THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



291 



tendance. These meetings represent a - 

 culminating point in the history of 

 the association, and an important 

 epoch in the development of science. 

 Until 1S82 there were only two sec- 

 tions of the association, one for the 

 exact sciences and one for the nat- 

 ural sciences. But at about this 

 period specialization and differentia- 

 tion became imperative. The condi- 

 tions Ave re in part met by dividing the 

 association into sections, but more ade- 



Tlie establishment of these special 

 societies represents an important ad- 

 A r ance, but its first effect Avas to 

 weaken the parent association. Pro- 

 fessional men of science found the 

 amateur element too prominent in the 

 summer meeting and the time Avas in- 

 convenient for many of them. In 

 spite of the great increase in the num- 

 bers of scientific men in the country, 

 the meetings became smaller and the 

 membership decreased. But this was 



The Randej. Morgan Laboratory of I'hysics. 



quately by the establishment of spe- 

 cial societies. The American Society 

 of Naturalists Avas organized in 18S3, 

 and has since held Avinter meetings, 

 the membership being confined to pro- 

 fessional students of the natural sci- 

 ences. The American Chemical Society 

 had been established in 1870: the 

 Geological and Mathematical Societies 

 Avere organized in 1888. Since that 

 time special societies have been 

 founded for all the leading sciences, 

 and there is a tendency for them to 

 divide into branches for the different 

 sections of the country. 



only a temporary phase. The inter- 

 ests of men of science are not exactly 

 limited by the conventional bounds of 

 a single science. A zoologist, for ex- 

 ample, may be interested in anatomy, 

 physiology, pathology, paleontology, 

 geography, botany, psychology, chem- 

 istry or some other science. It is also 

 the case that those avIio attend the 

 annual meetings like to see their 

 friends from other parts of the coun- 

 try avIio may be working in fields re- 

 mote from their own. It is advan- 

 tageous consequently for the special 

 societies to meet in groups at times, 



