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    Nov. 24, 1860] The Saturday Analyst and ...

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    "NATURAL SELECTION''— WHOSE IS XT? Mil ....

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    Ventilation And Warming Of Public Buildi...

    have received , and from one or two letters -which hare appeared in your columns , that considerable interest is taken in the project to endeavour to improve the present condition of the Town-hall of Birmingham , as regards its ventilation , perhaps you will allow spncfi to explain the reason of my advocating a trial of the system Van Heclce , and to state some of the facts and results connected therewith , which during recent inquiries have come to . my knowledge . I do not propose this merely in reference to the desired improvements in the Town-hall ; but in h-ope tliat possibly some useful information on . the subject of ventilation ( so itopdrfWfc , and . so little understood ) , may be acquired from the experience of our nei g hbours on the other side of the Channel . Having been long convinced of the necessity of some iuipi-ovements in the

    condition of the Town-hall , especially in winter , and fully aware of the difficulties attending the subject , I considered it needful not merely to call particular attention to the evil , but to be prepared , if possible , with some practical suggestion for a remedy ; and with this . view coniinenced inquiries which resulted in my hearing in . November last of the system of Dr . Van llecte . I was informed that this system of ventilation had , been inn-oducad with perfect success , into various public buildings on the Continent . Among them , the Chamber of Representatives at the Hague ; a club-house , Leyden : and various hospitals in Paris . I then made inquiries of a friend at Maeetricht , who until lately was member of the Dutch . Chamber of ' . Representatives ., and received from , him a very favourable report , as to the ventilation and

    temperature ot the building in . question , . " Desiring further to see the system in operation , I obtained , by the kind assistance of a friend in Paris , permission to visit and inspect the Hospitals decker and Eeaujoh , in that city , , and in which the system of Van Hecke is in full operation . [ ' " 'A . printed report , entitled ' Memqires sur les appai-eils de Ventilation et de . Chauil ' uge etablis a l'Hopital Necker , d'apre ' 3 le Syste ' ine ( lit Docteur Van Hecke , ' on the operation of Van Hecke's system , in the Hospital Necker , is so lengthy ( forty pages ) , that I cannot do more than give the ' statements of tha conclusions arrivedat , as follows : — ' ? Firstly-: The apparatus for heating and ventilating , established by Mr Van lfecke i at . the Hospiial Xeoker , - is less expensive than any other in existence in the hospitals of Paris , both as regards first cost and expense of working . '

    "Secondly : The heating and ventilation produced by this apparatus cost no niore than the heating alone of the large hospitals of Paris which are not ventilated ; it . procures consnquentlj , without any expense , the complete purification , of the air in the rooms of the patitnts . " This report , drawn' tip by l ) r , Mas . Vernois ( consulting physician to the Kmperor ) and Dr . Gratti , may be considered p . 3 " orciciAi .. ;" desiring , however , the latest and most direct information , I took the liberty ( in April last ) of addressing a letter to the ' Directeur Ge > £ ral do 1 'Assistance Publiquo' of France , and received an answer , a very

    elaborate and carefully-considered reply , filling many pages , and containing full details as to the comparative working of the throe systems of ventilation in operation in the Paris hospitals , together with the statistical results as to their efficiency and economy . If there bo any circumlocution office in tho French Government , it certainly docs nob seem to be connected with the Poor-law ; indeed , I have every reason to acknowledge the courtesy and prompt attention of the head of that department , in thus complying with a reqxiesr for information from an entire stranger . Subjoined ' arc extracts , brief but important ,. from the

