THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 



619 



for dissection trace their history to 

 Vesalius or even to the beginnings of 

 the medieval university at Salernuni. 

 But Liebig's laboratory at Giessen 

 stands for a new epoch in scientific 

 investigation and instruction. It had 

 its own development and was the model 

 for chemical laboratories in other Ger- 

 man universities and in other coun- 

 tries. It was some twenty-five years 

 before similar laboratories in physics 

 were established, to be followed still 

 later by laboratories of zoology, physi- 

 ology, botany, geology and psychology. 



It is indeed a long way from " Specu- 

 lative Physics " — the title which Schel- 

 liny- gave to his work — to the science 

 of the modern laboratory. The trans- 

 formation in the German university 

 was truly marvelous and is due in 

 greater degree to Liebig than to any 

 other. It was of course a necessary 

 evolution, but a reading of the biog- 

 raphy of Liebig makes clear what diffi- 

 culties had to be overcome and how 

 largely this was accomplished by the 

 energy and personality of the great 

 chemist. 



For twenty-seven years Liebig worked 

 in the Giessen laboratory attracting 

 students and fellow workers from all 

 parts of Germany and from foreign 

 countries. He there laid the founda- 

 tions of organic chemistry and its ap- 

 plications to physiology, to agriculture 

 and to the arts. In 1852 Liebig ac- 

 cepted a call to Munich. He died in 

 1873. 



SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL 

 MEETINGS 

 The principal scientific congress of 

 the year consists of the scientific socie- 

 ties meeting in affiliation with the 

 American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science in New Year's week, 

 with an attendance in the neighbor- 

 hood of 2,000 scientific men. The meet- 

 ing next in importance should be that 

 of the National Academy of Sciences 

 at Washington in the third week of 

 April. The academy has high func- 

 tions as the adviser of the government 



in scientific matters and high tradi- 

 tions in maintaining the prestige of 

 science. If, however, the academy 

 transacts business of importance be- 

 hind closed doors this does not appear 

 in the annual reports, and the scientific 

 programs are small and somewhat un- 

 even in character. At the last meeting 

 there were nineteen papers on the pro- 

 gram not all of which were presented. 

 Several of these were important and 

 interesting, and several were important 

 but not interesting to others than ex- 

 perts in the special subject. In gen- 

 eral the programs are not of sufficient 

 value to attract to Washington men of 

 science other than members of the 

 academy. 



The American Philosophical Society, 

 founded in Philadelphia by Franklin 

 on the model of the Royal Society, 

 after becoming local in character has 

 again undertaken to hold general meet- 

 ings. They follow immediately those 

 of the National Academy and appear 

 to have become of greater general in- 

 terest. Thus at the recent meeting 

 there were about fifty papers on the 

 program and some of the events, such 

 as the Darwin memorial session ad- 

 dressed by Ambassador Bryce, were of 

 real significance. The society is fortu- 

 nate in having its historic building on 

 Independence Square and means to pro- 

 vide luncheons, dinners and receptions. 

 It seems probable, however, that acad- 

 emies having a limited membership 

 selected for eminence and programs 

 covering all the sciences belong to the 

 eighteenth rather than to the twentieth 

 century. 



The professional societies in the ap- 

 plied sciences and in education always 

 liave successful meetings. The Amer- 

 ican Medical Convention, meeting in 

 Atlantic City early in June, and the 

 National Educational Association, meet- 

 ing in Denver early in July, are certain 

 j to bring together thousands of mem- 

 bers. The National Educational Asso- 

 ciation not only has programs attrac- 

 tive to teachers, but the excursion 

 elements are emphasized so that the 



