man alone can use light, and in 
 the instances before you it even required such men as Daguerre, Herschel, 
 Fox Talbot, and Hunt, to turn the force to account. (Applause.) We all 
 of us use heat ; in fact, no meal is prepared without its agency. From 
 the manufacture of the homely bread to the preparation of the most costly 
 viands, this force is equally requisite for man ; and yet what animal can 
 or does employ this force of matter ? I will show you a somewhat 
 mysterious application of heat, if you will please observe the head of the 
 worthy god which was placed by the builder in this theatre for orna- 
 ment. You will perceive that an explosion will occur. The explanation 
 of this explosion is simple a wire was previous to the lecture placed 
 around this theatre, and when I requested your attention to the image I 
 completed a galvanic circuit, and the force generated in this battery was 
 transmitted through the wires, and produced heat where I wanted it, 
 namely, at the top of that figure. There, before lecture, I had placed some 
 gunpowder, which exploded on the application of the heat. 
 
 Nor are these forces alone obedient to the power of man. I will 
 show you how we can use the power of electricity; I will connect this 
 electro-magnetic machine with the battery, and you will see the result. 
 The rapidity with which it turns is enormous, and it affords a prac- 
 tical application of the power of man to use electricity. You can 
 hardly view that beautiful bas-relief without admiring the sculptor's 
 design ; but when I tell you that specimen, the largest yet executed, was 
 deposited, atom by atom, by means of the galvanic force, you will admit 
 the power of man to use electricity. Other examples are on the table ; 
 those beautiful solid electro-silver and electro-silver-gilt waiters, made 
 from the natural vine-leaf, show the power of man to employ this force. 
 
 We daily use ordinary force. The model of the locomotive engine on 
 the table is brought here to impress that fact on your mind ; but, as you 
 must all be practically conversant with railway engines, I have not 
 thought it necessary to set the model in action. 
 
 Man can also employ the force of sound, of which a musical snuff- 
 box is an instance ; but perhaps the use of the porter's bell, to signify 
 the commencement of this lecture, suffices for an illustration of man's 
 power to employ this force. 
 
 I have thus demonstrated that man can employ attraction, heat, light, 
 electricity, force, and sound, to act upon matter ; but, doubtless, you will 
 tell me the electric eel kills his prey by electricity, the glow-worm lights 
 its lamp, animals in their own bodies generate heat, and the merry cricket 
 gives rise to cheerful notes. All these creatures, however, only employ 
 the forces which arise from peculiar structures in their bodies man gives 
 rise to these forces. The electric eel uses the electricity generated in the 
 organ, which I now exhibit to you, called the battery; the glow- worm 
 furnishes light by the peculiar organization of the last two segments of 
 the body. Man, however, makes the battery man makes the candle, 
 so that man causes matter to produce light, heat, and the various other 
 forces which I have enumerated a power which no animal possesses. 
 (Applause.) 
 
218 APPENDIX. [No. XIII. 
 
 Nor is man's power limited to the application of these forces upon 
 inorganic matter alone, but he can use them also to influence vegetation. 
 Regard these little wild crabs, and see how cultivation has converted the 
 same fruit into this large apple. Look also at these common hedge-nuts, 
 changed by cultivation into the delicious filbert. I need hardly say that 
 this power is only possessed by man. 
 
 Animals are as much under the power of man as plants are ; he can 
 improve their breed, and reduce them to subjection. The common use of 
 horses is an example of that nature. One animal, however, cannot employ 
 another animal. Who, for instance, ever saw an elephant drawn by camel- 
 leopards ? (Applause.) And yet, we might readily forget that the sub- 
 jection of animals belongs to man alone. 
 
 We have now shown that man can employ heat, light, attraction, 
 electricity, sound, the vegetable and animal bodies. Now, what is the 
 nature of these powers which he uses ? Attraction is an abstraction of 
 a material property ; heat is the same ; so is electricity, sound, force, &c. 
 The powers of animals and vegetables are in like manner the results of 
 matter. We may, therefore, class all these powers together by stating, 
 that man can employ matter to act upon other matter ; man is not confined 
 to the use of any particular piece of matter to produce these results, but 
 any piece of matter will equally suit his purpose. We therefore find that 
 man takes a higher stand, for he employs abstractions arising from the 
 properties of matter. 
 
 To recapitulate the leading phenomena exhibited by man, we find that 
 he is composed of integral matter, held together by internal forces ; that 
 the matter is in two physical states, solid and fluid ; that actions are con- 
 tinually taking place by reason of external forces ; that he acts not only 
 upon immediate but upon bygone or antecedent impressions. In all these 
 conditions, however, he is similar to animals ; but the human being has 
 the power of acting upon an arrangement and combination of simple 
 material impressions, or, in other words, he acts upon their abstractions. 
 To separate man from all other material bodies, we may define him to be a 
 being acting upon the abstractions of material impressions. 
 
 In all human operations, matter must be employed, but man can only 
 use the properties with which matter is endowed; he can neither add a 
 new property, nor subtract an old one. Man's power, then, is confined to 
 the use of the properties of matter ; but though he cannot control matter, 
 he perceives there must be a Supreme Power which in the first instance 
 caused matter to have properties, and who, by the exertion of the same 
 power, may will these properties to cease, or new ones to supervene. The 
 contemplation of the Great Controller of the powers of matter forms the 
 limit of the investigations of medical science, for at that point medical 
 science ends and natural theology begins. 
 
 We are now in a condition to determine the means which are in our 
 hands to act upon the human body. We can act upon it directly, by 
 matter, through its power of attraction. We can act upon it also by heat, 
 light, electricity, force, sound, as in the case of animal, vegetable, or 
 mineral bodies. We have, however, another power by which we can act 
 upon man we may act upon his mind by abstractions. The influences of 
 mental impressions may be inferred from deaths occurring from joy, fear, 
 or other strong emotions. Let me, however, warn you and entreat you 
 
No. XIII.] APPENDIX. 219 
 
 never to employ a false mental impression, as the effects of employing 
 false mental impressions are most dangerous. Here is a charm which is 
 supposed effectually to ward off all ill, physical or moral, from a child so 
 protected. It consists of the berries of the mountain-ash, tied round with 
 red thread, with the following couplet : 
 
 " Rowan tree, and red thread, 
 Drives the witches at their sped." 
 
 Here are amulets used for a similar purpose. I show you also an Abraxas, 
 a power presiding over 365 others, which is supposed to have wonderful 
 efficacy. Here are the casts of all the royal-touch pieces known at the 
 British Museum; and I am enabled to exhibit to you an original coin 
 from the museum of the great London antiquary, Mr. Charles Roach Smith : 
 this, although as recent as the reign of Queen Anne, has been so much 
 worn, to ward off the dreadful scourge of scrofula, that the impression is 
 quite abraded. Here is a cast of a touch-piece of the Pretender, who, think- 
 ing that he had right to the English crown, had also equal right to confer 
 the royal cure by touch. Do not think that spells, charms, or superstitions 
 are at an end. In your professional career you will frequently be astonished 
 at their use. I hold in my hand an engine of that character, called an 
 Homoeopathic Medicine Chest (applause), which has already produced so 
 many cures, according to the statement of its owner, that their enumeration 
 would occupy me till to-morrow. In an examination of the chest this 
 morning, I perceived the bottle labelled camphor had no odour ; that of 
 musk had lost, in a similar manner, its physical properties a single grain 
 of musk will fill a large room with odour for twenty years, and yet here 
 was not the slightest scent to be discovered. The idea flashed across my 
 mind, that these little globules were all made alike, and I transferred over 
 to the laboratory about 100 globules, containing two or three substances 
 which were not likely to have become injured by keeping, and the presence 
 of which could most readily be detected. The united skill of two or 
 three chemists failed to demonstrate by ordinary means the smallest 
 trace of the assumed substances. (Much applause and laughter.) The 
 evidence on this point is negative ; but yet it appears to me improbable, 
 that 100 globules should contain a substance easy of detection, and yet not 
 give immediate indication to chemical tests. 
 
 I do not doubt that the owner really effected cures with this chesfc ; 
 nor do I doubt that the amulets, abraxas, and royal touch-pieces, produced, 
 in some cases, a similar effect ; but I do most earnestly warn you never to 
 lend yourself to produce a false mental impression, for the human mind 
 has been in the bondage of astrology and witchcraft, and may again 
 return to its former degraded position. Look, I pray you, at this book ; 
 see how accurately it gives the position of the stars for good and evil, 
 when to apply medicine, to stop a flux, or to cause a purge, and let that be 
 sufficient to warn you from the horrible effects of superstition, and deter 
 you from ever using charms, amulets, homceopathic globules, the com- 
 bination of stars, or any other mental abominations. 
 
 Man is composed of integral matter, held together by internal forces, 
 so that the first investigation that we must undertake is, to inquire into 
 the nature of the matter, and the character of the forces. This study 
 
220 APPENDIX. [No. XIII. 
 
 constitutes chemistry, a class at this school under the care of Mr. Makins ; 
 and let me urge upon you the necessity of chemical knowledge. I speak 
 as one who has been considered by medical practitioners to have devoted 
 too much time to this science ; but I must say that on no subject do 
 I now feel my ignorance so much as on this. Chemistry is not only of 
 paramount importance to medical practice, but is an ornament in every 
 rank of life. The manner in which this matter is actually arranged con- 
 stitutes general anatomy, a subject which is in the hands of Dr. Goodfellow, 
 whose acquirements in this department are too well known to require any 
 comments from me. The surgical anatomy, another department of the study 
 of the matter of the human body, is taught by Mr. Holthouse and Mr. 
 Chance ; and the study of the actions taking place in man, or physiology, is 
 under Mr. Holthouse, with whom you are already personally acquainted. 
 You would naturally expect that, man's characteristic being mind, the study 
 of mind would occupy our especial attention ; but perhaps you will not be 
 astonished, when I state that neither the opponents of Fare's discovery, 
 nor those of the Medico-Chirurgical Society, have considered that the study 
 of the human mind is in the slightest degree requisite. The practical 
 effect of their determination is, that madness is of no consequence, its 
 treatment of no importance. Do not believe them : regard the ordinances 
 of nature, not those of man ; and make yourselves thoroughly acquainted 
 with the properties of the mind, in health and disease. The agents which 
 we employ to affect the human body are called Materia Medica, comprising 
 matter, forces, and mental impressions. This department we have entrusted 
 to Dr. Garrod, a gentleman who has obtained the highest honours in the 
 prosecution of his studies, and whom we may also believe will receive 
 corresponding success in carrying them out. The practice of physic, or 
 the exact application of medical agents to particular diseases, is, as hereto- 
 fore, still under the care of Dr. Aldis and Dr. Grant ; and now you will 
 have ample opportunities of observing the actual practice of these gentle- 
 men at their respective institutions. The surgery, gentlemen, has been 
 confided by my colleagues to my charge ; and when I consider that in this 
 theatre almost every distinguished man in London, of this century, has 
 lectured, I feel deeply impressed with the importance of the duties which 
 I have to perform, but I promise in sincerity and truth, that to the utmost 
 of my abilities I will endeavour to discharge my duties, to your instruction 
 and benefit. There are certain collateral branches, as botany and com- 
 parative anatomy, which are under the care of Dr. Brown, and I may state 
 the latter course is gratuitous. Forensic medicine, or that part of medical 
 science which is especially connected with the courts of law, is in the 
 hands of Dr. Sewell, a gentleman whom, you doubtless are aware, has, in 
 the prosecution of his studies, received the highest rewards for his industry 
 and talents, and whom we consider a valuable adjunct to our staff. The 
 last class, or that of obstetric medicine, one of the utmost importance to 
 the general practitioner, will be undertaken by Mr. Druitt, known to 
 the world as the author of the ' Surgeon's Yade Mecum.' 
 
 Gentlemen, the study of our profession divides itself into two depart- 
 ments, science and practice. Science leads to the honours of the profession, 
 practice to the emolument ; but the really great man must combine science 
 with practice. The lecturers of this school have been extremely anxious 
 to afford you every opportunity of observing disease, and to further that 
 
No. XIV.] APPENDIX. 221 
 
 object they have determined to throw open, without additional charge, the 
 practice of the several institutions to which they are respectively attached. 
 We have opened to you a chest infirmary, an eye institution, and portions 
 of the practice of seven dispensaries. At these institutions, eleven clinical 
 clerks will be appointed from this school. At these charities, you will see 
 diseases as you will have to treat them in after-life : you will see them 
 under the same circumstances of position and state, and you will have 
 most ample opportunities of making yourselves acquainted with diseases 
 in all their multifarious forms. 
 
 I trust you will excuse me if I say a few words upon the relation which 
 we are desirous should exist between the teachers and pupils. We are 
 one and all desirous that free intercourse and communication should con- 
 tinually take place between us. We wish you to regard us as students 
 further advanced in that knowledge, the end of which we can never 
 attain. Whatever you would ask of a friend, ask of us, as your teachers, 
 and nothing will please us so much as continually to contribute to 
 your welfare. 
 
 You are about to enter, gentlemen, upon the study of the most 
 exalted profession. Every moment of your life will be spent in the 
 study and observation of nature. The most intimate structure of the 
 human body will be exposed to your view, and the innermost recesses of 
 the human mind will be revealed to you. Every moment of your life will 
 be spent in doing good, and contributing to the happiness and welfare of 
 your fellow-creatures ; day by day you will receive the praises and heart- 
 felt thanks of gratitude for your aid in the time of danger and disease. 
 Let me not deceive you, gentlemen ; do not think you will attain eminence 
 without the most incessant labour and the most unremitting attention ; 
 and you will find, with all your exertion, your utter inability to master the 
 subject you have taken in hand. Delighted with every step you make, you 
 will, in the language of the Psalmist, exclaim, " Such knowledge is too 
 wonderf ul and. excellent for me, I cannot attain unto it." 
 
 [NOTE. The lecture throughout was profusely illustrated with 
 specimens of the power of man, and the room presented generally an 
 imposing appearance, from a display of beautiful examples of the novelties 
 of science.] 
 
 No. XIV. 
 
 ON THE DETECTION OF NEEDLES, ETC., IN THE HUMAN 
 BODY. Lecture delivered at the Aldersgate School of Medicine, 
 December 9th, 1844. 
 
 WHEN the foreign body, retained in the wound, is either iron or steel, 
 we have means by which we may readily and effectually determine its 
 presence. Portions of steel are particularly liable to be introduced into 
 the body, in the shape of needles, or as parts of cutting instruments ; and, 
 
222 APPENDIX. [No. XIV. 
 
 especially in the former case, cause irremediable injury. Some time since, 
 I had a case under my care, where a small portion of a needle was 
 introduced into one of the joints of the finger, but of which no indication 
 existed beyond the effects which might have been expected from the 
 presence of a foreign body. The exact spot of its insertion was unknown ; 
 and indeed it was equally uncertain whether it was inserted or not. 
 Subsequently the joint swelled, suppurated, and discharged, and a small 
 piece of needle was found firmly impacted in the bone. Now, a very small 
 piece of foreign matter is capable of producing these disastrous results ; 
 and, on having weighed the piece discharged in this case, I found that it 
 scarcely amounted to the | of a grain. To this case I shall again draw your 
 attention, when I come to my lectures on the diseases of the joints, because 
 it showed accidentally, on the human subject, the course of the inflam- 
 mation and suppuration of the part, the subsequent ulceration of the 
 cartilages and osseous tissue, and, finally, the course of the reparative 
 process, by the termination of the inflammation by anchylosis. On 
 reference to my note -book, for the purpose of studying this case, it 
 occurred to my mind that, had I known that the needle was actually 
 present, and could have demonstrated its exact spot, I might possibly 
 have averted the present inconvenience of a stiff joint to the unfortunate 
 sufferer ; and, after having carefully considered the matter, a plan 
 suggested itself to my mind for the detection of needles in future cases. 
 You are all acquainted with the curious condition which steel assumes 
 under certain circumstances, whereby it evinces properties which are 
 called magnetic ; you know, moreover, that like magnetic poles repel, and 
 opposite attract each other. You have, therefore, but to render a piece 
 of enclosed steel a magnet, and you will be able not only to ascertain 
 its presence, but to determine by its polarity its general direction; 
 and, by the amount of magnetism it evinces, you may even infer its pro- 
 bable bulk. 
 
 When you suspect the presence of a piece of needle, or other steel 
 instrument, you must subject the suspected part to a treatment calculated 
 to render the needle magnetic ; and there are two principal methods by 
 which this object may be effected : the first, by transmitting a galvanic 
 current, at right angles, to the suspected part ; the second, by placing a 
 large magnet near the part affected, so that the object may be magnetized 
 by induction. You may accomplish the first end by taking a copper wire, 
 covered with cotton, or still better with silk (in fact, you may employ the 
 covered wire as generally used for the formation of electro-magnets), and 
 wind it round the parts suspected to contain 
 steel, several times, so that the same current 
 may act at right angles, many times, upon 
 
 ^^ , ^ the piece of steel; you may then take a 
 
 V V galvanic battery (one of my little tumbler 
 
 FIG. 11. Covered Wire, as gene- batteries will amply suffice), and connect one 
 rally used for the formation of en( j o f the wire to the zinc, the other to the 
 
 Electro-Magnets. ij.--j-i rm j- L n -11 
 
 platinized silver. The adjoining cut, ng. 11, 
 
 shows the general arrangement which may be adopted to effect this 
 object. The current might be continued for half an hour, or more, when 
 the steel would become magnetized, and thereby give strong indications 
 of its presence. 
 
No. XIV.] APPENDIX. 223 
 
 For my own part, I should use the second plan, or the plan of 
 magnetizing by induction, to render the needle magnetic. For this 
 purpose, I have employed a temporary electro-magnet, which I magnetized 
 by the voltaic battery; and you will find that, by keeping the part 
 affected as close as possible to the instrument, for about half an hour, 
 you will sufficiently obtain the desired object. 
 
 The electro-magnet might be made of the horse- shoe form, if we 
 knew the direction of the object ; but, in that case, we should not require 
 its use at all, as the proof of the existence of the needle is our only aim. 
 I have used the horse-shoe magnet, but should prefer in most cases an 
 electro-magnet like this (fig. 12), made for me by Messrs. Home, of 
 Newgate Street, which is made of a simple straight bar of soft iron, 
 wound round with wire. You will perceive by the diagram that the iron 
 has a plate of brass (B) fixed on both ends 
 to retain the wire (w) in situ; and you 
 may also perceive that the two ends of 
 the wire are attached to binding screws (s). 
 Your chemical lecturer has, doubtlessly, 
 made you aware that the magnetic effect, 
 cceteris paribus, is proportionate to the 
 power of the battery ; accordingly, you FlG - 12 - Electro-Magnet. 
 
 must select a voltaic combination suitable 
 
 for the desired object. You might use a Cruikshanks' battery, made 
 of alternate pieces of wire and copper soldered together. You might 
 use one of the old "Woollaston batteries, made of a plate of copper, 
 surrounding a plate of zinc. You might employ one or more Daniell's 
 batteries, which consist of an outer copper cylinder with a solution of 
 sulphate of copper, and an inner porous vessel containing zinc and dilute 
 acid. You might employ the battery invented by Mr. Grove : he uses 
 for his negative platinum, and in the inner porous cell he puts strong 
 nitric acid, and in the outer vessel with the zinc dilute sulphuric or muriatic 
 acid. It really is of no consequence whether you select the one or the 
 other battery for this particular purpose. I believe, however, that mine 
 is far more commonly used for the ordinary purposes of life. Of my 
 batteries you may use the triple or pot battery, which consists of a piece 
 of platinized silver, in the top of which is fixed a piece of wood to 
 prevent contact between the silver and the zinc. To the silver a binding 
 screw is fixed to connect it with any desired object ; a strip of zinc is 
 placed on each side of the wood, and both are held in their place by a 
 binding screw, sufficiently wide to embrace the wires and wood. You 
 may use the odds-and-ends form, which consists of a plate of platinized 
 silver for the negative pole, suspended in a vessel of acid, and fragments 
 of zinc and mercury, placed at the bottom of the vessel for the positive pole. 
 When you require considerable power, you will find the compound trough 
 battery very convenient for this purpose, formed of two plates of zinc, one 
 on each side the silver. The liquid generally adopted to excite the platinized 
 silver battery is a mixture of one part by measure of sulphuric acid, and 
 seven of water. The compound battery will magnetize a needle, in con- 
 junction with the electro-magnet at the distance of an inch, in the space 
 of two or three minutes. 
 
224 APPENDIX. [No. XIV. 
 
 A powerful permanent magnet would answer as well as the temporary 
 magnet; but permanent magnets are expensive, and not so constantly 
 at hand. When soft iron is impacted in any part of the body, we do 
 not require either the electro- or permanent magnet, for on this substance 
 we are unable to confer magnetic properties. 
 
 We should never think of taking the trouble of magnetizing a part 
 suspected to contain steel, or iron, unless we could get no indication of 
 its presence without ; for, perchance, the object might be sufficiently large 
 to give indication without being magnetized, or it may have been mag- 
 netized before its introduction. 
 
 Almost all my steel instruments, in common use, are more or less 
 magnetic, from their having been exposed to electricity whilst performing 
 my electrical experiments ; and, therefore, should I have the misfortune 
 to introduce them into my body, they would be indicated without any 
 process to render them further magnetic. Although foreign to a course 
 of lectures on surgery, I may state that, when handling powerful magnets, 
 you should always put aside your watch, for my own has many a time 
 played me most troublesome pranks from its springs having become 
 magnetic. 
 
 To test the existence of a magnet within the body, we may take a 
 magnetized sewing-needle, and suspend it by a piece of silkworm's silk, 
 when it will exhibit certain phenomena upon the approach of the suspected 
 part, provided it contain a piece of magnetized steel. Although this 
 simple contrivance will amply suffice, I myself possess a needle which 
 was made for me by Messrs. Willats, of Cheapside, and which is well 
 adapted for the purpose. 
 
 It consists, as you perceive, of a delicate needle, about six inches long, 
 centred upon a small agate cup, resting upon a steel point, so that the 
 
 smallest possible amount of resistance is 
 offered to its free play, fig. 13. 
 
 When a part, containing magnetic steel, 
 is brought near the needle, it may be either 
 attracted or repelled ; it may move upwards 
 or downwards ; or it may exhibit disquietude 
 according to the position in which the 
 new magnet is held. We may detect the 
 position of the foreign body, when it is of 
 ;C wit^n d theb o r dy! S " any size, by ascertaining where its north 
 and south poles lie; and these are deter- 
 mined by their repelling and attracting the opposite poles of the magnetic 
 needle. The disquietude, or motion upwards and downwards, merely 
 indicates magnetism, but not the direction of the magnet. 
 
 You will doubtless be surprised when I tell you that, in this manner, 
 I have detected a piece of needle impacted in the finger of a young woman, 
 although it weighed but the seventh of a grain. This gave such 
 marked indications, that I found out tolerably well the position of its 
 north and south poles, though I could not ascertain the presence of a 
 foreign body in any other way. I tried experiments on smaller pieces, at 
 short distances, such as half an inch to an inch, and I found that a piece 
 of needle, weighing ^ of a grain, gave decided indications after having 
 
No. XV.A.] APPENDIX. 225 
 
 been magnetized, and, perhaps, even a still smaller amount of steel might 
 in some cases be detected.* 
 
 The batteries, electro-magnets, and magnetic needle, you may procure 
 of Messrs. Home, of Newgate Street ; or of Messrs. Willats, of Cheapside ; 
 or, by order, of any other instrument-maker : but if you, or any of your 
 friends, meet with doubtful cases of this character, my own apparatus is 
 at your service, and I shall esteem it as a favour if you would allow me to 
 be present at the examination, in order that I may see the varieties which 
 different cases present. 
 
 A centred magnetic needle should always accompany the ordinary 
 electro-magnets used for medical purposes ; as the medical practitioner, 
 having that machine, might, with this addition alone, always determine 
 the presence of steel particles. 
 
 Of medical electrical machines the primary coil machine may be 
 employed ; as the bundle of wires, when magnetized, will serve to mag- 
 netize the needle. The platinum spring machine may be employed 
 in a similar manner, and the bundle of wires in the rack machine may 
 also be used to effect the same object. In all these cases you must 
 be careful to continue the voltaic current in the same direction ; for, if 
 you reversed the current but one instant, it would tend to undo what has 
 been already done. 
 
 I have now satisfactorily demonstrated to you, that magnetism may 
 be used for the detection of steel particles, impacted within the body, with 
 absolute success ; and, though but a very trifling application of natural 
 philosophy to the practice of surgery, I have no doubt that, had it been 
 adopted before, many joints would have been saved ; and I confidently 
 anticipate that it will be the means, in future, of frequently saving these 
 parts from destruction. 
 
 No. XV.A. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS BREADS EXHIBITED 
 UNDER THE TITLE OF " FAMINE FOOD," AT ME. SMEE'S 
 RESIDENCE IN FiNSBURY CIRCUS IN FEBRUARY 1847. Taken from 
 sundry newspapers. 
 
 THE 'Morning Herald' states: "A very interesting collection of bread 
 in fourteen varieties was exhibited under the title of 'Famine Food.' 
 The rye, barley, and Indian corn breads require no comment, from their 
 want of novelty. The root breads were respectively made of half of the 
 root previously boiled and reduced to a fine pulp, with half its weight of 
 wheaten flour. The yam bread was good, and much resembled potato 
 
 * These weights are the nearest fractions, but we ascertained the exact weight 
 of these fragments loy the standard balance belonging to the Bank of England : 
 these two portions amounted respectively to the -^fa and the T ^Q of a grain ; 
 the exact weight of the portion alluded to in the former part of the paper was 
 the of a 
 
226 APPENDIX. [No. XV.A. 
 
 bread. It is a mere scientific curiosity in this country, though we are 
 informed that it is employed in the West Indies. The turnip bread had a 
 very agreeable flavour, but the loaf was very small. The relative price 
 was not stated, but we should think it would not be an economic food. It 
 might, perhaps, be used as a luxury. Bread made with the sugar-beet was 
 good and palatable, so was also that made with mangold- wurzel. There 
 was a good sample manufactured from the red beet by Mr. Fames, which 
 had the colour removed by repeated boilings. Parsnip bread was one of 
 the best breads shown, and was moreover a large loaf. Bread made with 
 the white carrot in the same manner had no peculiar flavour, which of 
 course is a great advantage for food which is to be used constantly. Arti- 
 choke bread has the flavour of that root ; it makes a good bread. Perhaps 
 the root breads can hardly be called famine food, because the materials of 
 which they are formed are articles of food under any circumstances, and 
 they will be just as available for human food when cooked in the usual 
 manner as when made into bread. There were, however, two decided 
 novelties exhibited, namely Iceland moss bread and hay bread, which will 
 strictly bear the name of famine bread. Half Iceland moss and half 
 wheaten flour make a dark-coloured bread of great weight and probably 
 highly nutritious. It, however, possesses a peculiar bitter flavour, agreeable 
 to those who like bitters, and disagreeable to those who dislike that taste. 
 The hay food attracted great attention ; it was shown in two forms as 
 hay bread and hay biscuits. The colour was very dark and repulsive, 
 but the odour was agreeable. In taste it was sweet and high-flavoured, 
 somewhat resembling that of strong and high-flavoured tea. The greater 
 part of the company agreed as to its palatable character; some even 
 thought it delicious, though others thought it disagreeable. To prepare it 
 the hay was ground into an impalpable powder and mixed with half flour, 
 to hold the particles together. The hay food is probably highly nutritious, 
 and might form a valuable famine food ; but, being quite a novelty, 
 experience is wanted upon the subject." 
 
 The ' Sun ' states that " the hay bread was a sweet-smelling and not 
 unpalatable food. The Iceland moss bread alone was nauseous: all the 
 other varieties were well tasted, and presented the appearance of an 
 ordinary loaf, and indicating by the smell the vegetable from which it was 
 prepared." 
 
 The ' Morning Post ' states : " The most interesting objects, and those 
 which excited the greatest attention, were specimens of famine food. 
 About a dozen different kinds were submitted for examination, consisting 
 of rye, barley, Indian meal, parsnip, yam, beet-root, artichoke, carrot, Ice- 
 land moss, and hay. With the exception of the two last, these breads seem 
 to be well adapted for use, not only in times of scarcity, but also when 
 no such dire exigency exists. The Iceland moss and hay breads are 
 black, and fit only to be used as human food when terrors similar to 
 those described by Josephus of the last siege of Jerusalem shall fall 
 upon us." 
 
 The ' Morning Advertiser ' observes that " foremost among the series 
 of illustrations exhibited Ve have to notice those which are immediately con- 
 nected with the progress of the potato disease, and with the inventions to 
 which that great calamity has given birth, in the formation of substitutes 
 both for the potato and for bread, from the most available natural pro- 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 227 
 
 ducts. In the former part of this subject Mr. Smee, who has given it great 
 attention, has procured specimens of diseased bulbs in almost every stage 
 of the blight : from these he has obtained sections passing through the 
 sea.t or origin of the disease, and, by a proper arrangement of the sections, 
 he has succeeded in exhibiting its progress at one comprehensive glance. 
 He has also obtained several specimens of the Aphis vastator, or destruc- 
 tive insect, to the agency of which the ruin of the potato, and indeed of 
 other plants, has been attributed. Mr. Smee placed them under the 
 lenses of powerful microscopes, twelve of which were adjusted at one table. 
 Amongst the specimens of potatoes sent up were some from the estate of 
 the Bight Hon. the Speaker of the House of Commons, in Hampshire. 
 They were also accompanied by some large plants, and by leaves of the 
 mangold-wurzel destroyed by the Aphis vastator, which in some instances 
 was found upon the plant itself. Other diseased specimens of the forth- 
 coming crop have been received by Mr. Smee from various other parts of 
 the country. Amongst the substitution for potatoes and bread Mr. Smee 
 exhibited fourteen loaves made from as many different materials. Amongst 
 them might be mentioned those of hay, sweet beet-root, turnips, carrots, 
 parsnips, mangold-wurzel, Iceland moss, and hay biscuits. Many of these 
 are unquestionably very palatable and nutritious, as, for instance, the 
 bread from turnips, carrots, and beet-root. The hay biscuits and bread 
 are most singular compounds. They are of a deep brown colour approach- 
 ing almost to black, possess all the fragrance of hay, and are nutritious in 
 a high degree. Of their nutritious powers, indeed, there seems to be no 
 question; the grand point to be ascertained is their susceptibility of 
 yielding to the action of the digestive organs. Most of the other breads 
 mentioned above are of the same colours as wheaten and maize." 
 
 No. XV.B. 
 
 ON THE POTATO DISEASE, 1845-46-47. 
 By ALFRED SMEE, F.R.S. 
 
 THE APHIDES AND THE APHIS VASTATOR. 
 
 As reported by ED. LATHAM, Royal General Dispensary, Aldersgate Street. 
 ON Wednesday evening, March 10th, 1847, A. Smee, Esq., F.R.S., Surgeon 
 to the Bank of England, &c., delivered at the London Institution a 
 lecture on aphides and on the Aphis vastator as being the cause of the 
 potato disease, &c. The following is the substance of Mr. Smee's 
 lecture : 
 
 I feel deep responsibility in coming before the public to consider the 
 subject of the present scarcity of food. My observation has proved to me 
 that the cause of this scarcity is a plague of insects, resulting from a pre- 
 ternatural abundance of those insects, and their settling, feeding on, and 
 destroying various kinds of plants. History records numerous devas- 
 tating plagues of insects analogous to the present ; immense and almost 
 incredible swarms of locusts, which destroyed every green thing, are 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 APPENDIX. [No. XV.B. 
 
 spoken of by Orosius, St. Augustine, Barrow, and others; but the first 
 account of such plagues is handed down to us in the 8th and 10th chapters 
 of Exodus. Another example is furnished by the cockchafer of this 
 country, which increased so excessively some years ago as to destroy every 
 plant and blade of grass existing in various districts. Other insects have 
 also at various times been most destructive ; but I may refer you to the 
 delightful work of Kirby and Spence on Entomology for most interesting 
 information on these subjects. My observations and researches touching 
 last year's scarcity have proved to me that its cause was attributable to a 
 preternatural increase of an insect of the family of the aphides, a tribe so 
 small that they may be passed unseen and unnoticed, though assembled in 
 vast nations on the plants around, subsisting on and destroying an 
 important item of the food of man. This insect, so insignificant in 
 appearance, has thus given rise to considerations of high importance : it 
 has produced famine in Ireland and Scotland, scarcity of the means of 
 subsistence in England, and the effects of its ravages have disturbed the 
 political relations of the whole habitable globe. My previous observations 
 and the facts I had collected on this subject are before the public, which 
 amount to testimony the accuracy of which cannot be disputed. I am not 
 here to-night to enunciate any new thing, but simply to draw your careful 
 attention to such facts as the present season affords, in order that you 
 may consider what may be the best means of averting future ravages, with 
 their consequent scarcity and distress. Aphides, as I have stated, are very 
 small creatures, but frightfully prolific. On a moderate calculation, one 
 aphis may be the progenitor of ten, and each future one of ten more ; so 
 that, increasing in geometrical ratio, the first aphis may become the 
 ancestor of a quintillion at the end of the season ; arriving at an amount 
 so vast that it almost overcomes the understanding. Ten generations of 
 aphides increasing in this ratio, each one producing ten, if placed the 
 head of each at the tail of another, would form a circle extending round 
 our globe : indeed, their fecundity is most enormous. Aphides will exist 
 in all parts and through all seasons. They are very tenacious of life, and 
 are connected with all scarcities, not only the present, but no doubt with 
 many that are past. 
 
 In investigating the nature and character of these insects, it be- 
 comes necessary to ascertain the quality of their food, which must consist 
 of organic matter, animal or vegetable, and also must be either dead 
 or living animal or vegetable matter. As an illustration of such inquiry, 
 the leaves of the strawberry-plant before me were found covered with 
 black spots similar to those observed on the leaves of the diseased 
 potato, &c. I had this strawberry-plant placed in a pinery where no 
 aphides existed, but in due time these black spots on its leaves were 
 further developed, and became insects, each of which passed through the 
 various stages of its insect life, from the larva to the pupa, and from the 
 pupa became the imago or perfect winged aphis. In these conditions 
 it was found living and feeding on the leaves of the plant; therefore 
 its proper food is demonstrated to be vegetable, and living vegetable, 
 matter. 
 
 The next inquiry, and one which has been controverted, is whether the 
 vegetable matter on which the aphis subsists be healthy or diseased. This 
 strawberry-plant, when first placed in the pinery, was healthy-looking and 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 229 
 
 flourishing, but so soon as the insects were developed, and preyed upon 
 its juices, it became deteriorated, and manifested unequivocal symptoms 
 of disease. To-day I placed some living aphides upon the leaves of the 
 healthy potato-plant on the table, upon which they are actively feeding, 
 and, if means are not adopted to stop their ravages on this plant, it will 
 become diseased and die in consequence. Then from these examples we 
 may infer that aphides appear first on healthy plants, and, therefore, live 
 on healthy vegetable matter. 
 
 In the next place, in order to understand the process of this disease, 
 we should know the part of the plant that aphides exist on, and which 
 must be either solid or fluid. To determine this point an examination 
 of their apparatus for feeding becomes necessary. This is extremely 
 delicate. Situated on the under-side of the head is the rostrum, which 
 is about one-fourth as long as the whole body, and contains a fine 
 instrument for piercing the leaf and the walls of its Jcells : this is found 
 to consist of three fine setae or delicate piercers, one of which answers 
 to the tongue and the others to the jaws of the insect. These are 
 very beautiful objects for examination with the microscope. If an aphis 
 be examined by means of a magnifying- glass, whilst attached, it will be 
 seen to have a sort of proboscis applied to the leaf, and if touched it will 
 be found to adhere pretty firmly by this, which constitutes its suctorial 
 apparatus, and it requires some seconds to disengage itself from its posi- 
 tion. This apparatus, by which it is so closely attached, is that by which 
 it is enabled to pierce the leaf, break up its cells, and suck the vital fluid 
 as it passes through the leaf to be rendered fit for the nourishment of 
 the plant. 
 
 From these facts, then, we deduce that aphides suck the juices of 
 plants, which is analogous to the blood of animals, and, therefore, the sap 
 is impaired in its qualities in that vital organ the leaf, whence its power 
 of fulfilling its various functions is either weakened or destroyed. If the 
 sap is taken away, its functions cannot be performed ; and if its nutritive 
 properties are weakened, it cannot properly nourish the plant, which in 
 consequence becomes debilitated, and an imperfect vegetable tissue is 
 formed, that is in itself very prone to die, of which I have had numerous 
 examples in large tulips, crocuses, mangold- wurzel, potatoes, &c. Death of 
 a plant may be either local, i.e. confined to the spot where the aphis 
 penetrates the leaf or leaflet, as is shown by the spots seen on the various 
 kinds of leaf upon the table, as of the turnip, potato, horse-radish, &c. ; 
 or one single leaf, or a certain number of leaves or leaflets, may die with- 
 out the disease passing further into the plant. One portion of the stem 
 may perish and cut off the supply of nutriment from other leaflets, which 
 will die from this secondary cause, or the whole of the stem may be cut 
 down, and thus the due supply of properly elaborated sap being prevented, 
 the plant must perish. The plant may also begin to perish at the extreme 
 ends of the rootlets, the ascent of crude sap for elaboration being rendered 
 impossible. Any portion of the stem may also first manifest the disease ; 
 but most frequently the malady first shows itself at the part which is 
 technically and vulgarly called " the collar " of the plant (being the inter- 
 mediate part between the ascending and descending axes). This is very 
 frequent, especially in the potato and turnip. Then we find that partial 
 death following the attacks of aphides may be only local at the part where 
 
230 APPENDIX. [No. XV.B. 
 
 the insect makes its puncture, and breaks up the cellular tissue, or the 
 death may be remote from the part first attacked ; and remote death 
 resulting from the attacks of the aphides invariably kills the plant, 
 because the supply of nourishment becomes cut off from its upper part. 
 Death produced in this remote way often causes the potato-plants which 
 appear in a green, succulent condition to wither up in a few hours, the 
 communication between the stem and root being cut off by the action of 
 disease ; so that the total death of the plant may arise from the death of a 
 part necessary to the whole. Plants resist the attacks of aphides better 
 under some conditions than others. All wild plants resist better than 
 cultivated ones. A wild turnip in a field will flourish amid the ravages of 
 aphides when all the cultivated ones are destroyed ; and the same is true in 
 reference to the wild potato, and indeed all wild plants. The potato-plant, 
 as we cultivate it, is in an unnatural condition, differing from the wild or 
 natural plant in having great excess of tuber (an excess of cellular tissue 
 over fibre) and great deficiency of leaves. Wild plants, or plants in a con- 
 dition well calculated to develop fibre, well resist the attacks of aphides, 
 when highly-cultivated plants, or plants not under circumstances favour- 
 able to the formation of fibre, resist them badly. There is a particular 
 period in the growth of the potato-plant (as well as others) when the solid 
 material formed or elaborated in the leaf is most wanted. At that period 
 the plant becomes most liable to die from any injurious causes. In the 
 potato, the most critical time in its growth is when the supply of nourish- 
 ment contained or stored up in the old potato, or set, at its base is con- 
 sumed; then, if the organization of the leaf has been injured, its functions 
 are impaired, and when called on for that purpose it cannot give the 
 necessary healthy vital fluid for the nutriment of the plant and the deposit 
 of solid fibre, and it dies in consequence; or it exists in a debilitated 
 condition, forming imperfect tissue; therefore it may be stated that 
 plants are most injured by aphides at that period of their growth when 
 they are required to deposit most fibre. When from such causes the 
 tissue of the plant has once been rendered imperfect or diseased, all future 
 growths have a tendency to continue the diseased action and to form 
 unsound tissue. You all know familiarly the hereditary tendency to 
 disease that exists in families, which may pass from generation to genera- 
 tion, and thus the faults and imperfections of one are transmitted down- 
 ward to another. Apple-trees, rose-trees, &c., when once debilitated, have 
 been noticed to exhibit a return of such condition in all future growths 
 emanating from them, and it is so in the potato, &c. This, then, leads us 
 to deduce a law, that plants having their tissue damaged from aphides 
 propagate diseased tissue in all their future growths. Generally, if a 
 plant begins to perish it is soon cut down, indeed in a very few days, and 
 the influence of the hot sun often causes it to perish very greatly in a 
 single day. 
 
 The death of the plant exercises also an important influence on the 
 aphis. When its supply of subsistence becomes diminished, it does not 
 remain to perish amid the famine itself has made, but the pupa of the 
 aphis casts its coat, and becomes the winged insect, prepared to fly away 
 and commit similar ravages elsewhere. Vast clouds of them rise together 
 from fields that have perished, often forming quite a mist in the atmo- 
 sphere. I have accounts of these vast clouds of insects being seen in 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 231 
 
 nearly all parts of England. After migrating to a new locality, they will 
 settle down perpendicularly in a mass upon the fields to recommence their 
 work of destruction. Last summer I was informed that travellers in the 
 neighbourhood of Norwich were very much inconvenienced by the clouds 
 of aphides flying about and almost blinding them. From these manifes- 
 tations of the insect, then, we find that the injury to plants hastens the 
 transformation of the aphides. After the attacks of aphides and damage 
 to the tissue of the plant, we find upon examining the decaying tubers, 
 &c., that they become covered with parasitic fungi, of which there are 
 thirty or forty varieties. These grow and nourish in the decaying vege- 
 table matter, and are, in fact, the scavengers provided by nature to remove 
 the decomposing substance and to prevent contamination of the atmo- 
 sphere by putrid and poisonous exhalations. These fungi are in most cases 
 observed on the diseased potato. As they grow they eat up, as it were, 
 the soft and decaying parts as fast as they rot ; and thus is inorganic 
 matter converted into organic thus is death converted into life. These 
 fungi have been considered to be the source and cause of the disease ; and 
 Martius, who was the first investigator of this subject, traces many fungi, 
 and attributes the disease to them; but, in fact, they never make their 
 appearance until the potato-plant has been previously damaged, and until 
 some portion of it is already dead. I have tried many experiments to 
 produce the disease by inoculating sound potatoes, but the result has 
 been a failure. I conclude, then, that it is a necessary law that the 
 attacks of aphides are almost invariably followed by the growth of 
 fungi. 
 
 We have now spoken of the effects of the attacks of aphides on plants, 
 and the conditions or laws of those effects. We have also noticed the 
 excessive numbers that can be produced from a single aphis ; and that, 
 assembled in vast swarms, they cause immense and serious mischief. 
 Aphides, which we have shown to be so destructive by their excessive 
 numbers, are themselves the natural prey of numerous creatures ; and 
 their increase, therefore, may lead us to believe that the natural balance of 
 creation has been disturbed, and that their natural destroyers have been 
 diminished. Ladybirds are enemies to and destroyers of aphides, and 
 being more conspicuous often lead us to the discovery of the latter. Last 
 year it is believed that ladybirds were scarce, though in many seasons, 
 particularly that of 1805, these creatures have been noticed in great abun- 
 dance on the cliffs at Dover, and other places on the coast. The hop aphis 
 often produces great havoc in the crop, and ladybirds are always much 
 welcomed in the hop-grounds. The gauzewing, too, feeds on aphides with 
 equal voracity, as also do various dypterous insects of the genus sylphidse. 
 It would be well if we could breed these creatures by millions. Various 
 hymenopterous insects are great destroyers of aphides, one genus of which, 
 called ichneumons, deposit their egg in the body of the aphis : the egg 
 becomes a maggot that feeds upon the aphis, which swells, assumes a 
 globular form, and at length dies, remaining adherent to the leaf. After 
 the death of the aphis the enclosed creature eats a hole through the case 
 which contains it, and comes out a winged insect. I have watched this 
 process, and seen the ichneumon escape from aphides in my own posses- 
 sion. Nature, amid all her wonders, goes a step further than this, for 
 another genus of hymenoptera, the chalcididse, deposit their egg within the 
 
232 APPENDIX. [No. XV.B. 
 
 maggot of the already punctured aphis ; and thus we have an aphis with a 
 maggot within its body, eating it up, and lastly a maggot within this 
 maggot devouring that also ; in part verification of the lines : 
 
 * 4 Great fleas and little fleas have smaller fleas to bite 'em, 
 The smaller fleas have lesser fleas, so on ad infinitum" 
 
 Aphides live on all plants ; and therefore, if not kept in check, are 
 competent to destroy all human food. They are materially checked by a 
 variety of birds as well as the different insects, such as the swallow, the 
 robin, &c., and also ducks: these destroy them in great numbers; and 
 consider how many aphides it must take to make a meal for a single bird. 
 When a schoolboy I formed the idea of examining the crops of birds, and 
 have found them to contain innumerable insects, and, no doubt, aphides. 
 It must be recommended, then, to protect such birds during the inclemency 
 of winter, and they will amply repay the trouble in summer. Almost every 
 plant has one particular aphis belonging to it, which it has been usual to 
 name according to the plant it infested ; but the aphis which comes more 
 especially under our consideration as being the cause of the potato disease 
 feeds also on a great variety of other plants, both wild and cultivated, 
 many of which are necessary to man for food or medicine, as the wheat, 
 Indian corn, artichoke, turnip, parsnip, shepherd's-purse, mustard, spinach, 
 nightshade, henbane, stramonium, carrot, pasture-grass, couch-grass, 
 spurge, groundsel, celery, &c. &c. ; and every day I am adding to a much 
 longer list fresh specimens attacked by this particular aphis. A dis- 
 tinguished naturalist asked me the other day how I managed to breed 
 aphides. My answer was that I could not help breeding them, for where 
 I do not want them the creatures get upon my sound plants, which they 
 would destroy if not removed. 
 
 The potato disease and failure in crop is no novelty. "We can 
 trace the same disease through a series of years, sometimes occurring 
 here, sometimes there; and the only difference between these visita- 
 tions and the present one is, that this is more general, affecting all 
 localities. Hollins describes a similar disease as occurring about the 
 beginning of the eighteenth century, and states that the Society of Arts 
 awarded a premium for the best remedy. When Martius wrote in the 
 year 1830, the same disease existed and spread rapidly in Germany. This 
 disease is in the potato itself without any difference of opinion; and it 
 is essentially gangrene or death, gangrene of the leaf, of the stem, or 
 different parts of the stem, the underground stem, tuber-bearing stems, 
 and of the different tubers. There are two forms of mortification or 
 gangrene, and they present themselves as the gangrene humide or moist 
 gangrene, and the gangrene sicca or dry gangrene. ,In the moist gangrene 
 the potato-tuber, &c., becomes disorganized by rotting, and is wet and 
 offensive. In the dry gangrene the tuber shrinks up and becomes quite 
 hard and desiccated ; and in certain cases it becomes as hard and dry as a 
 bit of wood, and will even bear a polish. Both kinds of gangrene are 
 accompanied by fungi, but especially the moist ; and all gangrenous tissue 
 is deficient in starch, as may be seen in my preparations under the micro- 
 scope; and examples of the empty condition of the starch cells were 
 figured by Martius when he wrote. Chemical analysis also proves that the 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 233 
 
 diseased tubers are deficient in starch, and starch-makers cannot obtain 
 from them more than half the usual quantity. 
 
 Examining this question physiologically, then, we find on the plant a 
 certain insect, and that on a part of the plant, viz. the leaf, which is 
 destined to elaborate solid matter for the growth of the whole. Anatomy 
 and physiology also show that the insect, by its conformation, is calculated 
 to take away and feed upon the sap or vital fluid of the plant, which was 
 destined to form solid and healthy vegetable matter. The microscope 
 demonstrates that a due and healthy proportion of solid material does not 
 exist in the diseased tissue ; and chemical analysis also fully confirms the 
 fact. So that the cause, the progress, and the ultimate effects of this 
 vegetable malady are clearly and satisfactorily explained by the conjoint 
 evidence of observation, physiology, anatomy, and chemistry. This aphis 
 produces the same results in all plants, its operations on which I have 
 watched one after the other, and I am now watching others go through 
 the same progress. Some strong plants are not easily affected by the 
 attacks of the aphis ; for example, a large beet-root vigorously resists the 
 ravages of these creatures, and requires, at least, ten thousand of them 
 to destroy it. As there have been many different plants attacked and 
 destroyed by aphides, these creatures have accordingly received different 
 names, usually with reference to the plant on which they subsist ; and I 
 am told there is a book in the British Museum in which all these are 
 recapitulated. It appeared to me, however, that the aphis giving rise to 
 the potato disease also commits great or equal ravages on many other plants 
 good for the food of man, or otherwise useful to him ; but, not being able 
 to find that any characteristic name was applied to it, I carefully consulted 
 with Mr. Thompson, the intelligent librarian of this institution, and, after 
 unsuccessfully ransacking the library for some applicable cognomen to 
 give this individual, we agreed to give it a name characteristic of its 
 depredations, and called it the vastator, or destroyer. 
 
 When a scarcity of food exists, or future plenty is doubtful ; or when 
 famine seems impending ; and when, at the same time, we have authentic 
 accounts of numbers of our destitute fellow-creatures starving through lack 
 of food, it becomes an imperative duty to exercise our utmost ingenuity to 
 adopt any substitutes for the natural food of man that can be proved avail- 
 able, and several such have been suggested. Mr. Hamp, an intelligent 
 gardener, has proposed a root, called the Apios tuberosa, to be used as a 
 substitute for potatoes, and I have no doubt it would answer the intention 
 remarkably well. I have tried experiments in the manufacture of various 
 kinds of bread, such as carrot bread, turnip, mangold- wurzel, rice, and 
 parsnip bread, &c. The vegetable is boiled up with an equal quantity of 
 flour, and is afterwards baked in the usual way. Some of these kinds of 
 bread are most delicious, several of which are on the table before me. But 
 by using such articles we secured no gain to the available stock of human 
 food, and I, therefore, tried what hay would do if manufactured into 
 bread. You all know its nutritive properties to various animals, and I 
 have no doubt that, both from the result and from analogy, it contains 
 much nutritive matter that would be serviceable and acceptable to man in 
 a time of famine. Hay made into biscuits is preferable to hay bread. The 
 hay is ground into an impalpable powder, and, when mixed with an equal 
 quantity of flour, is to be made up and baked in the usual way. Iceland 
 
234 APPENDIX. [No. XV.B. 
 
 moss, too, is considered to be very nutritive, as given to consumptive and 
 debilitated persons ; therefore I had some bread made from Iceland moss, 
 but it turns out to be a complete failure, for it is so intensely bitter that it 
 cannot be eaten ; indeed, it is quite as bitter as either quinine or Peruvian 
 bark. These investigations in reference to the scarcity of food have 
 occupied much time when my other engagements have been numerous and 
 pressing, and several other subjects have had their consideration neces- 
 sarily postponed by them, but I have always received the utmost kindness 
 from all quarters in carrying out my inquiries. 
 
 At this moment the room was darkened, when Mr. Smee gave an 
 interesting description of numerous preparations of aphides in their 
 different stages of existence, of the various insects which prey upon them, 
 and of a number of specimens of diseased potatoes, and other plants, with 
 various fungi, and also of living aphides, &c. &c., all of which were 
 exhibited by means of a powerful oxyhydrogen microscope, manufactured 
 by Messrs. Home and Thornthwaite, of Newgate Street. This part 
 was most highly applauded, and the whole produced considerable sen- 
 sation. 
 
 Objects shown under the microscope : 
 
 Eggs of aphides ; larva ; pupa ; and perfect Aphis vastator. 
 
 Aphis lanigera, which infests apple-trees. Sir Joseph Banks has 
 given a description of this, and states that it has damaged one orchard to 
 the amount of 50 per year. 
 
 Couch-grass aphis, fox-tailed. 
 
 Aphis, called the black collier, taken from the beet-root. 
 
 An ordinary green-fly, having long legs, &c., and being very different 
 from the vastator. 
 
 Rose aphis. 
 
 Pea aphis is very destructive to peas, which were destroyed partly by 
 this insect, and partly by the dry summer, last year. 
 
 Barley aphis, with its wings in repose. 
 
 Grass aphis, by which whole tracts of grass were destroyed last 
 year. 
 
 Willow aphis, which is one of the largest of the family. 
 
 "Wheat aphis is two or three times as big as the vastator, which, how- 
 ever, also lives on the wheat. 
 
 The nut-bush aphis is very small. 
 
 (?) Hycemal aphis; the large black spots which are a fungus on the 
 leaf probably follow this aphis. 
 
 Cabbage aphis ; the cabbages brought to market last year were covered 
 by this white downy aphis. 
 
 Many aphides secrete sugar, and in honeydews this is very obvious. 
 
 Ichneumons, or hymenopterous insects, from the swollen aphis. 
 
 Another ichneumon with a round body. 
 
 Various others found about potato-fields. 
 
 Red acarus, about the size of a large spider, and which eats aphides 
 very voraciously. 
 
 Minute acarus. 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 235 
 
 Lancets of the gad-fly, showing the difference between them and the 
 delicate piercers of the aphis. 
 
 Lancets of the tobanis, which are large and coarse. 
 Lancets of the blow-fly. 
 
 Leaf of the potato, with numerous aphides incarcerated in balsam, 
 whilst in the act of feeding. 
 Leaf of diseased potato. 
 
 Section of a healthy potato-tube with its minute cells filled with 
 starch. 
 
 Section of a diseased tuber, with marks of the injury of the dis- 
 ease, &c. 
 
 Another piece of diseased potato with brown and black spots. 
 Little quantities of starch after all other parts have been eaten 
 up. 
 
 Section of a stem of wild potato with granules of starch seen 
 in it. 
 
 A stem of potato with a beautiful specimen of a black fungi. 
 Blood-red fungus. 
 
 Another fungus with round heads like peas, which are covered by 
 sporules. 
 
 Celery-leaf with fungi. 
 Couch-grass with aphis and eggs. 
 Horseradish-leaf. 
 
 Acarus farnce, which run about putrefying potatoes, destroying 
 offensive matter. One may compare this creature to a rhinoceros trotting 
 about in the jungles. 
 
 Living aphides in a very active state. 
 
 As yet the future prospects of the disease are doubtful, and I have 
 shown the destructive appetency of aphides. It is evident that the ba- 
 lance of nature is disturbed, and that these insects are preternaturally and 
 immensely in excess. The human species has frequently been threatened 
 with total destruction by these plagues ; but, though ten thousands of 
 mankind may have perished, we find by experience that the insects have 
 ceased and men lived. No doubt this calamity will eventually pass away, 
 though, indeed, it may not yet have reached its maximum. Up to the 
 present time we have only known the disease as increasing. It has been 
 worse last year than it was the year before ; but the ensuing season, we 
 may hope, will be healthy. No doubt many growers of potatoes will be 
 deterred from planting; but I should say, do not give up cultivating, 
 but cultivate in all cases, under the most favourable circumstances. I 
 believe few have yet been planted this year ; therefore, at all events, the 
 crop will be scarce. Yet it is not too late to plant, though those potatoes 
 which are placed earliest in the ground will have the best chance of suc- 
 ceeding, because they have an opportunity to deposit more fibre before the 
 time that the aphides appear to commence their attacks. The cost of potato 
 sets per acre last year, from the scarcity of good ones, is reported to have 
 been about eighteen or twenty pounds, which becomes a serious outlay to 
 small farmers, and will, therefore, greatly hinder their plans. If the insects 
 do appear this season, from experiments that I have tried in my own house, 
 
236 APPENDIX. [No. XV.B. 
 
 and which appear to succeed, I have no doubt means may be applied to 
 cut them down at once ; and the first opportunity I have I shall try my 
 experiments on a larger scale, when I think I may be able immediately 
 to put a stop to the disease. The balance of nature must be restored ; and 
 this year we may not see the disease. Science and history show that the 
 calamity will be transitory ; and, further, we have a higher promise, for it 
 is said, "I will rebuke the destroyer for your sake, and he shall not 
 destroy the fruits of your ground." 
 
 MONTHLY REPORTS AND CORRESPONDENCE IN VARIOUS NEWSPAPERS 
 ON APHIDES. BY ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 MONTHLY REPORT OF APHIDES FOR JANUARY 1847. 
 
 Aphides having appeared to such excess that vegetation has been 
 damaged and famine produced, it requires that continual observations 
 should be made to ascertain the exact position and numerical strength of 
 this vast army of insects, that we may be better enabled, when spring 
 advances, to fight with success the formidable battle. It is now a question 
 whether men or aphides are to live ; for, if aphides continue in the same 
 ratio to increase for the next two or three years, millions of human beings 
 must inevitably perish; but, if we can but extirpate this overwhelming 
 troop, food will again abound and famine will cease. 
 
 The vastator is our great enemy, and from the number and importance 
 of the plants which it kills, it deserves our fullest attention. As this is 
 my first monthly report, I shall commence by recapitulating those plants 
 the death of which I have actually myself traced to the action of the 
 vastator. 
 
 PLANTS TOTALLY DESTROYED BY THE VASTATOR. 
 
 Wild Plants. Cultivated Plants. 
 
 Shepherd's-purse . over large tracts. Beet rarely. 
 
 Groundsel . . . abundantly. Spinach .... whole crops. 
 
 "Wild turnip . . numerous. Turnip .... abundantly. 
 
 mustard . . ditto. Carrot .... plenty. 
 
 Solanum nigrum . plenty. Parsnip .... more rare. 
 
 dulcamara more scarce. 
 Yiolet . plenty. 
 
 Clover .... ditto. 
 Pasture grass . . ditto. 
 Nettle .... occasionally. 
 Spurge .... abundantly. 
 Geranium molle . rarely. 
 
 There are, however, many plants which I have not yet noticed to be 
 utterly destroyed by its ravages, but are only partially or locally affected ; 
 and all plants which are sometimes killed, are at other times but partially 
 or locally damaged. 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 237 
 
 PLANTS PARTIALLY DESTROYED BY THE VASTATOR. 
 
 Wild Plants. Cultivated Plants. 
 
 Plants before enumerated. Plants before enumerated. 
 
 Belladonna. Potato.* 
 
 Stramonium. Tomato. 
 
 Hyoscyamus. Sweet potato. 
 
 Plantain. Jerusalem artichoke. 
 
 Heartsease. Garden artichoke (?). 
 
 Mallow. Wheat. 
 
 Chickweed. Indian corn. 
 
 Thistles. Cabbages, swedes. 
 
 Docks. Horse-radish. 
 
 Elder. Celery. 
 
 Parsley. 
 
 Strawberry (Walker). 
 
 Major convolvulus. 
 
 Marigolds. 
 
 Balsams. 
 
 Tulips. 
 
 Crocuses. 
 
 Cinerarias. 
 
 Verbenas. 
 
 Many Solani. 
 
 Peach and nectarine. 
 
 Numerous other greenhouse plants. 
 
 This list of itself is sufficiently formidable, but we must also fear the 
 aphis of the hop, the cabbage, the pea, the bean, the corn aphis, the grass 
 aphides, the black collier, and the aphis of the apple-trees. It is upon the 
 recurrence of aphides, especially of the vastator, upon which future food 
 or famine depends. We only know that aphides are continually increasing, 
 and, if we do not destroy them, they will infallibly destroy us. All aphides 
 are alike in sucking the juices of the plant and causing it to die locally 
 at the puncture, or generally throughout the system. All live upon the 
 vital fluid, and all induce the fatal gangrene, which the potato has 
 abundantly shown. 
 
 The past month has been unfavourable" to animated beings. Alternate 
 freezings and thawings have been sufficient to destroy almost everything 
 which has life, and even the deaths amongst men have been much above 
 the average. Notwithstanding this inclemency, there are plenty of the 
 vastators alive upon the plants out of doors. I found it upon the turnip, 
 shepherd's-purse, docks, and mallows, and I have no doubt, had not 
 business and the bad weather prevented me, I should have found it in 
 abundance upon many plants. It is not yet living upon the wheat, nor 
 can I find any other species upon this plant. In greenhouses it exists 
 in profusion on young potato plants, cinerarias, verbenas, crocuses, and 
 
 * The potato plant is very rarely utterly destroyed. Generally speaking, 
 there is some portion of a whole plant, some round eye, remaining amongst all 
 the tubers, to continue the growth of the plant. 
 
APPENDIX, f>\\ 
 
 tulips, in some eases even so as to render them loathsome to the eye rather 
 than an ornament. 
 
 I hare just retired from Mr. Walker, the distinguished entomologist, 
 who is writing a work upon Aphides, a note, wherein he states that the 
 eggs of the vastator, together with the larva?, are abundant in his garden 
 under the strawberry leaves, and he has kindly furnished me with samples. 
 This demonstrates that, even if every vastator were killed, the species 
 would be amply maintained. 
 
 Coni&ning ourselves to the facts of the case, I am certain that there is 
 abundance to furnish a stock to destroy our crops next year. According 
 to Professor Owen, one single aphis may give rise to a quinuliion during 
 one year, a number which we may write, spelL or pronounce, but which we 
 cannot comprehend. Perhaps we may form a faint notion of a quintillion 
 of aphides when I stase that they would form an army which would extend 
 round the globe, amd be thirty millions of miles in breadth. This is 
 perhaps an exaggerated account of the rate of increase, yet, under a greatly 
 :.-. .:-_:?-.-. ". >v.:.. .:. .: --._; s"_.~ :. .: :"..-;:--; is y"--.~'7 ".of: ::r '.':.-: nex: 
 year s brood. 
 
 By the Tery lowest increase the quantity which might be produced by 
 one aphis is ten billions, and that is certainly much too low. as this 
 number is formed upon the supposition that each aphis only brings forth 
 one litter in ten. whereas I believe that they bring forth many litters, 
 Upon this calculation one aphis now living might give rise to a progeny 
 wfcich would form an army, if there were nothing to destroy them, which 
 would extend completely round the globe, acd be a furlong in breadth. 
 
 la greenhouses the green-fly, the JLpkis JWT, the aphis of cinerarias, 
 and some other species, are to be found : but out of doors I have not met 
 with other species this January. 
 
 During the last month the effects of the vastator of last year hare 
 more fully manifested themselves by the rottings of the bulbs of infected 
 turnips, and the extensive rotting of carrots down their central portions. 
 
 With respect to the operations for February. I must refer to my letter 
 of January the first, and to the farmer I would say Remember that a 
 potato plant, once diseased, is like human beings in its tendency to 
 propagate disease, without the further action of external causes. A tuber 
 from a former diseased plant, though apparently sound, may show the 
 malady without a new attack of the vastator. 
 
 Sets from plants which have never been diseased, and absence of the 
 vastator, will secure to the husbandman abundant crop for the future ; but, 
 above all things, let everybody who requires food to eat, be taught the 
 necessity of destroying the vastator. 
 
 PROBABLE FAILTJRE OF THE STRAWBERRY CROP. 
 
 In my report for January. I stated, upon the authority of Mr. Walker, 
 that the eggs of the vastator were upon the strawberry leaves. Since that 
 report was written, I find that the leaves of that plant have great abundance 
 of eggs everywhere; and I learn, upon inquiry, that the strawberry plants 
 were affected like the potato last autumn. 
 
Vo. XVji] APPEXDIX. - > 
 
 Upon examining the plants in hothouses, tire aphides in the larva 
 state are now feeding ; bat, after a minute micTc^wpkal riew, I bare 
 noticed some anatomical differences which lead me to infer that this aphis 
 is jriblj not the rastator, although a species rerj nearly allied to it, 
 Under these cra-uiostances, I most defer passing a decided opinion uniil 
 I hare observed it in the final or winged state. 
 
 It is really of but little consequence to the husbandman to know the 
 particular aphis which caoses injury to any particular pla^t. for ererj 
 aphis is equally destructive, and whererer there are abundance of apli-ies. 
 there does the death of the plant occur. From tLis Tierr of tLe question, 
 I now camion gardeners to watch the aphides wtd,;li attack tLe strawberry 
 plants, and destroy them, together with their eggs, as far as possible, 
 otherwise they must nc*t be surprised to find tLeir sTraw-jerry pl&r.ia 
 destroyed. or rendered unfruitful through their agency. 
 
 Let erery farmer, gardener, and naturalist now record their observa- 
 tions upon aphides, that the : ^ : lie -.:- i.:rj 1^,7 "-.^ : _^:er.rr&:ed 
 upon their eradication. 
 
 REPOBT OF APHIDES FOB FTBBTTABT 1*47. 
 
 Dnring the past month we 1 i- I - -. -^^''L^ 
 
 the season of the year. At the conra-- -_ ^_-.. tir ^ p-?r&rare TT^S as 
 low as ever obserred in tHs country, and =~i -^ -----7 :::e -=-^-.i^r Li.5 
 been so mild that a great stimulus has been given to Te?e*^tk<n. and 
 the bods hare pot forth as though spring had commeneed in real earnest. 
 Such weather has been unfav 
 
 few facts hare come nnder oar notice. Oar great enemy, at the piescni 
 time, the rastator, has been extensrrely destrore'I in the ''^p-en air. and. 
 since the frost, I hare not myself obserred a smgie sp^>nnjai liring in 
 that situation. 
 
 I bare received, daring the month, Jerusalem artichokes, en tie r*>:-^ 
 of which a large aphis was feeding. 
 
 A -_- i.- j-vr.-.-r . : :.- -: r :: : -: ~v^_ : :r I : : ' ' : - : ~r;-I 
 with vastators. and froze them with ice and salt. bat. on being brought 
 into a warm room, they resomed their activity, and again fed upon the 
 plants. 
 
 In greenhouses tiie Testators are now feeding on various plants. 
 Several of my crocuses, on which they were allowed to feed ^zniistorbed, are 
 now completely killed, and numerous others are on the high road to destruc- 
 tion. It appears that crocuses, like the potato plants, softer most when the 
 leaf is required to deposit the solid matter for the bafi> of the next year. 
 In my peregrinations round London, I have observed a few vasta^ors up:<n 
 nearly all the plants exposed for sale, which doobtleaB, daring the next 
 month, wffl multiply at their ordinary rate of pr>>iuc7ion. and tiras form a 
 stock amply somcifiit to destroy oar crops alone. TheraJip8haTe,inssost 
 instances, some of the destroying creatures upon their leaves, though they 
 :.. .;-.--:.;-.- - :: - "- ;- LI::IJ :L-z.^'.T T ; :i^.-. - ^ :: -.Ir Iri: I: .1 : = 
 shehered from rain or wind. Daring the last month OOBM of my tulips 
 have been entirely killed by them. The creatures prefer some rarieties of 
 
240 APPENDIX. [No. XV.R. 
 
 the same plant to others, and hence I have observed that some kinds of 
 crocuses and tulips are more injured than others. The vastators are 
 attacking, pretty constantly, the verbenas, and many have materially 
 suffered from their ravages. The same creature is also to be met with 
 upon numerous other plants. I have observed them to be feeding upon 
 the sweet potato of Shakspeare, a plant which they much admire. 
 
 The grower of strawberries may have the worst apprehension for his 
 crops this season, for there is scarcely a leaf in any district which has not 
 from three to twenty little black eggs upon it. Plants which have been 
 placed in stoves for forcing, have had the eggs upon their leaves hatched, 
 and large broods of aphides have already appeared : I fear, next month, 
 that I shall have to record the injury or death of the forced plants 
 from this cause. To avert the probable injury to the outdoor crop, I 
 should advise all the old leaves which have the eggs upon them to be 
 collected by hand, and burnt. Not having, as yet, seen the final state 
 of the strawberry aphis, I must defer passing a positive opinion; I 
 do not think that it is the vastator, although, in all probability, equally 
 destructive. 
 
 At my residence I have an extensive colony of vastators, feeding upon 
 tulips and crocuses ; but I have also two "Ward's cases, into which I had 
 strictly forbidden their entrance. The creature has, however, found its 
 way into my little London garden, and threatens to destroy my plants, 
 unless I can first destroy it, and thus prevent the mischief. 
 
 From accounts which I have received, I find that the vastator is now 
 attacking, in many situations, the potato plants ; and when this occurs, the 
 plant is hurried into premature decay. In other cases, the potato plant is 
 again showing the disease which has been imparted to its structure from 
 the injury inflicted on plants by aphides, during the last three or more 
 years, without a fresh attack of the insect. 
 
 The potato malady is no novelty ; it may be traced over a great series 
 of years ; at one time showing itself here, at another there, but at the 
 present time it unfortunately has manifested itself everywhere. In all 
 former instances temporary inconvenience has resulted, but after a period 
 the disease lessened, or disappeared for a time, and abundance succeeded 
 the scarcity. As a peculiar feature in the present scarcity, however, we 
 find that the farmer has not been taught to consider the malady transitory, 
 but the awful mistake has been made by some leading journals, to 
 recommend this crop to be abandoned, because the disease is permanent. 
 From this alarming advice, given by men who were in a position to have 
 made observations for themselves, which would have led to an opposite 
 conclusion, scarcity in the potato crop next year is inevitable. A sufficient 
 amount has not been, and probably cannot now be, planted to suffice for 
 use next season. The best kinds of potatoes for planting are those which 
 ripen early, because aphides most abound in July and August. The Early 
 Shaw is one of the best varieties, but so valuable are they at the present 
 moment, that to crop one acre of land, an expense of fifteen or eighteen 
 pounds would be entailed. Nevertheless, as scarcity next year is inevitable, 
 those who plant immediately, even at that price, will reap an abundant and 
 profitable harvest. It is important for the farmer to know that, although 
 it is now discovered that the vastator is the cause of the potato disease, we 
 are utterly ignorant of the cause of its preternatural appearance at the 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 241 
 
 present time; and, whilst we are ignorant of this ultimate cause, it is 
 manifest that no person can state whether the disease will recur. 
 
 During the last month I have ascertained that tubers from former 
 healthy plants grow without showing the least signs of disease, even under 
 the unfavourable conditions of the vitiated atmosphere in the forcing house, 
 proving this year, as last, that there is no other cause for the potato disease 
 but the vastator, and that, if the vastator does not recur, tubers from 
 former healthy plants will produce crops free from disease. As an article 
 of food, no root can compete with the potato ; but as an article of luxury, 
 numerous vegetables can be substituted where we only desire an adjunct to 
 animal food ; but these latter would not be expected to nourish the body 
 by themselves. "Wheat, oats, and perhaps rye, can alone, in this country, 
 successfully compete with the potato, and therefore, where food is required, 
 one of them must be selected. Of vegetables, to be used with animal food, 
 the following may be employed : Scarlet beans, French beans, turnip v., 
 carrot v., parsnip v.a., Jerusalem artichokes a.v., leeks a., onions a., 
 cabbages v., savoy v., greens v., cauliflower v., broccoli v., spinach v., 
 mustard v., lettuce a., beet v. Those marked with v. are liable to be 
 destroyed with the vastator ; those marked a. by other aphides. The 
 poor man would perhaps do well to make the following selection: 
 Scarlet beans, parsnips, carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, cabbages, 
 savoys. 
 
 Those who have not already planted their potatoes should do so forth- 
 with ; there is not a day to spare, for the sooner they are in the ground the 
 greater chance of success will be afforded. Should the vastator again 
 appear in our fields, and threaten to produce a continuance of the famine, 
 I have great pleasure in being enabled to announce, that from experiments 
 which I have lately conducted, there is strong reason for believing that a 
 cheap and effectual plan may be employed for their total eradication, even 
 for the most extensive potato-grounds. 
 
 FOOD OR FAMINE. 
 To the Editor of the ' Morning Herald.' 
 
 SIR, We have throughout these realms met this day to acknowledge 
 that the famine of the past year is beyond human control ; and the deep 
 reverence with which it has been kept indicates the universal belief that 
 in Providence lies our only hope for its alleviation. 
 
 Insect plagues have formed, from the earliest times, the immediate 
 cause of the destruction of vegetable food, and the consequent production 
 of famine. In this respect our present failure differs not from antecedent 
 periods of scarcity ; and that which has been due to the locust, cockchafer, 
 and caterpillar, is now to be attributed to the vastator and other species 
 of aphides. 
 
 As far as my observations extend, no vastator is now living out of 
 doors, and no mortal can tell whether this plague has passed away, or is 
 again about to recur. Fear of the disease must not, then, make us 
 abandon ourselves to despair, and leave our land uncultivated ; as that 
 
 B 
 
242 APPENDIX. [No. XV.B. 
 
 which is unsown cannot be reaped, that which is not planted cannot afford 
 
 fruit. 
 
 Famine now exists ; its subsequent pestilence is beginning to appear ; 
 it is now then high time not only to regard the present scarcity, but to 
 look to the probability of future want. Our land is untilled in many 
 parts of the country, seeds cannot be procured in others, and the potato 
 crop, the great resource of Ireland, is abandoned, as though it were to fail 
 for ever. 
 
 There is no evidence to show that the potato, rather than the wheat, 
 turnip, carrot, or any other plant, will perish this year ; and from the 
 great produce which the potato affords, and the poverty of land which 
 suffices for its culture, it f onus a highly eligible crop to be planted to the 
 ordinary extent. 
 
 Potato tubers are now scarce, and high in price. Any attempt to 
 buy them for seed would double or treble their cost unless those who still 
 use this vegetable will cease to employ it for food. It becomes now, there- 
 fore, highly desirable that all who use potatoes should, for this season, at 
 once abandon them. By ceasing to use potatoes, they would preserve that 
 which should afford food and prevent famine next year. And by eating 
 them, they are tending to aggravate the scarcity, and cause the death of 
 numbers, by destroying their food. 
 
 Let every householder at once substitute other food for the potato, 
 this year, for if there are none to buy, there can be none to sell ; and 
 there is now a sufficient abundance of good tubers for planting, if 
 no more be used. 
 