    rcplY ;*—^ "Tho CVjmniiro'ions appointed for cxiiminuiioii , by their interesting labours have proved that ' mcchuiiical' Ventilation is . pruforuble to ventilation by dill'oiviut's of teuiperature . . , ' ,. ' , \ " Tho ventilation of Pr . Vmi llecke , niueli more simple than that of Thomas uud L : \ urbns , vdjuires for equal result ti much emallor motive power . . .- ¦ Quantity of Air remove ! per ItOvr and per person— ( System Duvon " , 30 inotivs cube ( 1050 cubic foot ) ; Thomas and Lanrens ,, 00 metres ou ' m ( 3150 cubic foet ) ; Van Hecke , « J 7 metres cuba ( 3395 cubic jujpciw of the first outlay per led—tiytiMtn Davoir , 480 franca ; Thomas ' and Lam-ens , 808 francs : Van JJooko , Slid fraries . 8 760 metres cube given , or 1 moire oubo furnished per , hour , during the whole year—Davoir costs » francs UO . oontimes s Thomas ami X . uurens , 1 frano 70 oontitma ; Vim Hecke , G 3 oenthues . " With theso fuels boforo thorn , proved by uompctunt authorities , dud about which it is impossible to havo any uncwlainty , tho Aduiiiiistrution could not : he & ituto lo give tho proiuronoo ( lor tho present , at ull ovents ) to Iho system of Dr . "Van lLooko , wlnoh niny be emp loyed anywhoro with ndvantngo , where tlio necessities , ol Uio Burviuu l'oquiro powerful vent ih \ t ion , " ¦ " Ed ; jbu .-ton , August 5 ) , 1860 . " XIio tuslinumy liuro givuu to tho system of yuutilutiyu invuutcd Mid practised by Mounr . Van Ilocko makes u « dualrous oi introducing ' it to tlio uotiuo of Eng-liwhmuu , .

    Nov. 24, 1860] The Saturday Analyst And ...

    Nov . 24 , 1860 ] The Saturday Analyst and Leader . 959

    "Natural Selection''— Whose Is Xt? Mil ....

    " NATURAL SELECTION ''— WHOSE IS XT ? Mil . PATRICK MATTHEW , of Gouwlio-hiU , Mrrol , Syotluud , writes to \ iw thut our article in lust wook ' Number , entitled " TransMutatiou of Wpocios , " "is scarcely fair in alluding to-Mr . Darwin as tho parent of the oriffin of spycies ; seeing , suysiUr . Matthew , whotjo letter wo quote verbatim , " that I publialioa tlio whole that Mr . Dajbwin atton > i > ts to pvovo more than twpnty-nino veavs airo , iu my work Naval Timber and Arboriculture Now we wero not Xnvoutitfatinff tho title to tho diseovgry of that Juv-- * u othov words Hint way in which nnimuted nature . develppos xtsoUinaioatod in tho phvnses transmutation and . vanubihty ot bpeejes , WutuvaUoloction , & c . Our article wns a notice of u book wnttou b . y . owo author , luuVpurpovtiuff to bo . u vofutation ot anothorbook m-ittea by' naiotheir uuthor . Vo alluded to the dootnnes wontmiwd fcMr .. DJawix'a book , m the Darwinian theory , ju ^ aa we treated ffi & btor ' Sjft . ipi ' . BttBtfs book , not marked as quptatxoas fwm offirwSewTwThis own origUl powxposition , in wluch , itse 6 ws , we ? £ * vqm 5 . oSWt , or dipcrodlt , decord / ngtopoopW wfty ohhwlc

    ing , for the autliorship of things of which-he was not really the author . We were not concerned with the original discovery of tha law in question , at all . It must uot be supposed tliat what is called a " theory" of this sort is an invention or creation , as a character in a play or a novel of ' original conception is . The point is , who was the first to see aud enounce the law ia question ? And not only who was the first to see and enounce it , but \ yho has seen and understood it most . . completely , and published the fullest , most iatellig-ible , and most perfect statement of it ? There is a very ancient doctrine that the primary elements of which the universe is composed always existed with their peculiar properties , and that the action and reaction of these elements , their

    infinitely diversified play and combination , in endless time and boundless space has produced everything- we behold ; that , in . short , the universe in its state existent at any given time , is simply one of the possible combinations of the primeval elements . Now , in this ancient theory , we find the germ of Da & tok ' s definite proportions , thoug-h how vague and imperfect the conception of it necessarily was at a time when the primary elements of thing-s were supposed to be less than half a dozen instead of more than half a hundred , we may readily conceive . Nay , perhaps Daltox's title to the present form of the theory which goes by bis name might ' not prove entirely beyond dispute . But that he stated this form of the theory with greater fullness of illustration and detail , and that it came from his hands in a greater state of completeness than it had

