JULY
23, 1870.-1
53
THE SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION OF
of observation.
WOMEN.
vate, that woman has naturally the advantage over man; and
spherical s,urface.
It certainly reveals to us objects (the stars)
which are at an infinite distance; but hence we can only infer
we may therefore a lJriol'i conclude that their study w ill be that it IlIay aS8ume the appearace of any such indeterminate
1869 in tlJe view of the future historian of education, specially within the range of Iwr pOWllrs. Another considera­ surface as any lllotive whatever may lead us to ascribe to it.
'fhe feature which will probably most clearly mark the
year
Now, it is in these very powers 0 f pt'rception, reason why the starry firmament should appear to us to be a
as distinct from conception, which the natural sciences culti­
[From Nature.]
will be the deflllite recognition of the rights of woman to all
the advantages of education accorued to men.
tion is also worthy of notice by those who are looking for If we were floating in empty space, and could survey it in
At a time when we are beginning its whole extent at the same moment and in all directions or
The advance "new careers for women."
;
of public opinion within the last few years on all subjects to recognize the importance of a scientific training as an if its movements were so rapid as to make a distinct imp es­
relating to
the legal,
social, and educational position of essential portion of
woman, has indeed been so rapid, that the man whose words
a libeml education, we find that our
'1'he llumber of rually competent
teaching powers fail us.
were only quite recently listened to by his friends with a con­
toacher>! of science has by no means kept pace with the ex·
times.
branch arn ov,'rwhelmed with work; and the younger mun
deseending smile of pity, is now scarct'Jy in advance of biF tensioll of
As it is generally belhwed that the movement has y<t
a
deflire for instruction; the leading men in every
�ion on the senst's, there might be more reason for assigning
to it a spherical rather than any otlwr Idnd of surface.
In
point of fact, however, its apparent form and apparent direc­
tion are constantly char;ging, according as the portion we
to happen t o seu is more
"I'
less inclosed by various terrestrial
far from reached its full development, and the course in which whom they can with confidence intru5t a portion of their
objects, and 'according as we fix our attention on a hiO'her or
and excellent, we would still wish to suggestto its promoters women only, but men, the whole human race, that is stunted
disposed to regard it as a plane surface, at right angles to the
it has been so far direLlted having been in the main sound labors are by r..o means sufficiently numerous.
whether the curriculum of s\lbjects taught under the auspices
It is thus not
in its intellectual development at a tiIlle when its growth
a lower spot.
:
We shall see further on that we are n turally
line of s:ght, whenever both eyes are steadily fixed on one
of the various associations may not be somewhat widened by should be the most rapid, by the practicRl rpstrictjon to one point.
The ability half of the race only, of the means of al'quil'iog the ability
a more liberal infusion of the scientific element.
of women to appreciate instruction by the highest teachers to help in this development.
" But with the canopy of cloud the case is entirely different.
The clouds in general are so far from us that the criteria for
We next touch upon a subject of great delicacy ; ,we refer judging of distance which binocular vi�ion or the movement
There of our own bouies can supply are utterly useless.
But the
Mrs. Somerville as writers on political and nat ural science is an important distinction between this.aud all other depart­ clouds are often disposed :n parallel line s, they geoerally
of naLural science has as yet hardly been tested.
The high
position occupied by a few women like Miss Martineau and to the instruction of women in medicine and surgery.
c annot
we
I)e taken to prove the capacity of the whole sex; but ments of science.
think that so far as OPP(Jl'tunity has yet been offered, the
While it is competent to anyone to teach
chemistry, geology, or botany, and his
SUCCl'SS
as a teacher
drift with a constant velocity and in the same direction; when
near the horizon they appear like
bars across the sky seen
t, achers aud practicers of edgewise, and so lighted that it is easy to perceive they are
The programmes of the lectures to women on physiogra-. med icine and surgery form a guil,l, a professional trades' bodies whose horizontal extension is foreshortened by perspec­
evidence is entirely favorable,.
will depend on his competency, the
All these indications serve to give us the impression
It is in the tive.
