170 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



A PLEA FOE PUEE SCIENCE.* 



By the late Pkofessor HENRY A. ROWLAND, 



JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY. 



^f^HE question is sometimes asked us as to the time of year we like 

 -L the best. To my mind, the spring is the most delightful; for 

 nature then recovers from the apathy of winter, and stirs herself to 

 renewed life. The leaves grow, and the buds open, with ^ suggestion 

 of vigor delightful to behold; and we revel in this ever-renewed life of 

 nature. But this cannot always last. The leaves reach their limit; the 

 buds open to the full, and pass away. Then we begin to ask ourselves 

 whether all this display has been in vain, or whether it has led to a 

 bountiful harvest. 



So this magnificent country of ours has rivalled the vigor of spring 

 in its growth. Forests have been levelled, and cities built, and a large 

 and powerful nation has been created on the face of the earth. We 

 are proud of our advancement. We are proud of such cities as this, 

 founded in a day upon a spot over which, but a few years since, the red 

 man hunted the buffalo. But Ave must remember that this is only the 

 spring of our country. Our glance must not be backward; for how- 

 ever beautiful leaves and blossoms are, and however marvelous their 

 rapid increase, they are but leaves and blossoms after all. Eather 

 should we look forward to discover what will be the outcome of all 

 this, and what the chance of harvest. For if we do this in time, we 

 may discover the worm which threatens the ripe fruit, or the barren 

 spot where the harvest is withering for want of water. 



I am required to address the so-called physical section of this 

 association. Fain w^ould I speak pleasant words to you on this subject; 

 fain would I recount to you the progress made in this subject by my 

 countrymen and their noble efforts to understand the order of the 

 universe. But I go out to gather the grain ripe to the harvest, and I 

 find only tares. Here and there a noble head of gi-ain rises above the 

 weeds; but so few are they, that I find the majority of my countrymen 



* This address by Prof. H. A. Eowland, whose recent death all men of science 

 deplore, Avas given before the .Section of Physics of the American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science in 1883. It is here republished as a 

 tribute to his memory, demonstrating as it does his keen intellect and strong 

 personality. While tlie state of American science in 1883 was scarcely as back- 

 ward as might be supposed from reading this address, there has certainly been 

 a remarkable advance in the past eighteen years. In this advance Rowland 

 was one of the great leaders. — Editor. 



