412 



NA TURE 



[August 31, 1693 



the animals that he chased and he, what a chasm in the 

 scale of creation ! " 



So the rhapsody continues, without backbone or argu- 

 ment of any kind. Mr. Millett Ellis probably means 

 well. Indeed, his literary effort may be highly appreci- 

 ated by people who mistake verbiage for eloquence. To 

 us, however, the contents appear to be in a nebulous 

 condition like that which existed when, to use Mr. 

 Ellis's words, " The chaos of earth circled in the vast- 

 ness." 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



\_Tht Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions ex- 

 pressed 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 'i^ h'VXSY.v.. 

 No notice is taken of anonymous communications. ] 



The Publication of Physical Papers. 



The discussion started by Mr. J. Swinburne in Nature of 

 June 29, seems to have wandered from its original purpose, and 

 from the points suggested in your article of July 13. It is the 

 duty of an investigator in any branch of Natural Science to pub- 

 lish the results of his research if they appear to be both new 

 and of sufficient interest. He has three courses open to him. 

 He can write a book, relying on the advertisements of his pub- 

 lisher and on reviews to inform other workers that such a book 

 exists. His space is unlimited, but he cannot make sure of a 

 circulation unless by presentation copies. He may coaimunicate 

 his results to a scientific society. His space is somewhat 

 limited, but he secures a definite circulation, and an opportunity 

 for discussion. Or he can communicate them to some technical 

 journal, securing generally the maximum circulation, but with 

 considerable restriction as to space. 



The publication of boolcs needs no comment, and was alluded 

 to by Mr. Swinburne. Mr. Buchanan thinks that the publica- 

 tion of papers in all branches of science is in as unsatisfactory a 

 state as that of physics, and advocates the central organ sug- 

 gested by Dr. Oliver Lodge, and referred to by Mr. Swinburne 

 as a last resort. But the real question seems to be one of 

 facilities for the publication of original communications, not of 

 abstracts or reprints ; and these not of general science, but of 

 physics. Mr. Swinburne has given reasons which render a 

 purely physical journal impossible, unless it be endowed or sub- 

 sidised, as in the case of the excellent Physical Review of the 

 Cornell University. Nothing could be more complete than the 

 publication of chemical researches ; and geology, astronomy, 

 biology, and physiology, though untainted by the patentee, 

 and treated often as a hobby rather than as a study, seem to 

 be well provided for. 



Exhaustive and important physical researches, such as those of 

 Ewing on Magnetism, should undoubtedly be communicated to 

 the Royal Society. The Transactions, it is true, are very ex- 

 pensive, and the circulation appears to depend largely on pre- 

 sentation copies, unless an abstract or reprint appears elsewhere. 

 Work done at University laboratories is in many cases appro- 

 priately communicated to local societies, the circulation is almost 

 negligible, and the majority of the papers are never heard of by 

 outsiders. The Physical Society appears to offer the greatest 

 facilities.and to publish its proceedings in the best possible manner 

 — first through its own Proceedings, secondly by a recent ar- 

 rangement with the Philosophical Magazine, thirdly by a number 

 of reprints issued to the author, and last, but not least, by the 

 admirable report which is sent to and printed by a number of 

 technical journals, and which appear regularly in Nature. Dr. 

 Lodge thinks that "the method of publication invented, or at 

 any rate adopted, by the Physical Society of London" is "well 

 worthy of imitation." Not of imitation surely, for to multiply 

 societies will hinder rather than facilitate reference to the pub- 

 lished papers. The valuable work of the Physical Society needs 

 extension. The double publication in the Philosophical Maga- 

 zine and in the Proceedings seems to be somewhat wasteful. 

