49 8 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



ship and support. Moreover, from the 

 nature of their objects they are more 

 completely cut off from public interest, 

 sympathy, and patronage, tuan any 

 other societies. In speaking of the 

 meeting of the American Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science, 

 held at Buffalo last August, we called 

 attention to the duty of scientific men 

 to take the public more into the ac- 

 count in the organization of their 

 -work, and we showed how that might 

 be done without any detriment to the 

 proper objects which the convention 

 had before it. Of all the subjects that 

 are now promoted by social combina- 

 tions, that of the diffusion of science 

 owes the least to such agencies. The 

 work of disseminating scientific knowl- 

 * edge among the people goes slowly on, 

 by means of the press, by schools, and 

 by lectures; but it would be much 

 more vigorously prosecuted if it were 

 made a distinctive and prominent ob- 

 ject, either in associations expressly 

 formed for the purpose, or in societies 

 that combine different lines of effort 

 in the general purpose of popular in- 

 struction. It is gratifying to note the 

 multiplication of scientific academies 

 in the leading cities of the country, 

 which bring together observers and in- 

 vestigators, and call out original con- 

 tributions that prove to be valuable 

 and worthy of publication in an annual 

 volume of "Transactions." But such 

 associations can only be sustained at 

 the larger centres of population, and 

 even there they must struggle hard to 

 maintain their existence. But if these 

 , bodies embraced within their plans, as 

 a leading ana permanent object, the 

 diffusion of science through the com- 

 munity and the scattering of valuable 

 information upon practical subjects, 

 there can be little doubt that they 

 would be better sustained, both by at- 

 tendance at their meetings and by the 

 contribution of funds to carry on their 

 operations. Moreover, in the smaller 

 cities and towns, where the higher 



work of science is impracticable from 

 the fewness of its cultivators, societies 

 promotive of popular scientific educa- 

 tion might be created that would do 

 efficient and valuable service. Scien- 

 tific libraries might be collected, scien- 

 tific essays contributed, and followed 

 by instructive discussions, and courses 

 of lectures secured from competent 

 men on subjects that would enlist the 

 attention and secure the liberal patron- 

 age of the public. In every town of 

 five or ten thousand inhabitants a 

 dozen active, thoughtful, and spirited 

 men might be found, competent to or- 

 ganize and manage such a society, that 

 would effect much good in the local- 

 ity ; and, if adjacent towns did the 

 same thing, much might be gained in 

 various ways by cooperation. Only 

 one thing is needed to achieve this re- 

 sult, and that is, a hearty interest and 

 some enthusiasm in the enterprise on 

 the part of a few individuals to carry 

 it on. 



"We by no means claim that such an 

 association should be exclusively scien- 

 tific in its aims. It might embrace lit- 

 erature, local history, political econo- 

 my, and various social questions, among 

 its objects. We only urge that the 

 popular diffusion of scientific informa- 

 tion should be an essential element 

 and a clearly-recognized object. From 

 such modest and perhaps ill-defined be- 

 ginnings valuable and lasting institu- 

 tions have often arisen. We have met 

 with some remarks in a paper on the 

 " Historical Societies of the United 

 States," contributed to the Report of 

 the Bureau of Education in Washing- 

 ton by Dr. Henry II. Holmes, Libra- 

 rian of the New York State Library at 

 Albany, which are so suggestive in re- 

 lation to this subject that we take the 

 liberty of quoting them : 



" To these observations on the question 

 of enlarged plans for local societies, we vent- 

 ure to subjoin the further inquiry, whether 

 most county and town societies might not, 

 with incalculable advantage, combine with 