    over been made to assume before , is indisputable . That glimpses havo , from time to time , perhaps from time immemorial , been caught of this great natural law which Mr . Daewin has investigated with such sigiM success , and stated and explained with such cogency of reasoning-, and such fertility of beautiful illustration ,, rendering his work one of the few grand intellectual achievements , which , hlce " Newton ' s Gravitation , " or '' Laplace ' s Cosmical Development , " mark important eras in the progress of the human mind ; that various sides or phases of this great law have been described by various writers is highly probable ; but that would-not in the least detract from the value of Mr . D . vrwin ' s labours , or the merits of his extraordinary book . It would not detract from tlieni even . it he that had been

    had been acquainted with every word prevxously written on the subject . But it Is very possible that two minds-may tlnnk out the same original conclusion for themselves without any communication between them . If " all that P ^ -tos- has written on definite proportions had been previously published , still il lie had tnought it out for himself , without knowing of the previous discovery , he -would - -unquestionably be entitled to the praise ot originalitv . And this brings us to the following extract from the 7-Gardener's' Chronicle of the 21 st of last April , to which Mr .. Matthew has called-attention , and which we print verbatim : — " Natural Selection . —I have been much interested by Mr . Patrick Matthew ' s communication in the Number of your Paper , dated . April 7 th . T freelv acknowledge that Mr . Matthew has anticipated by many years the ' explanation which I have offered of the origin of fljecies , under the name of natural selection . 1 think that no ono will feel surprised that neither 1 , nor any other naturalist , had how briefl

    heard of Mr . Matthew ' s views , considering y they arc urivun . and that they appeared in the appendix-to a work ou iNavul Timber and Arboriculture . I can do no more than ofter my apologies to Mr . Matthew for my entire i ' jmorance of his pubbcation It another edition of my work is called Tor , I will insert a npji . ee Jo the forciroin" 1 effect . Charles Darwin , Dow , < , Bromley , Kent . Wo are thus particular - , because it is just that every ; man s case , rc-arding liis titlo . - to his own views , should be careiully put on his own statement , and his own claims stated with all the corroborative detail that ho iiimaolf can advance . In our former notice , as wo have said , the nuwtion of discovery , in connexion with tins theory , i not disciisiod . Had it been , the muter himself nog-lit havo put in a olniin on his own account . It has been said that Mr . 1 > ar \ vin ' b statornont of the law in question is tho fullest and most complete that has been tfivon . Tho writer would have , nut in no 32 in that direction , but ho might have cluimod to have ueon tho first to see that tlxis law is but one of the cases of a much more Joneral law , Many years ago , tho writer framed a gencrahzatiou S . n . nvoliaiidhiir . ambii ? other instances , the facts indicated in the Xtio ot

    t , nn < "" timil section and variability of spewos . ' oxxmno hihoTletiff th published in the year 1 H 50 . After onumeratinff various lmv » of m tiiro , as illustrative eases embraced m tho gone . rnlY / ation alluded to , ho proceeded to m ) oci ( y other cases ; " the evofftS , elaboration , eduction , or tha West types »« «««»« jf o - inic out of inovtfiuiio being t w » d <>* ^ Q Wtov typos of ormnio eiwteuooa out of the next lower or next rosomblinf ? type ; and m ^ no caHwi tho degradation , degeneracy , depression of particular 5 " o m the ncxthig-hor in tho scale / 1 It will bo seen that natimil nIEouukI friability of species are here stated in other towns j arid in ottiS ^ puW S « he lmd further explained his views on tho s mo poinl- ^ howin ^ wha t the tendency in an mala ta j ^ JJ ^ oiceney iu product Oevdopineat and vane y o o m and ud eosinww

    verting to sooiet » xuiu aa weu as uuu » -- ^ 7 ^ 8 book This wuh three years bofore the appearanoo of Mr . uauvvin s oook B ^^^ t ^^^^ T ™ £ frrsaa ^^ jjMr & sjs W ISM ^ m ^^ as ^

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 24, 1860, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24111860/page/7/