354 



NATURE 



[May 20, 1920 



great discretion. The dignified quarto which supplies 

 a link with the early days of the society may be 

 suspended, illustrations reduced to the absolute mini- 

 mum, communications condensed or reduced, and 

 every conceivable means adopted to avoid expense; 

 but with a diminished sum available for printing, 

 and printing costs trebled, it is obvious that the efh- 

 ciency of the society as a means of publication must 

 be seriously reduced. 



This result bears heavily on oversea members 

 The member within reach of town has all the advan- 

 tages of the society ; he can attend the meetings, 

 consult the library, and meet his colleagues at the 

 society's rooms; the country member is less favour- 

 ably situated, but he has at least the privilege of 

 borrowing from the library. The only material 

 advantage received by the oversea member is the 

 scientific publications of the society. The oversea 

 members are an important part of the society, which, 

 though "of London" in style, is world-wide in in- 

 terest and membership. Our colleagues oversea, 

 though in many cases supporting their own local 

 society, consider it an honour to belong to the 

 mother society at home, and the aim of the mother 

 society is to strengthen the bond and to show the 

 worker oversea that he is both welcome and neces- 

 sary. Any step, therefore, which tends to lessen the 

 advantages reaped by the oversea member must be 

 avoided. 



Apart from external aid there remains only the 

 increased contribution from the individual member. 

 An increase in the subscription will fall hard on many 

 members ; but the claims of a society which repre- 

 sents one's work or the scientific interest of one's 

 leisure will not easily be set aside. A man or woman 

 does not join a scientific society in a commercial 

 spirit, but because a congenial atmosphere is there 

 found, or, in the highest motive, because it is an 

 obligation and an honour to help forward the societv 

 which represents one's own branch of science. If each 

 member will consider seriously the position of his 

 society, the claim for external aid, amply justified bv 

 the value to the community of the scientific work of 

 the society, will come with increased power. 



A. B. Rendle. 



The leading article in Nature of May 6 has so 

 admirably stated the case for assistance towards the 

 publications of scientific societies that it is almost 

 needless to add further arguments. Nevertheless, 

 there is one point which seems to require attention, 

 namely, that during the last two years, when the 

 pressure of enhanced prices in the printing trade has 

 made itself felt, there has been an attempt on the 

 part of societies subject to this burden to palliate it 

 by means which threaten to change the character of 

 the meetings. To avoid the heavy cost of papers 

 embodying recent research, there has developed a 

 marked tendency to arrange for lectures and demon- 

 strations of a kind which do not require publication 

 in detail, to the disadvantage of original memoirs 

 which demand illustration and extensive text. Should 

 this procedure continue, it is plain that research will 

 suft'er, investigators will not be ready to produce 

 the results of their work in the meetings, and the 

 value of the societies' issues will be diminished. 



If assistance of the kind advocated can be secured, 

 former methods can be resumed ; if that assistance 

 is denied, it is to be feared that, in spite of stringent 

 economy or increased subscriptions on the part of the 

 societies, the publications will suft'er; for the main- 

 tenance charges must first be met before the balance 

 of income is available for printing memoirs. 



B. Daydox Jackson. 



NO. 2638, VOL. 105] 



I DO not suppose that there is a single editor of a 

 scientific journal who will not read with sympathy and 

 gratitude of your effort to obtain financial support for 

 such publications in view of the enormously increased 

 cost of paper and printing. In the case of the British 

 Journal of Psychology, with which I am specially 

 connected, the subscription is being raised for the' 

 second time since the war, whilst no class has 

 suffered more as regards income than that from which 

 the subscribers to scientific journals are drawn. 



Charles S. Myers. 



30 Montagu Square, W.i, May 10. 



The Indian Ohemicai Service. 



Sir p. C. Ray's objections to the proposal to iorm 

 an Indian Chemical Service are based upon the fact 

 that the Education Department of India has failed to 

 realise the importance of research in connection with 

 university teaching. However, I feel sure that he 

 would not advocate the abolition of that Department, 

 much less would he wish to see the Indian Education 

 Service a mere adjunct to some other branch of the 

 public services, without even provincial directors to 

 look after' the interests of himself and his colleagues. 

 Every member of a Service knows that, in the event 

 of a difference arising between himself and a member 

 of another Service, he will have the support of a 

 senior member of his own Service at each stage until" 

 the matter is perhaps settled by the Viceroy himself. 

 Even directors-general and members of council are 

 human, and inclined to support members of their own 

 Department against the world. 



Prof. Thorpe does not dwell at any length on the 

 personal aspect of the problem, but I gather from his 

 letter that he appreciates the importance of it. I do 

 not doubt that he has grasped the fact that, while the 

 members of such units as the Geological Survey of 

 India or the Indian Medical Service are contented 

 with the conditions of their service, grave discontent 

 prevails amongst the numerous scientific men attached 

 to, but not members of, organised Services. The fact 

 that many men holding such positions have thrown 

 up their appointments and come home disgusted has 

 added considerably to the difficulty in recruiting 

 scientific men, and particularly chemists, for service in 

 India. There is no alternative to the bureaucratic 

 system of government for India, and the proposed 

 scheme provides for its inherent defects. 



It is, of course, essential that the director-generat 

 and the directors of provincial institutes should be 

 chemists who have proved their capacitv for research. 

 The Geological, Botanical, and Zoological Survevs of 

 India seem to get on fairly well under directors- 

 general who are scientific experts, and I do not see 

 the necessity for assuming that the head and sub- 

 heads of the Chemical Service will be any less com- 

 petent than those who have done distinguished service 

 for India in other branches of science. 



Knowing something of India, I believe that the 

 proposed scheme is sound, and I wish it everv success. 



M. W. Travers. 



Beacon Hall, Priorv Gardens, Highgate, 

 May 15. 



A New Method for Approximate Evaluation of 

 Definite Integrals between Finite Limits. 



I. If /'(x)=^a + l>x + cx^ + d:t^ + fx* + Ax^ + ;x^+ix' + 

 /t^ + mx^ the value of i[/(iV)+/(A)+/(/i»)+/(T0)] is 

 rt -i-o-5ooo<5 +o-3350f +0-2525^4- 0-2038^+ 0-1696// 4- 



o*H55y + o'i27o^-i-o"ii2o/+o"0994w 



which is approximately identical with 



