Secretary—Dr Gumbinner.
“Mr Jackson from England delivered a lecture upon gymnastics of the fingers and wrist. The fatigue which immediately attended the playing on the violin late in life, incident even to a person strong and athletic in all other respects, led him to the discovery, after lengthened investigations, first, that the fingers are the least exercised of all the active muscles of the human body; secondly, that they are thereby, on physiological grounds, also the weakest; and thirdly, as he afterwards on minute investigation found out, that the finger-muscles are almost the only active muscles in the frame to which a properly constituted system of gymnastics had never been applied.
“He discovered that the cause of this fatigue lies in the want of finger-training; and the lecturer explained, and adduced proof, that the muscles, hitherto constrained in their movements by tight transverse ligaments, are instantaneously set free by gymnastic stretching applications to those ligaments. The society expressed itself entirely in accord with the theory as well as the practice which the lecturer adduced; they desired to add that both the one and the other are entirely new to them, and to express a belief that the same will be introduced into every school in Germany as soon as they shall be made known.
“In expressing their best thanks to Mr Jackson for his most interesting discourse, the society desire to record the fact, which the lecturer in soliciting their indulgence stated, that he had commenced the study of the German language for the first time at a late period of life, namely, at the age of 52 years, exactly six years ago; nevertheless the lecturer seems to have mastered its great difficulties, and has delivered gratuitously this and many other lectures extempore in excellent German, an achievement which the society believes to be without precedent.”
Expressions of marked approval have also been received from W. Fergusson, F.R.S., Surgeon Extraordinary to the Queen, Professor R. Owen, F.R.S., D.C.L., British Museum, Dr Joseph Hirth, Professor of Anatomy, Vienna, and other distinguished persons.
From John Hullah, Professor of Music in King’s College and in Queen’s College; Organist of Charterhouse, &c., &c.
July 27th, 1865.
“Mr Edwin W. Jackson has called attention to an anatomical fact which is likely to prove of great importance to students of instrumental music; and the apparatus and course of exercises by which he proposes to turn the knowledge of this fact to account seem well calculated for the attainment of the object he has in view—that of increasing the strength, pliability, and expansiveness of the hand.”