CONGRESS OF APPLIED CHEMISTRY 153 



Society was incorporated in London, with the sole excep- 

 tion of the Accademia dei Lincei, probably the oldest existing 

 society for the exchange of knowledge between the devotees 

 of exact and natural sciences. For nearly two centuries these 

 societies were not only close corporations but also practically 

 local clubs. The greater diffusion of scientific learning, as 

 well as the increased means of communication by railroad 

 and telephone, led to the establishment of national associa- 

 tions for the advancement of science (with more liberal terms 

 of membership) having the added feature that meetings were 

 never held twice in succession in the same city. A natural 

 outgrowth was the national society for the promotion of 

 some particular science. Since increased specialization soon 

 made it impossible for anybody to follow understandingly 

 the sessions of general associations, these met in sections 

 a circumstance which led to the development of a yet closer 

 form of union among their respective members. 



Thus, in chemistry at least, each great nation now possesses 

 one or more special societies, not restricted as to localities 

 or qualifications, as is the case with the academy or institute, 

 but open to every person interested in the science. At the 

 last annual meeting of the American Chemical Society there 

 were assembled as many members as would have been deemed 

 a fair attendance for the entire American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science, not very many years ago. It is un- 

 necessary to descant here on the advantages of oral discus- 

 sion, supplemented by the pleasures of social intercourse, 

 which make these general sessions so attractive, any more 

 than it is important to point out the same gregarious instinct, 

 which has led to the successful institution of so many local 

 sections, with their well-attended stated meetings. But we 

 must emphasize the fact that local chemical societies led a 

 very precarious existence until the more powerful national 



