202 HISTORY OF OUR SOCIETY. 
learned societies, could well conduct such evenings of 
discussion. 
Considering these questions in the light of our Society’s 
past history, it is, I think, necessary to point out the changes 
which have taken place in the world of science during the 
years of our Society’s life—practically the past 20 years. 
During that time the science of all subjects has been enor- 
mously developed, special societies for those interested in 
almost every individual science have been established, and 
at the present day there is hardly a single important interest 
in life, the facts concerning which have been accumulated 
in a sciertific manner to form the science of that interest, 
which has not its own special Society. 
Take for instance, Chemistry. For many years the 
Chemical Society, Royal Society, and Royal Institution, 
practically received and brought before the public almost 
the whole of the new chemical work of each year, together 
with the great bulk of investigations in Physics, Mineralogy, 
Photography, and several other sciences, but during the 
intensely active years since our Society was established, 
The Society of Public Analysts, The Society of Chemical 
Industry, each issuing well filled monthly journais, several 
Photographic Societies, the Mineralogical Society, and the 
Physical Society, have all been established, and gladly 
welcome papers on the chemical work of the day. 
As with Chemistry, so with all the other sciences, and 
the great difficulty any worker now has with regard to 
placing his work before the scientific public, is to decide 
to which of these bodies he shall offer his papers. Then 
the annual gatherings of the British Association, with 
its sectional meetings for special subjects, and of the 
Geological Association, are openings which enable many 
workers to publish their results. 
The enormous increase in the number of scientific peri- 
odicals, and in fact the opening of the press generally to 
