92 
fold, has been the direct or indirect result of botanical research 
in the case of many important crops, and often by the application 
of knowledge ascertained with no utilitarian object in mind, be- 
yond that of the advancement of pure science. That the advance- 
ment of pure science is a utilitarian pursuit, justifiable and even 
essential for its own sake, and even worthy of support by public 
taxation, may some day come to be more generally recognized, 
even by those who assume the grave responsibility of molding 
public opinion through the editorial columns of the daily news- 
papers. 
Says President Osborn, in the Annual Report of the American 
Museum, for 1917: “This war is eighty-five per cent. science 
and fifteen per cent. human courage and endurance.” How much 
more is this true of the pursuits cf peace—of the very founda- 
tions of modern civilization. C. 8. G. 
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL FO BE MADE PER- 
MANENT BODY 
The Official Bulletin of May 14, 1918, contains the following 
executive Order : 
“The National Research Council was organized in 1916 at the 
request of the President by the National Academy of Sciences, 
under its congressional charter, as a measure of national pre- 
paredness. The work accomplished by-the council in organizing 
research and in securing cooperation of military and civilian 
agencies in the solution of military problems demonstrates its 
capacity for larger service. The National Academy of Sciences 
is therefore requested to perpetuate the National Research Coun- 
ail the duties of which shall be as follows: 
‘1, In general, to stimulate research in the mathematical, phys- 
ical, and biological sciences, and in the application of these 
sciences to engineering, agriculture, medicine, and other useful 
arts, with the object of increasing knowledge, of strengthening 
the national defense, and of contributing in other ways tc the 
public welfare. 
