Comparative Encouragement to the Study, ^r. 395 



As a detailed catalogue of all the scientific periodicals and 

 publications now circulating in Europe, would be more tedious 

 than instructive; we shall content ourselves with g^vmg such a 

 summary of them, as will forcibly impress upon our readers th 

 importance of the view we have taken of this subject I ^^.n 

 be'seen how conspicuous, in this point ^^ v^w, that enhghtened 

 part of the globe is above all the rest; and if m Africa there .s 

 L a total blank, it is because a ray of European light has pene- 

 trated there, as in New Holland and Java In the East Indies, 

 we see still greater fruits of that same intelhgence Cuba con- 

 tributes twice as much to the general stock of information as 

 Norway and Peru. When we come to treat upon the existing 

 "state of scientific literature in the United States, we propose to 

 make the application of these comparative statistics in order to 

 ^^e additional evidence of the truth of the maxim, that " Know- 



ledee is power." , . , 



How much the successful cultivation of natural science de- 

 pends upon the general tranquillity, will appear from the fact 

 that before the year 1818, when England was beginmng to fee 

 the benefit of the repose of the world, the number of periodical 

 works, published in Great Britain, and which took a direc in- 

 terest in natural history, only amounted to ten. The Reports of 

 the Board of Agriculture, which contained some of the earliest 

 geological papers, the Transactions of the Royal Soaetresof LcMdon 

 Edinburgh, n.^ Dublin, the Transactions of the Geologica Soctety 

 of London, the Memoirsofthe Wernerian Society of Natural History 

 and the two monthly journals, now conducted by Mr. Taylor, and 

 united under the title of The Philosophical Magazine and Annals oj 

 Philosophy. The other two were the Edinburgh and Quarterly 

 RevJs, where occasional summaries were found of the progress 

 of natural science. But the influence of a general peace, which 

 released so many active minds from a long restraint was soon 

 felt : distant journeys were undertaken, the study of the modern 

 languages ardently commenced, scientific expeditions commenced 

 by governments, gifted individuals, of various nations became 

 known to each other, and thus the general illustration of natural 

 history became more easy and more attractive, and the bonds 

 of the human family drawn closer together. Geological know- 

 ledge introduced mineral surveying as a profession, and not only 

 led to new undertakings in mining, but to the advantageous ap- 



