DISCOT RSE OF \V. B. TAYLOR. 



295 



(including systematic and statistical compilations, screntific sum- 

 ■ ~ .... 



maries and valuable accession of tabular "constants, i form in 



themselves an additional series; and represent a work of winch 



any learned Society or Institution might well be proud. And 



thirty octavo volumes of annual Reports, rich with the scattered 



thoughts and hopes and wishes of the Director, form the official 



journal of his administration. 



The Bibliography of Science. — Among the needful preparations 

 for conducting original inquiry, none is more important than ready 

 access and direction to the existing state of research in the particu- 

 lar field, or its allied districts. This information is scattered in the 

 thousands of volumes which form the transactions of learned 

 Societies; and its acquisition involves therefore in most cases a 

 very laborious preliminary bibliographical research. To make this 

 vast store of observation available to scientific students, by the 

 directory of well arranged digests, would appear to fall peculiarly 

 within the provim f an Institution specially established tor pro- 

 moting the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men : and 

 was early an object of particular interest to Henry. In his Report 

 for 1351, he remarked: "((ne of the most important means of 

 facilitating the use of libraries (particularly with reference to 

 science.) is well-digested indexes of subjects, not merely referring 

 to volumes or book-, but to memoirs, papers, ami parts of scientific 

 transactions and systematic works. As an example of this, I would 

 refer to the admirably arranged and valuable catalogue of books 

 relating to Natural Philosophy and the Mechanic Art-, by Dr. 

 Young. This work comes down to 1807; and I know of no richer 

 gift which could lie bestowed upon the science of our own day, 

 than the continuation of this catalogue to the present time. Every 

 one who is desirous of enlarging the bounds of human knowledge, 

 should in justice to himself as well a- to the public, be acquainted 

 with what has previously been done in the same line; and this he 

 will only be enabled to accomplish by the use of indexes of the 

 kind above mentioned." 



* Smithsonian Report fur 1851, p. 225 ol Sen. ed. —p. 217 (of II. Rep. ed The valu- 

 able Repertorium commentationum a soeietatibm litlerariis editarum, edited by Prof. 

 Jekom D. Reuss, and published in 16 quarto volumes at Gottingen, 1801 l821,)toa 

 large extent supplied this desideratum, down to the end of the last century. 



