222 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



THE SAVING OF VANISHING DATA. 



By ALFRED C. HADDOX, F.R.S., 



CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY. 



IPIVE years ago I pointed out* that it is well from time to time 

 -L to take stock of our knowledge and our methods of inquir}*-, to 

 see whether we are working on sound lines. As the business man 

 finds it necessary to go over his stock periodically and to balance his 

 books, so, also, the scientific man, especially the biologist, should per- 

 form an analogous operation, lest perchance he finds out too late that 

 he has been entering on a comparatively non-profitable work, or has been 

 neglecting valuable opportunities. While it is impossible to say that 

 any scientific work will be ultimately unprofitable, it is right to point 

 out that particular subjects for investigation may be of more immedi- 

 ate importance than others. 



In order not to complicate the question, we will dismiss the practical 

 applications of science by admitting that they are of immediate im- 

 portance. This leaves the field clear for the consideration of scientific 

 subjects which are studied solely for their own sake. 



We can, perhaps, gain a clear view of the question by looking at it 

 from the standpoint of our successors. What will be the opinion of the 

 naturalist of a hundred, or of a thousand years hence of the work now 

 being done? What is the scientific work he would wish us to have 

 undertaken? This question is not a difficult one to answer. 



He would not consider it very necessary for us to elucidate the struc- 

 ture, development or physiology of every common animal; these re- 

 searches can be pursued at any time. The investigation of the life in 

 the oceans whether on the surface, in shallow water, or in abysmal 

 depths can be done by him as well as by us. 



The naturalist of the future will certainly and most justly com- 

 plain if we busy ourselves entirely with problems that can wait, which 

 he can solve as well as we, and at the same time neglect that work which 

 we alone can do. Our first and immediate duty is to save for science 

 those data that are vanishing; this should be the watchword of the pres- 

 ent day. Those students of botany, zoology and anthropology who have 

 at all considered the matter are impressed with the fact that the present 

 time is a very critical period for the native flora and fauna of many 

 parts of the world. Owing to the spread of commerce, the effects of 



* Nature, January 28, 1897, p. 305. 