 A selection of its heavy mathematical papers might be offered 

 by the Society to the Philosophical Magazine ; and thus leave 

 room in its Proceedings for publication, in addition to its 

 present contents, of papers accepted for printing, but not 

 necessarily for reading and discussion ; and for abstracts or for 



full publication of the more important physical papers of the 

 societies of Cambridge, Oxford, Dublin, Edinburgh, and Glas- 

 gow. The Institution of Civil Engineers publishes a number of 

 " selected papers " ; these are either unsuitable for reading and 

 discussion at a meeting, or are of minor importance. They receive 

 perhaps less attention from London members who frequently 

 attend the meetings, and who rarely read the Proceedings, but 

 they secure as wide a circulation as those which are accepted for 

 reading. A very successful departure was made by the Institu- 

 tion of Electrical Engineers in the publication, early in August, 

 1892, of a paper by Mr. J. Swinburne on " Problems of Com- 

 mercial Electrolysis." At the meeting on November 10, this 

 paper was taken as read, and a useful and vigorous discussion 

 followed, occupying two evenings. 



By the brief but careful and always accurate abstract of the 

 papers, and by the no less excellent though much more care- 

 demanding report of the discussion, an unusually wide circula- 

 tion of the chief points of all communications to the Physical 

 Society is secured. The lithographed reports are sent gratui- 

 tously to any technical journal that cares to publish thein. 

 Abstracts of "selected papers" could be sent out in the same 

 way, and could be made with far less trouble, since, unlike the 

 report which is issued a few days after each meeting, they could 

 be dealt with at leisure ; the abstract might indeed be furnished 

 by the author, though I am not sure that this is advisable. The 

 Physical Society seems in every way admirably fitted f>r the 

 publication of physical papers, and no greater facilities for 

 experimental demonstration could be desired than those which 

 are so freely afforded to the authors of papers read before it. 



Mr. Basset suggests that the London Mathematical Society 

 would be a good medium for the publication of physical papers. 

 May I protest against confusion between the two sciences, and 

 I am sure that many pure mathematicians, though from a 

 different point of view, will agree with me ? There was once 

 and I believe still exists, a "science" called Microscopy. It 

 was divided into two factions, strongly opposed to each other. 

 These were named, reciprocally I suppose, "The Glass and 

 Brass School," and "The Slug and Bug School." The one 

 regarded the navicula and the grammalophora as having been 

 specially created to afford test objects for showing off the 

 performance of favourite instruments ; the other considered 

 immersion objectives and correcting adjustments as mere tools, 

 the use of which must be learned ; and regarded polariscope 

 attachments and mechanical stages as toys. The problem 

 worker, it would be ambiguous to call him a mixed matliema- 

 tician, finds in physics an unlimited material for problem- 

 setting. In many cases he accidentally makes an original 

 contribution to physical science, he frequently gives most 

 valuable finishing touches to the experimental work of ethers, 

 and occasionally actually retards progress, 'as in alternate 

 current electrical engineering, by introducing complications on 

 insufficient data, to the discouragement and confusion of 

 the experimental worker. Good tools are in themselves a 

 delight to a good workman ; no true physicist can disregard 

 mathematics, even in those branches which are to hitii use- 

 less. But the aims differ, and the sciences should be distinct. 



There need be no rivalry whatever with the Royal Society. 

 Elaborate memoirs do not admit of discussion, and it would be 

 a pity to burden the Physical Society with the expense of 

 printing them, when the Royal Society can so well afford to 

 give them place in its Transactions. The strict rules of the 

 Institution of Civil Engineers against the publication of its 

 papers in technical journals before they have appeared in its 

 own proceedings, and the similar rule of the Royal Society, so 

 far as its Transactions are concerned, may perhaps be in keeping 

 with the unapproached prestige of these institutions. But the 

 Royal Society issues proofs of its Proceedings after the papers 

 have been read, and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers 

 and other societies send out proofs of their papers with the 

 simple condition that they are not to be reprinted until the 

 communications have been actually read. The Physical Society 

 tacitly adopts the latter course, sending proofs before the meet- 

 ing to those who are likely to take part in the discussion. I be 

 only objection toahe free publication of a paper before it is read 

 and discussed, is that a discussion may take place prematurely 

 in the technical journals ; but with the exception of Nature, 

 these are in touch with so few branches of physics, that but 

 little harm would be done. 



I venture to think that the publication of physical papers can 

 be carried out most efficiently by means of the present procedure 



NO. 1244, VOL. 48] 



