Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1866-05-02
OSE HUNDRlvD YEAns OF SCIENCE.

VNL AtNBAfeD TEARS Or SCIENCE
One Of the most eloquentmen in France
Is NJ. Dumas, senator, member Of the
institute, ex-minister Of instruction, pro-
fessOr at the S0rbonne and College de
France. When he rises 10 address an au-
dienee there is a thrill Of expectation,
and hushed anxiety to catch the words
that are to ssll from his lips. He has an
entire and thorough command OF the
niceties OF the French language, and
sdded to this 3 marvellous familiarity
with the growth and present standpoint
Of science. Recently, At the distribution
Of prizes awarded By the polytechnic as
soeiation Of Paris, N. Dumas gave a
sketch of the condition Of scientific
knowledge hundred years ago, and COM
pared i with the progress Of the present
day. We translate a part Of his address :
In 1865, the employment Of the forces
Of nature was limited TO two motors, wind
mills and water mills. Heat had not
been converted into a universal mechan-
ical power the steam engine was un-
known The sun marked by lis daily
returns the hours in the life OF man, but
Niepee and Daguerre had not made use
of its light as the dOcile instrument OF
art; photography had not yet entered
into the imagination of man.
- Electricity had neither given US the
NOltaie pile. which decomposes the most
obstinate compounds, nor the galvanop-
lastie art, which plates the metals with
out the aid OF fire, nor the electric light,
nor the electric telegraph, one Of the
marvels Of modern times, due 70 the ge-
MUS of Ampere; nor the formidable
Ruhmkorff coil, the rival Of gunpoWoer
and the Just object Of highest reward.
Chemistry had no existence. LavOisler
had not vet immortaliZed his name by
those discoveries which explain the re-
ciprOcal e ,slations Of matter composing
the surface Of the earth with the same
clearness that Newtons laws afford the
KEY 70 the movements Of the stars which
adorn the heavens. Earth, air and water
had not been decompOsed the nature Of
the metals and that Of carbon was un-
known the acids. alkalis and salts, now
employed in 50 many arts, then only
offered obscure problems; the cause OF
combustion was ignored; the existence
Of gas, distinct from atmospheric air, had
not been determined the proximate
principles Of plants and animals had not
been defined; their respiration was
mystery, their nutrition an eni gina; ag-
rieulture was 8 blind and devastating
practice, running in turn the different
countries Of the globe, and not permit
ing to anv people 70 fix itself IN perma-
hence on any spot
ssThs movements, the changes and the
transformation which affect the material
Of the surface of the globe and metamOr-
phOse il according TO times and places,
had no significance for our ancestors.
The circuit always in action, which nour-
ishes the plant at the expense Of The soil,
the animal at the expense Of the plant,
and which returns to the soil through the
animal that which it has lost; those har-
monies Of nature which our cOmmOnest
farmer now understands, did not enter
into tie Imagination Of the profoundest
philosopher a century ago
"a Geology was only inspired romance
the crust Of the earth had not been eX-
plcred the history Of its formation had
not vet been written; it was then un-
known that in the fossil remains Of
rock is contained the infallible story Of
its origin: that in the history Of the de-
velopment Of the globe is revealed the
relative ages of the mountains and the
elew to the former condition Of the Alps
and Pvrenees and Of their rival chains
Thousands Of plants had been collected
and named, but Jussien had not yet
classified them into natural families;
Cuvier had not applied the same laws to
the animal kingdom. One could not
then embrace in one view the ensemble Of
nature. from the ephemeral lichen which,
at the summit of the Alps or on the con-
fines Of the pole, mark the last palpita-
tons Of life, up to the giants Of the tropi-
cal forests, whose existence dates beyond
historic times; from the equiYOoal micro
scOpic productions, the last argument OF
the partisans Of spontaneous generation
up TO man created in the image Of God.
One could not, thus guided by Cuvier or
Broguiart, mount from age to age, recon-
structing in their forms, their aspect, and
even their habitatioBs, the animals and
plants VII ich have preceded the advent
Of man upon earth, and which conduct
Us through epoch on epoch, back 10 the
moment when life first manifested Itself
upon our globe.
To-day man has acquired the right
to say:
81 Matter, and the forces which it Obeys,
contain no secrets which l do not know,
or shall not be able at some future period
10 discover; the history Of the earth has
no longer any mystery for me; ! am
present at It's earliest ages; 1 reconstruct
The beings whom it has nOurished; ]
know the precise date Of the transforma-
tions upon its surface.
"My eve penQtrates the profundity Of
SPACE. 1 assign 70 each star its place in
the orbit In which it must move Iweigh
the sun Ianalyze the substance Of which
il is composed, as if it could be placed in
my erucible, and cap say OF what tle-
naents the stars consist Whllh decorate
the yauits Of heaven, even those the Light
from which requires ages 10 travel 70 the
q ~. nElrrs
dissection npon earth i play Wlth the
forces Of natuTeg ! transform the lignt
into heat. the heat into light, electricity I
into magnetism. magnetism into electri- |
city. and az Of these forms OF acavity !
INTO mechanical power; l convert one l
eompouud into another; i initiate all
the processes Of nature dead, and the ma !
iorftv OF those os D2fure living l render /
at will the earth fruitful o. SteTllaj | give (
to il or I take from il the power 70 pour 1
ish the plant. Life Is an open book /
where. from the embryo egg to the death |
of the animal / read without Obscurity |
the pQZe Of tue blsOd which circulatesi |
that Of the hesTG which beats, and & the /
lungs which respire; that Of the muscles /
which obeyg of the nerves WHICH con- |
vey the order Of the brain which COM /
niands; Of the stomach which digests /
OF the ehyle which Fegener2teS. IN me, j
/ apply to my use all Of the forces 3na all |
of the gifts Of nature
This sketch by a master-hand reveals |
10 rs the extraordinary progress OF SCI l
ence dufiRg hundred years, and shows (
how quietly We Approaeh each addition !
to oGr knowledge, without takipg into
account the long years OF toll which |
must have preceded its full development |
If the next hHndnsd FesFs should show
equal results, it is impossible 70 predict /
what limit shall be set 10 the progress Of
the world.