AIM AND PROGRESS OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE. 367 



science, it is true, has by the practical realisation of its 

 results transformed the entire life of modern humanity. 

 But, as a rule, these applications appear under circum- 

 stances when they are least expected ; to search in that 

 direction generally leads to nothing unless certain points 

 have already been definitely fixed, so that all that has to 

 be done is to remove certain obstacles in the way of prac- 

 tical application. If we search the records of the most 

 important discoveries, they are either, especially in earlier 

 times, made by workmen who their whole lives through 

 did but one kind of work, and, either by a happy accident, 

 or by a searching, repeated, tentative experiment, hit 

 upon some new method advantageous to their particular 

 handicraft ; others there are, and this is especially the 

 case in most of the recent discoveries, which are the 

 fruit of a matured scientific acquaintance with the sub- 

 ject in question, an acquaintance that m each instance 

 had originally been acquired without any direct view to 

 possible use. 



Our Association represents the whole of natural science. 

 To-day are assembled mathematicians, physicists, chemists 

 and zoologists, botanists and geologists, the teacher of 

 science and the physician, the technologist and the ama- 

 teur who finds in scientific pursuits relaxation from other 

 occupation. Here each of us hopes to meet with fresh 

 impulse and encouragement for his peculiar work ; the 

 man who lives in a small country place hopes to meet 

 with the recognition, otherwise unattaioable, of having 

 aided in the advance of science ; he hopes by intercourse 

 with men pursuing more or less the same object to mark 

 the aim of new researches. We rejoice to find among us 

 a goodly proportion of members representing the culti- 

 vated classes of the nation ; we see influential statesmen 

 among us. They all have an interest in our labours ; 

 they look to us for further progress in civilisation, fui'ther 



