THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



281 



THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



THE CONVOCATION OF SCIEN- '. 

 TIFIC SOCIETIES 



The American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science and in affilia- 

 tion with it the American Society of 

 Naturalists and more than twenty 

 special scientific societies will meet in 

 Washington at the end of December 

 and beginning of January. This first 

 of the convocation week meetings of 

 scientific societies will probably always 

 be an important date in the history 

 of science in America. It is a truism to 

 say that the progress of science con- 

 sists in cooperation among men of sci- 

 ence. For such cooperation two main 

 agencies exist which are equally es- 

 sential the printing press and per- 

 sonal contact. Books and journals 

 bring the whole world together and 

 make science truly international; but 

 the coming together of the men of sci- 

 ence of the country is necessary for a 

 national spirit. This spirit has suf- 

 fered in the past owing to the disper- 

 sion of our scientific workers over an 

 immense area with no one center, such 

 as exists in all foreign countries. A 

 year and a half ago the American 

 Association and its affiliated societies 

 met for the first time west of the banks 

 of the Mississippi, and a year ago the 

 American Society of Naturalists and 

 its affiliated societies met for the first 

 time west of the Atlantic seaboard. 

 Now these two associations and the 

 twenty special societies affiliated with 

 them will for the first time meet to- 

 gether, and we are about to have our 

 first national congress of scientific men. 



A convocation week in mid-winter 

 for the meetings of societies has been 

 provided by the action of the leading 

 universities and other institutions, 

 which have extended their Christmas 

 holidays or made other provision by 



which the week in which the first of 

 January falls is left free from academic 

 exercises. Under these circumstances 

 it is a duty as well as a privilege for 

 all to attend the meetings who are 

 able to do so, and there is no doubt 

 but that the number of scientific men 

 at Washington will be the largest that 

 has ever been gathered together in this 

 country. While the special societies 

 are for scientific experts, it should be 

 remembered that the American Asso- 

 ciation is concerned with the diffusion 

 as well as with the advancement of 

 science. Its membership is divided 

 into fellows and members. The former 

 class consists of those who are en- 

 gaged in research, while the latter 

 class contains those who are interested 

 in science. Readers of this journal can 

 obtain information in regard to mem- 

 bership from the permanent secretary, 

 Dr. L. O. Howard, Cosmos Club, Wash- 

 ington, D. C. It may be said here 

 that the dues are only $3 a year, and 

 that members receive free of charge the 

 weekly journal, Science. We should 

 be pleased if ten thousand readers of 

 this journal would join the association. 

 They would receive a full return for 

 the small membership fee and would 

 at the same time perform an impor- 

 tant service in keeping men of science 

 in contact with the large public from 

 which sympathy, support and recruits 

 must be drawn. Science in the United 

 States has suffered seriously from the 

 fact that there is too great a gulf be- 

 tween the professional man of science 

 and the educated public. In Great 

 Britain there exists a class bridging 

 this gulf, and from it have come men 

 such as Darwin, Rayleigh, Avebury, 

 Huggins and many more. Much 

 would be accomplished for the promo- 

 tion of such a class here if the member- 



