The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-08-01
THE WORLD OF SCIENCE AND THE REALM OF FREAKS


prosperity. During the first quarter
century ii had for presidents such men
as Professor Sedgwick. the Earl of
Rose, Sir John Herschel. Sir David
Brewster, Sir G. 3. Airy, Colonel Ed
ward Sabine, the Duke of Argyle and
Sir Richard Owen-a partial list of
names and titles which at a glance en-
pnasizes the facts that England has
honored her men of science. and that
the possession of a title is no evidence
OF mental decreptitude. In 1859. at the
Aberdeen meeting, the association was
presided over by his royal highness, the
prince consort himself.
The association has from the outset
opened its doors, nominally and in fact.
TO all friends of science Whoever
sympathizes with the aims of the asso-
citation is eligible 10 associate member
ship, and large numbers of persons who
are not themselves technical scientists
have availed themselves Of the priv
lege, so that the membership Of the as
ISOLATION has swelled from 1853 in 1881. to
1888 in 1887, the banner" year. To meet
the needs Of this class Of members and
of the intelligent outsiders in the vari-
Gus localities of meeting, il has been
customary always to provide for some
lectures and papers of strictly popular
interest. Thus there is a lecture to
d
inent scientist at each meeting. 1t was
in this course that Tyndall delivered
his famous lecture on Matter and
Force, in 1867, at the Dundee meeting,
and Huxley his equally famous dis
course on "A Piece of Chalk" at the
Norwich meeting of 1863 Three years
ago. at the Oxford meeting. Professor
Solles talked about ''Geologies and Del
uges;" in 1895. at Ipswich, DR.. Fison
lectured on Color" and last year. at
Liverpool, Professor Fleming told of
The Earth a Great Magnet
SOME OF THE WORK DONE.
Then, too. there are so-called Even
ing Lectures" of perhaps even greater
popular Importance. as the titles of
some of the recent ones, such as Pas
teur and His Work" safety in Ships
and Man Before Writing" will indi-
cate. 1t was in this course that Huxley
delivered that discourse at Belfast in
1874. on the question, Are Animals
which created such
hubbub in the theological world-the
address in which he admitted that the
logical consequences of his doctrine
might seem alarming from the stand
point of theology. but that logical
are the. scare-croWs of
fools and the beacons of wise men"
and may well be allowed to take care
Of themselves. While scientists disre-
gard them and search only for the
truth.
1t was at this same Belfast meeting
hat Professor Tyndan delivered, as the
presidential address, the most startling. |
Is we'll as the most eloquent discourse
hat the association has listened to in |
al the years of its existence Its sub
ect was Science and Religion, and (
is main purpOrt must be recalled even /
Tow by many newspaper readers of 25 /
-ears ago. for it was printed in full in
he press of all Christendom, and I
treated = veritable furore of excite
nent That was in the day when /
Oarwinism was new and was still be-
ne weighed in the balance, hence the
ignificance of the open avowel of the
,-e sident of the British association in
aVor of what was considered by the
opposition to be doctrine OF pure
naterialism. The contest has only his
orical interest now. for the opponents
f Darwinism have long since given up
heir hopeless fight, but TyndalPs
ra ton remains as a model of earnest
nd fervid exposition. The memorable
hrase you may purchase intellectual
cath" is by itself sufficient to give it
ornament value as literature.
TECHNICAL. TRIUMPHS.
The purely technical triumphs of the
ssociation are too numerous to be
tied in any detail. including, as has
cen said an outline of the entire
rogress of science during the period of
istory. It has been and is quite the
lle for the workers of science to record
he most important achievement of
ach succeeding years work at the
nnual meetings OF the association.
'hus Joule announced to the meeting
{ 1913 his first experiments toward the
of the mechanical
uuivalant of heat experiments which
ID on to the greatest generalization of
ne century. the doctrine of conserva-
on of energy. So, also, to cite but one
Their example. it was at the Ipswich
leeting two years ago that Lord Ray
Ugh and Professor Ramsey announced /
leir startling discovery of the I'M
scognized constituent of the air, ar
on.
Not every meeting can promise such
reat discoveries, of course, for they do ,
OF come every year anywhere; but '
sitors at the Toronto meeting may
el sure that they viii be treated to
ports, papers and discussions, show
g the very latest phase of scientific
-ogress. Those who wish technical in 5
rmation may hear the latest theories +
matter discussed, perhaps by Lord :
elvin, while those who sickle for
PRACTICAL science" may listen to the {
ports on The Decay of Agriculture +
Great Britain and The Possible a
fectivity of the Oyster" In either '