 Their present application for food should be prohibited, if not by an 
 Order of Council or by Act of Parliament, by that which is more powerful 
 than law universal public opinion. The preservation of the lives of 
 our fellow- creatures is at stake, and I feel confident that all those will 
 abstain from potatoes who hear that such abstinence is eminently cal- 
 culated at this season to prevent the poor from perishing from want 
 next year. 
 
 Having stopped their employment as a luxury at this time, they should 
 be sent directly to Ireland, and freely distributed amongst the poor for 
 planting, and the sets now to be met with in the London market are far 
 superior to those heretofore cultivated by these unhappy people, and are 
 far better adapted to resist the ravages of the vastator, should it un- 
 fortunately again appear. 
 
 Sets from f ormer healthy plants which I have cultivated this year in 
 my friends' greenhouses, are now perfectly healthy, showing that healthy 
 sets and absence of the vastator will ensure the usual abundant produce. 
 
 In the event of the reappearance of the destroying insect, I trust and 
 believe that, under the blessing of Providence, I shall be enabled to give a 
 simple and effectual plan for its complete eradication. 
 
 March 24, 1847. 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 243 
 
 REPORT ON APHIDES FOR MARCH 1847. 
 
 During the past month I have been unable to add materially to our 
 knowledge of the ravages committed by these pests to the vegetable 
 kingdom. My former observations have caused gardeners to attend more 
 attentively to their existence, and I find that, in greenhouses and hot- 
 houses, so much more care is taken of their annihilation than formerly, 
 that scarce any exist. 
 
 I have found no vastator living out of doors, though other aphides 
 have, in some places, commenced their plant-killing labours. The peach 
 is, in some instances, affected, a fact to which Mr. Hurst (p. 196) has 
 called attention; but this aphis is not the vastator. The peach-trees 
 which I have examined have been perfectly free. My infected tulips and 
 crocuses are nearly all dead ; as they perish, it is curious to observe the 
 myriads of winged ones which leave : they collected the other day in such 
 swarms on my passage window that, in one corner of a pane of glass, 
 at least a pill-box full were congregated together. On examining the 
 mangold- wurzels, they are found in many places to rot; and, notwith- 
 standing that they have been packed in clamps throughout the winter, a 
 few vastators may be found on the young leaves, interspersed here and 
 there, showing that the cause of the rotting had been really present. I 
 have heard that the vastator is on the wheat in Ireland, but have been 
 unable to authenticate the fact. I beg that the corn crops may be con- 
 tinually examined, and should feel greatly obliged for communications 
 upon this matter. The strawberry plants which have the eggs of aphides 
 on their leaves have much suffered this winter. 
 
 "With regard to the potato plant, I have some Russian varieties 
 in perfect health in a greenhouse, showing that there is no atmospheric or 
 other cause but the vastator which is likely to produce the disease. 
 These Russian potatoes were a little damaged in their passage, neverthe- 
 less are healthy in structure. I have yet in my possession about one 
 hundred tubers, and it will afford me great pleasure to give one to any 
 applicant, that the seed may be extensively circulated. Those who 
 receive a tuber will perhaps do me the favour to furnish a short account 
 of the produce, and their power of resisting the disease, at the end of 
 the season. 
 
 In my last report, I called attention to the probability of scarcity of 
 food, from the certainty of deficiency in the produce of potatoes next 
 season, and urged agriculturists to plant, for it is impossible to foresee 
 whether the insect will recur this year. Experience shows that a certain 
 and large crop can only be obtained from whole tubers, or considerable 
 pieces of tubers ; therefore such sets are to be preferred. Nevertheless, 
 the produce from a single tuber may be increased by planting very wide 
 apart, and layering, or by taking shoots off, as they sprout from the 
 potato, and planting them. 
 
 " I should be inclined to try the experiment of using but small por- 
 tions of the potatoes for sets such as scooped eyes or potato-peelings 
 although Marshall has ascertained that, under ordinary circumstances, the 
 crop is thereby materially lessened. These means would only be service- 
 able to restore the health of a diseased plant, not to arrest the malady at 
 its commencement. 
 
 B 2 
 
244 APPENDIX. [No. XV.B. 
 
 " Perhaps it might be advisable to allow the stalk to grow from the 
 tuber two or three inches high, and then to detach it and use it as a set. 
 By this plan we should throw the potato-plant for its resources upon the 
 leaves, and not upon the original set ; and doubtless, by attending to other 
 circumstances influencing the result, we should thus place the plant in a 
 good condition for regenerating its fibre. 
 
 " One potato-tuber upon this plan would send forth, numerous shoots, 
 and thus a great saving would be effected in the amount of potatoes used 
 for seed. We may expect, from the experiments of Marshall, that this 
 course would lessen the produce, and therefore this method would only 
 appertain to the regeneration of the potato plant, with the view of 
 obtaining again healthy seed, from which to propagate our plants." 
 Potato Plant, 487, 491, 492. 
 
 In London we are supplied with the very best potatoes which exist, 
 and therefore we are literally eating, as a luxury, that which should serve 
 as food for the poor man next year. If thoughtless persons will eat the 
 seed potatoes, and others cannot be bought, surely the good of the 
 community, or even their own good, requires that public measures should 
 be taken to prevent the mischief. 
 
 Heretofore, when the crop failed, its culture was not abandoned ; and, 
 indeed, as every vegetable used by man for food occasionally fails, we 
 might have been left utterly without food had such a foolish course been 
 adopted. The absurd dogma of the wearing out of the plant, and its 
 being no longer capable of being trusted, has produced all the mischief 
 which will continue the scarcity next year. 
 
 BEPORT ON APHIDES FOB APRIL 1847. 
 
 During the last month the weather has been still cold, and the spring 
 has been so extremely backward that but little vegetable matter is to 
 be found suitable for animal life. The backward spring has kept back 
 the aphides, and comparatively few species are yet to be found. At present 
 I have seen no vastator abroad, except in greenhouses. The vastator feeds 
 eagerly upon the orange-tree, tuberous nasturtium, and many other green- 
 house plants, showing its omnivorous character. I have it now feeding 
 upon endogenous and exogenous plants. The aphis of the rose has 
 appeared sparingly, in warm situations; so has also the aphis of the 
 apple-tree, cherry, plum, blackberry, fir, and perhaps of other plants. 
 The aphis of the currant has appeared in many situations in great abun- 
 dance; on both black and red currants it may be readily found by 
 looking on the underside of the leaf, and the discoloration of the leaf will 
 indicate its position. From an examination of several strawberry grounds, 
 I have been greatly astonished at the extent of mischief which has been 
 effected in some places by the aphis last year. The presence of the eggs 
 indicates that the aphis lived upon the plant ; and where eggs are found 
 on the leaves, there may be observed great patches of dead, withered 
 stalks. In these cases, doubtless, the damage inflicted upon the plant by 
 the aphis last year caused it to be so debilitated, that it ill resisted the 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 245 
 
 severity of the weather during the past winter. The ladybirds are 
 exceedingly numerous, an occurrence which should be hailed with delight, 
 as they destroy the aphides by thousands. The early potatoes are 
 generally looking perfectly healthy, although I have seen a few which are 
 badly diseased. The next month will probably indicate pretty well the 
 extent of damage which we are likely to experience from aphides this 
 season ; and here I may observe, that if the weather be uninterruptedly 
 hot, in all probability the creatures will multiply to a great extent, and do 
 great damage. Under any circumstance, I urge every gardener and 
 farmer closely to watch his plants, that as soon as aphides extensively 
 occur, we may commence our war of extermination. It is very curious to 
 watch a field of potatoes ; to see the destructive cloud of insects hovering 
 over, settling, and then distributing themselves over whole fields; to 
 observe how they first attack the larger leaves ; to notice the death of the 
 leaves, and finally of the entire haulm ; and then to perceive the troop 
 acquire wings and fly away. After all these have occurred, the farmer 
 may then study the fungi which come to eat up the damaged plant; and, 
 lastly, he will have unfortunately to separate the sound from the unsound, 
 the healthy from the diseased. I return my best thanks for the kind 
 information transmitted to me, and beg to offer my sincere apologies for 
 not having directly answered my correspondents. 
 
 REPORT ON APHIDES FOR MAY 1847. 
 
 In my previous reports, I have had to record but few facts of the pro- 
 gress of these creatures, in consequence of the lateness of the spring. May, 
 however, has been remarkable for the great heat which has existed, and 
 with this heat a numerous host of these destructive creatures has appeared. 
 On the lime-tree, the beautiful spotted aphis, peculiar to that tree, may 
 now be found in the larva and winged state. On the sycamore, two 
 species now exist one which feeds upon the larger leaves, the other on 
 the top shoots. The oak has also its aphis, on the under-surface of the 
 leaf. The large aphis on the thistle is now feeding abundantly in some 
 places. In one instance I observed the ivy to be literally covered with 
 countless numbers of aphides ; the leaves at the same time having a great 
 abundance of honey dew on their surface. The currant-tree has a pro- 
 fusion of its aphis, causing the leaves to be corrugated and discoloured. 
 The nut-tree aphis may also be detected; and the willow, in some 
 instances, has thousands of aphides on its young shoots. The Aphis 
 lanigera may be noticed on the apple-trees ; and an aphis may also be 
 found on the larch and fir. 
 
 All these are but of trifling importance when compared to the vastator. 
 I regret to state that this pest has reappeared ; but from whence it has 
 come, or how the species has been continued, I am unable to state : for 
 although I have abundance of eggs of other species, none have been found 
 of this insect ; and, since February, I have been unable to discover any 
 living specimen till this week. It first appeared on warm walls, on the 
 peach, nectarine, and apricot trees, to such an extent, in some places^ that 
 
246 APPENDIX. [No. XV.B. 
 
 the young shoots are blighted, become withered and dried up, crumbling 
 under the slightest pressure : from these trees the creature has flown into 
 various other plants in their neighbourhood. On the turnip, it may be 
 found on the under-surface of the leaf; it has also made its appearance 
 on the potato plant. The first vastator which I observed on the potato in 
 open situations was found on May 24th, since which time I have found it 
 sparingly in every district round London ; at present they are scarce. In 
 answer to an attempt which has made to show that my observations last 
 year were made upon a small tract of ground, I beg to state that the 
 plants were narrowly watched over an extent of country of not less than 
 400 or 500 square miles, and I obtained insects and specimens from 
 various other parts of the country ; my observations during the last week 
 have not been less extensive. "With respect to this crop, the leaves look 
 exceedingly well, although below ground ; in most situations there is 
 extensive decay in the stalks. Several practical men think but little of 
 this decay, but there appears to me no question of its importance. I have 
 noticed little tubers, hardly so big as a pea, to be separated from the 
 parent stalk by the destruction of the stem. In a former report I 
 mentioned that I had Russian tubers perfectly healthy, though much 
 damaged in their transit by salt water. It is very curious that the 
 greater number which were left have become thoroughly rotten, and 
 many which grew have since exhibited the gangrene, at the underground 
 stems. 
 
 At the present time there is not much to be done. With regard to 
 the renewed attack on the potato plant, I should be inclined to be passive, 
 because any attempt to remove the very few aphides which now exist 
 might injure the plants rather than benefit them : the gardener should 
 destroy the insect by any of the methods he already well knows. 
 
 Besides the vastator, there are still other aphides committing their 
 ravages. On the melon and cucumber may be found thousands of a very 
 minute aphis, feeding upon the under-surface of their leaves ; and, on the 
 rue, there are no less than three different species now to be found. 
 
 Under all circumstances, the present extremely hot weather is favour- 
 able to the development of aphides ; and, therefore, I am afraid we may 
 expect a repetition this year of the injury to the potato plant. 
 
 INFLUENCE OF THE VASTATOR ON DIFFERENT KINDS OF POTATOES. 
 To the Editor of the 'Farmers' Journal.' 
 
 SIB, In my treatise on the Potato Plant I have developed the im- 
 portant law of the unequal action of the vastator on different kinds of 
 potatoes. It is singular that so manifest a range of facts should pre- 
 viously have escaped attention; but now let us lose no time to take 
 advantage of its application. 
 
 The unequal action of the vastator on different kinds of potato plants 
 must be attributed to two causes their unequal exposure to the destruc- 
 tive influence of the vastator, and to the unequal capacity of different 
 kinds to resist its deleterious agency. 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 247 
 
 Potatoes which ripen early run their course before the insect appears 
 in great profusion, and consequently escape : hence all early sets are best 
 adapted for planting, and early planting, to enable them to escape the 
 malady. As the period at which potatoes ripen is well known to agricul- 
 turists, I need not call further attention to this subject. 
 
 The unequal capacity of different varieties to resist its deleterious 
 agency I find to depend upon the extent which each deviates from its 
 normal type ; and the more highly cultivated the plant is, the more prone 
 is it to disease. This is not only true of the potato, but is also true of all 
 other plants attacked by the vastator. 
 
 I beg to call attention to the following extracts from my work upon 
 this subject : 
 
 " Every particular kind of potato, however, is not equally prone to 
 disease, or rather, I may say, to carry its individuality or peculiarity into 
 its diseased condition. The supposed original Chelsea potato seems to 
 resist the action of this malady nobly, the disease only attacking it from 
 leaf to leaf, and not affecting so materially the underground stems. I 
 have carefully examined this specimen, in order to observe how it would 
 be attacked, and I found that the large leaves were all destroyed, and that 
 the disease progressed from the large leaves to those somewhat smaller, 
 and so crept on till it progressed to the top. In consequence of this mode 
 of attack, the main shoot and all the lateral shoots were green, healthy, 
 and vigorous, and the plant appeared to a casual observer to be quite 
 healthy ; and the large leaves, or those out of sight, being alone 
 destroyed up to October the 16th, the plant was still growing vigorously. 
 At the Horticultural Society's Gardens, on my first visit, Uhde's wild 
 potatoes showed the disease only on the leaflet, and on a subsequent occa- 
 sion there was also one other leaf curled. In both cases I removed the 
 diseased leaf, and found that they were inhabited by a parasite, which I 
 shall hereafter describe. No two kinds of potatoes show the effects of the 
 disease equally ; and it is generally supposed that that potato which 
 ripens in the early period of the year, manifests the malady less than 
 those which ripen later, so that the early shows are tolerable free from it. 
 On examining a field in which many varieties are cultivated, every sort 
 will be found to exhibit the malady in its own way : some varieties will be 
 more diseased than others, and some will die down earlier than others. 
 Some potatoes require more leaf than others, and I have no doubt that 
 those which require an extensive crop of leaves are more prone to the 
 disease than others. At the Horticultural Society's potato-ground, many 
 kinds were found to have the tubers quite healthy, while others were much 
 diseased. The white-eyed red was of the former class ; the mouse of the 
 latter. I dare say that it will be found that the more nearly the tuber 
 reverts back to Gerard's old type, the more capable it will be of resisting 
 the disease. The white-eyed red was in some respects similar to the old 
 species in the Chelsea garden. I applied at the Horticultural Society's 
 Gardens for a return of the relative number of good potatoes to bad ones 
 in each sort cultivated by them, but was unable to obtain it, as a similar 
 return was ordered to be printed in their own Transactions." 
 
 When I made the application for this return, I thought it a strange 
 coincidence that two individuals should at the same moment have desired 
 the same return, especially as the Society might have rendered the return 
 
248 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 [No. XV.B. 
 
 last year. However, knowing that many funny coincidences do happen, I 
 did not at the time think much about it. However, after I had examined 
 their potato-ground, I found that I incurred no great loss by being 
 debarred from obtaining the above-mentioned return, for I found that the 
 disease had visited them with a comparatively lenient hand this year, and 
 that it did not exhibit itself in its most destructive f orm. 
 
 From the imperfect return which the Horticultural Society could 
 afford, and their unwillingness to afford it, I was induced to write to all 
 parts of the country for information, but yet did not obtain as much 
 information as I could desire. 
 
 For this reason I am anxious to procure further information, and 
 particularly beg agriculturists to fill up the return and send it to my 
 residence as early as possible, that further information may be obtained 
 upon this point. 
 
 Kind of 
 Potato. 
 
 When 
 planted. 
 
 Nature of 
 Soil. 
 
 What Manure 
 used. 
 
 Total 
 Produce. 
 
 Quantity of 
 Good. 
 
 Quantity of 
 Bad. 
 
 Month in which 
 Disease 
 appeared. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The late frost has diminished, though it has not killed the vastators, 
 and I have found it all round London this week. It exists in nearly every 
 greenhouse, and is killing the verbenas in many situations. Under these 
 circumstances, every fact connected with it should be recorded, and there- 
 fore I beg agriculturists to transmit to me accounts of the nights of 
 aphides last year, the present state of the aphides, as well as the return 
 which I have before mentioned. We have now discovered the cause of the 
 disease, and I trust that we may in future prevent it by destroying the 
 vastators. 
 
 Dec. 24, 1846. 
 
 LETTERS TO A JOURNAL ON THE SAME SUBJECT. 
 
 MR. SMEE ON THE APHIDES VASTATOK. 
 
 SIB, If the late Government commission have recommended the 
 abandonment of the culture of potatoes, it is most unpardonable, but at 
 the present time I have neither leisure nor inclination to wade through 
 their reports. They may with equal good reason recommend the farmer 
 to abandon the carrot, beet, spinach, turnip, parsnip, or even the wheat or 
 Indian corn, as I have shown that the vastator attacks all these, and kills 
 whatever it attacks. We know not whether the vastator will recur again 
 in unwonted numbers, or whether it will altogether disappear. Under 
 such circumstances I most emphatically recommend that the crops should 
 be planted as though no disease were apprehended. With regard to 
 potatoes, choose sound sets, plant early, and select early kinds. The late 
 frost has not destroyed the vastators. I found them on Sunday at Totten- 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 249 
 
 ham, on Monday at Fulham, and on Tuesday at Tooting, on the turnip, 
 shepherd's-purse, and mallow. The green-fly is easily killed by the smoke 
 of tobacco ; the vastator, however, will live when the green-fly is destroyed, 
 and thus, in smoking greenhouses, the vastator is left when the green-fly is 
 killed. At the present time the vastator is to be found in nearly all green- 
 houses upon verbenas, and it kills them by wet gangrene in the same way 
 that it injures the potato plant. The vastator is remarkably destructive to 
 the potato and spinach plants, many less being required to kill them than 
 is required to destroy the beet or solani. I placed twelve potato plants in 
 a greenhouse in October for experiment : the vastator attacked them ; six 
 are now rotten, the other six are dying. One of the plants perishing from 
 the insect I have sent to the Polytechnic Institution, where every visitor 
 can see it. Perhaps there never was a series of minute observations made 
 on so large a tract of country as mine, upon this subject. I made observa- 
 tions over at least 400 square miles round London and Brighton, and 
 received specimens from the midland counties. I rejoice to find that a 
 knowledge of the insect is rapidly extending itself in all directions. Any 
 person may find it even now in their own gardens ; and as the spring 
 advances, it will be their duty to endeavour to exterminate it. 
 
 Dec. 23, 1846. 
 
 REAPPEARANCE OF THE APHIS VASTATOR UPON THE 
 POTATO PLANT. 
 
 SIR, I regret to announce that the Aphis vastator reappeared last 
 week upon the potato plant in every district round London. At present 
 it may be found sparingly upon the under- surf ace of the leaf, and, though 
 within the last few days it has multiplied twenty-fold, several plants must 
 be examined before it can be detected. The present hot weather is highly 
 favourable to the rapid multiplication of this pest, which, coupled with its 
 early attack, must lead us to have the worst apprehension for the crops 
 this season. This creature has already greatly damaged the peach, apricot, 
 and nectarine trees in many localities. It is now feeding upon the turnip, 
 potato, and other plants. Allied species are destroying the currant tree, 
 and damaging to such a serious extent the carrot, parsnip, and parsley 
 crops, that they have exhibited in some instances the fatal plague spot 
 noticed in previous years upon the potato plant. These facts, unfor- 
 tunately, prove that in all human probability the great plague of aphides 
 will again run their destructive course this year. 
 
 June 5, 1847. 
 
 P.S. I shall be obliged for information and specimens of the aphis 
 from all parts of the country. 
 
250 APPENDIX. [No. XV.B. 
 
 THE POTATO DISEASE EXTENSIVE DISAPPEARANCE OP APHIDES. 
 From the ' Illustrated London News.' 
 
 At various times I have had occasion to call the attention of the 
 public to facts connected with this destructive tribe of insects, and, in the 
 present instance, have to relate other circumstances connected with their 
 natural history which cannot fail to gratify the people. The importance 
 of bringing every fact before the agriculturist as it occurs must be appa- 
 rent to all ; for it is upon a correct knowledge of the habits of these 
 creatures that the farmer must estimate the probable damage when his 
 crops are unfortunately attacked. 
 
 During this year the bean aphis has committed most serious damage. 
 It has killed plants in some places to such an extent that not one pod is 
 left; and even over large fields the crop will not nearly yield the seed 
 sown. The insects continued to increase up to a certain point, and then, 
 without reference to the destruction of the plants on which they were 
 located, took wing, and formed an army formidable from, their numerical 
 strength, which appeared completely to fill the atmosphere. The entire 
 number assumed the winged state within a few days, and left nothing 
 behind but their cast skins. The winged insects settled upon any palatable 
 food. They fled by thousands upon the beet-root, on which I have observed 
 them feed in a former year. When they alighted, they sucked the juices 
 of the plant in the ordinary manner, and sometimes killed the leaf of the 
 plant, which exhibited dark, black blotches. They, however, were not 
 doomed to remain long in this situation ; they speedily died, and have not, 
 in many cases, left a solitary individual to continue the brood. Those 
 which alighted upon the outdoor cucumbers were singularly destructive. 
 They settled upon the under-surface of the leaves in great swarms, and 
 fed upon the plant. Some of the attacked plants died from the injury 
 they sustained ; in others the leaf alone was damaged. I have been much 
 interested in watching the destruction of the cucumber : for I have heard 
 that during the last two or three years this plant has gone off in some 
 mysterious manner for which the farmer could not account. In the 
 instances which have come within my observation, every insect has 
 perished, and but a few of the whole plants were destroyed, on account of 
 the short duration of the attack. 
 
 The bean aphis also alighted upon scarlet runners, French beans, 
 parsnips, onions, and various other plants and weeds. Groups of large 
 masses of dead winged insects may still be observed, although scarce one 
 live insect exists. 
 
 The Aphis vastator has also, in those districts which I have examined, 
 become scarce. I do not know what has become of them all, but many 
 have been devoured by ladybirds, some have been killed by ichneumons, 
 others became unhealthy and perished. In proportion as the potato plant 
 is strong and healthy, so does it resist the attack of this parasite. The 
 puncture of the aphis hence is in some instances merely followed by a 
 little black spot ; in others by a large black botch ; and again, it may be 
 followed by a more or less complete destruction of the entire plant. In every 
 instance where aphides have been feeding, although they have now dis- 
 appeared, it will be found that the leaves are apt to perish, and the dying 
 
No. XV.B.] APPENDIX. 251 
 
 potatoes may be frequently observed to be covered with, a white down, 
 which in reality is a beautiful appearance of the Botrytis infectans. In 
 consequence of these appearances following the attack of the aphis, hasty 
 investigators are sometimes led to the belief that the potato disease occurs 
 without the insect a delusion now highly prized by those who admire the 
 marvellous, and delight to speculate in aerial, comet, and cholera theories. 
 
 The early kinds of potatoes are now, in most instances, ripening to 
 satisfaction, and the golden yellow colour of the foliage demonstrates that 
 the leaf is performing its last functions, and that the tuber is being well 
 filled with starch and other nutritive matters. The late kinds still look 
 well, and scarce any insects now exist in many situations. The agricul- 
 turist should not, however, trust too much to the pleasing intelligence, for 
 he should be aware that they may again return between this time and 
 November, and eat down his crop. The large flights of vastators last 
 year occurred between the 7th of September and the end of the month. 
 These remarks are quite independent of some local instances where the 
 disease has committed ravages to a great extent. I have heard of one 
 field which yielded 17 sacks of bad and 32 of good tubers, and doubtless 
 there are many other like cases, but they now form rather the exception 
 than the rule. I have myself nearly 200 kinds of potatoes planted in 
 ground without manure, and I do not think amongst the number that I 
 will find a single diseased tuber. 
 
 Carrots and parsnips, which have been infested all the season, are now 
 comparatively free ; and the damage has not been so great as to prevent 
 their perfect recovery. 
 
 We rejoice also to state that the corn aphis, which was disseminated 
 over every part of the country, even to a few seedling oats growing in a 
 vacant piece of ground opposite the Royal Exchange, is now diminishing, 
 or even, in many localities, has disappeared. Its effect was to injure the 
 produce, and cause black marks to appear upon the ear and stem. It 
 came too late to effect extensive damage in this country. Private letters 
 from Baltimore state that the wheat and potato crops are abundant, and 
 that the former has dropped in price to one -half its highest rate last year. 
 
 At the commencement of the season I called attention to the reappear- 
 ance of the Aphis vastator. During the progress of the year I have 
 pointed out the damage which various aphides have committed. Now I 
 have to communicate the singular and welcome fact of their extensive and 
 sudden departure. The past has afforded no indication for the present, 
 nor can the present indicate the future. Before this article is distributed 
 over the country, the aphides may recur; and, though I now write to 
 congratulate the farmer on his present prospects, I must yet caution him 
 to be continually on the watch, so that he may immediately discover if 
 another plague of these all-destroying creatures should visit his crops. By 
 correct information on these points, arrangements can be made before- 
 hand ; and cheap food, one of the greatest of all desiderata, may be 
 secured for the people. 
 
 FlNSBTJRY CIRCUS, ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 Aug. 5, 1847. 
 
252 APPENDIX. [No. XV.c. 
 
 No. XY.c. 
 
 RECENT RESEARCHES ON THE POTATO DISEASE. ROYAL 
 HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE, April 5th, 1876. 
 MAXWELL T. MASTERS, M.D., F.R.S., in the chair. 
 
 MR. W. G. SMITH exhibited a number of new drawings and referred to 
 a recent examination made by him of 360 slides prepared by Mr. Alfred 
 Smee in the first year of the potato murrain, 1845. These slides included 
 slices of diseased potato stems, tubers and leaves, and aphides taken from 
 infected plants. In these tubers and stems, and also within and upon 
 the bodies of the aphides, Mr. Smith had found a large number of the 
 bodies recently referred by him to the secondary condition of the potato 
 fungus. 
 
 " During the last fortnight," continued Mr. Smith, " Mr. Alfred Smee 
 has placed in my hands for microscopic examination no fewer than 360 
 slides having reference to the potato disease. These slides were all pre- 
 pared by Mr. Smee in the first year of the great potato murrain, viz. 
 1845, and the preparations include potato leaves, slices of stem and tuber, 
 and aphides taken from diseased potato plants in that year. 
 
 " Out of 104 slides illustrative of the structure of the potato plant, 
 twenty-seven distinctly show the oogonia and antheridia, as illustrated by 
 me in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle :' these bodies mostly occur in the stems 
 and tubers of the 1845 potatoes, just where they principally occurred in 
 the Chiswick potatoes last year. 
 
 " Of the remaining slides of insects, principally aphides, about one- 
 half show traces of the same bodies. The threads are growing both inside 
 and outside the aphides : sometimes the oogonia are deeply buried in the 
 body, whilst the whole insect is traversed by mycelial threads ; many of the 
 oogonia are inside the legs, sometimes inside the feelers. These oogonia 
 and antheridia are presumedly the same as those I found last year upon 
 and within the diseased Chiswick potatoes, and they are exactly the same 
 as the bodies now to be seen in Mr. Smee's 1845 potato preparations. 
 
 " On two special slides of aphides the insects are densely covered 
 externally with a fungus in fruit. So dense is the covering, that very 
 little of the insect's body can be seen. This fruit is almost identical in 
 size and form with the fruit of Peronospora infestans, and, like the latter, 
 it shows a marked differentiation of its contents, and apparently produces 
 zoospores. By carefully searching amongst this dense mass of fruit, the 
 oogonia and antheridia above mentioned can also be detected. 
 
 " Without wishing to speculate on the meaning of these new facts, 
 it must be confessed that this new association of these fungoid bodies on 
 diseased potatoes and aphides is new and suggestive. As my last year's 
 Chiswick resting- spores are apparently still alive, though latent, I hope 
 to try some experiments with them as soon as they start into life in the 
 early summer." 
 
 Mr. Renny considered that the relationship to Pythiuin was 
 strengthened by Mr. Smee's preparations. In Saprolegnia the antherid 
 was always borne on finer threads than the oogonium. From the 'Gardeners' 
 Chronicle,' April 8th, 1876. 
 
No. XV.c.] APPENDIX. 253 
 
 In 1875 it thus appears that Mr. Worthington Smith discovered the 
 secondary form of fruit of the potato fungus in the seed tubers of imported 
 American potatoes growing at Chiswick ; and for this discovery the Royal 
 Horticultural Society bestowed upon him their Knightian gold medal. 
 Until that year it would appear that these secondary forms of fruit of 
 the fungus were unknown, although their existence had been previously 
 suspected. 
 
 No one challenged Mr. Smith's interpretation of the bodies discovered 
 except Professor De Barry, the French botanist. Professor De Barry 
 stated that he had seen somewhat similar bodies at times within potato 
 plants, but he considered they could not belong to the potato fungus, 
 because he could not make them complete their (fungus) entire life within 
 the potato plant, although he could make them apparently complete it in 
 the decaying bodies of minute insects. This opinion of Professor De Barry 
 was invalidated by some contemporaneous observations made by Dr. 
 Sadebeck, of Berlin, who said he had seen a parasite similar to that of 
 Mr. Smith's and Professor De Barry's growing on a potato plant at 
 Coblentz, and producing a disease in no way to be distinguished from the 
 ordinary murrain of potatoes. The question then presented itself whether 
 the potato fungus could grow on animal substances, like some of the fungi 
 to which it was immediately allied, as the fungus of house-flies, of silk- 
 worms, &c. 
 
 As it was the winter season, 1876, when this question arose, Mr. Smith 
 applied to Mr. Smee, who placed his own collection of microscopical slides 
 of aphides and of diseased potatoes, mounted by himself during the potato 
 murrain in 1845-1847, in that gentleman's hands for examination. 
 
 Through the kindness of Mr. Worthington Smith, 1 am enabled to 
 give the following woodcuts of one of the microscopical preparations of 
 Mr. Alfred Smee's own collection, mounted by himself, of the Aphis vastator 
 and of a slice of diseased potato. The Aphis vastator is here enlarged 
 twenty diameters, and the minute fungus fruits are to be seen inside the 
 insect at A, B, c. 
 
 These bodies belonging to the fungus are further enlarged on the 
 margin of the cut to 160 diameters, so that their nature may be better seen. 
 Some of Mr. Smee's aphides are completely filled with the fungus inter- 
 nally, and covered with it externally; and though Mr. Smee did not 
 completely understand the meaning of the fungus (at a time when it had 
 not yet been described), yet it is clear that he saw the fungus on the 
 insect, for some of the slides are scratched with a diamond and marked 
 " fungi." As far as we know, no one but Alfred Smee had detected aphides 
 in this peculiar state of disease, and we believe the condition is unknown 
 even now to most entomologists. 
 
 If any further proof had been wanting as to the identity of the 
 bodies found in the potato with those in the aphis, it was supplied by the 
 behaviour of Mr. Smith's secondary form of fruit when (after a whole 
 year's rest) it germinated. Mr. Smith found on germinatien that the 
 spores grew equally well on vegetable as on animal matter. 
 
 It should be here observed that in Mr. Smee's book on the Potato Plant 
 it will be seen that a chapter of that work is devoted to the various kinds 
 of fungi which are to be found on diseased potatoes, and there are several 
 lithographic plates illustrating this subject. On plate 3, fig. 7, is a 
 
254 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 [No. XV.c. 
 
 drawing of a fungoid growth as observed by my father on an Aphis 
 vastator. On plate 4, amongst other kinds of fungi, is a parasitic fungus 
 on the leg of the Aphis vastator. At page 77 of the same work he writes : 
 " Doubtless the fungi exercise an important influence upon the progress of 
 the disease, although they most assuredly have not the power of producing 
 it. In fact, they never make their appearance until the potato plant has 
 been previously damaged, and until some portion of it is already dead." 
 And again, at page 122 : " There appears to me to be a very close relation 
 between the injury committed by the aphides and the appearance of fungi ; 
 
 FIG. 14. 
 
 Resting-spores of the Potato Fungus within an Aphis at A, B, c, enlarged 20 diameters. The same 
 resting-spores enlarged to 160 diameters on right-hand^margin. (From one of Mr. Smee's 1845 
 preparations.) 
 
 B 
 
 I * 
 
 FIG. 15. 
 
 Resting-spores of the Potato Fungus within the cellular tissue of Potatoes. A. From the stem. 
 B, c. From the tuber, enlarged 160 diameters. (From one of Mr. Smee's 1845 preparations.) 
 
 for in numerous cases where I have observed fungi on the leaf, I have also 
 noticed aphides on the plant. 
 
 " It is also a singular fact that there is a word in the Hebrew language 
 which means blight and mildew collectively, meaning thereby aphis and 
 fungus." 
 
 In 'Instinct and Reason/ p. 261, Mr. Smee deduced the following 
 law of the ravages of the aphides : 
 " 1. Aphides feed on living plants. 
 
 2. Aphides come first upon healthy plants. 
 
No. XVI.] APPENDIX. 255 
 
 3. Aphides suck the juices of plants after having pierced the cuticle. 
 
 4. Aphides, by sucking the sap, impair its qualities. 
 
 5. The sap, being injured, no longer performs its proper functions. 
 
 6. The injured sap cannot properly nourish the plant. 
 
 7. Unnourished or imperfect tissue is apt to die. 
 
 8. Partial death, following the attacks of aphides, may be local at the 
 part affected, or remote ; that is to say, at a distance from the attack. 
 
 9. The total death of the plant may arise from the death of a part 
 necessary to the whole. 
 
 10. Wild plants, or plants in a condition calculated to develop fibre, 
 will resist the attacks of the aphides. 
 
 11. Highly cultivated plants, or plants not under circumstances 
 favourable to the formation of fibre, ill resist the attacks of aphides. 
 
 12. Plants are most injured by aphides at that period of their growth 
 when they are required to deposit most fibre. 
 
 13. Plants having their tissues damaged by aphides are more or less 
 apt to propagate diseased tissue in all their future growths. 
 
 14. The damage to the plant hastens the transformation of aphides to 
 the perfect state. 
 
 15. The attacks of aphides are almost invariably followed by the 
 growth of fungi." 
 
 In 'My Garden,' published in 1872, in the chapter on Fungi, Mr. 
 Smee again puts forwards his theories on the subject of the potato disease, 
 for at page 363 we find these words : " One form of fungus has attracted 
 much attention of late years, as it has been represented to be the cause of 
 the potato disease. From my own observations I believe that an aphis 
 invariably punctures the leaf before the attack of the fungus. It is 
 possible that the punctures of the insect allow the zoospores of the fungus 
 which have cilia3 to penetrate into the interior structure of the leaf, whence 
 the mycelium spreads into every part of the texture of the plant. The 
 fungus appears as a white powder to the eye, but when examined by a 
 microscope the white patch proves to be a forest of little branching stems 
 surmounted by oval bodies. It was called by Berkeley Botrytis infestans, 
 and now the genus is named Peronospora" A figure of this fungus is then 
 given. 
 
 No. XVI. 
 
 ELEMENTS OF ELECTRO-BIOLOGY ; OR, THE VOLTAIC MECHANISM 
 OF MAN, BEING A NATURAL SYSTEM OF MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 By ALFRED SMEE. Published February 1849. (From ' Chambers's 
 Edinburgh Journal.') 
 
 MR. SMEE not only confirms the conclusions of prior investigators ; he 
 goes further, and endeavours to account for mental as well as physical 
 phenomena. " The physiological matter," he observes, " required two lines 
 of investigation : the one having reference to the ultimate structure of 
 organic beings ; the other to the actions taking place in them. . . . By the 
 electro- voltaic test, the mechanism of nervous actions has been determined. 
 
256 APPENDIX. [No. XVI. 
 
 .... Whilst, however, electricity appears to me to be an important agent 
 for the cure of disease, the cases in which it is especially valuable are com- 
 paratively few ; and I myself regard the treatment upon general electro- 
 therapeutic laws as more valuable than the immediate action of electricity 
 itself." Thus much premised, it becomes necessary to describe the battery : 
 the author states that " a central parenchyma, a peripheral parenchyma, 
 connected together, and each supplied with bright arterial blood, are 
 necessary for life. It follows that bleeding causes death ; that the supply 
 of imperfect blood, such as carbonaceous blood, is insufficient for life. 
 Moreover, a destruction of the central parenchyma, by injuring the brain. 
 or of the peripheral, by destroying the body, instantly prevents the 
 manifestations of the functions of animal life. . . . Now a central 
 apparatus, supplied with a peculiar fluid, a peripheral apparatus similarly 
 supplied, the whole connected together to form one universal total, is 
 the apparatus desired: and such an apparatus we have in a double voltaic 
 battery. If we abstract the proper exciting fluid from either end, or sub- 
 stitute any other fluid, or destroy the structure either at one end or 
 the other, or divide the connecting portions or wires, the effects proper to 
 the apparatus will not be manifested, and the battery will be destroyed." 
 
 That animal membranes and fluids may take the place of metallic 
 plates, wires, and acids, is apparent from an experiment suggested by 
 Liebig : a pile was constructed. *' consisting of disks of pasteboard 
 moistened with blood, of muscular substance (flesh \ and of brain. This 
 arrangement caused a very powerful deflection of the needle of the 
 galvanometer, indicating a current in the direction of the blood to the 
 muscle." On this Mr. Smee observes : " In the muscles we have a nitro- 
 genized material which is acid ; in the blood we have a nitrogenized mate- 
 rial which is alkaline; and the connecting part or nervous fibres are 
 
 neutral The periphery or body, therefore, consists of the muscular 
 
 substance, forming one pole : the cutaneous tissues the opposite ; the 
 serous fluid, which lubricates the parts, being the electrolyte. The whole 
 forms a voltaic battery, which I shall hereafter consider in minute detail 
 as the Peripheral Battery. 
 
 " From the peripheral battery two series of connecting media proceed 
 the first, the muscular nerves, or nerves supplied to the flesh ; the second, 
 the nerves distributed to the cutaneous textures. If we examine the nerve- 
 fibres in recently-killed animals, we find that they consist of fine tubes 
 containing a fluid, and lined with a peculiar species of fat, which may be 
 obtained, from their prolongation into the brain, in large quantities, when 
 the part is soaked in alcohol for a long period. In this structure we have 
 all the conditions necessary to insulation namely, a fine membranous 
 tube lined with fat on its inner side, and containing a fluid in the centre : 
 and such a structure, as far as electrical properties are concerned, would 
 be analogous to a glass tube containing liquid. 
 
 " If we follow the course of the nerves, we find that they are prolonged 
 to the brain, and end in the grey matter, where they again come in con- 
 tact with a large quantity of blood-vessels. As the two series of nerves 
 are not immediately connected in the brain, it follows, according to the 
 laws of voltaic action, that another battery exists there, which may be 
 
 termed the central battery For the integrity of the circuit* it is 
 
 essential that the peripheral and central batteries be perfect; that their 
 
No. XVI.] APPENDIX. 257 
 
 connection be maintained; and that a proper exciting fluid, or bright 
 arterial blood, be distributed to each part." 
 
 Such is Mr. Smee's view of the living battery : we come next to his 
 detail of the mode of action. For this he proposes the term Electro- 
 Aisthenics, or a study of the various organs of sensation ; and these 
 are comprised under a new terminology : Opsaisthenics, of sight : 
 Ousaisthenics, of hearing ; Guruaisthenics, of taste ; Rhinaisthenics, of 
 smell ; Ccenaisthenics, of touch ; and last, a sixth sense, Somaisthenics, or 
 bodily feeling. Blood and nerve being present in a normal condition, the 
 integiity of the various actions is assured. The eye, for example, is 
 stimulated by light, leading to the inference of a photo-voltaic current. 
 By means of various chemical solutions, the author establishes the fact 
 artificially. '* Upon exposing," he writes, " the apparatus to intense light, 
 the galvanometer was instantly deflected, showing that the light had set 
 in motion a voltaic current, which I propose to call a photo-voltaic circuit." 
 The eye itself is tested by thrusting a needle through the choroid coat, 
 and another into a neighbouring muscle, and passing the animal experi- 
 mented on suddenly from darkness into light, when, if carefully conducted, 
 a slight deflection of the galvanometer is the result. With the retina and 
 blood of the choroid coat for the positive pole of the organ of vision, we 
 find the iris and muscles of the eyeball and eyelids proposed for the 
 negative. The phenomena of hearing are accounted for in a somewhat 
 similar way; the poles being the auditory nerve and adjacent muscles. 
 The specific action can only be determined by showing that sound effects a 
 voltaic current ; and then how various are its modifications ! ' The range 
 of sounds appreciated by the human ear consists of about 124 octaves, and 
 perhaps extends to the 32nd of a note in those endowed with most 
 perfect hearing. From this it follows that the human ear can distinguish 
 about 3200 sounds ; and therefore it would require 3200 poles for that 
 purpose." With respect to the organ of taste, Mi*. Smee assumes the 
 gustatory nerve as the positive pole ; and states that " we may make a 
 voltaic battery in which the circuit shall be determined by savours, in very 
 different methods. For instance, if we place a little persalt of iron, with 
 two platina poles, in a Y-shaped tube, and then drop a little infusion of 
 meat into one side, a voltaic circuit will instantly be produced." Xext in 
 order comes the sense of smell : and here the author supposes that odorous 
 substances determine a voltaic current, by " facilitating the reduction of 
 the highly-oxygenated blood ; " and that the olfactory nerves constitute 
 the positive pole of the battery. He then proceeds to establish a sense of 
 feeling, Coenaisthenics, as distinct from Somaisthenics, or bodily feeling. 
 The former, he says, " is that feeling by which we derive certain impres- 
 sions from without, and is never in our understandings confounded with 
 a bodily feeling, or that sense by which we estimate the changes taking 
 place within our own frame." Thus Ccenaisthenics may be excited by 
 heat or cold, or by mechanical or other pressure ; and it is possible to 
 imitate this effect by varieties of voltaic apparatus. But it would appear 
 that, in experimenting on the living body, muscular power must be 
 exerted before the galvanometer marks any trace of a current, as will be 
 understood from Mr. Smee's statement. The subject under test was a 
 " black rabbit, into the masseter of which," he observes, " I introduced one 
 sewing needle, whilst the second was placed in the subcutaneous cellular 
 
 S 
 
258 APPENDIX. [No. XVI. 
 
 tissue. After leaving them for a few minutes, so that they might be in 
 the same state, they were connected with the galvanometer without 
 sensible deflection of the needle. After a few moments, the animal, not 
 liking the treatment, made an attempt to bite my finger, and the deflection 
 of the galvanometer instantly showed the mechanism of volition. I then 
 gave the creature a piece of wood to bite, upon which it used all its power 
 of mastication; and by catching the oscillation of the needle, a very 
 powerful current was exhibited." 
 
 We have thus, as clearly as the subject would well admit of, traced an 
 outline of the author's peripheral battery : we now come to the details 
 concerning the central battery. The author maps out the brain into 
 different regions, separated by commissures : to the first, which repeats the 
 impressions conveyed by the sensor, or aisthenic nerves, he assigns the 
 term Phreno-Aisthenics : the second, or that by which combined impressions 
 are retained, is Syndramics : third, the seeing of numerous objects, or 
 hearing of numerous sounds, conveys but one idea of sight or audition ; 
 the term for this mechanism is Aisthenic-Noemics : fourth, Syndramic- 
 Noemics, for the ideas derived from combined senses: fifth, Pneuma- 
 Noemics, for the notion of infinity : and lastly, to quote the author's own 
 words, " we have to consider from whence the impulse is sent for the brain to 
 cause action : a study which may be conveniently followed under the term 
 of Noemic-Dynamics The details are exceedingly difficult to com- 
 prehend in all their minutiae ; and yet I trust, by passing gradually from 
 the simple to the complex, the leading features of this wonderful and 
 intricate apparatus will be developed; and though the exemplification 
 of the structure of a single brain would occupy many acres, I can exhibit 
 examples of the mode of acting in the several departments by ordinary 
 voltaic combinations. 
 
 " The requisites of action, blood, and nerve, are found in sufficient 
 abundance in the central battery or brain, as that organ is literally nothing 
 but fibres and blood-vessels. The nervous fibres are so numerous, that no 
 estimate could be given of the myriads of which the brain is composed ; 
 in fact, the whole of the white matter of the brain is composed of nerve 
 tubes." 
 
 We believe it was Coleridge who once met a metaphysical serving- 
 maid at a tavern in Germany, and was surprised by hearing her express 
 her belief that every thought, idea, or impression received generated in the 
 brain, remained there ever afterwards, each one stored up in a minute cell, 
 and that good or bad memory would consist in the greater or lesser power 
 of re-opening these cells and making use of their contents. If science be 
 competent to determine the point, she was not far from the truth. Mr. Smee 
 states : " When a man receives an impression, it is not evanescent, passing 
 immediately away, but it is retained in the system to regulate future actions. 
 Now, in voltaic constructions, it is not difficult to produce an action which 
 shall influence future motions, and thus exhibit the effects of memory. 
 
 " If we take two iron wires, and place them in a solution of argento- 
 cyanide of potassium, and direct a voltaic current through them, silver 
 would be reduced at that wire constituting the negative pole. The two 
 wires would be ever afterwards in different electric relations to each other ; 
 one would be positive, the other negative : and thus the effects of memory 
 would be shown, and future actions regulated." 
 
No. XVI.] APPENDIX. 259 
 
 As the nerve-fibres all terminate in the grey matter of the brain, these 
 terminations are taken to be the negative poles. In this way the entire 
 body is repeated in the brain, which organ again is supposed to be double, 
 and yet so constituted, that two impressions made at different parts of the 
 body convey but one idea to the mind. Under the head of Syndramics the 
 author shows that the large size of the brain, with its multiplicity of fibres 
 and vesicles, is necessary for the reception of the endless variety of 
 impressions made upon that organ. When it is remembered that twenty- 
 four changes can be rung on only four bells, we may form some conception 
 of the myriads of changes to be effected in the 2000 or 3000 elements from 
 each organ of sense. Mr. Smee considers that the brain " probably con- 
 tains room for all the most important, when packed and arranged with the 
 absolute perfection manifested in all the operations of nature." 
 
 Without following each step of the investigation, we may state that 
 each portion of the brain, as enumerated above, is severally treated of in a 
 somewhat similar process of reasoning. A few of the conclusions at which 
 the author arrives will serve to show the mode by which he builds up his 
 theory. " The faculty of desiring," he observes, " resolves itself into a 
 tendency to act, and is manifested when the central batteries are in a con- 
 dition of excitement. Desire is to mental operations similar in all respects 
 to tension in electric arrangements. When the desire is gratified, it ceases 
 for a time. This phenomenon is similar to an exhausted battery in which 
 arrangements exist for replenishing the exciting fluid; as in this case, 
 after a time, the battery would again become active, and exhibit tension." 
 Again " 1 might dilate largely upon the mechanism by which 
 pleasure and pain may be regulated; but it will be sufficient to give a 
 single illustration of the most simple method in which, in the voltaic 
 circuit, a strong impression might stop action. If a very minute piece of 
 metal be placed in a glass of fluid as a positive pole, and a large current be 
 passed through it, the metal would instantly be dissolved, and the circuit 
 could not be completed by that road. What is true of solid poles is true 
 of liquid poles, or intervening fluid; and where repair is constantly 
 necessary, as we know it is in the brain, a strong impression would more 
 than equal the ordinary supply, and thus action, through that combination, 
 would be stopped. The effect upon the brain by a painful impression 
 appears to amount to more than mere exhaustion, as the part seems 
 damaged permanently, and the action through that road does not again 
 readily take place." 
 
 Next in order we come to Electro-Psychology, or " properties of the 
 mind, deduced from the voltaic structure pf the brain." This portion of 
 the subject involves many important considerations and metaphysical 
 speculations. Mr. Smee finds a process for every faculty, even up to the 
 idea of immortality. " We know," he says, " from the very organization 
 of 6ur bodies, that we are immortal ; that God exists ; that there is virtue 
 and vice ; a heaven and a hell. Man, in every age, in every climate, is 
 compelled, by his very organization, to believe these first principles. . . . 
 Electro-Noemics," he also explains, " should be the basis of jurisprudence. 
 It shows that crime and pain should be associated together at the same 
 time, because a stronger result would attend punishment inflicted the 
 moment the crime was about to commence. Such a course is suitable for 
 the lowest intellects, or persons of the lowest mental capacity. When, 
 
 8 2 
 
260 APPENDIX. [No. XVII. 
 
 however, good principles could be effectively instilled, they would control 
 every action, and prove far more useful. 
 
 " Electro-Noemics also show that to produce a strong effect in future 
 actions, a strong impression must be left on the brain. From this cause 
 punishment should be inflicted upon a man in a healthy, vigorous condi- 
 tion, and neither ill-fed nor debased in energy ; otherwise the impression 
 would be transient or evanescent, and would not deter the party from the 
 commission of future crime. Electro-Noemics also indicate that slight and 
 proportionate punishment invariably following crime, would have more 
 effect than severer punishment, with less chance of its infliction." 
 
 From the foregoing summary of Mr. Smee's book, it appears to con- 
 tain matter interesting to other classes of readers as well as electricians 
 and physiologists ; but we believe that the time is distant when legislators 
 or philanthropists will discuss questions of social economy or politics in an 
 electro-biological point of view. Still, we are willing to accept the work 
 as another contribution towards an inquiry that has long engaged the 
 attention of philosophers : biology, the science of life, is a subject of per- 
 manent interest ; and if a writer do no more than provoke discussion, he 
 may do that which will eventually elicit truth. 
 
 We here close our notice of Mr. Smee's book with an enumeration of 
 its further contents points of the investigation into which we have not 
 thought it necessary to enter. They are Electro-bio-Dynamics, or the 
 forces produced in the living body ; Bio-Electrolysis, or the changes taking 
 place in the human body; Electro- Biology of Cells, or the relation of 
 electricity to growth, nutrition, and circulation ; and last, Electro-Thera- 
 peutics and Pathology. 
 
 No. XVII. 
 
 LECTURE ON ELECTRO-BIOLOGY; OR, THE VOLTAIC ME- 
 CHANISM OF MAN. Delivered by ALFRED SMEE at the London 
 Institution. ( The Lancet,' April 21st, 1849.) 
 
 THE subject of my present lecture is Electro -Biology, which literally 
 means neither more nor less than the relation of electricity to the vital 
 functions. Now, systematic writers divide the vital functions into two 
 great classes into those of animal life, and into those of organic 
 life. 
 
 The functions of animal life will particularly occupy our attention 
 this evening; and for their consideration, we shall have to study the 
 apparatus by which the animal receives impressions from the external 
 world, transmits them to the brain, registers them, combines them, and 
 acts, not only upon the immediate impressions, but also upon those which 
 it has received at former periods. 
 
 For the manifestation of the functions of animal life, we require a 
 central parenchyma or brain, a peripheral or body, the two being con- 
 nected together by a peculiar tissue called "nerve-fibre;" and at both 
 situations a proper supply of bright arterial blood is requisite, for the 
 production of the phenomena of life. If we look to purely physical 
 
No. XVIL] APPENDIX. 261 
 
 contrivances, we find that similar conditions are fulfilled by a double 
 voltaic circuit. 
 
 Z - - S 
 
 S - Z 
 
 If we abstract the proper exciting fluid from either end, or substitute 
 any other fluid, or destroy the structure at one end or the other, or divide 
 the connecting portions or wires, the effects proper to the apparatus will 
 not be manifested, and the battery will be destroyed. The analogy between 
 the mechanism of a double voltaic circuit and that of animal life is 
 quite complete ; for if we pith an animal, an operation which separates the 
 brain from the body, or remove the blood from the brain or from the 
 peripheral part, or destroy the structure of either the brain or the peri- 
 phery, action is stopped, and animal life ceases. 
 
 You will at once say, doubtless, that man has no metallic wires, no 
 plates ; and therefore, you may naturally ask, how far does that fact 
 destroy the analogy which I have given to you ? It is not necessary, 
 however, that the connecting portion should consist of metal ; and though 
 all present are doubtless accustomed to see the electric telegraphic wires 
 along the course of the railways, yet I have here upon the table an example 
 of fluid telegraphic conductors, which answer as efficiently for the con- 
 ducting of the voltaic force, as wires or metals. Those amongst you who 
 reside at Upper Clapton, may remember some time since to have seen 
 mysterious wires placed at an elevated situation round the Horse-shoe 
 Point on the river Lea. At the time these wires were in that situation, I 
 was experimenting upon the conducting power of liquids, and they were 
 found to possess that property in an extraordinary degree. If the nerves, 
 however, carry the voltaic force, they might perhaps be expected to have 
 within themselves some means of insulation; and from my own micro- 
 scopical examination of nerve-fibre perfectly fresh, I believe that a layer 
 of fat exists in the interior of each primitive fibril, which would as effi- 
 ciently insulate it as the gutta-percha of my tube does these artificial 
 nerves which are placed on the table. 
 
 In this double voltaic apparatus before you, in which the communi- 
 cating portion consists of gutta-percha tubing, filled with acid and water, a 
 powerful voltaic current is passing, but one which will yield no indications 
 of its presence to ordinary voltaic tests. It is no easy matter, gentlemen, 
 to prove the presence of a voltaic current in a fluid, and for a long period 
 I did not know how to proceed to render its existence certain. However, 
 at last I observed, if any metal capable of being oxidized was interposed in 
 the path of a voltaic circuit, that one portion becomes positive, the other 
 negative : and that this result is no fanciful chimera, I now show you an 
 electro-metallurgic precipitating trough, in which a piece of copper is 
 inserted between the positive and negative plates, and you will at once 
 perceive that the portion near the negative pole has become acted upon 
 or positive, the part nearest the positive pole has become negative, and 
 has metallic copper deposited upon it. From this experiment I saw 
 that a mode was afforded to me of ascertaining the presence of a voltaic 
 circuit in any fluid. To give you a practical illustration of the value 
 of the electro-voltaic test, I have introduced two copper wires into one 
 of the gutta-percha tubes constituting my artificial nerves, and you will 
 
262 APPENDIX. [No. XVII. 
 
 perceive that the moment I connect them with a galvanometer, deflec- 
 tion ensues. Animal bodies consist solely of membranes and fluids, and 
 therefore, in the order of my investigations, I had to study batteries, 
 solely composed of similar materials. This form of voltaic circuit is 
 extremely difficult to investigate, though one is placed upon the table for 
 your inspection. 
 
 After I had thoroughly studied the electro-voltaic test, the time 
 arrived to ascertain whether a voltaic current was actually passing during 
 nervous action : for although the analogies which I have detailed were, to 
 my mind, complete, yet analogy would be useless without the corrobora- 
 tion of direct experiment. My first experiment was to introduce two steel 
 needles into a rabbit : the first into the masseter, or muscle which enables 
 the creature to masticate ; the second, into the subcutaneous cellular tissue. 
 After two or three minutes, the creature, which was very tame, attempted to 
 bite my finger ; the power of volition was sent to the muscle : this acted 
 upon my electro-voltaic test, and you may judge of my inexpressible 
 delight when the deflection of the needle showed to my mind the mecha- 
 nism of volition. These needles being between the skin and muscle, the 
 course of the voltaic circuit is clearly demonstrated to exist between these 
 two points, and therefore each required a most minute consideration. 
 
 Sensations are received by various organs which are destined to be 
 acted upon by certain physical forces, as the eye by light, the ear by 
 sound, the nose by odours, the tongue by savours, or the skin by heat 
 or force. 
 
 It is quite certain that if a voltaic circuit is generated in the eye, 
 there must be such contrivances as photo-voltaic circuits ; that is, voltaic 
 circuits in which light causes the evolution of electricity. In trying the 
 experiment, I found that there was not only an extensive series of com- 
 binations in which the sun's rays determine the generation of electricity, 
 but that in one division light caused a positive voltaic circuit; in the 
 second, a negative voltaic circuit. The table of these circuits will illustrate 
 the manner in which these circuits are formed, by using solutions so 
 arranged that one portion may be screened from the light, and the second 
 may be acted upon powerfully by the sun's rays. 
 
 NEGATIVE PHOTO- YOLTAIC CIRCUITS. 
 
 Mixed solutions of proto-sulphate of iron and nitrate of silver. 
 ,j gallic acid and nitrate of silver. 
 
 oxalic acid and chloride of gold. 
 
 ferrocyanate of potash and ammonio-percitrate of iron. 
 
 ferrocyanate of potash and ammonio-pertartrate of iron. 
 
 ferrocyanate of potash and potassio-tartrate of iron. 
 
 POSITIVE PHOTO-YOLTAIC CIRCUITS. 
 
 Mixed solutions of pernitrate of iron and red ferrocyanate of potash. 
 bromine water, phosphorus water, and pernitrate of iron. 
 
 These experiments I cannot show you this evening, because I cannot 
 command the sun's rays to shine upon one side of my apparatus ; but 
 from what I have stated, you will perceive that it is quite within the range 
 of ordinary physical effects to have voltaic circuits set in action by light. 
 
No. XVII.] APPENDIX. 263 
 
 Having developed photo-voltaic circuits, the eye itself next demands 
 our attention ; and we find nerve and blood to be abundantly supplied to 
 that organ. The electro-voltaic test is best applied by the insertion of one 
 needle into the choroid, the second into the muscles of the eyeball, and 
 I found a slight deflection of the galvanometer when a strong light was 
 thrown into the eye, proving that vision was a voltaic phenomenon. 
 
 The essential part of the organ of hearing is encased in textures of 
 such extreme hardness, that it will probably be for ever prevented from 
 being the subject of direct experiment. In the cochlea, I believe we 
 may reasonably assume that the pitch of the note is determined ; and 
 in the semicircular canals which are placed in the three orthogonal planes 
 of a cube, physiologists are pretty generally agreed that animals learn the 
 direction of sound. Blood and nerve essentials to voltaic action are 
 here distributed, and no physical difficulty is presented to the probability 
 of a voltaic circuit being determined by sounds. 
 
 The nasal organ is, like the ear and eye, liberally supplied with blood 
 and nerve-fibres. The voltaic circuit is easily demonstrated by the electro- 
 voltaic test; but the animal has an extraordinary repugnance to the 
 operation, and you must be extremely careful not to be deceived by other 
 secretions which are competent to set up the voltaic action. I can very 
 readily show you that it is not at all difficult to form voltaic circuits, 
 in which odours should excite the electric action. The tube which I hold 
 in my hand contains two iron plates, which are separated by a mem- 
 brane ; and on each side pieces of sponge, dipped in very dilute muriatic 
 acid, are arranged. Now, if ammoniacal vapour, which produces the 
 most powerful action on the natural nose, be brought under one side 
 of the diaphragm, you perceive that a very strong action of the needle is 
 immediately produced. The experiment which I have selected is one 
 which shows the result easily, rapidly, and in a very marked manner; 
 but I should not think it a bold assertion to declare, that with a little 
 trouble and patience I could exhibit voltaic effects, although perhaps to 
 a less marked extent, with every other odoriferous body. 
 
 When an animal tastes, the matter which contains the savour comes 
 in immediate contact with the tongue, and is there probably absorbed. I 
 need hardly state that the essentials for sensation, blood and nerve, 
 are abundantly supplied to that organ. With respect to physical con- 
 trivances analogical with the tongue, it is very easy to show voltaic 
 force excited by savours ; and I have here a Y-shaped tube, containing 
 a solution of pernitrate of iron, and two platinum poles, which exhibit 
 by themselves no signs of electric action. As soon, however, as I drop 
 a little infusion of meat into one side of the tube, you will instantly 
 perceive that the galvanometer shows signs of action. There is no 
 mystery about the meat, as sugar, or in fact any other savour, would 
 have had a similar property in a greater or less degree. The direct 
 examination of the tongue in the living animal affords unsatisfactory 
 results, inasmuch as secretions in the mouth are very apt to give wrong 
 results a circumstance which should be very carefully guarded against. 
 
 The last organ of sensation to which I have to beg your attention is 
 the skin. Now, by the ordinary sensor nerves, we derive two sets of 
 impressions of somewhat different characters for instance, we are enabled 
 to judge of impressions upon the body by either heat or force, or what 
 
264 APPENDIX. [No. XVII. 
 
 may be termed Coenaisthenics. We are also enabled to judge of tlie 
 changes taking place within our own body, which estimation may be 
 more properly called Somaisthenics. By Somaisthenics we are enabled 
 to estimate the slightest muscular motion, and, in fact, I cannot move 
 my finger or my arm to even the slightest extent without having a 
 perfectly distinct idea of the amount of motion produced. 
 
 The skin is acted upon by variations of temperature and force: 
 hence we have to inquire how far heat and force can be employed to 
 set in motion the voltaic force. In experimenting upon the variations 
 of temperature, I found a large series of thermo-voltaic circuits, which, 
 curiously enough, are analogical to photo-voltaic circuits, inasmuch as 
 heat, at various times, determines both negative and positive circuits in the 
 same manner as light. I have here a negative thermo-voltaic circuit. The 
 apparatus, as you perceive, consists of a Y-tube, containing sulphate of 
 copper. Into each side of the tube a copper wire is placed, and you 
 perceive that the moment I apply the heat of a spirit-lamp to one side 
 the galvanometer is very strongly deflected, the heated side becoming the 
 negative pole. 
 
 When force acts upon the skin, I presume the blood-corpuscle is pre- 
 vented from coming in contact with the termination of the nerve-fibre ; 
 and I will beg you to bear this supposition in mind, as in a later part of 
 this lecture I shall demonstrate to you, that if this supposition be correct, 
 a voltaic circuit must be generated. My observations upon heat and 
 force simply indicate that a thermo- or dynamo -voltaic circuit is an 
 ordinary voltaic or physical phenomenon; but that by no means proves 
 that in the living body the mechanism of feeling is voltaic. This, however, 
 is an experiment easily shown, for we have but to introduce our electro- 
 voltaic test into the cutaneous textures, when a powerful deflection of the 
 galvanometer occurs whenever we pinch or otherwise irritate the skin. We 
 thus find that the mechanism of all the sensations is voltaic, and, according 
 to the laws of the voltaic test, the needle nearest the negative pole becomes 
 positive ; that nearest the positive pole, negative. From direct experiment 
 I should therefore infer, that the organs of sensation all constitute the 
 positive pole of the peripheral battery. These inferences, however, must 
 always be taken with a proper allowance for the complex character of the 
 voltaic circuits in the body, or rather, I would say, for the complex 
 materials of which the circuit is composed. 
 
 Sensations are received by a certain definite number of sensor nerves, 
 which constitute the only means we possess of obtaining a knowledge of 
 the external world. The sensor nerves pass to the brain, and then come 
 in contact with a highly vascular tissue, called the grey matter of the 
 brain ; and I invite your attention to the very exquisite injections which 
 I have made of that tissue, by means of the solution of carmine, and 
 which will be exhibited under the microscope in the library after the 
 lecture. 
 
 Inasmuch as the sensor nerves come in contact with blood-vessels, it 
 follows from voltaic laws, that a voltaic battery exists in the brain, which 
 is opposed to that in the body, and by which the electro-biological circuit 
 is completed. At this point we leave the regions of direct experiment, 
 and we must deduce the mechanism of the central battery according to 
 voltaic laws on the one hand, and the properties of the mind on the other. 
 
No. XVIL] APPENDIX. 265 
 
 I infer that the sensations are simply repeated in the brain, nerve for 
 nerve, action for action, and this first battery I term the sensation or 
 aisthenic battery ; the second pole of this battery is probably connected 
 with the corresponding fibre of the opposite side, by what anatomists call 
 a commissure, and which I have illustrated on the table by a voltaic 
 arrangement. 
 
 We have represented to our minds, not only simple sensations, but 
 also combined impressions : thus, whilst I am looking at all the parts of 
 this theatre, one impression namely, that of a theatre is brought before 
 my mind. There is no difficulty in obtaining this result by voltaic means ; 
 and the mechanism by which I believe it to be accomplished I have termed 
 the syndramic or combination battery. Thus, if we have three primitive 
 nervous fibrils, A,B, C, they may be thus combined, AB, AC, BC, ABC. 
 The diagram behind me illustrates this mode of combination ; and here, 
 upon the table, I have the voltaic arrangement itself, and you cannot fail 
 to observe that these wires, even on this very limited scale, begin to look 
 like the interlacing which we observe in the brain. 
 
 If we divide any space into a certain number of squares, and give to 
 each square a certain name or figure, it will be apparent, that by simply 
 giving the names of the squares filled up with black, the word, or name, or 
 symbol, would at once be accurately described. I have divided this piece 
 of card into certain squares, and if I read you a certain combination of 
 numbers, it would appear, at first, to give no definite idea ; but if you 
 examine carefully, you will find that this combination of numbers brings 
 out the word LIFE. This word, I find, has been very unfortunately chosen, 
 but in reality I only selected the word in illustration of the principle of 
 combination, because it only consisted of four letters, and because each 
 letter was so formed that it very perfectly filled up square spaces. 
 
 Ladies constantly in practice take advantage of this principle in their 
 patterns of worsted work ; and it would be possible so to describe a 
 picture, up to the very limit of our powers of sensation, that it might, 
 from the description alone, be repeated in any country, and yet be a 
 perfect facsimile. 
 
 I dwell thus long upon the syndramic or combination battery, 
 because, in all probability, it constitutes a very large part of the brain. 
 When we consider the large number of ultimate fibres in each organ of 
 sensation, I do not think that we have reason to suppose every possible 
 combination ensues ; and even with regard to ordinary sentient nerves, I 
 think that such a universal combination would be embarrassing to the 
 mind, and that the combination probably would only extend to the nerves 
 of each separate region of the body. It is quite certain that we always 
 know the specific sense by which impressions are learnt that is to say, 
 that we know whether an idea has been derived from the eye, nose, mouth, 
 or other organ of sensation. This resolves itself into one idea for a vast 
 number of sensations, and is a state which can very easily be imitated by 
 voltaic contrivances. I have upon the table a voltaic arrangement of this 
 character, in which but one action is produced from one or all the 
 combinations which exist in the syndramic battery. In some cases, ideas 
 do not arise alone from action on one sense, but on two or more senses at 
 one time a combination which I infer to occur in the syndramic-noemic 
 battery ; and lastly, it is necessary to assume that all these last combina- 
 
266 APPENDIX. [No. XVII. 
 
 tions of each specific sense are connected together into one total in the 
 pneuma-noemic battery, from the opposed pole of which the dynamic or 
 motor nerves spring. 
 
 The situation of this important battery is somewhere in the base of 
 the brain ; and I believe that in applying the electro-voltaic test in this 
 situation, I have obtained deflection of the galvanometer. Let me, how- 
 ever, speak with the utmost caution upon this point ; for although I have 
 tried the experiment over and over again, the animal is almost invariably 
 destroyed, and in fact by the electro-biological maps * which are suspended 
 upon the wall, you will at once perceive that an action here influences 
 every nerve in the body, and thus may very readily destroy vitality. 
 
 Now, what are the qualities of this last battery, which has but one 
 impression for all the sensations of the body ? We find that it represents 
 totality, and cannot be limited. It has therefore the properties of infinity, 
 and gives to man his most exalted ideas. The ideas of soul, God, eternity, 
 immortality, are obtainable from this battery, acting in conjunction with 
 the lower batteries which I have already described. I regret exceedingly 
 that the hour allotted for this lecture has now been so far spent, that I 
 am unable fully to consider the properties of the mind deducible from 
 the theoretical structure which I have developed upon voltaic laws ; but, 
 under the circumstances, I feel bound to pass on to matters which can be 
 elucidated by direct experiment. 
 
 When the voltaic force is carried by the sensor nerves to the brain, 
 it there causes some change of matter, by which polarity is ever after 
 determined. This phenomenon is a physical result of the most ordinary 
 kind ; for I have here a solution of argento-cyanide of potassium, with two 
 copper poles, and before the lecture I passed a voltaic circuit from one 
 pole to the second, by which I have effected a change of matter, and silver 
 has been precipitated on one side. Tou will now see that, immediately I 
 connect the two poles with the galvanometer, a strong deflection will 
 ensue, and, to use a metaphorical phrase, the solution has remembered 
 what I did to it. This experiment, which is but a sample of a class, must 
 only be regarded as analogical, and is only valuable to show that voltaic 
 electricity may produce effects which will ever after be apparent. 
 
 In the arrangement of the nerves of the body, every sensor nerve is 
 opposed to every motor nerve, and may excite it to action under certain 
 circumstances. Now before I consider this subject in detail, I may state 
 that the voltaic circuit, when it has the choice of two or more roads, 
 invariably takes the easiest route, to the exclusion of all the rest. Here is 
 an arrangement in which one of my platinized silver batteries is connected 
 with two precipitating troughs, having the same distance to travel in both 
 cases, but one is charged with sulphate of copper, the other with sulphate 
 of zinc ; and yet with this trifling difference the entire current has passed 
 through the sulphate of copper, to the exclusion of the sulphate of zinc, 
 because copper was more easily reducible than zinc, and therefore offered 
 a somewhat easier passage to the voltaic force. 
 
 Upon examining the arrangement, I find that the experiment has been 
 
 * Copies of the maps in Mr. Smee's ' Elements of Electro-Biology ' and 
 The Mind of Man.' 
 
No. XVIL] APPENDIX. 267 
 
 tried under the most trying circumstances, as I observe that the positive 
 pole, in the sulphate of copper, is almost entirely dissolved. Notwith- 
 standing, however, this, the law which I have developed and described in 
 my ' Electro-Metallurgy/ still holds good, though I must confess that I 
 should not have risked the demonstration of this extreme application of 
 the law, which fortunately, by accident, has brought the matter more 
 strikingly under your notice. 
 
 From this law, we learn that the voltaic circuit would be completed 
 through the nearest motor nerve, when any sensation was excited, unless 
 obstacles were presented to its passage in that direction, or any circum- 
 stances favourable to its passage through any other motor nerve were 
 afforded in some more distant part of the Electro-Biological circuit, when 
 even the furthest motor nerve might be excited to action. 
 
 The action of every animal is determined, then, not only by the 
 impression received at the moment, but by every other event which it has 
 registered or remembered from the first moment of its life. 
 
 The motor nerves, by which the circuit is completed in the body, are 
 distributed, in man, to the muscles; in other creatures to the electric 
 organs ; in others, to light- generating structures. The electric battery of 
 fishes, as it is technically called, is composed of an enormous number 
 of minute cells, supplied with blood-vessels. The nervous force, which I 
 have already shown to be voltaic, acts at right angles to the direction of 
 the cells, and there produces some change of matter which instantly 
 causes a powerful voltaic current. 
 
 I have here a glass vessel, containing a solution of ferrocyanate of 
 potash, into the interior of which is placed a porous cell, containing a 
 similar solution; a platinum pole is inserted into both vessels, for the 
 purpose of connection with the galvanometer. Now, if I pass a voltaic 
 current from the outside to the inside (z s), no change of matter takes 
 place in one part, the prussiate of potash remains the same; in the 
 other it is converted into the red prussiate. From this change one side 
 becomes strongly positive to the other, and you perceive that so powerful 
 a current has been generated, that the needle completely swings round 
 the instant connection is made with the galvanometer. I have only 
 shown this experiment upon one cell; but it must be manifest to you, 
 that as every cell adds a certain amount of force, it simply requires a 
 number to make a battery as powerful as that of an electric eel. The 
 artificial electric eel I have myself constructed, in a vast variety of 
 ways, which I have not now time to consider. 
 
 The muscular substance is ultimately divisible into primitive fibrils, 
 which consist of a sheath, called the sarcolemma, containing, in the 
 interior, a peculiar matter, which, during the act of contraction, becomes 
 wider and shorter ; and this contraction is caused by a change of matter, 
 produced by the voltaic force, carried through the motor nerves. 
 
 I have here a strong piece of gut to imitate the sarcolemma, and into 
 the interior of this I have placed fluid and pieces of platinized silver. 
 Upon the outer side of this gut is placed a strong piece of amalgamated 
 zinc, so that the moment connection is made between the zinc and silver, 
 gas is evolved, which renders the bladder wider and shorter, and thus 
 moves this bar of wood over a space of three or four feet. 
 
 The conditions of the natural muscle and artificial muscle are per- 
 
268 APPENDIX, [No. XVII. 
 
 fectly analogical. Both possess a power only limited by the strength of 
 the materials. In both cases, the power acts over the short end of the 
 lever, and therefore at a mechanical disadvantage. In both cases it is a 
 great power moving over a small space. I, however, can move my natural 
 muscles much quicker than I can my artificial muscle ; but you must 
 please to remember that my organs are not competent to construct a 
 machine having such fine tubes as we find in the ultimate muscular 
 fibrils ; and for want of this delicacy of construction we sacrifice the 
 speed and rapidity of action observable in the perfection of Nature's 
 operations. 
 
