322 A SHORT HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



The "physiocrats" and the "encyclopaedists" of the French 

 school of practical philosophers also deserve notice, for they were 

 professedly inspired by science and seeking to apply it to human 

 society. Even in so humble a pursuit as the attempt to overcome 

 in time of famine the prejudices of the populace against the potato, 

 Turgot and his fellows did good work for applied science. Nor 

 should we forget the service to social science of Count Rumford, 

 who for the first time grappled boldly with problems as far apart 

 as the control of mendicity, of smoky chimneys, and of poverty. 

 Much of Rumford' s best work, though done in the nineteenth 

 century, had its origin in the scientific spirit and achievements of 

 the eighteenth. 



As the century drew to its close, an English physician, Edward 

 Jenner, by the use of the basic methods of inductive scientific 

 research accurate observation, skillful experimentation, careful 

 generalization and thorough verification created a new science, 

 preventive medicine, and conferred upon mankind the priceless 

 blessings of vaccination. (See Appendix G.) 



The nebular hypothesis of Laplace, through its central idea of 

 natural development rather than sudden and special (artificial) 

 creation of the solar system, was an important preparation of 

 men's minds for theories of transformation or evolution. Button's 

 Theory of the Earth enforced the same idea for the familiar earth, 

 while the metamorphoses of the parts of the flower, pointed out by 

 Goethe, helped to pave the way for acceptance of the idea of 

 gradual modification of organs and even of organisms into others. 

 To these matters we shall return in our discussion of Evolution 

 in the final chapter. 



REFERENCES FOR READING 



(See page 459.) 



