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KDOQiledge & SeieDtllie fleois 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 



Conducted by MAJOR B. BADEN-POWELL, F.R.A.S., and E. S. GREW, M.A. 



Vol. III. No. 14. [new series.] JANUARY, 1906. [staloner"? Hall J SIXPENCE NET. 



CONTENTS see page VII. 



Is Public Interest in Science on the Decline 



in England ? 



WE sincere!}- trust not. The British Science 

 Guild has lately been incorporated, under 

 the Presidenc)- of the new Minister for War, 

 with the special object of guarding against such a 

 contingency, and has all the appearance of having 

 come to stay. And yet there is some evidence to the 

 effect that periodicals devoted to scientific subjects 

 are not read to the extent that we would like to see. 

 During the past year no less than three such journals 

 have died of inanition. One, a magnificently got- 

 up and very well edited magazine of technics, 

 another, a most useful organ of metallurgy, and the 

 third an interesting record of nature. Yet these 

 have each failed to attract sufficient readers to 

 justify their existence. It is a monstrous pity ! 

 What i'j the cause ? It is generally contended that 

 scientific interest is growing apace, and that the 

 general public is daily becoming more imbued with 

 a craving for knowledge. If so, why these failures 

 in the scientific press ? As regards our own 

 position, although not very long ago we also were 

 deploring the scanty support we were receiving, 

 times have changed, and, possibly in consequence 

 of the disappearance of the other journals, the 

 outlook is now far brighter than it was, and our 

 position seems assured. Still, considering the 

 circumstances, it might have been expected that a 

 larger proportion of the reading public would have 

 gone in for a journal devoted to science, while of 

 not too technical a character. The modern public 

 is, howe\cr, veiy critical, and e\cn In per-critical. 

 " None but the best "' is now the cr}-. Such a 

 sentiment is praiseworthy, but it can be overdone. 



and if the acme of perfection is noi to be obtained 

 it is surely better to take the less good and 

 encourage it to improve. Haifa loaf is better than 

 no bread, and the sale of many half loaves enables 

 the baker to give more for the money. 



A really good organ of popular science is a most 

 desirable institution. We know, only too well, our 

 shortcomings, but without more encouragement and a 

 larger circulation it is not possible to produce 

 a periodical such as we should like to see. We 

 would, then, make a strong and earnest appeal to all 

 who have scientific progress at heart, to co- operate 

 in improving this journal by doing what they can to 

 increase our circulation. If only each one of oui' 

 readers would take two copies instead of one (and 

 the spare copy makes an acceptable present to 

 many a poorer worker in science), with our circula- 

 tion doubled, we would gladl}' undertake to double 

 the size of the paper, and pa\' more for suitable 

 articles and choice illustrations. 



It would be of the greatest assistance to the 

 immediate improvement of the journal if all those 

 who propose to take it in regularly would subscribe 

 on the new five-years' system. This has been 

 specially arranged to be of the greatest benefit 

 to the reader, saving him much expense and trouble. 



\\'e occasionally have opinions from individual 

 readers, but these are often contradictor}- and 

 bewildering in their suggestions. We are anxious 

 to ascertain the wishes of the majority, and with 

 such object we enclose in this number a post card 

 in the hope that all readers will kindly enter 

 thereon their opinions and post it to us. 



