44 



NATURE 



[March 21, 19 18 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 

 [The Editor does not hold himself responsible for 

 opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither 

 can he undertake to return, or to correspond with 

 the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for 

 this or any other part of Nature. No notice is 

 taken of anonymous cominunications.] 



International Catalogue of Scientific Literature. 



The Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies, some 

 time last year, appointed — by what mandate is not 

 clear— an International Catalogue Sub-Committee 

 " to obtain information regarding the extent of the use 

 made by scientific men of the present International 

 Catalogue of Scientific Literature, and to obtain recom- 

 mendations for possible improvement." The sub- 

 committee consisted of Dr. Chalmers Mitchell, Mr. 

 C. V. Boys, and Mr. E. B. Knobel, in addition to the 

 official members. The sub-committee appears to have 

 gone outside the terms of reference and to have re- 

 ported "that it was advisable to consider suggestions 

 for an alternative scheme." On February 25, the 

 secretary of the sub-committee sent out a circular 

 letter to certain scientific and technical societies, from 

 which I reproduce the three opening paragraphs :— 



"A sub-committee of the Conjoint Board of Scien- 

 tific Societies has been for some time engaged in con- 

 sidering the future of the International Catalogue of 

 Scientific Literature. 



"As the outcome of several meetings the sub-com- 

 mittee is prepared to recommend that all papers and 

 books dealing with both pure and applied science should 

 be catalogued by authors and subjects, and that it is 

 more practicable for such a catalogue to be prepared 

 by a single country than by an international organisa- 

 tion. 



" In order to bring this about, the sub-committee is 

 considering a plan for the establishment of a central 

 institution in London which shall assemble all the 

 material required to be catalogued, and shall prepare 

 from it cards showing (i) author; (2) title; (3) date and 

 full references; (4) branch of science." 



It will be noted that the committee has quietly put 

 the International Catalogue and its organisation aside, 

 and has acted as if the former were a negligible quan- 

 tity and the catalogue defunct ! 



The history of the International Catalogue is briefly 

 as follows. In 1893 the Royal Society was memo- 

 rialised to take into consideration the preparation of 

 complete author and subject catalogues, by inter- 

 national co-operation, in continuation of the society's 

 Catalogue of Scientific Papers, which the society did 

 not propose to continue beyond the centurv. The pro- 

 posal being viewed with favour, the Royal' Society soli- 

 cited the opinion of scientific workers all over the 

 world. There was practically but one reply — that such 

 catalogues were essential, and almost universal agree- 

 ment that the only way of carrying the work into 

 execution was by international co-operation. Repre- 

 sentative committees were appointed, and after two 

 years of very hard work a scheme was prepared which 

 was forwarded abroad, together with the invitation to 

 attend the first international conference on the subject. 

 This was held in July, 1896. Two subsequent inter- 

 national conferences were held in London in October, 

 1898, and June, 1900. All three were highly repre- 

 sentative. Ultimately it was decided, at the third 

 cpnference, to establish the catalogue as an inter- 

 national enterprise. Work was begun in 190 1, and has 

 been continued up to. the present time. The organisa- 

 tion has grown steadily in weight and efficiency, and 

 at the beginning of the war there were thirty-four 

 NO. 2525, VOL. lOl] 



regional bureaux in operation. The harmony which 

 has prevailed throughout among the nations is one of 

 the most remarkable features of the enterprise : not- 

 withstanding the complexity of the work, there has not 

 been the slightest friction. I believe no other inter- 

 national enterprise of like magnitude has been called 

 into existence or worked more smoothly. 



There is no doubt that the original establishment of 

 the organisation was effected almost solely owing to 

 the prestige of the Royal Society. The society has 

 always been the responsible publishing agent, and is 

 therefore financially liable. 



The one chief difficulty in the way, which has re- 

 tarded the work, has been the lack of working capital, 

 owing to the fact that most Governments will only pay 

 for the volumes after delivery. This has been met in 

 part by a rather heavy loan from the Royal Society, on 

 which interest has to be paid. The late Dr. Mond 

 was one of the most ardent supporters of the catalogue 

 and a convinced believer in international co-operation 

 as the only effective means of producing a satisfactory 

 result; he bequeathed a large sum to the Royal, Society. 

 I know that one of the chief objects he had in mind 

 was to enable the society, when the bequest became 

 available, to release the international enterprise from 

 its indebtedness, and generally to promote the under- 

 taking. 



As war went on, it became necessary for the society 

 to evaluate its responsibilities towards the catalogue. 

 It was decided that the society could not guarantee the 

 publication of the catalogue beyond the fourteenth issue. 

 An issue consists of seventeen volumes, each dealing 

 with a separate science. The fourteenth issue is now 

 being published, and it is noteworthy that special con- 

 tributions in aid of publication have been made by the 

 Carnegie Foundation of New York, by the Department 

 of Scientific and Industrial Research, and by certain 

 private donors. 



The Royal Society has also undertaken the direct ' 

 control of the enterprise during the period of the war. 

 Early last year it was intimated to workers abroad that 

 the future of the catalogue must be left for the decision 

 of an international council to be called as soon as 

 possible after the conclusion of peace. 



Why the Conjoint Board has intervened is not clear. 

 It certainly has no right to give the catalogue its 

 quietus. That it should have taken the action it has 

 without ever constdting the international organisation 

 passes belief. I attended the meeting of the board on 

 Wednesday last, and protested most strongly against 

 the discourtesy the sub-committee has displayed to- 

 wards our Allies and the neutral countries concerned in 

 the enterprise. 



It is unnecessary to dwell on the special need at the 

 present time of maintaining and cementing relation- 

 ships that have been so happily established, and to com- 

 ment further on the unhappy policy adumbrated by the 

 sub-committee. 



Henry E. Armstrong, 

 Chairman of the Executive Committee of the In- 

 ternational Council. 

 Central Bureau of the International Catalogue, 



34-35 Southampton Street, Strand, London. 



Mercury's Perihelion Progress. 



If Mercury sweeps up solar matter in its course 

 round the sun- — such matter as yields the Zodiacal 

 light, for example — there will be no effect on its trans- 

 verse or centripetal acceleration, but it will experience 

 tangential retardation. This, if uniform, so that 

 m = a + b$, would give a spiral character to the orbit; 

 but if the sweeping up were periodic, with the planet's 



