THE RELATIONSHIP OF MINING TO SCIENCE 615 



given a considerable impetus to university work, and has led 

 to the institution of special degrees in mining. Nor do I agree 

 with the conclusion to which Prof. Ray Lankester appears 

 to have come, when he says in his Presidential Address : " It is 

 a fact which many of us who have observed it regret very 

 keenly, that there is to-day a less widespread interest than 

 formerly in natural history and general science, outside the 

 strictly professional area of the school and university." 



Nevertheless, although we are no doubt doing a great deal 

 towards popularising science, and driving home the importance 

 of it, there is still "a less widespread interest " in it than there 

 should be ; and no opportunity should be lost of making the 

 interest more widespread wherever possible. 



Important and indispensable as is the bearing of science 

 upon mining, some years' acquaintance with the profession 

 as one of its members has convinced me that there is not 

 that proper appreciation of the value of scientific method which 

 ought to accompany it. I make this as a general statement, 

 knowing full well that there are many laudable exceptions, 

 as a glance at some of the Presidential Addresses and Papers 

 delivered before our Mining Institutes will testify. But there 

 the matter usually ends : the appreciation is not " widespread." 

 It is not that there is any actual disregard of science ; on the 

 contrary, it is gratifying to observe an increasing readiness to 

 adopt scientific methods, and it is a healthy sign ; but there 

 is lacking that positive, aggressive attitude of taking the 

 initiative, and going out to meet science on its own ground. 

 The attitude is one rather of passivity than anything else, and 

 it is not an attitude calculated to further any matter in hand. 

 It is reflected in the absence (referred to in the early part of 

 this article) of any specially mining contribution of a scientific 

 character at the British Association meeting. (I shall only be 

 too glad to be corrected on the point, but so far as I am aware 

 no subject of this nature was dealt with ' ). And surely, for a 

 country which is pre-eminent in mining, this is not as it should 

 be. There ought to be a spontaneous desire on the part of the 

 mining community to be heard ; and let us hope that ere another 

 meeting comes round this will be the case. 



With the object in view of encouraging the " Advancement 



1 Mention however should be made of Mr. J. Backhouse's Paper in the 

 Economic Section on "Lead Mining in Yorkshire." 