 Anxious to lay before you the leading experiments and deductions of 
 this truly delightful subject, I have delivered this lecture with the utmost 
 possible rapidity, and yet I see around me multitudes of experiments which 
 I fear that I shall have no time to explain, as the hour has already passed. 
 By your applause, I understand that you wish me to proceed ; but as some 
 of my audience live at considerable distances, I will only detain you by 
 calling your attention very briefly to a few other points. In the first 
 place, we find that man consists of a double voltaic circuit, and therefore 
 we ought to consider the nature of the changes taking place in that voltaic 
 circuit. Now, there are strong reasons to suppose that hydrogen and 
 carbon act as the positive pole, and become changed in that capacity into 
 water and carbonic acid. It would only require one thirty- second the 
 quantity of these materials to produce any result that it would of zinc ; 
 and I can assure you, that many a time have I sought diligently and care- 
 fully for a voltaic circuit which should be efficiently excited by carbon or 
 coke as a positive element ; and I can promise to the fortunate discoverer 
 of such a combination the delight of being able to supersede the steam- 
 engine, and the pleasure of successfully generating the voltaic light. 
 Then, and not till then, will voltaic batteries be employed to the exclusion 
 of every other means of generating force. Although up to the present 
 time I have not been able to use coke or carbon for a positive pole, I have 
 succeeded in making a variety of circuits, in which substances composed 
 of carbon and hydrogen form powerful voltaic circuits ; for instance, 
 sugar and nitric acid, oxalic acid and chloride of gold, ferrocyanate of 
 potash and nitric acid, constitute examples of this class of batteries. 
 
 The voltaic circuit in animals is exactly balanced, and does not act 
 without some impression to set in motion the electric current. The 
 arterial or oxygenized corpuscles are admirably adapted for this purpose, 
 and I have here an experiment which will illustrate their functions in a 
 very beautiful manner. The glass vessel which I hold in my hand contains 
 a solution of common salt, and two iron poles are inserted into it. Now 
 in this state everything is balanced, and no voltaic force is exhibited. If I 
 take an artificial corpuscle made of animal membrane, containing a little 
 pernitrate of iron, and bring it in contact with one of the iron poles, 
 a very powerful deflection of the galvanometer ensues, indicating the 
 presence of a current. When, however, one corpuscle is placed against 
 each plate of iron, the effect is again balanced, and no voltaic circuit arises. 
 These experiments well indicate the functions of the blood-corpuscle in the 
 living body ; for when one is in contact with each end of the nerve-fibre, 
 no current can take place, but the moment one is removed, or acted upon 
 by heat, light, or other forces, a strong voltaic battery is formed. 
 
No. XVII.A.] APPENDIX. 269 
 
 I would gladly have occupied your attention with a few remarks 
 upon the relations of electricity to organic or cell-life. By a modifi- 
 cation of the aggregation of cells, a plant produces leaves, stalks, flowers, 
 or roots, which every gardener knows is, to a certain extent, as much 
 under human control as digging, raking, or hoeing. During the pre- 
 valence of the potato malady, I subjected the plant to every form of 
 electricity, and in every possible manner, over long periods, without 
 obtaining any result. 
 
 There is, however, one remarkable circumstance to be noticed with 
 regard to the relation of electricity to cell-life, for I have found that 
 electric currents stop the circulation of the blood, as suddenly as a stop 
 does a watch when put down ; and this entire stoppage of the circulation 
 extends not only to the blood-corpuscle, but also to the lymph-corpuscle 
 which creeps so slowly along the side of the vessel. 
 
 If we take a review of the functions of animal life, we find that all 
 sensations, the registration of impressions, thought, action, and other 
 phenomena of animal life, are voltaic effects, and solely obedient to 
 physical laws : and to the idea of the performance of these functions we 
 assign the idea of vitality. Life, therefore, is one word used to signify a 
 number of changes. It is no independent reality apart from the matter 
 which exhibits these phenomena. Neither is it an imponderable attached 
 to matter ; nor is it an all-pervading ether, or anima mundi, as some 
 philosophers would have us suppose. Life, mind, memory, reason, thought, 
 come from organization, are purely physical phenomena, and cease at death. 
 
 Man, however, is immortal. Man, at all times and in all regions, has 
 believed in his immortality. Now that which is mortal can have no 
 relation with that which gives to man his immortality. That which is 
 infinite must not be limited ; time must not be confounded with eternity, 
 matter with space, the body with the soul, nor material actions with God. 
 
 Electro-biology, then, leads us no less to infer, than religion 
 commands us to believe, " that the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and 
 we shall be changed." 
 
 No. XVII.A. 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF THE HUMAN MIND DEDUCED FROM 
 PHYSICAL LAWS ; BEING A SEQUEL TO ELEMENTS OF ELECTRO- 
 BIOLOGY. By ALFRED SMEE, F.R.S. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 SOME years since, M. Roret, the distinguished French publisher, did 
 me the honour of causing to be made a translation into the French lan- 
 guage of my ' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy,' in which it met with as 
 signal a success as the original edition in this country. 
 
 As soon as M. Roret received my work on Electro-Biology, he also 
 caused it to be immediately translated, and kindly wrote to me to know 
 whether J desired to make any additions to the English text. 
 
 After a careful consideration, I determined to write a short epitome 
 of the Principles of the Human Mind, deduced from Electro-Biology, to 
 form an Appendix to that work. 
 
270 APPENDIX. [No. XVII.A. 
 
 But, after the remarkable kindness with which the work has been 
 received in this country by my friends and the public, I feel that it would 
 be a want of courtesy, if not an act of ingratitude, to allow further 
 remarks upon the same subject, however unimportant they may be, to 
 appear in a foreign country before they were issued in the English language. 
 
 I apprehend that the time is fast approaching, when no other 
 system of mental science will be acknowledged but that which is based 
 upon physical laws and the structure of the brain ; and if my researches 
 shall be found hereafter to have contributed to the development of true 
 philosophy, I shall indeed feel more than amply rewarded for the hours of 
 anxious but delightful labour spent in its development. 
 
 7, FINSBURY CIRCUS, 
 Sept. 18th, 1849. 
 
 Knowledge of the external World. 
 
 1. Our ideas of the external world arise, primarily, from an action 
 upon the ultimate nervous fibres of the organs of sensation, by the specific 
 stimulus competent to excite each organ of sensation respectively. 
 
 2. Each primitive nervous fibril is called a unit; the repetition of 
 units, Number. 
 
 3. That which is competent to act upon these nervous fibrils is called 
 Matter. 
 
 4. Whenever matter undergoes any change which renders it appre- 
 ciable to our senses, it is said to evince Force. 
 
 5. The definite combination of nervous fibres excited to action, deter- 
 mines the character of the idea presented to the mind, such as form, posi- 
 tion, magnitude. 
 
 6. Each combination may be expressed by a word or cypher, and 
 forms a definite image. The use of words is called Language. 
 
 7. The sum total of all the possible combinations of the ultimate 
 nervous fibrils, excited to action, comprises all the possible images which 
 can be represented to the mind. 
 
 8. Inasmuch as the possible combination of all the nervous fibrils is 
 immensely numerous, so are the images which may be reflected in the 
 mind immensely numerous. 
 
 Senses. 
 
 9. An idea is represented to the mind, when any one or more of the 
 filaments of either specific organ of sensation is excited without reference 
 to the definite image thereby produced. 
 
 10. This solitary idea, derived from the filaments of the eye, is termed 
 Vision ; of the ear, Hearing ; of the nose, Smelling ; of the palate, Tasting ; 
 of the skin, Feeling ; and probably, from the nerves communicating the 
 changes occurring in our own body, Personality. 
 
 Combination of Senses. 
 
 11. The perfect knowledge of any object is obtained by impressions 
 received by the sum of the organs of sensation. 
 
 12. But as matter may exist without exciting all the organs of sensa- 
 tion at one time, we determine the combination of senses which has 
 concurred to give us the knowledge of any external object. 
 
No. XVII. A.] APPENDIX. 271 
 
 Infinity. 
 
 13. An idea is represented from the excitement of one or all the 
 nervous fibrils of any organ of sensation indiscriminately. This idea is 
 infinite, inasmuch as it is indivisible, incapable of addition and represents 
 totality.* 
 
 Time. 
 
 14. Our knowledge of the external world at any given period is the 
 sum total of the images from all our senses. 
 
 15. These images represented to the mind are perpetually changing. 
 
 16. When images change, one remains; the other changes perhaps 
 several times before the first changes. The relation of these changes to 
 each other is termed the time of their occurrence ; that which changes the 
 least frequently is said to be of the longest duration. 
 
 Cause. 
 
 17. In the change of images, when one specific image never appears 
 without a similar antecedent, and the matter in the external world which 
 gave rise to the first image set in motion the second the antecedent 
 image is said to cause the second image. 
 
 18. The mind finds great difficulty in distinguishing between con- 
 comitance and cause, because the matter which produces an antecedent 
 image may not set in motion the matter which produced the second image. 
 
 Pleasure and Pain. 
 
 19. When images of the external world are produced with a certain 
 intensity, the idea of Pleasure is excited ; when with a greater intensity, 
 the idea of Pam.f 
 
 20. The transition from Pleasure to Pain being sudden, not gradual, 
 it follows that the nature of the action on the brain, and consequently of 
 the ideas, is different. 
 
 Memory. 
 
 21. An image once formed in the brain produces an indelible impres- 
 sion, and may at any future time recur. This property is called Memory. 
 
 Consciousness. 
 
 22. When an image is produced by an action upon the external senses, 
 the actions on the organs of sense concur with the actions in the brain ; 
 and the image is then a Reality. 
 
 23. When an image occurs to the mind without a corresponding 
 simultaneous action of the body, it is called a Thought. 
 
 24. The power to distinguish between a thought and a reality is 
 called Consciousness. 
 
 * Infinity is sometimes confounded with its hyperbolical use in the sense of 
 endless number. 
 
 t Every action of our lives is either pleasurable or painful ; and thus we 
 perceive how vastly the former state preponderates over the latter. 
 
272 APPENDIX. [No. XVII.A. 
 
 Instinctive Ideas. 
 
 25. Several ideas must necessarily co-exist, giving rise to compound 
 ideas always existing in the brain : thus personality and infinity give us 
 the idea of the Soul ; pleasure and infinity, of Good ; pain and infinity, of 
 Evil ; cause and infinity, of God ; time and infinity, of Eternity ; infinity, 
 pleasure and time, of Heaven ; infinity, pain and time, of Hell.* 
 
 26. These instinctive ideas are not produced by the immediate action 
 of external influences, but have their origin in the construction of the 
 brain, or organ of thought. 
 
 27. Instinctive ideas belong to the higher class of mental images ; and 
 there is no reason to suppose that a more simple idea is implanted in the 
 human species. In the lower animals, however, it is apparent that either 
 other images exist, which guide the creatures to perform their operations 
 as the bird to build the nest, the bee the honeycomb ; or that the 
 nervous system is so constructed, that the creature is led to perform 
 specific acts under some definite excitement. 
 
 Reflection. 
 
 28. When images already implanted in the brain, which possess many 
 points in common, continually reappear, the party is said to be reflecting. 
 
 29. During reflection, the influences of the external world to produce 
 new images are entirely, or to a great part, neglected. 
 
 30. By reflection, ideas may be combined so as to form general laws. 
 
 31. By reflection, general laws may be applied to specific instances, or 
 images may be analysed into their component parts. 
 
 Judgment. 
 
 32. When an idea is represented to the mind, it either accords or 
 discords with other ideas previously received, or with general laws resulting 
 therefrom, or with the moral law. The determination between this con- 
 cordance or discordance is called Judgment. 
 
 Imagination. 
 
 33. Man has the power of uniting two or more antecedent images, or 
 the parts of two or more antecedent images. By this power, a totally new 
 image is formed, and hence it is called Imagination. 
 
 34. Observation is the basis of fancy ; and the novelist is fruitful only 
 in proportion as he stores his mind with natural images. 
 
 Action. 
 
 35. Man acts by electricity, which is set in motion through the 
 muscular structures, whereby contraction ensues, and parts of the body 
 are moved. 
 
 36. Action may be produced by the immediate influence of the 
 
 * As these instinctive ideas are simply thoughts, and cannot be proved by 
 our external senses, the mind may be led at times to deny the reality of their 
 existence. Revelation, however, declares their truth, and thus compensates for 
 the natural weakness of man. 
 
No. XVII.A.] APPENDIX. 273 
 
 external agents upon the body, which give rise to a new image in the 
 brain ; and action may also be produced by the recurrence of a former 
 image. 
 
 Specific Action. 
 
 37. The mind is one and indivisible ; and thus, the particular muscular 
 movement which the electrical force determines is not only regulated by 
 an immediate image, but by every other image which has at any former 
 time been implanted in the brain. 
 
 38. Pleasure and pain regulate all actions : hence the particular move- 
 ment which is determined arises from the pleasurable or painful character 
 of all former images; as animals, as well as human beings, seek those 
 actions which are likely to be pleasurable, and eschew those which are 
 likely to be painful. 
 
 39. But the action determined in any particular instance may be 
 painful for the sake of obtaining greater pleasure at future periods ; and 
 the idea of obtaining infinite pleasure may allow of the most intense 
 immediate pain. 
 
 Hope and Fear. 
 
 40. The idea of future pleasure is called Hope of future pain, Fear. 
 The government of mankind is conducted by exciting Hope and Fear. 
 
 Desire. 
 
 41. When a tendency to act exists, it is called Desire; and always 
 exists, more or less, when a being is in good health, and in a state free 
 from fatigue. 
 
 Virtue and Vice. 
 
 42. All actions in the higher generalizations would give the idea 
 either of infinite pleasure or of infinite pain. Actions which concur with 
 those which lead to infinite pleasure are called Virtuous ; and those which 
 lead to infinite pain are called Vicious. 
 
 Moral Law. 
 
 43. The moral law, being infinite, is competent to control all actions. 
 It is therefore important that it should be frequently and strongly 
 impressed upon the human mind. 
 
 Volition. 
 
 44. The resultant of the force of an immediate stimulus and of all 
 former ideas implanted in the brain is termed Volition. 
 
 Free Agency. 
 
 45. A man is born a free agent ; but after images are once implanted, 
 he is compelled to act from the ideas existing in his brain. Hence, could 
 we but tell the exact ideas which any human being possessed, it would be 
 practicable to foretell his line of action under any defined circumstance. 
 
274 APPENDIX. [No. XVII.A. 
 
 CERTAIN SPECIFIC IDEAS. 
 Life. 
 
 46. The term Life is assigned to the idea which the mind forme of the 
 capacity of an organized being to perform its functions. 
 
 Death. 
 
 47. The term Death is assigned to the idea which the mind receives of 
 an organized being incompetent to perform the vital actions. 
 
 Mind. 
 
 48. The term Mind is assigned to the general idea of any action of the 
 brain, which is a part of the organization of man. An idea is the term 
 assigned to any specific action in the brain. 
 
 Organization. 
 
 49. Organization is the term assigned to the construction of a being 
 to adapt it to perform certain functions. 
 
 Future State. 
 
 50. The mind has constantly represented to it the idea of a personality 
 which will exist infinitely. 
 
 51. Whilst, however, the idea exists, we have no power to learn the 
 properties of infinity ; and hence we cannot define the nature of the state 
 in which we shall live hereafter. 
 
 DISEASED STATES OF MIND. 
 Insane Ideas. 
 
 52. Whenever an idea appears in the brain, which is neither instinc- 
 tive nor is due to external causes, nor is deduced by the ordinary operation 
 of the brain, it is said to be an Insane Idea. 
 
 53. When this idea is continuously the same, the party is said to have 
 a Monomania. 
 
 54. When various images appear and vanish indiscriminately, the state 
 is called Incoherence ; and when this state is combined with more or less 
 unconsciousness, it is termed Delirium. 
 
 55. The danger of insane ideas depends upon the distinctness with 
 which the idea is impressed upon the brain; for it will determine the 
 party to act in proportion to the power with which it is impressed. 
 
 56. To the violent actions arising from strongly implanted diseased 
 ideas, the term MANIA is given; and the violence of the Mania is pro- 
 portionate to the power of the delusion. To the individual it is an 
 exaltation of pleasure. 
 
 57. When, from the delusion, the patient is in continual fear, he is 
 said to be melancholy ; and it is probably, to the individual, an exaltation 
 of pain. 
 
 &S. Whn a fixed insane idea exists in the mind, the party cannot be 
 
No. XVII.A.] t APPENDIX, 275 
 
 said to be partially deluded ; for, inasmuch as the mind is one and indi- 
 visible, it will control all actions.* 
 
 59. A strong moral impression may counteract an insane image, as a 
 party may be kept from doing wrong, by feeling assured that it will lead 
 to present or future inconvenience to himself. 
 
 DEFECTIVE STATE OP MIND. 
 Idiotcy. 
 
 60. When the structure of the brain is congenitally defective, so that 
 it cannot perform all its normal actions, the party is said to be an. idiot. 
 
 Loss of Memory. 
 
 61. Sometimes the power of memory is intermittent, or is totally lost, 
 as after the frequent recurrence of epileptic fits. 
 
 Fits. 
 
 62. Any interval of unconsciousness, except sleep, is called a Fit. 
 
 Fatuity. 
 
 63. When from loss of memory, or want of power in the brain, the 
 functions' of reflection or judgment are not perfectly performed, the 
 individual is said to be fatuous. 
 
 Loss of Sensation. 
 
 64. Sometimes the power of receiving impressions from the external 
 world is diminished or lost, as in blindness, deafness, &c. 
 
 Paralysis^ 
 
 65. When parts of the body do not move by volition, they are said to 
 be paralysed. 
 
 Senile Imbecility. 
 
 66. In old age the brain loses its power to receive new images, to 
 ^restore bygone impressions, to connect different images, or to apply 
 general laws to specific instances. That which ennobles the man has 
 passed away ; the outward f orm remains, but the inward structure has lost 
 its power to act. Childhood again ensues not to acquire new ideas, but 
 to forget those before implanted. All that is beautiful or desirable in this 
 world has passed away the brain has lost its power the mind ceases the 
 very existence of the man is unknown to himself, till death gives rise to a 
 new life, and discloses that new and glorious state in which our organiza- 
 tion teaches us that man will be immaterial and immortal. 
 
 Varieties of Races. 
 
 67. As individuals differ in their organization, it follows that they 
 differ in their capacity to perform various acts ; and we may presume that 
 
 * As a matter of jurisprudence, it has been held by the Lord Chancellors, in 
 the House of Lords, that the mind cannot be said to be partially deluded, 
 inasmuch as it is one and indivisible. 
 
276 APPENDIX. [No. XVIII. 
 
 the mind, being one of the functions of the body, is of varying power in 
 different individuals. 
 
 68. The observations which apply to different individuals, apply with 
 greater force to different races. 
 
 No. XVIII. 
 
 ON THE PRODUCTION OF CHOLERA BY INSUFFICIENT 
 DRAINAGE. WITH REMARKS ON THE HYPOTHESIS OP AN 
 
 ALTERED ELECTRICAL STATE OF THE ATMOSPHERE. By ALFRED 
 
 SMEE, F.R.S., Surgeon to the Bank of England, &c. (From the 
 ' Lancet,' September 1st, 1849.) 
 
 WHEN pestilence passes over the land, and consigns to a premature grave 
 alike the old and the young, it behoves each in his respective depart- 
 ment to endeavour to trace out the proximate cause, and strive to dis- 
 cover some antidote to so direful a calamity. 
 
 The experience of all the world proves that the lowest districts, the 
 banks of rivers, and natural watercourses are the situations in which the 
 malady chiefly resides. Two physical hypotheses may be framed upon this 
 fact : firstly, that the cholera is caused by a poison which gravitates to 
 those situations ; secondly, that in those situations poison is generated. 
 
 If, however, cholera be produced by a heavy poison subsiding from 
 the atmosphere to low situations, we should have cholera exhibiting itself 
 in all low districts, and the weight of the air would be absolutely greater 
 in such localities. This fact has not been proved, otherwise the Board of 
 Health could always determine, by weighing the atmosphere, where cholera 
 was likely to appear, and, when existing, when it was likely to depart. 
 The hypothesis of a heavy poison being the cause of cholera is a generaliza- 
 tion embracing many facts, but not based upon any direct proof. 
 
 In low situations, however, drainage is manifestly more or less imper- 
 fect. The effete materials of the human frame are not quickly removed 
 from the sphere of human residences, and thus can act more detrimentally 
 than in higher and drier localities. Nothing is more hurtful to animal 
 life than the effete matter of the same animal, and disease more or less 
 serious is sure to occur when any creature is exposed to the influence of 
 the worn-out materials of its own frame. 
 
 Nature has provided that ordinarily the most rapid diffusion of 
 gaseous emanations should take place throughout the atmosphere; and 
 with such force does this diffusion occur, that Professor Graham has 
 beautifully observed, that it would be as easy to stop the mountain tor- 
 rent as to impede the equable diffusion of different gases. 
 
 Every person must have observed that sometimes this diffusion is 
 quicker than at others, and that the same source will sometimes exhale 
 the most pestiferous stench, whilst at others no offensive odour will be 
 discoverable. This difference is clearly attributable to the exhalation 
 passing more rapidly into the atmosphere at one time than another. 
 
 Now all cholera cases appear in situations where the victims have 
 
No. XVIII.] APPENDIX. 277 
 
 been exposed to the exhalations of drains, cesspools, &c., or to the equally 
 hurtful products of the lungs and skin of other individuals. Hence these 
 facts may be expressed hypothetically, by assuming that from some cause 
 the diffusive power of the atmosphere is at the present time below the 
 average ; and hence, wherever noxious exhalations exist, there the disease 
 is manifested according to the susceptibility of the unfortunate individuals 
 exposed to their influence. 
 
 The non-diffusive hypothesis meets every case with which I am 
 acquainted in this great metropolis; for, from having carefully studied 
 the official facts communicated by the Registrar- General, together with 
 other observations, I have been surprised how constantly cholera has 
 appeared upon the lines of the great sewers. 
 
 The Fleet ditch, which is almost a river in the magnitude and length 
 of its course, has furnished abundance of cases, and its immediate neigh- 
 bourhood many more, from causes which I shall presently detail. This 
 sewer runs its course along the lowest ground between two hills, Ludgate 
 Hill on the one hand, Fleet Street on the other. When the sun shines 
 upon the hills, the air becomes warmer and specifically lighter, and hence, 
 according to immutable physical laws, a circulation of air laden with the 
 hurtful gases is produced in a direction from the river to these streets, and 
 with a magnitude of current directly proportionate to the imperfection of 
 the trappings of the sewers. This life-destroying blast is perceptible to 
 the olfactory organs of the most indiscriminating person. 
 
 The cholera does not necessarily follow water, because no case has 
 occurred along the New River, which is a pure, pellucid stream, running 
 at a considerable altitude along the hills, and which therefore does not 
 imbibe the drainage in the neighbourhood. At Highbury Yale a foul 
 ditch runs, and there, I am informed, the malady has occurred. From 
 these facts we learn that water without a sewer is harmless. 
 
 The non-diffusive theory, which I submit is competent to account for 
 the fact of cholera, shows that the public have incurred a grave responsi- 
 bility for not having removed effectually the excrernentitious matter from 
 London, as it points out that every death from cholera is a homicide which 
 might by proper management have been prevented. 
 
 The most indifferent person must have observed that noxious vapours 
 do not diffuse with equal rapidity at different times, and a question 
 naturally arises, how far electricity may be supposed to influence that 
 state. When particles of matter are electrified similarly, they repel each 
 other ; when dissimilarly, they are mutually attracted. As far as gases are 
 concerned, I do not know of any experiments which bear upon the matter ; 
 and so far as my own attempts have at present gone, I do not feel at 
 present satisfied with the results. During the prevalence of cholera the 
 electrical state of the atmosphere has been neutral ; and when thunder- 
 storms have occurred, the electrical disturbances have only been manifested 
 for a few hours. This neutral state is probably most favourable for the 
 non-diffusion of gases.* It is probable this non-diffusive state does not 
 
 * Connected with this subject, we must not forget the presence of ozone 
 in the atmosphere. It has the properties of a highly-oxygenated substance, 
 and hence would enter into combination with mephitic bodies. This curious 
 substance is produced whenever electricity is passing through water or aqueous 
 vapour, and is, .perhaps, identical with the peroxide of hydrogen. 
 
278 APPENDIX. [No. XVIII. 
 
 altogether depend upon electrical conditions, as we have neutral electricity 
 for days together when cholera does not appear. 
 
 The absence of diffusive power may not be for all gases equally ; and, 
 if subsequent experiment confirm this idea, a cause for each specific epi- 
 demic may be ultimately ascertained by the medical practitioner having 
 proper recourse to chemistry and natural philosophy. 
 
 Within the last month I have had many inquiries upon the possibility 
 of the disease being due to the direct action of electrical states upon the 
 human frame. Upon this matter I can only say that, having kept small 
 animals under electric tension for weeks together, I never could observe 
 any very appreciable effect ; and I do not believe myself that electricity in 
 any form could give rise to cholera. With respect to the statements 
 which have appeared in the papers, of the non-action of an electrical 
 machine, under French auspices, when the cholera raged, I may state that 
 it is contrary to my own experience, and so opposed to physical laws that 
 it partakes rather of the romantic than the real. 
 
 With respect to the effect of electricity as a remedial agent for 
 cholera, there are not sufficient physiological reasons for supposing that 
 in any form it can be applied with great success ; yet, as a stimulus, 
 Dr. Peacock has employed it usefully, and, by using the intermittent cur- 
 rent of the electro- magnetic or magneto-electric machine, the asthenic 
 and dynamic pole of the great peripheral battery may be excited to action, 
 and, according to the experiments which I have elsewhere described, the 
 entire capillary system of the surface and extremities of the body would be 
 stimulated, and the blood thereby drawn off from the interior. There 
 would be no difficulty in keeping a cholera patient under electrical tension, 
 by simply placing the legs of the bed on blocks of glass, and connecting 
 the bed with the conductor of an electric machine ; but, upon physiological 
 grounds, I do not apprehend that much benefit would arise in so severe a 
 disease as cholera. 
 
 I invite the attention of our profession to the non-diffusive theory, for 
 its universality or its incorrectness can only be proved by a multitude of 
 observers. At present, it appears to me to express the greatest number of 
 facts, and to be the most useful for practical application, as it declares 
 that cholera may be avoided by pure air, proper ventilation, and perfect 
 drainage. 
 
 The practical man is never contented without inquiring into the best 
 mode of action. It is clear that in a few days we cannot alter our 
 gigantic sewage works, and therefore the best preventive which can be 
 adopted is to cause the flow of such a great abundance of clear water that 
 the poison may be retained in the sewers. Clear water contains oxygen 
 to combine with the noxious products, and it is found that, up to a certain 
 state, water takes from the atmosphere, gases to which it has an affinity, 
 instead of yielding them to it, to spread abroad the poison. 
 
 The supply of water in London must in a great measure be procured 
 from the New River, though thousands of tons might probably be thrown 
 into the sewers by employing the waste labour of workhouses and prisons 
 to pump water from such wells as already exist. 
 
No. XIX.] APPENDIX. 279 
 
 No. XIX. 
 
 ON BINOCULAR PERSPECTIVE. From the Second Edition of 
 ALFRED SMEE'S book, 'The Eye in Health and Disease,' and from 
 other notes, &c. 1854. 
 
 " IN the last edition of this book, I stated that we know that it is 
 impossible for any painter to delineate a picture in the manner in which 
 we see it with both eyes, because two eyes give us a view of three sides of 
 a cube, and he can paint but two. I conceive it possible, that for objects 
 at moderate distances, painters may, in some cases, take a certain liberty 
 with perspective and depict the two perspectives ; but it certainly cannot 
 be attempted with near objects. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the assertion of the impossibility of delineating a 
 picture as seen with two eyes, which was the correct opinion of the time, 
 certain abstract considerations, with which I need not trouble my readers, 
 induced me to believe that such a delineation was more practicable than 
 at first sight was supposed ; and after much thought and studious experi- 
 ment, I trust that I am enabled to submit the laws by which painters may 
 represent, to a great extent, objects as seen with both eyes, and conse- 
 quently in all their natural beauty. 
 
 " In studying the phenomena of binocular perspective, it must be 
 remembered that the two eyes, being placed at two inches and a half apart, 
 give a different perspective view ; and, as in nature the eyes are directed 
 to the same point, it follows that the same part of the same object must be 
 the same point of sight for the two perspectives. 
 
 "The picture in a binocular perspective drawing really consists of 
 two drawings overlapping each other, the point of sight in both being 
 the same. By this overlapping, lights and shades, tones and the effect 
 of breadth, are produced, such as the eyes really observe in nature. 
 
 "The following may be regarded as the leading rules or laws of 
 binocular perspective, which may be useful to the painter as a guide in 
 the production of the drawing, or as a test for the detection of error when 
 it has been made. Much judgment and skill are no doubt requisite for 
 the painter so to construct his picture that the effect of solidity may be 
 suggested to the mind rather than hardly delineated ; and, as far as I can 
 judge, from the observation of paintings of some of our great artists, they 
 have, as an effort of genius, really depicted objects as seen with two eyes." 
 
 For example, he found that " Paul Veronese most skilfully obtains the 
 effect of solidity by the suggestion of a line more or less broken to conceal 
 his artifice, outside the limbs of the figures which he has represented." My 
 father never entered a picture-gallery without testing the pictures by his 
 laws of binocular perspective ; and when he was at Rome in 1868, he made 
 some interesting notes of the pictures in the Vatican, in which he found that 
 the great masters produced in somewhat different manners the principles 
 of binocular perspective, although the laws for the same were unknown to 
 them. Thus, in Baracci's pictures, there is " an indefiniteness of edge ;" 
 in Guide's there is "a gradation of tint an undefined half -tone;" in 
 Correggio's, " the edge is double ;" in Paul Veronese's, " the second line is 
 half pencilled in;" in Andrea Saochi's, "half-tone outside edge;" in Bar- 
 
280 APPENDIX. [No. XIX. 
 
 tolomeo's, "hairy edge;" in Caravaggio's, "shade over line, colour;" in 
 Perugino's, " hard outline ; " in Guercino's, " indeterminate outline," &c. 
 
 My father was greatly interested in this celebrated collection of 
 pictures in the Vatican, and spent considerable time over them. Unfor- 
 tunately the above notes, with the sketches attached to them, were con- 
 signed for care in the writing-case of my travelling bag, and have 
 remained there forgotten for several years. Lately, in thinking over 
 events in my dear father's life, the remembrance of his visit to the 
 Vatican and of these notes suddenly flashed across my mind. Had he 
 lived, he would probably have again brought forward his theories on 
 Binocular Perspective, with these notes fully set forth as illustrations. 
 He gives eleven rules or laws on Binocular Perspective : 
 " 1. The point of sight appears the same to both eyes as to one. 
 " 2. Small objects of less width than the distance between the pupils 
 of the eyes, when placed in a plane before the point of sight, are increased 
 in width and rendered either wholly or in part transparent, according to 
 their distance from the eyes. 
 
 " 3. Large objects, in a plane before the point of sight, are increased 
 in width, and their lateral edges become transparent and allow objects to 
 be seen through them. 
 
 " 4. Objects or parts of objects on either side the point of sight are 
 increased in width, and the edges become transparent. 
 
 " 5. Objects in a plane, behind the point of sight, are seen in two places, 
 but indistinctly, because they are out of focus, and because their images 
 fall upon the internal surface of the retina at a greater or less distance 
 from the point of distinct vision. 
 
 "6. Solid bodies or parts of solid bodies, appearing transparent, 
 modify the tints of objects seen through them. 
 
 " 7. Bodies of a light colour throw a light veil over objects seen behind 
 them. Bodies of a darker colour throw a dark veil. 
 
 " 8. Colours of different character, as yellow and blue, when super- 
 imposed according to the preceding law, produce a tint different from 
 either, and yet not the colour which would arise from their admixture. 
 
 " 9. In cases where objects or parts of objects are widened and 
 rendered transparent, the breadth of the distinct 
 or solid part is narrower than when viewed by 
 one eye alone. 
 
 " 10. Small objects placed some distance 
 before the point of sight and near the eyes 
 appear in two places, but one impression is 
 generally neglected. 
 
 "11. Parts of objects becoming transparent 
 have frequently much light reflected from them, 
 and where the image is seen in two places some- 
 times the light is only reflected from one image. 
 
 " The annexed figure will serve to give an 
 illustration of the interpenetration of objects 
 when seen by two eyes, and will also explain the 
 geometrical law on which it is founded. It will be 
 seen that by two eyes we are enabled to see a 
 greater amount of the back object than would be discernible by one eye 
 
No. XIX.] APPENDIX. 281 
 
 alone. This amount may be called X, and the quantity denoted varies 
 directly as the base AB, and the line CD, and inversely as the line BO. 
 
 By similar triangles AB:BC::X:DC; therefore X = AB X PG 
 
 BC 
 
 an equation which gives the value of X in every position. 
 
 " In studying these principles nothing has more astonished me than 
 the fact of the colours which overlap to the two eyes not giving the com- 
 pound colour, which would result if they were mixed and seen by one eye. 
 In all those parts of a picture where colours overlap, much skill will have 
 to be exercised by the painter, as the appearance in nature is that of a 
 film or coloured gauze overlapping other colours, and the result is not the 
 ordinary compound colour. 
 
 " One of the few artists who have seen Turner paint, stated to me that 
 in painting the near objects he lightly touched with his brush and then 
 placed his finger over it, whereby he produced a semi-transparent streak 
 instead of a line. This streak enabled the more distant objects to be seen 
 behind it, and thus the conditions of binocular perspective were in part 
 fulfilled. 
 
 " Another curious phenomenon connected with binocular perspective 
 is observable in the case of a landscape viewed through a window, for in 
 that instance the vertical bars become either wholly or partially trans- 
 parent, and the objects behind them are seen with a shade over them. 
 The horizontal bars retain their solidity and obscure all the parts they 
 shade. This phenomenon occurs when the head remains in its ordinary 
 position ; but when the head is turned so that the eyes are one above the 
 other, the horizontal bars become transparent, and the vertical bars retain 
 their solidity. It is requisite for the observance of these effects that a 
 distant object should be the point of sight, and not the window bar. 
 
 " According to the laws which have been detailed, we observe that 
 objects behind the point of sight are seen in two places, although indis- 
 tinctly, from being out of focus, and from being seen at the lateral part of 
 the retina. From these facts it is apparent that a painter should depict 
 the objects in the background of a neutral or tertiary tint and very indis- 
 tinct. In nature the object directly viewed is alone seen in perfection, 
 and he that would carefully study nature should contrive that his prin- 
 cipal subject should be the brightest in colour and most distinct in detail, 
 when it will stand forth in all its beauty. 
 
 " The outline effects of binocular perspective may be readily obtained 
 by placing two candles at 2 2 inches apart, from flame to flame, and ex- 
 amining the shadows which are produced upon a white screen. It will 
 then be seen that objects near the screen will have a light shade at each 
 lateral border. Small objects will, at a greater distance, appear double ; 
 and the double images being superimposed, a body different from either 
 wHl be produced. A finger held horizontally across the flames will have 
 the end prolonged by its shadow, but it will be observed that no change 
 takes place at the upper and lower edges. By this experiment only the 
 outline effect is produced; but I cannot too highly recommend to the 
 painter to shut himself up with two candles and study these effects. 
 
 " As a rule, the image of an object in two places is not appreciated 
 entirely, because one object falling upon the margin of the retina is 
 scarcely visible. These considerations curiously bring before our mind 
 
282 APPENDIX. [No. xix. 
 
 the fact, that even the apparent imperfections in the construction of the 
 parts of our body are necessary for the highest integrity of their functions. 
 
 " It occurred to me that, if the laws of binocular perspective were 
 correct, pictures might be obtained by photography which should repre- 
 sent the appearances observed with both eyes. The conditions required 
 for binocular sun-pictures are similar to those required for binocular 
 drawings or paintings. As it is requisite that there should be one point of 
 sight for the two perspective drawings, considerable nicety is required in 
 the production of binocular photographs, as the slightest deviation from 
 correctness produces doubleness or great distortion. To obtain a binocu- 
 lar picture of any body, the camera must be employed to take half the 
 impression, and then it must be moved in the arc of a circle of which the 
 distance from the camera to the point of sight is the radius, for about 
 2-2 inches, when a second picture is taken, and the two impressions, con- 
 jointly, form one binocular picture. 
 
 " There are many ways by which this result may be obtained. A spot 
 may be placed in the ground glass, on which the point of sight should be 
 made exactly to fall; the camera may then be moved 2 2 inches and 
 adjusted till the point of sight falls again upon the same spot on the 
 ground glass, when, if the camera has been moved in a true horizontal 
 plane, the effect of the double picture will be perfect. 
 
 " For obtaining this motion in the true arc of a circle, Mr. Hensman, 
 the engineer to the Bank of England, recommended me to adopt a car- 
 riage with two movable axles, with wheels of which the front pair is a 
 little smaller than the back pair. The idea of the construction is, that 
 the carriage should revolve on two cones which run round a circle, and the 
 diameter of the circle is determined by the distance between the larger 
 and smaller wheels and the convergence of the axles. In practice, on a 
 surface adjusted by spirit-levels, it answers well, and probably may be 
 found useful in some cases. At Messrs. Home and Thornthwaite's photo- 
 graphic room, an apparatus has been fixed, which allows the motion of the 
 camera to be made perfectly horizontal in the arc of a definite circle. 
 From experiments which we have made, I rather give the preference to 
 pictures made with the camera in continual motion,* backwards and for- 
 wards, for 2 2 inches, as the picture is, in this case, even more beautiful 
 than if the two images were superimposed. This experiment is very 
 remarkable, for who would have thought formerly, that a picture could 
 possibly have been made with a camera in continual motion ? Neverthe- 
 less, we accomplish it every day with ease, and the character of the like- 
 ness is wonderfully improved by it. 
 
 " Whenever a solid body is depicted in binocular perspective, a suitable 
 background should be arranged behind it to exhibit the interpenetration. 
 If this be not considered, the picture has an increased width with double 
 edges, and does not exhibit that glorious delicacy of shading which Nature 
 gives to objects seen with both eyes. In all cases of binocular perspective 
 we must be careful not to imitate Nature by endeavouring to depict an 
 excessive range of distances. In practice, the eye can only focus objects 
 within a certain range : hence in pictures we still take Nature as our guide 
 when we only depict a moderate rouge. 
 
 "It is not easy to predict the extent or the importance of this mode 
 of drawing, because an extensive experience is required before artists can 
 
No. XX.] APPENDIX. 283 
 
 judge of these matters. From the best consideration which I can give to 
 the subject, I am inclined to believe that, with regard to paintings, it will 
 reduce to rule the methods intuitively practised by our great and honoured 
 masters ; and, with respect to photographs, it may be possibly found to 
 supply the desideratum so long required of delineating a delicately-shaded 
 picture, instead of, as at present, a hard perspective drawing. 
 
 " In viewing these binocular representations, the best effect is produced 
 by examining them with one eye when they are tolerably close ; or, if two 
 eyes be employed, by viewing the representation at such a distance that 
 we are not enabled to detect the flatness of the picture, and thus discover 
 the cheat. How far we may take liberties with the distance between the 
 two sights, for the camera, will be a subject of future investigation under 
 various circumstances. 
 
 " The light falling upon the edges of bodies obliquely is reflected to a 
 considerable extent. This effect must be carefully noted by the painter, 
 as this phenomenon much increases the appearance of the rotundity of 
 bodies. In this case the light is the colour of the source from which it 
 arises. Sometimes it is white light ; in the evening it is red. 
 
 " In the cases of bodies in a plane either before or behind the point of 
 sight, which from their size and position are seen in two places at once, 
 the impression of one is generally neglected. In these instances it does 
 not follow that the light reflected from one image should be reflected from 
 the other, because, from the position of the eyes, the position may not be 
 congenial for reflection in both cases. The effect of light is extremely 
 difficult for the painter to represent, because white or yellow paint is a 
 very poor substitute for the glorious light of day. 
 
 " The investigations which I have conducted upon binocular perspective 
 have afforded instructive and interesting views of the mental image which 
 results from the combined physical pictures of both eyes. To represent 
 this mental image so that it may be visible at one glance, has been a work 
 with me of much thought ; and its practical application has been a deduc- 
 tion from my electro-biological speculations." 
 
 XX. 
 
 ON EDUCATION. LETTER OF ALFRED SMEE ADDRESSED TO THE 
 COMMITTEE OF INDUSTRIAL INSTRUCTION IN 1853. 
 
 I have very carefully considered the various questions transmitted 
 by the Committee of Industrial Instruction, and beg to submit the 
 following remarks in reference to the matter. 
 
 1. It appears to me in the highest degree desirable that the endowed 
 grammar schools should teach subjects more congenial with the spirit 
 and requirements of the present time. Having been educated at St. 
 Paul's School, I can confidently state that many important branches of 
 knowledge now neglected could be taught in addition to the mere routine 
 of Latin and Greek. Childhood is that time of life which is most suited 
 to receive knowledge by the medium of the senses, and hence an exclusive 
 application to grammar, Latin and Greek, does not comport with the 
 natural aptitudes of the individual at that period. To meet this im- 
 portant defect, it would be desirable to add to the present usual course of 
 study the elements of Arithmetic, Chemistry, Physics, and Natural History. 
 
284 APPENDIX. [No. XX. 
 
 Up to twelve years of age, I believe that subjects of instruction 
 should, as far as possible, be brought tangibly before the child ; for every 
 object which is impressed upon the mind, and every property of which it 
 is made cognizant, remains till the latest period of life, and may give rise 
 hereafter to important results. Simple facts brought tangibly before the 
 senses may be regarded as units of knowledge, and I must submit that 
 such units should especially be regarded in any scheme of sound education 
 for early childhood. After twelve, the mind well stored with units may 
 be taught to combine and arrange them, and at that period the best and 
 soundest theories should be the subject of education. 
 
 I much fear that those who seek to improve the endowed grammar 
 schools will be met with the usual cry of " No room for such subjects 
 here." To those who employ this old and hackneyed phrase, I will reply 
 that it is impossible to confine a child's attention to Latin and Greek for 
 more than half the period that he is usually employed at school, and that 
 such additional subjects would be an agreeable diversion for his mind, 
 would command his attention, and render his scholastic studies far more 
 agreeable to him. 
 
 A child not only likes to derive knowledge by the medium of his 
 senses, but he is also fond of doing some work for himself. This desire 
 should, as far as possible, be gratified ; and a child may practise drawing, 
 be taught to make pieces of mechanism, and even conduct some of the 
 more simple chemical processes. 
 
 The number of masters even at our first grammar schools is extremely 
 insufficient. In some cases a single master has the charge of as many as 
 forty boys, a number far too many to insure a satisfactory tuition ; and 
 thus the addition of masters for other subjects could not fail to be 
 extremely beneficial. 
 
 The introduction of additional studies into the endowed grammar 
 schools would probably require not only the force of public opinion, but 
 even would demand a legislative enactment, so far are the managers 
 wedded to bygone practices and antiquated customs. 
 
 2. With respect to the Mechanics' and Literary Institutions as now 
 constituted, they seem rather to be places of amusement than institutions 
 for study. If we take for example the London Institution, which is noted 
 for its wealth and its means for instruction, we find that at the present time 
 not one single educational course is provided. Its laboratory is tenantless 
 and useless, and, with the exception of an evening lecture twice a week 
 during the winter months, its magnificent theatre is unused. 
 
 It appears to me that all these institutions should have professors to 
 direct regular educational courses adapted to the young, and occasionally 
 that special evenings should be set apart for the illustration of new 
 discoveries and principles, in order that those engaged in business may be 
 fully made acquainted with all the scientific novelties of the day. The im- 
 provement of these institutions in many cases depends upon the managers ; 
 in too many instances the managers regard the post as an honour to be 
 coveted, for a certain rank which it is supposed to bestow on account of 
 their sitting in a more prominent seat, and by placing amusement before 
 instruction they forget the real educational objects for which such institu- 
 tions are destined : but there appears to me to be no valid reason why 
 regular systematic instruction should not be supplied at the Mechanics' 
 and Literary Institutions. 
 
No. XX.] APPENDIX. 285 
 
 3. The same class of boys are sent to the grammar schools as to the 
 proprietary schools : hence their requirements demand a similar education. 
 For instance, an education which is good for King's College would be good 
 for St. Paul's, Westminster, or Merchant Taylors', as the boys in each case 
 belong to the middle class of society. 
 
 Different classes of society manifestly require, in many respects, a 
 very different education ; nevertheless, amongst all classes, there are many 
 points in common. A knowledge of the properties of numbers and of 
 physical forces is as useful to the poor as to the rich. The master who 
 orders the steam-engine to be manufactured should understand its 
 several parts and the power which it is likely to possess. The engineer 
 who designs the steam-engine must of necessity be fully acquainted with 
 its principles and properties. The man who works the steam-engine should 
 equally understand the principles upon which it is constructed ; and the 
 mechanic who makes the engine would be the more trustworthy servant if 
 he possessed the intelligence to comprehend the nature of his work and 
 were fully aware of the purposes for which each part was destined. 
 
 A knowledge of the properties of matter and of physical forces should 
 be taught to every child, irrespective of station or future occupation. It 
 cannot fail to be useful in every grade of life, should be regarded as the 
 foundation of secular knowledge, and taught at every school. 
 
 In this country, the people, as a mass, seem to be greatly destitute of 
 an acute appreciation of colour and form. To acquire a knowledge of this 
 character, Nature must be studied. The beautiful flower, the elegant plant, 
 or the symmetrical proportions of animated life must be observed, and their 
 appearance fixed upon the mind at an early period of life. 
 
 The appreciation of beauty is as suitable for those in a lower as for 
 those in a higher station of society ; yet the difficulties presented to the 
 observation of Nature in the environs of a large metropolis are far beyond 
 what might have been anticipated. 
 
 Many a time I have seen troops of police scouring the woods in the 
 vicinity of London to prevent an invasion of property by an entomologist 
 catching an insect, or a flower- seeker gathering a primrose. 
 
 At every school there can be no reason for the omission of botanical 
 and natural history rambles under the surveillance of competent persons. 
 At medical schools it is the practice of the professor to take such rambles, 
 and the day is much enjoyed by the pupils. Independently of the pleasure 
 derivable from such rambles, which cannot fail to endear the master to the 
 pupil, the mind would be thereby led not to despise the beautiful because 
 it is common ; and would be trained to admire and to study the form and 
 colouring of Nature, the only reliable guide for the artist or designer. 
 
 Even with respect to works of art, the mass of the people have the 
 greatest difficulty in obtaining copies of approved examples, or of viewing 
 approved devices; and consequently their education on this score is 
 extremely defective, and their taste extensively vitiated. When I first 
 prosecuted my electro-metallurgic researches, I thought that some system 
 might be adopted to enable the public to obtain copies of the beautiful 
 coins or medals of antiquity ; but I found that although the cabinets and 
 museums were freely open to me, yet they were practically closed to the 
 working man. I have on several occasions been employed on the part of 
 the Crown to give evidence against false coiners, who might have earned 
 a large remuneration if they had had subjects upon which they might have 
 
286 APPENDIX! [No. xx. 
 
 exercised the same amount of skill. In matters of art, description is but 
 a poor apology for the reality, and therefore copies or models should be 
 placed in every school. 
 
 Great mischief appears to arise from an inaccurate use of words and 
 language. Frequently a sufficiently definite meaning is not attached to 
 the word, as the mind is not sufficiently trained to regard the object 
 signified. At grammar schools the pupil is always treating of words 
 instead of things, and from want of definite ideas the pupil is much more 
 exposed to the influence of quibbles. I believe that half the discussion and 
 difference of political and religious opinion depends upon an imperfect 
 appreciation of the meaning of words, depending upon their being so much 
 used without relation to the things signified, and in this respect we 
 frequently observe a deficiency in the education of the clergy. 
 
 A great defect of the schools for all classes of children in this country 
 is their exclusive attention to the mere book information of man, to the 
 neglect of the real knowledge obtainable by the study of Nature. 
 
 My professional duties have given me ample opportunities to observe 
 different classes of society. I need hardly make any remark upon that 
 degraded class whom we occasionally see, and who scarcely know their 
 name, age, and abode, or in fact possess much more intelligence than an 
 animal. Amongst mechanics we frequently observe a strong desire to 
 obtain knowledge as far as possible, but they have slender means for 
 learning the rationale or theory of the means which they employ in their 
 respective trades. They read to a certain extent, but they can only afford 
 to purchase the cheaper books of the day ; and amongst my dispensary 
 patients I frequently observe signs of moderate intellectual culture, which 
 doubtless would have been further developed had they only the advantage 
 of better means for improving themselves. 
 
 Amongst the middle classes I have frequently been astonished at 
 observing, not only that there is a total absence of books of any kind, but 
 also that there are no indications of any pursuit of knowledge of any kind 
 whatsoever; and frequently, in answer to my interrogatories, I have 
 discovered that they have no occupation whatsoever besides that of their 
 monotonous business. The good effect of a variation of study is well 
 manifested amongst the gentlemen employed in the Bank of England ; for 
 almost all who have obtained the higher posts are distinguished for their 
 general knowledge, and amongst them may be found historians, musicians, 
 painters, botanists, floriculturists, mechanicians, political economists, 
 microscopists, entomologists, numismatists, and in fact students of many 
 other branches of knowledge. With those who have no occupation I have 
 often enforced additional studies as a healthy exercise to the mind. 
 
 The middle classes in many cases are deficient to a great extent in the 
 appreciation of general principles, and thus when called upon to govern, 
 even to a slight extent, are often much perplexed by not having been 
 trained to control their action by fixed and immutable laws, and are 
 bewildered by a conflict between feeling and principle. 
 
 The upper class follow the bent of their inclination with respect to 
 their occupation and pursuits, and I have known persons in their private 
 capacities alternate the most manual labour with the most intellectual 
 studies. In respect of intellectual culture by the study of Nature and 
 Art upon the highest philosophical principle, they are frequently greatly 
 in advance of those in a less exalted state. 
 
No. iX.] APPENDIX. 287 
 
 To remedy the defects observed amongst different classes, an example 
 must be afforded by extensive changes in the system of education pursued 
 at the endowed schools ; for though it is impossible to overrate the high 
 tone of feeling and valuable traditional rules for the guidance of conduct 
 which pervade these noble establishments, yet we cannot forget that the 
 scholastic learning there followed belongs to a bygone age, which, though 
 well suited to that period, yet is not adapted to the present state of human 
 knowledge. 
 
 4. Enterprise in this country is always competent to adapt the supply 
 to the demand, and therefore I myself am inclined to question the necessity 
 of issuing cheap books, maps, models, diagrams, or apparatus. At the 
 same time there appears to be a great want of well-arranged devices of this 
 character, so designed that they can be made readily and cheaply. On 
 this account I believe that it would be a great desideratum to employ the 
 highest talent to write books or make patterns from which manufacturers 
 might construct their models. In all probability private printers and 
 private manufacturers would make from a pattern more cheaply than 
 could be effected in Government or other central workshops. The cost of 
 the copyrights of educational works, or of models, is of very little moment, 
 as any expense could be afforded for so great a national object. 
 
 5. It appears to me that great care must be taken in issuing general 
 rules for education, for fear that an undue preponderance be given to 
 particular directions of study. It is manifestly important that all classes 
 should be instructed not only by words, but through the medium of their 
 senses. After a general preliminary education great care should be taken 
 that every department of knowledge be carried to its fullest extent by 
 different persons, and that no superiority or bias be given to one science 
 over another. There is always a fear in a central governing council that 
 one party may get a preponderance, when sore mischief may be caused ; 
 but, with a due regard to abstract and practical knowledge of all kinds, 
 plans of education may be very conveniently set forth for general 
 guidance. 
 
 6. 7, 8. The question of prizes must be regarded as one of extreme 
 difficulty and delicacy. No doubt the substantial prizes awarded exclusively 
 to successful cultivators of classical learning do positive injury to the 
 advance of human knowledge, and, in my opinion, a decided preponderance 
 of substantial prizes should be bestowed upon the successful prosecutors of 
 real learning over that of the dead languages. When we take into con- 
 sideration that our forefathers bestowed their prizes on the students of 
 the dead languages at a time when they were a key to every form of useful 
 knowledge, should we not regard their intention by diverting some part 
 from their comparatively useless purpose to the furtherance of the various 
 branches of human knowledge for which they were doubtless instituted, 
 and which ever must fill a full page in the annals of the world ? 
 
 Whenever prizes are given the student should be taught to estimate 
 knowledge for knowledge itself, to prosecute science for science itself, and 
 on no account to regard the prize as the end to be attained. Upon the 
 whole, I am myself adverse to the liberal use of prizes, for we find that 
 even the philosophers of the Royal Society are apt to display considerable 
 weakness in the disposition of the royal medals. 
 
 An excessive stimulus to competition appears to me calculated to urge 
 
288 APPENDIX. [No. XX. 
 
 men always in some way to try to vie with their neighbours, and ill-feeling 
 is produced by continual attempts to have some slight advantage or 
 superior rank. From boyhood it will be desirable that knowledge should 
 be cultivated for a more noble end. The infant should be taught that 
 knowledge itself is above all considerations of wealth or station ; that it 
 should be valued for its own intrinsic worth and for its positive power of 
 conferring happiness upon the possessor, independently of any accidental 
 adjuncts as wealth, position, or power, which may or may not be its 
 accompaniments. The infant should be taught that knowledge itself 
 confers upon the individual an inexhaustible source of pleasure which will 
 remain through every vicissitude of life. 
 
 I perceive another reason for employing prizes very cautiously. To 
 obtain a prize the pupil is led to give up his own mode of thought and 
 substitute that of his examiners. In any extensive system the minds of 
 the pupils are led to esteem knowledge for the opinion the world has of it, 
 instead of being encouraged to follow and practise that more severe frame 
 of mind which judges of knowledge by knowledge, tests theories by facts, 
 and gives that moral courage which enables the man to put forward and 
 maintain his well-considered opinions against those of all the world 
 besides. For this reason I fear that an extensive central system of prizes 
 might retard knowledge, and produce one general public opinion and a 
 universal mediocrity. 
 
 The answers given in competing for a prize are not of necessity a test 
 of the opinions of the writer. The sceptic may give answers inferring' his 
 belief, and lately the medical profession was greatly scandalised by a 
 gentleman answering all the questions upon the treatment of disease, by 
 describing the most approved medical practice, whereas within a few hours 
 he announced himself as a subscriber to the absurdities of Hahnemann. 
 
 I can speak from experience that those who work for prizes not only 
 seek a knowledge of the subject, but make a practice of ascertaining the 
 modes of thought of the examiners, and a competitor sometimes obtains 
 success by confining his studies to those parts of the subject which he 
 considered would probably be selected for examination. 
 
 In the medical profession it is notorious that the questions likely to 
 be asked at the public examinations are narrowed into a small compass, so 
 that whilst a student makes himself acquainted with his profession he also 
 frequently considers it necessary to make himself acquainted with the 
 knowledge and peculiarities of his examiners. 
 
 If, however, prizes are not carried to great excess, I believe that they 
 are useful. I am, however, inclined to believe that far greater benefits may 
 arise from affixing a certain designation to a certain standard of knowledge, 
 as I have observed that the designation of M.A. and of F.R.S. are esteemed 
 by the public as indications of a certain standard of knowledge. 
 
 Substantial prizes, as fellowships, scholarships, and annuities, I should 
 greatly prefer to honorary prizes, as being better adapted to promote the 
 desired end. Being of intrinsic value, they would in most cases be free 
 from the objections which appear to be attached to purely honorary 
 distinctions. 
 
No. XXI.] APPENDIX. 289 
 
 No. XXI. 
 
 AN INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSE ON THE OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
 OF EDUCATIONAL LECTURES, IN CONNECTION WITH THE LONDON 
 INSTITUTION. With a Diagram showing the Faculties of the Human 
 Mind at different Periods of Life. Delivered by ALFRED SMEE, Esq., 
 P.R.S., on Saturday, October 14th, 1854, on commencing the season 
 of Educational Lectures. 
 
 YOUNG LADIES AND YOUNG GENTLEMEN, 
 
 The proprietors of the London Institution, which was founded by the 
 munificence of the merchants and bankers of London for the promotion of 
 literature and science, have resolved to give up this theatre to your use 
 upon two afternoons in each week ; in order that you may advantageously 
 partake of the inestimable benefits of instruction from well-qualified 
 teachers, and perfectly enjoy the delightful pleasure which arises out of 
 the knowledge of natural science. 
 
 I have been requested by my fellow-managers to address you this first 
 afternoon on the general use and value of those scientific subjects which will 
 be hereafter more particularly considered by the eminent lecturers who 
 have been engaged to instruct you ; and I must also ask you to give me 
 your careful attention, and to think of nothing but that which I am saying, 
 whilst I detail what you can learn and what you cannot learn by coming 
 here and listening with your best attention to the different lectures as they 
 are delivered. 
 
 You are not all of the same age ; and you will observe that these 
 lectures will not be attended by the young only, but occasionally even by 
 such as are advanced in years, and sometimes by those who are still in 
 the prime of life. I shall endeavour to show you the parts of the different 
 subjects which will most interest and most instruct my different hearers ; 
 for rest assured that each of us, from the time we leave the cradle till we 
 recline in the arm-chair of extreme old age, has different powers, different 
 capabilities, and different duties to perform. At no period of life can any 
 neglect be allowed, without that neglect producing a corresponding injiiry 
 at every subsequent period ; and a loss of time and opportunity now, will 
 be attended by a loss of honourable position and of happiness hereafter. 
 
 Now, my young friends, at your age you have all your senses acute 
 in the highest degree. Nothing can escape your bright sharp eyes, if 
 rightly used. Your ears, also, are endowed with the highest faculty of 
 hearing, and your tender skin with feeling. In these respects you will 
 have great advantages over the older part of the audience. Here you 
 excel ; and it is your duty to take full advantage of the : acuteness of your 
 senses. Sharp, however, as your eyes are, you will find that to appreciate 
 all the beauties of nature, you will want much additional and artificial 
 assistance. You will first require the aid of the microscope to help you, 
 since for seeing the lovely down upon the butterfly's wing, covering and 
 protecting the wing-case, like the slates on a house, it is absolutely 
 necessary ; and you will find that when you have strained your eyes to the 
 utmost upon a drop of water, and yet have seen nothing, the microscope 
 will reveal to you thousands on thousands of living beings, enjoying their 
 
 U 
 
290 APPENDIX. [No. XXI. 
 
 life, and, even in their inconceivable minuteness, completely fulfilling 
 the object for which the Creator of the universe in His wisdom de- 
 signed them. 
 
 By the kindness of Mr. Thomthwaite, I am enabled to show you an 
 elegant microscope which he has devised for the purpose of exhibiting 
 microscopic objects to a number of persons at the same time. For illumi- 
 nating the specimens, he uses a spirit-lamp, which is fed by oxygen gas 
 from a tube instead of atmospheric air. This intense flame renders a piece 
 of lime incandescent ; and, by means of a microscope constructed like a 
 magic lantern, a magnified representation is shown upon a white screen. 
 By it you are enabled to see the curious structure of the foot which is 
 given to the spider for arranging the threads of his web : by it a thin slice 
 of common wood is shown to be built up of cells aggregated together ; a 
 drop of blood is found to contain the most curious organized bodies, called 
 corpuscules ; and a section of hard bone exhibits a structure rivalling the 
 most beautiful carpet. In every object in nature a perfection is contained 
 which requires the aid of the microscope to reveal, for after unaided vision 
 has exhausted its powers of appreciation, a new world is brought to light 
 at every increase of magnifying power. 
 
 As you require the microscope to reveal the hidden treasures of ter- 
 restrial bodies, so the telescope must be used to- show you the wonders of 
 the heavens. Saturn, to the naked eye, looks but an ordinary star ; but I 
 have here a drawing of the glorious form which it assumes when seen by 
 the assistance of the telescope constructed by Mr. De La Rue, one of the 
 managers of this institution. 
 
 In your intercourse with each other, you will find that you are not all 
 equally endowed with the same powers of perception by the senses. Those 
 who are more highly favoured should bestow a kind consideration upon 
 those who are less blessed. You have nothing to lose by aiding each other 
 to acquire knowledge, but everything to gain by promoting and exercising 
 this social kindness. 
 
 Tour period of life philosophers may call the AISTHENIC, for now your 
 senses are in the highest perfection. They will never grow better, though 
 they will gradually and imperceptibly become worse, till extreme old age 
 may terminate " this strange eventful fyistory," and you may be left 
 
 " Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything !" 
 
 You have all seen the little child reposing upon its mother's lap, 
 admiring its fingers, as it moves them, with delight and astonishment. 
 This is one of the first acts of observation; but you are no longer 
 children, and your desire for new objects has increased with your age ; and 
 you now excel in the power which you have to observe different objects 
 with intelligence, and to fix their images in your minds for ever. Some of 
 you who are yet young are not so quick of perception as those who are 
 older ; yet the period of youth is the period for obtaining lasting impres- 
 sions. Although you have the power of vision, you scarcely can tell how 
 many things you may have seen, which you have never noticed. How 
 many of you know that a bee has four wings, or that a common fly has 
 but two ? And I will dare venture to assert that many of you have never 
 noticed that a beetle has six legs ; but yet you all have seen bees, and flies, 
 and beetles hundreds and hundreds of times. 
 
No. XXI.] 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 291 
 
292 APPENDIX. [No. XXI: 
 
 
 
 The advantage of the knowledge of objects, and the proper name to 
 be assigned to each, is very great. At these lectures you will find that a 
 large number of objects, embracing also a very great variety, will be shown 
 to you. Excellent and accurate drawings will likewise be exhibited, so 
 that you may be led to form a correct idea of the appearance of those 
 different objects which are presented to your notice. I must here tell 
 you of some instances where persons have not known objects when they 
 have seen them, in order that you may judge for yourselves as to the use 
 which it may be to you to come here and pay attention to these lectures 
 which the proprietors have so liberally provided for you. A working man 
 went to the gold diggings and found a beautiful stone. He showed it to 
 his companions, who thought it a most valuable diamond and offered 
 him at once 200 for it. Being determined not to make a bad bargain, 
 he refused this sum. brought it to England and offered it for sale, when to 
 his horror and dismay he was told that it was really not a diamond, but 
 only a crystal of quartz, and scarcely worth half-a-crown. 
 
 In making you acquainted with the knowledge of objects, the London 
 Institution will be of much use to you; nevertheless we have not the 
 collections here which exist in our national museums : and whilst I ask you 
 to attend diligently these educational lectures, I still also beg of you not to 
 neglect frequent visits to the British Museum, to Kew Gardens, to the 
 Zoological Society, and to the Crystal Palace ; in each of which you will 
 see fresh objects every time you go, although your visits may be very fre- 
 quently repeated ; for you will discover it to be an equally curious and 
 interesting truth, that the oftener you go and the more attentively you 
 look, the more you will find to observe and admire. 
 
 The power of observing increases with its exercise. One boy takes his 
 walk, and sees nothing; another takes the same walk, and sees many 
 things. The observant youth has bestowed his attention upon everything 
 around him ; but the other has passed heedlessly by the most interesting 
 objects. In youth attention is the faculty of the mind which ought to be 
 the most carefully cultivated and practised; and I hope that no one will 
 come to these lectures who will not try to attend, 'and in fact who will 
 not try diligently to attend to all which is passing. 
 
 I am well aware that the youngest of you may sometimes find it 
 difficult to fix your attention. The best plan, however, is to bring with 
 you a pencil and a note-book, and put down the principal points which the 
 lecturer mentions. Whenever your thoughts wander remember the word 
 " ATTENTION." Let " attention " be your watchword ; and then the lectures 
 which you are about to hear will be a source of pleasure now, and perhaps 
 of profit for all future time. 
 
 Th'e managers of the London Institution will spare no expense and 
 BO trouble to render these lectures interesting and instructive to you. 
 The more you desire, the more are they prepared to give you, as it was the 
 only wish of the great merchants who founded this noble institution, that 
 it should, like the sun, send forth its light upon all who desire to partake 
 of its genial influence. 
 
 It is, however, not only the observation of simple objects which is 
 important, but the changes which each object undergoes must be carefully 
 noted. We see the egg of an insect hatched into a caterpillar ; the cater- 
 pillar grow till it spins its web, and turns into a chrysalis; and the 
 
No. XXI.] APPENDIX. 293 
 
 chrysalis finally lose its case and become the beautiful butterfly. This 
 forms a palpable series of changes, the order of which your memory is 
 not likely to alter ; but changes continually occur in all bodies, and these 
 changes you must be very careful to note in the order in which they occur. 
 
 In chemistry the transmutations of matter under various circum- 
 stances are of the most extraordinary character. The beautiful pigment 
 called Prussian-blue is but a change of offensive animal matter, potash 
 and iron. Some of our scents and flavours also, as the oil of pine-apple 
 and the oil of the delicious ribstone pippin, are the products of chemical 
 changes from, fusel oil, a most offensive product in the distillation of 
 spirit. In acquiring a knowledge of these changes, the educational 
 lectures at the London Institution will be of great service to you. We 
 have a laboratory with all necessary materials, and every form of apparatus 
 is at our command, which may be required to illustrate the different 
 subjects. A lecture would frequently cost a large sum of money, were 
 .not the apparatus at hand, or could it not be easily borrowed. It is for 
 this reason that ordinary schools cannot undertake the teaching of these 
 subjects : and were I to tell you of the labour and expense required for 
 some of the lectures which have been delivered within these walls, you 
 would be especially thankful for the privilege which you possess of being 
 enabled to attend these demonstrations. 
 
 The knowledge which here will be brought before you will be of the 
 utmost value in future life. Each fact may be regarded as a unit of 
 knowledge ; and those who acquire the most will have a great advantage 
 over their fellows. I show you a piece of gossan, a peculiar sort of stone 
 which guides the miner to the detection of copper ore, and large fortunes 
 have been made by a knowledge of the peculiarities of the stone. This is 
 a simple mineralogical fact, but I might illustrate similar facts in every 
 department of science. 
 
 It is not, however, a mere question of utility, but there is the highest 
 gratification also to be found in a careful observance of Nature, and the 
 study of Nature's laws. A touching anecdote was told me by Mr. Spence, 
 the distinguished author of the work on Entomology, which I commend to 
 the notice of you all. At the Model Prison a person was confined in a 
 dismal cell, with windows "which did not allow him ever to see the sky. 
 When he took exercise, he paced a few square yards in the same spot day 
 by day. His only amusement under this terrible sentence was minutely 
 ,to notice every little weed which grew upon it. He saw these sprout from 
 seed, increase in growth, bud, flower, and seed again. Now, when I tell 
 you that the plants so observed were simply the shepherd's-purse, the 
 groundsel, and a few more weeds, you will see how great is your advantage, 
 when you consider the multitude of plants which clothe the earth, the 
 countless swarms of insects which fly in the air, the fish, the birds, the 
 animals, the changes of the seasons, and even the works of men's hands 
 which are open to your observation in freedom. In fact everything which 
 .is contained upon the earth and even in the firmament of heaven, the sun, 
 the moon, the planets, the comets, the stars, the nebulae, will afford you 
 objects for observation, study, and delight, if you will only regard them 
 with intelligence and attention. There is in fact no end to the acquisition 
 of natural knowledge : for if you could know all which others have dis- 
 -covcred, it would be but as a drop of water to the ocean. The study of 
 
294 APPENDIX. [No. XXI. 
 
 Nature and Nature's laws forms an inexhaustible source of pleasure ; and 
 the longest life will not suffice to exhaust a fountain which can never be 
 dried up. 
 
 I regret to state that I have heard persons declare, that they have 
 been present at nearly every lecture delivered by the eminent men who 
 have honoured this institution by their discourses during a period of many 
 years, without deriving any advantage from them. Let such a fearful 
 statement weigh heavily on your minds ; for if you come to our lectures 
 as those persons have done, without paying a proper attention to the 
 subjects explained, you will, like them, derive no benefit. Others who have 
 attended to the lectures, have acknowledged that they owe their present 
 position and power to a careful attention to the great truths which have 
 been taught within these walls. It is, therefore, better for you to hear 
 a few lectures attentively, than hundreds with that carelessness and inatten- 
 tion which allow no permanent effect to be produced upon the mind. 
 
 If we carefully consider the evils arising from an absence of know- 
 ledge, we shall soon perceive what lamentable consequences must be the 
 result. Two or three years ago, many persons were poisoned by bella- 
 donna-berries sold about the streets ; and I remember a man to have been 
 bitten by a viper as he carried the creature about, supposing it to have 
 been only a harmless snake. This year we read that in Italy, during the 
 visitation of the dreadful scourge which passed over the earth, the people 
 believed that the doctors were the cause of it, and drove them from the 
 city when they most needed their aid. At another place they supposed 
 the doctors had poisoned the water, and compelled them to drink to prove 
 their innocence. Curiously enough also, five hundred years ago, by a 
 similar lamentable ignorance, a fatal epidemic of the period, called the 
 black death, was ascribed to poison cast into the wells by the Jews ; and 
 hundreds of poor wretches were cruelly tormented and barbarously put to 
 death, for a malady which was entirely owing to a visitation of God. 
 
 Do not think to put off the time for attention to surrounding objects 
 to "a more convenient season," and wait till you are older before you 
 begin to observe. If you do so, you are not only losing precious time, 
 which never can return, but your faculties of appreciation will rather 
 diminish than increase. Although the faculties of observation last as long 
 as the senses last, yet in advancing years new objects do not make such 
 vivid impressions as they do in early life. The faculty of deriving simple 
 ideas from Nature, I have called from reasons which I need not explain, 
 the SYNDRAMIC FACULTY: a faculty which increases from childhood to 
 adolescence, and decreases from puberty to old age. It is your time now 
 to observe, and if you neglect it deficiency of information and inferiority 
 to those around you must inevitably be your lot. 
 
 It is, however, not only necessary to obtain facts, but the facts must 
 by thought and reflection be brought before the mind, and so combined 
 and arranged together, that they may constitute principles. In this way 
 we derive our ideas of force and power, and obtain a notion of heat, light, 
 and electricity, and all the various qualities and properties of matter. 
 
 Thus, if I throw a piece of potassium into water, it combines with the 
 oxygen, one element of the water, and forms potash ; or I may remove one 
 element by a piece of zinc, or a piece of iron. When we find from a vast 
 number of facts that we can join simple bodies together, separate com- 
 
No. XXL] APPENDIX. 295 
 
 pound bodies in their elements, and convert two bodies into a third, we 
 then obtain one idea of chemical affinity. 
 
 It is not my province to show how we obtain the ideas of all the 
 physical forces, or the relations of one to another : that will be the duty of 
 your different teachers. This part of the subject is confessedly difficult, 
 and will require your fullest attention and reflection. As youthful persons, 
 however, you can have but a faint glimmer of those great and glorious 
 principles which hereafter you will more fully perceive. 
 
 This high mental faculty is termed the NOEMIC FACULTY, which is 
 almost entirely absent in early childhood, then increases to manhood, and 
 declines again with advancing years. For the exercise of it, you must well 
 employ your time whilst young in the collection of observations for 
 reflection. Without facts you can have no thought, without thought you 
 can have no principles ; and it is upon the correctness of your principles 
 that your success in after-life will most materially depend. 
 
 We have remarkable instances of the power of a knowledge of princi- 
 ples over the mind of those who are ignorant. Sir Harry Smith, when he 
 conquered the Africans, desired to show them his superior power. He 
 ordered a baggage- waggon to be placed at a distance, to which he had con- 
 nected wires communicating with a battery. When the Africans had 
 assembled, he told them at his command the waggon would blow up. They 
 marvelled. He spoke the word; they saw nothing. The circuit was 
 secretly completed, and the waggon was shivered to atoms. Some" 
 voyagers, taking advantage of an eclipse, the occurrence of which was 
 predicted by calculation, have stated that they so frightened the Indians, 
 that they obtained from them whatever was desired; and though 
 I entirely and utterly disapprove of this mode of proceeding, it never- 
 theless equally illustrates the power which is conferred by an intimate 
 knowledge of the great principles of science. 
 
 By thought and reflection we are likewise enabled to form right 
 judgments in general; and when two assertions, apparently different, are 
 brought before our minds, we can select that which is the true one. Last 
 year the merchants of London were startled by the large amount of gold 
 stated to exist in certain English rocks. Some of my friends were inter- 
 ested in a particular mine, which by the mechanical process yielded large 
 quantities of gold; but by chemical processes, only such an amount of 
 the metal was found as was insufficient to cover the expenses of extraction. 
 After much careful thought, therefore, we judged it most prudent to trust 
 to the chemical processes, but many persons trusted to the mechanical pro- 
 cesses and lost thereby various sums of money ; and in one case I heard 
 that a single individual lost as much as 4000 by this error of judgment. 
 
 With all our care we shall not always judge rightly, or, judging 
 rightly, we shall come to wrong conclusions, because we shall sometimes 
 act upon wrong facts. We should therefore have much compassion upon 
 those who are proved to have formed erroneous judgments ; although true 
 facts and principles will always in the long run prevent mankind from 
 believing the plausible statements of quacks, pretenders, and schemers. 
 We cannot judge rightly by our own unaided reason, for without a proper 
 set of facts and principles no judgment can be made; and we only 
 deceive ourselves if we call our thought a judgment without proper data. 
 Nevertheless, the tendency of man to judge with insufficient data is so 
 
296 APPENDIX. [No. XXI. 
 
 great, that more than half the errors of mankind may be traced to this 
 source alone. 
 
