408 THE NEW WORLD OF SCIENCE 



world on a uniform scale, agreements regarding telegraphy and 

 wireless telegraphy, and the preparation of the International 

 Catalogue of Scientific Literature. 



Periodic international congresses, chiefly for the interchange 

 of views, were held in mathematics, chemistry, mining and 

 related subjects, engineering, radio-activity, botany, geology, 

 zoology, entomology, ornithology, physiology, anatomy, anthro- 

 pology, medicine, surgery, cancer research, medical radiology, 

 and geography. 



Finally, without attempting to refer to all international scien- 

 tific and technical organizations, mention should be made of the 

 International Association of Academies, in which most coun- 

 tries were represented by a single leading national Academy, 

 though Germany exercised exceptional influence because of the 

 inclusion of the Academies of Berlin, Gottingen, Leipzig, and 

 Munich. 



Many of these international bodies were formed to meet some 

 special need, and they had become so numerous that men of 

 science interested in the larger aspects and relationships of 

 their personal researches were often unable to attend meetings 

 of importance to them. Thus in astronomy independent bodies 

 dealt with the International Chart of the Heavens, solar obser- 

 vations, Kapteyn's Selected Areas, time standards, astronomical 

 ephemerides, distribution of astronomical telegrams, minor 

 planets, and other subjects, and there was no appropriate 

 organization to initiate new projects falling outside of certain 

 limited fields. In chemistry five distinct organizations existed, 

 and yet there was little international cooperation in research. 

 In geophysics separate bodies were concerned with geodesy, 

 meteorology (almost exclusively from the standpoint of official 

 routine), terrestrial magnetism (without real activity), seis- 

 mology, and other branches of the subject, and there was no 

 means of securing common consideration of major problems 

 embracing several aspects of this extensive science. The Asso- 

 ciation of Academies was not sufficiently representative of the 

 countries it included, was without permanent headquarters or 



