THE AMERICAN CHEMIST. 251 



them more or less specially educated as chemists, there is abundant 

 provision. Every one of these universities, collejics, and advanced 

 technical schools has a double mission to perform, if it does the whole 

 work that is expected elsewhere in the world, of institutions giving 

 higher instruction. One of these missions is to teach — to impart 

 knowledge that is already a part of the world's possession of know- 

 ledge, to the students who are seeking it, now in larger numbers than 

 ever before. The other mission is to gain new knowledge — to add to 

 the world's stock of it. Here and there is seen a man of wealtli, and 

 scientific tastes and ac»[uirements, and an aptitude for research, who 

 investigates in his own private laboratory, and does good work there; 

 but siu'h a combination is rare. These higher institutions of learning- 

 are to be in the future, as they have been in the past, the fittest places, 

 and indeed almost the only i)laces, for the making- of both investigators 

 and investigations. 



Why is it, with so many of these institutions as we have, making 

 claim to this high rank in our system of instruction, that we fall so far 

 short of contributing our full share of the world's acquisition of new 

 knowledge, year by year? Tlie first and perhaps most important rea 

 son is that those upon whom tliis work devolves, and who would be 

 glad to do it, have no time for it. Their work of instruction, often 

 comprising many branches of science, uses up all their energy. This 

 unfortunate condition of affairs is chargeable, to a large extent, to the 

 nuiltiplicity of colleges with endowments inadequate for the x>eifM'm- 

 ance of the whole work of a college. It may be fairly said that no 

 institution of learning is fully worthy of being called a university, or 

 a college of high rank, that does mit provide teachers enough, so that 

 each one has spare time for investigation. There is room for imjtrove- 

 ment, in this respect, even in some of our largest universities. It is 

 not always practicable for an outsider, such as the average trustee is, 

 to get so thorough an acquaintance with the inner workings of the 

 several departments, as to understand how most of a teacher's time 

 may be consumed in the management of the petty details of a labora- 

 tory full of students, provided that he does his duty there. 



Secondly, given the time when this important feature of college and 

 university comes to be properly appreciated, will there be means for the 

 work '? There i-an be little doubt that they will then be provided ; if not 

 in any other way, when it appears that there are men ready and competent 

 to carry on valuable investigations, but who can not for wantof means and 

 appliances, new funds for the promotion of such work may perhaps be 

 added to those already in existence, such funds as the Elizabeth 

 Thompson science fund, now amounting to $27,000, the Bache research 

 fund, and the Wolcott Gibbs fund for chemical research. 



Given time and means, have we the men in this country for credita- 

 ble scientific research? I think that such an answer to this question 

 as is indicated by the records of the chemical research in the decade 