 Before you are called into action, also, your mind must be stored with 
 facts and principles properly to guide your designs. The child knows 
 but little, and does scarcely anything ; the boy has more facts, and there- 
 fore effects more ; but the man is in the plenitude of his power till age 
 weakens him, and lessens his capability. The faculty of action is called 
 the DYNAMIC FACULTY ; and to judge of what you may be called upon to 
 do, consider what has been done since the period when I was but a youth. 
 Since that time the railway system has been devised ; and then consider 
 the tunnels, the cuttings, the embankments, the bridges, and the many ela- 
 borate contrivances necessary to be devised before this great revolution in 
 locomotion could be effected. During the same period, also, the electric 
 telegraph has been invented ; and now intelligence is conveyed so rapidly 
 that events are daily transmitted over extensive regions of the globe, and 
 frequently a knowledge of events is received at one part of the globe at an 
 earlier period by the clock than that at which they actually happen. 
 
 Again, the application of electro-metallurgy to the arts has led to 
 great improvements, and most extensive alterations in our processes. 
 Moreover, in the course of the same period, the Thames Tunnel has been 
 constructed under the river Thames ; and also the Britannia Bridge, which 
 crosses over an arm of the sea. The formation of a palace of iron and 
 glass is another example of an extraordinary effort of human intellect. 
 It is impossible for you to tell what may be effected in a similar number 
 of future years ; and if you desire to take part in the rapid course of 
 human improvement, your mind must have been stored beforehand with 
 those units of knowledge which I have already described. 
 
 As youths you are neither expected, nor are you competent, to carry 
 out any great work ; but certain things you can do for yourselves, and 
 you can thus bring your knowledge into play within reasonable limits. 
 You do not require expensive materials for many processes. A few little 
 glasses and a retort will enable you to make analyses, and even to manu- 
 facture many substances. In these employments you will find great 
 amusement in the long evenings of winter, as well as in the dreary wet 
 weather which sometimes occurs in the Christmas holidays. 
 
 At this Institution, during these holidays in the present year, Mr. 
 Malone has arranged to receive a limited number of young persons and to 
 give them laboratory instruction ; and those who take advantage of his 
 teaching, will thus be enabled to conduct many chemical processes for 
 themselves in the laboratory of this building. 
 
 Accurate original research often requires costly apparatus ; but to 
 carry out that which is known, the simplest contrivances will suffice. I am 
 tempted here to show you a little electrical apparatus which I once set up 
 on the spur of the moment. "We had a beautiful garden in one of the 
 London suburbs, and we received information that whilst the family were 
 at dinner a systematic robbery of the fruit was carried on. After ponder- 
 ing over the matter, I got some wire, and connected it at one end with a 
 battery and at the other with a cup of mercury ; and with another wire I 
 connected again the mercury to the other pole of the battery, enclosing in 
 the circuit a magnet, the keeper of which was attached to the alarum of a 
 Dutch clock. I then stretched a delicate piece of thread across the garden, 
 
No. XXL] APPENDIX. 297 
 
 tying one end to the copper wire and the other to the trunk of a tree. All 
 being ready, I went in to dinner, and the alarum speedily rang. The thief 
 had moved the thread and pulled the wire out of the mercury. I ran out 
 and caught the boy, who declared that he would never come again if we 
 only would let him go this once. All such little devices you may contrive, 
 and they have a good influence in encouraging the habit of spontaneous 
 invention. 
 
 Chemical and mechanical occupations are more especially for the 
 young gentlemen, but the young ladies may have their share of occupation. 
 They will find that their botanical studies may be much improved by 
 studying the growth of plants. Those who live in the country, may 
 cultivate their flowers with more ease; but even those who live in the 
 middle of London are not altogether precluded from this pursuit by the 
 difficulties of their situation. Many plants may be grown under glass in 
 great perfection, as Ward has taught us. Here is a specimen of the rarest 
 of English ferns (called the Tunbridge fern), which grows and fructifies 
 in Finsbury Circus as well as in any part of Great Britain. I myself love 
 to see plants grow in this manner, and I have generally lilacs in blossom at 
 Christmas ; and with a little trouble and protection you also may have 
 many choice plants even in the centre of London. To such of you as may 
 at once like to commence the cultivation of plants by this process, I have 
 brought some Lycopodiums, which I will distribute after the lecture, and 
 which you can readily grow under glass. 
 
 To cultivate plants with success, it is quite necessary that you should 
 attend to certain circumstances. As horticultural weapons you must 
 employ and regulate the heat and cold, the light and darkness, and the 
 damp and dryness of the soil and atmosphere. By properly managing 
 these natural powers, success will attend your efforts, and you will be 
 delighted to see the fronds of ferns unfurl themselves, and many a choice 
 flower will gladden your eyes with delight and fill the room with odoriferous 
 perfume. However much the sun may be obscured from your room, still 
 some forms of vegetable life will be put forth ; and though by comparison 
 the rose or lily may superlatively excel chickweed or groundsel, yet there 
 is no plant, however insignificant, however common, which has not its own 
 peculiar beauties and charms, and which would not be esteemed as a 
 marvel of design if others more beautiful were absent from, the comparison. 
 
 In the study of natural history young people may bring many objects 
 of the greatest interest under their notice. Here is a pet toad, which has 
 lived under my roof many years. It was the smallest toad I ever saw, 
 when I caught him in the woods where the Crystal Palace now stands. 
 He has done me much good service, by eating the insects which damaged 
 my plants ; and you see that he has now grown to reasonable proportions. 
 It is a matter of much interest to see this creature feed. When he 
 perceives an insect like a cockroach, he sits perfectly motionless, till, by 
 directing both eyes upon the creature, it exactly ascertains the distance, 
 when in an instant it darts out its head with an inconceivable rapidity 
 and swallows its prey. Now every creature, if attentively examined, will 
 be found to have its peculiar mode of feeding ; and really a large volume 
 might be written on this subject alone, full of the most curious 
 information. 
 
 Look at these beautiful Guernsey lizards, which astonish us by their 
 
298 APPENDIX. [No. XXI. 
 
 rapid and graceful movements, and which we have opportunities of observing 
 by keeping them in my glazed plant-cases. Even fish may be brought 
 within the range of this kind of observation. Here is a very great 
 favourite of my family, a little fish from the Thames, called a Pope, who 
 has banished his natural shyness. The moment he sees us he comes up to 
 the top of the water to receive his accustomed food. By watching animated 
 beings, we find that everything possessing life has its own proper interest ; 
 for everything is beautiful. Even that which at first appears ugly and 
 deformed on a more intimate acquaintance is found to be perfectly 
 adapted to its end, and endowed with the highest interest. 
 
 The young ladies and young gentlemen who this day attend in our 
 theatre, have all of them their own different and particular objects to 
 attain; and should therefore make their knowledge subservient t'o a 
 different end. You are all of you the sons and daughters of persons 
 holding a good position in society. As for the youths, some of you will 
 be blessed with independence, and live upon the fruits of your own estates. 
 To you botany will be invaluable, for enabling you rightly to manage your 
 woods and fields. Mineralogy and geology will also be extremely useful, 
 to guide you to the knowledge of the qualities of various soils and of the 
 mineral products of the land. Others of you may be destined to be 
 merchants, and send your ships over every quarter of the globe. To 
 all of you a knowledge of the sciences will be an invaluable acquisition. 
 Some again will become engineers ; others will be manufacturers ; and 
 some will enter into the medical, legal, or clerical professions : but in every 
 path of life which any of you are likely to follow, the subjects which will 
 be taught at these lectures will certainly come into every- day use. 
 
 The duties of the young ladies will hereafter be not less important, 
 though, perhaps, less stirring than those of the young gentlemen. Your 
 knowledge of chemistry will enable you to conduct your households with 
 economy. In the sick-room, the knowledge of the laws of life will enable 
 you to comfort the afflicted ; and your knowledge of Nature and Nature's 
 works will render each of you a fitting mistress for your respective house- 
 holds, suitable teachers of children, and worthy companions for the 
 intellectual man. 
 
 In your study of Nature you cannot but be deeply impressed with the 
 beauty of the objects which you must observe. You will find the most 
 marvellous design in the favourite theme of philosophical speculation for 
 more than 2000 years. Shakespeare's immortal " Seven Ages " is a fitting 
 monument to an unrivalled genius ; but in the Transactions of the Society 
 of Antiquaries for 1853 are many very interesting examples of the manner 
 in which the division of the life of man was anciently regarded. Of these 
 the following is a very remarkable composition. The original was written 
 in Hebrew 900 years ago ; and is especially curious from the states of man 
 at his different ages being compared in their characteristics to those of 
 various animals. 
 
 " At the age of One Year he resembles a King on a Dais, whom every 
 one kisses and adores. 
 
 " At the age of Two or Three he resembles a Pig, routing in dirt. 
 
 " At the age of Ten he capers about like a Goat. 
 
 " At Tioenty, a Neighing-horse, he attires himself, and looks out for a 
 wife. 
 
No. XXIL] APPENDIX. 299 
 
 " After being married, lie is like an Ass (that is, burthened). 
 
 " Having got children, he must find food for them ; and is therefore as 
 impudent as a Dog. 
 
 " Grown old, he gets like a Monkey, but (this is) only the ignorant 
 man : whereas of the wise man Scripture says, ' King David was old ' 
 (1 Kings i. 2). Old, but stiU a king." * 
 
 In the remarks which I have made this day, I would wish you clearly to 
 understand that I do not expect all of you are to become professed chemists, 
 naturalists, or botanists ; nor in fact necessarily professors of any other 
 branch of natural knowledge. I have particularly desired to call your 
 attention to the value of natural knowledge to all classes of society. You 
 should esteem natural knowledge as indispensable to every gentleman; and 
 I feel sure that all the points which I have reviewed for your consideration 
 should not be neglected by anyone aspiring to the title of an educated 
 Englishman. 
 
 I doubt not that there are very few of you who would not greatly 
 prefer these lectures to your ordinary school exercises. You must not, 
 however, neglect the tediousness of books for the pleasures of lectures. 
 Follow the study of languages, arithmetic, and of mathematics at school as 
 the most valuable aids to the understanding of natural knowledge; and 
 prosecute natural science as a guide for the conduct of your own affairs. 
 The study of Nature confers on you pleasure, honour, power, the means of 
 procuring wealth, of benefiting your fellow-creatures, and leads you to the 
 contemplation of the Sou re 3 of All Good. 
 
 The London Institution has given you great opportunities of instruc- 
 tion; and if my discourse should determine any of you rightly to take 
 advantage of the benefits now offered, the words of my heartfelt appeal to 
 study Nature with earnestness and attention, will be engraven on your 
 minds to the latest day of your lives ; and you will rejoice that you have 
 been this day present at the London Institution. 
 
 No. XXII. 
 
 ON THE NEW BANK OF ENGLAND NOTE, AND THE 
 SUBSTITUTION OF SURFACE-PRINTING FROM ELEC- 
 TROTYPES FOR COPPER-PLATE PRINTING. By ALFRED 
 SMEE, F.R.S., Surgeon to the Bank of England. 1854. 
 
 I PEEL some delicacy in appearing before the Society of Arts upon a 
 matter of so much importance to the commercial community as the print- 
 ing of the Bank of England notes ; nevertheless, from the part which I 
 have played in this matter, I trust the members of the Society will not 
 think that I am exceeding my duty in bringing the matter before them. 
 
 In the month of November 1851, I had the honour of presenting a 
 report to Mr. Hankey, the Governor of the Bank of England at that 
 
 Archceologia.' vol. xxxv. 1853, p. 171. 
 
300 APPENDIX. [No. XXII. 
 
 period, that from facts and observations which had come under my notice, 
 I believed that the time had arrived when surface-printing from electro- 
 types could be advantageously employed for Bank of England notes, and 
 that they could be both printed and numbered by ordinary printing- 
 presses, with considerable saving of expense and increased identity of 
 appearance. In presenting this report I further stated that many difficul- 
 ties presented themselves, and, therefore, I would suggest that a trial be 
 permitted upon the cheque, and, when the production of this was brought 
 to perfection, we might carry on our processes upon the bank-note, with 
 such extended experience as the printing of the cheque might afford. 
 
 Heretofore the notes and cheques of the Bank of England had inva- 
 riably been printed from copper and steel plates, in which the lines were 
 engraved or cut into the metal. Into these hollows the printers rubbed 
 the ink, which, in process of printing, was transferred from the plate to 
 the paper. In surface-printing the reverse state of things exists, as the 
 design, instead of being cut in the plate, is left in relief, and the ink being 
 applied to the eminences by means of the rollers, is transferred in the 
 press to the paper to form the impression. 
 
 For plate-printing, a single cut with a graver forms a groove which 
 holds the ink. For surface-printing a line must be cut on both sides, and 
 equally finished on both sides. This materially increases the difficulty of 
 engraving, yet the difficulty simply resolves itself into one of labour, skill, 
 and expense. 
 
 Having an original design, the means of multiplication must be per- 
 fect ; and here, although I foresaw many difficulties, yet my electro-metal- 
 lurgical experience indicated that the perfection which the Bank required, 
 and the mercantile community demanded, might be obtained. With a 
 sufficiently excellent original and ample power of duplication, the very 
 important question which had necessarily to be solved was the capacity of 
 the surface press to give such a print as would serve our purpose. 
 
 In plate-printing the paper is pressed into the grooves or design, and 
 there is no tendency of the ink to spread, but in surface-printing there is 
 a liability for the paper to be pressed round the edge of the letters, or, 
 from the pressure applied, for the ink to be spread over the margin, when 
 an extended print would be produced from the original design. I foresaw 
 that the success of surface-printing for bank purposes must depend upon 
 the power of the press to yield rapidly, perfect impressions. In this mat- 
 ter my experience was in a great measure founded upon the observation of 
 the impressions of the ' Illustrated London News,' and periodicals of 
 similar character, when I observed that even with their rapid production, 
 under the most unfavourable circumstances, at times we obtained, either 
 entirely or partially, perfectly sharp impressions, without any appreciable 
 lateral extension of the ink. From this I concluded that it was only 
 necessary to study the conditions necessary to have a clear impression, and 
 in this matter surface-printing would rival plate-printing, and besides give 
 us all the advantages which are pre-eminently the characteristics of 
 typography. 
 
 In accordance with this report, Mr. Hankey at once directed the 
 experiments to be commenced, and subsequently allowed me to act with 
 Mr. Hensman, the engineer, and Mr. Coe, the superintendent of printing ; 
 and though each of us had our separate departments in which our indi- 
 
No. XXII.] APPENDIX. 301 
 
 vidual labour and knowledge was most useful, we consulted together on 
 every matter, and by our mutual exertions, acting together to one end for 
 the benefit of the Bank, we have been enabled to overcome every difficulty, 
 and to bring the process into practical operation for all the manifold 
 varieties of cheques and notes which the Bank of England requires for its 
 purposes. Independently of the original idea, which was exclusively my 
 own, the responsibility of settling the various processes for carrying out 
 the system devolved equally upon Mr. Hensman, Mr. Coe, and myself, 
 but upon Mr. Hensman and Mr. Coe falls the labour of conducting the 
 operations. 
 
 The original form or pattern of the various notes and cheques which 
 have been adopted, was accomplished and settled under the direction of 
 Mr. Hankey and the Court of Directors, before any of us commenced our 
 labours, and, though the particular manner in which the note was designed 
 added very materially to our difficulties, it was an imperative condition 
 with the Bank that we should in no way deviate from that design ; but we 
 were compelled to reproduce it exactly as designed, a condition which has 
 been so rigorously adhered to, that in only one case has any deviation been 
 made. In that instance the lines have simply been allowed to be somewhat 
 more open than in the original design, as it was found that even in the 
 original plate the work had been made so fine that the successful printing 
 could not be insured for large quantities. 
 
 When we found that we were bound to copy implicitly designs 
 specially adapted to plate-printing, we almost despaired of success, for in 
 all other instances where surface-printing has been adopted, the design has 
 been suited to the nature of the printing. This difficulty, however, only 
 served as an incentive to further exertion, though I must confess that as 
 we proceeded, step by step, we were by no means certain that we should 
 not be compelled to abandon some part of our original design. With the 
 exception of these stringent conditions, we were permitted to conduct our 
 operations entirely in our own way; and to the kind consideration of 
 Mr. Hankey, the late Governor, and Mr. Hubbard and Mr. Weguelin, the 
 present Governor and Deputy- Governor of the Bank of England, our 
 success must in a great measure be ascribed. 
 
 The cutting of the original design is necessarily the basis of future 
 operation. The whole of the written part of the note was originally cut by 
 Mr. Beckett, the engraver to the establishment, but the Britannia was 
 designed by Mr. Maclise, and engraved by Robinson. This engraving was 
 the basis of our operations. After various experiments, the cutting of the 
 Britannia in a manner suitable for easy duplication was executed on a 
 steel die, by that veteran engraver Mr. Thompson, whose artistic feeling is 
 fully recognized by the public. The other parts of the notes and cheques 
 were in a great measure cut by Mr. Skirving, in some cases upon pieces of 
 brass, in others on plates of copper, about 2 an inch in thickness. In no 
 case is the original ever employed for printing, but is simply used to make 
 moulds, so that, throwing out of consideration accidental mechanical or 
 chemical injuries, they will retain their integrity for any length of time 
 without change, and will enable any number of duplicates to be made 
 therefrom. From our inquiries, we have reason to think that there are 
 very few persons who have attained sufficient perfection to execute this 
 class of work in the manner which the Bank requires, but the finished 
 
302 APPENDIX. [No. XXII. 
 
 manner in which Mr. Skirving has executed his part of the work has met 
 with the highest approbation. It is the province of supply, however, 
 always to be equal to the demand, and therefore, if surface-cutting 
 increases, we have no right to suppose there will be dearth of labour 
 or talent in that department of art. 
 
 For the duplication of the original designs, we have recourse to the 
 power afforded to us by the processes of electro-metallurgy. For the 
 purposes of the Bank of England, we have had recourse to the various 
 forms of battery apparatus described by myself in the 'Philosophical 
 Magazine ' for June 1840, and subsequently in my ' Elements of Electro- 
 Metallurgy.' We employ, as a source of power, the platinized silver 
 voltaic battery, which many of the members of this Society may remember 
 was brought under their notice some years ago. It was devised when I 
 was a student of medicine at King's College, and resided in my father's 
 house in the Bank of England. With friends entirely devoted to other 
 than scientific pursuits, I was placed in an awkward position by the 
 discovery of the principles on which it was founded. I brought it here 
 unknown to any member, and after a long investigation a gold medal was 
 awarded for its invention. For fourteen years it has stood the test of 
 experience : and when we see that by its agency the plates of the maps of 
 the Ordnance Survey have for years been deposited ; when we see at the 
 present time that by it the types of the Bank of England notes and cheques 
 are formed ; and lastly, when amongst other purposes we find that it daily 
 transmits the power from the Observatory at Greenwich to indicate the 
 correct time in London, I trust the Society, in consideration of its applica- 
 tion to these truly national objects, will not consider that their medal has 
 been altogether bestowed in vain. 
 
 At the Bank we employ large batteries, in vessels holding several 
 gallons of the acid charge. The platinized silver plate is of fair thickness, 
 and the zincs are so arranged that they can be readily changed. The 
 purer we can obtain thick-rolled zinc, the more economically can we con- 
 duct our process, for then we are not subjected to the inevitable loss which 
 arises if tin, a very frequent impurity, is present. We are careful, for the 
 sake of economy, very thoroughly to amalgamate the zinc; in fact, we 
 prefer to repeat the process once or twice, that no local action may exist. 
 
 For charging the battery we use dilute sulphuric acid, and generally 
 mix the fluids in the proportion of one-eighth acid to seven-eighths water. 
 It is convenient to adjust the mixture to a specific gravity of 1130, which 
 gives a strength suitable for battery purposes. A battery charged with 
 this liquid will last in action nearly three weeks before it is completely 
 exhausted; but practically, after it has done efficient duty from 7 to 14 
 days, it has become feeble, it exhibits the natural decay of old age, and we 
 generally respite it from further work and substitute a new charge, to 
 resuscitate its former life and vigour. When the battery is thoroughly 
 exhausted, the solution has a specific gravity of 1360, and contains 144 
 grains of zinc for every 1000 grains of bulk, if evaporation and conden- 
 sation have been compensated for by the daily addition of sufficient 
 water to make up the original bulk. 
 
 To ascertain the changes which are occurring in the battery we 
 commonly employ an hydrometer; but I have specially constructed an 
 instrument which I call a battery-meter. The point corresponding to 
 
No. XXIL] APPENDIX, 303 
 
 specific gravity 1130 is called unity, and the interval between that part and 
 1360 is divided into 144 parts. By this division every degree represents 
 one grain of zinc dissolved in 1000 grains of bulk of the fluid. The 
 opposite side of the scale, between the same parts, is divided into 60 parts, 
 each of which is, for every 1000 grains of bulk in the fluid, about YOOO ^ 
 an inch in the thickness for every superficial inch of surface, upon which 
 the copper is reduced in the precipitating trough. In this division a little 
 allowance has been made for some local action of the zinc. By this 
 instrument we really weigh the zinc which has entered into combination 
 with the oxygen of the water in which it is subsequently dissolved. By the 
 attraction between the zinc and the element of the water the power is 
 produced wherewith the plates of the bank-notes are made, and this attrac- 
 tion differs not in kind from the attraction between the coals and air in 
 the act of combustion which gives us the power in the steam-engine. In 
 the electro-metallurgic battery, however, is perhaps observable the first 
 instance of the estimation of the primary change of matter, to determine 
 the amount of work actually performed. In the steam-engine the coals 
 burnt will not necessarily give us a satisfactory clue to the work done ; 
 and even in the animal, the most perfect of all machines, the food the 
 soldier eats will not indicate the number of miles traversed, or of the 
 enemy killed. 
 
 In an application of the battery-meter we have an illustration of a law 
 which governs all physical phenomena. Without a change of matter we 
 can have no physical force ; and all physical force is referable to a corre- 
 sponding change of matter. In our electro-metallurgic apparatus we obtain 
 an effect equal to the original change of matter within a very trifling per- 
 centage, a result which must be regarded as a glorious triumph of human 
 improvement. If by the use of the battery-meter these great laws are 
 popularized, and lead to a more universal reference of effect to cause, it 
 will amply repay any little trouble which has been bestowed upon it. 
 
 To contain the battery with its charge, we generally employ the best 
 salt-glazed stoneware. Strange as it may seem, no form of earthenware 
 permanently resists the attacks of the metallic saline solution. They pass 
 into the innermost texture of the material, and, even with vessels for 
 holding writing ink, disintegration eventually ensues. Upon the whole, 
 earthenware is preferable to glass, because it is less brittle, and I trust that 
 the mention of the subject may lead some member of the Society to produce 
 a cheap material, as impermeable as glass, and as durable as pottery. 
 
 At the Bank of England we generally find it convenient to employ 
 parallelepiped- shaped vessels. Those made of mahogany and lined with 
 gutta-percha are convenient and economical. For most of our purposes, 
 we use the vertical trough, because the subject can be readily inserted and 
 removed for inspection. For rapid deposition we employ the horizontal 
 trough, in which the subject is placed at the bottom, and the copper pole 
 above. In the use of this apparatus some refined chemical laws are in- 
 volved. In the first place, sulphate of copper possesses a low diffusive 
 power, and is carried, by virtue of that property, so slowly through the 
 fluid, that if we relied upon it failure would surely attend our labour. 
 Secondly, the saturated solution of sulphate of copper formed at the 
 positive pole is so heavy that it descends from the place of its formation, 
 like a cataract, to the bottom of the vessel. Lastly, the part of the solution 
 
304 APPENDIX. [No. XXII. 
 
 deprived of its copper becomes so light that it rapidly rises to the top. 
 For all rapid deposition we seek to form, our new salt at the top of the 
 apparatus, that it may descend to the place where it is required, and 
 the light fluid may rise to mix with the denser portion. Practically, the 
 vertical trough is suitable for the purposes of the Bank; but however 
 important may be the requirements of this corporation, the laws of nature 
 are paramount, and will not vary to suit its convenience. 
 
 Up to the present time the best standard salt for the reduction of 
 copper by electro-metallurgy, is the sulphate, and, with the occasional 
 exception of the nitrate, is invariably employed. We always have a neutral 
 trough containing a simple solution, three parts saturated. For general 
 purposes we use a saturated solution diluted with dilute sulphuric acid of 
 battery strength, to the extent of from one-half to one-third of the bulk. 
 We are careful to use recrystallized sulphate of copper, distilled sulphuric 
 acid, and distilled water, as all impurities are hurtful. For our positive 
 pole of copper it is very desirable to get good metal, and probably the 
 sheathing of the innumerable Russian vessels we intend to capture will 
 best serve our purpose, as the Russian copper is proverbially pure and free 
 from tin. 
 
 If we regard the precipitating trough, we can but regard it as a very 
 curious and wonderful chemical laboratory, in which two processes are 
 being conducted at the same time, and in precisely equivalent proportions. 
 In it we have the best of all chemical factories for the production of 
 sulphate of copper by the combination of the plate of copper with the acid 
 of the salt, and in it we may perceive the most perfect of all foundries 
 wherein the metal is cast upon the mould atom by atom, with a skill which 
 rather shows the perfection of nature than the deficiencies of the opera- 
 tions of man. 
 
 As a general rule we employ a single battery with one trough. Where 
 we desire rapid action, we employ a compound battery of two cells in 
 series, but this entails a double cost of battery power. In a great many 
 cases, where time is of no object, we employ a compound trough with a 
 single battery that is to say, we arrange two troughs in series with 
 one battery a contrivance whereby we use our battery power twice over, 
 and obtain two equivalents of copper, one in each trough, and consequently 
 at half the cost. This form of apparatus is no trouble to manage. We 
 have placed it in one of the iron safes for which the Bank is so famous, 
 and wires are carried through the wall to supply the electric power. Here, 
 unseen, and without labour or attention, the process goes on by night and 
 by day, on Sundays and holidays ; and when the deposit has acquired suffi- 
 cient thickness, the mould is taken out and the deposit removed. 
 
 The deposited metal is of excellent quality, and a part of one of the 
 Britannias, when carefully weighed, was found to have a specific gravity of 
 8*85. To ascertain the ductibility of the metal, I sent one of the scraps 
 to Messrs. Home and Thornthwaite, and one pound of metal was found to 
 be capable of being drawn into three and a half miles of wire. 
 
 The authorities of the Bank are justly jealous of fire, and therefore we 
 have not been able to keep our rooms or solutions at an elevated tempera- 
 ture, which is very desirable for many purposes. It is far better that we 
 should be put to inconvenience, and our processes retarded, than that one 
 single document should be jeopardized by our operations. 
 
No. XXII.] APPENDIX. 305 
 
 After having procured suitable originals, with proper means of dupli- 
 cation, the next process which we have to consider is that of obtaining 
 perfect moulds. Where the original is of wood, gutta-percha is generally 
 employed, but it is necessary that the mould should be used as soon as 
 made, as it will shrink gradually till it is no longer fit for the purposes 
 required. When gutta-percha is employed it is blackleaded, by the process 
 described by Murray, who was rewarded by a medal from the Society of 
 Arts. It is placed in the solution, and the copper grows over it. All 
 blacklead is not equally good, and when it has remained in the air for 
 some time we find it advisable either to heat the blacklead or use a little 
 bisulphuret of carbon, or other volatile fluid, to drive off the adherent air. 
 
 Occasionally, when we have metal originals, and are pressed for time, 
 we employ clichee moulds, but we never employ them when they can be 
 avoided. The Britannia, I have already stated, is engraved on steel, and 
 moulds are made from it by striking it upon pure soft lead, fixed upon 
 brass plates, by which process very perfect moulds are secured. 
 
 For all our other originals, when we desire perfection, we rely upon 
 electro-moulds, and electro-moulds alone. For this purpose the original is 
 placed in the precipitating trough, and a thick electro-mould deposited. 
 There is very little risk of adhesion, and very little difficulty, with moderate 
 care, in obtaining a perfect mould. I need hardly mention that it would 
 be a serious matter to place the original t on the wrong side, for great would 
 be the horror of the operator, on peeping into the trough, to see its costly 
 original to have wasted away, instead of receiving the deposited metal. 
 
 When the electro-mould is sufficiently thick, a wire is soldered to it : 
 it is waxed on the back and sides, and used for the deposition of the dupli- 
 cate. In the use of the electro-mould there is much risk of adhesion, which 
 requires skill to prevent. Sometimes we employ the film of air which I 
 have already described in my * Electro-Metallurgy ; ' sometimes we employ 
 with good success the vapour arising from sulphuret of ammonia, a process 
 which has been specially devised for the purposes of the Bank. In both 
 these cases the moulds are inserted into the solution in a dry state, 
 and little bubbles of air are apt to adhere, and be carried down into the 
 solution, to the great detriment of our electro : cast. Upon pondering over 
 this inconvenience, I thought it would be desirable to have a process 
 whereby the mould could be inserted in a wet state. After some thought 
 and many experiments, it occurred to me that we might use the layer of 
 metal in the infinitely divided state in which it is employed in my battery. 
 With care many metals in that state will answer, but I give the preference 
 to platina. When the process is carefully performed, I have seen the most 
 perfect success attend the platinizing process. Nevertheless, commonly 
 enough, without care, we find that there is a liability for little adhered 
 drops of water to be carried down, which in the electro process have 
 been covered with metal, and the casts show slight indents, which are 
 fatal to success. Upon the whole I regard this process as an addition 
 to our knowledge, and it is particularly applicable to deeply-cut wavy 
 line work. 
 
 The casts of the Britannia are generally deposited so thick in the 
 compound trough that they can be turned down to the required form and 
 size. Other subjects are generally backed with solder, and turned to their 
 proper thickness. In cases where the lines are very thin, and at the same 
 
 X 
 
306 APPENDIX. [No. XXII. 
 
 time deeply cut, the metal must be aggregated very carefully, otherwise 
 the metal grows on each side of the holder of the mould, and a slit is 
 left down the centre of the metal. In some cases this would be a fatal 
 inconvenience, and, where it is indispensable to avoid it, we use a feeble 
 battery power, with a stronger solution of sulphate of copper in the pre- 
 cipitating trough. 
 
 All depositions in electro-moulds require for the highest perfection 
 the utmost care. It would be tedious to the Society to dwell upon all the 
 little points which require attention. Nevertheless, with proper care, no 
 mode of duplication has ever been devised which is attended with similar 
 identity. In all our electro-casts, whenever the most trifling air-bubble is 
 found, it is thrown out directly, as the few halfpence required as the cost 
 of the deposit of a small quantity of copper is nothing as compared with 
 the supply of perfect notes to the public. 
 
 Although circumstances have led me to study more especially electro- 
 metallurgic operations, yet it is important that electricity should take its 
 proper place, and not be pressed into our service on every occasion, 
 whether it be suitable or not. In the bank-note it was a matter of debate 
 whether in some parts the steel die and punch should not be used, but for 
 various reasons it was decided to use a steel original, with lead moulds, for 
 electro-casts. There are some cases, however, in which the punch-and-die 
 system, or even the transfer system of Perkins, might be advantageously 
 applied in the typographical art. 
 
 The electro-casts, when ready for printing, are mounted on solid brass 
 blocks, and many tools had to be constructed for this purpose. In this 
 detail there is involved the difference between making and manufacturing, 
 the formation of one article and the production of an infinite number. By 
 this system of tools, if any part of a forme is damaged, another piece is 
 immediately inserted. The same screw-holes in the plate and the same 
 screws are used for the new piece ; and, by every portion being made to one 
 gauge, an exactness is given to the system which it would have been im- 
 possible to have obtained by leaving such details to the caprice or judgment 
 of the workmen. By this system every part of the note is maintained in 
 exactly the same relative position, and thus identity in the form of the note 
 is absolutely secured. At the Bank a large stock of electrotype plates are 
 always ready to be mounted at a moment's notice, and if one happens to be 
 accidentally damaged, another is ready for insertion in precisely the same 
 place as that which preceded it. The electro-copper is so durable that 
 there is scarcely any limit to its wear, and at the * Times ' newspaper one 
 cast is said to have printed nearly 20,000,000, and yet not to have been 
 completely worn out. The limit to the duration of electro-casts for the 
 purposes of the bank-note has yet to be discovered, as above a million have 
 been printed with no perceptible effect. This duration alone is a matter 
 of considerable importance, as by it 'a constant identity is more particu- 
 larly insured. 
 
 There is, perhaps, no part of the process of the manufacture of the 
 note of more importance, and more replete with curious interest, than the 
 production of the paper, by Mr. Portal, on which it is printed. The mill 
 is situated in Hampshire, on the river Test, and this beautiful stream 
 supplies the water to drive the machinery necessary for the production 
 of the paper. 
 
No. XXII.] APPENDIX. 307 
 
 The motive power of the mill is obtained from a turbine, an horizontal 
 water-wheel, new to this country, but much used in Belgium and France. 
 It is applicable to places where the fall is either slight or great. It is 
 reckoned that by this contrivance from 70 to 75 per cent, of the whole force 
 is obtained, while the vertical breast wheel, which would have been required 
 for this situation, would not have afforded more than from 60 to 65 per 
 cent, of the initial power. In using this turbine the quiet state of the 
 water below the mill is not a little remarkable, for instead of the bubble 
 and boil, it is as smooth as at the mill-head. 
 
 The new bank-note has a new water-mark, and the design which has 
 been adopted is attributed to Mrs. Wyndham Portal, who suggested the form 
 of water-mark which has been approved. These alterations in the water- 
 mark constitute an important part of the new note, and the tinting is 
 effected by means of Smith and Brewer's patent an invention which is 
 considered as a valuable addition to the mechanical appliances of paper- 
 making, and was rewarded by a medal at the Great Exhibition of 1851. 
 They have carried out their contrivances in the Bank. The essential part 
 of this process is the use of steel-faced dies, which are engraved with the 
 desired pattern, after which they are hardened, by being heated in leather 
 charcoal, and then suddenly plunged in water. These dies are used with 
 copper or tin forces in a stamping machine, to give an impression upon 
 plates of sheet brass, and these plates when embossed are filed on the back 
 to the requisite proportions, to allow the moisture of the pulp of the paper 
 to pass through the apertures. The different pieces of brass, when struck, 
 filed, and put together at the paper-mill, by Mr. Brewer, form the mould 
 for the paper, and are so arranged that each mould is designed for two pair 
 of notes. 
 
 In practice, great advantages attend the use of this patent. In the 
 first place, identity in the water-mark of the paper is secured, a matter of 
 no small importance when the subject of bank-notes is considered, and 
 moreover it is specially adapted to give gradations of tints, lights, and 
 shades, which, for the first time, has been introduced into the paper of the 
 Bank of England notes. 
 
 If we contrast this elegant and simple method of mould-making with 
 that previously adopted, the difference is sufficiently striking. In a pair of 
 five-pound notes prepared by the old process there are 8 carved borders, 
 32 figures, 168 large waves, and 240 letters, which have all to be separately 
 secured by the finest wire to the waved surface. There are 1056 wires, 
 67,584 twists, and the same repetition where the stout wires are introduced 
 to support the under- surf ace. Therefore with the backing, laying, large 
 waves, figures, letters, and borders, before a pair of moulds are completed 
 there are some hundreds of thousands of stitches, most of which are avoided 
 by the new patent. Moreover, by this multitudinous stitching and sewing 
 the parts were never placed precisely in the same place, and the water- 
 mark was consequently never identical. In this process we may detect 
 principles which are not only valuable to the Bank, but to all public 
 establishments having important documents on paper, as it affords to the 
 public one more test whereby they may readily discover the deceptions of 
 dishonest men. 
 
 For the preparation of the paper, cuttings are selected from the finest 
 pieces of linen of the purest and whitest colour. These are carefully 
 
 x 2 
 
308 APPENDIX. [No. XXII. 
 
 dusted, placed in the machine, and reduced to pulp. This pulp is passed 
 through the finest strainer to the vat at which the paper-makers stand. 
 To insure as far as possible identity even in the paper, Mr. Portal has put 
 up machinery constructed by Mr. Donkin, in which all the improvements 
 and adaptations heretofore adopted by machine paper are brought into 
 operation for bank-note papers. The mould is dipped by hand into the vat 
 of pulp, and a sufficient quantity taken up to make the note. This, as soon 
 as the water is drawn off, is passed to a man, who puts it on a blanket, 
 which slowly moves at a regular pace, and brings a new part into play for 
 each mould of four notes as they are made. After the notes are placed in 
 the blanket, they are carried under successive rollers till the water is 
 squeezed out, and the pulp acquires consistency. This part of the process 
 has performed the duties of the flannel and powerful press of the old 
 system. The paper then, instead of being removed by a boy, as in the old 
 process, is carried by machinery to tne next part of the machine, where it 
 is dried by passing over warm cylinders. This part of the machine answers 
 to the old drying-room. When dry, it is spontaneously carried to the 
 sizing apparatus, where it is sized with the whitest and purest size, when it 
 is finally dried in the last compartment of the machine by passing over 
 heated cylinders. By all those processes which have been in use in those 
 machines which make paper by the mile, paper made by the hand mould is 
 dried, sized, and dried again in the short space of half-an-hour, instead of 
 requiring an interval of many days, as in the old process. 
 
 Mr. Portal, however, does not so much look to the rapidity as he seeks 
 identity, for in all cases the pulp, being subjected to precisely similar con- 
 ditions, may be expected to afford precisely similar results. 
 
 When the paper is dried, it is moderately glazed to give a smooth 
 surface for printing. Formerly the paper used invariably to be wetted 
 previous to printing, and a pretty-looking apparatus existed in the Bank 
 for wetting the paper, by excluding the air from a receiver with an air- 
 pump, and then allowing the water to rise and wet the paper. This wetting, 
 however, damaged and weakened the paper, and hence it was very desir- 
 able to take advantage of the power of surface-printing to be applied to 
 dry glazed papers. The smoothness is given by placing the sheets of 
 paper between plates of copper, and subjecting them to a pressure sufficient 
 on the one hand to give a fine and true surface, and yet not sufficient on 
 the other to damage the water-mark. 
 
 When the paper is rolled, it is carefully inspected, and every damaged 
 sheet thrown out, for if any little speck remains it is liable to injure the 
 electrotype in the subsequent printing ; and, after one inspection, the 
 paper is re-inspected by two of the sharpest-eyed of the sharp-eyed 
 inspectors of the mill. The paper is then inspected as to its gauge, as 
 occasionally a sheet shrinks considerably in its manufacture. The paper 
 is again inspected to see that every sheet is placed with its face uppermost, 
 after which it is counted and packed up ready to be sent to Mr. Marshall, 
 the chief cashier of the Bank. 
 
 These numerous processes of inspection are performed by females, and 
 they generally belong to families who have been engaged in the manufac- 
 ture of bank-note paper for 150 years. Each inspector is seated in a 
 green box, opposite to a north light ; but the ladies who have honoured 
 the Society with their presence this evening will probably think that the 
 
No. XXII.] APPENDIX. 309 
 
 inspectors are subjected to some torture when I state that rigid silence is 
 expected in the room they sit in, and the whole number of females daily 
 perform their allotted duties without gossip of any description. 
 
 The strength of the paper made in the manner above described is very 
 great when we consider the nature of the water-mark, which is calculated 
 to render it weaker than it would otherwise be. To be sure that no change 
 is being made in the materials, its strength is actually tested by a simple 
 machine ; and a sheet of note-paper, although so thin, will always bear a 
 weight of fifty pounds, and sometimes as much as seventy-five pounds, 
 before it breaks. 
 
 The printing-ink for the bank-note is also a matter which has re- 
 ceived attention. The properties of ink, when carefully prepared, are 
 very curious and require considerable judgment to adjust them to par- 
 ticular papers. To Mr. Winstone, the printing ink manufacturer, has 
 been entrusted the preparation and adaptation of the ink for the note, 
 as it required somewhat careful treatment for the peculiar arrangement 
 of the blacks and lights in the note. The black colouring material is made 
 by burning coal-tar naphtha, and collecting the smoke in large rooms. 
 This smoke or lamp-black is placed in a retort, and heated to a high 
 temperature, to drive off all volatile matters, when the ink becomes con- 
 solidated and improved in colour. This is subsequently ground with a 
 suitable varnish to a proper consistence to rest firmly on the delicate 
 lines of the Britannia, without spreading to produce a rugged edge, and 
 yet completely fill the black patches of the letters of the designation. 
 In the bank-note it is also expected that the ink should dry sufficiently 
 to allow handling immediately after being printed, a property which Mr. 
 Winstone's chemical knowledge has enabled him to produce. To my mind, 
 whatever may have been the results heretofore attained, the typographical 
 art for rapid production has much to be improved by the adjustment of 
 the distributive machines to the ink, and the ink to the distributive 
 machinery. For the peculiar viscidity and tenacity of the ink, the weight 
 of roller and rate of motion should be adapted to the character of the ink. 
 At present no laws have been deduced upon this matter, but extended 
 experiments upon perfect work will, perhaps, eventually give us a know- 
 ledge of the relation which ought to exist between roller and ink. 
 
 In my original proposition to the Governor of the Bank, I suggested 
 that, in the first instance, the hand-press should be employed, because by 
 it the pressman could more perfectly manage the ink, and have everything 
 requisite for the adaptation of the typographical system to the bank-notes 
 before the selection of a printing machine was made. The authorities of 
 the Bank, however, determined, at the instance of Mr. Hensman and Mr. 
 Coe, at once to attempt the use of the machine, and these gentlemen made 
 an investigation of nearly every printing machine in use before the kind of 
 machine to be employed was selected. It was found that the machines in 
 greatest repute by the best printers were not sufficiently perfect for the 
 Bank, inasmuch as the type did not always fall in the same place in regard 
 to the tympan, a circumstance which interfered with the overlaying, so 
 necessary to fine work, and in no case was the inking apparatus sufficiently 
 good for this class of work. 
 
 For the cheques they considered that the double platten was the best 
 machine which was in active operation at that time. For that reason a 
 
310 APPENDIX. [No. XXII. 
 
 machine by Hopkinson and Cope was adopted, and the cheques were 
 printed by it, as also some of the notes. 
 
 For the other bank-note a new platten has been specially constructed 
 by Messrs. Napier and Son, with contrivances for both the tables and the 
 inking rollers to traverse, by which means an effect is produced equivalent 
 to rolling with a single hand- roller twenty different times. In this machine 
 a plan of great value is employed, as the form of every note is made to 
 one gauge, and every denomination has its separate tyrnpan and over- 
 laying. By these means, when a note-plate is once made ready for 
 press with its overlaying, it is always ready at a moment's notice without 
 further preparation for taking impressions. This appears to be a contri- 
 vance which has added additional power to the system which, under the 
 circumstances, well meets the requirements of the Bank. 
 
 Counting machines are appended to each end of the machine, that no 
 impression can be taken without being registered ; and when 100 impres- 
 sions are printed, a bell strikes to call attention to the fact. In Napier's 
 machines 3,000 notes are printed per hour, and two boys are required to 
 feed with paper, and two to take off the printed notes. 
 
 After the note is printed, as a part of the system, it was proposed that 
 it should be numbered and dated at the ordinary machines, instead of the 
 Bramah's machine heretofore employed. These machines are also double, 
 requiring two boys to feed and two to take off. By this working the note 
 is completed, and handed over to the cashier to be examined and counted. 
 By this part of the system, the note is decidedly superior to that of the 
 old ; the printing by the new process being very much improved as a mere 
 question of printing. 
 
 Curiously enough, the numbering apparatus originally invented by 
 Bramah has been adapted, with the necessary modification, for the Napier's 
 gripper machine, with an improved inking apparatus. 
 
 When the forme is arranged in the printing machines, the first act of 
 the printer is to obtain a perfectly level impression, equal in tint at every 
 part, which is accomplished by filing the back of the blocks wherever he 
 finds any elevation exists. This may be called a general picture, which 
 possesses the general appearance, but without the lights and shades which 
 give beauty and excellence to the impression. When the general picture 
 is obtained to the parties' satisfaction, four impressions are taken upon 
 thin paper, and, according to the gradations of tint required, the impression 
 is cut away, so that in one place no thickness exists ; in others one, two, 
 three, or all the thicknesses remain. For the darkest portion the four 
 thicknesses are left, for the lighter none are allowed, and for the inter- 
 mediate tints two or three thicknesses are left. The whole are then pasted 
 together and placed over the electrotypes, and, by the contrivance of the 
 overlaying, those parts which are desired to be darkest get the heaviest 
 pinch, those parts required to be of a lighter tint are the least heavily 
 pressed, and in this way the impression is in a great measure brought 
 to perfection 
 
 Upon the trial of this overlaying little alterations are made, to bring 
 it to the utmost uniformity. In this part of the process much depends 
 upon the skill of the superintendent of the printing department, who has 
 the final examination, and when he is satisfied the printing is allowed 
 to commence. 
 
No. XXIL] APPENDIX. 311 
 
 The time lias long since passed away when scientific men would think 
 of attempting to devise an inimitable note. A note to be inimitable must 
 be made with a skill superior to the power of imitation of all men. The 
 doctrine of inimitability should be buried with that of the philosopher's 
 stone and the elixir of life ; nevertheless, certain properties are demanded 
 by the mercantile community, whereby a man may readily determine a 
 good note. In this matter constancy of appearance is of paramount 
 importance, and in this particular the new surface note stands pre- 
 eminent. The vignette is printed in every impression line for line invari- 
 ably the same. The same expression of face is constantly maintained ; the 
 same number of lines in one impression is visible in the second, and, 
 however many thousands of notes may be issued, not the slightest possible 
 variation within certain limits can exist. Moreover, the note is printed 
 with a similar ink, and the same tone of colour preserved, that the public 
 may be familiarised with a constant standard, and a uniform appearance 
 will be marked in their mind. 
 
 Probably many of the members may recollect that the Society of Arts 
 many years ago very warmly entered into the question of inimitable notes, 
 and a very interesting little volume was issued by them on the subject. 
 Some of these proposals were remarkable from the intricacy of their 
 designs, but so far as the protection of the Bank is concerned no such 
 intricacy is required, as the Bank is never at a loss to detect a forged 
 impression, be it executed ever so skilfully, and the system pursued 
 by the Bank is so perfect that no forged note has ever escaped eventual 
 detection. 
 
 The doctrine even of difficult imitation is one which must be studied 
 by physiological principles, and must be considered in reference to the 
 faculties of the eye and the properties of the mind. By actual measure- 
 ment I have ascertained that the eye can see perfectly over a range of 
 2 18', which for twelve inches' distance would represent a space of half an 
 inch diameter. However, it has been ascertained by other philosophers 
 that an impression on the eye lasts for the one-tenth of a second, wherefore 
 it follows, to look over very carefully every part of a note, no less a time 
 than a third of a minute would be consumed, and probably in practice 
 three times as much would be required. As nearly 30,000 notes are daily 
 presented for examination, it follows that one gentleman must be employed 
 166 hours to inspect every single portion thoroughly. Practically, however, 
 the work is perfectly performed by nineteen inspectors, and therefore they 
 cannot enter into a minute and elaborate examination of every part of 
 every nole, but only judge by the general appearance of all manifestly 
 good notes : and a careful examination of any one where there may be 
 primd facie grounds for suspicion. 
 
 From such causes it is found by long experience, that any extra- 
 ordinary complexity is not only useless, but delusive and dangerous, from 
 leading the mind into details which cannot be successfully appreciated. 
 The labour and exhaustion produced by minute inspection of any very 
 fine work for any length of time is shown by experience to be great, 
 and, though to the psychological surgeon it presents many features of 
 intense interest, yet the limits of this paper forbid me to enter into its 
 consideration. 
 
 In speaking of identity, there is also another property of the eye to be 
 
312 APPENDIX. [No. XXII. 
 
 considered ; for although there can be hardly any such thing as absolute 
 identity or likeness between any two objects, yet any objects which do not 
 differ more than four seconds will appear alike to unaided vision, though 
 with the microscope great differences may be discernible. Whenever, then, 
 throughout this paper I speak of identity, I refer to the identity observ- 
 able by the unaided sight : and after all it is but a rough comparative 
 identity, a mere vision of identity when examined in a philosophical point 
 of view. As far as the public is concerned, nothing can exceed the value 
 of a uniform appearance : this the new note affords in the highest degree. 
 Day after day, and year after year, the character of the paper will not vary. 
 The same signature of " M. Marshall " which appears in the paper of one 
 note will be repeated in the next. The same wave lines, the same rough 
 edges on three sides, the same shadows in the water-mark will be brought 
 continually before the sight. The Britannia will have the same expression of 
 countenance, and will be repeated line for line, and dot for dot, for millions 
 of impressions unchanged and apparently unchangeable. The very weight 
 of the paper does not vary above two or three grains, unless damaged by 
 wear, and the colour of the ink will be maintained as far as possible. As 
 the stone is worn by water constantly dropping, so will the mind be 
 impressed with one uniform appearance. With these constant appear- 
 ances, the public should become familiar; and really in a country like 
 this, where the circulation of notes is so large, and the Bank has taken 
 such pains to secure identity, he that does not make himself acquainted 
 with the appearance of a genuine bank-note does not deserve to be its 
 possessor. 
 
 To attempt to construct an unforgable or inimitable note would be a 
 mere delusion and snare. The public should know that everything which 
 has been made can be copied : and without due care, whether they are 
 numismatists, and look after Darics and Queen Anne's farthings, or 
 antiquarians, and collect old Bibles or ancient manuscripts ; whether they 
 seek to buy gold-dust or sell precious stones ; whether they transact their 
 business by bills, notes, cheques, or coins, they are in all cases liable to 
 fraud and deception, and ever will be liable so long as evil remains in 
 the world. 
 
 Bank-notes are perhaps as little or less liable to be falsified than most 
 other human inventions, in consequence of the certainty of the eventual 
 detection of the fraud, and the great risk of punishment from the care and 
 vigilance employed to trace out delinquents. 
 
 All questions of fraud are amenable to certain principles, which, on 
 this occasion, it is not my province to consider. Whatever knowledge may 
 have been obtained upon this subject has been obtained at the Bank, and 
 may be regarded as the property of the Bank, which I have neither the 
 liberty to communicate, nor am I granted permission to discuss. At the 
 desire of the Bank, many experiments have been conducted upon chemical 
 means of multiplication. Without entering into details, I am led to 
 adopt a principle for the prevention of chemical changes ; namely, to put 
 the paper in the same chemical relation as the ink which we desire to 
 protect, and in this way we obtain security against change in both writing 
 ink and printing ink. In these experiments new fields for investigation 
 were found, but it is not in my power in this paper to enter into their 
 consideration. 
 
No. XXII.] APPENDIX. 313 
 
 As far as the Bank is concerned, the new system has insured increased 
 excellence with diminished expense, but probably its adoption by the Bank 
 will lead to a far more important use in the arts. Since the printing of 
 the cheques, the Government have adopted surface-printing for the receipt 
 stamps, and more recently for their new bill stamps. For extensive pro- 
 duction and uniformity of expression, surface-printing stands pre-eminently 
 as the master. Although the daily production of the ' Times ' and the 
 weekly production of the ' Illustrated London News ' may justly be termed 
 the typographical wonders of the world, yet the care bestowed upon the note 
 to render its unlimited duplication perfect, has a tendency to materially 
 influence the printing art in this department in a beneficial manner. 
 
 One application of surface-printing, although disconnected with bank- 
 notes, I cannot pass over in silence, as I think the Society of Arts should 
 recommend the adaptation of surface-printing to the Ordnance Maps ; and 
 though I am fully sensible of the difficulties which would attach to this 
 new system, and fully estimate the perfection of these plates, nevertheless 
 I feel persuaded that all difficulties may be surmounted, and every English- 
 man may be in a position to have a correct map of the land of his fathers, 
 at a price not exceeding that of an ordinary newspaper. 
 
 In regarding the future operations of the Bank, I cannot but think 
 that the results which have been described are the first step of the com- 
 mencement, and not the end, of those improvements which will take place 
 in the production of bank-notes. If the use of the steam -press exceeded 
 my own propositions, yet in many respects the result has fallen short of 
 my anticipations. Considering the great importance of a uniform note 
 of a certain standard of perfection, it was necessary to take the most 
 prudent course ; nevertheless I cannot bring my mind to suppose that the 
 processes can possibly stop where they are. In the first place, the original 
 cutting of certain parts of the note will be far more highly finished than it 
 is at present when increased skill is brought to bear upon it. With regard 
 to the printing, hereafter, probably four, and possibly six or eight, will be 
 printed, and subsequently numbered, at a single operation. 
 
 We are all too apt to think that art will stop at our point, and not 
 progress, but it is the property of invention ever to move forward. The 
 point at which we have arrived must be the step from which future 
 improvements must spring, and, proceeding step by step, the highest 
 possible excellence will doubtless eventually be secured. 
 
 There are certain characteristics which are common to the whole class 
 of Bank of England notes which should be known to all the world. In the 
 first place, every note has three of the natural edges of the paper, and one 
 cut edge. In the centre of every note is a water-lnark composed of waved 
 lines, and the words " Bank of England " are inserted in the substance of 
 the paper at the upper and lower portion, with a facsimile of the auto- 
 graph of Matthew Marshall, the esteemed chief cashier of the corporation. 
 The Britannia is printed on notes of all denominations, and all notes have 
 the words " I promise to pay the bearer on demand." 
 
 The entire class of bank-notes include twelve genera, as each of the 
 eleven branch establishments issues notes with the town upon it, as 
 Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Leicester, Bristol, 
 Portsmouth, Plymouth, Hull, Swansea; and these, with London, form 
 twelve establishments issuing notes. 
 
314 APPENDIX. [No. XXII. 
 
 Each genus comprises several species, as notes are of several designa- 
 tions. Thus, in London nine notes are issued, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 
 200, 300, 500, and 1,000 notes. In every branch, notes are issued up 
 to 100 ; and at the two important commercial towns of Liverpool and 
 Manchester, notes of 500 are issued in addition. In every genus of note 
 the denomination up to 50 is placed in the water-mark in letters, and 
 twice in shaded figures. 
 
 Every species of note is made up of innumerable individuals, each of 
 which has an individuality as distinct and determinate for a bank-note 
 as the individuality which characterises every human being, and also 
 characteristics as marked in the eyes of the Bank, to distinguish one 
 from another, and no more likely to be mistaken than our chairman is 
 likely to be mistaken by you for our secretary, even when you are not so 
 perfectly familiar with their likenesses. This individuality is given by a 
 number and date being added to the denomination. The number is of no 
 use alone, the date is of no use alone, but the number, date, and denomina- 
 tion together conjointly mark the specific individual; and any person 
 having these particulars can learn at the Bank to whom the note was 
 issued, and when it was issued, the date of its return to the Bank, and the 
 person to whom money was paid for it, with many other matters of its 
 pedigree and family history, which are only objects of interest to its 
 mother, the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street. 
 
 It is not generally known to the public that there are two letters 
 preceding the numbers on every note, and which, with the number, tells 
 the whole story of the note. Therefore, if the public will but take down 
 the letters and numbers, they can learn every other particular on applying 
 to the Bank. 
 
 To give an idea of the extent of our operations, I find, in casting them 
 up, that there are sixty-six kinds of bank-notes, and about fifty varieties 
 of cheques, which had to be prepared. Besides these, there are twenty-five 
 kinds of bank-bills, issued from eleven different places, independently of 
 sixty day-bills, and various matters which would not be interesting to the 
 meeting, further than to show that the Bank has not merely adopted 
 surface-printing to a bank-note, but to all similar documents of a similar 
 character which they require. 
 
 Had time permitted, it would have been interesting in this paper to 
 have considered the progress of typography, and traced, step by step, the 
 successive improvements which have taken place before it could have been 
 adapted to Bank of England notes. In such an investigation we must 
 commence with Tung-Taou, A.D. 924, who appears to be its first inventor. 
 From the works of the Chinese and Japanese we should pass to the Biblica 
 Pauperum ; the illustrated Bible of the period, printed by blocks, between 
 1420 and 1470. Then we should consider the movable types of Caxton, 
 and works printed by this benefactor of the human race. Upon exami- 
 nation of the choicest specimens of Faust, Schoeffer, and Caxton, 
 Shoensperger, and other great printers, we find that even at the beginning 
 of this century, when Baskerville, Didot, Bensley, and Bodini, produced 
 their finer specimens, surface-printing, as at all adapted to the present 
 form of the Bank of England note, was only in its earliest infancy. 
 
 If we examine forms of notes printed by typography, we shall observe 
 that the note of the Bank of France and the Belgian note are so produced, 
 
No. XXII.] APPENDIX. 315 
 
 but in these cases the character of the note is adapted to the style of 
 printing, and even there the number printed is so small as to appear 
 insignificant when compared with the number issued by the Bank of 
 England. At the former establishment about 300 impressions are printed 
 every day; at the latter, nearly 30,000 are produced, as 9,000,000 notes 
 are issued per annum, representing nearly 300,000,000 of money. 
 
 I remember, when a boy, the waggon-loads of machinery which were 
 carted away from the Bank, which had been used for the production of the 
 four millions of one-pound notes, which had been printed and never issued. 
 Of these I cannot learn that one exists as printed for circulation, and the 
 character is so different, that it throws but little light upon the application 
 of typography to the present note. The same observations which apply to 
 the suppressed one-pound note apply equally to the paper-duty stamp, 
 which is familiar to every stationer. 
 
 When we consider the great difficulties which the peculiar water-mark 
 of the bank-note paper has entailed, it never could have succeeded had we 
 not applied a very much improved inking apparatus, assisted by the 
 excellent composition rollers of Messrs. Harrild, the whole being materially 
 helped by a totally novel method of preparing the forme for the press. As 
 far as my examinations have gone, the typography of our cheapest periodi- 
 cals far surpasses in sharpness of impression the very choicest efforts of 
 preceding ages. 
 
 The theory on which my report was founded was deduced from a 
 multitude of facts, and the result has proved that inductive reasoning has 
 not deserted us when brought into practical operation. 
 
 The examination of typography has strikingly shown that invention is 
 rather due to the period than to the man ; and as those who have gone 
 before have taken advantage of the inventions of our predecessors, and 
 again we in turn have received the benefit of their labours, so our suc- 
 cessors will use our experience as a stepping-stone to attain their results. 
 
 If we examine the note through its different stages, we cannot help 
 being struck with astonishment at the care which has been taken to protect 
 the public from imposition. In the manufacture of the paper every sheet 
 must be accounted for, and the Legislature has wisely provided that no 
 person, under the pain of transportation, may manufacture, sell, or expose 
 for sale, paper with the words " Bank of England " in its substance, or any 
 curve bar lines, or any denomination in writing. When it is received in 
 the Bank, it is again counted and arranged by a decimal system, under the 
 care of the treasurer, before it is stowed away. When issued to the printer, 
 the same number must be handed over to the treasurer; and when it 
 receives its final imprint and is converted into the representative of money, 
 it is received by the cashier, who again examines and counts the number. 
 These perfect notes are deposited in a place of security till life is given to 
 them, by being carried as a credit into the Bank books. When it passes 
 into the hands of the public, it is amenable to laws which are known to 
 the authorities of the Bank. Each denomination has a different average 
 duration of life, like individuals in different cities, and some are never 
 heard of again, like people who go to foreign lands, and their fate ever 
 remains unknown. When the note returns to the Bank, after inspection, 
 it dies, never to be resuscitated. The signature is torn off, the denominations 
 are punched out, and it becomes a piece of waste paper. The registry of 
 
316 APPENDIX. [No. XXII. 
 
 its death is taken by a system devised by my brother, Mr. William Smee. 
 This system, which is remarkable for its simplicity and rapidity of 
 execution, has been in use with great success for many years, and those 
 who are partial to the details of scientific book-keeping will discover many 
 devices of interest, but which it is foreign to the purposes of my paper to 
 consider in detail. After the death of the note is registered, it is then 
 deposited in the vaults for reference for ten years, when it is burnt. The 
 object for retaining the notes for so long a period is exclusively for the 
 accommodation of the public ; for although such a course entails a very 
 considerable cost to the Bank, yet the value of the information which is 
 daily being supplied from this cause, shows the importance of it to the 
 monetary community. It is not an easy matter to utterly destroy so large 
 a number of notes as those which are issued by the Bank. Experiments 
 have been tried to reduce them again to pulp, but they have never 
 altogether succeeded, and no plan answers so well as their destruction by 
 fire. A large iron cage is built in the middle of the yard, including a light 
 brick furnace pierced with holes. In this cage the notes are placed and 
 burnt by sackfuls at a time, and nothing is left but a little white ash. 
 Formerly the paper was coloured with smalt, and this was left at the 
 bottom of the furnace as a curious blue mass. The same care which is 
 taken in the manufacture of the paper, and in its transition through its 
 various stages, is maintained to its final destruction, so that from the linen 
 pulp to the cinder, no person can become possessed of a single sheet without 
 committing a felony, immediately liable to detection. As the final result 
 of the changes bank-notes undergo, I am enabled to show you a piece of 
 the blue ash, a portion of the white ash, and a curious mass resembling 
 peat, which arose from the conversion of a number of bank-notes into 
 a peculiar substance from years of exposure to wet and pressure. 
 
 In bringing this paper to a conclusion, I am fully sensible of its defects, 
 and regret that so important a subject should have been treated in a much 
 less efficient manner than the members of the Society have a right to expect. 
 The original intention was simply to have described surface-printing from 
 electrotype for the purposes of the notes and cheques of the Bank of 
 England ; and if a wider scope has been given to these remarks, I trust 
 that they have not been found tedious to the members of the Society, nor 
 have been altogether uninteresting to the mercantile community. If here- 
 after the adoption of this system of Bank of England notes shall have 
 been found to be beneficial to the arts, I shall feel amply rewarded for 
 the anxious thought and labour which I have bestowed upon it a feeling 
 which is equally experienced by Mr. Hensman and Mr. Coe, who have, 
 from the first, made every exertion to bring the system into successful 
 operation. 
 
No. XXIIL] APPENDIX. 317 
 
 No. XXIII. 
 THE MONOGENESIS OF PHYSICAL FORCES. A LECTURE 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE LONDON INSTITUTION, FEBRUARY 18TH, 
 
 1857. By ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 IN our intercourse with Nature and natural phenomena, we, each of us, 
 according to the peculiarity of our minds, view the same phenomena in a 
 somewhat different manner; some of us perceive more vividly by our 
 organs of sensation, whilst others with less powers of perception store up 
 facts more accurately. Some generalize simple facts into extensive laws, 
 whilst it is permitted to a few to compare and bring into relation nume- 
 rous generalizations at first sight apparently distinct. From this diversity 
 in the powers of the human mind, I have always strongly felt that society 
 is benefited by each person unfolding the impressions which his own 
 mind receives, as by that means all are made acquainted with the various 
 aspects from which external nature may be viewed. 
 
 This evening it will be my endeavour to carry out the suggestion, that 
 this year the soiree lectures should be undertaken by amateurs, and chiefly 
 by the managers of your Institution. I have chosen for my theme the 
 ' Production of Physical Forces,' and this lecture will be a cursory glance 
 of that view of natural phenomena which I published in the year 1843, in 
 a work entitled ' The Sources of Physical Science,' and which constitutes 
 one of that series of metaphysical works which I have made it the business 
 of my life to develop from Nature. Some of these views you have done me 
 the honour on former occasions to allow me to unfold in this room ; and 
 from the kind manner in which you received those speculations, I venture 
 to hope that you will neither be surprised nor offended in my submitting 
 this view of Nature, especially as I have myself practically applied it for a 
 period of fourteen years in the ordinary transactions of life, and I trust 
 not altogether without some advantage to the public. 
 
 We live in a material world, but we can neither make nor destroy 
 matter. However many times matter may be combined or acted upon by 
 matter, it remains the same in amount ; and even when it is so changed 
 that it possesses no vestige of its former state, yet it is neither increased 
 nor diminished. 
 
 When our great poet in his lofty flight says 
 
 " Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay, 
 Might stop a hole to keep the wind away ; " 
 
 the change is not more wonderful than the daily transmutations in our 
 manufactories, where offensive offal is converted into beautiful pigments 
 for the dresses of our fairest daughters, and noxious residues are changed 
 into exquisite flavours for sweetmeats. 
 
 In every case in which we observe matter, we notice that it possesses 
 a power whereby two portions are drawn together or mutually attracted. 
 From this we deduce a law, " That whatever attracts is matter, and what- 
 ever cannot attract is not matter." To my mind, attraction is an inherent 
 
318 APPENDIX. [No. XXIII. 
 
 property of matter, which it has possessed as long as matter has existed, 
 and will possess till matter ceases to exist, by the fiat of an IMMATERIAL 
 POWER. 
 
 We know not how far matter is divisible, because we can readily 
 separate it into particles far below what our senses can appreciate ; never- 
 theless, it is convenient to assume that matter is divisible into definite 
 particles which can no longer be divided, and hence called atoms. "We 
 know not, moreover, how many kinds of matter there are, or whether there 
 is more than one kind. It by no means follows because we cannot decom- 
 pose the so-called sixty elements that they are separate bodies. We must 
 remember that it is possible, as every element has a different combining 
 number, that each may be only a number of atoms attracted together so 
 firmly as to resist our powers of separation. These considerations are 
 entirely within the boundary of speculation, and not at present of fact; 
 yet this view meets all the known facts of the case, and when two theories, 
 equally expressing all the circumstances, are offered for our consideration, 
 it is more consistent with natural science to choose that which involves 
 the fewest hypotheses. One of the most subtle divisions of solid matter is 
 to be found in the black pulverulent state of metals, such as employed for 
 my form of battery. It has been supposed that all matter is black when 
 extensively divided, because the particles are too small to reflect light ; but 
 the form of the black particles is unknown to us, because the highest 
 powers of the microscope are insufficient to render them visible to the eye. 
 At the last Bakerian lecture Professor Faraday made known methods for 
 dividing gold to an extreme amount. He precipitates the metal from its 
 solution by bi-sulphuret of carbon, and obtains a ruby-coloured liquid, in 
 which metallic gold is so minute that the particles are invisible by any 
 microscopic power. This distinguished philosopher satisfied himself that 
 the ruby glass owes its colour to gold in a metallic state in an infinite 
 division, and by adding gelatine to the ruby solution he obtained a ruby 
 jelly precisely similar. 
 
 Ultimate particles of matter are aggregated or attracted into masses, 
 of which we may observe many varieties. Look at ice : how different is its 
 appearance at different times ; and in our electro-metallurgic deposits, 
 where we build up our objects atom by atom, we obtain many veiy different 
 kinds of aggregation. The copper electrotype from which the Bank of 
 England note is printed, is so excellent, that a portion I tried was found 
 capable of being drawn into three and a half miles of wire, whilst under 
 certain circumstances copper deposited breaks with a conchoidal fracture 
 with the greatest ease. 
 
 We are ignorant whether there is any difference in the mode of attrac- 
 tion between the ultimate particles of solid, fluid, and gaseous particles; 
 but having regard to the entire range of physical knowledge, we may 
 assume that the particles are most firmly attracted in the solid, and more 
 in the fluid than the gaseous state, as by different amounts of attraction we 
 obtain the difference between the solid and gaseous states. I have specu- 
 lated whether one atom might not by itself have boundless expanse, and 
 fill the firmament a limitation of extent being due to the attraction 
 between two or more atoms of matter. 
 
 Masses of matter aggregated together still have the power of attract- 
 ing each other into one uniform mass, by adhesion, as when two pieces of 
 
No. XXIII.] APPENDIX. 319 
 
 lead or glass are brought into contact they mutually adhere, and some- 
 times greatly to the manufacturer's discomfort. 
 
 Liquids and solids in contact have a power of mutual attraction, as in 
 capillary attraction. 
 
 Gases and liquids have also this power of attraction, as in the case of 
 muriatic acid gas and water. 
 
 I will now show you a very beautiful experiment, proving that attrac- 
 tion is existent between gases and solids. Some years ago I discovered 
 that coke or charcoal might have so much hydrogen firmly attracted to it, 
 that when plunged into solutions of gold, silver, or copper, an extensive 
 deposition of metal takes place, and I have found that it would retain the 
 gas for many days. 
 
 Attraction is also exerted between gaseous bodies, according to the 
 law of diffusion so elegantly developed by Graham ; and even carbonic acid 
 (a very heavy gas) passes into the atmospheric air. 
 
 Lastly, liquids attract each other by a law very similar to that of the 
 diffusion of gases. 
 
 Hitherto we have considered the attraction of particles of matter in 
 indefinite quantities, or of the attraction of masses already aggregated ; 
 but particles of two or more different kinds of matter may be attracted to 
 produce a totally new substance, having none of the properties of former 
 particles: thus chlorine and sodium form common salt; oxygen and 
 hydrogen, water. 
 
 Attracted matter, either in masses or in the most attenuated particles, 
 attracts other masses at any distance, and by this power of gravity every- 
 thing in the universe is kept in position ; to this power the sun, the moon, 
 the earth, the stars in the firmament, and every substance in the world, 
 owes its position. 
 
 In the cases of attraction already described the power appears to be 
 exercised promiscuously, but there are cases in which attraction is exerted 
 in definite directions. Crystals are masses of attracted matter of this 
 character, as their particles are attracted unequally in different directions. 
 In consequence of this they yield to mechanical force in some directions, 
 not in others; they expand unequally by heat, they are acted upon 
 unequally by magnetism, and they have very curious properties in relation 
 to light. Not only in crystalline bodies do we observe that attraction is 
 exercised in a definite direction, but we observe a direction in the power 
 of attraction during the magnetic state. A bar of iron, when it suddenly 
 assumes this state, appears to have its former attractions altered, for under 
 favourable circumstances it will sound a distinct musical note. When a 
 magnetic body attracts another body capable of assuming the magnetic 
 state, the second substance also evinces a similar direction in the exercise 
 of the power of attraction. From these views we deduce that the idea of 
 magnetism is derived from certain kinds of matter, under certain circum- 
 stances, evincing the power of attraction in a definite direction. 
 
 We have considered the mode in which attraction acts to unite 
 particles of matter, and thus construct the various objects of which the 
 material universe is composed. Now let us pause to consider the earth at 
 rest. The quiet which gives the loveliness to evening, and soothes the 
 mind after the business of the day, forms but a dim shadow of that awful 
 quiet which would exist were attracted matter not capable of being acted 
 
320 . APPENDIX. [No. XXIII. 
 
 upon, when there would be neither heat to cheer, light to gladden, sound 
 to enliven, nor motion to excite. 
 
 Nature, however, abhors quiet, and delights in action. In every case 
 where attraction is exerted, it can be destroyed by a new attraction ; and 
 thus, whilst attracted matter exhibits cohesion, composition, and position, 
 so a new attraction can cause disintegration, decomposition, and motion. 
 Hence we deduce the law, " that a new attraction can destroy a former 
 attraction." 
 
 For a study of the effect of a new attraction acting upon attracted 
 matter, the voltaic battery stands forth pre-eminently as an instrument 
 well calculated to exemplify the phenomenon. For a voltaic circuit it is 
 essential to have a fluid compound built up of two atoms only : this com- 
 pound is decomposed by any matter either in a solid, fluid, or gaseous 
 state capable of setting up a powerful attraction between itself and one 
 element of the compound : this is the positive pole. The second element 
 is evolved at the negative pole, and the two points may be connected 
 together by matter extending for miles and miles; a fact on which 
 depend the electric clock and telegraph. In u a single battery there is but 
 one point at which the new attraction is excited. In the compound bat- 
 tery there are as many points as there are cells in the series. A single 
 voltaic battery may act through a series of similar troughs, provided that 
 in these secondary troughs the tendency to destroy the former attraction 
 is nearly equal to the tendency to maintain it. I place before you an 
 example, in which one battery is reducing gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, 
 iron, zinc, in separate cells, having solutions of the positive poles of those 
 metals. In this case, one grain of zinc in the battery reduces 64 grains of 
 gold, 83 of silver, 3i lead, 1-j^ tin, 1 copper, T 9 Q of a grain iron, these being 
 the relative weight of one atom of each of these metals. 
 
 By the voltaic battery, especially if we employ the platinized silver 
 battery, as is now almost invariably used for heavy work, we obtain results 
 equivalent to the original attraction within a very trifling percentage, a 
 result which must be regarded as a glorious triumph of human skill. On 
 account of this perfection of result I have been enabled to construct an 
 instrument which I call a battery-meter, in which every degree shows that 
 a grain of zinc has entered into combination and become sulphate of zinc. 
 By this we can tell the amount and thickness of metal reduced in our 
 precipitating trough. This instrument is the first instance in which man 
 has estimated work done by the primary attraction or source of power. In 
 the steam-engine the coals burnt do not point out so accurately the result 
 obtained ; and I have elsewhere observed that even in the animal, the most 
 perfect of all machines, the food the soldier eats will not of necessity 
 indicate the number of miles traversed, or of the enemy killed. 
 
 This instrument was designed for the Bank of England. You are all 
 doubtless aware, that upon my proposition the entire system of printing 
 the Bank of England notes has been changed, and that they are now 
 printed from the surface : a change which has contributed so much to give 
 identity to the note. The original dies are cut in copper, steel, or brass ; 
 from these, moulds are made, which again are electrotyped to make the 
 cast for printing. The battery-meter, placed in the battery, shows us the 
 thickness of our deposited metal in the trough; and though our prac- 
 tised eye enables us to dispense with extraneous aids, I can but think 
 
No. XXIII.] APPENDIX. 321 
 
 this little instrument is a very beautiful practical application of pro- 
 found physical laws. 
 
 The cause of all voltaic phenomena is referable to a new attraction, 
 and when this is opposed by obstacles tension is manifested. Tension, to 
 use a figurative expression, is " a desire for action ungratified ;" and thus, 
 as soon as the tension is increased, or the obstacles are diminished, action 
 results, and disintegration, decomposition, or motion occurs. 
 