Kensington Museum, by Professors Huxley, Guthrie, and na�ure of guilds aud monopolies to be exclusiv.,; and when that the true form of the canopy of cloud, at least in the
On the horizon indeed
Oliver, show at least no want of conficlence in the eapacity of we find that the medical prof"s�ion is united almost a� one zenith, is that of a very flat dome.
Tl,e first of these courses has already been man (with a few honorablu ()xceptions) to resist the admission t'Jese indicatiolls cease to 6erve us ; there the clouds, like the
the:r pupils.
pllY, physics, and botany, recently delive:ed at the South 'lpliq!l protected and licensed 11ythe Government.
given substantially to a mixed class of boys and /Tirls. at the
of women into its r!!nks, it iH ouly what might with confi­ mountains, appear to be evenly painted on a vertical or nearly
'fhe instinct of sdf-defense is a vertical background, which gradually passes into the surface
London Institutioll, and in the results of the examination of dence have been predickd.
that class, the girls hacl decidedly the advantage over the
boys.
strong one; and if any evidence
is required of the extent to of the e'll'th below, and into the firmament above.
Now,
of the opposi­ since the senses supply no criteria by which we distinguish
In most of the large towns of Great Britain courses of which self-interest has eflterlJd into the causes
lectures to ladies have now been delivered during the last tion by the profession to the medical training of women, we between the distance of the clouds and that of the sl�y, it
two or three years by eminent professors of the various need only to r'lf�r to tlw"sevell reasons against the admis­ S(lems only natural that we should ascribe to the one the
branches of :nterature; in many of these rigorous examina­ sion of ladiea to the profession," given in the British Medical aseertained form of the other, so far, at least, as we can sep­
tions have heen held at the close of the courses; and where
Jmmwl for May 7th.
Into the abstract question of the utility
this has he en done, there is but one expression of opiuion as of monopolies we need 1I0t enter: those who are excluded
to the quality of the work executed.
At London, Edinburgh, from their blmefits are perfectly justified in using every legit.
arate th"m.
This, I believe, is the way in which our concep­
tion of the sky, as' a flat domelike vault, m ust originate,
vagUf:, variable, indefinite as that conception undoubted­
Manches:er, Liverpool; in English literature, mathematics; imate eff ort to over�hrow thum, and in claiming the assistance ly is.
"Morllover, the apparent increase in the size of the sun or
experimental physics, mental philosophy, the testimony of those who believe in the universal adaptation of the prin­
I:leldom have greater persistence anq, the moon is never very striking or decided, except at those
is uniform, that not only can women compete with men in ciples of fff,e trade.
the q ualities essential for severe and successful study, but
that in many respects their aveNge attllinments are highpr
than among the working members of a university.
A care
self-denial been shown than by those ftw w()men who have times when the air near the horizon is heavily cl:.lt�ged with
labored long and hard in this country, America, and France, vapor, and when, as a nec.essary consequence, the hl'avenly
in attempt.ing to open to thei� sisters the doors of the medical bodies in question only shine with a very feeblp. light; we
Careless of ernel misrepresentation, of public have then the very same effect with which we are perfectly
slander, of private pmsecution, they have held nobly on their familiar in the case of' distant m ountains.
'fhey appear more
course, and their services to mankind will one day be recog­ distant than they do when the air is clear. and therefore
ful examination of' the reports of the various educational profession.
associations convinces us that the statement is decidedly
within the mark.
larger.
Moreover, when �uitable terrestrial objects happen
Few have yet realized the enormons gain that will accrue to be placed near the horizon, they add Vtry much to the ef­
Among so many testimonies to the same effect, it seems nized.
almost invidious to pick out one;
but we cannot forbear
It a s feet. When, for instance, the mooD, sets near III tree some
we are constantly being told, the "sphere o f woman" i's at twenty feet in diameter, and about 1,000 yards off, as she sub­
Forty.eight of these shared more or less in the ex­ home, what duty can be more clearly incumbent upon us than tenus the same visual angle, and is known to be far more
quoting from Professor Fraser's report of his class of logic to 50ciety from the scientific education of our womrn.
and mental philosophy at Edinburgh: "Sixty-five students
enrolled.
aminations and l,ssays of the class.
