Science and Citizenship 



inquiring citizen utilise them ? How may the 

 crossing-sweeper utilise the President of the Royal 

 Geographical Society ? If the inquiring citizen 

 was fortunate enough in his youth to commence 

 a career of travel and exploration, by frequent 

 truancy from school, then, doubtless, he acquired 

 habits of observation which later on became dis- 

 ciplined into a scientific temperament. Doubtless 

 in that happy case he is thoroughly familiar with 

 the resources of g'eography. But most of us grew 

 up into respectable citizens uninspired by that fear 

 of the school-master which is the beginning of 

 science. And if we have our scientific education 

 still in front of us, we cannot do better than begin 

 it by buying a copy of the admirable annual called 

 the Science Year-book, issued by Messrs. King, Sell 

 and Olding, of Chancery Lane. 



Of the seven or eight sections in which the 

 contents of this publication are divided, there is 

 one called " Scientific and Technical Institutions." 

 A first glance at the contents of this section might 

 lead one to suppose that the book is of a humorous 

 and satirical kind, for its list of scientific and 

 technical institutions begins with an enumeration 

 of " Government Offices." Saving this lapse, the 

 book is to be taken as a serious manual. It 

 enumerates and briefly indicates the functions of 

 ninety-nine organisations in Great Britain called 

 " Scientific and Learned Societies." These include 

 small new groups such as the thirty oceanographers 

 who constitute the Challenger Society, and meet 

 once a quarter in the rooms of the Royal Society 



253 