 It was from the long-continued and close study of the voltaic battery, 
 requisite to enable me to write my treatise on ' Electro-Metallurgy,' that 
 I was led, step by step, to develop the system of physical philosophy 
 upon which this lecture is based. I could, therefore, tarry and dwell upon 
 this beautiful instrument, did I not remember that on this evening it will 
 be my endeavour to compress into one lecture a slight sketch of the entire 
 range of physical phenomena. 
 
 Passing from the study of the action of a new attraction upon binary 
 fluid compounds, we may next, with advantage, consider its effect upon 
 solid substances, or substances under the attraction of aggregation, and 
 the electrical machine is well adapted for this purpose. In this case, force 
 is applied to a solid body, whereby tension far exceeding that which is 
 readily obtainable by a voltaic battery is manifested. Whenever the 
 electrical machine is excited by any force, the origin of that force is due 
 to some new attraction, and hence the new attraction is the primary cause 
 of the electrical tension ; and when this is increased sufficiently, or the 
 obstacles decreased, action ensues by a destruction of attractions, such as 
 disintegration, decomposition, or motion, and is frequently accompanied 
 by light, heat, and sound. 
 
 From the above views, the mind is led to suppose that electricity is 
 not an immaterial essence, imponderable, or spirit attached to matter, to 
 which the effects are due ; but that the phenomena of electricity are 
 entirely owing to the action of a new attraction upon matter aggregated or 
 composed by former attractions. 
 
 By frictional electricity we can trace how repulsion is a phenomenon 
 of attraction, and not an inherent power of matter ; as by electricity we 
 can readily suspend some of the numerous forces by which any body is 
 held in position, when it moves in the resultant of the others. Two balls 
 suspended close together, when similarly electrified, appear to repel each 
 other ; but in reality they are attracted to surrounding objects. 
 
 Carry the reasoning one step further, we find that which we term a 
 positive or negative electrical phenomenon is due to the direction in which 
 the new attraction acts, and this direction is analogous to the polarity of 
 the magnet or the condition of the electrolyte in the voltaic battery. 
 
 Passing from the known to the unknown, we may glance at the 
 thunder-cloud, the awful grandeur of which must for ever appal the 
 human mind. From the dense black masses of clouds which usually 
 accompany this grand natural phenomenon, we have seldom an opportunity 
 of observing that which is taking place ; yet on one occasion, on Forest 
 Hill, I saw that which probably is the cause of the electric action. It was 
 a damp day in June, and there had been much rain previously (the entire 
 sky being covered as it were with misty clouds, through which the sun was 
 seen in an obscured form). Suddenly, without warning or the slightest 
 apparent reason, clouds aggregated above our heads so rapidly, that 
 
 Y 
 
322 APPENDIX. [No. XXIII. 
 
 within five minutes we were in comparative darkness, when the most 
 terrific flashes of lightning occurred, accompanied with peals of thunder. 
 This was followed almost simultaneously by enormous hailstones, so thick 
 that we could scarcely see a few yards before us. We had great difficulty 
 in proceeding to the nearest house, which was scarcely a hundred yards, 
 and it was only after incessant ringing, that one of the inmates ventured 
 out to open the gate to give us shelter. 
 
 In this case there was manifestly an instantaneous and rapid deve- 
 lopment of new attractions in the aggregation of aqueous vapour into 
 large hailstones, and I believe that aggregation of vapour acting upon 
 the attracted matter of the clouds is the true source of the electric 
 development. 
 
 The sublime phenomenon of the thunder-cloud I have watched as it 
 plays over the ocean's bed ; I have been in the midst of it at the top of the 
 mountain, I have seen it hoveling over the lake, and heard the thunder 
 reverberate from shore to shore of the castle-bearing hills of the Rhine, 
 yet it is worthy of mention that in no place has it been so grand as in this 
 Circus during the stillness of night. Here we have a multiple echo, and 
 when the cloud is overhead, the crash is reverberated from side to side with 
 a majesty unequalled by any other natural phenomenon, and which well 
 marks the power which is acting during the electric discharge. 
 
 The capacity to produce action is called force, and, whenever a new 
 attraction is set up, force results. Force differs from tension in being 
 able to do that which tension is prevented, by a resistance, from accom- 
 plishing. Any kind of attraction gives rise to force. The attraction of 
 gravitation, capillary attraction, the attraction of aggregation, or of 
 chemical affinity, will produce force. 
 
 When a new attraction is exerted, the force emanating therefrom may 
 be propagated through aeriform bodies, when it is termed pneumatic 
 force ; through fluid bodies, when it is called hydrostatic force ; through 
 solid bodies, when it is called mechanical force. 
 
 I have heard it stated that whenever force is generated it is never 
 annihilated. To such an extraordinary proposition my system not only 
 gives an unqualified denial, but points out the manner in which force 
 comes to an end. However long it may endure, however many bodies it 
 may pass through, its final action is to destroy some pre-existing attrac- 
 tion, and either disintegrate, decompose, or move previously attracted 
 matter. 
 
 The resistance of matter under attraction to a new attraction leads to 
 the production of various phenomena. Under certain circumstances, that 
 which we call heat is evinced. For heat, it is necessary that a resistance 
 to the new attraction should be afforded by the pre-existing attraction. 
 In the voltaic circuit, if any part is contracted heat is manifested, and in 
 this way water may be boiled, or platinum (one of the most infusible of 
 substances) may be made to fuse like wax. Mechanical force causes heat, 
 when applied to solid bodies ; and whenever attraction acts with sufficient 
 energy upon attracted matter, heat results. Where we require intense 
 heat we must employ an intense new attraction on an intense aggregation, 
 and hence every practical man uses light or strong coke according to the 
 intensity of heat he requires. Whilst heat exists, the new attraction is 
 merely attempting to destroy other attractions, and the force may be 
 
No. XXIII.] APPENDIX. 323 
 
 transferred to any other body : by conduction, that is, through bodies in 
 contact ; or by radiation, that is, to bodies at a distance. In every case 
 where heat ceases, either the new attraction ceases to exert itself, or the 
 former attraction is destroyed, and disintegration, decomposition, or motion 
 is the result. 
 
 Some difficulty is presented to our knowledge of the actions and re- 
 actions which constitute heat, but, upon the whole, I am inclined to 
 think that heat is best described as that action of matter which from 
 a distance influences the nerves of sensation in the skin, or, in other 
 words, heat is that which is felt from a distance by the skin. 
 
 There is another range of actions and reactions which are not 
 appreciated by the skin, but are alone seen by the eye. This range is 
 termed light, and by the prism we are enabled at once to distinguish that 
 which is seen by the eye, or light, from that which is not seen by the eye. 
 Chemistry indicates that there are actions both more refrangible than the 
 violet ray on the one hand, and less refrangible than the red on the other. 
 For the production of light the new attractions must be of the most 
 powerful kind, so that they may act with great intensity upon matter 
 attracted, and it is preferable to be in a solid state. The inflammation 
 of hydrogen gives little or no light : add solid matter, and a beautiful 
 light is the result. Hydro-carbons give us the most convenient light 
 when they are burnt with such energy that the solid matter is first 
 deposited to be acted upon by the new attraction, and subsequently burnt 
 that it may yield no smoke ; if all is burnt at once, so that no solid matter 
 remains in the flame, light will not be produced. An illuminated body may 
 communicate the force which is seeking to act upon the solid matter to 
 other bodies, and finally decomposition, disintegration, or some destruction 
 of attraction takes place. 
 
 As the skin feels heat, the eye sees light ; so, by the ear, are we made 
 acquainted with the actions and reactions constituting sound. The 
 vibrations constituting sound have been accurately measured by philo- 
 sophers ; and though different people differ in the power of appreciating 
 the higher and lower notes, it may be generally stated that all vibrations 
 from 8 in a second to 24,000 are appreciated by the ear, and are conse- 
 quently sound. 
 
 Sound, like light and heat, requires attracted matter : this is acted 
 upon by a new attraction, and in the conflict between the old and new 
 attractions vibrations ensue ; whilst the vibration continues, the force may 
 be propagated to other matter which may also take on vibrations. 
 
 I have always thought that odours constituted a further range of 
 actions and reactions. I am the more confirmed in that view, the more 
 I watch those animals, as the bloodhound, which have the nerves of the 
 nose highly developed. Upon this matter, however, we are much in the 
 same position as the man born blind, who can only receive his ideas of 
 light through the medium of the eyes of others, for man has literally only 
 a rudimentary nose, if it be compared with that of other animals. 
 
 A theory is not to be a mere mental creation, but a law or principle to 
 guide our actions and bring forth fruit. The law which I have developed 
 is so pre-eminently of practical application, that every human action may 
 be regulated by it. When we desire to obtain any result, we begin by 
 generating new attractions. For this purpose we select substances having 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 APPENDIX. [No. XXIII. 
 
 the lowest equivalent, because the least weight would answer our purpose ; 
 hydrogen and carbon have the lowest equivalent, and coal being an hydro- 
 carbon, is that matter which is pre-eminently adapted to combine with 
 oxygen, the more especially as the product of the new attraction is readily 
 dissipated. If we compare zinc with coals, we find that it has an equiva- 
 lent eight times higher, and its energy of combustion with oxygen is 
 perhaps not more than one-third that of carbon : moreover, the cost of 
 zinc is forty times dearer than coals ; consequently, as a source of power, 
 zinc would be 960 times dearer than coals. 
 
 Our theory thus indicates why we select coals for light, heat, motion, 
 and chemical changes, instead of zinc ; and this difference of cost prevents 
 the voltaic battery, the most perfect human device, from universal 
 application. 
 
 In animals the hydrogen and carbon in the food they consume is the 
 source of power, and the horse without hay and oats is as powerless as the 
 steam-engine without coals or the battery without zinc. 
 
 Starting with the new attraction of hydrogen and carbon, with oxygen 
 as a source of power, we must take care so to apply it upon attracted 
 matter, that we may produce, according to our necessity, heat, light, 
 motion or electricity ; for it would not be difficult, in fact it constantly 
 happens in practice, for one variety of force to be produced when another 
 is desired, and whatever is thus improperly generated is wasted. 
 
 In physics and physiology, in mechanics and medicine, facts, no less 
 than theory, declare that no effect occurs without material cause, that 
 no initial change takes place without equivalent result, and in all cases 
 there is but one source ; in fact a complete " Monogenesis of all Physical 
 Forces." 
 
 In consequence of the " Monogetic Origin of Physical Forces," each 
 possesses within itself the power of a new attraction, which, according to 
 the amount of the initial change, can produce an equivalent or relational 
 amount of any other force. Electricity may produce light, heat or motion. 
 Motion may produce heat, light, electricity ; light may produce electricity ; 
 motion, heat ; heat may produce motion, electricity, light ; and so we may 
 ring the changes of the convertibility of physical forces ad infinitwm. 
 
 Whenever a new attraction acts upon matter under attraction, the 
 attraction already existing seeks to maintain itself, and in consequence of 
 this resistance time is occupied, and according to the energy of the change, 
 so is the time diminished or increased. 
 
 I know no part of physical science which presents more important 
 matter for consideration than the phenomenon of time : for let us suppose 
 that a change of matter could take place without time ; the coals in our 
 grates would be consumed instantly if our house caught light, the whole 
 would momentarily vanish if we set in motion any body, it would arrive 
 at its destination quicker than thought, and be dashed to pieces. 
 Chemistry supplies us with substances, the particles of which are held 
 together so slightly, that upon the slightest application of force they are 
 separated : iodide of nitrogen, for instance, separates upon the slightest 
 agitation into its component parts. The safety of the proper use of gun- 
 powder depends upon its progressive action, which is slow as compared 
 with iodide of nitrogen, or with some varieties 'of gun-cotton. 
 
 Man derives the idea of time from the resistance to change : if the 
 
No. XXIIL] APPENDIX 325 
 
 total changes constituting an event are performed with energy, but little 
 time is occupied ; if the resistance to change is great, considerable time is 
 evinced. The sum total of all time is the representation of all the events 
 which have happened from the commencement of matter to the present 
 moment ; and the number of revolutions of the earth round the sun, or of 
 the earth upon its axis, are generally the events which are counted as our 
 measure of time. 
 
 From the nature of time, one preceded all subsequent events; 
 namely, the first rushing together or attraction of particles of matter, 
 which gave to every object its composition, form, and position. We 
 must look for the cause of this primary attraction to a source extrinsic 
 from matter, as it could not have caused itself to take on that power. 
 From this consideration the mind is led to contemplate an " IMMATERIAL 
 POWER," to confer this property on matter. This argument is indepen- 
 dent and altogether different from the argument of design, but this is not 
 the proper place to enter into this consideration, which I now leave to 
 your own meditations, or refer you to the seventh chapter of my 
 ' Sources of Physics,' for its further development. 
 
 Every event from which we derive our ideas of time has a beginning, 
 the generation of a new attraction ; and an end, the destruction of a 
 former attraction ; and as events have followed since matter existed, and 
 will continue till matter shall cease, time began with matter and will 
 terminate when matter shall cease, and " The great globe, yea, all which it 
 inhabit, shall dissolve." From these views we find that time can have 
 none, no, not even the feeblest quality of eternity; and that however 
 exaggeratedly it may be increased, time never becomes eternity. Time is 
 a mere repetition of events, each having a beginning and an end. Eternity 
 is not made up of events, and has, therefore, no beginning and no end. 
 
 I have now completed, as far as the limited time will permit, a short 
 sketch of the views of the " Monogenesis of Physical Forces," which my 
 study of Nature and natural phenomena has forced my mind to adopt. 
 This doctrine has the merit of discarding the notions of aethers, essences, 
 imponderables, or a plurality of forces being attached to matter, and 
 places such vague assumptions rather amongst the mental creations of 
 the philosopher than amongst the realities of Nature. 
 
 I am free to confess that this combination of physical facts and known 
 laws into one consistent doctrine was a matter of intense study and pro- 
 found thought ; but should it fortunately have the same power on your 
 minds, to render physical science of easy application, as it has had upon 
 mine, you will pardon me for occupying your attention whilst I have 
 endeavoured to teach, that attraction acting on attracted matter is the 
 source of all force, and that, therefore, every physical force has a mono- 
 genetic origin, and when generated a truly equivalent power. 
 
326 APPENDIX, [No. XXIV. 
 
 No. XXIY. 
 
 THE ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. 1858. 
 To the Editor of the ' Morning Chronicle.' 
 
 SIR, I am afraid that your correspondent may think he has good cause 
 to accuse me of want of courtesy in not having supplied to him an account 
 of the experiments on the light of the eclipse, but the observations exceeded 
 150, and at the moment I could not compress them into a form suitable 
 for your paper, or I should have had great pleasure in giving the details at 
 once. The great interest which naturally, however, belongs to this grand 
 natural phenomenon, induces me to send a short account of some observa- 
 tions made at Blisworth upon the darkness which marked the progress of 
 the obscuration, in the hopes that it may not be unacceptable to many of 
 your readers. It has occurred to me that my " abstract photometer " 
 might do good service ; for whether the weather was fine, or whether it was 
 cloudy, yet it was calculated to give us an insight into the extent to which 
 the sun's light might be veiled from the surface of the earth. 
 
 The photometer consists of a wedge of neutral tint coloured glass, 
 cemented by Canada balsam to a similar wedge of colourless glass, and the 
 solid which results from the junction of the two 
 prisms is divided into degrees, each of which is equal 
 to the capacity of the one-hundredth of an inch of 
 pure bromine, so that the short account now given 
 may be compared by future philosophers with the 
 results of subsequent eclipses hundreds or thousands 
 FIG. is. of years hence, if they do but know the length of 
 
 Smee's Photometer. our Englisll inc k Armed with this instrument, I 
 proceeded to Blisworth, where I found a field con- 
 veniently located, which had been secured by some of my friends, and 
 where chronometers and all other instruments for accurate research had 
 been provided. I determined to take three sets of observations : the first, 
 of the light of the horizon, at a spot where a tree cut sharply the line to 
 the south ; the second, of the light of the ground at our feet ; and the 
 third, the light of the sky overhead : and I anticipated that I should 
 be able to test by the vigorous proof of scientific truth the wonderful 
 stories which are told of eclipses, which appeared to my mind as the 
 results of overheated imaginations, or of stories fit for an appendix to the 
 curious Travels of Baron Munchausen. 
 
 In the morning, at half-past eight, the sky showed a light which was 
 veiled at 17 : * but at the commencement of the eclipse the clouds were 
 so dense that the horizon was obscured at 14'15. From this time till 
 12h. 53', the light continually diminished to ll. The next observation was 
 taken at Ih. 2', when it stood at nearly 14, from which it rose to 15 at 
 2h. 16', at the termination of the observations. I need not here allude to 
 the rises and falls of light as the clouds became thinner or denser, as it 
 is sufficient to notice that the horizon lost light continually from the 
 beginning to the total, and gained from the total to the termination. 
 
 * This and the following numbers refer to the degrees of the photometer. 
 
No. XXIV.] APPENDIX. 327 
 
 The illumination of the ground presented far more interesting and 
 important variations. At the commencement of the eclipse the illuminat- 
 ing power was 11 ; it varied with the depths of the clouds, but gradually 
 receded to 8*5 at 12h. 53'. At 12h. 55' it dropped to 8*3 ; at 12h. 58' it 
 reached 8 ; at 12h. 59' it was as low as 7*25. This was about the minimum 
 of light and maximum of darkness, when suddenly, in little more than a 
 minute afterwards, the earth became illuminated, and two or three seconds 
 after 1 o'clock the light rose to 10, and continued to rise with the varia- 
 tions of the clouds till 2h. 15', when it stood at 12*5. This illumination of 
 the earth was a wonderful natural phenomenon : the country people called 
 out, " It's all over ! " and to see the ground brightly lighted whilst the sky 
 remained in great darkness was a surprising, and to me an unexpected, 
 appearance. 
 
 The sky was observed as near the zenith as convenient : at the com- 
 mencement it was equal to 14*25 ; from this it gradually, with variations 
 according to cloud, diminished to 11*75 at 12h. 50', and then rapidly 
 dropped till 1 o'clock, when it stood at the lowest amount, 9*25. At Ih. 2' 
 it rose to 12*5, many seconds later than the rise of the illumination of the 
 earth, so that the earth, brightly illuminated for some seconds, remained 
 with a dark canopy overhead, and this peculiarity appears to give a 
 marked character to the darkness of an eclipse which differs from other 
 obscurations. 
 
 From these observations it is apparent that a great diminution of light 
 gradually occurs from the commencement to the totality, at which point 
 it very rapidly further declines ; after the totality it almost suddenly 
 rises, and in fact so rapidly as to appear like a scene at a theatre suddenly 
 illuminated, from which time the light increased to the end of the eclipse. 
 
 To the wondermongers who put all, the birds to roost, I may state that 
 the lark sang in the air at 12h. 47' ; that other birds flew about and chirped 
 to 12h. 50' ; that larks rose in full song as late as 12h. 52', and remained in 
 full song to 12h. 55', at which time the cocks were heard to crow ; even 
 the birds in the hedges whistled at 12h. 58', and, in fact, continued their 
 songs and flights from the beginning to the end of the eclipse : and if there 
 was an interval in their proceedings, it could not have been for more 
 than three minutes. The sun became visible at Ih. 0' 21", and again at 
 intervals till Ih. 57', when the light of its disc amounted to 18*25. 
 
 The barometer did not sensibly vary. I ascertained that the difference 
 between the dry and wet bulbs lessened at the time of the greatest cold 
 from about 3 to 1. 
 
 Although these results are by no means so perfect as could be desired, 
 yet they are of considerable interest, and I trust they will lead on a future 
 occasion to such observations that the variations of light and darkness 
 may be accurately detailed. 
 
 I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 7, FINSBTJRY CIRCUS, ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 March 16. 
 
328 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. XXV. 
 ON THE WATER SUPPLY OF THE METROPOLIS. 
 
 EXTRACTS from LETTERS to the ' Times ' and ' Standard,' 
 by ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 THE deep springs which supply our rivers round London flow from 
 the chalk, which absorbs the rain which falls upon it and retains it like a 
 sponge, and the great chalk hills which surround London are Nature's 
 storehouses for water, which yield a steady supply, influenced by the total 
 rain which falls over a period of several weeks, but uninfluenced by any 
 sudden showers. The Lea, the New River, the Colne, the Wandle, the 
 Grays water springs, and other streams, have their source in the chalk, 
 and it is our duty to take the water at its source, before it is contaminated 
 with sewage. Moreover, the rivers round London are full of weeds, which 
 grow with great rapidity in hot weather, but which die and rot at the 
 beginning of September, and this decaying matter is then supplied to 
 London at a period of the year when epidemics are most rife, and when its 
 presence is most dangerous. 
 
 By taking spring water as it pours from the earth, and stowing it in 
 dark reservoirs, vegetation cannot occur, and the water can be supplied in 
 its purest condition. 
 
 Although the cause of the choleraic impairment of water is unknown, 
 the pernicious influence of cesspools near surface wells is now thoroughly 
 recognized, and. possibly, the choleraic poison can run through the earth 
 as a fungus can extend for a considerable distance, &c. 
 
 While London cries for a further supply of water, it is not generally 
 known that there exists at Grays in Essex a series of fissures, or under- 
 ground rivers, which pour their water into the Thames, and the yield 
 of which is estimated at upwards of 10,000,000 gallons a day. Some of this 
 water is used for the supply of Brentwood, and Romford will be supplied 
 in two or three weeks, but the remainder is absolutely wasted, notwith- 
 standing that it is destitute entirely of organic matter, and is of a quality 
 declared by the Government commissioners as the best which is obtainable 
 for the metropolitan supply .... 
 
 AGAINST DRINKING WATER CONTAINING ORGANIC MATTER. Speech 
 delivered by ALFRED SMEE at the Civil Engineers', May 21st, 1867. 
 
 MR. SMEE denied that a small quantity of organic matter in water was 
 immaterial. A small quantity of small-pox matter would infect a large 
 number of persons, and a less quantity of scarlet fever poison was required 
 to propagate that disease. There were many other poisons communicated 
 by means so subtle that the material agency by which the poison was 
 carried from one person to another had never been discovered, whilst 
 there was distinct evidence that it was so carried. When the great 
 cholera epidemic struck the neighbourhood of Golden Square, Dr. Snow 
 
No. XXV.] APPENDIX. 329 
 
 visited every house that was attacked, and in each instance traced the 
 mortality to the use of the water from the pump in Broad Street. He 
 thereupon went to the vestry, declaring that the remedy against cholera 
 in that district was to chain up the pump. When the authorities heard 
 of the simple means he recommended, they were inclined to treat the 
 suggestion with ridicule, but they argued it could do no harm if it did no 
 good, and when they chained the pump-handle the mortality decreased. 
 
 It had been alleged that cows and farm-horses preferred to drink 
 water contaminated by sewage, and he would state, of his own knowledge, 
 that if those animals had the choice of clear water and foul water, they 
 would leave the pure water for the latter. For instance, the water which 
 flowed through Croydon had been habitually taken by some cows. These 
 were attacked with the rinderpest, whilst those around the district did 
 not suffer from it. Nevertheless, it was not only cows, but mankind who 
 in many cases preferred this particular class of water. Churchyard pumps 
 were resorted to in preference to others; there was something in the 
 taste of the water, probably from the salt it contained, that excited the 
 palate and induced people to drink it in preference to pure water. On 
 the last epidemic visitation of cholera, he recommended the authorities to 
 take off the handle of the pump over the old Roman well in the Bank of 
 England. That well, which was a celebrated one, was derived originally 
 from the gravel ; but now there was reason to believe it was supplied 
 from leakages beneath the urinals. It appeared that, when the handle was 
 taken off, some of the people of distinction in the locality begged that 
 they might not be deprived of that water, as it was the only drinking 
 water they enjoyed. He had no hesitation in saying that, where tainted 
 water was supplied to the public, it was a matter of great moment ; and 
 that whenever an epidemic appeared, the community must be cautious to 
 do all they could to avoid the use of it. 
 
 The next part of the question was the character of the organic matter. 
 This, if like the white of eggs, or a basin of soup, was harmless ; but let 
 the soup or white of eggs get into a putrefactive state, and the operation, 
 like the leaven of bread, would communicate its taint far and wide. It 
 was matter in the act of change, and it set up change in contiguous 
 organic matter. The damage done to individuals of every species by the 
 excretse of the same species, was generally recognized by the medical 
 profession ; and the doctrine of the harmlessness of changing organic 
 matter was universally regarded as a medical heresy. 
 
 Now, what did Boards of Health frequently do ? He would rather 
 call them in many cases Boards of Death. The Croydon Board of Health 
 formerly took the water which naturally flowed into the stream, passed it 
 through the town and the water-closets, and then poured it in at the top 
 of the river Wandle, to poison every person living upon its banks. At 
 one period of an epidemic he thought it his duty to call the attention 
 of the Privy Council to the circumstance, when the inhabitants were 
 warned not to drink the water of the river Wandle. It was only by a 
 series of bills in Chancery that the residents succeeded in suppressing 
 that nuisance ; and it was observed that the Croydon authorities found the 
 greatest difficulty in getting rid of the putrefying animal matter upon the 
 land. He could give a recipe how to test imperfectly-purified water. It 
 might be clear and bright and pleasant; but put it into a bottle upon 
 
330 APPENDIX. [No. XXV. 
 
 the mantelpiece in a warm room, and in two or three days, notwithstanding 
 the filtering processhad removed suspended matter, it would begin to change, 
 and give unmistakable evidence to the olfactory nerves of the presence of 
 putrefying organic matter. Everything tended to show that animal matter 
 in a state of decomposition was to be feared. In seasons of epidemic it 
 was impossible to pass the excretss of one town to another in rivers without 
 great danger of propagating disease ; and for that reason water ought never 
 to be taken from such a source. Now, if it was matter in a state of change 
 which was injurious, there came the consideration whether the sewage 
 was presented as a totally changed matter in river waters ; in other 
 words, whether the sewage assumed a totally different form. Suppose 
 sewage " c was put upon the ground and absorbed by vegetables, such as 
 cabbages, or was absorbed by weeds in rivers, it was no longer sewage ; but 
 notwithstanding, there were several cases on record which showed that it 
 was not perfectly safe to manure gardens by pumping sewage : under 
 these circumstances, as the plants grew up they would quickly decompose 
 after being cut for use, and would not be as wholesome for food as those 
 manured with sweet and fresh fertilizing matter. But if organic matter 
 assumed another form, it was really a new substance and harmless. The 
 question of changed matter was brought forward eveiy month by the 
 Registrar- General and fallaciously estimated as pre-existing sewage, which 
 had caused some persons to be misled as to the wholesomeness of perfectly 
 unobjectionable waters. The matter must be utterly changed before it could 
 safely be used, and that change could be effected on the strata of the earth 
 by long-continued contact with mould and air. There was reason to 
 believe it was so with chalk. Wherever the water percolated through 
 chalk strata it was deprived of organic matter, perfectly deprived of 
 that changing organic matter to which he had referred as being noxious, 
 and which was converted into nitrites and nitrates. No doubt animal char- 
 coal could do a good deal artificially ; but while a great and perfect filter- 
 bed existed in Nature, he held it was right and proper to get for a large 
 town, especially for London, such an amount of water perfectly filtered 
 by Nature as to extract all organic matter from the water, whether in the 
 original or the changing state. In that way alone could wholesome 
 water, wanting no artificial filtration whatever, be supplied to the com- 
 munity. 
 
 LETTER of ALFRED SMEE read at a meeting of Medical Men convened to 
 consider the Paper read by the late Dr. Letheby, * On the Methods of 
 estimating Nitrogenous Matters in Potable Waters, and on the Value 
 of the expression " Previous Sewage Contamination," as used by the 
 Registrar-General in his Monthly Reports of the Metropolitan 
 Waters.' 
 
 DEAR SIR, I regret that recent indisposition will prevent me from 
 accepting the invitation to be present this evening at the reading of 
 Dr. Letheby's paper. 
 
No. XXV.] APPENDIX. 331 
 
 The doctrine of " Pre-existing Sewage " has for some time occupied 
 my attention, because as now understood it is one of the most dangerous 
 fallacies of the day. 
 
 The question resolves itself into two parts: 1st. The question of 
 pre-existing sewage contamination, as inferred from matters containing 
 nitrogen in organic matters in the act of change, or undergoing oxidation. 
 2nd. The question of pre-existing sewage contamination, as inferred from 
 the presence of nitrates which are assumed to have arisen from the final 
 oxidation of organic matters. 
 
 On the first part of the subject I have a little to comment, because all 
 organic matters in the act of change are bad, though doubtless sewage is 
 materially worse than other forms of changing organic matters. The 
 dangerous part of the doctrine is, the inference of pre-existing sewage 
 from the presence of nitrates. 
 
 As a matter of fact nitrates may be present without any pre-existing 
 organic matter, and every flash of lightning causes the union of the 
 elements of the air, and the production of nitrates without any previous 
 sewage contamination. 
 
 The originators of the doctrine of pre-existing sewage say that at any 
 rate the presence of nitrates shows the possibility of antecedent sewage 
 contamination. 
 
 The fallacy of the doctrine consists in assuming a possibility as a 
 probability, and acting upon it as a reality, which in practice in this 
 metropolis may be followed by the most disastrous consequences. 
 
 A very considerable quantity of water is supplied to London from 
 the overflow of water from the great chalk hills which act as a perpetual 
 storehouse. 
 
 The water from the chalk deposits, both in this country and abroad, 
 contains a very appreciable quantity of nitrates, which does not vary in 
 any very important manner. 
 
 Chalk water by running over water weeds loses its nitrates and 
 greatly stimulates their growth, and especially it may be noted that the 
 best watercresses are grown in water which has lately emanated from the 
 depths of the chalk formation. 
 
 In consequence of this result, the metropolitan waters contain 
 more nitrates the less they have been exposed to the contaminating 
 influence of rivers. 
 
 The New River Company is mischievously returned by the authorities 
 as supplying more pre-existing sewage to its customers, in proportion to 
 the quantity of water which the company pumps from its deep springs and 
 the less it supplies from the river. In this way, the purer the water 
 which it supplies to its consumers, the more pre-existing sewage is 
 officially returned by the authorities. 
 
 The origin of the nitrates in chalk waters has not been satisfactorily 
 discovered. I myself have made many investigations on the subject, and 
 the day before my recent indisposition believed that I had obtained a clue 
 to the solution of the mystery, which demands full inquiry. I have con- 
 sidered the question under four heads : 1st. Do the nitrates come from 
 the nitrogen and oxygen of the atmosphere P 2nd. Are the nitrates fossil 
 products of the animals which formed the chalk deposits? 3rd. Are 
 the nitrates the products of animal matter superimposed upon the chalk ? 
 
332 APPENDIX. [No. XXVI. 
 
 4th. Are the nitrates the products of animal matter on the surface of the 
 ground washed down by rain into the chalk ? 
 
 I have heard of cases of persons being deterred in times of cholera 
 epidemics from drinking pure spring water because of the tons of pre- 
 existing sewage with which that water was said to be contaminated, 
 and in place thereof have taken the surface-water, springs indeed with 
 perhaps less nitrates, but possibly with cholera poison in an active 
 state. 
 
 It would be desirable if the medical officers of health would unite in 
 remonstrating with the authorities against the fallacy of the doctrine of 
 Pre-existing Sewage and the danger of promulgating such crude theories 
 amongst the populace. It is calculated in the highest degree to suppress 
 truth and promote error, and the officers of health should be fully prepared 
 to deal with the fallacy before another cholera epidemic arises and victims 
 are sacrificed to the influences of crude and undigested theories. 
 
 I have the honour to be, dear Sir, 
 7, FINSBURY CIRCUS, Your obedient servant, 
 
 April 16th, 1869. ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 No. XXYI. 
 
 THE PRIVATE AND SECRET BURIAL-GROUND OF THE 
 ORATORY. REJOINDER TO THE MANIFESTO OF DR. DALGAIRNS, 
 PRINCIPAL OF THE ORATORY. By ALFRED SMEE. 1863. 
 
 THE Oratory has at length spoken, by its Principal, Dr. Dalgairns, and it 
 is my purpose to examine critically every word he has written upon the 
 private and secret burial-ground of the Oratory. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns declares the burial-ground to be private, but says that 
 it is untrue and inaccurate to call it secret. Surely that is secret which is 
 most carefully kept from everybody's knowledge. The Incumbent of the 
 parish never heard of it, nor the tax-collector of the district, nor the next 
 door neighbour, nor the adjoining proprietor; nor has it ever been 
 gazetted, nor its locality fixed in any public document ; and though I have 
 No. 134 Parliamentary Paper before me, together with an accurate map of 
 their grounds, I cannot tell, nor can anybody tell from these, where the 
 licensed burial-ground really is. 
 
 It is not only secret, but the most secret burial-ground which has been 
 made known to the public. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns says that the proper protection of the dead ought to be 
 secured and regulated by public legislation. In this we both agree, and I 
 trust that the Government will bring this private and secret burial-ground 
 under the protection of an Act similar to that which governs all the public 
 burial-grounds of this kingdom. 
 
 Dr. Dalgaims says that the burial-ground is in the centre of a small 
 property, but the persons buried are not buried in the centre, but on one 
 side of the ground. So here further confusion as to position exists. The 
 Inspector of Burial-grounds says the burial-ground is stiff clay, without 
 
No. XXVI.] APPENDIX. 333 
 
 water at eight feet. My relative was buried in sand, with water at five 
 feet. Another mystification of identity. This conflict of evidence makes 
 us wonder whether Dr. Dalgairns has not mistaken the place licensed. 
 But why waste our time over words ? Let the plan and licence be 
 published and gazetted, when it will be open to all the world, and no 
 longer remain secret. Dr. Dalgairns can cause the secrecy to cease when 
 he desires ; at present the burial-ground is still secret. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns confirms my statement that the burial-ground has no 
 boundary walls and no public access ; that it is impossible to go thither 
 without permission to cross the private grounds of the Oratorians. Is it 
 right to expose the relations of those buried there to the influence of the 
 priests, when we see that Wells, my relative, and Dr. Faber left all their 
 possessions to another of their body ? I ask public access and boundary 
 walls, and surely, sooner or later, my request will be granted. 
 
 Now something more serious has to be answered. Dr. Dalgairns says, 
 " It is untrue that we keep no register of burials." Show the register, 
 Dr. Dalgairns, and prove when the register was written. I am in a position 
 to substantiate upon oath that every inquiry by letter or personally has 
 been rejected. Personal application has been answered by "I do not 
 know." Letters have not been answered at all. This is a matter deserving 
 of the fullest parliamentary inquiry. A register and cannot be seen ; a 
 register and Dr. Dalgairns to judge who is to see it. 
 
 Surely this is the grossest violation of the spirit of the burial laws 
 which has ever come before the public. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns may endeavour to keep the register secret, but surely 
 the Legislature will compel him to make it public. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns seeks to explain the change of names on tombstones. 
 He states that my family knew my relative by the name of William. This 
 is true. William was his name, and we all addressed him by the name of 
 William till the day of his death. 
 
 He described himself by the name of William in his will, and is 
 known to the outer world by the name of William. 
 
 The Oratorians, however, knew him only by the name of Anthony, and 
 on his tombstone he is called William Anthony, so that positively we have 
 one person going by three different names. What can be more damnatory 
 to secret burial-grounds and secret registers ? How is the money to be 
 traced in Chancery, and by the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he looks 
 after the succession duty, which will be pretty large by-and-by ? The 
 great lawyers in the House of Commons may solve this question; for 
 what is affirmed of William will be denied by those who only know 
 Anthony ; and what is affirmed of William Anthony, will be denied of 
 William, and also of Anthony. 
 
 William was my brother-in-law, Anthony was the Oratorian, and 
 William Anthony was buried at Sydenham. There will be no possible 
 method of describing my brother-in-law hereafter but by calling him 
 William, sometimes called Anthony, sometimes called William Anthony. 
 
 Who could possibly imagine that Frederick Fortescue, the Oratorian, 
 was the same person as Albanus, the gentleman buried ? 
 
 Where property exists, names should be distinct. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns says that the wishes of the dead should be respected. 
 Does Dr. Dalgairns not know that my relative had no wish, had no will of 
 
334 APPENDIX. [No. XXVI. 
 
 his own, had passed his will and wish over absolutely and entirely to Dr. 
 Faber ? Is it not so expressed in his so-called will when he states that he 
 desires to be buried where the Superior shall direct ? 
 
 My relative met Dr. Faber at the Bishop's house at Birmingham, 
 where he was kept, and I was not permitted to have access to him. Faber 
 there persuaded him of the necessity of implicit obedience, and desired him 
 to quit his family and former friends for ever. 
 
 I begged and implored him in vain to renounce the obedience to Faber, 
 and have a living mind for himself. 
 
 Only one answer was given, that I did not understand, and could 
 not comprehend, Christian obedience ; and that he was bound implicitly 
 to follow out Dr. Faber's instructions for his salvation. 
 
 How can Dr. Dalgaims, then, talk of the will or wish of my relative, 
 or of Dr. "Wells ? They had parted with their will or wish, and it was 
 Faber's will or wish which regulated everything ; and he did so decide 
 their wish and will, that he got their property by the so-called wills. 
 
 I asked Father Bowe if there was a will. He replied that he did not 
 know. As this seemed to me impossible, I pressed the question again, 
 when he said that Father Stanton, who was acting for Father Faber, 
 knew these things. On again pressing the question, he said he would 
 go and ask. He did go. He returned, and after a short time Father Knox 
 entered, and said he was executor, and he would undertake the funeral. 
 
 Now Father Howe's name appears as a witness to the will, and to this 
 day I cannot tell whether his name has been forged, whether he did know 
 there was a will, or whether he was under the influence of religious 
 obedience, and dared not answer without the leave of the Superior. 
 
 I and my son attended my relative's funeral, and received great 
 courtesy and mucli valuable information, which I now acknowledge publicly 
 with thanks ; and I now write publicly what I also wrote privately on my 
 return from the funeral : 
 
 " 7, Finsbury Circus. 
 
 " DEAR SIR, I have to return you and the other members of the Oratory 
 rny most grateful acknowledgments, as well as that of Mrs. Smee, for the 
 manner in which William Hutchison has been treated during his severe 
 affliction ; and have no hesitation in stating that, to the best of my belief, 
 as far as his bodily ailments have been concerned, everything under the 
 circumstances has been done which kindness and humanity could suggest, 
 and that he has invariably received that attention which might have been 
 expected from gentlemen and Christians. But to the spiritual intimida- 
 tion under which he has been kept by certain persons from the moment he 
 entered the Bishop's house at Birmingham, I consider his premature death 
 has been due ; and I believe that this spiritual control is not only opposed 
 to Christian principles, but is contrary to the law of the land, and for this 
 I hold all implicated responsible. 
 
 " I remain, dear Sir, 
 
 " REV. FATHER KNOX, " Yours respectfully, 
 
 " The Oratory, Brompton. " ALFRED SMEE." 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns says " we are unbound by vow." Dr. Dalgairns, how do 
 yon belong to the Order of St. Philip Neri and make no vow ? Why, Dr. 
 Dalgairns, did you put on the black cloak to look like monks if you were 
 
No. XXVI.] APPENDIX. 335 
 
 not monks ? And why did you pull it off again when the Queen's 
 proclamation forbidding monastic gowns came out, if it was not a 
 monastic emblem ? 
 
 I have always understood that the Oratorians were the Jesuits of 
 Jesuits; that where the Jesuits could not get in the Oratorians did. 
 And surely you of the Oratory, who have got so much money together, 
 have not falsified your character for high intellect, political intrigue, and 
 the hold you obtain over your followers to get their money. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns quotes Father Faber's relatives. I fear that they have 
 suffered most acutely for his conduct ; and when they have seen family 
 after family separated, and seen the members of these families, over whose 
 mind he had the singular power of exercising so complete a control, 
 estranged from brother and sister, they may well be expected to have been 
 horrified. 
 
 This powerful control of one mind over another seems inexplicable, 
 though it is true. The separation from family and loss of property is 
 too bad for complaint ; and how can the widow or orphan complain when 
 I scarce dare complain ? 
 
 It is not worthy of the members of St. Philip Neri to deny they are 
 monks, that they belong to an order and do not belong to an order, as it 
 suits their purpose. Dr. Dalgairns says they can leave without dispensa- 
 tion or permission, either from the Superior or any other ecclesiastical 
 authority whatever. This does not correspond with that implicit obedience 
 which Faber exacted. And when Dalgairns says that "the obedience 
 which we pay to the rule of the Superior has no place here," it is in entire 
 variance with the action and statements of my relative. He told me that 
 obedience to his Superior was absolutely necessary to salvation. I have 
 urged this matter over and over again, with the same result. 
 
 My relative's life and death was an example of the doctrine of implicit 
 obedience. When Faber ordered him to leave his family and friends, he 
 did so ! When he told him to make his will, he did so, and in Faber's 
 favour. 
 
 Now, as a matter of fact, from the moment my relative came in contact 
 with Dr. Faber, he acted most implicitly as he was directed. My relative 
 on many occasions pointed to the value of this implicit obedience, as by 
 that they were enabled to embarrass the Ministry and Parliament. In 
 fact, so great and necessary is implicit obedience, in the opinion of the 
 Oratorian votaries, that it is respected as far more important than truth. 
 Truth, he has argued, is doubtless a great virtue, more important, however, 
 for mercantile circles than for religious circles. In fact, truth is very well, 
 but faith is higher ; but highest of all is Christian obedience. 
 
 My relative has declared to me that the community could dare the 
 Government and Parliament to interfere with them ; that they could cause 
 a riot when they liked ; and triumphantly pointed to the Hyde Park riots 
 in illustration. He always represented that the Ministry were afraid of 
 them, because the members acted together, and, by throwing their weight 
 in on even-balanced questions, could decide the issue. This was always 
 pointed out as the aim and effect of religious houses, and the obedience 
 they enforced. 
 
 Are the counsels of this great country to be embarrassed by the 
 Oratory ? Are Whigs and Tories each honestly fighting for their 
 
336 APPENDIX. [No. XXVI. 
 
 opinions to be controlled by a score of the monks of St. Philip Neri, who 
 out- Jesuit the Jesuits ? A new party must be made up of Whigs and 
 Tories who can honestly submit questions for discussion without the 
 interference of the congregation of the Oratory, acting obediently to their 
 priests. Liberty requires that the Government of this country should be 
 freed from such coercion by the abolition of the Oratory. 
 
 My relative, under this notion of Christian obedience, was not in any 
 way the master of either his capital, his income, or any of his actions. 
 
 As an important fact, Faber got my relative's money. Faber got 
 Wells's money ; and Faber, again, has left his money to another priest. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns says that we (N.B. Who ?) are justly fond of liberty. 
 Then abolish the Oratory, which prevents liberty ; abolish all wills where 
 liberty of action is prevented under religious terror. It is for the sake of 
 insuring liberty of conscience and action that monastic houses should be 
 abolished. In future give persons the liberty to make wills for themselves, 
 not for their priests ; and I know that I am carrying out the will and 
 wish of my relative's un-Fabered mind when I expose Faber's iniquitous 
 control. 
 
 It is time that I do not exactly know what my relative's fortune was ; 
 
 I believe it was upwards of , and that I understated it before, to be 
 
 within the truth. 
 
 I understand that the executors propose to swear the personalty under 
 
 , but how are they going to deal with his share of the Oratory estate ? 
 
 It is of no use to attempt to suppress this question ; sooner or later it 
 must be answered, as it is contrary to the policy of the State to allow the 
 fortunes of families to be absorbed by confraternities : if the acquisitions 
 of the Oratory continue at the same rate, they will soon reach an 
 enormous amount. 
 
 The statement made of the excellence of my brother-in-law I am too 
 happy to confirm. He was one of the most truly good men I ever knew. 
 From conscience, and conscience alone, he became a Roman Catholic. 
 From a conscientious belief in the necessity of implicit obedience, he gave 
 up his family, to whom he was intensely attached. From an anxious 
 attempt to do good he sacrificed his life by devotion, and a continual 
 conflict, which was manifestly going on between Christian obedience and 
 family affection. Whilst he was so good, Dr. Dalgairns, why did your 
 community have everlasting punishment as the effect of non-obedience to 
 the cruel order to separate himself ? 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns rejoices over my disappointment at not getting my 
 relative's money. Disappointment! Dr. Dalgairns. Do you give me 
 credit for such imbecility as not to have known that the moment my 
 relative met Faber he would be denuded of every farthing ? I wrote to 
 him, when Faber denied me access to him at Birmingham, to that effect ; 
 and I have told him in his lifetime that when they had run through 
 his money I would receive him at my house ; for he was so high-minded 
 and truthful that we fully believed that some day he would leave Faber 
 in disgust. 
 
 Religious influence is slow and subtle, but sure; for what will a 
 religious man not do to save his soul ? 
 
 It is true he was writing a book up to the day of his death. For the 
 sake of the honour of the human mind in this century, it should be known 
 
No. XXVI.] APPENDIX. 337 
 
 that the book, which treats of some fifty special interpositions of the 
 Almighty, was written when the unfortunate sufferer was dying of disease 
 of the brain. 
 
 The end is a clue to the melancholy story. Here was the brain active 
 and showing the utmost partial intelligence, gradually being destroyed ; 
 and the same incapacity to judge of the truth of hopping houses, and 
 other concocted miracles, made him incapable to judge of the truth of 
 Faber's pretension to rule his mind. 
 
 Where there is organic disease of the brain, the mind may be active 
 and capable in a high degree of exercising some functions, and yet be 
 damaged and incapable of performing other functions. 
 
 My relative was capable of doing great things, but incapable of resist- 
 ing the unnatural influence which Faber exerted. 
 
 Dalgairns asserts that I want to introduce the principles of foreign 
 legislation. Certainly I do, as far as religious houses are concerned. 
 Many minds seem incapable, as a matter of fact, of resisting the combined 
 action of priests. In foreign Catholic countries they have had more 
 experience of priestly mode of action to secure the property of their 
 members. I believe myself that the Oratory is the most dangerous form 
 of Catholic confraternity. These houses have been suppressed before, and 
 doubtless will be again; and therefore the simple question is, are the 
 monastic houses in England now of sufficient importance to be abolished ? 
 That is a matter for the Legislature to decide. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns argues that an heir-at-law has no right, but every person 
 in a family has a natural expectancy over the fortune of every other member. 
 He had this natural right to his sister's property, and his sister had a 
 natural right to her brother's. 
 
 These religious houses disturb the natural right, and not only are they 
 destructive by an absorption of the property, but also from the loss of the 
 influence and mutual assistance which takes place by intermarriages. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns says that he left a small reminder to his oldest and 
 most intimate friend, meaning Dr. Faber. Perhaps the world will estimate 
 Dr. Faber as his deadliest foe ; but why did he leave his property before 
 to the Duke of Norfolk, and why did not Dr. Faber leave the money to 
 his own family, who are known to have paid his college expenses, and are 
 supposed to have supported him at the time immediately preceding his 
 hold over my relative ? 
 
 I will tell Dr. Dalgairns why. The whole transaction is a sham : and 
 the will found within the walls of the Oratory, leaving the money to the 
 head of the Oratory, with witnesses members of the Oratory, and the 
 executor another member of the Oratory, is for their common benefit; 
 that they are all co-partners ; and consequently that Dr. Dalgairns himself 
 is benefited by this legacy. 
 
 The fortune which my relative possessed when Faber obtained his 
 mental rule, was not saved or collected by himself, but by his father and 
 uncle, for the general good of his family. Nothing can tend more to 
 prevent persons from saving money, if the successor, to save his soul, must 
 give it to his confessor, as my relative did. 
 
 It is folly to argue that my relative could do as he pleased with his 
 money. He could not. He was bound by a spell. He had been cajoled 
 into believing that hell was his perpetual doom, if he did not obey Faber. 
 
 Z 
 
338 APPENDIX. [No. XXVI. 
 
 I asked my relative if I should be damned, as I was the keeper of my own 
 mind. He replied that I did not know the necessity of obedience : he did. 
 He was bound to act from his knowledge of this necessity to salvation ; 
 but that God, of His mercy, might pity my ignorance of it, though, if 
 once I realized that necessity to my mind, I should imperil my soul if 
 I did not yield. 
 
 Dr. Dalgairns says it is implied that the secret burial-ground would be 
 used in cases of murder. This is an ingenious phantom he has raised 
 simply that he may knock it down. Such a thought never occurred to 
 me; but, as he has raised the question, is it desirable as a matter of 
 prudence to let any confraternity have a secret and private burial-ground ? 
 Now, when Dalgairns disdains to notice the allegation as to scheming 
 monks without visible means of living, I tell him he cannot answer it, for 
 it is true, in substance and fact, that Father Faber had not one farthing 
 when he secured my relative, and that he was even supposed to be living 
 upon the charity of his family at that moment. He had no cheque-books 
 at that time ; he had no banking account that Dr. Dalgairns could 
 examine. If there be one redeeming point of that man who subverted 
 natural affection, it was that he for conscience sake left a good church 
 preferment and became a pauper. But an ambitious man made no bad 
 exchange when he secured the formation of the Oratory, and was consti- 
 tuted its head. 
 
 Again, when Dr. Dalgairns asks how he can disprove that the house 
 of the Oratory is so constructed to favour the concealment of men of posi- 
 tion, I reply, Show the plan, when everybody will see that it is a house 
 within a house, and admirably adapted for concealment. 
 
 I have frequently had the greatest difficulty even to know how my 
 relative was, when by long silence his sister feared illness. 
 
 Dr. Dalgaims alludes to my assertion that I am prepared to offer 
 myself for election to Parliament, that I may ask the Secretary for infor- 
 mation which he stated he would only give to Parliament if I cannot get 
 it by other means. But Dr. Dalgairns must see that I am bent upon 
 action, not upon trashy words and arguments. Private and secret burial- 
 grounds must cease ; religious obedience must be controlled ; and I am 
 prepared to offer myself, at any convenient opportunity, to support 
 measures to prevent priests of any denomination obtaining money from 
 those over whom they hold control under the fear of eternal damnation. 
 
 It is perfectly true I am well off, if not to spend my income is to be 
 well off. 
 
 Were I otherwise situated than I am, how could I dare brook the 
 denunciation of a confraternity with such great power as the Oratorians, 
 who pride themselves on managing the Legislature of this great kingdom ? 
 There was always the most intimate affection between my brother-in- 
 law and myself, and up to the latest day of his life he took great interest 
 in watching everything I was doing, and frequently knew more what 
 appeared in the papers with reference to myself than I did. I heap no 
 obloquy upon my relative ; I place it on the head of Faber. 
 
 My relative was one of the kindest and best men I ever knew, and I 
 must confess it was a great consolation to me to have been permitted to 
 see him the last few weeks of his life for which I give the Oratorians my 
 best thanks. 
 
 
No. XXVI.] APPENDIX. 339 
 
 The same intimate cordiality seemed to exist as formerly during 
 these visits. 
 
 But why ? He told me that Faber was dying, and he ceased to see 
 him ; and upon Faber's head and memory the obloquy of separating him 
 from his family rests; and I assert, not only did Faber separate him, 
 but the public have a right to know how many others he has separated 
 from their families, and to what extent the same practices are now 
 prevailing. 
 
 The Oratorians, present and future, will have the money. I regard 
 all as co-partners, and doubtless a full inquiry will lead to an important 
 change in the law of this country. Secret and private burial-grounds 
 should be rendered public ; authorized burial registers should be kept ; 
 and paupers under the veil of religion should lose the power of getting 
 the money of those whom they persuade must be obedient to secure their 
 salvation. 
 
 Therefore it is not a matter of wonder that others have not com- 
 plained ; it is only extraordinary that I can bring my mind to expose this 
 terrible faculty which Faber possessed. 
 
 Faber did not use the unnatural faculty for nothing ; he had no pro- 
 perty when he met my relative at the Bishop's house ; and how many 
 families whose money he has obtained, and was in process of obtaining at 
 the time of his death, may never be clearly known. 
 
 Now, Dr. Dalgairns, I have but one more word ; you insinuate insult 
 in your concluding paragraph, and will perhaps carry it into the House of 
 Commons by members under your control. If you deceive yourself, you 
 will not deceive the world, as to our present position. I give you and your 
 colleagues credit for courtesy and kindness of manner, and have not a 
 word to say against you or them personally, and, as far as my limited 
 acquaintance is concerned, I should esteem them. This question is not a 
 question of religion, and now I have no comment to make upon the form 
 of religion which you follow. I am acting in my capacity as a civilian, 
 and not as a partisan for any one special form of religion ; and I ask all 
 Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Dissenters to join in considering calmly 
 the question, before the entire country is roused to indignation. Retract 
 in time, Dr. Dalgairns, if you wish justice. My complaint against you, 
 Dr. Dalgairns not personally, but as the head of the Oratory is : 
 
 1. That you have a private and secret burial-ground, without public 
 
 access or boundary walls, which has no public register of burials, 
 and where the names on the tombstones are changed. 
 
 2. That this private and secret burial-ground, and the means of con- 
 
 cealment you have in your houses, are used to obtain money from 
 converts under religious intimidation. 
 
 3. That one of your body did cause my relative, under the fear of 
 
 eternal damnation, to appropriate upwards of 40,000 to purposes 
 dictated by your Superior. 
 
 I quote one case to illustrate the general principle, and for that I 
 ask that your Order of St. Philip Neri may be banished from this country, 
 and the control of the burial-ground may be assimilated to the general 
 law of the land. 
 
 There are clauses in the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829, by which 
 Act members of that Church were admitted to Parliament and to various 
 
 z 2 
 
340 APPENDIX. [No. XXVI. 
 
 offices in the State, which are intended to provide for the suppression of 
 Jesuit and other monastic establishments in this country. My sad experi- 
 ence has brought me to the conviction that the intention of these clauses 
 ought to be carried out for the protection of families in this country, and 
 in defence of the freedom to which every inhabitant of this country is 
 entitled, but which the members of these establishments abuse and invade, 
 unless legal enactments are adopted and enforced which can restrain the 
 tyrannical and covetous practices of these orders. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Correspondence with Sir George Grey in citation of Parliamentary Paper 
 
 No. 134 
 
 March 30th, 1864. 
 
 g iu } May I venture to take the liberty to ask whether the private and 
 secret burial-ground of the Oratory at Sydenham is an exceptional case, or 
 whether any other licences have been granted to confraternities of Roman 
 Catholics, or of any other religious creed, for the use of a burial-ground 
 where no register is kept, and where the names on the tombstones are 
 falsified ? 
 
 Roman Catholics are more interested in this inquiry than other 
 denominations, because their families are more exposed to be victimised 
 by the Oratorians ; and even the late Duke of Norfolk, who applied for the 
 licence, and who, before the money was left to Dr. Faber, had the entire 
 fortune of my relative left to his Grace, doubtless for the purposes of the 
 Oratory, will suffer, as the Oratorians, whose schemes he assisted, have 
 persuaded his Grace's daughter to enter a nunnery in Paris. 
 
 These private and secret burial-grounds are of much importance to 
 the Oratory, as they lead to the inference of an entire separation and 
 estrangement of the members from their families, an intimate union 
 between themselves, and consequently the possession of the money for 
 their common purposes. 
 
 The R-ev. Father Knox, the executor to the will of my relative, 
 obligingly told me, in answer to my inquiries, that the Oratory estate 
 paid no legacy or succession duty ; that they passed it from one to another. 
 In confirmation of this, I found that the will of Frederick Fortescue 
 Wells, whose name is changed on the tombstone to Albanus "Wells, and 
 whose money Dr. Faber also got, was proved under 300 ; and we have 
 Dr. Dalgairns' authority (the present head of the Oratory) for stating 
 that the will of my relative will be sworn under 5000, and thus the 
 large possessions which the Oratory has already acquired will be ignored. 
 Under these circumstances, the changed names on the tombstones, as 
 destroying means of identification, is of importance to the Oratory, and 
 its prevention a matter of consequence to the State, as some future 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer may claim the duty years hence. 
 
 I venture most respectfully to solicit that you will grant me the fullest 
 particulars, as no person can tell how many families have been injured 
 by Dr. Faber and his colleagues. When the Oratorians get the money, 
 they abuse the family they deprive, to stifle complaint ; and fear deters 
 many men and most women from brooking the insult of an organization 
 
No. XXVI.] APPENDIX. 341 
 
 so powerful as to include the names of Faber, of Dalgairns, and the 
 other priests of the Oratory, assisted by Bowyer and lawyers of high rank, 
 and who have newspapers under their control to vilify the families of 
 those whom the Oratorians deprive. 
 
 April 4th, 1864. 
 
 SIR, I am most anxiously awaiting your answer to my request to know 
 if there are any other private and secret burial-grounds besides that at 
 Sydenham, so that the public may be informed upon the matter before 
 it comes before the House of Commons. Since that letter, I have care- 
 fully perused the papers which you have presented to Parliament upon 
 the private and secret burial-ground of the Oratory belonging to the Order 
 of St. Philip Neri, and I most respectfully urge that they do not contain 
 that information which the relatives of those there buried are entitled 
 to have. 
 
 1. The position of the burial-ground of 500 square yards in the 
 garden is not given. The definition of the precise spot allotted as a burial- 
 ground is the more important, as the Government inspector has stated 
 that it is on the part of the ground constituted of stiff clay, and without 
 water at eight feet from the surface : whereas at the spot where my rela- 
 tion was buried the ground was sand or sandy clay, with water at five feet. 
 Dr. Dalgairns states that it is the centre of the ground, whereas it is on 
 one side. This discrepancy might be immediately used by Oratorians, 
 keen in the use of words, should any dispute as to position arise. 
 
 2. The ownership of the land is not given. The estate at Sydenham 
 belonged to the family of the Bowdens, and is mixed up in a complicated 
 trust, whereas it is provided that, should the trust be illegal, the property 
 shall vest in its former owners; a provision showing that the skilled 
 barristers who have been consulted have been perfectly well aware of the 
 provision of the Catholic Relief Act, fear themselves that they could not 
 evade the law, so that years hence this land may fall into different hands, 
 and the graves of the dead may be desecrated. 
 
 The terms of their licence are not given. The necessity of a correct 
 public burial-register is paramount, and at present all access to a register 
 has been denied. I most respectfully urge for your consideration that I, 
 as husband of the next-of-kin and heir-at-law of a person there buried, 
 ought to possess this information, and therefore I trust that you, as Con- 
 servator of the burial-grounds of this country, will kindly furnish me 
 with these facts. 
 
 WHITEHALL, 
 
 April 5th, 1864. 
 
 SIR, I am directed by Secretary Sir George Grey to acknowledge 
 the receipt of your letters of the 30th and 4th, and to inform you that 
 although several licences have at various times been given for the opening 
 of a burial-ground for the exclusive use of the members of a particular 
 religious community, he has not the means of informing you whether a 
 register is kept of the interments in such burial- grounds, or whether the 
 names, if any, on the tombstones are falsified, as these matters do not come 
 within the scope of the power vested in the Secretary of State by the Acts 
 which regulate the burial of the dead. 
 
 I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 H. A. BRUCE. 
 
342 APPENDIX. [No. XXVI. 
 
 Petition of ALFRED SMEE, Fellow of the Royal Society, of No. 7, 
 Finsbury Circus, in the City of London, 
 
 Sheweth, 
 
 That on the 16th of July, 1863, your Petitioner attended the funeral 
 of a relative in a private garden attached to a house called St. Mary's at 
 Sydenham, in Kent, belonging to the members of the Order of St. Philip 
 Neri, now located at a building called the Oratory at Brompton, in the 
 county of Middlesex. 
 
 That your Petitioner was informed by the Rev. William Knox, one of 
 the members of the Order, that this garden had a licence, which was pro- 
 cured by representations made to the Secretary of State by his Grace the 
 late Duke of Norfolk, whose family was in close association with the 
 members of the Order, and assisted them in their various schemes. 
 
 That your Petitioner has seen his Grace, the present heir to the 
 dukedom of Norfolk, with his Grace's brother, assisting in ecclesiastical 
 garments in the public performance of services on the 16th July, 1863, at 
 the Catholic chapel at the Oratory at Brompton, in conjunction with the 
 priests of the Oratory, and also subsequently on the same day at the 
 garden of the house called St. Mary's at Sydenham. 
 
 That young men of position and wealth are concealed from their 
 friends by the members of the Order, that they may be converted from 
 their faith, and that their property may be obtained for the maintenance 
 of the Order. 
 
 That the existence of the burial-ground at St. Mary's at Sydenham 
 was unknown to the clergy of the parish of Sydenham, to the neighbour- 
 ing landowners, and to the tax-collector ; and your Petitioner has been 
 informed that the Ordnance surveyors were ignorant of its existence. 
 
 That the part of the garden used as a burial-ground has no boundary 
 walls and no public access. 
 
 That the persons there buried are described on tombstones by names 
 falsified by the addition of a second Christian name, so that the names on 
 the tombstones do not correspond with the names known to the families, 
 or with names as used by themselves in their wills, whereby the means of 
 identification are destroyed. 
 
 That no register of burials is kept; and up to this moment your 
 Petitioner has not been able, after many applications, to obtain a certifi- 
 cate of the burial of your Petitioner's relative. 
 
 That the house at the Oratory at Brompton is so constructed as to 
 afford means of concealment. 
 
 Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that your honourable House 
 may institute an inquiry into the facts alleged, to ascertain whether it 
 may not be desirable that legislative enactments should be framed to 
 compel the owners of the burial-ground at St. Mary's at Sydenham to 
 erect boundary walls, to afford public access, and to keep a public register 
 of persons there buried, as required under the general Burial Act in force 
 in this country ; also to institute an inquiry whether it may not be desir- 
 able that enactments should be framed for the more effectual protection of 
 families from the concealment of individuals in the houses of these con- 
 fraternities or religious societies, and from the combined action of the 
 members of the Order to deprive the heirs-at-law of the fortunes of their 
 
No. XXVII.] APPENDIX. 343 
 
 converts and members ; and, lastly, to institute an inquiry whether laws in 
 other countries to protect families and heirs-at-law from the combined 
 actions of the members of confraternities and members of religious 
 societies may not be beneficially followed in the construction of enact- 
 ments to restrain members of the Order of St. Philip Neri, or other 
 monastic orders, from absorbing the property of those whom they convert, 
 or induce to become members of such orders. 
 
 No. XXVII. 
 
 PRACTICAL REMEDY FOR EXTORTION AND INTIMIDATION 
 PRACTISED BY THE AID OF THE SUPERIOR LAW COURTS. 
 
 (Pamphlet. ANON.) 
 
 THE continual increase of extortion and intimidation through the medium 
 of the superior Law Courts is now attracting great attention, not only 
 among the mercantile and professional classes of the community, but also 
 among the higher class of solicitors, who are greatly scandalised by the 
 extent of this demoralizing practice. 
 
 In the innumerable methods by which the superior Law Courts con- 
 tribute to this end, there are always similar circumstances a needy client, 
 an artful lawyer, and a man with money to be attacked. 
 
 The lawyer declares that he is the mere agent, and although the cause 
 may be bad, yet his client is a great rascal, and orders him to proceed ; 
 and therefore, to avoid solicitors' and counsel's fees, and the expenses, he 
 had better compromise and pay at once, as the cheapest thing which can 
 be done. 
 
 The sum total extorted annually from persons of respectability, and 
 which goes into the pockets of the lawyers, in the aggregate is very 
 large. 
 
 As far as possible, the actual mode is a charge damaging to reputation, 
 and calculated to raise a question and prejudice in the public mind : such 
 as, firstly, a charge of wrong professional advice; secondly, a charge of 
 infringing the patent law; thirdly, a charge of fraud, which is chiefly 
 directed against those engaged with public companies ; fourthly, a charge 
 of ultra vires, where there is a trust ; fifthly, a demand for money with 
 only partial information ; and, sixthly, the extortion is effected by keeping 
 possession of a house or other property. 
 
 As a matter of experience, most men will make sacrifices to prevent 
 charges, as denials and explanations will not prevent those in a similar 
 line of business from stating that such a charge was made ; and hence 
 these cases are usually compromised, by the payment of the bill of costs, 
 and perhaps some small sum to the client in addition. 
 
 The remedy for all this is very simple. The extortion cannot be 
 effected without the lawyer : then let him be responsible for the transaction, 
 and if fraud is charged improperly, or an untrue attack is made, let him 
 and his client conjointly be liable for damages. 
 
344 APPENDIX. [No. XXVII. 
 
 In our present social state, there is no greater damage that a man can 
 receive than a false attack in law or Chancery. The immense expense of 
 lawyers, counsel, and witnesses the harass of mind and damage to repu- 
 tation are excessive ; and yet there is no remedy against such severe 
 injury. The man attacked must lose. He can never get more than a 
 portion of his costs, and yet at this moment no remedy is provided. 
 
 Wherever we turn, these cases of injury and gross injustice crowd 
 upon our view ; and though they can never be got at in their exact detail, 
 by a variation of names, circumstances, and place, a few specimens of 
 extortion may be safely glanced at for the purpose of considering the 
 general phase of the subject. 
 
 Mr. Bolus, a medical practitioner, sends in his bill of 20 to Mr. 
 Crafty, who apparently was a respectable tradesman. The answer was, 
 " You maltreated me ; I shall try an action against you, unless you give 
 me 1000." Terrified and alarmed, Mr. Bolus consulted a London surgeon, 
 who begged him to resist the claim, as he treated the case very skilfully. 
 A writ was served; the case was carried to the eve of trial; the trial 
 was countermanded. The medical man was harassed for months by the 
 charge, when suddenly Mr. Crafty becomes a bankrupt without assets. If 
 the lawyer, who had done lightly to effect a compromise, had been liable, 
 this attempted extortion could not have been perpetrated. 
 
 Mr. Faith consulted Mr. Quack upon a secret malady. Mr. Quack 
 sent in a bill of 700, carried the case to London, at great cost, to the eve 
 of trial, when it was abandoned, and it was discovered that Mr. Quack had 
 evaporated to America. Surely the lawyer here was as bad as Mr. Quack. 
 Several in London live by this method. 
 
 Great cruelties are practised under the Patent Laws. In a village the 
 greater part of the people made a respectable but slender living by turning 
 black buttons into white by a chemical process. One fine morning, whilst 
 their operations proceeded peaceably and quietly, a writ was served upon 
 each by Mr. Whiting, a patentee of a similar process. What was to be 
 done ? The whole village was in consternation. They thought they were 
 all ruined. In this dilemma they sent one of their body to London to 
 consult a scientific man who had written the book they consulted upon 
 turning black buttons into white. This gentleman was interested in their 
 case, and told them that they did not infringe the patent, but that they 
 must put in an appearance to the writ. With difficulty they got together 
 5, which they took to a solicitor, when no further proceedings were taken. 
 Here were men harassed for months by the bold niano3uvre of Whiting, 
 which would unquestionably have succeeded but for the kind gratuitous 
 advice of the scientific man. 
 
 In the same way the pioneers of photography were greatly harassed 
 by Mr. Sunshine, who claimed to be the original inventor and patentee of 
 sun-portraits. Now Mr. Sunshine was a wealthy man, and had great 
 possessions in Moonland, and was very ambitious of a baronetcy, which 
 he is supposed to have lost from his practice. Why should he not 
 have been made to pay for the great injury he inflicted upon the poor 
 photographers ? 
 
 Public companies are peculiarly exposed to this kind of fraud. The 
 directors, or some of them, in the Waste Land Regeneration Company 
 
No. XXVII.] APPENDIX. 345 
 
 received a polite note from Messrs. Catchem and Squeezera, asking them 
 to call, as they have something very particular to communicate, having 
 been consulted by the Rev. Dr. Blackleg. That having failed, a clerk was 
 sent with a long bill, stating his employers take a great deal of interest in 
 the company and do not wish to do it any harm, but the reverend doctor 
 has some shares in it by virtue of some assumed services ; and as he is 
 largely in debt, wants the company to buy his shares immediately, so that 
 he may pay some of the more pressing of his debts. He stated that the 
 reverend doctor had written a frightful charge of fraud, which they will 
 be compelled to file, and if they do file they must advertise according to 
 law. As friends and well-wishers of the company, his employers, Messrs. 
 Catchem and Squeezem, advise an immediate payment to the reverend 
 doctor, who must have money. Any attempt to wind up the company 
 must injure it, and cost besides a great deal of money. In truth, if the 
 company gains, the reverend doctor has no money wherewith to pay the 
 costs ; and besides, the doctor is a desperate character, having misapplied 
 money of the Society for the Promotion of the use of Coloured Trousers, 
 and embezzled money given to him to pay the bills of the Young 
 Hottentots' Improvement School. 
 
 A safe remedy would be to make Catchem and Squeezem, as well as 
 the pious doctor, responsible to every person he sought to damage by 
 endeavouring to extort money by the aid of the Court of Chancery. 
 
 In this case their number is legion, for all who hold the improved 
 land all the shareholders, all the surveyors, engineers, clerks, and work- 
 people may be damaged by the injury the society received from this 
 charge. In the end the shareholders desired a compromise, and the 
 Rev. Dr. Blackleg got some hundreds of pounds to stop the case going 
 further than the- advertisement, but that itself did great damage to its 
 financial credit. 
 
 As another example of the same kind, the Rev. Mr. Snowdon is a great 
 buyer of shares to sell again at the Stock Exchange. "When he makes 
 money, he does so; when he cannot, he charges false statements. The 
 cases are generally compromised, to prevent scandal, and this man alone 
 has extorted money from many companies. 
 
 When companies are in difficulties some lawyers advertise for clients, 
 and guarantee them against costs, for which they allow them to harass the 
 directors; and the more respectable and more numerous they are, the 
 better the game the better for the lawyers. Messrs. Thief and Robber 
 live entirely in this way, and by charging fraud against every person, 
 however remotely connected with the company, are sure to find some who 
 dare not resist their extortion. The real plaintiff is not allowed to have 
 any voice in the matter. Now, surely Thief and Robber are the real 
 plaintiffs, and ought to be held responsible for the false charge and liable 
 for damages and costs to their victims. 
 
 Winding-up companies are invariably attended by an accountant and 
 a lawyer. Mr. Accurate, the accountant, has got large estates that way ; 
 and Mr. Virtuous made a fortune by the winding up of the Celestial Bank, 
 to the great damage of the poor shareholders and depositors. 
 
 Another form of extortion is practised by making a claim and not 
 giving particulars. Mr. Hardup has a claim against Mr. Easy, who is 
 
346 APPENDIX. [No. XXVII. 
 
 liable. " Granted," says Mr. Easy, " but tell me what your claim is and 
 how it was incurred." " Find out yourself," says Hardup. " I simply tell 
 you I have a claim." " I cannot," says Easy ; "I do not know where to 
 get the information." " Then here is a writ," says Hardup, " and expenses 
 begin this day." The case is carried up to trial, and stopped ; and this is 
 repeated till Easy has much more than he ought to pay extorted from him 
 to stop the continual expense of getting up the defence. 
 
 It is contrary to public policy that the lawyers should be able to 
 institute actions for their own benefit. In every case where they have a 
 pauper client, he is entirely in their hands. In the celebrated case of 
 " Box versus Cox," where Box took two suits of clothes from home, and 
 put one on the edge of a precipice, and walked off in the other, Box 
 appeared to be dead. Box's brother, who was in league with Box, claimed 
 under a policy from the Pay-in-every-case Assurance Company. Every- 
 body saw through the trick. The judge, jury, and public were astonished at 
 it. But Box's brother could not stop, because then his own lawyer, Mr. 
 Gammonem, would have made him bankrupt for his costs ; and if he did 
 go on, he was told he might have a sympathising jury, who would patronise 
 the individual against the company, and save him from expenses. Surely, 
 Mr. Gammonem ought to be liable for the costs, as his interest in the office 
 was much larger than that of his client. Box's banisters are said not to 
 be paid to this day, and the Pay-in-every case Assurance Company have 
 lost hundreds in law costs. 
 
 Not only needy lawyers who are in league with roguish plaintiffs, but 
 needy counsel are sometimes in similar collusions; for in hardly any 
 extortion case is the fee paid before trial. If the plaintiff wins, the counsel 
 gets paid ; if he loses, the plaintiff is bankrupt, and the lawyer regrets the 
 absence of funds. 
 
 How can it satisfy the public to hear fervid eloquence by a briefless 
 barrister, when Mrs. Briefless and the little ones at home are dependent 
 for their dinner upon the result of the case ? When a barrister deliberately 
 goes into court and makes an attack to secure his fee, he is equally guilty 
 of extortion as the lawyer or plaintiff, and all ought to be equally liable to 
 the defendant for his costs and for the damage he causes. 
 
 It is not only on the plaintiff's side that extortion is practised. There 
 is a class of cases, especially with respect to the letting of houses, where a 
 false defence is used as a means of extortion. This is so frequent, that 
 hardly any person who has had to do with house property has not been 
 victimised. In this case, a needy man gets into possession, pays no rent, 
 does damage to the property, and will not go till he has extorted money, 
 which is done by a false defence instituted by a low attorney. 
 
 It is, perhaps, quite unnecessary to burden this sketch with fuller illus- 
 trations of extortion and intimidation, for even respectable solicitors know 
 that they themselves sometimes have money extorted from them. 
 
 The principle of the remedy for extortion and intimidation is plain. 
 Make all participators responsible and liable for the damage which they 
 seek to commit. 
 
 Firstly. Where fraud is charged, or complaint made, or occupation of 
 property kept without adequate cause, let the plaintiff be liable for the 
 damage. 
 
No. XXVIII.] APPENDIX. 347 
 
 Secondly. Where the plaintiff has not the means to incur the liability, 
 let the lawyer and barrister who propagate these false charges be liable 
 for the damage. 
 
