February 7. 1901] 



NATURE 



357 



example of blindness and fatuity in the matter of unproductive 

 investment ; she has, it is true, established textile school^, but 

 has not sufficiently supported technical schools ; the cost of a 

 single battleship would establish four splendidly equipped 

 technical schools ; England secures the ship and postpones the 

 construction of the schools. All this is through no fault of her 

 prophets of science, who have been as persistent as Jeremiah 

 in foretelling the consequences which are sure to follow. 



Yet England gave Darwin his schooling upon the Beas:ie : 

 and Huxley secured his upon the Rattlesnake. As a seafaring 

 nation, marine zoology appeals to her imagination, and the 

 single notable departure from her short-sighted policy in the 

 encouragement of pure science is the magnificent service she 

 has rendered in the Challenger expedition. Our own Dana was 

 trained upon the Wilkes expedition ; the French Government 

 equipped the Talisman ; the German Government is supporting 

 the highly successful cruise of the Valdivia and its publications 

 under Ghun ; the U.S. Government has a permtnent exploring 

 vessel in the Albatross. 



In this rivalry of foresightedness the German and French 

 Governments have been our keenest competitors both on sea 

 and land, and have probably surpassed us in the recognition of 

 the ultimate economy of pure research. Germany's most admir- 

 able recent action is the subvention of Prof. Abbe for his in- 

 vestigations upon optics. Abbe's work was not in the nature of 

 invention, but of research and discovery in the highest sense, 

 resulting in the production of an illuminating stage, apochro- 

 matic and achromatic immersion lenses, which have fairly 

 revolutionised biology. What we owe to these lenses in a 

 theoretical sense could not be stated in a single volume, artd the 

 economic value is equally immeasurable. 



The distinctive feature of pure science is that it is not re- 

 munerative ; the practical rewards and returns are not the 

 immediate objects in view. On the other hand, the work of 

 Tyndall and Pasteur on fermentation, pursued in the first 

 instance for its own sake, has come to have an economic im- 

 portance which is simply incalculable. 



American legislators have lent a willing ear to the advice of 

 wise men. What we now enjoy we owe mainly to the counsels 

 of Joseph Henry, Spencer F. Baird and G. Brown Goode. 

 And I may call attention here to a thought which will be ex- 

 panded presently, namely, that the secret of the success of these 

 men is to be found in their enthusiasm, unselfishness and lofty 

 scientific and personal character. When we consider the liberal 

 appropriations made year after year for the United States 

 Geological Survey, the nobly equipped station at Wood's HoU, 

 the purely scientific work which is now being supported by 

 many States and municipalities, there is abundant cause for 

 congratulation. . . . 



Prof. W. Bullock Clark dealt chiefly with the power of legis- 

 lators, cooperation between national bureaux and University 

 institutions and the preparation of men by universities for State 

 work. He said : — 



It may perhaps be desirable to examine for a moment the 

 reason why scientific investigation is not and cannot be self- 

 supporting. This may be found in the fact that the great 

 majority of scientific researches have no immediate commercial 

 value and as commodities cannot find a speedy or, in most 

 instances probably, even a prospective market. We all know 

 of many investigations, begun without thought of pecuniary ad- 

 vantage, that have ultimately produced practical results of the 

 greatest importance. Instances might be cited of investigations 

 the value of which were not apparent until a generation or more 

 had passed, as, for example, palseontological researches which 

 have laid the foundation for the correlation of deposits of great 

 economic value. The support of such investigations must be 

 looked upon as investments for the State which no far-sighted 

 statesman will ignore. 



We find that ever since the establishment of universities and 

 seminaries widely over Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth 

 centuries, the civilised countries of the world have recognised 

 in one form or another the relation of the State to scientific in- 

 vestigation. Not only the great nations of the world, but often- 

 times the small and relatively poor countries like Belgium and 

 Switzerland, as well as the smallest of our own commonwealths, 

 have frequently provided liberally for the support of scientific 

 research. This has been accomplished through the publicly 

 endowed educational institutions, through the public museums 

 and through the special bureaux of the Government. 