I found, as the session
advanced, that I had at the outset underrated the meiltal
that of giving her the opportunity
of acquiring a knowledge distant, she appears to be very much larger; whereas, when
of the laws which ought to guide her in the rule of her aouse?
power and persistency ot as able and zealous a set of students Every woman on whom the r,mnagement of a household de·
as
I have ever had the good fortun'l to conduct.
In the examination the average of marks gained, was about
55 perocent; one twelf.h of the class gained more than
80 per
volves may profit by such knowledge.
If the laws of health
were better known, how much Ulness and sorrow might be
absolute magnitude.
"When I look at the moon reflected from a piece of paral­
lel glass, so that her image appears to be very near the hori­
What added zest would be giveu to a
than the moon herself seen directly high in the sky, although
The courses are longer, averagirg about forty if the mothpr were able to teaeh t4e little on("s intelli gently
the reflected image with that of the terrestrial objects seen
The EdinburlZh Association stands out from most of its
kindred societies in being formed pn a decidedly more aca·
lectures each, and, consequently, deeper and more thorough:
the teachers are all university professors, and the aim of the
Association is, as it were, to form a distinct faculty of the
University.
represent a very great
knowledge of chemistry
averted!
What insight would
a
cent of the marks, and only one had less than 25 per cent." afford into the wholesomeness 01' unwholesomellf5s of differ­
demical basis.
the moon sets behind a flat horizon, there is no object of com­
parison to enable us to perceive that her small apparent may
So far as we can judge, the success of the Asso­
ent article� of food!
zoo, I
do not find that the image looks decidedly larger
country walk with the children, or a month by the seaside, in thi3 way it is easy to compare the apparent magnitude of
to observe and revere the laws of nature!
Above all, what togeth'lr with it. In this case it is evident the reflected image
untold sufferings, what wasted lives, are the penalty we havs
paid for the prudish ignorance of the physiology of their
bodily frame in which we have kept our daughters!
These
has not the effect of being seen through the vaporous portion
of the atmosphere.
" '1'0 my eye, the apparent increase in magnitUde near the
Many advan. considerations have had far too little place with us at pr('sent.
horizon is much more a pparent in the case of the moon than
center of learning like the University of Edinburgh, a con­ education of wom,'n be pursued in the admirable spirit of the
tinguished at all, his light is generally so dazzling that we
ciation has justified the views of its founders.
tages no doubt result from immediate connection with a great
nection which has hitherto been denied to female ellucation.
We trust that a new era is dawning Upo'1 us; may the higher
last report of the Edinburgh Ladies' Educational Association:
in that of the sun.
When the form of the sun can be dis­
cannot look at him steadily, and consequently cannot compare
W e are inclined to think that the "College for Women" "So far as W(J can see, cultiva�ion does for women what it does him directly with any terrestrial objects that happen to be
may have made a mistake in establishing itself in a locality for men-intensifies every moral attribute in proportion to the
on t:w horizon.
Enm in the case of the moon when the sky
In all cases the de­
'fhose who must go into the world go out is ;)lear, tho delusion is not so apparent.
will not share in the life of the University; the Cambridge with a truer courage, founded upon a nobler estimate of lusion depend� in a very great dl'gree on the state of the at­
professors will not feel the Hitchin College a portion of their work; those whosc duties lie within the circle of home find mosphere."
"midway between London and Cambridge."
The College
own system, unless the College is locally associated with the
University.
mental growth.
them inveHted with a new
and vivid significance frem the
vVe have all'eacy alluded to the comparative absence of minds; and, finq,lly, as ' woman is not undeveloped man,' we
naturallicience from the programmes of the badies' educa­ believe that womanhood ,.:un only be made more truly woman­
tional associations; this is not 80 strikingly the case a8 it
was last year.
ly, as manhood is made more truly manly, by the utmost use
The London Association is making arrange­ of the possibilities of high cultivation."
ments for some scientific classes next session; at Edinburgh
Professor Balfour is trying the experiment of a class
1870-71;
---------.. � ..