 Thirdly. Where plaintiff, lawyer, and barrister are paupers together, 
 and seek to extort money, let the defendant have the power of requiring 
 security for costs and damages before the charges are either published, 
 advertised, or come before a public court. 
 
 The application of Courts of Law and Equity for the purposes of 
 extortion and intimidation has a highly demoralizing effect upon society. 
 The respectable community shrink with horror from the scene of a Law or 
 Chancery Court. Stop extortion and intimidation in the name of law and 
 equity, by making lawyers and barristers responsible when getting the 
 wages of extortion and intimidation, and the Law Courts of this country 
 will again command the affection of all friends of order. 
 
 July 1st, 1863. 
 
 Postscript. The cases given in this pamphlet, although so like the 
 truth that many readers may think they know the particulars to which 
 they refer, are nevertheless, as a matter of course, pure creations of the 
 imagination, and have no relation to any person, place, or real circum- 
 stance. If any reader should think the cap fits, and should apply any of 
 the fanciful creations to himself or friends, the thought comes from a 
 guilty conscience ; let him wear the cap, and be thankful he has not got 
 that measure of justice to which he is so rightly entitled. 
 
 No. XXYIII. 
 THE PUPPET PARLIAMENT OF EARL RUSSELL, K.G. 
 
 (A Political Skit. ANON.) 
 
 EARL RUSSELL has postponed his doctrine of Final Reform to a more 
 convenient season. His partisans could not bear to change their Reform 
 Club into an auction mart for the sale of constituencies, and so the building 
 stands as a nest for illiberal demagogues, for the denunciators of all 
 governing authority, and for partisans of every form of spurious religion, 
 or of no religion at all. 
 
 Earl Russell's bill is not final ; it is not even the penultimate. It is 
 to be followed by a series of little bills, which are designed to make 
 Members of Parliament the abject tools of the populace, and destroy their 
 personal individuality, so that at last they may be the mechanical puppets 
 of the people. 
 
 When Earl Russell perfects his Parliament, flesh and blood will not be 
 required, humanity must be dispensed with, or an independent mind might 
 show its transcendent power, and for one moment resist the crying desire 
 of an illiterate mob. 
 
348 APPENDIX. [No. XXVIII. 
 
 The ultimate perfection of Earl Russell's Reform will be the com- 
 pletion of his suppression of mind and reason, by the substitution of 
 mechanical puppets for rational thinking beings. 
 
 Each seat in the House of Commons, instead of being occupied 
 by a living soul responsible to God for acts and thoughts, will be filled 
 by a graven wooden idol, fitted with machinery for saying Aye and 
 Nay, and worked by electric wires from the several counties and 
 boroughs having the privilege,, and obligation of returning members to 
 Parliament. 
 
 Of these wooden-headed Puppets the majority will, like speaking 
 dolls, simply say, Aye and Nay; but others will require more elabo- 
 rate cries, which the genius of Wheatstone will doubtless be able to 
 supply. 
 
 The Brightian Puppet will speak when pulled by its constituents : 
 " Down with Down with Down with All f ormalities Court Breeches 
 The Throne The House of Lords The Church The Army The Navy 
 Everybody !" 
 
 By ingenious machinery the ejaculations will be uttered at intervals, 
 by indifferently coupling together the phrases. In this manner everything 
 will be said that brainless demagogues now say, and Dr. Percy can utilize 
 the steam-engine now used to cool the heated heads and calm the excited 
 hearts of the present Members, to make the popular Puppet roar and roar 
 again. 
 
 Other representative images will be made to shout " Sing, sing !" 
 when moved by the Papistical Manning wire, and the condensed steam 
 from the engine will pour forth tears from the eyes of another image 
 when Oratorian priests are reviled for their girl and boy concealing pro- 
 pensities. 
 
 " No State Church, no Church Rates !" the Binney wire will move. 
 " No gallows !" the murderer's puppet will cry. Burglers and garrotters 
 will make their puppet shout, "No flogging!" With these and a few 
 other words, howled by wooden images, the Puppet Parliament would be 
 so complete that no one could fail to recognize it as the present House 
 of Commons one stage further Darwinially developed towards the Rus- 
 sellian perfection. 
 
 The Puppets of Parliament will have no responsibility, as men have, 
 but will be obedient to the persons who set them up. A puppet has no 
 conscience; has no belief in moral law, and dispenses with all religion, 
 or even the notion of a God. Glorious news for those reformers who 
 seek to annihilate the Church, and to destroy an obedience to the One 
 over- governing Power ! 
 
 Over the doorway of the Puppet House of Commons will be written 
 in letters of brass, " The mob is God ;" and in the House itself a suitable 
 cartoon will be painted, depicting the triumph of Russell over Mind and 
 Religion. 
 
 It is strange that Gladstone, in his advocacy of a puppet Parliament, 
 should denounce the votes of dockyard labourers, and declare that dockyard 
 representatives should be protected from the influence of dockyard labourers. 
 Gladstone views with horror the possibility of Phinn, Otway, Martin, or 
 Kinglake standing, cap in hand, at the dockyard gates, to beg and pray 
 
No. XXVIII.] APPENDIX. 349 
 
 for dockyard votes, when the men are skilled enough to know that the term 
 Liberal Reformer is that which is used for an illiberal paymaster. When 
 the candidates earnestly implore, the men are wont to sneer; and if 
 rumours are well founded, it is a costly proceeding for the country when- 
 ever the so-called Liberal Government causes the men to vote against any 
 candidate opposed to Reform Club tyranny. Why this inconsistency? 
 Tell us, we pray thee. For why shall you give all other classes their 
 puppets, and refuse them to dockyard labourers ? 
 
 Gladstone, you are now upon your trial! It is for you to decide 
 whether you will attain to one of the highest pinnacles in the temple of 
 Fame by joining the great party of Lawmakers, or sink into insignificance 
 by becoming a Ministerial Puppet to the people's Parliamentary Puppets. 
 Gladstone ! you are qualified by nature to be a great Lawgiver and teacher 
 of the people, and you are not adapted to be a mere tool and Puppet. 
 Use, then, your high mental power to govern your words, and let not 
 mere words, resounding from the ignorant and designing, govern your 
 mind. Vox populi, vox Dei may be your damnation : vox Dei the One 
 over-governing Principle of Truth, your salvation ! 
 
 There is a great issue to be tried. Are Members of Parliament to be 
 Puppets or lawgivers ? Are they to be passive instruments, to act and vote 
 according to the requests of the noisy section of their constituencies ; or 
 are they to be the initiative, thoughtful leaders of the people ? It is ten 
 thousand times easier to be a Puppet than a Lawgiver. Every fool glories 
 in being a Puppet of the people, and will rejoice to support Earl Russell's 
 Puppet Reform ; but every wise man seeks rather to reform Earl Russell, 
 and be a Lawgiver and teacher to the multitude. 
 
 The Derby Lawgiver solicits votes on a pledge to do his duty to his 
 constituents, his country, and to his God. The Russellian Reform-Club- 
 Puppet solicits votes on a pledge to follow blindly the wishes of his 
 constituents, not caring for his country, nor fearing his God. 
 
 A Derby Lawgiver is an adviser to the people, and brings the know- 
 ledge of the whole to bear upon the study of the part. The Russellian 
 Puppet deals with fragmentary notions, and does not understand that a 
 one-idead man, not one whit less dangerous in action, is next akin in 
 mental intellect to a monomaniac, who is impelled by one single ever- 
 recurring thought. 
 
 The Reform Bill of Earl Russell is the intermediate link between the 
 present state of things and his final Puppet development, For the moment, 
 he desires to sweep away legislators and substitute one-idead members to 
 be elected from one-idead voters. Every conceivable speciality of occupa- 
 tion is to be represented, from the maker of Bright's odious Court breeches 
 to the parliamentary place-selling agents of the Reform Club, to the total 
 exclusion of any consideration of the general welfare of the country. 
 
 A preponderance of Puppet power is to be given to the smaller 
 class of shopkeepers, who work not, but rob the poor and cheat each other. 
 It is imperatively necessary for them to have Puppets for under-skilled 
 legislators ; how long would they sell adulterated beer and bad bread, 
 to impair the muscle and sinews of our skilled mechanics ? Little shop- 
 keepers have ever feared legislative interference, and so Earl Russell 
 panders to their iniquity, to keep his feeble Government in power. A 
 legislator would control their doings; they now control the Legislature. 
 
350 APPENDIX. [No. XXIX. 
 
 The Puppet Parliament must reflect its actions back to the people 
 themselves, and workmen will hereafter expect masters to be their Puppets. 
 Doctors even now wonder whether my Lord Russell will graciously 
 issue a proclamation ordering men hereafter to live without their brain, 
 which co-ordinates and regulates the movements of each individual 
 limb. 
 
 A good lawgiver, on the contrary, makes a good constituent. The 
 man who appreciates honest and earnest thought in those above him will 
 bestow thought upon the affairs of those below him. Every person is 
 second to some other person on some question ; so a good lawgiver has a 
 continuous beneficial influence upon the entire community. 
 
 A great battle is at hand. The Puppets have made a deadly attack 
 upon the lawmakers. Russell conflicts Derby; but who will be their 
 soldiers? Whigs and Tories now consult together against the common 
 enemy of intellect. Conservatives and Reformers confusedly jostle 
 together, despite their former differences. All, regardless of former 
 opinions, are disposed to join their talent for the common protection of 
 mind and thought. Two new divisions in political circles separate them- 
 selves in battle array. Brainless, mob-idolatrous demagogues will fight 
 under Russell. Thoughtful, studious lawgivers will join the ranks of 
 Derby. 
 
 Already the common-sense and intellect of England cries for the 
 people to abandon Earl Russell's Puppet, which hears not, sees not, 
 understands not, thinks not, but acts simply as an uninformed mob may 
 cause it to move. In place of a senseless idol, the good and great respect 
 the human mind in its natural purity of intellectual truthfulness, and 
 trust that after hearing, seeing, remembering, understanding, judging, 
 comparing the present with the past, it will create laws and ordinances for 
 the people to follow for their welfare and happiness. 
 
 Shall the people elect an intelligent Lawgiver, or manufacture a 
 senseless Puppet ? 
 
 Shall Russell carry out the behests of the mob, or shall Derby 
 legislate for the nation? 
 
 No. XXIX. 
 THE FINAL REFORM BILL OF EARL RUSSELL, K.G. 
 
 (A Political Skit. ANON.) 
 
 A FINAL Reform is now demanded from the Legislature by forcible, far- 
 seeing men who know the worth of importunity. 
 
 Speeches are more telling than thought, and one pseudo-political 
 orator is more attractive to a Minister bent upon retaining power than ten 
 thousand quiet, thoughtful men who simply follow their business and 
 advance the wealth and commerce of the country. 
 
 Politicians have spoken a final Reform is requested; so who can 
 be more ready than the present Ministry, under the leadership of Earl 
 
No. XXIX.] APPENDIX. 351 
 
 Russell, to gratify the wish that the wealth and talent of the country 
 should be entirely deprived of all influence in the country ? 
 
 Palmerston is no more! Final Reform is therefore attempted, for 
 there is no one now in the Government to support order and prevent 
 anarchy. 
 
 Agitators agree that the franchise should be extended to every one 
 who is not independent, and to whom the sale of a vote is an object. To 
 extend the franchise to 6 householders would not be final, for other 
 agitators would put in a claim for 5, and afterwards to 4, 3, 2, and 
 1. After this, why should not the non -householders have a vote ? for 
 money would be as useful to them as it is to the householder ; and, 
 following out the same idea, when all men have the suffrage, it would be 
 demanded for women and children, who would have as much right to 
 receive remuneration for their votes as men have. 
 
 Earl Russell knows well that money has kept his Ministry in power ; 
 nobody knows better than the ministerial whip how many thousands the 
 last election cost, and who can so well tell as those who were in the thick 
 of the fight how the tens and hundreds of thousands were divided amongst 
 the electors ? Had not every borough its price, which could be ascertained 
 from the agent to the Reform Club, and the names of the voters in each 
 borough who got their 2, 5, 10, and 20 ? for their vote is registered 
 in heaven, even if the register on earth cannot be found to be produced 
 before a parliamentary inquiry. 
 
 Money is the clue to final Reform. Every borough has a price, 
 increasing or diminishing, according to the doctrine of supply and 
 demand. Afford a fair market to parliamentary representation, and 
 final Reform is accomplished ; that is, if you give credence to my Lord 
 Russell. 
 
 The Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill, is comprised in the 
 grand idea SELL THE PLACES IN PARLIAMENT BY AUCTION, to the 
 highest bidder, and divide the money amongst the voters. 
 
 Final Reform has the rare and singular merit of extinguishing 
 Reform. Reform being no more, leaves the Reform Club a house 
 without a purpose, and the house can then be sold for a parliamentary 
 auction mart. 
 
 Perched in a rostrum in the central hall, Earl Russell might be 
 entrusted with the office of auctioneer, and thrilling will be the effect 
 when Leeds, Chester, and South Lancashire, on the next election, are 
 knocked down to the happy aspirants to political power. 
 
 If the Reform Club be sold to the State, how excited will be the 
 feelings of many of its members when the conveyance is effected ! How 
 many, for the first time, will have the extreme gratification of finding 
 themselves possessed of some portion of this earth's wealth ! 
 
 The auction final Reform will doubtless bring out the financial tact 
 of Gladstone. Has he not already made the State a trader in 
 Assurance ? And has he not shown skill in making his poor Post-office 
 proteges perform their duties for nothing ? With such rare expedients, 
 shall not the Ministry be able to command money for a parliamentary 
 majority ? If sorely pressed, could Gladstone not make the post-office a 
 vehicle for the sale of milk ? and how great would be the profit if the 
 work can be done without further pay for rent, labour, and risk. Even if 
 
352 APPENDIX. 
 
 that field be insufficient, his fertile mind could create money by causing 
 the post-office to take charge of umbrellas, or good soled boots, to protect 
 the heads and keep dry the heels of old gentlemen and ladies who want to 
 shield themselves from the slightest moisture. 
 
 There is reason to expect that Sir George Bowyer, and the money- 
 getting, heir-spoliating Oratorian priests, would accept final Reform, as 
 they could command thereby more votes in the House. If the Oratory is 
 as earnest in fortune-getting as it has been of old, surely with the pleasures 
 of Heaven and benediction, and the pains of hell and damnation, ten heirs 
 and heiresses can be caught every year. Now, a single fifty-thousand- 
 pound heir or heiress could allow the Oratorians to buy many boroughs ; 
 and if they could only bag their Duke, one year's ducal income would 
 suffice to purchase more than one county franchise. 
 
 Besides the Oratorians, the nigger Baptists would delight in an 
 Auction Reform, for when the black men desire to massacre the white men, 
 they could by obtaining a preponderance of votes make the extermination 
 of the whites legal. When the black men of Jamaica howled under their 
 punishment for murder and rapine, did not Earl Russell supersede their 
 punisher? Gordon has been hanged, so Earl Russell has lost an 
 opportunity of placing him with Bright in the Ministry. Both Gordon 
 and Bright had equal merit in stirring up the evil passions of mankind. 
 If Bright makes most noise, Gordon produced the greatest effect, and 
 both are equally entitled to sympathy and reward. 
 
 Generally, all special religious enthusiasts would welcome the final 
 Reform Bill. Double extra High Church, double diminished Low Church, 
 and eveiy form of cant and hypocrisy, would crown Earl Russell for 
 giving them an opportunity of obtaining an ascendency, which they would 
 not fail to do, if only pastors could find flocks foolish enough to sacrifice 
 their fortunes to support fantastic notions. 
 
 Not only special religionists, but certain parts of the monetary 
 interest, will hail an Auction Reform with delight. Does not the Stock 
 Exchange derive millions from new companies every year? Nobody can 
 see any difference between the Stock Exchange and the gambling hells of 
 the lesser princes of Germany, although every person, in fairness, admits 
 that the German hells are, at least, superintended by the police, whilst the 
 Stock Exchange is not. As there is a current belief in a parliamentary 
 interference with the peculiar mode in which the Stock Exchange gets 
 money from the public, a tithe of their gains would command many 
 parliamentary seats to protect their acquisitions. 
 
 Again, the lawyers about the Reform Club who sigh for place may be 
 expected vehemently to support Earl Russell, as in future they may 
 calculate with accuracy whether it is worth their while to invest a definite 
 sum for an expected income. How many briefless barristers at the Reform 
 Club have bribed electors to secure a seat and obtain a judgeship, and yet 
 remain Mr. Briefless still ? How many poor fellows wander helplessly 
 over the Reform Club who might, by an Auction Reform, get by chance a 
 borough cheap, and show their competence for employment by a servile 
 ministerial support ? 
 
 Everybody cannot be pleased, and we may expect Bright to dissent 
 from final Reform, as it would cause his occupation as a democratic 
 agitator to be gone. Could he, however, not be recompensed with a seat 
 
No. XXIX.] APPENDIX. 353 
 
 in the Ministry ? would it be discordant for the noise-maker to sit beside 
 the noise-user ? If Bright creates desire, Russell gratifies it. Let them 
 sit side by side, models for future ages to avoid. 
 
 Any skilled lawgiver admitted into Parliament would be a curse to 
 Bright. Without a mob, what is he ? With logic he is abroad. Ignorance 
 and folly is his gain; knowledge and ability his loss. Partially true, 
 imiversally false, he is a god to those who don't work, can't work, and 
 won't work. Education would for ever blast this idolatrous belief, and so 
 he clings to the untaught and undisciplined masses. He and Earl E/ussell 
 agree in abhorring a comprehensive mind which leads, and in holding to 
 the servile mind which implicitly obeys. Both eschew Nature, which has 
 ordained that some men should be tall and others short, some should 
 invent and others be the mechanicians. Both tamper to a universal 
 mediocrity, where no ray of intellectual superiority enlightens. Is not 
 their character shown by their companions ? And do not both partake of 
 the mediocrity they worship ? 
 
 All must admit that there is one large class, hated by Bright and 
 despised by Russell, who consider finality in human legislation impossible, 
 and think that the vote of an elector should be the vote of Intellect, 
 Intelligence, Independence, and Integrity, and who would despise the sale 
 of a franchise by auction, and equally deplore the purchase of individual 
 voters by any Reform Club agency. That class believe that Providence 
 has wisely ordained that many must be ruled, few can be rulers. Bright 
 ignores Providence by subverting natural order and seeking to make tbe 
 governed governors. Russell follows ; and, driven on by a power he is 
 unable to restrain, he goads on that power that he may remain a moving 
 instrument of an ignorant multitude. The true governor leads, and would 
 not be driven without horror and humiliation. Russell must be the tool 
 of the disaffected, or he would be nothing. 
 
 A higher principle over- governing a subordinate ; a universal law 
 overriding a subsidiary ; a comprehensive mind overruling a contracted ; 
 the whole over-regulating a part, are doctrines for Bright to damn, and 
 for Russell to agree with Bright. Bright, however, can never accede to 
 the peerdom of Russell while he remains a commoner, nor can Bright let 
 Russell lead whilst he only follows. Bright as a democratic orator and 
 hater of superiority is great in the way that lovers of order abhor. For 
 Bright to retain his greatness he must deal with littleness, and therefore 
 the auction final Reform would not quite suit Bright, as it might enable 
 Parliament possibly to have members as great to Bright as Bright is to> 
 the imbecile inmates of Earlswood Asylum. 
 
 There are four great diseases before Parliament this year : 1. The 
 rinderpest, or death of cattle ; 2. The cholera pest, or death of mankind 
 both bodily diseases, to be treated after an exact study of Nature's works : 
 3. The Nigger pest white murder by blacks; 4. The Fenian pest the 
 annihilation of social order and religion : both mental epidemics, to be 
 treated after an earnest study of God's moral laws. 
 
 Who shall legislate upon these serious maladies ? Shall they who 
 have bought their parliamentary seats by money, and tampered to the 
 follies of their age ? Or shall they who represent independent, thoughtful 
 voters, and who have studied Nature's works and followed moral laws? 
 
 2 A 
 
354 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. XXX. 
 LOCKED-UP MONEY. 
 
 From the ' Standard,' June 6, 1866. 
 
 SIR, Permit me to call your attention to a practical remedy for tlie 
 great inconvenience which the public now suffer from large sums of money 
 being locked up in monetary companies now under liquidation. At the 
 present time persons are distressed, not so much from having lost some of 
 their money, as from having been suddenly deprived of the use of all their 
 available cash, although, perhaps, only for a time. On Saturday nights 
 masters cannot pay their workpeople, and even private individuals are 
 placed in an awkward position from their inability to command a single 
 shilling. This difficulty might be easily met by the liquidator granting to 
 the creditor, on his releasing his debt, a certificate of indebtedness, payable 
 to bearer, or, where the sum is large, a number of certificates represent- 
 ing the total amount. These certificates would doubtless be immediately 
 marketable at a price, and also available as a security. Debtors to the 
 estates, and shareholders having calls to pay, would be glad to purchase 
 these certificates to extinguish their liabilities, and thus the company 
 would gradually liquidate itself. Perhaps an order in Chancery would 
 suffice to carry out this recommendation, or, failing that, a short Act of 
 Parliament might be obtained to enforce it. 
 
 (Signed) ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 PROPOSED FORM OF CERTIFICATE. 
 
 Overend, Gurney, and Co. in liquidation. 
 
 This is to certify that Messrs. Overend, Gurney, & Co. 
 (Limited), in liquidation, is indebted to bearer 100. 
 
 (Signed) , Liquidator. 
 
 From the ' Standard,' June 12, 1866. 
 
 SIR, In my letter recommending that certificates of indebtedness to 
 bearer should be immediately issued by liquidators of the banks and 
 companies, where so many companies are now locked up, I omitted to 
 point out that the certificate would not place the holder ultimately in a 
 better position than the other creditors, as the bearer would receive the 
 same dividends under the bankruptcy. 
 
 The advantage of issuing certificates of indebtedness to bearer would 
 consist in the grant of a document to the creditor, which might be readily 
 rendered marketable. 
 
 The highest judicial authority has called my attention to the fact that 
 this scheme requires the sanction of Parliament, but surely Parliament 
 will not withhold an Act which must prove a blessing to many, and can 
 inflict an injury on none. 
 
 These certificates of indebtedness would doubtless, as soon as issued, 
 bear a price in the market, according to the estimate of the amount which 
 the estate will realize, and the time in which that realization will be 
 effected. 
 
No. XXX.] APPENDIX. 355 
 
 The indebtedness of the Agra Bank, the Bank of London, or the 
 Consolidated Bank, would probably command an immediate price of 
 50 or 60 per cent., whilst that of other companies would not sell for more 
 than 20 or 30 per cent. 
 
 I hear in all directions that this scheme may save hundreds of respect- 
 able persons who have deposits now locked up in the Agra and other large 
 banking establishments, so that the question is one which demands atten- 
 tion and immediate action. 
 
 (Signed) ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 From the ' Morning Advertiser, 9 June 12, 1866. 
 
 SIR, My proposal to issue certificates of indebtedness to bearer for 
 money locked up in companies under liquidation appears to meet with 
 general approval, and it needs but parliamentary action to save creditors 
 now suffering from an inability to meet present requirements. 
 
 These certificates would be useful under the three states which 
 liquidating companies present: firstly, when there are assets sufficient 
 to meet eventually the liabilities ; secondly, when the assets are ultimately 
 sufficient by making calls upon the shareholders ; and thirdly, when the 
 assets are insufficient even after exhausting the subscribed capital. 
 
 When the assets equal the debts, the certificates would not only be 
 marketable instruments, but debtors could terminate their obligations by 
 purchasing them and paying them in as cash to the liquidator. 
 
 For every 100 thus paid in 200 of transactions would be settled, and 
 thus the company would rapidly liquidate itself. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that with liquidating banks debtors are 
 often great sufferers, from being suddenly compelled to pay an amount for 
 which, under any fair probability, time would be allowed. 
 
 When calls upon shareholders are required, the certificate holders 
 would not only obtain a portion of their debt much sooner, and thus in 
 many cases be saved from ruin ; but the shareholders, by paying money 
 down, would lose a less amount, and in some cases be themselves saved 
 from ruin. 
 
 When the total assets of the company are insufficient, a difficulty 
 apparently presents itself, but even here the certificates would be of 
 utility, as they might be used in payment of calls and debts, by which the 
 extent of the transactions would be narrowed every day ; and should the 
 certificates be ultimately found to be worth only 10s. instead of 1, the 
 parties paying the certificates as cash would be called upon to pay the 
 difference. 
 
 Certificates of indebtedness might properly be called notes of liqui- 
 dation, and like bank-notes every one issued should be numbered, to confer 
 an individuality upon it, registered, and finally cancelled. A fee of 5s. for 
 stamping and registration would surely not be grudged, from the benefit 
 which would be conferred on all parties subject to the present terrible 
 process of liquidation, where creditors and debtors are alike sacrificed for 
 the benefit of accountants and lawyers. 
 
 (Signed) ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 APPENDIX. [No. XXX. 
 
 From the ' Morning Advertiser,' June 18, 1866. 
 
 SIR, The money-locked-up public heard on Friday, with dismay, the 
 Right Hon. the President of the Board of Trade declare in the House of 
 Commons that Her Majesty's Government did not, as at present advised, 
 intend to apply for an Act to enable liquidators to issue certificates of 
 indebtedness. 
 
 It appears that a singular misapprehension exists as to the nature of 
 the document proposed to be issued, as the sum indebted to the estate is 
 evidently confounded with the sum which will ultimately be paid. 
 
 A certificate of indebtedness would be a certificate of the sum which 
 a bankrupt's estate is liable to pay to the creditor. This differs widely 
 from a certificate for actual payment. The one can be given at once, the 
 other can only be ascertained at the termination of the liquidation ; and 
 the certificates of indebtedness are equally applicable, whether the estate 
 ultimately pays 20s. or only one farthing in the pound. 
 
 Again, some persons have erroneously considered that an Act for the 
 issue of these certificates has been proposed as an exceptional case to meet 
 the failure of certain banks and discount houses ; and because exceptional 
 legislation is bad, they reject the scheme. 
 
 My proposition, however, is not particular, but universal, and instead 
 of applying to one firm applies to every case of bankruptcy and liquida- 
 tion ; for if the stoppage of the Agra Bank has involved its thousands, the 
 failure of smaller firms has involved their tens, and the tens are as worthy 
 of legislative care as the thousands. 
 
 Sufferers cowed by misfortune have not the energy and courage to be 
 outspoken : but justice, no less than charity, demands that a scheme which 
 promises so much good to so many innocent persons, and which may 
 prevent so much wide-spread misery, should be considered either by a 
 Government commission or by a parliamentary committee, that no mis- 
 conception or misapprehension may prevent, if beneficial, its immediate 
 adoption. (Signed) ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 From the Money Article of ' The Times,' July 16, 1866. 
 
 The following note relates to a point that might much mitigate the 
 suffering daily experienced in all parts of the kingdom from the recent 
 panic : 
 
 " London, July 14. 
 
 "SiR, Sufferers from locked-up money earnestly hope that the 
 session will not pass away without a short Act being obtained to enable 
 the liquidators of insolvent companies to issue certificates of indebtedness 
 to bearer. 
 
 " Had this Act been obtained earlier, much needless misery would have 
 been avoided ; but even now it would enable persons to raise funds who 
 are at the present time in the greatest embarrassment, simply because 
 they have money locked up, which will be ultimately paid, but upon which 
 they can obtain no advance, because they have no documents upon which 
 they can borrow. 
 
 "It is now admitted by great lawyers, and most persons conversant 
 with monetary transactions, that certificates of indebtedness to bearer, 
 signed by a liquidator, would command their utmost value to shareholders 
 
No. XXXI.] APPENDIX. 357 
 
 h iving to pay calls, and to debtors of the estate, and that they could 
 always be negotiated at a fair market price as a matter of business. 
 " I have the honour to be, your obedient servant, 
 
 " LOCKED-UP." 
 
 [A monetary crisis in this country may unhappily arise, when it may 
 be considered expedient to carry out the above suggestions of Alfred Smee.] 
 
 No. XXXI. 
 
 ANONYMOUS LETTERS ON THE MANNER IN WHICH COM- 
 PANIES IN LIQUIDATION WERE BEING CONDUCTED 
 AFTER THE INSOLVENCY OF OYEREND, GURNEY, & CO. 
 
 SIR, Who would now be a director ? is a question you may well ask 
 in the ' Times,' in these days of prosecution at the Mansion House and 
 persecution by the Court of Chancery. 
 
 Gentlemen who are now directors are timid to act, for they cannot tell 
 whether ten years hence some needy lawyer and briefless barrister, at the 
 instance of a penniless shareholder, may not impeach his action when all 
 the facts and reasons are forgotten. But the public suffer from this 
 incompetency of the Court of Chancery, or imbecility of the law. At the 
 present moment there are numerous undertakings of great importance, 
 and which are urgently required, which, although they have received the 
 sanction of Parliament, cannot be executed because they cannot raise 
 money, on account of the distrust which exists. 
 
 If these works were carried out, the distress which now exists would 
 be averted, employment would be given to numerous workmen, and money 
 would be circulated in England instead of going abroad to benefit foreign 
 States. 
 
 It is high time to inquire into the manner in which distrust is created 
 and families are ruined by the costly proceedings in Chancery, which 
 bring all legitimate enterprises into disrepute. From the date of the last 
 panic matters have gone continually from bad to worse, and at the present 
 time it is far more difficult to carry out a legitimate English enterprise 
 than it was a week after Black Friday.* 
 
 The Government owe it to the country to frustrate the lawyers and 
 liquidators who are causing this distrust, and make them either settle up 
 their accounts of liquidating companies forthwith, or be discharged from 
 their office ; and if the Court of Chancery is too imbecile to deal with the 
 question, the Government should constitute a court of practical mercantile 
 men who can deal with the difficulty in a plain, sensible manner. Hoping 
 that the ' Times ' will never let the matter rest till Parliament interferes 
 with these causes of distrust and restores confidence, 
 
 I remain, Sir, yours obediently, 
 
 TKUST. 
 
 * The Friday after the failure of Overend, Gurney, and Co., in March 1866. 
 So many failures took place on that day that it was termed by the mercantile 
 community Black Friday. 
 
358 APPENDIX. [No. XXXII. 
 
 SIR, The observations made in tlie City article of the ' Times,' on the 
 hardship attending the delay in the distribution of the assets of share- 
 holders of banks with unlimited liability, apply with tenfold force to the 
 estates of shareholders of unlimited companies in liquidation. 
 
 Insolvent companies are nominally wound up by the Court of Chan- 
 cery, but practically by accountants and lawyers, whose special object it is 
 to incur costs and procrastinate the liquidation. Some companies have 
 already been years in liquidation, and will remain so for years to come, 
 during which time no estate of a deceased shareholder can be divided. 
 
 It is worthy of consideration whether the benefits of unlimited lia- 
 bility to creditors are not more than counterbalanced by the hardships 
 inflicted on the shareholders. By the Joint Stock Companies Act, any 
 pre-existing company was permitted either to register as a limited or 
 unlimited company ; but the Registrar holds, rightly or wrongly, that a 
 company, then having made its choice, is ever after prohibited from 
 changing its character. 
 
 At the time when the Joint Stock Act was passed, the doctrine of 
 limited liability was novel, and shareholders of successful companies were 
 afraid to adopt it; but could the companies again be permitted to have 
 the choice, there are probably but few in this country which would not 
 assume a limited character, which, after all, is the only rational plan for 
 the conduct of a public company. 
 
 (Signed) LIMITED LIABILITY. 
 
 January 21, 1873. 
 
 SIR, Experience fully confirms the observations in the City article of 
 the ' Times,' that there are high-minded accountants who do their duty by 
 the liquidation of companies ; nevertheless, there is a certain class of 
 lawyers who promote excessive litigation for the costs which they continue 
 to obtain. 
 
 If any member of Parliament will move for the time occupied and the 
 costs incurred in the liquidation of unlimited companies, to say nothing of 
 the further cost which the contributories themselves are compelled to pay, 
 there will be such an amount of hardship and wrong-doing revealed that, 
 doubtless, some well-considered legislative enactment would be passed. 
 
 In limited companies there is less temptation to incur these improper 
 costs, as there is only a certain amount of money to be spent, and the 
 creditors, as far as they can, take care that this undue waste does not 
 occur. 
 
 January 29, 1873. (Signed) SHAREHOLDER. 
 
 No. XXXII. 
 
 ON THE UNSEAWORTHINESS OF SHIPS SENT TO SEA. 
 
 SIR, The shareholders of marine companies express great satisfaction 
 at the 'Insurance Times' having noticed the scandalous frauds which 
 within the last few years have been perpetrated on the shareholders of 
 marine companies. I have the pleasure to inform your readers that a 
 
No. XXXII.] APPENDIX. 359 
 
 plan has been devised for detecting the most flagrant delinquents, and that 
 some gentlemen who have suffered from these frauds will speedily take 
 action in the matter. It is intended to move for a return of every marine 
 claim made upon every company in liquidation, stating the person who 
 brought the insurance to the office, the nature of the assurance, the sum 
 paid for the assurance, and the amount ultimately claimed. This 
 interesting little document will disclose the most frightful state of facts, 
 and will lead to the most vigorous legislation next session. 
 
 (Signed) MARINE SHAREHOLDER. 
 
 SIR, I am a loser by marine insurance, having made an investment 
 in a marine company now in liquidation. From inquiries I made I find that 
 the insurance of ships is not like any other business, carried on by the 
 directors personally, but devolves upon the underwriter entirely. The 
 underwriter becomes the sole responsible director, and settles what risks 
 are to be taken and at what price, and all the shareholders are absolutely 
 at his mercy ; for no matter how able or high-principled the directors may 
 be, they virtually have no power whatever in the matter. If I had known 
 this before, I never would have become a shareholder ; and I think your 
 paper would do good service if you would give the names of the under- 
 writers of every defunct company, as a warning to future investors. There 
 are strange reports afloat about underwriters and their doings of late. 
 
 Manchester. (Signed) X. Z. 
 
 SIR, I have been much upon the river Thames and had frequent 
 opportunities of conversing with the sailors. They say that frequently 
 when they are hired they find from the general cut of a ship that it is 
 intended to be lost. It is impossible to leave her, as by the law, if they do 
 not go, they would be liable to be sent to prison ; a matter which they 
 complain of as a very great hardship. Sometimes when a ship is doomed 
 to be lost, they find at the last moment that a sufficient assurance cannot 
 be effected upon her ; and then a telegram is sent to be very careful of the 
 ship, as she is not sufficiently insured. The sailors do not appear at all to 
 relish the risking of their lives for the owner of the ship to get the insurance 
 money, and they say that something ought to be done for their protection, 
 and that forthwith. 
 
 (Signed) CRUISER. 
 
 SIR, In the discussion which the ' Insurance Times ' has raised upon 
 marine insurance the question of property has alone at present been con- 
 sidered. Now I do not care one jot for the property question, but I have 
 a very decided opinion upon the sacrifice of life which the present destruc- 
 tion of ships produces. The sacrifice of the lives of our seamen is needless ; 
 and by the manner in which marine assurance is now practised, the loss 
 of a ship is too often a great benefit to the shipowner in a pecuniary sense, 
 although attended with a great loss of life to our brave sailors. Under any 
 circumstances, such strong legislative enactments should be provided as to 
 protect the lives of men who are too much at the mercy of the shipowners, 
 for all experience shows that those who profit by ship destruction care 
 nothing for the loss of human life. 
 
 (Signed) YACHTSMAN. 
 
360 APPENDIX. [No. XXXIL 
 
 SIR, I trust I may be excused the liberty of asking for a small 
 portion of valuable space to write a few words upon marine insurance. 
 Unfortunately I was a clerk in a winding-up marine insurance office, and 
 thus had ample opportunities of observing how the black-legs who effected 
 the assurances proceeded in their nefarious practices. Before they brought 
 any business to the office I always observed that those who intended to rob 
 the company were very minute in their inquiries as to the aaiount of un- 
 called capital. "When quite satisfied upon that point, they began to honour 
 the company with their confidence. At first they brought two or three 
 unexceptionable risks, amongst which they introduced one a little doubtful, 
 so that all might be taken together. Then by degrees they gradually 
 slipped into the office their peculiar assurances of ships to go to the 
 bottom cargo, sailors, and all. When this business was at the height, it 
 was curious to observe how broker Mr. A. was jealous of broker Mr. B., 
 and would go away if he spied him in the office doing his little bits of 
 iniquity. Each man greatly preferred to see the underwriter alone and be 
 closeted with him unseen ; and as soon as he had done his business, there 
 was always a desire to slide away from the office as quick as possible. I knew 
 them all, and hated the sight of them ; and only wondered how the under- 
 writer could be talked over by these villains. The directors caine every 
 day to sign the policies to which their underwriter had committed them, 
 and vainly imagined that they were only transacting first-class business. 
 They had no more control over the risks which were taken than I had as a 
 junior clerk. After a little time claims began to come in. The same 
 men used to come and say, " I have got a little claim, which I should take 
 as a personal favour if you would settle at once. I will leave you the pro- 
 test, and will call again to-morrow, when I have several good risks for you." 
 I read many of these protests in sheer amazement. The captain used to 
 say that in latitude so and so, longitude so and so, a wind sprung up, 
 which gradually increased. He then ordered the pumps to be sounded, 
 and found there was some water. After a few hours' pumping he tried 
 again, and found more water. He then saw it was no use pumping any 
 more, so he told the men to get the boat ready, which they lowered. Then 
 the wind began to blow a good deal harder, and he told the men that 
 to save their lives they must get into the boat. They rowed about three 
 or four hours to know what became of the ship, when at some precise minute 
 to some hour the ship went down head foremost in very deep water. He 
 saw it was no use remaining, so he told the men to row ashore, as the wind 
 was blowing a hurricane. And the protest finished by protesting against 
 the winds and waves, and he ever would protest against the winds and 
 waves ; and the whole of this precious document is verified by the British 
 consul at the port where the crew landed. 
 
 Lots of ships are never heard of when over-insured; and bullion, 
 which nobody ever saw before it was put on board, always went down in 
 such very deep water that the directors had no chance of getting it up 
 again. After a few of these eligible risks the customers began again to 
 inquire into the stability of the office, and make their own personal inquiries 
 whether each shareholder could pay his subscribed quota. As soon as they 
 put on the company as many risks as they thought it could bear, they 
 began to withdraw, and speak in very virtuous indignation because the 
 company was not at once wound up, and at last they were most particular 
 
No. XXXII.] APPENDIX. 361 
 
 to endeavour to get one of their clique to be liquidator. The consequence 
 of this was that their claims were all admitted, and the poor shareholders 
 squeezed to their uttermost farthing, and abused by those who robbed 
 them. My heart quite ached for the poor shareholders, who were so 
 cruelly cheated. Apologizing for so long a letter, I am, 
 
 Camberwell. (Signed) MARINE CLERK. 
 
 SIR, Your correspondent in the last week's number of the ' Insurance 
 Times ' protests against the word " gang " as applied to those who defraud 
 marine insurance offices. The whole tenour of the letters to your paper 
 clearly demonstrates that there is an extensive organization, widely 
 scattered, who derive their wealth from these practices. The word " gang," 
 however, is so generally applied to convicts that it is hardly applicable to 
 a set of men not convicted. For exactness of language I would suggest 
 the use of the word " sea-thug " for all those who obtain improperly money 
 from underwriters and marine insurances. From this appropriate term we 
 should derive the verb " to sea-thug," and the abstract principle " sea- 
 thuggery." Hereafter they may be described as Liverpool sea-thugs, London 
 sea-thugs, Glasgow sea-thugs, Lloyds' sea- thugs, et signa sunt similia. 
 
 St. Pancras. (Signed) WORD FANCIER. 
 
 SIR, Mr. Plimsoll has done good service to the State by having called 
 the attention of Parliament to the unnecessary yearly destruction of the 
 lives of more than 500 brave sailors. 
 
 In his admirable speech, however, Mr. Plimsoll did not fully realize 
 to his own mind the important manner in which all the evidence shows 
 that marine insurance has led to this excessive mortality. 
 
 Insurances are effected beyond the value of the thing assured. The 
 loss of the object assured is thus an event to be desired, because it produces 
 a pecuniary gain. The desire for the event leads to its occurrence. Ships 
 and goods are desired to be lost. Ships are consequently wrecked, and 
 therefore the poor sailors perish. 
 
 Marine insurance leads directly to the following results : 
 
 1. Ships are scuttled. 
 
 2. Ships are burnt. 
 
 3. Ships are run ashore. 
 
 4. Ships are deserted. 
 
 5. Ships are sailed unsound. 
 
 6. Ships are imperfectly stored. 
 
 7. Ships are shortly manned. 
 
 8. The freight is uncared for. 
 
 9. Valueless articles are substituted for valuable freight. 
 
 Whenever any of these events happens a claim, arises. Insurers are 
 defrauded, and the lamentable consequences to underwriters, shareholders 
 of marine companies, and to bond fide assurers, so graphically depicted by 
 the correspondents of the * Insurance Times,' are brought to pass. 
 
 The first object in a civilized country is the preservation of life, and 
 the second the protection of property ; hence the temptation to fraud 
 which marine assurance offers, by the destruction of property and conse- 
 quent loss of life, should be restrained by legislative enactments. 
 
362 APPENDIX. [No. XXXIII. 
 
 There are reasons to suppose that ships doomed to destruction, together 
 with their cargoes, are frequently assured to many times their value. 
 
 No insurance ought to be permitted beyond three-quarters of the value 
 of the object assured, so that the owner may have a direct interest in the 
 preservation of the thing assured. 
 
 Any enactment should provide against the probability of the payment 
 of a claim beyond the intrinsic value of the object assured. This might 
 be done by the public registration of every claim paid. 
 
 With regard to the past, perhaps it would be more magnanimous to 
 let bygones be bygones ; but if it be thought advisable to make an example 
 to deter others, then it is manifest that the archives of all the winding-up 
 marine companies would supply ample materials for a wholesale punish- 
 ment of the worst offenders. 
 
 The exposures which have already taken place in the ' Insurance Times ' 
 are reported already to have made the stoutest hearts of the delinquents to 
 quake, but Parliament next session will take care that marine insurance 
 shall no longer lead to the death of sailors and the destruction of ships. 
 
 Westminster. (Signed) JTTDEX. 
 
 SIR, There is a phase of marine insurance which has not as yet been 
 noticed by any of your correspondents, and that is the bearing which the 
 electric telegraph has upon the results of marine insurance. In former 
 times every marine risk offered was a fair insurance risk, as the result was 
 unknown. Now, however, the electric telegraph extends so far, and com- 
 municates its intelligence so rapidly, that persons are able to effect 
 insurances after the event has happened. As a matter of fact it is 
 possible now to hear of a loss of a vessel in America, and assure the 
 vessel, if lost in Europe, by the clock time before it was lost. To assure a 
 contingent event after the event has happened is no insurance at all, but 
 direct, downright robbery, and yet it has been known that ships have been 
 chartered to convey the intelligence of the loss of a vessel to the nearest 
 electric telegraph station, from which a telegram has been sent directing 
 assurances to be effected upon a lost vessel. Neither insurance offices nor 
 underwriters can stand against claims arising in this manner, and the only 
 wonder is that this class of cheating has not been described before. 
 
 (Signed) R. T. 
 
 No. XXXIII. 
 ANONYMOUS LETTERS ON CHANCERY REFORM. 
 
 CHANCERY LIQUIDATIONS. 
 
 Remarkable stories are current amongst the members of the Bar, of 
 the power which some liquidators claim to possess as officers of the Court 
 of Chancery, and more wonderful facts are narrated of the means by which 
 some of these appointments have been obtained. 
 
 In some liquidations every legal quibble is raised. Acts done for the 
 
No. XXXIII.] APPENDIX. 363 
 
 common good are misrepresented. Bygone transactions are questioned. 
 Fraud is freely imputed. Agreements acted upon for years are repudiated. 
 Every possible proceeding in law or equity is taken to make costs ; and the 
 very costs themselves are sometimes the subject of arrangement between 
 the liquidators and the lawyers. 
 
 Terrified contributories submit to any extortion. Even security for 
 money is exacted from their families or connections by the threat of 
 breaking up their homes. Some, maddened by a sense of persecution, 
 become insane. Some commit suicide, stupefied by despair. Some perish 
 from disease, caused by protracted anxiety. Some go abroad to die in 
 other lands ; and others become reckless, declaring that there is neither 
 justice nor mercy for a contributory. 
 
 Some liquidations have existed for years, and will continue for years 
 to come. Other liquidations have paid no dividend to this day. The 
 expenses of some liquidations have eaten up nearly the entire estate. 
 Nevertheless, all this is done under the pretence of the sanction of the 
 High Court of Parliament. 
 
 The Chancery judges have shown themselves to be as helpless as 
 creditors are to restrain the power which liquidators have assumed ; but 
 what the Court cannot do, Parliament must. 
 
 SHALL LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANIES CHANGE THEIR DOMICILES TO 
 AVOID THE MEDDLING INTERFERENCE OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE 
 PERNICIOUS JURISDICTION OF THE COURT OF CHANCERY ? 
 
 FELLOW POLICY-HOLDERS, The dangers to which we are exposed 
 demand immediate action, as our property is continually in peril. 
 Unprincipled persons are always seeking to destroy the credit of the 
 various offices in which we are assured. Some desire to ingratiate them- 
 selves with the Board of Trade to become its referee. Some hope to gain 
 the inordinate fortunes which liquidators obtain. Needy lawyers are 
 always on the alert to destroy a company, that they may bring actions 
 and Chancery suits against the unhappy contributories ; and it is even 
 alleged that black mail is often sought to be extorted from directors, 
 under threat of attacking the company, or the presentation and adver- 
 tising of a winding-up petition. 
 
 Judges in Chancery have given evidence that they are powerless to 
 prevent these iniquities, although they must be held, by the public, 
 responsible for them. Chancery courts open up questions settled 
 years before, and thus tend to demoralize the community by teaching 
 them repudiation. Persons first seek, by the aid of a meddling Govern- 
 ment, to lower the credit of the company ; then, as soon as its credit is 
 impaired, it becomes food for the harpies of Chancery, who get enormous 
 incomes, and realize large fortunes, by the ruin of innocent men. The 
 legal profession, besides, talk of a scandal which no man dare tackle. Any 
 attempt to cleanse the Augean stable must be a vain mockery : nothing 
 less than the abolition of the Courts of Chancery can suffice. The judges 
 should be called upon to frame laws, that men may know the law and 
 obey it : and the judges should no longer exercise their individual will by 
 
364 APPENDIX. [No. XXXIII 
 
 the interpretation of the motives and equities of transactions, years after 
 their occurrence, upon the garbled statements of counsel and lawyers, 
 who stir up strife to live upon the contention. Men of fortune and 
 position now fear to undertake the duties of director, and yet for the 
 conduct of Life Assurance we want men as ' upright as the judges 
 themselves. 
 
 England is the only country in Europe subject to the caprice of 
 Chancery. All other nations view it with the intensest horror. Here one 
 honourable judge praises an act done under difficult circumstances, whilst 
 another equally honourable judge, upon the same facts and upon the 
 arguments of the same counsel, declares the same act to be fraudulent, 
 and condemns the innocent victim in ruinous costs. Unprincipled lawyers 
 employ unscrupulous counsel, supposed to have private influence, and to 
 have the faculty of using strong language where the profits of a liquidation 
 are at stake ; and there have been scenes in court as to facts, so great is 
 the voracity of the vultures, when they see a prospect of a carcase to 
 devour. Some liquidations have taken years when they might have been 
 settled in months, but for Chancery. Contributories have been ruined ; 
 and what the creditors should have had, the lawyers, liquidators, and 
 counsel got. 
 
 If Chancery cannot be abolished, and all its terrible demoralizing 
 machinery swept away, Life Policy-holders should require that their 
 companies be removed to some other kingdom, out of the jurisdiction of 
 the English Chancery, and away from the pernicious meddling of the 
 English Government officials. 
 
 TRIPLE POLICY-HOLDER. 
 
 JUDGES AND THEIR FAMILY RELATIVES. 
 
 The propriety of barristers practising in courts of law presided over 
 by their relatives now demands consideration, as the matter requires 
 immediate action. 
 
 The legal profession condemn the practice, as the public never can 
 respect decisions given under such circumstances. 
 
 Rightly or wrongly, suitors anticipate defeat if a relative of the judge 
 is employed on the opposite side. 
 
 On account of this prevalent idea, crafty solicitors seek to retain the 
 relation, whereby injustice is inflicted on other members of the Bar, and 
 dissatisfaction caused to the public. 
 
 When suitors hear a relative of the judge make an unfounded state- 
 ment, or use strong language, they fear that their cause will be lost, and 
 when lost they believe the decision to be unjust. 
 
 It is agreed on all hands that a relation of a judge must, in future, 
 be prohibited from acting before him. 
 
 This rule may press heavily upon some barristers, but the time has 
 come when public opinion demands that barristers should not practise 
 before judges who are their family relatives. 
 
No. XXXIIL] APPENDIX. 365 
 
 CHANCERY REFORM. 
 
 The present session of Parliament is passing away ; but the infirmities 
 of the Courts of Chancery remain. 
 
 Our estimable Lord Chancellor, anxious to do good, has done much, 
 harm, by seeking to change the Court of Final Appeal, which has ever 
 commanded the confidence of the Bar, whilst he has neglected to reform 
 the Courts of Equity, in which the scandals occur that are so justly the 
 subject of universal complaint. 
 
 The will of the Equity judge is absolute law, and great fear is inspired 
 when the opposing lawyer leads to the supposition that he has private 
 access to the judge. 
 
 As the Equity judge is all-powerful, he must be held responsible for the 
 shortcomings of his chief clerks, for the misdeeds of his liquidators, and 
 for the cost-makings of the lawyers practising in his court. 
 
 The Bar have a right to complain when they are not permitted to speak 
 upon briefs which have been prepared with anxious care and enormous 
 cost; suitors will complain when the judge refuses his attention to hear 
 the arguments : and both the Bar and the public marvel when the judge 
 sleeps during the statement of the case, and only wakes to give judgment 
 upon that of which he knows nothing. 
 
 The public will no longer tolerate the fortunes of a suitor to be im- 
 perilled by the dictum of one man, subservient as it may be to prejudice, 
 to influence, to infirmity, or to temper. A twinge of the gout, a fit of sleep, 
 or an indiscretion in the diet of a judge, may make or mar the happiness 
 of a family for ever. 
 
 It is cruel mockery in many cases to suggest an appeal. The costs 
 are ruinous, and the deposit of the money at issue in most cases imprac- 
 ticable. To appeal is to be hung first, to be tried afterwards. 
 
 It is the duty of the Bar to ensure justice, and they now declare that 
 it is necessary for that object that every court should be presided over by 
 two judges, who, on failure of concurring in a decision, should call in a 
 third. Every judge should retain the vigour of youth to appreciate the 
 facts, and possess the maturity of age to adjudicate upon them ; all others 
 should retire from the bench. 
 
 THE SLEEPING JUDGE. 
 
 The Equity Bar has for some years past been placed in a painful 
 position by one of their esteemed judges being unable to keep awake on 
 the bench. 
 
 Sooner or later the feebleness of age will overtake us all, but sound 
 sleep on the bench must be regarded as incompatible with judicial 
 functions. 
 
 Suitors are frantic when they find that their case has never been 
 heard. The Bar do their best to make the judge hear, for when he awakes, 
 to their horror he decides upon a different state of facts, from only having 
 heard a part of the case. 
 
 A growing discontent and distrust of the decisions of the Chancery 
 judges is observable amongst the public, as they allege that it is natural 
 that the infirmity of age should rest upon the vigour of youth ; and this 
 
366 APPENDIX. [No. XXXIV. 
 
 has been increased by the injudicious, and doubtless false, boastings of 
 certain low class lawyers. 
 
 The Bar unite iii considering that the time has come when the judge 
 who daily cannot refrain from sleeping on the bench should rest on his 
 former well-earned laurels, when everyone will heartily wish him a long 
 and happy life to enjoy that to which we may all fairly aspire otium 
 cum dignitate. 
 
 CHANCERY REFORM. 
 
 The highest expectations are entertained by the Chancery Bar of the 
 reforms anticipated to be made by the learned and earnest mind now pre- 
 siding over our Courts of Equity ; but much may be done before his great 
 scheme of reform can be perfected and brought into operation. 
 
 Any judge who, from peculiarity of habit or infirmity of age, sleeps 
 on the bench during the argument, should gracefully retire, and two judges 
 should preside over each of the lower courts, to satisfy suitors that 
 partiality for any particular advocate does not exist. 
 
 The scandal of the present combination of liquidator and lawyer has 
 arisen from modern legislation, and is one of the worst features of Chancery 
 administrations. Needy accountants and wit-making lawyers now get a 
 higher remuneration than the Vice-chancellors themselves, by using the 
 funds of the creditors to harass contributories for their own gain, and 
 matters which might be settled in five minutes now frequently occupy as 
 many years. 
 
 Unfortunately but few of our present Equity judges have been behind 
 the scenes to know the working of this machinery, which has caused so 
 much dissatisfaction; but they must perceive that a restriction of the 
 discretionary powers of liquidators is now absolutely necessary. 
 
 By careful regulations a court of appeal may be rendered less neces- 
 sary, and confidence in the administration in the Court of Chancery 
 restored. . 
 
 No. XXXIV. 
 
 A GOSSIP ABOUT GARDENING. A Lecture delivered impromptu, 
 December 4, 1871. By ALFRED SMEE, F.R.S. 
 
 ABOUT two thousand years ago, the great poet Horace said that the height 
 of his ambition was to have a garden with a crystal stream running 
 through it, and also a small wood. 
 
 That also is my case, and my wish, as I suppose his was, has been 
 gratified ; and on this occasion I will shortly give you an account of the 
 philosophy by which we conduct our garden, and of some of the more 
 remarkable plants which are grown therein. 
 
 All plants, as you know, are organized beings which require certain 
 forces for their development. In the first place, it is absolutely necessary 
 that they have a sufficient supply of the light of the sun. Light is one of 
 the most important physical agents which we use. Some plants require 
 the full light of the sun, for instance, the cucumber as grown in our 
 
No. XXXIV.] APPENDIX. 367 
 
 frames; others require it more subdued, for instance, the ferns which 
 grow in the caves. Then again, we are obliged to shield some of our plants 
 from the light, such as the orchids ; and lastly, we have to grow some in 
 dark caves, as in the case of some fungi, and other of the lower plants 
 which require almost a total exclusion of light. Now with regard to light, 
 we place our plants which require little light on a North aspect, and those 
 which require much light on a South aspect, but we must also shade our 
 houses. One of the best plans for shading is to make use of coloured 
 glass, which filters out many of the rays. This plan is adopted in the 
 Royal Gardens at Kew, where it seems to answer very well. At Paris they 
 have series of pantile laths placed side by side, leaving a little gap between 
 them ; and lastly we cut off the light from many of our plants by putting 
 a linen shade over our houses. Now, unless you regulate the light, you 
 may give up all idea of cultivation. It is no use to try without it, for you 
 cannot succeed. 
 
 Well then, besides light, every plant requires a certain amount of 
 heat, and unless it has this it will not grow. It will be in vain for you to 
 try to grow the sugar-cane in this climate ; it would be in vain for you to 
 try to grow the geranium in Jamaica : for the sugar-cane would not 
 have enough heat here, and the geranium would have too much heat in 
 Jamaica, so that in either case the plant would be destroyed. You must 
 know, then, the right temperature at which the plant will grow. If you 
 employ more heat than what is required, as is usual in this country, your 
 plant will die. When I was at Florence, a botanist told me that he could not 
 grow Alpine plants there, the climate was too hot. With regard to heat a 
 very curious thing must be noticed, and that is, that heat must be applied 
 at certain intervals. Heat and light must be applied to every plant, so 
 that the plant rests and then grows, and then rests again. Hest is as 
 necessary to a plant as it is to man, and many of our plants are not able 
 to be successfully grown because we are not able to give them their precise 
 intervals of rest and growth as in their native spots. The Alpine plants 
 in the summer are exposed to the full heat of the sun, but in winter they 
 are kept warm by a thick covering of snow. 
 
 Now, not only do we have these considerations of light and heat, but a 
 certain condition of the atmosphere is absolutely necessary to vegetation ; 
 there must be a certain amount of moisture in the air. It must be dry at 
 the right time, it must be wet at the right time; and unless you are 
 acquainted with the proper time to apply moisture and to withhold it, your 
 garden will be a failure. Take the delicate vine : it sprouts in spring and 
 requires the air to be moist. If you expose it to a dry atmosphere, you 
 injure the tissues of the plant ; but if you carry on your moisture above a 
 certain point, the plant will keep on growing and be injured. During the 
 period when the leaves are sprouting a damp atmosphere is necessary ; as 
 it forms its berries the atmosphere is gradually dried, and when the fruit 
 attains perfection you give all the air and light you can, and a much drier 
 atmosphere than you had before. 
 
 Now we all know that electricity is an important agent in nature. 
 Some years ago some extraordinary ideas were put forward as to the effects 
 of electricity upon plants. So far as we know, at the present moment, all 
 we can say is, that we know not at all what effect electrical force has upon 
 plants, either upon their growth or maturation. Experiments were tried 
 
368 APPENDIX. [No. XXXIV. 
 
 by placing wires over plants in the hope that electricity might be excited, 
 but they were all useless. I have myself kept plants under considerable 
 tension in a room in a house, but I could see no effect whatever, and I 
 may fairly say that we have not the remotest notion of the way in which 
 electricity will affect a plant. But we see what electricity will do in the 
 violent discharge which takes place in a thunderstorm : if a tree is struck, 
 the lightning goes down it just under the bark, and then jumps to the 
 ground where it is wet or damp, so that the bark of the tree is peeled off, 
 and this is one of the common effects of an electric discharge on a growing 
 tree. I have the figure of a tree which was struck in the grounds of a 
 friend of mine. It stood in a field where some hurdles were placed, and 
 the electric discharge could be traced from the tree to a point where these 
 hurdles entered the ground. This may be taken as the effect of lightning 
 upon a tree. Those stories which we hear of trees dying because struck 
 by lightning are merely fables ; and as far as I have seen, in many in- 
 stances the effect which is produced is that the bark is thrown off and 
 torn and loosened all round the tree. With regard to the immediate 
 effects produced by electricity on the growth of plants, nothing is known, 
 and in my opinion it has no important effect on vegetation at all. 
 
 But having a knowledge of these forces and even using them aright, 
 the plant will not grow unless put in proper earth. A peach in a pot will 
 never bear fruit unless you have hammered down the earth about its roots 
 as hard as you can, and one great expense in growing these plants is that 
 a great many pots are broken by the force which has to be applied in thus 
 hammering the earth. The mallet is used so that the roots come in 
 contact with the earth, and then the plant will do well. 
 
 Now the camellia, treated in the same way, will surely die, for the 
 roots of the camellia require a more porous earth, and the distribution of 
 the material among them should be light and peaty. I may mention that 
 in Florence, where the camellia was first introduced into Europe from 
 Japan by a monk of the name of Camella, they grow their plants in rotten 
 chestnut wood, and in that only. I was very much struck with this, and 
 in one garden the gardener said, " Yes, when I receive plants from your 
 country, I shake off all the stuff you put them in and change the soil." I 
 have tried camellias in various soils. If you put them in loam, it will kill 
 them. I have tried them in rotten wood and tan, and find them to grow 
 admirably well. This shows the necessity for a particular sort of soil to 
 the growth of a plant. It must have certain ingredients, and these ought 
 to be sought for in the analysis of the ashes of the plant. Our knowledge 
 on this point is in a most imperfect state, but we may say that almost and 
 perhaps all plants require a certain amount of phosphates and a certain 
 amount of potash. These are essential. There are other particular 
 materials in specific plants. The grasses require a large amount of flint 
 in their composition. Other plants require other definite salts, but potash 
 and lime seem to be required by all, and it would be as impossible to 
 grow them without these bodies as it would be to grow them without 
 light and heat. 
 
 Now this brings us to another point; how are plants nourished? 
 They are nourished from certain constituents of the atmosphere. A 
 certain amount of carbonic acid exists in the air, and it is from that that 
 the fibre of a plant is made. With regard to the nitrogenous materials 
 
No. XXXIV.] APPENDIX. 369 
 
 found in the composition of plants, they take it from the ammonia and 
 nitrates in the soil. 
 
 Under all these conditions you will succeed ; without all these condi- 
 tions you can never be a successful horticulturist. 
 
 We know how to grow our plants ; now what plants are we to grow, 
 and how are we to obtain them ? In the first place we obtain them from 
 seeds. But what do we obtain from seeds ? A plant of a like species to 
 that from which the seed came. Of a like species, but likely to vary some- 
 what. There are certain limits to variation, but those limits of variation 
 are marked. Take the wild crab, which is so acrid that you cannot eat it : 
 compare that with the ribstone pippin. There is a wide difference between 
 them, but within the limit of variation. Take a wild pear, compare that 
 with the delicious pear of the present day, and the variation is enormous, 
 yet it is within the limit of variation, and horticulturists have never found 
 that one species transforms itself into another. I may say from experience 
 that I have never seen anything which could indicate to my mind that one 
 species of plant could be converted into another, and I do not believe that 
 there is any conversion of one into another, but simply that each species, 
 by itself, exhibits varieties which differ greatly sometimes, but are always 
 within the limit of variation, the progeny being only varieties of the same 
 species, and not being different species. This I believe to be the sum and 
 substance of all that is true of what is familiarly known as Darwinism. 
 
 Well, we have then from our seed a plant with a certain likeness to 
 the preceding plant, but which has this difference, that members raised 
 from the seeds of the same plant exhibit certain peculiarities. We, there- 
 fore, want to propagate any good variety that turns up ; how do we 
 proceed to propagate an improved variety ? Without knowing how to do 
 this we could not get on, and it is a matter of fundamental importance. 
 We want commonly to grow that which is improved ; how then shall we 
 propagate that improved variety which is turned up by accident or by high 
 cultivation ? In the first place, a convenient mode of propagating a plant 
 is by layering it. This is done by putting a part of the plant under the 
 ground, when it will take root and will be part of the original plant with 
 roots of its own, and you can cut it off and it then grows as an independent 
 plant, and that propagation of the original plant may take place to any 
 extent. Sometimes we want to propagate in a more remarkable manner, 
 and then we put part of one plant on part of another. This operation is 
 grafting. I cut off a shoot of one plant and put the shoot of another in 
 its place, then I have the last variety growing upon a stock of the first. 
 It may be a saddle graft, where a notch is cut in one part to fit the other ; 
 or it may be a whipped graft, where the two cut parts are side by side, or a 
 hole may be cut in the one and the other thrust into it. But there is one 
 condition on which only you can be successful : you must bring the new 
 wood of the one against the new wood of the other. By this process we 
 multiply any trees that we like upon another stock. 
 
 Then we propagate the same individual by the division of bulbs or by 
 dividing the roots, as in the Amaryllis tribe. You see then that when we 
 want to cultivate the same variety as we had before, we must not resort to 
 the seed, which may give us a plant with some slight difference from the 
 parent plant, and it is only by a special mode of propagation that we can 
 make any particular variety continue to produce the same variety year by 
 
 2 B 
 
370 APPENDIX. [No. XXXIV. 
 
 year. That is a very important point. In the propagation of our fungi 
 the same thing occurs ; the fungi have very small spores, which answer to 
 the seeds of other plants. They start, throw out minute threads, and give 
 rise to a new plant. If we come across a particularly good mushroom, it is 
 no use to try and propagate it by the spores. This must be done by the 
 mycelium, which consists of minute threads which traverse the ground in 
 which the mushroom grows, and which is commonly known as mushroom 
 spawn. By this we can propagate any particular variety. So that the 
 modes of propagation of plants are, the propagation of different varieties 
 by seeds, and the propagation of any specific variety by cuttings, grafting, 
 division of roots, budding, by spores, and by many other ways. 
 
 Having noticed those great points upon which we must base our 
 operations in order to ensure successful horticulture, I should like in 
 imagination to take you round my garden, and say a few words about the 
 plants which grow in it. 
 
 I will first say a few words about the vegetables. They are not the 
 most interesting perhaps, though you all know how important they are. 
 You know it has been said that more people have perished from want 
 of vegetable food than have ever perished in battle, and probably at 
 the present time there are as many lives saved by taking vegetable 
 food to sea as ever were lost by sending ships to sea. With this before 
 us we have to consider what vegetables we should grow. To my mind, 
 the king of all vegetables is the watercress. To have it at its best it 
 must be grown in a very pure stream of water, which ought to come 
 from the depths of the earth at the temperature of those depths, say 
 52 F., and then ought to run over a clean pebbly bed. To start, you take a 
 handful of watercresses and put a stone upon them, then another and so on 
 until you have covered the space on which you want them to grow ; and 
 then, if you pick them fresh from the brook, they are one of the most 
 wholesome vegetables which the country can afford. But you often see 
 them grown upon the verge of sewage beds, and then consequences may 
 arise from eating them which are almost too serious for me to contemplate. 
 You have heard of the terrors of the tapeworm ; you know that it may 
 consist of two or three hundred joints, and that each of these may contain 
 about 30,000 ova. If you consider that these are common in the sewage 
 beds and that they are so distributed to the watercress plant, and if you 
 consider that they are thus taken into the animal economy, you may judge 
 the danger there is in using watercresses, and the necessity for preventing 
 their sale under those circumstances. When they are sold in the neigh- 
 bourhood of large towns, the danger is much greater than those who eat 
 them are aware of. We cannot all get perfectly pure and fresh water- 
 cresses, but I can. My crystal brook comes to my aid. But we cannot all 
 have this crystal brook. 
 
 Now mustard is always at hand. We buy mustard, but we get rape 
 seed. These two are very much alike, and there are very few who can tell 
 the difference. But there is a total difference in their quality, and what 
 we pay for we ought to have. But those who sell, think they ought to sell 
 us the cheapest article at the dearest rate. 
 
 But I will not detain you with the salading plants, I will not take you 
 through the various herbs, except that I will say one word upon one of 
 them. I have a plant of absinthe, not to use myself or to give my friends, 
 
No. XXXIV.] APPENDIX. 371 
 
 but to point to as a dangerous plant. Absinthe is now drunk enormously 
 in Paris. From four to six o'clock in the afternoon, everyone is drinking 
 this absinthe, and I have consulted my brother medical practitioners of 
 France, who say that many brain diseases and epileptic fits are produced 
 by taking this pernicious herb. Therefore, if you have it, have it to 
 show persons that they may not introduce it into this country. 
 
 I will pass from vegetables to fruit trees. I like fruit, and I find that 
 most of my visitors do not object to it also. Let us begin with the apple. 
 We all liked apples as children, and not only do children like them, but 
 the geese, and not only geese but the fowls, and not only the fowls but 
 horses, and not only horses but the oxen ; and I know this because my bull 
 got out and ate up a whole tree of apples, tree and all. Now the varieties 
 of apples are mere varieties of the wild crab. They are all within the limit 
 of the variation we may obtain of any one plant, and they are not new 
 species. But these varieties are very numerous : I have more than 
 three hundred kinds. I believe there are one or two thousand varieties 
 which are not recorded. Many varieties are obtained by horticultural 
 processes. Now, with good management, we ought to have an apple for 
 every day in the year. You begin with a little apple which ripens in July. 
 You go on step by step until you have apples ripening at Christmas. You 
 go on again until March, and then you still have apples, for there are 
 some which do not become ripe until March, and we finish off with the 
 French crab in June, which is not only in perfection then, but will last 
 over a second year ; and so by a little careful adjustment we may have not 
 only culinary, but also eating apples all the year round. About thirty to 
 forty kinds are amply sufficient for this purpose. 
 
 Then we come to the pear ; but pears are either very fine or very bad, 
 and we must make a much more careful selection. If we begin by the end 
 of July with a small early pear, and go on from one to another, we can 
 have fruit well into the winter. That delicious pear the " Marie Louise," 
 I may say in parenthesis, was raised by Van Mons, a Dutchman. There is 
 an enormous number of different varieties, and in selecting a Variety you 
 have to go over an extensive range to find one truly fine pear. 
 
 Now we go to work in a particular manner with pears to obtain quick 
 produce. "He who grows pears grows for his heirs," is an old saying. 
 Virgil says, "Plant pears, and thy posterity shall gather the fruit." But 
 we know how to get them much sooner. We must proceed in a true horti- 
 cultural manner for this purpose. We cut the shoot of a pear-tree true off 
 and plant it upon a quince. By grafting it in this way we render the pear- 
 tree fertile, and then in a year or two we get fruit which we might have 
 had to wait twenty years for if the tree had been grown in the ordinary 
 way. It is to be observed that the quince stock should be cut off close to 
 the ground, not under the ground, or else the pear will throw out roots 
 and you will be no better off than if you had planted the pear-tree. 
 
 Having planted our pear-trees, we must train them in a particular 
 way. We so arrange that the quince stock comes exactly level with the 
 ground, then all the upper part is the pear-tree, and this must be trained 
 in a certain manner to allow the light and warmth to come upon the fruit. 
 We cut the branches into the form of a pyramid, as near as may be, to 
 look like a Jack-in-the-green. Every branch is exposed to the sun and 
 light, and upon every branch, there we get the pears. 
 
 2 B 2 
 
372 APPENDIX. [No. XXXIV. 
 
 We pass from the pears to the plums, which are secondary ; and from 
 those to the grape-vines, which I have already told you how to manage ; 
 and I pass from those to the nut-trees, where you must notice 'the two 
 blossoms, from one of which the catkins, the male part of the flower, come 
 out early in January and February. Then a little red flower comes out, 
 and that is the female part of the flower, so that it is divided into two 
 parts, and this is a very interesting thing to observe. The first time in 
 February you have the opportunity, examine that pretty little flower, for 
 very few have ever noticed it. 
 
 The time runs on, and when one gets into a favourite subject one may 
 go on a much longer time than I could speak to you, or you would care 
 to hear me. 
 
 For the flowers and plants I must tell you what I grow. I am a lover 
 of ferns. Fern roots do not like to be soddened in water and do not like to 
 be dry : now you must find the happy medium. They should be never dry, 
 ever moist, and yet neither too dry nor too moist. The best way to manage 
 that is to plant them upon a bank. And what happens ? There is always 
 moisture draining through the earth, and the wet is always running away 
 from the roots, and if you plant them in that way you will have as luxuriant 
 specimens as are to be seen anywhere. Now ferns you know as a rule like 
 a little shade, not too much, however. There are some which will bear the 
 full blaze of the sun. The, Osmunda regalis and the beautiful feathery 
 fern bear well the light of the sun. ; but next in order we come to those 
 delicate ferns which will not bear so much light, and these we must put 
 in another situation. I have never succeeded in growing the fern of 
 Tunbridge Wells without shelter. It is a most delicate jfern, and is 
 altogether a most charming plant. But the way I can manage, with most 
 perfect success, is to buiy in the ground a little square box, put in the 
 fern, and then put a piece of glass over it : that is sufficient to protect 
 it from the wind and to keep up a continual moisture, and it never 
 gets materially frozen; and so, many of these tender ferns may be grown 
 to perfection. I have grown in this way that wonderful fern which was 
 discovered by Captain Cook in New Zealand, the Todea superba, so you 
 will see what may be done by a simple protection of glass. Sometimes we 
 adopt other plans : we make a little pocket for the plant by putting two or 
 three stones round it in a little hole, and so it has the advantage of full 
 light and air and yet is protected. There are many exotic ferns, however, 
 which will grow out of doors as well as the English ferns, but we carry 
 their outward growth to a greater extent by housing some of the delicate 
 ones in the winter and putting them out of doors in the summer. In this 
 way the large tree-ferns will grow, and show their forms remarkably well. 
 In this way many ferns from other parts of the world will grow success- 
 fully. This is what we cannot do altogether out of doors ; we have to 
 shelter them in a house, and there, by a judicious arrangement, we can 
 obtain that creation of the poet's idea, perpetual summer. To go into my 
 house in winter when all there is beautiful and green, and then to come 
 out and regard the snow and ice and naked trees, is an effect which is as 
 remarkable as it is beautiful. 
 
