A. D. Hall 319 



and there are heads who are responsible for official views which must be 

 respected. There is no opening for destructive criticism by the lower 

 grades. Given the right personal spirit such criticism may be welcomed, 

 but unfortunately this is not always the case, and the official view stands 

 damning the spirit of investigation. The attitude of the young investi- 

 gator must be a purely anarchical one, one of disbelief in all things and 

 without trust in accepted views. Such spirit has no place in the rigidity 

 of a government department and the application of a departmental 

 organisation to a Research Institute results in difficulties. We may 

 remember how long the official view of the Geological Department of 

 Scotland regarding the structure of the Highlands was held after it 

 had been renounced by almost the entire body of the Geologists outside. 



We may therefore distinguish free research, the hunt for knowledge, 

 under the supervision of Universities or kindred bodies, and adminis- 

 trative research in the laboratories of government departments and by 

 government officials who accept the necessary irksome conditions, such 

 as sudden calls to abandon their particular problem in emergency situa- 

 tions. Even in free research however there must be a certain supervision 

 of expenditure involving inspection which should be generous and en- 

 lightened. But there must come a point when the state department 

 makes up its accounts and pronounces whether it is worth while going 

 on with the job. Again the demarcation between departmental and free 

 research has to be left somewhat vague and there must be a frank and 

 generous give and take between them. 



The worker in the government laboratories should similarly be given 

 as free a hand as possible. For example many regulations laid down by 

 the administrator involve critical methods and these need investigation, 

 work which may carry a researcher far into the field of prol^lems having 

 little apparent value of direct economic end. Such an overlapping may 

 lead to a danger that claims may be staked out and this must be watched 

 with discretion. When one considers however the small amount of 

 research that has as yet been accomplished and the wide scope offered 

 by agriculture, any serious waste of energy by overlapping is no great 

 danger in this country. And besides a certain overlapping is the lifeblood 

 of investigation, giving that strenuous opposition and real criticism 

 which is so valuable. 



Thirdly there is the organisation of research. War time ex])erience 

 has shown that a very great deal can be done by organisation, by the 

 mapping out of the field of investigation and the concentration of many 

 workers upon particular aspects of single problems. Such team work 

 has produced much that is new in medicine. An individual or a com- 



