410 SCIENCE OEGANISATION : SOCIETIES, ETC. 



I 



science. Their immediate purpose was to establish the Linnean 

 on a sound basis, and cultivate a catholic spirit amongst 

 naturalists. * The crying evil,' in Hooker's words, * is that 

 Naturalists are profoundly indifferent to one another's wants, 

 and so long as each is regardless of whether it is reasonable 

 to suppose that his fellow Naturalists will get access to his 

 publications, science must drift into confusion.' Let the 

 Linnean then provide the means of rapidly publishing abstract 

 researches with the certainty that they would soon be in the 

 reach of all European and American Naturalists. Then 

 the time would come when all the best papers on such 

 subjects would as certainly be sent to the Linnean as the 

 French ones to the Paris Academy. In the same way, if 

 circumstances compelled the dropping of the Kew Journal 

 of Botany, the best of its material w^ould be absorbed in 

 the Linnean, with its wider circulation, to the advantage 

 of science. 



Another valuable piece of centralisation planned was 

 a co7n'pte rendu from Burlington House, with a classified 

 index of all important papers contributed to the various 

 societies in the United Kingdom. In all these ways the 

 minor societies might be brought together, while the highest 

 flight of hope saw the Eoyal and Linnean publications issued 

 together. 



During the years of reconstruction. Hooker wa^ unflagging 

 in his support of the Linnean Journal, calling on his fellow 

 workers to help, and receiving many promises. Even so it 

 was difficult to keep all up to concert pitch, as appears from 

 an urgent appeal to Henslow, apparently written in 1859. 



I now therefore beg and entreat you not to leave us in 

 the lurch any longer ; it is of greatest importance that 

 authors of repute should contribute to the first volume of 

 the Journal, and of all those who promised me two years 

 ago to contribute, and who spurred me on to get up the 

 Journal, scarcely one has kept his word. The responsibility 

 of the thing very much lies upon my shoulders, and I am 

 now calling upon those who induced me to take it, to keep 

 their words : but some of the best are dead ! and as to 