--------­
of bot­
'rhe
Apparent
Size
01'
tile
Moon.
columns of
College course, though it has not yet been tangbt; while
best explanation, is that of the celebrated Professor Helm­
upon the subject.
chemical classfls have
holtz, which we extract:
already been conducted in several
localities by Professors vVilliamson, Roscoe, and others, with
We notice with great plea�ure the move­
ment at Cambridge for the instruction
cording to the colDr of the wood.
Now wrap the wetted
wadding up in a piece of' old linen, forming it into a pad;
hold the pad by the surplus linen; touch the pad with one or
The last one given, and in our opinion the
The object of the oil is merely to cause
the pad to run over the wood easily without sticking, there­
fore as little as possible should be used, as it tends to deaden
the polish to a certain extent.
Where a carving is to be
l)olished after having been varnished, the same process i s
than when she is high in th" heavens, although in point of necessary, but i t can only b e applied to t h e plainer portions
., The moon appears larger when she is near the horil!on
of women to which we jact owing to atmospheric refraction her vertioal diameter of the work.
Here a wide field is opening for
tl>e future, and one which it will snrprise us if women do
not make especially their own.
III the training of boys we have recently awoke to the dis­
covery that a
Carving.
Natu're, and various opinions haw, been given a drop or so of oil.
entrance examination for the ,Hitchin College and in the
have refened elsewhere.
\Vood
Take a piece of wadding, Boft and pliable, and drop a few
drops of white or transparent polish or French polish, ac­
This question which has probcLbly interested every school·
by Professor Jevons; natural science has a place both in the
marked success.
PolishIng
two drops of linseed oil.
Now pass the pad gently over the
parts to be polished, working it round in small circles, occa­
as well as one on logic boy in the world, has latterly been disCUSSGll at length in the sionally re-wetting the wadding in polish, and the pad with
any; classes for zoology and geology are included in the
Manchester curriculum for
..
�
..
.-----­
----------�
higher elevation, and con�equently larger views, of their own
complete education implies something more
than an intimate acquaintltncc with two dead languages.
ought in the former case to seem le8ll than in the latter.
Even Ptolemy and the
Arahi:m astronomers WOI',) perfectly
aware that the trUfl l'ea:olon why the moon appears larger
when seen in the b()j'i�on, is that she then appears further
Plane surfaces must be made perfectly smoot �
with glass paper before polishing, as every scratch or mark
will show twice as badly after the operation.
When the
polish is first rubbed. on the wood, it is called the" bodying­
in;" it will sink into the wood and not give much glaze. It
The real question therefore is, why the sky should ap­ must, when d ry, have anothelt body rubbed on, and a thiFd
pear f urther from us at the horizon than it does at the zenith. generally finishes it; bllot if' Hot, tIle operation must be 1'e­
off.
I am peated. Ju�t b�1i1I7e the taRk is completed, gIrBasy smear!!'
www themselves; these will disappear by contil'll'ling:
mental training which no other studies can give; but while combine to produce this eilect, so that It may 11e difficult 1;0 ,he gentle rubbing without oiling the pad_ You IiIhould I!I'OW
a classical education imparts the highest culture possible to say which of these CltUSES predominates in any 0�1e QIl;jl,C.
be able to see your face in tIle ).'(OQU, at least, 80 says the Cab
".First of all we must remember tht\,t tl,J��1,) is 1;10 decisive Vliet Maker, from which we tak.e tlle above dileclions.
the intuitive faculties, it scarcely brings into play the powers
There is no danger that we shall ever underrate the value of
Various canses have bel'n assigneel jor this fact, and
a critical acquaintance with Latin and Greek, as requiring a myself disposed to admit that there are several causes which will
© 1870 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
�cientifi'
54
IUlproved Bal1ard PaveUlent.
heaviest 10adB are driven.
23 , 1870.
[JULY
It would be interesting, anG we I annular floor being turned b y means of a latch knob, F, till
Wood pavemunts seem to be gailling in public eonfidence, hope to Bee an experiment with this pavement on our thor- its apertures are brought under the parts, E, the chambers,
especially for light driving.