Too frequently scientific investigation has held a subordinate 



NO. 1632, VOL. 63] 



place in both the publicly and privately endowed institutions, 

 their chief functions being either educational or commercial. 

 The purpose of the schools and universities is primarily in most 

 instances the instructing of youth in the already acquired results 

 of scientific research rather than the fostering of investigation 

 for itself, although the latter as a secondary consideration often 

 holds a prominent place in the larger institutions of learning. 

 The museums and scientific bureaux are, like our great universi- 

 ties, centres of research, without the exactions of teaching, 

 where continuous investigation can be pursued under most 

 favourable conditions, although here again either educational 

 or commercial considerations for the most part ostensibly con- 

 trol. That this is not always the case is cau^e for congratula- 

 tion, and the support of research directly for itself without other, 

 and oftentimes false, claims is becoming yearly a more fully 

 recognised fact. 



It is interesting for us who are Americans to know that the 

 claims of science received recognition at the very inception of 

 our Government, for we find that George Washington in his first 

 message to Congress stated : " Nor am I less persuaded that 

 you will agree with me in opinion that there is nothing more de- 

 serving your patronage than the promotion of science and 

 literature. Knowledge in every country is the surest basis of 

 public happiness In one in which the measures of government 

 receive their impressions so immediately from the sense of the 

 community as ours it is proportionately essential." How well 

 that early advice has been carried oat by the statesmen of later 

 days under the wise counsels of Henry, Baird, Goode and their 

 successors, Prof. Osborn has already shown. . . . 



The various bureaux and divisions of the U.S. Department of 

 Agriculture, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Coast 

 and Geodetic Survey are all manifesting a broad spirit of help- 

 fulness that is being met by the Stite and university institutions. 

 The possibilities of an extension of this co-operation between 

 Nation, State and University promise well for the widening of 

 the bounds of scientific investigation in this country. It is 

 indeed a hopeful sign when we see the scientific men of the 

 nation, whatever their affiliations, working together with mutual 

 interest and respect. May it presage the dawn of a still 

 brighter day in American science. 



Dr. L. O. Howard spoke more particularly upon the ultimate 

 practical importance of pure scientific work from the point of 

 view of applied entomology, and the preparation of men for 

 the scientific work of the State. He said : — 



It is upon work in pure science that the entire superstructure 

 of economic entomology has been built, and workers in applied 

 science are constantly making use of the results of the labours of 

 workers in pure science. The practical outcome, however, of 

 the labours of the workers in pure science is indirect, while the 

 practical outcome of those who work in the economic applica- 

 tions of science is direct. In any emergency the direct method 

 is the one which is immediately productive of practical results. 

 The study of economic entomology is a study of facts which will 

 enable us to meet one great and widely extended emergency. 

 It must be conducted by the direct method, and the reason why 

 this country stands in advance of the rest of the world in this 

 application of science is because we are a practical people and 

 have adopted the direct method. There can be no doubt, how- 

 ever, that it is necessary for the most successful economic 

 worker to have had a sound training in pure science. . . . 



Men in charge of university departments of scientific work 

 should keep closely in touch with the Government work along 

 similar lines. They should be encouraged to do this by the 

 Government. Government should employ their services wher- 

 ever they can be of use, and such cases are numerous. They 

 themselves should be able, with the intimate knowledge 

 acquired by official association or by close investigation of 

 Government work, to lay out lines of study which will fit their 

 students to take a hand in Government work. In many cases, 

 of course, this cannot be thoroughly done in university labora- 

 tories at the present time. . . . 



The U.S. Department of Agriculture is the first of the 

 Government bureaux which does economic zoological work. 

 Good research work and initiative in investigation are encour- 

 aged. Nothing could be more ideally perfect than the relation 

 between the present head of the Department of Agriculture and 

 his scientific corps. Four years ago he announced his policy in 

 this regard in conversation with one of his scientific chiefs in the 

 following words : — ^' I am here to facilitate your work, not to 

 dictate to you. Make your plans, conduct your investigations. 



