CORRESP OXDENCE. 



747 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



ACADE.MY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OP 

 PHILADELPHIA. 



To the Editor of the Popular Science Monthly. 



AT the risk of appearing ungracious, 

 and possibly fastidious, I beg leave 

 to invite attention to some inaccuracies in 

 a brief notice of the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences of Philadelphia, published in The 

 Popular Science Monthly for August, 

 1876. The statements are erroneous; and, 

 taken as a whole, the article does not fairly 

 present the Academy to the public. The 

 enthusiasm of my learned friend Prof. Cope 

 has possibly led the writer of the article 

 into misconception. 



The Popular Science Monthly says, in 

 substance, that Prof. E. D. Cope availed 

 himself of the occasion of the Academy's 

 taking possession of its new building "to 

 suggest in the Penn Monthly some needed 

 changes and improvements " in the organ- 

 ization of the society. 



Prof. Cope, in his article on " The Acad- 

 emy of Natural Sciences " in the Penn 

 Monthly, mentions that the Academy while 

 changing its location revised its organiza- 

 tion, " adding some functions which shall " 

 relate it to the public more nearly than 

 heretofore ; that " its founder," meaning, of 

 course, its seven founders, designed that 

 the objects of the society should be promo- 

 tion of original research, of instruction, and 

 of the diffusion of knowledge. 



Prof. Cope, Corresponding Secretary of 

 the society, and at the period referred to 

 one of a committee instructed to revise the 

 by-laws with a view to improvement, did 

 suddenly conceive and hastily deliver to the 

 public press, contrary to the usual prac- 

 tice in such cases, an article referring to 

 matters which were under consideration of 

 the committee at the time, possibly in ex- 

 pectation that a small minority on some 

 points of peculiar interest might be mide a 

 majority through the influence of his elo- 

 quence. 



The Popular Science Monthly says that 

 the Academy has " a moderate fund for pro- 



moting " the diffusion of knowledge, and 

 regularly publishes "Transactions." 



The Academy has a very modest " pub- 

 lication-fund," but it has never put forth 

 anything under the title of "Transactions." 

 It publishes the Journal of the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (quarto), 

 and the Proceedings of the Academy of Nat- 

 ural Sciences of Philadelphia (octavo), the 

 first now including 6,592 pages and 565 

 plates, and the second, 10,692 pages and 

 136 plates, which together constitute the 

 Academy's records of original research. 



" Original research is not materially en- 

 couraged by the Academy." The Popular 

 Science Monthly. 



Original research is considerably encour- 

 aged by publishing the reports of investi- 

 gators, and by giving them freely the use 

 of a scientific library of 25,000 volumes, 

 and of extensive collections of natural ob- 

 jects while engaged in their work. If it is 

 meant that the Academy does not encourage 

 original research because it does not feed, 

 lodge, and clothe investigators, or pretend 

 to compensate them in any manner for sci- 

 entific work, the charge must be admitted. 

 It may truly plead, however, in extenuation 

 of the illiberal policy of which it is accused, 

 that its resources have never exceeded its 

 current expenditures for fuel, light, postage, 

 freight, etc., etc. The Academy is accused, 

 indirectly, with doing less to encourage 

 original research than might be done with 

 its means : " for," says The Popular Sci- 

 ence Monthly, " in one instance funds, 

 supposed to be devoted to research, were 

 hoarded, and afterward turned over to the 

 building-fund." 



The Academy never had funds which 

 were in fact or " supposed to be devoted to 

 research." The assertion to the contrary 

 is not true. A section of the Academy had 

 a surplus accumulation in its publication- 

 fund, and generously contributed a part of 

 it to aid the Academy to finish its building. 

 The members of that section are as earnest 

 in the promotion of the interests of science 