At leaet this would seem to be ougbfares which are suhject to the heaviest use and wear.
a legitimate inference from the faet that their use is constant­
ly extending.
This improvement was patented July 12,
D, are filled with earth, the annular seat, G, is placed over
1870, and iB owned
the part, e, the cover, II, is placed upon the seat which com -
In this city and in Brooklyn th'3 area of wood by the Ballard Pavement Company in connection with their pletely closes communic'ltion with the interior, and the
road surface has greatly enlarged during the past two years, patents for wedge-shaped blocks, wedge-shaped interBticeB, paratus is then ready for use.
ap­
and our observations in otber citiQS which we have viBi'ed
show that these roadways are gaining in popularity elBe·
where.
The defects which existed in the earlier wood pavementB
have been some of them removed; and those at present laid
are much better than the first ones.
We herewith give illustmtions of a new claimant to public
favor in thiB field, being an improvement on the Ballard pave­
ment illustrated and deBcribed in our issue of April 23d of
the present year, and which it is thought is ada!",ted to heavy
trucking aB well as for lighter vehieles.
The aeeompanying engravings show the shape of blocks
and mann,,!" of laying the improved Ballard pavement, which
IMPROVED BALLARD PAVEMENT.
the inventor is confirlent rt�aches the highest point of excel­ wedge-shaped or k"y filling, etc.
Patents have been applied
The fecal matters are covered with earth by turning tlJe
UBe can be constructf'd. It seems simple, stable, and durable. gland and other foreign countrieB. The office of the Ballard
a n d with a given class of material, itB first cost iB lesB than Pavement Company iB No. 117 Broadway, New York.
-----.... -..
any other wood pavement. The lumber for the blocks may
gulate the distance, and the floor being turnpd by means of
lence at a ulUch lower price than any or,her pavement now ,in
be Bawed any convenient length and of any Bize, from three
for through the S�ientific American Patent Agency, in En- annular floor under the cbambers, D, a distance equal to nIH
Bliss'
Portable
Earth
ChaUlber.
Having already indorsed the earth-closet ByBtem in unmis.
In sawing the blockB takable terms, and aBsigned what we deem ample reasonB for
there iB no waste of lumber or labor, each cut of the saw pro­ favoring its general adopt.ion, we m ay, without preliminary
ducing a block, which iB so divided hy the splitting saw aB to remark, proceed to the description of a new, cheap, conven-
incheB to the full Biz� of the log or timher one way, and
should be s�ven incheB the other �ay.
width of one of the chambers, D; stops being provided to re-
the latch knob, F , a!\ above described. This brings tne three
apertureB in tRe annular floor underneath three of the cham-
bers,D, equidiBtant from each other, and the earth from theBe
chambers falls toward the center, covering and deodorizing the
<iejectionB. There being nine chamberB, the apparatus may
be used three timeB before emptying.
The object of this invention iB to supply a small portable
form two broad-based. wedge-shaped blocks (Fig. 1), which ient, and portable earth cloBet or cham ber, of which our en- !
are then nlll betwpen two revolving cutters, lIoIaking them graving gives a complete view, and also details of con- earth chamber, which, by its low price and convenience, will
exactly the Bame thkkness at the bottom, and the proper Btruction.
Becure to families of moderate meanB the domestic comfort of
shape for locking into each othf'r, as Bhown in Fig. 2. This iB
Fig. 1 is a view of t1Je apparatus as it appears when cloBed. the earth Bystem, and which will meet all the reqnirenH'nts
done aBtapirlly as the blockB can be handled, and with the
slightest waste of lumber.
It is composed of the five parts, shown in Figs. 2 and 3.
being the outBide shell Cise or bucket, and B
This form 'of the blocks does away with the necessity for the or pail flaring at the top
objectionable wood flooring, and thus saves, after fitting the meets the inner side of A.
flO
an
A
inner bucket
that itB upper and outer edge
The flaring portion makeB a sort
blockB, over eight feet of lumber to the square yard of pave­ of funnel, by lIleans of which the earth discharged from the
ment.
