190 



NATURE 



[November 6, 1919 



It may be of interest to reprint here the follow- 

 ing- circular which was issued broadcast to bring 

 the aims and intentions of the journal before 

 scientific readers and others : — 



The object which it is proposed to attain by this 

 periodical may be broadly stated as follows. It is 

 intended : 



First, to place before the general public the grand 

 results of Scientific Work and Scientific Discovery, 

 and to urge the claims of Science to a rnore general 

 recognition in Education and in Daily Life; and 



Secondly, to aid Scientific men themselves, by giving 

 early information of all advances made in any branch 

 of Natural Knowledge throughout the world, and by 

 affording them an opportunity of discussing the 

 various Scientific questions which arise from time to 

 time. 



To accomplish this twofold object, the following 

 plan is followed as closely as possible. 



Those portions of the paper more especially devoted 

 to the discussion of matters interesting to the public 

 at large contain : 



I. -Articles written b\ men eminent in Science on 

 subjects connected with the various points of contact 

 of Natural Knowledge with practical affairs, the public 

 health, and material progress ; and on the advance- 

 ment of Science, and its educational and civilising 

 functions. 



II. F"ull accounts, illustrated when necessary, of 

 Scientific Discoveries of general interest. 



III. Records of all efforts made for the encourage- 

 ment of Natural Knowledge in our Colleges and 

 Schools, and notices of aids to Science-teaching. 



IV. Full Reviews of Scientific Works, especially 

 directed to the e.\act Scientific ground gone over, and 

 the contributions to knowledge, whether in the shape 

 of new facts, maps, illustrations, tables, and the like, 

 which they may contain. 



In those portions of N.uurk more especially 

 interesting to Scientific men are given : 



V. .\bstracts of important papers communicated to 

 British, .\iTierican, and Continental Scientific societies 

 and periodicals. 



\"I. Reports of the meetings of Scientific bodies at 

 home and abroad. 



In addition to the above, there are columns devoted 

 to Correspondence. 



From the first 1 was helped h\ the free kind- 

 ness of most of the men of science in the country, 

 by their permitting me to appeal to them for 

 assistance and advice, and my election into the 

 Royal Astronomical Society, and afterwards into 

 the Royal Society, in i86g, brought me into closer 

 correspondence and contact with manv of the 

 active workers in scientific fields. I am very 

 grateful for what they did, and for what men 

 of science are still ready to do to ensure 

 that X.ATURic shall represent scientific claims 

 justly and scientific fact and thought in correct 

 proportion. While this common interest in 

 the journal exists among men of science, not 

 only in the United Kingdom, but also in Europe 

 and America, there will be no falling off from 

 the high standard maintained in its pages from 

 the commencement of its existence. 

 \0. 2610, VOL. 104] 



PROGRESS AND PROMISE. 

 T N the career of a journal, as in the life of a 

 -*- man, stages are met from which it is appro- 

 priate to take a glance backward at the road 

 traversed and to contemplate the outlook of the 

 future. Such an epoch has been reached in the 

 history of Nature, the first number of which was 

 published fifty years ago — on November 4, 1869. 

 The circumstances which led to the establishment 

 of this journal are described briefly by Sir Norman 

 Lockyer in the preceding article. Mep of science 

 had felt the need for an organ devoted to their in- 

 terests in common, and several attempts had been 

 made to meet it, but unsuccessfully. It required 

 the rare combination of scientific authority, un- 

 tiring energy, wise judgment, and business apti- 

 tude to construct a platform on which investi- 

 gators of the many and diverse fields of natural 

 knowledge could put their trust, and from which 

 descriptions of their work would command atten- 

 tion. 



How fully these attributes are possessed by the 

 founder of this journal, and how consistently they 

 have been made manifest in its pages, is shown 

 by numerous appreciative messages received from 

 scientific societies and distinguished workers. 

 Thanks to the sound and comprehensive pro- 

 gramme laid down by Sir Norman Lockyer at 

 the beginning, and followed ever since. Nature 

 now occupies a high place in scientific life. It 

 would be disingenuous to pretend . that we are 

 not proud of the testimonies which have been 

 sent by many leading representatives of progres- 

 sive knowledge as to services rendered by the 

 journal in various ways. Among those who have 

 expressed their congratulations upon the attain- 

 ment of the jubilee are readers who have never 

 missed a number since the first issue, while 

 others of a new generation equally acknowledge 

 the stimulus they derive from a wide view in 

 these days of minute specialisation. 



The intellectual background is different now 

 from what it was in i86g, and the outlook, as 

 well as the conceptions, of science has changed. 

 Specialised work is necessary to acquire new 

 knowledge, but for the great generalisations 

 which provide an impulse to wide inquiry atten- 

 tion must be given to results achieved in the 

 whole sphere of related investigations. It is the 

 particular function of Nature to present this com- 

 prehensive view, and to bring to a focus upon its 

 pages the living picture of scientific advance as 

 a whole, so that workers in separate fields may 

 see the growth of the grand edifice of natural 

 knowledge, and the place their own contributions 

 take in it. 



