iis time goes on. I hold tbat it is imims- 

 sible for any ouc to maintain genuine iutf- 

 rest in science without doing some prac- 

 tical work in one of its numerous brandies. 

 By practical w<nk I do not necessarily nu-nu 

 the use of scieutihe apijaratus, but tlie 

 -_-arrying uut of some definite system of ob- 

 servation — on however small a scale — and 

 noting the results. In fact, the pencil and 

 notebook are anung the most important ot 

 scientific apparatus— the most easily ob- 

 tained and i)erhaps the most neglected. 



In the tliird (jucstion on my list I ask 

 whether tlie Ijcst interests of science are best 

 served by attemiiting to popularise it beyond 

 ii certain point ? In answering this (juch- 

 tion I would, like tlie proverbial Scot, ask 

 :inother. viz. : What, Tip to the present, arc 

 the results uf popular scientific lectures and 

 *inematogra])h exhibitions, etc.? My 

 opinion is that they very rarely incite to 

 serious nature study unless delivered as part 

 of an educational course to a selected audi- 

 ence, but, of course they serve as a source 

 of amusemeat, and occasionally of revenue 

 to some charitable or religious object. I 

 am not going to I)clittle that by any means, 

 although I autici])ate that they will only 

 avail for this purpose for a limited time; 

 then the fickle jniblic taste will veer in 

 anotlier direction, and very natural is it 

 that this is the case. We cannot appreciate 

 auytliing whieli we get without any troublc. 

 Take, for exa'n])le. the preparation of an 

 ordinary lantern slide of a microscopic ob- 

 ject. Tlie worker must find the suitable 

 specimen, perhaps make a number of sec- 

 tions before a good one is obtained ; thea 

 prei)are it for mounting by several processes 

 wliich will not be complete for perhaps days 

 or weeks. Having accomplished the mount- 

 ing, a good jdiotograph has to be obtained, 

 and from this negative the slide is made and 

 mounted. How many j>rocesses, chemical 

 and physical, that slide goes through, and 

 in any one of those manipulations a slight 

 accident mars th'^ work, which has to be 

 done all over again, and tlien after all this 

 the slide is jdaced for a moment in the lan- 

 tern, and some slight expression of admira- 

 tion may follow its exhibition if some after 

 ])rocess of staining imparts to it a striking 

 colour, but it is n toss ujj if one per cent . 

 />f the audience has any more appreciation 

 for the work which produced it than if it 

 were a ncw^jiaper advertisement. Only 

 those who have made themselves actjuaintcd 

 with some part at least of these processes 

 will ajipreciatc the work involved, and I can- 

 not believe that it is of any use to attempi 

 to serve science from the popular side re- 

 membering, as we must, that to do tliis all 

 the solid, jiraetical detail has to be elimi- 

 nated as being uninteresting, and only tlic 

 final result held up for inspection, and even 

 that not too huig ! No. the public simply 

 want tin- fruit to gratify a pas^^ing ta>tc. 

 and care not for the digging and |»runiug in 

 tlie dark days, by which :ihnc that fruit 



can be furnished in its full beauty, and in 

 dwelling upon this point 1 have furnished 

 the answer to my fourth tpiestifin, and 

 show II you that all detail must be sacrificed 

 and llic standard which we ought to kecji 

 before u,5 must be very perceptibly lowered 

 if \\v are to become public caterexs. 



My ot h quest ion is one of some i nipor- 

 tance, as I am sure that enquiry will prove 

 to us that the apathy we Inive often de- 

 plored in our own circle is very widespread. 

 Hardly a single Society but has the same 

 story to tell of falling membership and lack 

 of interest, and this is very marked in the 

 ease of tlie Photographic Societies, whose 

 limited horizon makes them much more vul- 

 ner;il)le ^vlien public ir.terest wanes. I do 

 iu)t I'cgard this, however, with a pessimistic 

 eye, as I have little doubt that the elimi- 

 nation of some elements is rather like the 

 removal of supertiuous branches from a tree 

 in the course of pruning, and eventually 

 cond\icc to greater strength. Undoubtedly 

 apatliy and lack of interest arise from cer- 

 tain delinite causes, chief among which we 

 must phice a growing love of amusement in 

 the pi esent generation and a dislike to 

 strenuous WMrk. Still, I have a conviction 

 that there is nothing which so soon palls 

 on the appetite as constant amusement, and 

 we may confidently look for a reaction ere 

 long, as it will be forced upon tliis country 

 that to hold its own in the race a scientific 

 education is a sine qua non, and that too 

 much attention cannot ]:iossibly be given to 

 these sul)jects. 



My (ith (luestiou is " Does our Society meet 

 an un))rovided want or not? 



I think tliere is no doubt that we can 

 ansMTer this in the affirmative. It comes in 

 between the strictly educational institu- 

 tions and the popular lecturer, magazine, 

 etc.. and enables some of us to keep in touch 

 with scientific subjects who have no oppor- 

 tunity to attend University classes and 

 laboratories, and who, at the same time, 

 only rt'gard the cinematograph and popular 

 lecture as simple amusement wliich is very 

 unsatisfying were we not able to ftdlow out 

 the methods by which even these were ob- 

 tained. I think we are rather conscious 

 that too mucli even of this Avould bear the 

 same relation to serious work as novel read- 

 ing does to sound literature; in either case 

 ficc use of the one induces distaste for the 

 other. The mere fact of paucity of num- 

 liers need not, I think, cause us to challenge 

 our methods as faulty. This, too, is a 

 )ti('sent-day difficulty, that the workers are 

 tew in comparison to the nou-workers. but 

 1 think we have only to look at the athletic 

 world to note precisely the same thing. No 

 ouc can deny the great popularity of football 

 in this country as shown by the enormous 

 crowds which attend a match and tlte 

 .liiiouiit of money expended, but compare the 

 iiuml)ei- of h;okers-on with the number en- 

 gaged in the game and how many of those 

 ■-pectaltns ;ire likely to take any active part 



^^^ 



