iSge. THE DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION. 45 



These numbers, always with the same signification, can be added to 

 the number belonging to any subject which admits of being considered 

 geographically, whether it be poetry or periodicals, beetles or mosses; 

 and numbers are provided for carrying out the subdivisions as far as 

 the countries in the British Isles or the States of the American Union. ^ 



Those who wish to see the whole system set forth should consult 

 Dewey's original work,^ and I may, perhaps, be allowed to refer any 

 who are curious to see it applied to the literature of natural science, 

 to an effort of my own to carry out its principles.^ 



Such, in briefest outline, is the Decimal Classification of Melvill 

 Dewey, which has been published for more than tvv^enty years, has 

 been adopted by upwards of 300 libraries in America, in this country, 

 and on the Continent, and is now used by M'essrs. Lafontaine and 

 Otlet in the various publications issued by the Institut International 

 de Bibliographie at Brussels, and by Dr. Field in the work of the 

 "Concilium bibhographicum " at Zurich. My own experience, ex- 

 tending over the past five years, enables me to speak of it with great 

 confidence as a thoroughly practical scheme, though I confess, on 

 first acquaintance, I regarded it with considerable suspicion ; and I 

 have never met anyone, who had given it a fair trial, that was not 

 -deeply impressed with its many valuable qualities. 



It is, of course, obvious that Decimal classification and the Dewey 

 ■classification are not necessarily united. Any number of schemes 

 might be elaborated, and decimal class-numbers applied to them : in 

 fact, within the last few months a rival champion has entered the lists 

 against the American system, under the auspices of no less a body 

 than the International Catalogue Committee of the Royal Society, 

 and it behoves all who are interested in the conflict (which means 

 practically all scientific men) to make a critical examination of the 

 combatants before deciding which they will back. At the outset it 

 may be observed that it is incumbent on the new-comer to show 

 marked superiority over the present champion, for in its absence the 

 well-known principle would be applied — namely, that it is better to 

 adopt a classification which has been long in print and is v;idely 

 adopted, unless the superior merits of the new one fully compensate 

 for the change. 



We may now proceed to examine a few sections of the Royal 

 Society's scheme, confining our attention to those that relate to topics 

 treated of in Natural Science. One of the most conspicuous features 



i[In this Journal, the numbers indicative of geographical divisions have been 

 added within round brackets, a method proposed, for the avoidance of confusion, by 

 the Brussels Institute, and now generally adopted. — Ed. Nat. Sci.] 



2 Dewey, Decimal Classification and relativ index. Fifth Edition, 1894. 

 Library Bureau, Boston, 146 Franklin Street, and London, 21 Bloomsbury Street. 

 Price 25s. 



3 Manchester Museum Handbooks. Catalogue of the books and pamphlets in 

 the Library. Manchester : Cornish. 1895. Price 2s. 6d. 