 I do not altogether neglect the gaudy flowers which are known as 
 florists' flowers, where geraniums are selected as monstrosities and where 
 many other plants are grown in the same way ; but though these are showy 
 
No. XXXIV.] APPENDIX. 373 
 
 they are not to be classed with the lovely Alpine flowers which decorate the 
 mountains in the Apennines and Pyrenees. I have many hundred species 
 of these. They can be grown with perfect ease on one condition, that you 
 allow no gardener to dig amongst them, and that you leave them carefully 
 alone as soon as they are established. I know of no greater pleasure than 
 to select your flower on the mountain and bring it home to plant in youi 
 garden, and then to see them as reminiscences of the beautiful scenes you 
 have before seen. My Alpinery is a very delightful place to me. I always 
 go there to see what flower is out ; the last was the Lily of the field of the 
 Bible, the plant to which were applied those celebrated words which I will 
 not now venture to repeat. That is an Amaryllis. In the sandy places 
 where it grows, it comes up and makes a display of bright flowers. Then 
 there are the Saxifrages, and the grass of Parnassus, which was thought so 
 beautiful as to be dedicated to the Muses. It may be found in Whitby in 
 quantities. Then there is another plant in the Alpinery which I must 
 notice, the Linncea borealis. It is the smallest of all the honeysuckles, and 
 that great naturalist chose it as a type of himself, because it had so lowly 
 an origin. He obtained permission from the king to use it in his coat- 
 of-arms. It is a very scarce plant, and I can hardly describe the pleasure 
 I have found in seeing it in a wood in Aberdeenshire. I brought a large 
 block with the earth on in triumph home with me, and there it grows. We 
 are not restricted to foreign plants ; our very woods and fields are beautiful 
 with flowers. There is no more beautiful plant than the marsh marigold ; 
 to see it growing in spring is a sight not to be forgotten. Its perfection 
 of form renders it a plant which is one of the beauties of our streams. The 
 purple loosestrife which grows by the banks of the Thames renders them a 
 perfect flower garden. When we find the wild digitalis, the wild violet, 
 the wild honeysuckle, and many other plants, we may say that there is a 
 beautiful flower garden in our woods. I was never more struck than when 
 I saw some drawings of some wild flowers ; I found that we had put aside 
 for our garden-flowers, others which had higher claims. The time has 
 nearly run out, but am I not to speak of my orchids, my bees, and my 
 flies ? Am I not to speak of the man orchid, which looks as though a 
 little man were dangling from the flower ? This is to be found within a 
 few miles of London. The curious fly orchid is not far off, and must not 
 be forgotten. The remarkable dancing girl orchid which we have in our 
 houses is worthy of notice ; every flower, by a little exercise of imagination, 
 is converted into a dancing girl. There is another remarkable one which 
 is called the dove orchid, and when you look into the flower of this you see 
 a perfect figure of a dove. It is looked upon with considerable superstition 
 by the Spaniards in Central America where it grows. I cannot describe 
 the many beauties we grow, and it would take much longer to describe the 
 plants we might grow. A garden must ever be a source of great pleasure 
 to a man ; it helps him over his troubles, soothes his nervous system, and 
 carries his mind from the beautiful things which grow there to the Author 
 and Designer of them all. 
 
374 APPENDIX. [No. XXXV. 
 
 No. XXXV. 
 SPEECHES DELIVERED AT ROCHESTER BY ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 1. SPEECH AT A COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO ALFRED SMEE, 
 DECEMBER 19TH, 1868. 
 
 MR. SMEE, who on rising was received with loud cheering, said: Mr. 
 Chairman, my Lord, and Gentlemen, It is with a great deal of diffidence 
 that I rise to express the thanks which I feel for the honour you have 
 done me this day, in asking me to come amongst you, after the defeat we 
 have experienced at the late election. We have unmistakably had a great 
 defeat in Rochester a defeat which we did not expect. The moment I 
 entered the city I received numerous promises of support ; those promises 
 came rolling in day by day till 10 o'clock each night : they amounted at 
 last to 1,024 on the day before the nomination. After the nomination, at 
 which, as you know, we gained the show of hands, that same evening no 
 more promises came, but promises began to fall off; withdrawals began 
 to be made, which showed the city must be under the power of certain 
 persons in it. (Sensation.) And on the next day these 1,024 promises 
 degenerated into 702 performances. (Shame.) Accustomed as I am to 
 numbers, I sat ticking off the votes at the Giiildhall as they came in, and I 
 soon saw that there was something wrong. I sent word to my committee, 
 " Why don't the voters come up ? " No answer came. I wrote again, 
 " Tell me, why don't the voters come up ? " A slip of paper then came 
 with s. d. upon it. (Sensation.) I understood at once the meaning. 
 Now there must be some very potential reason which prevented 1,024 
 promises from realizing more than 702 votes. In the first place, I think 
 many good Conservatives were victims to despair. I found they wor- 
 shipped success, and the moment they saw we were not at the head of the 
 poll they stayed at home and did not vote. (Shame.) With this despair it 
 is very difficult to deal ; and I can only call your attention to the wife of 
 that great man on whom our gracious Queen has bestowed a high honour. 
 In the difficulties and disappointments of her husband, she supported, she 
 comforted him, and all, even from the Queen on her throne, recognized 
 what she did. (Hear, hear.) I will commend the victims of despair to the 
 ladies of Rochester, and I am quite sure, as no " faint heart ever won fair 
 lady," the ladies of Rochester will never let a man become a coward 
 because his cause does not happen to win. (Cheers.) Mr. Smee then pro- 
 ceeded to quote the words of Sir Robert Peel, in the debate of 1833, in 
 which he argued that if property of 300 years' possession was not secure 
 to any establishment, little hope could be given of the safety of private 
 property. Lord Palmerston had also expressed a belief that the Church 
 and State establishment was essential to the constitution of every civilized 
 country. (Cheers.) Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning were of opinion that 
 the union of Church and State and the maintenance of the Irish Church 
 were necessary for the well-being of the empire. Could we, in the face of 
 all this great mass of opinions before us, proceed to vote step by step for 
 the disintegration of Church and State ? (No, no.) We had no need of 
 apologizing to Mr. Martin for having voted in the Conservative cause, even 
 
No. XXXV.] APPENDIX. 375 
 
 if we had known we should not have been successful. (Hear, hear.) But 
 despair was not the only cause of the defeat. There was a question which 
 would be tried by numerous petitions, viz. the one day's pay. This was a 
 very difficult question ; the one day's pay in some circumstances might, he 
 thought, be allowed and paid. He was advised that it should not be done 
 in Rochester in this election, and it was not done ; and to that trifle he 
 attributed a great deficiency in the votes. Numbers of men, again, were 
 compelled to vote as their masters wished, and not as they themselves 
 thought proper. He believed, if every voter had been free to vote as he 
 thought proper, three-fourths at least would have voted for the Conserva- 
 tive cause and not for the Liberals. (Cheers.) The parliamentary represen- 
 tation of the country had no doubt been considerably changed in the 
 present Parliament. For some years past the middle classes had princi- 
 pally been represented in Parliament, but now the working men were the 
 largest body amongst the electors. But in this city the men had been 
 compelled to vote as he had said, immediately against their own principles. 
 They had to vote in support of a party amongst whom was one man 
 Bright whose principles they all knew, viz. that he wished to get the 
 greatest amount of labour for the smallest amount of pay; and, again, 
 to receive the greatest amount of money for the smallest amount of the 
 necessaries of life. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Bright said that all dockyards were 
 useless, and it might come to pass that Chatham dockyard might be done 
 away with, in order that Mr. Bright might get the work put to tender 
 amongst his favourites in the North, and then the inhabitants of this 
 place would be left without anything but poverty and starvation. (Hear, 
 hear.) Now, it had been seriously impressed upon him to petition against 
 this return for the city of Rochester. He might have done so on safe 
 grounds. But he did not wish to disturb the peace of the city, and it 
 would have raised much ill feeling ; and he felt that the working of the 
 Act would be sufficiently proved by the fifty-four petitions which had been 
 sent up : by those the law would be sufficiently demonstrated. And he 
 would leave those masters who had not allowed their men to vote according 
 to their own wishes to be racked and tormented by their consciences. 
 (Hear, hear.) Those masters would be in constant fear that their men 
 would not be doing that justice which they would otherwise have expected, 
 and by that fear they would be tormented morning, noon, and night. 
 (Hear, hear.) Now he believed that the doctrines he had had the pleasure 
 of bringing before the city on many occasions would have their due weight. 
 The doctrines would spread and grow, and finally they would overthrow 
 the whole bulwark of Radicalism in the city. (Cheers.) 
 
 Now what had they to look forward to, and what had they to fear ? 
 As Conservatives they had a large majority against any other body of men 
 holding contrary principles ; but when they brought against the Conserva- 
 tives all the eccentricities of character and opinion which the kingdom 
 contained, they found themselves in a minority. Who were the Liberals ? 
 That body was composed of people professing opposite kinds of religion, 
 who joined together for a time to overthrow one of the principles of the 
 Constitution. (Hear, hear.) There was a confusion which ran through the 
 whole country. This was demonstrated by the fact that they could not 
 walk in the streets of London without being in fear of the garrotter ; they 
 could not sit in their houses without being in fear of the burglar. This was 
 
376 APPENDIX. [No. XXXV. 
 
 caused by the laws not being made to fit one another ; the laws should be 
 made upon one basis. In America they saw the same state of confusion exist. 
 At last it caused that country to divide into two parts, and war ensued ; 
 and many lives and millions of money that war cost. It was caused 
 simply by the want of principles. Nothing could be done by fits and 
 starts ; we must progress step by step from that which is good to that 
 which is better if ever we were to reach that height of perfection which 
 could be obtained under any human system. But the Conservatives must 
 prepare for their work by organization. (Cheers.) They must have over them 
 lieutenants of tens, captains of hundreds, and commanders of thousands, 
 by whom they must be led to the poll. They ought to be so organized 
 that at the next election the city could be canvassed in one night. (Cheers.) 
 They must also have unity amongst themselves. (Hear, hear.) There must 
 be one Conservative Association, and they must follow it, and then their 
 cause would succeed at the next election. (Cheers.) And having been 
 victorious in Rochester, step by step they would carry the Conservative 
 cause throughout the empire. He thanked them again for the honour they 
 had done him. Whatever he might be in future, and no one could tell 
 whether he would be their member, or would ever remain the adopted but 
 non-elected candidate for this city, he should ever be grateful for the kind 
 reception which had been granted him here. (Cheers.) And as long as he 
 lived, he should always remember the very kind manner in which they had 
 greeted him that evening. (Loud cheers.) 
 
 2. SPEECH DELIVERED ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESENTATION OF 
 PLATE AT THE CORN EXCHANGE, APRIL 2ND, 1874. 
 
 MR. SMEE rose to return thanks, being received with tremendous applause. 
 He said : Mr. Chairman, proposer, and seconder, I must confess it is not 
 a new era of my life to receive a testimonial ; for although I believe 
 it has not been due to my merits but to the kindness of my friends, I 
 have, either for services rendered or for fancied services rendered, received 
 during my life more than I either could have deserved or desired. (Ap- 
 plause.) I am proud to say that I have many most valuable tokens that 
 have been given to me. Then why should I accept this token from 
 you, and think it far more agreeable than any one that I have received 
 before? It is upon this principle, that whilst families, whilst single 
 people, have thought it necessary to give me testimonials before, this 
 is the first time in my life that I ever had a testimonial with a list of 
 names spreading across this room, and numbering hundreds of persons. 
 (Applause.) For why have you given me this testimonial ? (A voice : 
 Because you deserved it.) It is not for my merits, because there are many 
 peraons much more meritorious than I am (No, no) to whom you might 
 have given this testimonial better than to me. But I know it is upon 
 the truth of those principles that I have taken up and those principles 
 which I have discoursed upon in the city of Rochester. (Applause.) I 
 came here and said that I was an advocate for Conservative progress. 
 Mind you, what was done in a room in this city has been adopted by the 
 Prime Minister of this country. (Applause.) It commends itself to all your 
 attention, for I pointed out to you that by wise laws the working men of 
 
No. XXXV.] APPENDIX. 377 
 
 this country might be benefited with respect to the land upon which they 
 dwell, in the houses in which they live, in the food which they eat, in 
 the liquors they require to drink. In fact every social problem of life 
 demanded careful legislation and improvement with the knowledge of the 
 age, and I stood before you as a firm and warm advocate of Conservative 
 progress. (Applause.) There are two parties in this country ; one the 
 Conservatives, another who style themselves Liberals. We don't ; we call 
 them the Radical party. (Applause.) What are the Conservatives but the 
 great national party of this country ? (Applause.) They stand or go 
 forward from time to time, venerating the Constitution and fully support- 
 ing the Church ; and the principles upon which they rely will endure and 
 must endure from generation to generation. (Applause.) The Conservative 
 party is a substantial party. It is a party that has principles for its foun- 
 dation. It has unity of purpose ; and although of late years it has been 
 somewhat repressed by a combination against it, it has now come forward 
 triumphantly to maintain its proud position. (Applause.) And I am 
 delighted to see the success it has met in every part of this country, and 
 more especially the great rise which has taken place in the opinions of this 
 city. (Applause.) We find the Conservatives are distinguished by fixed 
 principles, by civilization, and by their love of order. Now let us see what 
 distinguishes the Liberals : false theories and barbarism. (Applause.) 
 Amongst the Liberals there are no two persons holding the same doctrines ; 
 every one has a fancy doctrine of his own. We find a combination of con- 
 flicting, erratic theories on religion, on science, on politics, on health, and 
 upon medicine. Every one calls himself a Liberal; every one dislikes 
 every other one of his class; but all join with the one common purpose of 
 opposing and of voting against the Conservatives. (Hear, hear.) That does 
 not constitute a party in itself. The union of dissimilar principles cannot 
 make a distinct and definite idea to work upon. We have to contend with 
 all the conflicting ideas of all mankind, but we rely upon truth, and truth 
 comes out victorious under every possible form of fair inquiry. (Applause.) 
 You see that the Liberals, or rather the Radicals, are like the bundle of 
 sticks every one dissimilar, but, joined together, forming a grand aggre- 
 gation of strength. Hitherto we, who are regarded as the " heart of oak," 
 have been unable to resist the " bundle of sticks " while tied together. But 
 the time has come when we must adopt their idea. We must be like a 
 bundle of sticks, move together, and then there is no power on earth which 
 can repress the Conservative progressionists. (Applause.) Now that is the 
 weak part of this city. If Conservative progress is to maintain its way, if 
 the constitutional institutions of this country are to maintain their own, 
 one and all, of all classes, must combine, must unite and go together to the 
 poll, and then victory is before them. (Applause.) If once it is to be pre- 
 sumed that the working men are entirely to lead, they will fail ; if the rich 
 are to consider that they are to lead, they will fail : but if the rich and 
 poor, if high and low and every grade of life, loving truth above all things, 
 will unite together, then their strength will be such that no power can 
 resist it. (Applause.) That is not my opinion alone. I have received this 
 day from Mr. Gorst, who, you know, is intimately connected with managing 
 election affairs throughout this country, a letter in which he says, " My 
 dear sir, I am very glad to hear that an effort is about to be made in the 
 city of Rochester for the re-organization of the Conservative party. Our 
 
378 APPENDIX. [No. XXXV. 
 
 success at the late general election was largely due to the existence in most 
 counties and boroughs in England of Conservative associations which 
 represented all classes of society. Elections cannot be won by the isolated 
 efforts of a few persons, however able and influential they may be ; what is 
 required is a combined effort on the part of all who are attached to the 
 Crown and the Constitution, and who desire the freedom of the people. 
 The Conservatives of Rochester may rely on our sympathy and assistance 
 in their attempt to constitute a united and powerful party in Rochester." 
 For the first time since the last election, which we lost from various causes, 
 you have constituted yourselves into committees to carry that out. You 
 have only to thoroughly organize those committees, and success is yours. 
 A gentleman has favoured us this evening with his presence my friend 
 Mr. Trego, Chairman of the Conservative organization at Tottenham 
 (applause) and he will tell you presently, if you call upon him, what 
 success attended his efforts in Tottenham, how hundreds voted at the last 
 election in comparison with tens who voted before; and as he won the 
 victory in Middlesex, so you may win Rochester by a thorough combination. 
 (Applause.) Do not let us neglect to follow the Liberals in whatever may 
 be good; and they in this city have done much to show what organization 
 can do. They have got a house for the purpose in which they " keep 
 dark," in which they attend to the registration and to the votes, and they 
 by that organization have obtained the advantage for many an election. 
 (Hear, hear.) But the working men of this city are powerful indeed, for 
 they constitute the majority ; they have only to be true to themselves, and 
 true to each other, and the member they desire will be placed at the head 
 of the poll. (Applause.) I look upon this letter as a pledge that they in 
 London will render every aid in their power if you do your duty in looking 
 after each other, and securing the vote of every man who is upon the 
 register. (Applause.) Now, the power of Conservatism over the country 
 cannot be too highly estimated. It is a matter of high principle ; it is a 
 matter of principle which influences eveiy action of our lives. We begin 
 by combining religion as a part of our government, feeling that it ought to 
 be carried on on just the same principles which we carry into every action 
 of our lives. (Hear, hear.) The working man is essentially Conservative ; by 
 nature he must be so. (Applause.) I will illustrate that by one simple 
 instance. I have alluded on other occasions to that machine which is con- 
 trived over in Strood by Mr. Aveling with its piston to go quick and its 
 wheels to go slow which can be seen in the streets of London continually. 
 Now, supposing you were to act contrary to principle to screw down the 
 safety valve it would be blown into ten thousand pieces. Or supposing 
 there was some little damage and the engine would not go at all, you would 
 not think of trusting it to any man to repair who did not understand the 
 principles upon which it was made. Yet this country has trusted the most 
 recondite principles of government, the most recondite principles of action, 
 to men of all sorts of varying ideas, and who had no principle upon any 
 subject whatever. (Applause.) Now let me take a glance at the growth of 
 the doctrine of Conservative progress since I first entered into your city. 
 When I first addressed you in the King's Head rooms opposite, I was 
 astonished at the multitude of my audience. We had to take precautions 
 that no accident should happen to the house from the number of persons 
 who were present. That was followed by the meeting when we applied for 
 
No. XXXV.] APPENDIX. 379 
 
 and were refused the room in which we now stand. They said, " What do 
 we want with principles of Church and State, of religion and government ? 
 We are beyond all that. The days have passed for anything like propriety 
 in that way. We'll not even allow you the use of this room." And we 
 were refused, by the Radicals of that time, even this room in which I might 
 address you. (Hear, hear.) When I came the second time, I found that you 
 were much more deeply interested in the principles I had put forward than 
 you were on the first occasion. The Radicals were violent ; the Radicals 
 were excited, and the whole city was placarded with announcements that 
 in this room a meeting was to be held to denounce the principles put 
 forward at the King's Head by " the stranger who had come down from 
 London." Who resisted this but the working men of Rochester ? (Applause.) 
 Who said that no man should as was intended pass a resolution against 
 me unless I was heard first ? (Applause.) You would not permit in this 
 room one word to be said till I was heard, and I was sent for ; and when I 
 was sent for, the voice of the meeting called out that as I was to be 
 attacked I should be heard first. (Hear, hear.) Hour went on after hour, 
 and not one word was spoken. Here we stood in dumb show, when your 
 respected and estimable member said across the table, " Smee, we have got 
 all the people in here ; how shall we get them out again ? " (Laughter.) I 
 said, " I am ready to stop here all night. I have entered into the fight and 
 I assuredly will go through it. (Applause.) But if you wish to disperse 
 this meeting, I'll disperse it in two minutes." " How F" he said. " Take hold 
 of my arm, and we'll walk straight oiit." We did walk out, and there was 
 an end of that meeting. (Applause.) That time you rallied round me and 
 gave me the show of hands at the Guildhall, but still that was no use 
 against the strong combination of all the odds and ends of fancy sections 
 who came against me and won the election. When I look to those events 
 and look to this proud occasion, when I am to receive a testimonial not from 
 one but from hundreds of my fellow-countrymen, I have reason indeed to 
 be proud of the doctrine of Conservative progress, and to thank you most 
 cordially for being here to-night in the hall which has been granted in the 
 kindest manner by your mayor. (Applause, and a voice " Three cheers for 
 Mr. Edwards.") Now, our position at the present time is confessedly 
 difficult. You have got in this city in particular a large mass of earnest 
 Radicals who are joined one and all against your doctrines and to oppose 
 your principles. That alone would require a great effort on your part to 
 overcome. You have also to recollect that the Radicals have been a long 
 time in power. Place has fallen to their lot, and consequently we may 
 say of those who have had place that they may be expected to exhibit 
 gratitude. With regard to that gratitude I must say I felt a little 
 astounded when the question of the separation of Church and State was on, 
 that some of those who lived by the Church did not support that Church in 
 the manner which might have been expected. (Hear, hear.) Probably they 
 relied upon the doctrine of gratitude to Gladstone, who had put them in 
 their situations ; but I cannot but think that gratitude to God, who had 
 given them this Church, should have had a greater effect upon their minds 
 than gratitude to a patron who had put them in place. (Applause.) But, 
 contrariwise, I was also astonished by the manner in which those who 
 heartily felt that religion and state should be united, expressed their 
 feelings. One of your clergy at Strood, being confined by disease, was 
 carried across by two men to the poll, there to record his vote for Church 
 
380 APPENDIX. [No. XXXV. 
 
 and State. (Applause.) I have given you some of your difficulties, but now 
 comes the difficulty of that vis inertia which many in your city have been 
 afflicted with. (Hear, hear.) Working men know what this inertia is ; if 
 they have a block of stone, they know how difficult it is to set it in motion. 
 They know how difficult it is to move a steam-engine in the first instance, 
 but once set going it rolls on. Now some hundreds of persons who call 
 themselves Conservatives in this city had this inertia, that they could not 
 roll out of their arm-chairs on the day of the poll and cross perhaps one 
 hundred yards to record their votes. (Hear, hear.) That is the difficulty 
 you have to cope with by argument and by persuasion ; but in counting 
 your forces you must say that everyone who is not with you heart and soul 
 is against you. (Hear, hear.) You must count them against you, for it is a 
 very dangerous thing to rely upon the vote of a man who will not rise out 
 of his chair simply to deliver it. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 Now, gentlemen, these are great difficulties, but there is a greater 
 still a difficulty which it is customary not even to whisper from one 
 person to another that the person who dared to do it should close his 
 ears that they might hardly hear what he had to say. And yet I think 
 it is desirable that the whole case should be put before you ; for I never 
 will appear as a candidate for this city without being thoroughly above- 
 board and telling you all the circumstances of the case. (Applause). 
 The question to which I have to call your attention may be called the 
 money question of an election. Now you know as well as I do that 
 the working men have thought it right to ask for a day's pay if they 
 lose a day's work in going to the poll. To give that day's pay is an act 
 of illegality which renders the donor liable to serious consequences, the 
 receiver to equally serious penalties, and might forfeit the franchise of the 
 borough itself. Now I have taken this thing most carefully into my 
 consideration, and I advised at the last election that you should throw up 
 this day's pay at once for your vote, and show that you will be free men, 
 and that you will esteem the privilege of electing any person you like to 
 Parliament, independently of any small monetary consideration. (Applause.) 
 Now what does a day's pay amount to ? A day's pay for the city of 
 Rochester, for those who are likely to take it and think they are fairly 
 entitled to it, would amount to about 7s. 6d. per man ; and that will not 
 amount in the whole to above 100 or 150 a sum too insignificant for a 
 candidate to think worthy his attention when he has to pay for the 
 printing, advertising, the parliamentary fees, and the many other things 
 which are connected necessarily with a powerful contest. This 100 or 
 150, I say, is immaterial to the candidate except that by giving it the 
 election may be lost afterwards and the borough may be disfranchised. 
 But what do you think is the price asked for this borough in the London 
 markets ? The price is 2000 a candidate, or 4000 for the two. (Shame.) 
 Now, are you ever likely to get that money ? In the annals of the city has 
 it ever been divided among the people ? (No, no.) I say not. Then who 
 has received it, and where has it gone to ? (Hear, hear.) Now this is a very 
 serious question indeed, for you may depend upon it, if there is any man in 
 this city who looks forward to receive his 100, and if when a candidate 
 comes down to the borough and offers himself he does not come down with 
 that money, it will be that he is not quite the proper man for the place. 
 (Laughter and hear, hear.) Now I will tell you plainly that that insinuation 
 has been put forward in Rochester, and it is your duty to find out who is 
 
No. XXXV.] APPENDIX. 381 
 
 looking forward for that money and who has put forward that insinuation. 
 (Hear, hear.) It has been insinuated that the people who asked me down 
 here wanted my money. Who asked me down here ? Messrs. "Watson, 
 father and son. I declare upon my honour that I have never paid them 
 one shilling, I never have promised them one shilling, I never intended to 
 give them one shilling. (Applause.) Moreover, they have given me good and 
 safe counsel in every part of this election, and advised me not to waste my 
 money amongst prodigals who would not be benefited by it, but to trust 
 entirely to your probity and sense of right to return that candidate whom 
 you may think fit. (Applause.) Now I am speaking very perspicuously 
 upon this point, because it is on this a great deal will turn in future 
 elections. If you wish me after giving me this magnificent testimonial 
 to retire to London, I shall retain that ever afterwards as a sense of your 
 kindness and as a proof that the doctrines I have spoken have affected 
 properly your minds ; but I say emphatically I will not come here to be a 
 party to giving 2000 for myself, or 4000 for two candidates to be distri- 
 buted amongst I don't know who. (Applause.) The moment it was announced 
 I had set my foot into Rochester it was communicated to me through a 
 friend that your late lamented member, Sir William Bodkin, wished me 
 to call upon him at the Sessions House in Clerkenwell. I did call there* 
 and the burden of his song was, " Beware !" " Beware of whom ?" I said. 
 " Of what I can't tell you." I named every person up the High-street of 
 any pretensions. " I can't tell you, but I sent for you and beg you to 
 beware." Not only that, but I have seen other persons connected with this 
 city and they have told me also to beware. I have had I cannot tell you 
 how many letters from parties I have been associated with in relations of 
 business telling me to " Beware." But what am I to beware of ? (A laugh.) 
 I have spent nothing here but what the law imposes upon me according to 
 the contract I made with you at the King's Head before the last election ; 
 and instead of being fleeced as it was represented, I am almost ashamed 
 to say I fleece you by taking this magnificent testimonial. (No, no, and 
 laughter.) I will say but little more, but if you wish me to come forward 
 it must be upon that basis. I am prepared to fight with you as long as 
 you are prepared to fight (applause) ; but I am not prepared to pay this 
 money, and upon this it will greatly turn, although nobody, as I have said 
 before, could ever tell me who received it. (A voice : We don't want pay.) 
 Now I again, for the last time, thank you from the very bottom of my 
 heart for the very kind manner in which you have made this presentation 
 to me ; and I tell you fairly that the moment it was presented to me it 
 passed partly out of my hands, because my son and myself have made a 
 compact to devote our time, whether literary, whether politically, or 
 whether professionally, to our mutual benefit, and therefore this present 
 goes at once not only to myself but to my son after me. (Applause.) It has 
 already become half his property, and I feel confident he will transmit it to 
 his sons and grandsons to show in how very kind a manner the people of 
 Rochester received me. (Applause.) You nobly supported Church and 
 State. May that State, by good government and the administration of fair 
 laws, contribute to your perpetual comfort here ; and may the Church lead 
 to your eternal happiness hereafter. (Loud cheers followed the conclusion 
 of Mr. Smee's speech, and a call for " One for the son " was warmly 
 responded to.) 
 
382 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.A. 
 
 No. XXXYI.A. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE ON MILK, TYPHOID FEVER, AND 
 SEWAGE. By ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 THE following observations on Milk, Typhoid Fever, and Sewage, some of 
 which appeared in the columns of the ' Times ' newspaper, and all in those 
 of the 'Standard,' have been reprinted in consequence of the intense 
 interest they have excited. 
 
 Sewage-grounds, as now conducted, are a failure. They do not dis- 
 infect the sewage. They are dangerous to health. They are not adapted 
 for healthy vegetation, and the produce, under certain circumstances, is 
 unfit for either the food of man or beast. 
 
 The Houses of Parliament have been deceived by exaggerated state- 
 ments to pass Acts which have proved an injury to the community. 
 
 So-called skilled witnesses and dilettante counsellors, to the great 
 annoyance of professional men and to the disgrace of science, have made 
 declarations before parliamentary committees where, with ordinary intel- 
 ligence, they could not have been ignorant of their falsity. 
 
 As a consequence, serious evils have arisen by the formation of pesti- 
 lential sewage-grounds, which now imperatively demand steps to be taken 
 for their entire abolition where possible; and where their abolition is 
 impracticable, then for their regulation and inspection by competent 
 authorities, that the town-councillors of one district may not poison the 
 air and pollute the wells of the territory of their neighbours. 
 
 7, FINSBURY CIRCUS, A. SMEE. 
 
 Sept. llth, 1873. 
 
 SIR, In reference to your leading article in this day's 'Standard,' 
 I beg to forward a copy of a letter which I have this day sent to Mr. Simon, 
 the distinguished Officer of Health to the Privy Council. 
 
 LETTER TO JOHN SIMON, ESQ., F.R.S., D.C.L., PRIVY COUNCIL 
 OFFICE. 
 
 I am in a position to explain the occurrence of typhoid fever from 
 the use of milk. We keep a small herd of cows, from which my house in 
 London is supplied with milk, cream, and butter. What is not required 
 for our own use is sent to the members of the families of the men employed 
 at my garden, and when there is any surplus the neighbours purchase it. 
 
 During the spring my son directed, without my knowledge, that the 
 cows should be fed with a small proportion of sewage grass, when, without 
 knowing the reason, the butter was so offensive we could not bear it on the 
 table ; the other members of the family were loud in their complaints, and 
 the neighbours for a long time came for no more butter. 
 
 Upon inquiry, I heard of the feed of sewage grass, which was imme- 
 diately ordered to be discontinued, when the milk, cream, and butter 
 resumed their former excellence. 
 
 This seemed to me too seriously important to pass unnoticed, so I 
 desired my son again to repeat the experiment suddenly, without any 
 notice, when the same results again occurred. Cows like the sewage grass, 
 
No. XXXVI.A.] APPENDIX. 383 
 
 and tlie milk is slightly increased in quantity by its use. The milk lias a 
 slightly rancid odour when about twenty-four hours old, and has this 
 quality a day or two after the cows are fed with the grass. The butter 
 becomes bad about a day or two after it is made, and no care in its pre- 
 paration can avert its rancidity. 
 
 I have long known that the use of putrid manures affects the quality 
 of vegetables, and have called special attention to the fact in the book of 
 ' My Garden.' I did not, however, know till lately that the putrid matter 
 could be taken by animals and communicated in the dangerous putrefactive 
 state by the milk to other animals. If you would like to verify the experi- 
 ment, a cow shall be placed at your disposal for the purpose, but I have 
 reason to suspect that the fact, which has a bearing upon many social 
 problems, is thoroughly well known to our dairy proprietors. 
 
 August 15. 
 
 It is currently suggested that in cases where typhoid fever has occurred 
 near sewage farms the milk has been directly adulterated with sewage. 
 
 I can hardly myself entertain so horrible an idea, but if the suspicion 
 has been entertained, why was not a coroner's inquest held upon those who 
 died, and why was no attempt made to bring the supposed adulterators to 
 justice ? 
 
 As my letter has opened the whole subject of sewage irrigation, and 
 made the public alive to the importance of the subject, I will take the 
 liberty of answering all correspondents in a few days, but much informa- 
 tion has been supplied to me which, for obvious reasons, I dare not write. 
 
 August 19. 
 
 In the first week in July I visited a friend in Harley Street, the centre 
 of the present epidemic of typhoid fever, when a fine cat was shown to 
 me which would not touch London milk, though in the country it drank 
 milk as freely as other cats do. 
 
 It was suggested that I should send to puss a can of milk from my 
 garden as I received it for my own use. This was done, and the following 
 answer was received on July 8 : " The milk was immediately submitted to 
 Fluff's judgment, and he, after a most careful inspection, appeared to be of 
 the opinion that it was excellent, and he, after once having fairly tasted it, 
 drank every drop I gave him. It certainly is a very curious circumstance, 
 and shows pretty plainly to me (as you suggested) that the London milk- 
 man supplies something besides water with his milk." 
 
 Assuming the milk to have been the sole cause of the present 
 epidemic, how much pain and how many deaths might have been averted 
 if the sagacity of the cat had been rightly understood ! I have been asked 
 how putrefactive milk can be determined. I reply, " From the creatures 
 thy instructions take." Follow the example of the cat, and get evidence of 
 the act of putrefaction by the nose. Keep the milk for twenty-four hours 
 in a moderately warm place, when the bad odour will demonstrate the evil. 
 
 Not only milk, but water contaminated by putrefactive compounds, 
 will after twenty-four hours discover its death-producing qualities. Good 
 water will travel all over the world without change, but if it contains the 
 elements of putrescence it will not keep twenty-four hours without the 
 odour being apparent. 
 
384 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.A. 
 
 Both men who attend to my son's cows state that they can detect no 
 difference in new milk produced from grass grown upon land irrigated 
 with town sewage till after some hours have elapsed : and 1 have ascer- 
 tained that the milk from sewage farms is regularly consumed in some of 
 our large towns too soon for its source to be detected, and, perhaps, too 
 soon for it to be actually hurtful. 
 
 August 18. 
 
 The time has arrived for grouping the valuable information which the 
 milk controversy has elicited. My observations were limited by the word 
 " putrid," and the facts appear to turn upon the right use of the word. A 
 putrid state of decomposition as is observed in town sewage is very 
 different from the ammoniacal state which is observed in stables, and 
 which the gardener uses in his hotbeds, and which should always be 
 employed for the culture of first-class vegetables. 
 
 In answer to vaiious inquiries, our cows are of the Alderney, Brittany, 
 and short-horn breeds, and are usually fed on fields on the lower tertiary 
 bed of sand, immediately above the chalk, or upon a drift bed of flints, 
 which in bygone days have been washed out of the chalk. In the first 
 case my son gave the cows two rods of grass from the Croydon sewage 
 fields, fresh cut, which was about a full barrowful to each cow per day, as 
 a part of their usual food, when the putrid state of the milk and butter 
 became apparent. He tried the experiment without my knowledge, having 
 a full belief in the benefits which would accrue, as at that time he did not 
 share my opinion of the hurtful qualities of sewage grass. That, and the 
 subsequent experiment, admit neither of qualification nor explanation. 
 ****** 
 
 The proprietor of a large dairy, who supplies several of our largest 
 institutions in London, informs me that he had the Edmonton sewage 
 farm, but was obliged to abandon it, as the milk was unsaleable. Letters 
 confirming my view, or rather in most cases going beyond my statement, 
 have been received from Mr. Bardwell, of Great Queen Street, Westminster ; 
 also from Mr. Hollis, of Eastbourne, who states that when fresh night soil 
 was applied to a meadow the butter afterwards had the flavour of night 
 soil, and was utterly unfit for use. A letter has been received from the 
 celebrated private inquiry office of Field the detective, stating that in 
 America the same thing is noticed. Mr. Butt writes that in all towns and 
 villages of India the buffaloes eat putrid matters, the consequence being 
 that the milk has a most offensive smell, and all Europeans like to have 
 their own cows and keep them tied up. 
 
 At Beddington School, when supplied with sewage milk, 60 cases of 
 typhoid fever occurred, and three deaths, No. 243, No. 249, and one other. 
 It has been endeavoured by the sewage promoters to account for the 
 disaster upon the plea that the milk was directly adulterated by sewage ; 
 but no inquest was held, neither was any man prosecuted. Dr. Mac- 
 Cormack, the medical officer of Lambeth, states that an attack of fever 
 occurred from the Croydon sewage milk ; and a clergyman from Scotland 
 informs me that a cow-keeper neglecting to give his cows fresh water, they 
 drank sewage. After partaking of the milk he had that evening diarrhea. 
 All observers agree that cows will drink sewage freely, and eat vegetables 
 or other substances in a putrid state. 
 
No. XXXVI.A.j APPENDIX. 385 
 
 Both my men agree that milk from sewage grass must stand a certain 
 time before it shows signs of putridity, and that they themselves would 
 not hesitate to use sewage grass if the milk is used at once. The milk 
 from the cows of the Croydon sewage farm goes to Croydon and is there 
 consumed. It is alleged that it is sold at Is. a gallon, and sold again to 
 the Croydon workhouse at 10d 
 
 I have before me certificates of the deaths which occurred from fever 
 in the houses near the Croydon sewage- grounds, which I give in detail : 
 
 No. 1868. 
 
 73. Typhoid fever, 19 days ; congestion of brain. 
 95. Typhoid fever, 16 days ; congestion of brain. 
 
 1869. 
 243. Enteric fever ; ulceration of bowels. 
 
 249. Enteric fever. 
 
 250. Fever. 
 
 286. Peritonitis; pleuropneumonia. 
 336. Scarlatina maligna, 14 days. 
 350. Gastritis, 4 days. 
 359. Scarlet fever, 9 days. 
 
 375. Scarlet fever ; convulsions. 
 
 1870. 
 
 376. Scarlet fever ; convulsions. 
 
 395. Diphtheria ; inflammation of chest, 1 week. 
 
 436. Malignant scarlet fever, 5 days. 
 
 485. Scarlatina, 7 days ; effusion of brain, 48 hours. 
 
 489. Scarlatina, 14 days ; albuminuria, 5 days. 
 
 490. Scarlatina, 5 weeks ; albuminuria, 14 days. 
 498. Scarlatina, 18 days ; albuminuria. 
 
 22. Scarlatina, 19 days. 
 
 65. Scarlatina, 11 days ; diphtheria, 5 days. 
 
 As about 20 cases of illness occur for every one of death, it follows 
 that immediately surrounding the sewage-ground not less than 380 cases 
 occurred between the 21st May, 1868, and the 4th August, 1870, the period 
 over which I had certificates beside me. 
 
 Town sewage-grounds are really in some cases pestilential marshes, 
 where putrid matter is taken from the courts and alleys of the towns and 
 carried before the drawing-room windows of suburban houses. 
 
 During the discussion the effect of the solid matter deposited upon the 
 stems of the grass has very properly been considered, though I restricted 
 my remarks to the effect of putrid sewage on the juices of the plant. 
 
 At any moment some malignant form of fever may break out on ill- 
 managed sewage farms, as similar fevers have originated at Marseilles 
 from a neglect of the laws of health. 
 
 All vegetables are affected by putrid sewage. Asparagus is rendered 
 particularly offensive. The whole cabbage tribe are easily rendered parti- 
 cularly offensive, and even the delicious strawberry becomes disgusting 
 when watered with putrid manures. 
 
 2 c 
 
386 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.A. 
 
 Stock fed upon sewage farms, if mismanaged, suffer materially, and in 
 the public interest should have stringent Government supervision before 
 they are admitted to be sold for human food. Information upon this 
 point was directly refused in August 1869, but a Government commission 
 with full powers may obtain valuable information. 
 
 Credible and disinterested witnesses have written to me privately and 
 to the newspapers stating that they have used sewage grass, and yet their 
 milk and butter are excellent. In each of these cases the sewage is small. 
 It passes directly to the land, which is large in area in relation to the 
 amount of liquid, and it has not time to become putrid. Dr. Symes, of 
 the County Asylum, Dorchester, says cabbages grown on their ground 
 irrigated by sewage are good, and no fault is found with the milk and 
 butter. Dr. Phillips, of the Devon County Asylum, says that the milk 
 and butter produced from their sewage-ground are excellent. Mr. Hales, 
 of the South Metropolitan Schools, states that the use of milk provided 
 from their sewage grass has been innocuous. 
 
 After this evidence I must admit that fresh sewage under certain 
 circumstances may be safely applied over a large surface of land without 
 injury, and have so advised since this controversy. Nevertheless I should 
 myself prefer to keep milch cows from sewage altogether. 
 
 Under all the facts of the case we are bound to admit that town sewage 
 irrigation as now practised is a failure, and dangerous to health. At 
 present there appears to be no plan which can be absolutely recommended, 
 but the question of sewage must be practically dealt with. If we look the 
 difficulty fairly in the face, we may rely that the intellect of man will 
 surely provide a remedy, and preserve for the community healthy milk and 
 wholesome meat. 
 
 August 22. 
 
 Typhoid fever is known to be propagated either by animal or vegetable 
 matter in decomposition, or by both together. Of the exact nature of 
 typhoid poison nobody knows. No person has ever isolated the poison. 
 No one has ever seen it. No one knows how typhoid fever originates, but 
 all medical men trace it to putrid matters, and it is known particularly to 
 be transmissible from person to person by sewage. I have seen this terrible 
 disease at Naples and Florence, and had the misfortune to treat it in those 
 cities, and in both those places I had conference with the municipal 
 authorities for its prevention, and was authorized by capitalists to offer a 
 million and a half of money to lessen the mischief by adequate water 
 supply and drainage. It is not known, when a number of persons are 
 exposed to typhoid poison, why some are affected and some escape, nor is 
 it known, either with typhoid fever or with cholera, why apparently the 
 same conditions do not at all times produce the same results. The human 
 mind is now in a curious state of embarrassment upon the question. The 
 sewage irrigators are irrational in their arguments/ They form conclu- 
 sions without premises, and they reason as though logic was the art of 
 wrong reasoning. 
 
 Medical men abhor putrid sewage, even in isolated patches, as the 
 focus of disease, from the poisonous effluvia which it exhales. Sewage 
 irrigators take a number of isolated putrid sewage foci, and describe the 
 vast resultant pestilential sewage swamp, the emanations from which are 
 
No. XXXVI.A.] APPENDIX. 387 
 
 concentrated and overpowering, as a sanitary panacea. When the 
 absurdity is demonstrated, they retreat under the charge of mismanage- 
 ment ; but sewage farms, as they are now laid out, cannot be managed 
 other than to be an offensive and dangerous hotbed of disease, liable to be 
 active at any moment. When disease is charged against them, the sewage 
 irrigators falsely reason thus sewage irrigation is good, ergo some other 
 cause for disease must exist. Chemists have wisely pointed out the danger 
 of putrefying matter in water, even in small quantities. They have carried 
 their doctrine to such an extent that a grain or two of nitre in a gallon of 
 water condemns that water for town use, on the ground that possibly nitre 
 may have come from the nitrogen of previous sewage contamination, 
 although at the moment utterly changed to chemical salts. The sewage 
 irrigators cover the ground with putrid matter, poison wholesale the wells 
 of the district, let some of the sewage pass unchanged into the rivers, to 
 be drunk unawares by the neighbouring villagers. The so-called sanitary 
 guardians relieve a town at the expense of the suburbs. All this is done 
 at an enormous cost to the ratepayers on the ground of danger to health ; 
 but the aggregation of danger to the suburban residents is called in- 
 nocuous irrigation. Sewage logic is as bad as sewage irrigation one 
 focus of disease is dangerous, a thousand foci aggregated together are 
 innocuous. Milk is known to be a conveyer of typhoid poison. Sewage 
 on a single farm is rightly condemned, but an aggregation of a hundred 
 farms with sewage to constitute a sewage farm is considered by the sewage 
 theorists free from harm. 
 
 When cows feed on farms where sewage is, or feed on a sewage farm, 
 the labourers, it is alleged, make the quantity of milk for sale increased in 
 volume by directly adding sewage to the milk ; but no proprietor has ever 
 been made by custodians of sewage farms to punish those guilty of such a 
 horrible crime. Cows drink sewage in fact, its saline character makes 
 them prefer it ; and whether it be sewage on a farm or the sewage of a 
 sewage farm, the milk, after the cow has drunk the sewage, becomes 
 contaminated, is capable of putrescence, and therefore forms putrescible 
 matter, in which typhoid poison may revel. Plants which grow on farms 
 which have recent putrid sewage, take up into their composition and juices 
 the manurial matters. These remain unchanged for some time in the 
 plant, and during that period make the plant liable to putrescence and to 
 be poisonous to man and injurious to animals. The power which plants 
 possess of changing matters which they imbibe is not always equal. It 
 differs with the states of atmosphere and with the seasons. Heat and cold 
 modify this power. Light, darkness, or the quality of the light, or even 
 the hygrometric state of the air, influences the result, so that at every 
 period the same class of plants must of necessity have a variation in its 
 power of assimilating sewage. How putrid sewage, when absorbed, is 
 converted into plant-structures, is not known, as botanists generally 
 believe that animal matters are converted into ammonia or nitrates before 
 they undergo their, changes into vegetable tissues. When cows eat plants 
 containing unchanged manurial products, the milk is tainted. It putrefies, 
 and the putrescent milk may be as liable to communicate typhoid poison 
 as the putrescent water was before it was taken into the plant. 
 
 In the case of the recent epidemic, the sewage on the farm was 
 either added directly to the milk, which I hesitated to believe, or the cows 
 
 2 c 2 
 
388 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.A. 
 
 obtained the poison by drinking the sewage or by eating plants which had 
 previously absorbed the sewage. As long as good milk is a necessity to a 
 town, let us have no putrid sewage on a dairy farm. Let not the cows 
 drink sewage or eat putrid sewage grass. 
 
 A farm with sewage on it, and a sewage farm, must be held to be 
 pestilential, death-producing swamps, until the sewage is disinfected. 
 Nature should be followed, and manurial matters in the putrid state 
 should be changed to mineral matters before they are absorbed by the 
 plants which feed upon them. Theoretically earth disinfects the sewage. 
 In practice, as now managed, part of the sewage never gets into the earth 
 to be disinfected, as the whole is spread over the waterlogged ground, 
 where it exhales its pestilential gases. Cows, whilst it is so spread over 
 the field, drink some ; blades of grass attach to themselves solid particles, 
 and plants take up other particles in their juices. Notwithstanding this 
 absurd deviation from the ways of nature, sewage farmers, engineers* 
 speculators, and others living by the promotion of sewage farms, recom- 
 mend sewage farms, as now conducted, as the source of all sanitary good- 
 All men know that if we do not return to the ground that which we take 
 from the ground the earth will not restore to us its usual crops. Sewage- 
 farm speculators assume that they alone know this great fact, and are 
 always demonstrating it to draw off attention from the infraction of the 
 laws of Nature. If they return sewage to the land, they care not in what 
 state they apply it, and either do not know, or pretend not to know, the 
 danger they incur. The gardener who makes up his hotbed sweetens his 
 manure by fermentation, when ammonia is produced. The rootlets of his 
 cucumbers and melons run in the manurial mass, and sweet and wholesome 
 produce is obtained. 
 
 The gardener also uses liquid manure with care and caution in certain 
 stages of the growth of a plant. He particularly abstains from giving the 
 ripening strawberry such manure, as he knows that his fruit would be 
 corrupted. The sewage irrigators, regardless of consequences, use putrid 
 manure at such a period that the plants are dangerous to animals. They 
 do not know, or they care not for the fact, that vegetable dyes, as madder, 
 will permeate an animal and colour its bones, which demonstrates to all 
 physiologists how animals are affected by the food they eat. Much more 
 may be said upon the effect of sewage vegetation on cows and sheep used 
 afterwards for human food, which must be considered at a convenient 
 season. Sewage promoters say that they can conduct their farms with 
 safety to the community. Take them at their word, and if any complaints 
 fairly arise from mismanagement, let the delinquent be fined 100 a day 
 for every day a sewage farm is mismanaged. Sewage farmers who sell 
 sewage directly put into the milk, or sewage transmitted through the cow 
 to the milk, or transmitted through vegetables imbued with sewage to the 
 cow, and from the cow by the milk to man, would be rather astonished if 
 they were found legally liable for their acts as railroad companies are 
 liable for preventable accidents. A verdict of 10,000 against a town 
 council for the death of a father of a family, in consequence of poisoned 
 milk sent from a dairy farm with sewage upon it, or a badly-managed 
 sewage-ground, will do more than any argument to rectify it. Town 
 councillors, as a whole, have neither intellect to comprehend, intelligence 
 to perceive, nor public spirit to undertake an expense necessary to deal 
 
No. XXXVI.A.] APPENDIX. 389 
 
 with sewage as a whole to ensure safety to their neighbours, whilst they 
 protect the inhabitants of their towns. 
 August 30. 
 
 The interest in the milk typhoid question does not abate, judging from 
 the amount of correspondence I receive. This morning the medical officer 
 of one of our largest establishments informs me that he has known parsley 
 to take up the flavour of gas-tar so as to be useless, which is a remarkable 
 instance of the absorption of matter by growing plants. With respect to 
 the remarks of Mr. Holland, we are driven to the alternative that either 
 the typhoid poison originated in the milk or the milk was a convenient 
 pabulum for the typhoid poison to be absorbed in, as nobody now doubts that 
 milk has been an extensive conveyer of the typhoid virus. The facts 
 relating to typhoid in all countries must be considered; and whether in 
 England, or in the hotbeds of the disease in Rome, Florence, and Naples, 
 sewage stands prominently forth as the source whence the poison acts on the 
 human system. Probably it has fallen to my duty to examine the personal 
 history of more cases in most countries of Europe than any other person, 
 and the large number of cases of fever which are recorded in cities on the 
 Continent, where sanitary regulations are confessedly imperfect, is very 
 striking. The act of putrescence is the common concomitant of typhoid 
 poison, and my observations prove that milk, under certain circumstances, 
 is putrescible. It is undeniable that putrescible milk has been supplied 
 where typhoid fever has originated. Does the typhoid poison pass through 
 the cow to the milk ? This is a question which our imperfect knowledge 
 of the nature of the poison forbids us to answer. Then comes the question 
 Is the typhoid poison absorbed by the milk from the atmosphere after it 
 has passed from the cow, and then, if it is so absorbed, does it come from 
 the solid particles of the atmosphere, or does it come from matter in a 
 gaseous state? Some philosophers have considered that the particles of 
 dust which dance in the sunbeam are molecules of disease and death, but 
 no proof has ever been afforded, and I believe that a large majority of the 
 medical profession do not acquiesce in that doctrine. With respect to 
 what is contained in the atmosphere in a purely gaseous state, an elaborate 
 series of experiments has been made at various stations in London, in some 
 of the more important hospitals, and at my experimental garden, and the 
 result has been that not only can the odour of flowers be reduced from the 
 atmosphere, but that large and variable quantities of nitrogenous materials 
 are contained in the atmosphere. Practically it is immaterial whether 
 putrescible milk originates or absorbs typhoid poison. We know that milk 
 under certain circumstances communicates typhoid poison, and it is our 
 bounden duty to make such provision that our large towns are supplied 
 with good and wholesome milk. Medical men generally agree to treat 
 typhoid fever with milk, and it is horrible to contemplate that they have 
 sought to cure the disease by administering additional doses of typhoid 
 poison. The public must reject all milk which is readily putrescible, and 
 refuse milk from all sewage farms which are in the mismanaged state 
 which partisans directly state that they are at present. Mr. Holland most 
 properly asks why putrescible manure spread over the land differs from 
 sewage. The answer is, that there is no perceptible difference. Sewage, 
 however, is applied to the grass immediately before it is used, and contains 
 
390 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.A. 
 
 the products of fever cases. In the former case, however, it is applied long 
 before the grass is eaten by the cow. A field where cows continually 
 pasture yields grass which produces milk of bad quality. 
 
 It is satisfactory to find that the sewage milk typhoid controversy has 
 thoroughly aroused the country to the importance of the subject, and it is 
 likely thoroughly to discomfort those who have of late years inflicted so 
 much damage to sanitary science by their absence of knowledge and want 
 of skill. 
 
 September 3. 
 
 My observations upon the milk question have in some cases been 
 misunderstood, in others they have been mis-stated ; but the broad fact 
 that recent sewage on grass affects milk is recognized and being acted 
 upon throughout England, as all prudent persons now discard milk which 
 has any proximity to sewage. I took the most active part in turning the 
 sewage out of rivers. I prepared the evidence upon which the sewage was 
 turned out of the river Wandle, as it runs through my experimental 
 garden, by procuring a series of perpetual injunctions in Chancery, when 
 it was diverted from the land ; and now the sewage farms are so mis- 
 managed that I have again to take active steps to remedy this evil, which 
 is as bad or worse than when it was turned into the river. I earnestly 
 warned the Government in the former instance to avert the danger which 
 threatened the inhabitants from their drinking the polluted Wandle water, 
 when persons were sent round to inform the residents ; and I now publicly, 
 most earnestly warn the Government as to the mode in which these sewage 
 farms are conducted. In the former instance the same universal denial 
 of facts, the same attempt at ridicule, the same personal invectives, the 
 same false arguments, were used by those who had an interest in the river 
 pollution as have been attempted to be used on the present occasion by 
 those who have an interest in the pollution of the land. By patience and 
 perseverance I carried my point. I turned the sewage from the river 
 which runs through my garden, and the proceedings served as a precedent 
 for preventing the pollution of all the other rivers in England. By 
 similar patience and perseverance I trust on the present occasion to 
 compel those who are reckless of the comfort, the health, and the lives of 
 residents near sewage-grounds, to compel them to adopt such a system as 
 may not be a nuisance to their neighbours. Town councillors have to 
 learn this one great fact that sewage taken from their own parish and 
 distributed to their neighbours is no more a sanitary mode of dealing with 
 the question than if a housemaid of one house throws all the offal over the 
 wall into her neighbour's premises ; yet so does Croydon to Beddington, 
 and Enfield to Edmonton. It is not only typhoid fever which is propa- 
 gated by sewage-grounds, scarlet fever seems to be distributed wholesale 
 by it ; and what can be expected when highly contagious epithelial cells 
 are sown broadcast over the land ? We have not had a great epidemic of 
 cholera since sewage farms have been at work, but I look with fear and 
 trembling on what the consequences may be if sewage irrigation is not 
 improved before the next visitation, which now threatens. I hope, what- 
 ever mistakes may have been committed, that the Dairy Reform Company 
 will ensure the future confidence of the public by giving the most minute 
 particulars to those qualified to judge of the matter, that every drop of 
 
No. XXX VI. A.] APPENDIX. 391 
 
 fluid sent out by them should be traced to its origin, that scientific men 
 may know how the typhoid poison infected the milk, as much damage has 
 ensued to the company by the defiant tone assumed by one of its directors, 
 who was a great promoter of sewage farms, and who might have shown 
 becoming humility when so great a disaster occurred in a company imme- 
 diately under his control. 
 September 8. 
 
 Now that public attention is directed to the sewage-grounds, advantage 
 must be taken of the opportunity to remedy their evils. The difficulty in 
 a proper application of sewage is the amount of water with which it is 
 mixed. From Croydon a river of sewage runs, which at its origin turns a 
 turbine wheel to work a Latham's machine for the separation of stones, 
 bottles, and other solid matters. The first attempt to utilize sewage in the 
 metropolis was made many years ago at Fulham, where a pumping engine 
 was erected. The company was most anxious to supply experimentally the 
 important market garden belonging to Messrs. Fitch, and I was empowered, 
 for the sake of experience, to offer sewage free of charge, and the company 
 even undertook to lay pipes over their garden. A serious conference took 
 place between the landowner, the three partners, and myself, of some hours' 
 duration, when they pointed out the immense importance for healthy vege- 
 tation that the water should be got from the grounds ; and, after a most 
 earnest and careful discussion, they declined the offer. Thirty years' 
 experience has added but little to the valuable knowledge of these first- 
 class cultivators. Our first object should be to relieve our towns of that 
 which is detrimental to health ; the second, to use the material profitably, 
 if we can ; but health must not be sacrificed for gain, nor disease incurred 
 for the prevention of loss. The serious nature of this particular case is 
 that the evils of sewage occur at one spot, and the distribution of the 
 poison takes place at another, far distant ; so the connection between the 
 source of the evil and the resultant mischief is difficult and in many cases 
 impossible to be traced. It is now of paramount importance to the 
 multitude that sewage shall be under stringent enactments and searching 
 Government supervision ; and, on now leaving the controversy, everybody 
 must admit the time has been well spent if it leads to a supply of good 
 milk to the people, and a better mode of rendering sewage innocuous to 
 our cities. 
 
 In reference to your able article of last Saturday, may I be permitted 
 to observe that my remarks have been misunderstood by a few persons 
 and mis-stated by others ? 
 
 I have assumed as a generally-accepted fact that typhoid fever is 
 intimately associated with putrescible matter, although the exact nature of 
 the poison, as you so powerfully put it, is unknown. Upon this assumption 
 I pointed out that if a cow ate sewage, or drank sewage, or ate sewage 
 vegetable produce, that the milk became putrescible, and, according to all 
 analogous experience, a competent vehicle for typhoid poison. 
 
 I have never passed an opinion as to how the poison actually got into 
 the milk during the late epidemic. Whether it was directly added by 
 polluted water, as many eminent authorities are inclinecl to believe; 
 whether it was absorbed on the farm of the Dairy Reform Company, as 
 
392 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.A. 
 
 some are inclined to suppose ; whether the poison was taken by the cow 
 and passed through to the milk ; or whether the milk self generated the 
 poison the public have not as yet sufficient evidence to form an opinion, 
 and it is deeply to be regretted that no inquest has been held to unravel 
 the mystery on oath. 
 
 My observations have been restricted to the fact that vegetables take 
 matter into their juices which renders them putrescible, and that a cow 
 eating plants in that state produces milk which is putrescible, and con- 
 sequently well adapted as a nidus for typhoid poison. 
 
 Sept. 15. 
 
 The statement of Mr. Morgan in his letter to the * Standard ' with 
 respect to my opinion on sewage is liable to be misunderstood. 
 
 I am of opinion : 1. That sewage-grounds, as hitherto used, are the 
 most dangerous nuisances which have ever been devised, creating vast 
 perpetual swamps calculated to spread disease, or even to engender new 
 forms of disease. 2. That the herbage grown upon sewage-grounds, under 
 improper culture, is unfit for milch cows, as it sometimes infects the milk 
 and is injurious to cattle, as it causes disease. 3. That putrid sewage is 
 liable to be absorbed by growing plants, rendering them putrescible under 
 some circumstances, and unfit for the food of man or animals. 4. That 
 sewage irrigation cannot be employed as a commercial success, and, where 
 cleansing by terrestrial filtration is necessary, towns must consider that 
 they have a nuisance to abate upon the best terms they can. 
 
 Since these opinions have been extensively promulgated, sewage irri- 
 gators have not been so rampant, and sewage farms have been conducted 
 with somewhat more respect to the laws of Nature, and vegetables and 
 herbage have been allowed sufficient time to change the raw sewage before 
 they are consumed by animals and man. Notwithstanding this partial 
 improvement, I have reason to believe that tons of the wholesome water- 
 cress, so desirable for large towns, are sold in London, although grown 
 under circumstances in which the stalks are liable to be besmeared with 
 faecal matter. I have, therefore, in no way altered my opinion that sewage 
 grounds require official supervision and control, to protect the public 
 against the crude theories and malpractices of the sewage irrigators. 
 Mr. Morgan is unquestionably following the right course, and doing good 
 service to sanitary science, by his experiments to precipitate the sewage 
 principles and obtain their manurial properties, and finally cleansing the 
 water through an oxidizing terrestrial medium ; but whether his is the 
 best precipitating process which can be adopted on a large scale, further 
 experience is still required. 
 
 October 14. 
 
 's letter is a fair specimen of the tone adopted by the Croydon 
 
 Board of Health when complaints are made, and by these general defiant 
 denials has done more to throw discredit over properly- 
 conducted sewage irrigation than any man living. It is true that I 
 took a prominent part in preventing the pollution of the Wandle by the 
 Croydon sewage, which has had an important effect in preventing the 
 pollution of other rivers. It is true that I stopped the lime process and 
 other chemical precipitating processes ; and it is also true that I recom- 
 
No. XXXVI.A.] APPENDIX. 393 
 
 mended that the sewage when withdrawn from the river should be placed 
 on the land. All these results were obtained by the powers of the High 
 Court of Chancery, and not by the good sense and neighbourly feeling 
 of the Croydon Sewage Board. Every statement was met with as flat a 
 
 denial as gives to the complaint of the great nuisance which 
 
 has been created; but truth upon oath prevailed, as it will again, if 
 necessity demands. On the occasion when a cartload of trout was 
 destroyed in the river and proceedings were pending, the Board relaxed 
 their usual arrogance, and they asked the favour of my friendly advice, 
 which was readily given, and the costs of Chancery proceedings were saved 
 to the ratepayers. If Nature is interrogated in sincerity and truth, we 
 shall assuredly find a satisfactory solution of the difficulty. The inves- 
 tigations of the phenomena which are presented in sewage-grounds is 
 confessedly difficult. Perhaps there are not ten men in Europe, and 
 of these not two in England, who are competent to unravel the physico- 
 physiological problems of a sewage farm; and therefore, whilst I am 
 
 quite prepared to give credit for a desire to the proper conduct 
 
 of his sewage-grounds, I would ask him to consider how far he has the 
 requisite knowledge to dogmatize on the subject. Whilst eulogizes 
 the manner in which the sewage-grounds are conducted, where are the 
 sanitary engineers to approve it, though any one of them could rid them 
 of much of their abomination ? 
 
 - has avoided the question as to how many tons of water- 
 cresses have been sent from the sewage-grounds during the last six 
 months. - denies that badly-conducted sewage-grounds cause 
 
 disease in cattle. I affirm it. It becomes then a matter of credibility 
 of statement. My affirmations in the former cases were accepted by 
 the Court of Chancery ; those of his party were discredited, and a decree 
 was obtained. The same exactness and truthfulness which carried the 
 causes before will carry them again, if the disease in cattle should ever 
 occur under circumstances when oaths can be administered. Perhaps 
 
 , from his habit of using universal denials, is not aware that his 
 
 letter of the 20th is little short of an accusation of fraud. Does not 
 this come with a bad grace from a party who have suffered from repeated 
 judgments, to which they have submitted ? I have neither interest in nor 
 favouritism to any particular sewage process, though inventors have 
 generally submitted them for my inspection, and I believe that no person 
 wishes to interfere with sewage farms if they are properly conducted, but 
 every one desires to aid the cause when they are conducted in the spirit of 
 earnestness and truth. 
 October 22. 
 
394 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.B. 
 
 No. XXXVI.B. 
 
 SEWAGE, SEWAGE PRODUCE, AND DISEASE. Paper read 
 before the Health Section of the Social Science Congress, held at 
 Norwich, October 3rd, 1873, by ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 ONE of the most serious problems of the day connected with medical 
 social science is the question of the effect of sewage-grounds, as now 
 conducted, on the public health. 
 
 The present system is to collect sewage by drains arising from each 
 house in a town. These are joined together, first, according to streets, 
 then according to districts, till the whole forms one vast and continuous 
 stream, which flows by night and by day, differing somewhat in amount 
 according to the hour of the day, till it reaches its outfall. 
 
 From this point the great stream is again subdivided over a territory 
 of varying extent, when the sewage is supposed to be disinfected by the 
 land, and the quasi-purified water is again collected into a channel, which 
 has its outpourings in one of the rivers of the district. 
 
 During the whole course, sewage is a dangerous nuisance, tends to 
 many deaths, and more cases of illness, which by skill and prudence, acting 
 with due regard to the rules of social science, may be averted. 
 
 In the first part of its course, the sewage is in a state of fermentation, 
 decomposing and disintegrating the solid matters to such an extent that 
 pieces of paper, which all photographers know may be kept in water for 
 days and weeks, are torn to shreds, and at the outfall nothing but dis- 
 coloured water with slimy particles are to be seen. 
 
 During this fermenting process, the so-called sewer gases are exhaled, 
 faint and sickening in odour, and unmistakably, according to the experi- 
 ence of all medical men, the cause of typhoid fever and other diseases. 
 
 A preventable cause of these maladies is to be found in the successful 
 dissipation of the sewage gases. If pent up in the sewers, as they are 
 reported to be at the West-end of London, they find their way into the 
 houses and poison the inhabitants. The whole doctrine and practice of 
 ventilation ought to be regarded in this part of the subject to dissipate or 
 alter the poison. I have known cases of typhoid fever at the top of a hill, 
 from the drain forming a flue, acting as certainly as the tall chimney used 
 by the manufacturer, to carry the sewer poison directly into the rooms of 
 the dwelling-house. 
 
 In the city of London ventilating openings are placed in the centre of 
 the streets, and it is rather grotesque to see openings on either side of a 
 narrow lane trapped, while in the centre, about two feet distant, a venti- 
 lating shaft is left open. Upon the whole, this ludicrous plan is better 
 than that adopted at the West-end of London, where these openings are 
 either wanting or much less frequent. The distribution of sewage gases 
 still requires study and experiment to render them innocuous to the public. 
 I should myself recommend the trial of small shafts from the sewers to the 
 tops of the houses from the house drains. The engineer to the city of 
 London has, however, presented a most important exhaustive report upon 
 this subject, demonstrating all the dangers and difficulties, but candidly 
 confessing that he is unable to settle the questions which have arisen. 
 
No. XXXVI.B.] APPENDIX. 395 
 
 At the outfall of the town, if of any magnitude, a river of sewage 
 exists, carrying down stones, brickbats, bottles, sticks, and other solid 
 rubbish. As may be expected, the stench is equal to the increased volume 
 of the sewage. About thirty gallons per day may be reckoned roughly for 
 every inhabitant of a town, and at Croydon the magnitude of the sewage 
 river is sufficient to work a turbine wheel, a form of hydraulic apparatus 
 used in France, but very seldom in this country. Of the few employed, it 
 may be mentioned that one is used for the manufacture of the paper used 
 for the Bank of England notes. The amount of sewage yielded by a 
 town may be understood when it is stated that the sewage of Croydon for 
 one day would cover an acre 15 feet deep, and for the year 5475 feet deep. 
 
 The sewage river exhaling its pestiferous gases ought to be protected 
 in any well-devised scheme ; but it is a curious fact that the moment sew- 
 age is removed from a town it appears to cease to be an object of thought 
 and attention to the authorities of the town. 
 
 The usual practice is, for the councillors of a town to carry their 
 sewage to the boundary of the land under their control, and then pass it 
 to the land in the district of their neighbours, when economy and not 
 efficiency guides their actions. 
 
 In any part of a medical social science scheme for dealing with 
 sewage, every district should dispose of its own sewage ; thus Croydon 
 should not purify itself by poisoning Beddington, nor Enfield by poison- 
 ing Edmonton. 
 
 As an example of the utter recklessness of the council of a town to 
 the inhabitants of another district, it was alleged, upon many strong 
 affidavits, that Croydon had so purified its water that it was fit to enter 
 the Wandle for the inhabitants of the next parish to drink ! I mildly 
 replied, upon affidavit, " that I was not aware of any process which could 
 turn sewage into a good potable water." The Croydoii irrigators adhered 
 to their statement, and were not a little surprised and disconcerted when 
 I rejoined that their statement disposed of all difficulties, for they had only 
 continuously to pump back the transformed sewage into their own water 
 tanks when the law proceedings would be terminated, a test of the perfec- 
 tion of their process which Croydon never for one moment contemplated. 
 
 As a fundamental principle of a medical social treatment of sewage, 
 one person ought not to be relieved at the expense of a second. 
 
 The river of sewage freed from large matters is next conducted by 
 various channels to the land, as, theoretically, earth is capable of assimi- 
 lating to itself the manurial particles, and of separating the water. 
 
 Now comes into play the overwhelming difficulties which are afforded 
 by the small quantity of solid sewage which exists in proportion to the 
 enormous quantity of water. 
 
 About a quarter of a century ago a company was formed by an enthu- 
 siastic sewage irrigator, and a pumping engine was erected at Fulham. 
 Within a mile of the pumping engine one of the principal gardens which 
 supplied Covent Garden exists, and the company requested me to offer to 
 lay down suitable pipes and supply sewage gratuitously, as an experiment. 
 I visited Messrs. Fitch with the landowner for the purpose of offering this 
 supposed boon ; and, after a long discussion, each of the partners pointed 
 out the necessity to get the water off the land if successful culture was 
 desired, and they declined the offer. 
 
396 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.B. 
 
 Those experienced cultivators at once hit the blot of successful sewage 
 application, for the problem still remains, how to separate the water from 
 the sewage in solution. 
 
 Practically, it is not now done. The sewage is passed over the land, 
 which for a short time absorbs the water, but the sewage continues to run 
 by night and day, the land becomes water-logged, and refuses to take more. 
 It becomes inactive, and putrescible water runs over the land to the neigh- 
 bouring brook, there to poison those who have recourse to it for drinking 
 purposes. 
 
 It is pretended, by the Croydon Local Board, that about 150 feet 
 of sewage in depth is filtered by every square foot of ground per annum, 
 which amounts to about seven times the natural rainfall of the district; 
 an amount which is so preposterous that, with the feeblest intelligence, 
 the councillors ought to know it is practically impossible. 
 
 When the land is water-logged, the earth is not aerated, and what 
 soaks through passes to the springs of the district, and renders them 
 poisonous. Wells near the Sewage Farm of Croydon cannot be used, 
 being thoroughly poisoned by the pestilential sewage. 
 
 It is not a disposal of the sewage question for the inhabitants of a 
 town to turn the sewage into the wells of the next village j and this is a 
 question in social science which requires a vigorous treatment. 
 
 As the sewage is supplied over a large area, all good water supply 
 ceases. The cattle are compelled to drink sewage, and the men, under the 
 great pressure of thirst, seek the cleanest water they can find, although, 
 if taken near the farm, it is poisonously contaminated with putrescible 
 matter. 
 
 As a matter of medical social science the wells of a district should 
 never be allowed to be poisoned, if possible ; and, if impossible, without an 
 adequate supply of pure and wholesome water being afforded. 
 
 When the land is water-logged, the sewage passes over the surface, 
 when, instead of the pestilential effluvia being restricted to a channel a 
 few feet wide, it is spread oyer acres of surface, where the utmost possible 
 amount of sewage poison is communicated to the atmosphere. 
 
 What a pei-version of medical social science it is for the doctors of a 
 town to protest against the exhalation from a few square feet of exposed 
 sewage, and yet to regard as immaterial the effluvium of hundreds of acres 
 of sewage marsh. 
 
 But the sewage, as it runs over the earth, is now generally caused to 
 run through rye -grass, because the irrigators say that grass has a cleansing 
 effect. They are true to this extent, that the grass acts as a sort of brush 
 to the sewage, and the pestiferous slime adheres to the blades of the grass, 
 to be carried elsewhere, to be eaten by cattle. When the sewage grass is 
 made into hay, this slime is still adherent ; and, if it be steeped in water, 
 the infusion is acted upon by the sewage ferment, and sometimes putrefies 
 with disgusting effluvia. 
 
 Sewage irrigation cannot be said to be practised according to the rules 
 of social science until the irrigation is so conducted that the earth does not 
 become water-logged, and until the grass is not besmeared with all the 
 poisonous materials which sewage contains. 
 
 If the sewage-ground remains wet, vegetation is crippled, and it is 
 quite remarkable to observe how the roots of trees rot and how the trees 
 
No. XXXYI.B.] APPENDIX. 397 
 
 are blown over in the sewage-ground when the ground is water-logged. 
 Rose- trees, &c., are shown, in the committees of the Houses of Parliament, 
 as samples of sewage culture, which could not have existed on water-logged 
 sewage- grounds as now ordinarily conducted. 
 
 It has been stated that there is at the present time no town sewage 
 ground which does not exhale its detestable stench, and which does not 
 leave all the slush on the surface or on the grass. It is a curious fact that, 
 when the slush is left on the surface of the ground, it still exhales, after 
 the earth is dry, the faint, nauseous odour of sewage ; and I have walked 
 over sewage fields in the depth of winter, when even intense frost has not 
 prevented the faint and sickening exhalation from dry ground. 
 
 When the earth is dried after sewage irrigation, vegetation is prodi- 
 gious, oats attain incredible growth of straw, monster cabbages are raised, 
 extraordinarily-sized onions may be grown, but then, without particular 
 care, their juices are impaired, and their texture is so imperfect that they 
 have a tendency to rot. 
 
 It is necessary for the perfection of the vegetable tissue that the sew- 
 age should be commingled with the earth and changed in its nature before 
 it is absorbed by the plant. Asparagus watered with putrid manure is 
 most offensive, even after having been cooked. The strawberry, if watered 
 too late with liquid manure, becomes disgusting ; and it has been noticed 
 that cabbages become bad, and cauliflowers nauseous, if grown in unde- 
 composed foul manures. 
 
 Sewage produce is grown at one spot and transferred to another ; so it 
 is almost impossible to trace its baneful effects. Cartloads of watercresses 
 are sold in London, where some sewage (for they will not grow in pure 
 sewage) rims directly over them, so that their stalks are smeared with the 
 excrete of typhoid fever cases, with the epithelial scales of scarlet fever, 
 and with the ova of entozoon. And what may not happen, if we are again 
 afflicted with the scourge of cholera, if persons eat vegetables besmeared 
 with cholera virus ? Sewage produce not only contains within it, but has 
 disposed upon its surface, the germs of all contagious diseases, and who can 
 tell how many isolated cases of disease may have happened from this 
 source ? for who can tell whence their food has come ? and who can tell 
 where sewage produce goes ? 
 
 The followers of social medical science should take steps that persons 
 may not be poisoned unawares, and, when the mother goes to market to 
 provide the necessary fresh vegetables for her offspring, that she should not 
 buy at great cost a scarlet fever, a typhoid fever, a diarrhoea, or a cholera. 
 One town produces the poison, another, perhaps far distant, is affected by 
 it ; and as the peer, as well as the poor man, in the great metropolis, has 
 to depend upon the public markets for his vegetable supplies, competent 
 authorities ought to take care that wholesome food, and not contagious 
 poison, is sold to the public. 
 
 To the influence of sewage food upon cows I have lately called the 
 attention of the public. It seems to be worse at one season than at another. 
 When the experiment was tried in the spring, the milk became putrescible, 
 and so did the butter. Both were so bad that they could not be used. 
 Here again the difficulty arises as to how the wholesome milk can be dis- 
 tinguished from the putrescible. As far as I as yet know, the best plan is 
 to place aside some of the milk in a warm place, when, in a few hours, if it 
 
398 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.B. 
 
 contains any putrescible matter, it will show itself by an offensive odour, 
 and tlie amount in the milk may be determined by the amount of the odour 
 and the length of time over which it is exhaled. Experiments are still 
 proceeding on this matter. 
 
 Many attacks of typhoid fever have been traced to milk ; and as it 
 is no small difficulty, from the nature of the case, to trace an attack of 
 typhoid fever to milk, we may assume that there have been ten attacks 
 from that cause for every one that has been detected. 
 
