Abstract
What would the readers of any of our daily papers think, if they found half-a-dozen of its columns for six days on end, filled with verbatim reports of scientific lectures? Would not they be inclined to think their paper was in its dotage? But this has been done in the case of the New York Tribune, in whose columns, day after day, have appeared verbatim reports, with illustrations, of the six lectures which Prof. Tyndall delivered on Light in New York during the last days of last year? Not only has this been done, but the whole series of lectures has been issued on a separate sheet of four, pages, each page as large as that of any of our daily papers, with twenty illustrations somewhat rude no doubt, but quite intelligible. This valuable sheet is sold at the astounding price of three cents, and as it has not a single advertisement, it must have an immense circulation to be remunerative. Is not this one among many signs that the untrammelled Americans are rapidly outstripping us in the love for and the spread of scientific knowledge? It is certainly a noteworthy phenomenon which we wish could be witnessed nearer home. The editorial preface to the series concludes thus:—“If in the ulterior object of his (Professor Tyndallthanks s) labours, the awakening of a spirit of scientific inquiry among our young thinkers, and the fostering of this tendency by liberal endowments from our wealthier citizens, his success shall be ultimately apparent, our whole country will have reason to thank the eminent Englishman.” The following are a few passages from his concluding lecture:—
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Professor Tyndall in America . Nature 7, 224–225 (1873). https://doi.org/10.1038/007224a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/007224a0