The blocks when Bet. as Bhown in Fig.
of
the
claimed:
sick
chamber.
The
following
advantages
are
It iB a comfortable chamber, easily supplied with earth,
ana its deposits are removed without trouble.
It is portable,
requiring no more room than an ordinary toilet pail.
Instant­
aneOUB and perfect deodorization of itB con­
2,lpave a wedge-shaped openin� at the top,to
tents is secured, so that the atmosphere of the
'fhe block� rpst upon a foundation of simple
purer than is usually possible, thus adding
be fined with concrete thoroughly rammed.
sick chamber may be kept much sweeter and
earth and Baud properly rolled; anrlthis is all
greatly to the comfort both of patient and at­
that goes to,)llak(HIp this most simple and yet
tendant.
It is laid withont nails,without fltJips, Wit110Ut
Patent Agency, May 3,
it is claimH( solid and complete pavement
pickets, and without a wood flooring.
Patented, through the Scientific Ammican
The
1870,
by W. n. Bli8�,
whom addreSS for rightB or clomts, at X,-w­
blocks being of the same thickDfBs at the bot­
port, R. I.
rom and fit,r.ing into each other, they can be
------_ .. -
laid with perfed regularity and great rapidity.
To HEPRODUCE
A
BEAUTIFCL WmTg ON
IlY AGE.­
One or morH blocks can be taken up with great
FLANNEL GOODS TURNED YELLOW
placed next to the curb; and it thuB combineB
inal color, P.rof. Artus tried a mdhod that
eaB'l by removing
key blocks, A, which are
Forthe restoration of old fl'lllnels to their orig­
the advantages. of a single block pavement, and
had been
iB at the same time a solid and continuouB Btruc­
proposed
formerly: 21 lbs. white
Marseilles soap is dis�olved in
75 Ihs.
of soft
ture.
water, and to the solution is added, under
blocks, we ref ..r to the ScIENTIFIC AMERICAN
goods are Boaked in the fluid, and afterwards
For the manl).er of cutting the wedge.Bhaped
of April 23,
1870.
These pf'culial' blocks of wedge Bhape, inter-
constant stirring, 1 oz. of liquor ammonia. The
well waBhed with water.
BLISS' PORTABLE EARTH CLOSET.
The object may be
accomplished, however, quicker by putting
locking as they do at the bottom, and covering the entire sur­ chamberB in t h e piece, C, hereafter to be described, iB con- the goods for an hour in a dilute solution of hisul phite of
face of the carriage-way, when framed and k6yed, conBtitute
ducted toward the center of the internal chamber, B.
one ':Jlock to settle below another, without moving the whole
lifttJd out to be emptied and cleansed.
an unbroken arch, and, it would Beem, rend"r it impossible for
I
This soda, and adding, under constant stirring again, so me dilute
chamber or bucket is provided with a bail, by which it can be
•
hydrochloric acid, when the vessd has to be cOYol'ecl and the
goods left in it for
15
minutes longer.
They are
In putting t:1e apparatus together, B iB firBt placed in A, I washed in the same way.
The combination of the three principles, of the hroad-baBed, as above described, and the part, C, is placed over A and B.
----------4
.._ ...
-----------
pavement on the street laterally.
then
In C are formed chambers. D, each capable of holding one
SAMUEL A. DUNCAN haB been appointed Assistant Com­
An annular bottom formB a com- miBBioner of Patents, and John M. 'fhatcher, of Virginia,
makes, we are aBsured, a pavement of Bueh firmneBs and sus­ man floor to all the chamberB,D. In thiB bottom are formed Examiner-in.Chief in t4e Patent Office in the place of Mr
t'lI.ining power that it iB Buitable for streets over which the three apertll·res corresponding to the parts marked E.
The FesBenden, reBigned.
wedge-Bbaped blocks, covering the whole surface, the wedge­
Bhapeq key or filling. and the interlocking of the blocks, haIf a pint of dry earth.
© 1870 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.