1896. INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF SCIENCE. 51 



confusion we should see if workers on different groups of the animal 

 kingdom were requested to draw up schemes for the classification of 

 geographical divisions suited to their own requirements ! 



We venture to summarise the argument by a quotation from the 

 letter that Dr. Charles Richet has kindly addressed to us: "Those 

 who believe it to be their duty to reform this system, or to replace it 

 by another, do not think that the topsy-turvydom produced will have 

 much greater weight than any doubtful progress they may make in 

 the method of classification. After all (i) every classification is 

 defective from the philosophical point of view ; (2) every classification 

 would be good if it were employed universally over a wide domain 

 of knowledge. The latter will be the case with the Dewey system 

 if we set ourselves resolutely to make our classification in accordance 

 with his book. To my knowledge there are at least fifteen journals 

 which employ it already." 



However, to pass from a detail that can interest but few of our 

 readers, to the other subjects of the Conference, — the following 

 provisional suggestions have been issued by the Committee of the 

 Royal Society. First, as we are glad to note, the idea of including 

 applied science has been given up, and the catalogue is to be 

 restricted to branches of pure science. It is no doubt difficult to dis- 

 tinguish between pure and applied science, but it is equally difficult to 

 distinguish between applied science and mere commercial enterprise ; 

 and in confining themselves to pure science the Committee will probably 

 find their task none too easy. Secondly, the catalogue is no 

 longer, like the " Catalogue of Scientific Papers " issued by the Royal 

 Society, to be " confined to papers in certain periodicals, or to books 

 of a certain category." The method now in force at the Concilium 

 Bibliographicum, Zurich, of issuing slips or cards conveying authors' 

 titles, subject-matter, etc., as speedily and as frequently as possible, 

 is proposed to be adopted ; while a further issue in book-form may 

 take place at intervals, parts corresponding to the several sciences 

 being, if found desirable, published separately. The circular con- 

 tinues : — 



" That, in order to secure the preparation and publication of 

 such an International Catalogue, a Central Bureau shall be established 

 under the control of an International Council. 



" That the whole of the Catalogue shall be prepared and issued 

 subject to the authority of the International Council, and that any 

 particular undertakings which may be allotted to particular countries, 

 institutions, or persons, shall be subsidiary to the work of the Central 

 Bureau and subject to its control. 



" That the cost of preparing and publishing the said Slip- and 

 Book-catalogues at the Central Bureau during the years 1900-1904, 

 in so far as these are not met by sales, shall be provided for by means 

 of a guarantee fund, and that application be made to governments, 

 learned societies, institutions, and individuals throughout the world, 

 to assist in establishing such a fund." 



Other questions to be decided at the Conference are the place of 



E 2 