 When milk has been the vehicle of typhoid poison, the following causes 
 have been assumed : 
 
 1. Foul water, containing typhoid poison, had been added to the 
 milk. 
 
 2. The milk had absorbed the typhoid poison from the air. 
 
 3. The cow had been in a diseased state. 
 
 4. The cow had drunk sewage. 
 
 5. The cow had eaten sewage deposited on the outside of the grass. 
 
 6. The cow had eaten grass the juices of which have been affected. 
 
 In the last cases the milk becomes putrescible, and, according to all 
 known science, capable of either producing or conveying the poison. 
 
 In the recent epidemic at Marylebone, the source of the typhoid was 
 traced to milk supplied by the Reform Dairy Company, and there the clue 
 appears to be lost ; and much more information is required, under all the 
 circumstances of the case, before any one is warranted in forming a decided 
 opinion. 
 
 The Reform Dairy Company, however, had, some years ago, a contract 
 with the Metropolitan Sewage Company for the supply of milk from the 
 sewage farm at Barking. 
 
 The Ref orm Dairy Company complained that the milk would not keep, 
 but turned sour and stank. 
 
 By direction of the Reform Dairy Company the Metropolitan Sewage 
 Company added to the milk at various times sulphate of soda, silicate of 
 soda, phosphate of soda, and sulphide of sodium, to prevent the milk from 
 going bad ; nevertheless, the Reform Dairy Company alleged that the milk 
 still continued to be very bad, and in the spring of 1869 the Reform Dairy 
 Company claimed a considerable sum of money for damages on account of 
 loss of customers from the bad milk, and proceedings at law were taken 
 by the Reform Dairy Company to recover the same. 
 
 The Reform Dairy Company attributed the mischief to the bad water 
 the cows drank ; and the water of one well was reported by an analyst 
 " as unfit for man or beast." 
 
 Since the action, the Reform Dairy Company were so impressed with 
 the danger of putrescible milk from sewage-grounds, that they determined 
 to have no more sewage milk 
 
 It appears that two epidemics of typhoid fever have appeared in esta- 
 blishments whilst supplied with milk from the Croydon Sewage Farm, one 
 at Beddington Schools, by the Wandle, where about sixty were attacked, 
 and three died ; one at the Clerks' schools, where one child and one gover- 
 ness died. The second case was communicated to me by the Secretary 
 lately, and was not known to me before. In these two cases it has been 
 stated that there were unfavourable conditions in the houses, beside the 
 supply of milk. 
 
No. XXXVI.B.] APPENDIX. 399 
 
 The use of bad milk affects the rich as well as the poor; and the 
 twenty deaths and the 200 attacks of fever which occurred lately from 
 poisoned milk distributed in Marylebone occurred amongst those in a good 
 position in society. 
 
 Milk is of such paramount importance to a metropolitan community, 
 that it should be an object of solicitude to the medical social inquirer that 
 it should be given to the public free from poisonous taint. 
 
 All medical men treat typhoid and other fevers by milk, and what can 
 be more contrary to scientific principles than to supply a fever case with 
 putrescible milk ? Hence the most stringent rules should be adopted to 
 keep milk from the dangerous proximity to sewage ; so that the cupidity 
 of man should not cause it to be added to the milk, nor the thirst of the 
 cow for it to be drunk, and thus to be passed on to the milk. Every house- 
 hold knows that when the nurse is injudicious in diet the baby cries, and 
 cowf eeders are fully aware that when cows eat wormwood the milk is bitter, 
 and when they partake of garlic it is highly tasted. 
 
 The effect of sewage food on the health of cattle and sheep is well 
 known to be deleterious. It has lately been stated by Mr. Scott that the 
 cows of Edinburgh, where they are fed upon sewage grass, have so high a 
 mortality, that the Cattle Insurance Company refused to renew the insur- 
 ance ; and I have the authority of the late auditor of the company for 
 stating that the enormous claims paid by the company for the Edinburgh 
 cows insured by them, and which died, ruined the company, and the refusal 
 to renew the insurance came too late. 
 
 An intelligent man who worked upon a sewage farm informed me 
 that many of the sheep on the farm, as anybody might reasonably have 
 expected, became, to use his own word, " rotten." The rot in sheep is due 
 to an entozoon called a fluke, which in the human being becomes an 
 hydatid, and whilst sheep had the rot and were passing the ova of hydatids, 
 the water was flowing to watercresses, from whence this terrible malady 
 (which is estimated to kill 400 persons annually) might conveniently be 
 conveyed by its host to the interior of man. 
 
 In 1869 a great epidemic broke out on the sewage-grounds of Croydon 
 amongst the cattle, about which there were strange reports. To clear up 
 the mystery, the following questions were sent to the Croydon Board, who 
 declined to answer them : 
 
 1. How many cattle existed on the sewage-ground before the epidemic 
 appeared ? 
 
 2. Had cattle been introduced from any other locality? if so, how 
 many, and from whence ? 
 
 3. On what day did murrain appear on the irrigation-ground ? 
 
 4. How many cattle have been attacked in all since that day ? 
 
 5. Have any cattle since that day been killed ? and, if so, how many ? 
 
 6. If sold, to whom were the carcases consigned ? 
 
 7. Were the carcases used for human food ? and, if so, who inspected 
 them, to see that they were fit to be eaten ? 
 
 8. Have any cattle been sold other than for human food ? if so, were 
 the purchasers informed that murrain existed in the sewage-grounds, that 
 the contagion might not be propagated ? 
 
 9. What are the number of cattle now on the sewage-grounds ? 
 ****** 
 
400 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.B. 
 
 It is reported that twenty cattle died last winter on the sewage-grounds 
 of Croydon, and that four horses died this summer, so that it is both 
 heartless and cruel for Boards of Health to sell sewage grass as a healthy 
 produce. 
 
 In this case, again, the cattle are fed at one place, sold to a butcher at 
 a second, and distributed for food to a third, and the person who eats them 
 does not know that he is eating sewage-fed cattle, nor can any person tell 
 where the sewage cattle are sent. 
 
 When illness arises from the use of bad meat, how is the poor person 
 to trace it, when the local so-called Boards of Health will not assist, but 
 resist the application for information in a contemptuous way ? 
 
 I once asked a clerk, who was troubled with tapeworm, why he bought 
 second-rate meat, which might have been grown on a sewage farm. He 
 replied that he had a large family, and could not afford to pay more. 
 " Then," I rejoined, " why do you not thoroughly cook it, to destroy any 
 germs of disease P" " If I do so," was the ready answer, " the meat would 
 so waste that there would not be enough to go round." The tapeworm in 
 the man and the wasting of the meat showed the diseased state of the food 
 consumed ; but the councillors of one town do not eat the diseased meat 
 it ultimately finds its way to other towns, and the poor man obtains no 
 protection. In this case it is hardly to be expected that either a Bishop or 
 a Chancellor will suffer from disease or tapeworm as a sacrifice for the good 
 of the people, because they obtain good meat, and it is left to the middle - 
 class clerk to suffer from the cupidity of the sewage irrigators. 
 
 Labourers and navvies cannot perform their labour without good 
 meat, and they contrive, when in full work, to get the best beef, and leave 
 it to those above them, with limited incomes, to eat that which is inferior. 
 
 If social science is here to step in to protect the people, it must act at 
 the source of the mischief, where the cattle become diseased, and stop the 
 supply thence to the cities. 
 
 The sewage-grounds, after long-continued irrigation, become converted 
 into pestilential swamps, which snipes and wild ducks visit in winter, and 
 which exhale the most disgusting effluvium. The stench varies with the 
 weather. In a bright, windy day, it is comparatively little apparent, but 
 in a close evening it is most disgusting. 
 
 Why such a state of things, contrary to social scientific principles, 
 should not always give rise to cholera, typhoid and scarlet fever, no 
 medical man can tell. But when these diseases have a tendency to appear, 
 then the action of the sewage poison intensifies the maladies. And upon 
 these grounds social science ought to interfere and compel the sewage 
 irrigators to conduct their operations without causing these poisonous 
 exhalations. 
 
 Whether it is possible on a large scale, by under-draining or other- 
 wise, to thoroughly purify the water, remains to be proved ; but when we 
 see a large sewage-ground, as that of Croydon, left undrained, the proba- 
 bility of any improvement seems hopeless. 
 
 It may be possible, by a thin distribution of sewage say not more 
 than two feet in depth per annum, in favourable porous soils to dispose 
 of sewage, that it may all be taken into the earth. There is no doubt 
 that such an absorption might be effected in some uplands in the vicinity 
 of Croydon; but as there are 4,000,000 gallons per day to be disposed 
 
No. XXXVI.B.] APPENDIX. 401 
 
 of, no less than 2,700 acres would be required to take the water. The 
 amount is so large that the mind does not realize it, for who can form any 
 conception of 1,460 million gallons of sewage, which is the sum per 
 annum of the sewage of Croydon upon the chairman's statement of its 
 amount at 4,000,000 gallons a day, though I should have thought that 
 it would not have averaged above half that amount ? 
 
 After the sewage soaks through the land, the water is collected again 
 into another main stream. If the whole has filtered through the earth, the 
 fluid is clear; but, notwithstanding its brightness, it is frequently found to 
 be putrescible, when it ought not to be allowed to pass to the neighbouring 
 brook. In practice, the irrigator is often neglectful ; and I have seen an 
 acre or more transformed into a small sewage lake, from whence the 
 sewage has run unchanged into the river, to act as a poison to the inha- 
 bitants who live lower down the stream. 
 
 It is not safe to trust our senses to discover a small quantity of 
 sewage in a large quantity of water. On the occasion of the last visitation 
 of cholera, I was aware of a well the water of which was poisoned. I 
 urged the immediate removal of the pump handle, but loud were the 
 remonstrances of some of our most eminent bankers, who were thus 
 deprived of their usual water for luncheon. The water was proved to have 
 been derived from the worst of all possible sources ; but the presence of 
 saline matters in water is as attractive to human beings as it is to cattle. 
 
 It is perfectly manifest that sewage irrigation as now practised is a 
 failure, commercially as well as practically, for the disposal of sewage, as 
 sewage farms are continually to let. It therefore becomes a question for 
 social science to endeavour to devise, if practicable, some more perfect 
 system for the disposal of sewage. On a small scale this has been effected 
 by the earth closet ; but this has never been adapted to a town, and its 
 practical use on a large scale presents many difficulties and dangers. 
 
 If no better plan than irrigation can be discovered, then social science 
 must determine whether any mode can be adopted to destroy the sewage 
 matter before it goes upon the ground. The Lime process, the Salts of 
 Iron process, the A. B. C. process, Anderson's precipitating process (as 
 used by the General Sewage and Manure Company), Scott's process, and 
 others too numerous to mention, are in this direction. If any plan for 
 the thorough destruction of the poisonous character of sewage can be 
 discovered, great good will be effected. Some of these processes have 
 been highly extolled; but further experience is required before the uni- 
 versal adoption of any such plan can be recommended. 
 
 The influence of carbolic acid in determining the mode of putrefaction 
 is very remarkable. It is stated that it has been applied with success to 
 sewage; but a more extended experience is required before it can at 
 present be recommended on a large scale. The influence of animal char- 
 coal, peat charcoal, and cinders, has also to be considered and made the 
 subject of further experiment ; but hitherto they have not been reported 
 to be successful, and every process appears to fail to get rid of the urea. 
 
 Unquestionably difficulties present themselves in dealing with the 
 sewage question. Financial companies are said to have large sums of 
 money invested upon a false estimate of the high money value of sewage. 
 The Mapplin Sand speculation influences the matter ; complicated private 
 interests are interfered with ; and some landowners get as much as 10 an 
 
 2 D 
 
402 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.B. 
 
 acre to permit sewage to be used on their land. The mode in which the 
 subject is handled by committees of both Houses of Parliament, where 
 so-called skilled witnesses have made the most ignorant and exaggerated 
 statements of the money value of sewage and the perfection of irrigation, 
 has interfered seriously with the scientific solution of the question. Not- 
 withstanding all these difficulties, medical social science has only steadily 
 to point out the ill effects of sewage irrigation, when we may confidently 
 predict that ultimately the sewage irrigators will be compelled to respect 
 the health of the general community as well as that of their own town, 
 that the public may be protected against a vitiated atmosphere, poisoned 
 water, water-logged soil, sewage-tainted vegetables, putrescible milk, and 
 diseased meat. 
 
 It is curious with regard to all sewage questions, that the facts are 
 cross-stated. "Whilst independent and disinterested observers see the great 
 evils attendant upon the system as now practised, others, who are in- 
 terested either in the promotion of sewage irrigation or continuing it, 
 speak of the results in the most superlative manner The dis- 
 sentients are fully entitled to ask that all sewage produce should be labelled 
 as such. If the produce is as good as the sewage irrigators declare, such 
 a course must enhance its price ; but if it is as indifferent as impartial 
 observers state, then those who do not like it will not have it thrust upon 
 them by stealth. 
 
 The problem of the day is, how to deal with sewage in our inland 
 towns, as vast sums of money have been already spent. The treatment of 
 the subject requires great prudence and moderation, for it is clear, where 
 millions of gallons of water have to be dealt with, that the fluid must 
 ultimately go by some river or channel to the sea, or be distributed over so 
 large a surface that it can be absorbed by the earth, a case which can but 
 rarely happen. If a due supply of water for ordinary cleanliness be em- 
 ployed, the resultant discharge of water from large towns must always be 
 enormous. I submit that the only safe plan, under the circumstances, is 
 to confess our ignorance, and to set to work experimentally to decide the 
 question at issue. First, let us try to keep the sewage proper within a 
 more reasonable compass and separate from the enormous bulk of water 
 with which it is mixed. Secondly, let us endeavour to destroy the poison- 
 ous character of the sewage, and get it into a state adapted for vegetation. 
 Thirdly, let us endeavour to cleanse the water by precipitation, and then 
 by filtration through so large an area of land that a pestilential marsh is 
 not created. 
 
 When all these things are effected, and the public health secured, it 
 will be time to consider the economical bearing of the problem ; but life 
 and health ought to be considered before any question of wealth and gain. 
 It is folly to trust the management of sewage to town councils, con- 
 stituted as they usually are, especially whilst we are ignorant of the best 
 plan to be pursued. The only practical method is for the country to place 
 the sewage from one or two of our large towns under trained persons, 
 accustomed to original investigation and to the interrogation of nature, to 
 work out experimentally the matter, that the country may know upon 
 what principles, under varying circumstances, the distribution of sewage 
 may be rendered innocuous, when, from the circumstances of the case, it 
 cannot be carried to the wide ocean, which, with our present knowledge, is 
 the safest plan that can be followed. 
 
No. XXXVI.c.] APPENDIX. 403 
 
 No. XXXYI.c. 
 
 PROPOSED HEADS OF LEGISLATION FOR THE REGULATION 
 OF SEWAGE-GROUNDS. Paper read before the Society of Arts, 
 Dec. 1, 1875, by ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 THE extension of the water-closet system in our towns during the last 
 quarter of a century has been attended with great convenience to the 
 inhabitants of individual towns, but the consequences have entailed 
 corresponding injury on the general public. The quantity of water 
 required for the water-closet system amounts to about thirty gallons 
 per head a day, which for a town of reasonable magnitude causes a 
 river of sewage to run from the town, which has to be disposed of. 
 
 At first the sewage was carried to the nearest stream in such quantities 
 that every river in England was converted into a huge sewer, and the 
 Thames itself on one occasion was black from the putridity of the sewage 
 matters discharged into its waters. 
 
 The pollution of rivers was of so serious an extent that a Rivers 
 Pollution Commission was instituted, and steps were taken to prevent 
 our rivers from being destroyed and contaminated by the sewage of 
 our towns. 
 
 To remove sewage from the rivers it was determined to apply it to the 
 earth, and at first the most exaggerated notions were entertained by high 
 authorities as to its value as a manurial agent, and theorists indicated that 
 by its use so much vegetation would be grown, and so large an amount of 
 meat produced, that every one in this land who scarcely tasted animal 
 food once a week would have a daily and ample supply. 
 
 Unfortunately, however, such fallacious hopes have been long dis- 
 sipated. Sewage irrigation has been found, as a general rule, to be a 
 troublesome, an expensive, and an unsatisfactory process. Wherever 
 practicable, it is preferable to carry it to the wide ocean, there to be 
 oxidized by the winds and waves ; and only when that is impossible from 
 the distance to be traversed, are sewage-grounds, with the present state of 
 our knowledge, to be adopted. 
 
 There are situations where the water-closet system is employed, in 
 which it is necessary to purify the sewage, and in these cases the question 
 of the conduct of irrigation-grounds has to be considered. 
 
 The theory of returning to the earth, by sewage, that which is taken 
 from the earth by food, commands our respect and attention. But the 
 sewage is diluted with so much water that it cannot be practically returned 
 to the earth in a suitable state for plants. Up to this moment it has not 
 been satisfactorily separated from the fluid so as to be economically 
 applicable in a dry state, and the enormous bulk of the liquid prevents its 
 being economically employed in the fluid state. 
 
 In considering the qualities of sewage, the large quantity of in- 
 organic poisonous matter which is cast into sewers deserves notice. 
 Cyanide of potassium and the refuse of all the photographic establish- 
 ments, various metallic poisons from the electro-chemical works, the fluid 
 residue of various manufactories, disinfecting solutions, &c., are passed 
 into the sewage. 
 
 2 D 2 
 
404 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.o. 
 
 Sewage has had so poisonous an effect on the river Thames that 
 where fish formerly abounded none are now to be found. Within my 
 memory flounders were caught in abundance between London and 
 Southwark bridges. At Erith abundance of fish used to be caught, but 
 now it appears that the river there is void of fish. Lamperns are now 
 only taken by hundreds where thousands were formerly caught, and eels 
 are gradually disappearing. 
 
 Sewage-grounds are to be employed solely for the purpose of sanitary 
 protection. All questions of cost must be subordinate to sanitary science. 
 Sewage-grounds should never be employed except in the absence of better 
 methods of disposing of the sewage, and when used should be regarded as 
 a necessity, to be placed under the most stringent regulations, to protect 
 the health of those exposed to their influence, and to protect damage to 
 property which may arise from their vicinity. 
 
 The idea of profit from sewage-grounds is fortunately now exploded. 
 The real object is to get rid of the sewage at the least possible cost, and by 
 the least objectionable method, and if judiciously used the value of the 
 produce may tend to diminish the expense of the abatement of the 
 nuisance, and that is all which is possible to be effected. In some cases a 
 subvention from the town may be necessary to get rid of the sewage. 
 
 Sufficient experience has been afforded of the properties of sewage- 
 grounds to enable us to settle the chief points which are required to be 
 enforced for their proper conduct, and it is manifestly desirable to obtain 
 a legislative enactment that they may be so controlled that they may inflict 
 a minimum injury on the health of the adjacent inhabitants, and the least 
 possible depreciation of the value of the neighbouring property. 
 
 If sanitary science be true, then is the principle on which sewage- 
 grounds have been hitherto conducted false ; and if the principle of the 
 present conduct of sewage-grounds be true, then is all known sanitary 
 science false. 
 
 The usual plan which is adopted for the location of a sewage-ground 
 is to select a spot in a district away from the town to be cleansed, so that 
 in fact the nuisance is simply transferred from one district to a second 
 which has no voice in the management, and the residents of which are 
 powerless to help themselves against the encroachment. Thus Croydon 
 cleanses itself, but pollutes Beddington. Croydon has no interest but to 
 save expense to itself, whilst Beddington has to suffer from the parishioners 
 of Croydon. 
 
 This manifest injustice might be remedied by requiring a majority of 
 the ratepayers of any other parish to concur in the establishment of a 
 sewage-ground within its district. Should a sewage-ground be formed in 
 any neighbouring parish without such leave, a fine might be inflicted of 
 100 a day. The fine may appear large, but the irrigators having to deal 
 with the funds of the ratepayers would take no heed of small sums, unless, 
 indeed, it was enacted that the persons violating the order should pay the 
 amount of the fine from their own pockets, when probably a much 
 smaller fine would be adequate. At present the sewage is no more disposed 
 of by carrying it from one district to another than if the housemaid of one 
 house were to throw the refuse over the wall of her master's house into the 
 garden of the adjoining house. 
 
 When a sewage-ground is proposed to be located, the scheme should, 
 
No. XXXVLcJ APPENDIX. 405 
 
 in the interest of all concerned, be approved by an independent public 
 officer. The nature of the ground to be irrigated is of importance, for it 
 is necessary for successful irrigation that the sewage should pass com- 
 pletely into the ground. Any place which is waterlogged is not suitable ; 
 and even at the Croydon sewage-ground water lies on an average within 
 two or three feet from the surface of all parts of the sewage farm. Again, 
 care should be taken that in the choice of a situation underground channels 
 capable of directly conveying the sewage to distant parts should be avoided ; 
 for example, chalk strata have cracks probably of miles in length, having 
 an uneven character. The cracks or fissures vary in width from a hair's 
 breadth to a width of nine or ten inches, and if sewage were turned into 
 one of these fissures it might reappear some miles off. The question of 
 these fissures, which exist all round London, opens up very serious con- 
 siderations, as the water is liable to contamination from cesspools. The 
 importance of the subject has attracted the attention of engineers, and 
 may possibly be the subject of a paper at some future period. The 
 employment of a sewage-ground without the approval of a public officer 
 should be forbidden under a penalty of at least 50 a day. 
 
 At the present time parts of the sewage-ground actually employed for 
 irrigation frequently abut on the property of neighbouring proprietors, 
 which is greatly damaged. It is also frequently abutting on the highway. 
 I have heard it given in evidence before a committee of the House of Lords 
 that a sewage-ground was so near suburban villas, that the inmates played 
 at croquet upon the very verge of the pestilential marsh so created, a state 
 of things which should be rigidly prevented. At Beddington, I have often 
 seen the irrigation carried to the very verge of the high road, or beside the 
 property of neighbouring landowners. Now not less than 200 yards should 
 intervene between the part irrigated and any highway or adjoining pro- 
 perty, under a penalty of not less than 10 a day. The interval of 200 
 yards is by no means sufficient under all circumstances to fully protect 
 the public from the abominable stench and pestiferous effluvia of sewage- 
 grounds, though it would afford very substantial relief from the emana- 
 tions whenever the atmosphere possessed an average state of diffusive 
 power. In calm " muggy " evenings the distance will be manifestly 
 insufficient, and therefore should be increased wherever practicable. The 
 nuisance committed by the emanations of a sewage-ground varies every 
 day, and at every hour of the day, with the atmosphere. In a clear bright 
 day, with wind and a rapid motion of the air upwards, it is reduced to a 
 minimum. In evening and morning with slight haze and stillness it is 
 increased to a maximum. 
 
 At the time I was writing the work ' My Garden/ I was examining 
 historical remains on the sewage-grounds. I was there one evening (when 
 only one irrigation had taken place) ; the ground had dried, and the grass- 
 seed was sown, and yet the stench at sundown was so intolerable that we 
 were glad to leave the place. I have also been at the sewage-grounds during 
 frost, and even then the exhalations were most offensive and disagreeable. 
 
 The fact is, that unless the sewage is defecated before irrigation, a 
 layer of faecal matter is deposited on the surface of that part of the ground 
 which has no crops upon it ; and if there are crops, the fsecal matter is 
 deposited upon the plants growing upon it. For this reason sewage 
 irrigation cannot be practised without creating a nuisance, except by 
 
406 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.c. 
 
 the previous removal of the solid matter, and the precipitation of the 
 greater part of the dissolved parts of the animal matter. 
 
 As defecation is a necessity, the penalty for neglect should certainly 
 be not less than 50 a day. It would not be desirable to compel sewage to 
 be defecated by any particular process, because some experience is required 
 as to which, in the long run, under all circumstances and at all times, 
 shall have the preference. The processes of precipitation by lime, by 
 alum, by sulphate of alumina, by phosphate of alumina, by alum, blood, 
 and clay, are in good repute, for their powers of precipitation, but not for 
 the expense which they entail. General Scott has invented a remarkable 
 and very original mode of dealing with the sludge. He converts it into 
 cement to be used in building, and the similarity of the mud with that 
 on the Medway, ordinarily employed for the manufacture of cement, is 
 remarkable. Doubtless this process would never entirely cover the cost of 
 the purification of sewage, though it may tend, in a great degree, to lessen 
 the expense. 
 
 There is no question but that sewage may be rendered perfectly bright 
 and clear by precipitation, even when coloured, as at Leeds, with dye 
 matters, but then it mostly contains some animal matter in solution, which 
 has to be afterwards removed. Most praiseworthy attempts have been 
 made to render this precipitate of real agricultural value. The sludge 
 ought to contain all the manurial properties, but probably it is altered, for 
 farmers will hardly carry it away at one shilling a ton. Some inventors 
 have sought to add to it elements which may increase its value ; but 
 although some of those products are claimed to have a value of from 
 3 to 4 a ton, experience does not warrant us in saying that any one 
 process, up to this time, is a substantial commercial success. It is a 
 curious fact that the sludge of a charcoal process has the remarkable 
 power of oxidizing organic matter, from the animal charcoal which it 
 contains, and if an animal be placed in it the flesh will be entirely destroyed 
 without smell. If ever one process be found which shall yield a precipitate 
 of universally acknowledged value, the difficulties of the sewage question 
 will in a great measure be overcome. The question is not yet quite satis- 
 factorily determined which process, taking into consideration the value of 
 the resulting product, is attended with least expense. The sewage water 
 when defecated and precipitated should pass into the ground, and not over 
 the ground ; for when it passes over the ground, as I have myself often 
 seen, it passes off as sewage with all its concurrent evils. 
 
 The fine for the impropriety of neglecting to cause the water to pass 
 into the ground might well be fixed at 10 a day, as the result would 
 greatly depend upon the irrigation being conducted in a proper and suit- 
 able manner. 
 
 It not unfrequently happens that the sewage, when allowed improperly 
 to run over the ground, is not retained in the sewage-ground, but passes to 
 the territory of neighbouring proprietors. This is a serious injury to them, 
 for whilst the proprietor of the sewage-ground obtains as much as 12 an 
 acre for permitting the abomination on his land, otherwise not worth 3 
 an acre, the adjacent owner is subjected to all the evils and inconvenience 
 without any compensation whatever. A penalty for such a violation of the 
 rights of property might be fixed at 20 for every day when such an injury 
 is inflicted. I have myself seen the places where sewage has overflown the 
 
No. XXXVI.C.] APPENDIX. 407 
 
 beautiful park of Beddington for fifty or sixty yards from the neighbouring 
 sewage -ground. 
 
 The general conduct of the sewage-ground from the commencement of 
 the process to its termination requires the most careful supervision. The 
 great artery passing from the town is usually covered up within their own 
 district, but the moment it passes from their district it is no more an 
 object of solicitude to the ratepayers of the town, but is frequently left 
 open to pollute the air of the neighbouring villages. 
 
 Sanitary science enjoins the most vigilant care of sewers in the district, 
 but the moment the district is crossed, sanitary science is disregarded as 
 though it were unimportant. 
 
 What the Boards of Health of towns do not do with a good grace they 
 should be compelled to do under fine, and it would not be unreasonable to 
 subject them to a fine of 25 a day if they permit their main or sewage 
 arteries to be exposed within 100 yards of a highway or of any private 
 property. At the present time it not unfrequently happens that no pre- 
 caution is taken against the sewage, whether not defecated or defecated, 
 from passing on to vegetables used for food in a raw state. For instance, 
 at the fever-stricken town of Croydon, there are no special precautions 
 taken to avoid the excreta of a typhoid case from passing to watercresses, 
 and hence faecal matter may be served back to themselves, or on the tables 
 of the unsuspecting aristocracy of London, within forty-eight hours from 
 its passage from a patient about to die of the disease. 
 
 Watercresses act as a scrubbing-brush to the sewage, and remove all 
 the solid flocculi from the water which adhere to the stalks. 
 
 Typhoid faecal matter is absolutely poisonous in the sanitary district, 
 but how many persons take it into the stomach after it has passed their 
 own immediate district the so-called sanitary authorities appear to be 
 perfectly indifferent. 
 
 To ' prevent this horrible, disgusting, and dangerous outrage on the 
 community, a penalty of at least 100 a day should be inflicted on any 
 person growing, or permitting to be grown, salad of any kind upon a 
 sewage-ground, and the public ought to be further protected against the 
 cupidity of Boards of Health who would imperil the lives of communities 
 for a small extra gain, by imposing a penalty of 5 on any person know- 
 ingly selling salads from sewage-grounds, and this penalty should be 
 imposed for every offence committed. There is no reason whatever why 
 unsuspecting persons should be exposed to this loathsome and dangerous 
 risk, and the fullest protection ought to be offered to the public against it. 
 Salad may be defined, for the purpose of such protection, to be any plant 
 ordinarily used by man in an uncooked state. 
 
 As it may be regarded as an undoubted fact that vegetables take up 
 foul sewage matters, and it requires considerable time before they are 
 changed in the tissues of the plant, no vegetable ought to be used for 
 human food, even in the cooked state, until suitable time is allowed for 
 the assimilation and changing of the sewage matter in the substance of 
 the plant. The time would necessarily vary with the time of year, the 
 temperature, the active state of the plant, the amount of light, and various 
 other conditions, but probably an interval of two months would afford a 
 reasonable protection after defecated sewage had been applied to the 
 growing plant. The penalty for infraction of the law might be fixed at 
 
408 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.c. 
 
 20 for every offence, and any other person knowingly selling such produce 
 might in like manner be subject to a penalty of 5 for every offence. It 
 is known in France that when vineyards are irrigated by sewage the 
 quality of the wine is impaired and not restored for years. 
 
 It cannot be a proper thing for cattle to be fed on food which in its 
 relation to sewage is under circumstances unfit for the food of man. At 
 the present moment we are not thoroughly acquainted with the action of 
 the typhoid fever poison, the cholera ppison, or the erysipelas poison on 
 cattle, and until we have such knowledge we should act on the side of 
 prudence. We know the commimicability of disease from one kind of 
 animal to another. We know that the milk of cows suffering from the 
 foot-and-mouth disease is highly fatal to pigs, and so we ought to protect 
 cattle by reasonable care from either eating or drinking the excreta of 
 diseases of mankind of a contagious character. 
 
 Much grass is sold from sewage farms. Of the state of that grass one 
 member of a Board of Health has favoured us with an account. 
 
 Probably a penalty of 5 for every offence of the sale or employment 
 of vegetables for cattle, other than milch cows, less than one month after 
 the application of sewage, would be an adequate protection to the 
 community. 
 
 But everybody knows that the milk of all animals is affected by what 
 the mother eats, and therefore it is much more important that milch cows 
 should be further protected than cattle : hence a higher penalty may be 
 inflicted in these cases, and a longer time after irrigation demanded. The 
 real time actually required after irrigation must necessarily depend upon 
 the temperature, the light, the power of assimilation by the plant, as has 
 already been pointed out ; yet, in a practical way, an interval of six weeks 
 may be taken as a necessary time which ought to elapse after irrigation, 
 and this might be enforced by a penalty of 10 for every offence. 
 
 The buyers of the sewage grass, in the state which has been described, 
 are mostly poor men, of little experience and less knowledge. They 
 believe that they are buying cheaply and safely, relying upon the honour 
 of a Board of Health as to the quality ; but whether the sale of such stuff 
 as wholesome grass does not in point of law really amount to a fraud, I 
 must leave to be decided by the legal advisers of Boards of Health. 
 
 We have experimented upon it with cows, but used alone it seemed to 
 be insufficient for the support of life, and it had to be discontinued to 
 prevent its killing the animal by diarrhoea and wasting. The milk from 
 cows fed from such grass I have ascertained, by numerous experiments, to 
 be liable to become putrid, while butter made from such milk goes rapidly 
 rancid, and I have found the casein is frequently altered in quality, and 
 sometimes will actually dialyse. An elaborate account of our investiga- 
 tions upon this head occurs in my son's book, * On Milk in Health and 
 Disease,' and so it is unnecessary to consider the matter further in this 
 paper. 
 
 No infant or invalid should ever be fed on milk from cows fed with 
 sewage grass. It is of such great importance to the public to insure the 
 sale of a pure wholesome milk, that they should abstain from buying milk 
 of any dairyman who is known to purchase sewage grass. As long as 
 Boards of Health can sell sewage grass, their cupidity will prevent them 
 from knowing that sewage grass is immature grass, plus frecal matter. 
 
No. XXXVI.c.] APPENDIX. 409 
 
 If the addition of faecal matter to grass and hay be right for cattle to 
 eat, as irrigators pretend, then have all former agriculturists been at fault, 
 as they ought to have added fsecal matter to the food wherewith they fed 
 their cows and heifers. 
 
 Either agricultural science is true, and irrigation science is false ; or, 
 irrigation science true, and agricultural science false. 
 
 I have suggested to the engineer of the Leeds works that the final 
 oxidation of animal matter in effluent sewage water may possibly be 
 effected in the water instead of exposing it on the land. For this purpose 
 I have ventured to recommend tentatively that it be run through ponds 
 full of anacharis, which is a rapid grower and gross feeder, and evolves 
 much oxygen. I have also suggested that beds of reeds might be tried for 
 the same object. By experiment it has been ascertained at my garden 
 that the growth of anacharis is enormously promoted by sewage, and 
 the water is much purified thereby, but how far it may be advantageously 
 employed on a large scale experience can alone decide. 
 
 The water, after it has passed over the sewage-grounds, of necessity 
 must pass to the nearest river, except in such cases where the ground 
 absorbs the whole, or where there are underground cracks by which it can 
 be carried away. At a late meeting of the medical officers of health, one 
 of the District Board of Croydon pointed out that persons drank the 
 effluent water, and spoke of it with such apparent delight that but for our 
 natural understanding it might have been supposed that effluent sewage 
 was a good and proper beverage. I have heard other persons descant upon 
 the merits of effluent sewage for the beverage of the inhabitants of neigh- 
 bouring villages, but never for their own use. Now a more disgusting 
 insanitary idea cannot be imagined ; and if the directors of sewage farm 
 towns have not the good feeling to prevent so filthy a use of sewage by 
 their neighbours, they surely should be compelled by law to pay the 
 penalty of their want of decency. 
 
 Those who are likely to drink sewage water are travellers, tramps, and 
 others, who do not know what it is, and if they contracted disease thereby 
 would carry it away to distant places. On this account the entire com- 
 munity is interested in preventing its use unawares. Sewage irrigators, 
 in the height of their enthusiasm for their subject, have been heard to 
 declare that persons have preferred their effluent sewage to the well waters 
 of the district. 
 
 The best protection might be afforded by enacting that every stream 
 conveying effluent water from any sewage-ground should have a notice- 
 board affixed at every point where it abuts upon a highway, or on property 
 belonging to other owners until it enters a river, and that the notice should 
 be placed in legible letters : " Town Sewage, Effluent Stream, Dangerous 
 for Use." The penalty for any neglect should not be less than 50 a day, 
 as the danger is so great and the remedy so simple. With such a notice- 
 board our sense of propriety could never again be offended by innocent 
 persons drinking the water which has passed within a few hours from the 
 water-closets of sewage towns. 
 
 In all sewage farms the water in the district irrigated, or even in the 
 neighbourhood, is more or less poisoned, according to the circumstances of 
 the case, and it is only reasonable that those who poison should afford an 
 antidote to the poison. Before a sewage-ground is allowed to pollute the 
 
410 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVLc. 
 
 springs, pure and good water should be supplied. On the sewage-ground 
 itself pure water should surely be at hand at stations within 250 yards 
 of each other at a minimum, and it would be no great hardship to place 
 such a number of stand-pipes. The penalty for such an obvious neglect of 
 sanitary principles might be 20 a day. 
 
 There is reason to suspect that milk on sewage farms has been 
 directly adulterated with sewage, which unfortunately is very difficult to 
 detect, and permits more to be added with impunity than when pure water 
 is used ; but at any rate, when employed on sewage farms, cattle should 
 at least have wholesome water for beverage. Wherever the wells in the 
 neighbourhood of sewage-grounds are poisoned by sewage, a similar 
 penalty might be enforced for neglect to supply pure water for the wants 
 of man and beast. 
 
 Sanitary science forbids the use of well-water contaminated with 
 sewage, but sanitary administrators take no heed of communicating 
 sewage to the wells of their neighbours, as they appear to think that 
 sanitary science is unimportant when any expense to themselves is in- 
 curred. Shallow wells, for instance, near the Croydon irrigation-grounds, 
 are unfit for use. 
 
 Sewage towns have always been very jealous of giving information, 
 because it may lead to expense, but Boards of Health ought not to be 
 allowed to shelter themselves iinder a suppression of facts. It was only at 
 a late meeting of the medical officers of health, to which I was politely 
 invited, that all present went away, at 10 o'clock on Saturday night, 
 firmly impressed that Oroydon was perfectly healthy and free from all 
 fever. We were all astonished, but delighted, for many of us considered 
 that Croydon was in great peril of serious epidemic diseases. Judge my 
 surprise, however, when the first person who came before me on Monday 
 morning at the Bank of England informed me that his child had typhoid 
 fever. My informant stated that he knew of other cases, and of some 
 deaths, and subsequently that his wife and servant had died. These were 
 followed on the following Wednesday by the declaration by the Registrar- 
 General of five cases of death from fever from Croydon, and the following 
 week of another five cases. On further inquiry from the inhabitants of 
 Croydon, I found that cases of fever were interspersed all over the town, 
 that a great epidemic was raging in it, so that at the very time that a 
 member of the Council Board was giving information to the medical 
 officers of health of this great metropolis, the excreta of numerous fever 
 cases were being distributed over the sewage-grounds, and no precautions 
 were being taken that fever f*cal matter was not served with salad upon 
 the tables of the inhabitants of London, Croydon, and the neighbouring 
 villages, and no means were taken to prevent innocent persons from 
 drinking the effluent water which, according to the information of persons 
 whom I employ to watch the conduct of the sewage-grounds, was to some 
 extent running direct from the water-closets of Croydon to the affected 
 stream. The public have a right, after such facts, to possess accurate 
 knowledge. At Florence, the rate of death from fever I have myself seen 
 to be posted weekly at the door of the Registrar to warn the inhabitants, 
 and what can be done at Florence can be done at any farm sewage town ; 
 then, is it not desirable that the Legislature shall enforce it to be done, 
 under a penalty for every omission of 20, and that any person wilfully 
 
No. XXXVI.C.] APPENDIX. 411 
 
 concealing a death from zymotic disease, or giving knowingly any false 
 information to deceive the Registrar, shall be subject to a penalty of 5 
 for erery offence ? 
 
 It is perfectly plain that a certain member of the Croydon Board was 
 not even aware that a terrible epidemic of typhoid fever was raging in his 
 district. He wrote thus on the 15th of May : " Instead of the farm of 
 Beddington being a dangerous swamp, a pestilential swamp, a pestiferous 
 marsh as some persons have stated, no offensive odour can be detected, 
 and the neighbourhood is not injuriously affected by miasma, neither has 
 the farm been the means of introducing disease and death into the 
 district, as its introduction has been coincident with a less death-rate and 
 a clean bill of health, and in particular no death from fever had occurred 
 during the whole of last year." Now, if any person living in this lament- 
 ably fever-stricken town never heard of the epidemic, how are the public 
 to know that every one of their families was exposed to disease and death ? 
 How urgently is it required that the members of Boards of Health, instead 
 of giving imperfect information to the public through the newspapers and 
 societies, should have the means of knowing the truth that they may not 
 propagate error. 
 
 Ninety-one persons have perished from typhoid at Croydon since this 
 erroneous information has been given to the public. How far might a 
 right knowledge of the facts have saved valuable lives and permanent 
 injury to the constitutions of those who have been attacked by disease ? 
 how far might the injury to property have been averted by persons leaving 
 Croydon or abstaining from taking houses there ? how far might the 
 panic at this terrible epidemic have been prevented ? This it is hardly 
 possible to state. Truth alone can restore confidence ; for, in spite of any 
 amount of newspaper letters to the contrary, Croydon will be regarded 
 justly with suspicion for a long time to come. 
 
 In our consideration of sewage- grounds we should remember that 
 there are two distinct modes of fermentation of excretal matter; one the 
 ainmoniacal, the other the putrid. The ammoniacal fermentation is used 
 by the gardener in his hotbeds, and it produces warmth and a genial 
 atmosphere particularly favourable to the early and perfect growth of all 
 plants. The putrid fermentation is to be noticed in sewage, which causes 
 large leafy vegetation with delayed perfection, and so horticultural flowers 
 have leaf with little or no flower when watered with sewage. Crops grown 
 under sewage irrigation are always late, and consequently of much less 
 value in the market. 
 
 In the present state of our knowledge sewage-grounds should be 
 avoided where practicable, but when they are absolutely necessary, (1) the 
 sewage-ground should be located by a public officer under the Privy 
 Council ; (2) the sewage-ground should appertain to its own district, and 
 on no account be placed in any other parish without leave of the majority 
 of the inhabitants ; (3) irrigation should not be conducted within 200 
 yards of any highway or private property; (4) the sewage should be 
 carried to the grounds in covered ways, (5) and then defecated; (6) the 
 fluid should then be passed through the earth ; (7) in some cases it would 
 pass through the earth to unknown districts, and in others it would pass 
 off as a stream ; (8) it ought not to run over the neighbouring private 
 property, (9) but be retained within 200 yards of adjacent lands ; (10) the 
 
412 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.C. 
 
 effluent stream should be labelled, to show what it is; (11) the sewage 
 should not be applied to any salad ; and (12) no herbage should be sold or 
 used less than one month after irrigation has ceased : (13) nor should 
 herbage be used for milch cows less than six weeks after the cessation of 
 the irrigation ; (14) no vegetables should be sold for human food within 
 two months of irrigation; (15) good and wholesome water should be 
 supplied to the sewage-grounds, (16) and to any district where the wells 
 are poisoned by the sewage ; (17) in all towns having sewage-grounds the 
 Registrar of deaths should post every week at his office the number of 
 deaths from zymotic diseases, and, where practicable, the number of 
 persons attacked, particularising the name of the disease. 
 
 When all this is done, still the miasmatic, marsh-like influence of a 
 sewage-ground remains as a perpetual irremediable evil. If these condi- 
 tions are requisite for the reasonably safe conduct of sewage-grounds, then 
 where is there a sewage-ground which has attended to any one of them, 
 and has not conducted its operations regardless of injury to adjoining pro- 
 perty, but solely as a saving of cost to its own district ? Surely legislation 
 is urgently needed; and unless all known sanitary science is ignored, 
 sewage irrigators should be compelled to act under recognized universal 
 sanitary laws. 
 
 The penalties which have been recommended have been only those 
 which would commend themselves to the minds of any impartial person to 
 protect the public against the misdirection of sewage-grounds. They are 
 so obviously important as to require no comment. From my experience of 
 these local Boards of Health every statement is met with a flat denial, and 
 I should not be surprised to hear the necessity for such legislative enact- 
 ments denied. If there are local Boards of Health, however, who deny the 
 premisses upon which the necessity for penalties is concluded, they need 
 not fear the consequences. The penalties would not apply to themselves, 
 and they would conduct their self-esteemed perfect processes without fear 
 of molestation. To those who assume that their operations are perfect 
 I would say, Help the public to make those who do not conduct their 
 operations properly change their bad course. 
 
 The great sewage irrigation farm of Croydon is near my experimental 
 garden, and I have therefore had the fullest opportunities of noticing its 
 disgusting career. If the proposed penalties were enacted, the Board of 
 Health would have fallen heavily under the lash. For instance 
 
 1. Sewage is carried in a parish away from their 
 
 land without leave of the inhabitants : they 
 
 would incur a penalty of . . 50 a day. 
 
 2. They constantly irrigate within 200 yards of 
 
 other property or highways 10 
 
 3. Sewage is not defecated 50 
 
 4. Sewage often runs over the ground, and is 
 
 not filtered through the ground 10 
 
 5. Sewage runs over other property 20 
 
 6. Great sewer artery is not covered near 
 
 highway 25 
 
 7. Sewage is used for the growth of salad to an 
 
 enormous extent . 100 
 
NQ. XXXVI.c.] APPENDIX. 413 
 
 8. Cooking vegetables sold for human food 
 
 within two months of irrigation (no 
 information). 
 
 9. Sale of vegetables for cattle less than one 
 
 month after irrigation 10 a day. 
 
 10. Employment of vegetables for milch cows 
 
 within six weeks of irrigation 10 
 
 11. Effluent water not protected 25 
 
 12. No good water supplied to sewage farm . . 10 
 
 13. No good water supplied where wells are 
 
 poisoned 10 
 
 14. No list of zymotic diseases posted at door of 
 
 Registrar's office 20 
 
 Total .. 350 a day. 
 
 For the purpose of observing how far the principles which are incul- 
 cated in this paper are carried out abroad, I visited last week the sewage- 
 ground of Paris, which is situated in the district left by a bend of the 
 Seine, between Asnieres and St. Denis. About one-twelfth part of the 
 sewage of Paris was distributed over the ground. It was pumped by an 
 engine over a bridge of the Seine to a small reservoir, from which it flowed 
 in a channel, to be subdivided into lesser channels to be distributed over 
 the soil. The principal canal was, curiously enough, carried by the high 
 road to St. Denis, so that travellers were exposed to its pestilential emana- 
 tions, which had the most awful stench, and which, under the proposed 
 regulations, would have exposed the authorities to a fine of 10 a day. 
 The position of the ground itself is not approved by the neighbourhood, 
 for which a fine of 50 a day would have been incurred. No good water 
 was supplied to the irrigation-ground, which would have rendered the 
 authorities liable to a fine of 10 a day, nor was good water supplied to 
 parts where the wells were poisoned, for which they would have been liable 
 to a fine of 10 a day. The sewage was not defecated, which would have 
 rendered them liable to a fine of 50 a day. 
 
 Salad, as lettuce, endive, and it is stated celery, was grown upon the 
 place, for which a fine of 100 a day would have been incurred. I could 
 not ascertain that any precautions were taken to prevent cabbages and 
 other vegetables being used immediately after irrigation, though asparagus 
 was grown, which becomes most offensive when recently treated with 
 putrid sewage. There was no visible stream, so that the recommendatory 
 precautions against its improper use were not required, but the great 
 sewage artery was not covered, which would render them liable to a fine of 
 25 a day. Upon the whole, it is difficult to imagine how the French 
 people could possibly violate the laws of health, of physiology, and of 
 physical science, as they have done in the conduct of their sewage ; and 
 what may be the results, if twelve times the amount be conducted and 
 concentrated on one spot, may be difficult to be prognosticated. The state 
 of the case has been well set out in a petition to the Government from 
 the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. The petition was signed by 414 
 persons residing in the district, and was presented to the National 
 
414 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.c. 
 
 " The petitioners do not deny that the irrigation as hitherto practised 
 has conferred upon the sewage-grounds a fertility which they did not 
 formerly possess, and which has created some excellent kitchen gardens ; 
 but they beg to observe that the irrigation-grounds have been selected 
 amongst those best adapted for the purpose. The irrigation-grounds on 
 the 1st October, 1874, only comprised 113 hectares, and even then they have 
 only been subjected to the application of 50,000 cubic metres per annum. 
 
 " The petitioners are, therefore, not astonished to find that amongst 
 the cultivators of Gennevilliers there are some who are satisfied with the 
 irrigation and ask for the continuation, and even for the extension, of it. 
 However, the petitioners do not believe that their approval will be con- 
 tinued, for can the grounds continue for ever, and without rest, to imbibe 
 50,000 metres for each hectare for eveiy year putrescent waters which 
 deposit on the surface their offensive and putrid mud, and permeate the 
 ground with a liquid loaded with organic matters and deleterious gas ? 
 
 " The petitioners question the future because the absorption of 50,000 
 metres per hectare is impossible, and is recognized as being exorbitant, as 
 was proved by experience in Lombardy and in England, and so far im- 
 perfectly at Gennevilliers, that a great number of cultivators have declared 
 that they would not use a mode of irrigation which they consider as incon- 
 venient, unhealthy, and prejudicial to their cultivation. 
 
 " The sewage after having penetrated the superficial layers of the soil 
 is but incompletely purified, and does not return to the river, as is wrong- 
 fully asserted in the report of the technical commission to the Minister of 
 Public Works. The sewage water joins the subsoil water which percolates 
 from the Seine, and is added to it, so that since 1872 the level has been 
 raised two metres. In this case the subsoil water has overflowed the wells 
 and corrupted the water. They have overflowed the cellars, which they 
 have rendered wet and unhealthy; they have filled the vaults and the 
 quarries where they are exposed to view, and exhale the noxious effluvia, 
 and the marsh fever heretofore unknown in this country has taken pos- 
 session of it. 
 
 " If such results are already manifested by an irrigation which has 
 only had an existence of three years, and which is limited in extent to 
 113 hectares, what would the result be if that irrigation were extended to 
 2000 hectares, with an amount of sewage amounting to 100,000,000 of 
 cubic metres per annum ? 
 
 " The irrigation-grounds would become an immense marsh, from which 
 the pestilential emanations would evaporate, and not only affect Genne- 
 villiers, Asnieres, Colombes, and the other districts around, but would 
 penetrate to Paris itself." 
 
 The land upon which the irrigation is carried on is naturally barren, 
 and a contrary petition was presented by some cultivators who benefited 
 by the practice. 
 
 It is proper to notice that on a visit to the engineer, he distinctly 
 stated to me that he did not subscribe to the notion that the level of the 
 subsoil water had been raised two metres, but it appears to me that if the 
 sewage flows on to the land more rapidly than it can penetrate through it, 
 then the level of the subsoil must be raised. 
 
 The creation of so large a pestilential swamp must be a source of 
 serious injury, and, according to all known science, may in the future lead 
 
No. XXXVI.C.J APPENDIX. 415 
 
 to the fructification and distribution of some serious epidemic. Sewage 
 nuisances may exist for years without generating typhoid fever and 
 cholera, but where the diseases exist they intensify their power to the de- 
 struction of the neighbouring people. At Paris the amount of vegetation 
 is increased by the sewage being used over a deep bed of sand, and so the 
 cultivators are anxious for the profit ; but the use of such vegetation after 
 recent irrigation, with the prevalence of the typhoid which now exists in 
 Paris, may well make all persons fear who value wholesome food as a 
 preservative of health. 
 
 The whole tenor of these observations is to assimilate sewage-grounds 
 and sewage produce to the ordinary state of cultivated land and agricul- 
 tural produce. If any of these precautions are omitted, then secondary 
 protections would be required for example, against tapeworm and 
 diseased meat. There are strong reasons in the past for requiring, under 
 very heavy penalties, that the buyers of sewage-fed cattle should have their 
 names registered in a book open to the inspection of the public. 
 
 Under the system of penalties, which is the very minimum adequate 
 to preserve the public health, the Board of Health of Croydon would some- 
 times have incurred a payment of 350 a day. If this scale of penalties is 
 not found sufficient to restrain the above described reckless career of those 
 who conduct the sewage farms of this country, then the Legislature might 
 make the penalties personal upon the members of the Boards of Health. 
 It is not to be tolerated that those appointed to protect the health of one 
 district should be permitted to impair the health of the neighbouring 
 district. The effect of sewage-grounds, as hitherto conducted, has been as 
 bad morally on the minds of the people as it has been physically on their 
 bodies. Largely exaggerated statements have been made by their sup- 
 porters. Facts are suppressed, or not fairly given. General denials are 
 made to all complaints. The most insolent observations are made to those 
 who point out their dangers. Knowledge is arrogantly assumed where 
 ignorance abounds ; the promotion of sewage-grounds is made a source of 
 revenue at the public damage. Being an independent observer of the mad 
 career which the conductors of the sewage-ground are following, I have 
 placed this paper before the Society to indicate the scientific principles 
 which should guide their safe conduct, and also to serve as a public protest 
 against sewage-grounds as now conducted, that should,Un the future, some 
 terrible calamity occur from their abuse, blame may rest upon the heads of 
 those who recklessly abjure all known sanitary science. 
 
 The discussion that ensued was adjourned, and at a subsequent meet- 
 ing (Jan. 19th, 1876) Mr. Smee said his paper was intended to be a 
 belligerent one, in order to evoke discussion. He was not an enemy to 
 sewage irrigation, and the whole point of his paper was to show that 
 sewage farms must and ought to be properly and fairly conducted. Refer- 
 ring to the letter received from Mr. Hope, he said he considered it ought 
 to be printed in letters of gold, for in that letter the greater part of the 
 sewage questions were dealt with in a practical, philosophical, and almost 
 perfect manner. Time was the very essence of the thing, because if 
 animal matter were taken into the stalk of a plant it required a certain 
 time before it was assimilated, and that point was now conceded by those 
 who knew anything of the subject. Mr. Hope had not mentioned whether 
 
416 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.C. 
 
 he would defecate it; but if lie would, he should consider the labour 
 bestowed upon the preparation of the paper had been well spent. Next, 
 General Scott stated that all the evidence given before the Parliamentary 
 Committee showed that sewage must be defecated before it was put upon 
 the land ; and if that principle were admitted, the sewage question was 
 almost settled. That was why he thought there ought to be a penalty on 
 its non-adoption. Of course there was the difficulty and expense, which 
 often stood in the way ; and he had no doubt that if Mr. Latham could have 
 his own way, and were not hampered by the penny-wise and pound-foolish 
 principle, which he had himself condemned, he would soon have things in 
 proper shape. It has been said that he (Mr. Smee) had given no principles 
 on which the question should be dealt with ; but the fact was, it depended 
 on the principles of heat, cold, moisture, dryness, vegetable and animal 
 physiology, in short, on all the principles of nature. As to the fines of 350 
 a day being too heavy, that was but a small sum compared to the penalty 
 of 10,000 to which they were liable for a breach of the injunction 
 granted by the Court of Chancery against allowing any of the sewage to 
 Sow into the river Wandle to the injury of neighbouring owners, and 
 three such injunctions were granted against the Croydon Local Board. 
 There was a specimen on the table of a trout, one of a cartload which had 
 been killed by the poisonous matter turned into the stream, and which he 
 had assisted the Local Board authorities to trace to the gas-works, and 
 showed them how to get rid of it. This showed he had no ill-feeling 
 against them when they were willing to act properly. It has been asked, 
 why were they not prosecuted ? Perhaps it was not known how near they 
 had been to prosecution several times. He was not a public prosecutor, or 
 they would have been in his clutches long ago. With regard to the denial 
 of the statement that there had been an epidemic of typhoid fever, he 
 must say he never heard a more astounding statement. He held in his 
 hand the printed report stating the mortality, and no reference, even in a 
 note, to the fact of the epidemic, although it must have been known before 
 it was issued. An eminent medical man wrote as follows : " In February 
 three cases of typhoid appeared in the district. Two of these cases were 
 imported, and I was aware of their presence. By the end of April 
 more than 200 cases were known to have occurred." That was signed 
 " Alfred Carpenter, M.D.," and by the end of June he reported 34 killed 
 and 400 arrested. Then it was said that for ten years up to that time 
 Croydon had been perfectly free from typhoid fever, but this he (Mr. Smee) 
 could show not to be the case by reference to the returns. With regard 
 to the penalty he suggested for not making proper returns of the cause 
 of death, he considered that absolutely necessary for the security of the 
 people. On one occasion, having reason to believe that cases of fever had 
 occurred, he inquired of the undertaker where the deaths were registered, 
 and found it was at Sutton; but on sending to obtain the information be 
 was told he would have to pay a fee of 2s. 6d. for every certificate, and 
 thus it would have cost him 40 to get the information he wanted. That 
 showed that the system required alteration. A gentleman then present 
 told him that a friend of his came from Australia, and looking upon 
 Croydon as a healthy place took lodgings there, took the fever, and was 
 now in his grave. With regard to the sewage being diluted, he referred 
 to the enormous quantity of water involved, which no one but an engineer 
 
No. XXXVI.c:.] APPENDIX. 417 
 
 would have any idea of. One million gallons represented a height of 1,340 
 feet on an acre, or upwards of 4,000 feet for three millions, and dividing 
 that over 400 acres it represented 120 inches per annum, which was so 
 excessive that it must convert the land into a swamp. None of the Local 
 Boards could see it in that light, but the birds soon found it out, as was 
 proved by the quantity of snipe which visited it in the winter. If further 
 proof were needed, he might mention that on the previous Saturday some 
 thirty or more boys and girls were skating and sliding on the piece of 
 ground where it was said the water was drained away in the most satis- 
 factory manner. Again, it was said there was no putrid sewage at Oroydon ; 
 but every medical man knew that the poison of typhoid fever was far 
 more effective in its fresh state, and he stated that the sewage passed 
 over the land within ten hours, so that in less than a day fhe f secal matter 
 was in full bloom on the watercresses, tons and tons of which were grown 
 and sent to London. On the table were two vessels filled, one with water- 
 cresses, and the other with grass, over which filthy sewage had been 
 poured, and it would be seen that the water which flowed through was 
 tolerably clear, showing that the feculent matter was arrested by the 
 leaves and stalks of the vegetation, which was eaten, in one case by human 
 beings, and in the other by animals. Then it was said that no one had 
 suffered from the sewage farm, but extracts from the register would 
 show the cause of death in the instances referred to. (See p. 385.) He 
 had also obtained from Dr. Farr, at Somerset House, the following 
 figures as to the deaths at Carshalton, and it was there you must look for 
 the effects, not in Croydon itself : 
 
 Deaths at Carshalton. 
 
 
 Deaths. 
 
 Scarlet 
 Fever. 
 
 Fever. 
 
 Whoopiri] 
 Cough. 
 
 September quarter 1875 
 
 . . . 71 
 
 11 . 
 
 .. 
 
 .... 4 
 
 December 
 
 00 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Croydon Sub-district. 
 
 Zymotic. 
 
 June, 1875 369 60 
 
 September, 1875 359 69 
 
 Mr. had reproduced statistics which he had shown to be 
 
 fallacious on more than one occasion already, and in order that the matter 
 might be properly understood he had obtained from an eminent actuary 
 the following tables, the meaning of which would be explained by the 
 correspondence : 
 
 " 7, Finsbury Circus, London, E.G., 
 January 3rd, 1876. 
 
 " Mr DEAR SIR, It is a matter of public interest to know the rate of 
 mortality which may be expected per thousand in the town of Croydon, 
 where during the past year a great epidemic by typhoid fever has raged. 
 
 " If adequate materials exist for the calculation of an authoritative 
 statement of the numbers at each age and of both sexes, I should be 
 greatly obliged if you would calculate the expected number for me. It 
 appears to me that they should be calculated on the results of the 
 
 2 E 
 
418 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVLc. 
 
 mortality of Surrey, that is to say, of the population of Extra-Metro- 
 politan Surrey, which from its large amount will give satisfactory results ; 
 and I further think that we should make the comparative calculations for 
 the same year that the ages were determined, as the only method which 
 can give reliable results. 
 
 " Are there reliable data upon which similar calculations may be made 
 with regard to Beddington parish, as it is of much public importance that 
 a minute calculation should be made to compare the expected with the 
 real results ? 
 
 " I have the honour to be, my dear Sir, 
 
 " Yours very faithfully, 
 
 "ALFRED SMEE. 
 
 " F. A. CtrnTis,-Esq., F.I.A., Actuary to the 
 Gresham Life Assurance Society." 
 
 " The Gresham Life Assurance Society, 
 
 37, Old Jewry, E.G. 
 London, January 14th, 1876. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, Adequate materials exist in the Census Report for 
 1871, and in the Registrar-General's Annual Report for the same year, to 
 calculate the mortality which might be expected amongst the population 
 of Croydon based on the mortality which occurred amongst the population 
 of Extra-Metropolitan Surrey. 
 
 " I have the pleasure to enclose the result of the calculations, made 
 for every year up to five years of age, for every five years up to twenty-five 
 years of age, and subsequently for every ten years of age ; but as the 
 population of Croydon is included in the population returns of the Census 
 with reference to Extra-Metropolitan Surrey, I have deemed it necessary 
 for the purpose of a rigorous comparison to subtract from the population 
 of Extra-Metropolitan Surrey the numbers of persons living and dying in 
 the district of Croydon, by which it is shown that 56 more deaths at all 
 ages occurred at Croydon in 1871 than might be expected from the 
 mortality of Extra-Metropolitan Surrey. I have also calculated the mean 
 mortality per thousand; the results will be seen in the accompanying 
 tables. 
 
 " It is to be remarked that the mortality of the first years of infancy 
 is greatly in excess at Croydon over that in the Surrey district. 
 
 " I am not aware that any materials exist for estimating the mortality 
 in Beddington parish, as the Census reports do not distinguish the popula- 
 tion of that locality from the population of Extra-Metropolitan Surrey, and 
 the deaths are not given separately by the Registrar-General. 
 
 "It is proper to observe that as the deaths in Croydon town are 
 conjoined with those of surrounding districts, it is probable that, if the 
 returns of its suburban districts were subtracted from the returns under 
 the head of ' Croydon,' so as to reduce the figures to those of the town 
 proper, the deaths in Croydon would appear in still greater excess. 
 
No. XXXVI.c.J 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 419 
 
 Comparative Mortality of Croydon and Extra-Metropolitan Surrey 
 (with and without Croydon). 
 
 MALES. 
 
 
 Croydon Deaths. 
 
 Actual Deaths per 1000. 
 
 Ages. 
 
 Actual. 
 
 Estimated on Surrey 
 Mortality. 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 Surrey. 
 
 
 
 With 
 
 Without 
 
 
 With 
 
 Without 
 
 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 
 
 231 
 
 195 
 
 184 
 
 188-0 
 
 158-6 
 
 149-7 
 
 1 
 
 52 
 
 44 
 
 42 
 
 48-2 
 
 40-9 
 
 38-7 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 11-9 
 
 17'3 
 
 19-1 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 14-0 
 
 12-4 
 
 11-9 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 14-0 
 
 12-0 
 
 11-4 
 
 5 9 
 
 26 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 5-3 
 
 6-0 
 
 6-2 
 
 1014 
 
 13 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 3-1 
 
 3-9 
 
 4-2 
 
 1524 
 
 39 
 
 37 
 
 37 
 
 6-4 
 
 6-1 
 
 6-1 
 
 2534 
 
 56 
 
 60 
 
 61 
 
 9-8 
 
 10-5 
 
 10-6 
 
 3544 
 
 60 
 
 64 
 
 65 
 
 13-8 
 
 14-8 
 
 15-0 
 
 4554 
 
 51 
 
 56 
 
 57 
 
 16-5 
 
 18-1 
 
 18-6 
 
 5564 
 
 61 
 
 59 
 
 59 
 
 33-4 
 
 32-4 
 
 32-2 
 
 6574 
 
 50 
 
 59 
 
 61 
 
 48-8 
 
 57-5 
 
 59-5 
 
 7584 
 
 56 
 
 56 
 
 56 
 
 151-8 
 
 151-9 
 
 152-0 
 
 8594 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 282-6 
 
 292-0 
 
 294-1 
 
 95 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 752 
 
 736 
 
 732 
 
 20-2 
 
 19-6 
 
 19-5 
 
 " FEMALES. 
 
 
 Croydon Deaths. 
 
 Actual Deaths per 1000. 
 
 Ages. 
 
 Actual. 
 
 Estimated on Surrey 
 Mortality. 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 Surrey. 
 
 
 With 
 
 Without 
 
 
 With 
 
 Without 
 
 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 
 
 202 
 
 148 
 
 131 
 
 163-3 
 
 119-3 
 
 105-5 
 
 1 
 
 45 
 
 38 
 
 36 
 
 40-8 
 
 34-3 
 
 32-3 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 18-9 
 
 17-4 
 
 16-9 
 
 3 
 
 21 
 
 13 
 
 11 
 
 18-7 
 
 11-6 
 
 9-4 
 
 4 
 
 20 
 
 13 
 
 11 
 
 18-9 
 
 12-1 
 
 10-1 
 
 5 9 
 
 26 
 
 31 
 
 32 
 
 5-2 
 
 6-2 
 
 6-5 
 
 1014 
 
 24 
 
 20 
 
 19 
 
 5-2 
 
 4-4 
 
 4-1 
 
 15-24 
 
 42 
 
 46 
 
 48 
 
 4-3 
 
 4-7 
 
 4-9 
 
 2534 
 
 51 
 
 55 
 
 56 
 
 6-4 
 
 6-9 
 
 7-1 
 
 3544 
 
 38 
 
 57 
 
 64 
 
 6-9 
 
 10-4 
 
 11-6 
 
 4554 
 
 41 
 
 51 
 
 54 
 
 11-3 
 
 14-1 
 
 14-9 
 
 5564 
 
 78 
 
 62 
 
 58 
 
 32-1 
 
 25-7 
 
 23-8 
 
 6574 
 
 65 
 
 77 
 
 81 
 
 46-4 
 
 55-1 
 
 57-6 
 
 7584 
 
 63 
 
 69 
 
 71 
 
 127-3 
 
 139-7 
 
 143-0 
 
 8594 
 
 23 
 
 23 
 
 23 
 
 359-4 
 
 366-3 
 
 364-6 
 
 95 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 625-0 
 
 714-3 
 
 
 761 
 
 724 
 
 716 
 
 16-3 
 
 16-4 
 
 16-4 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
420 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 MALES AND FEMALES. 
 
 [No. XXXVI.c 
 
 
 Croydon Deaths. 
 
 Actual Deaths per 1000. 
 
 Ages. 
 
 Actual. 
 
 Estimated on Surrey 
 Mortality. 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 Surrey. 
 
 
 
 With 
 
 Without 
 
 
 With Without 
 
 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 Croydon. 
 
 
 Croydon. Croydon. 
 
 
 
 433 
 
 343 315 
 
 175-6 
 
 139 1 127-7 
 
 1 
 
 97 
 
 82 78 
 
 44-4 
 
 37-6 
 
 35-5 
 
 2 
 
 36 
 
 41 
 
 42 
 
 15-4 
 
 17-4 
 
 18-0 
 
 3 
 
 36 
 
 26 
 
 23 
 
 16-4 
 
 12-0 
 
 10-6 
 
 4 
 
 35 
 
 26 
 
 23 
 
 16-4 
 
 12-1 
 
 10-7 
 
 5 9 
 
 52 
 
 61 
 
 64 
 
 5-2 
 
 6-1 
 
 6-4 
 
 1014 
 
 37 
 
 36 
 
 36 
 
 4-2 
 
 4-1 
 
 4-1 
 
 1524 
 
 81 
 
 86 
 
 87 
 
 5-1 
 
 5*4 
 
 5-5 
 
 2534 
 
 107 
 
 117 
 
 120 
 
 7-8 
 
 8-6 
 
 8-8 
 
 35-44 
 
 98 
 
 123 
 
 131 
 
 10 
 
 12-5 
 
 13-3 
 
 4554 
 
 92 
 
 107 
 
 112 
 
 13-7 
 
 16-0 
 
 16-7 
 
 55 (54 
 
 139 
 
 123 
 
 119 
 
 32-7 
 
 28-9 
 
 27-9 
 
 6574 
 
 115 
 
 136 
 
 142 
 
 47-4 
 
 56-2 
 
 58-5 
 
 7584 
 
 119 
 
 125 
 
 127 
 
 137-7 
 
 145-2 
 
 147-1 
 
 8594 
 
 36 
 
 37 
 
 37 
 
 327-3 333-3 
 
 334-7 
 
 95 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 777-8 
 
 875-0 
 
 
 1,513 
 
 1,470 
 
 1,457 
 
 18-0 18-0 
 
 17-9 
 
 " Comparison of Deaths from various causes in Croydon, and in 
 Extra- Metropolitan Surrey (excluding Croydon). 
 
 CAUSES OF DEATH. 
 
 Actual Deaths. 
 
 Estimated Deaths for Croydon 
 based on Extra-Metropolitan 
 Surrey, excluding Croydon. 
 
 Difference of 
 Croydon Actual 
 1 >eaths on 
 Estimated 
 Deaths. 
 
 Extra-Metropolitan 
 Surrey. 
 
 ! 
 
 Extra-Metropolitan 
 Surrey, excluding 
 Croydon. 
 
 + 
 
 - 
 
 Small-pox 
 
 184 
 83 
 220 
 37 
 86 
 13 
 119 
 33 
 46 
 18 
 34 
 7 
 13 
 311 
 4 
 757 
 956 
 186 
 
 81 
 27 
 41 
 5 
 41 
 
 30 
 5 
 4 
 5 
 12 
 
 '4 
 88 
 1 
 159 
 219 
 36 
 
 103 
 56 
 379 
 32 
 45 
 13 
 89 
 28 
 42 
 13 
 22 
 7 
 9 
 223 
 3 
 598 
 737 
 150 
 
 31 
 
 17 
 53 
 10 
 13 
 4 
 27 
 8 
 13 
 4 
 7 
 2 
 3 
 66 
 1 
 178 
 220 
 45 
 
 50 
 10 
 
 28 
 3 
 
 'i 
 
 5 
 
 22 ' 
 
 12 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 '3 
 9 
 
 "2 
 
 " 
 
 
 19 
 
 -I 
 
 9 
 
 
 Scarlet fever 
 
 Diphtheria 
 
 Whooping cough ] 
 
 Typhus fever 
 
 Enteric or typhoid fever. . 
 
 Simple continued fever 
 
 Erysipelas 
 
 Metria or puerperal fever 
 
 Childbirth 
 
 Influenza 
 
 
 Diarrhoea 
 
 Cholera 
 
 Phthisis or consumption 
 
 Diseases of respiratory organs 
 
 
 Inquests 
 
 323 48 
 
 275 
 
 82 i .. 
 
 34 
 
 
No. XXXVI.C.] APPENDIX. 421 
 
 " The population in the district of Croydon is very nearly three-tenths 
 of the population of Extra-Metropolitan Surrey, exclusive of that of 
 Croydon. Therefore, the deaths returned in Extra-Metropolitan Surrey, 
 after deducting the deaths returned for the Croydon district, would be the 
 basis for the estimates of death that should, occur in the population of 
 Croydon, upon the assumption of an equal rate of mortality. I subjoin 
 a nosological table of mortality. 
 
 " Believe me to be, my dear Sir, yours faithfully, 
 
 " F. A. CUKTIS. 
 " ALFRED SMEE, Esq., F.R.S., 
 "7, Finsbury Circus, E.G." 
 
 When Mr. spoke of the Female Orphan Asylum, he conveyed 
 
 the idea that no injury had been caused to its inmates, but the fact was, 
 they had had sixty cases of fever and three deaths ; and though he could 
 not say these were caused by the milk, because he had not investigated 
 the cases, it was a curious fact that the more milk the patients drank 
 the worse they became, and on one occasion a tadpole was found in it. A 
 specimen of hay had been produced, but he had no hesitation in saying 
 that it was not a fair sample, because on passing his fingers over it he 
 found no sewage excreta adhering to it, as he had done when he had taken 
 a sample from the stack himself. With regard to the roots, he acknow- 
 ledged that if the ground were properly turned over, roots might be found 
 fit for use, though not so good as those treated in the ordinary way. He 
 had seen the sewage overflow into Beddington Park, even since he read 
 the paper, and had got the park-keeper to measure the distance, 19 poles ; 
 in fact, a deep drain was now being made to prevent it. No one had really 
 opposed his proposals except Mr. Addy, who said that if they were adopted 
 sewage farms could not be carried on; but if they could not, without 
 encroaching on their neighbours' rights, the sooner they were stopped, in 
 his opinion, the better. He said it would be very inconvenient ; and in the 
 same way some people thought it inconvenient that they were not per- 
 mitted to pick other persons' pockets. He had as much right to be pro- 
 tected against injury from sewage as against petty theft, which was of 
 much less real importance; and, no doubt, he could protect himself by 
 Chancery proceedings, but they were difficult and expensive. Mr. Botly 
 spoke of the violets grown at Aldershot ; he could only say that if they 
 were grown under sewage irrigation, the officers must have presented 
 to their ladies much which they never bargained for^ but the mystery was 
 cleared up by a succeeding speaker, who said that the sewage went on the 
 farm two days a week, and the remaining five through a pipe direct into 
 the watercourse. If that statement were confirmed, the sooner all such 
 farms were put under stringent regulations and regular inspection the 
 better. The following table would show the difference between the pure 
 water from the Croydon wells and the effluent sewage from the farms : 
 
 Croydon Well. 
 
 Common salt 2-00 
 
 Nitrogen oxide O'OIS 
 
 Ammonia , 0'003 
 
 Organic matter 0*004 
 
422 APPENDIX. [No. XXXVI.c.; 
 
 Effluent Sewage every quarter of an hour. 
 
 Salt 3-400 
 
 Nitrogen 0'419 
 
 Ammonia 0'032 
 
 Organic matter 0'144 
 
 Sewage towns, Norwood and Beddington. 
 
 Organic carbon 
 and nitrogen. 
 
 Minimum 0*114 per gallon. 
 
 Maximum 1-786 . 
 
 Average 0-821 
 
 The Royal Commissioners said, " "We unhesitatingly condemn the whole of 
 them as dangerous and totally unfit for drinking." Average Thames 
 water was much better than this, only containing an average of '021 
 organic carbon and nitrogen* whilst rain-water contained '084. The 
 effluent system at Croydon was an abomination ; the effluents were very 
 difficult to trace, but he had reason to believe that not being protected by 
 notice-boards persons might drink of the water unwittingly. In conclu- 
 sion, he hoped the discussion, which had been taken up with such earnest- 
 ness by so many leading engineers, and which would be read very widely, 
 would not be wasted, but that before long the sewage question would be ' 
 settled in a more satisfactory way than it was at present, especially at 
 Croydon. 
 
 L\: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CI.mVKS .\M> SONS, STAMFORD L>lKKKT 
 AND CHAKIXG CROSS. 
 
YC 22783 
 
 6.: 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 BRARY