542 



NATURE 



[January 2, 19 19 



racts of scientific memoirs, and the cata- 

 loguing of scientific papers were also considered, 

 as well as the serious international problem re- 

 lating to patent laws in different countries. 



\n\mie who has followed the course of events 

 in the scientific world during' the last twenty years 

 or more will perceive that subjects of this kind 

 have not been neglected, anil that many prepara- 

 tory steps have been taken, hut it is also ofr 

 that in regard to nearly all these matters we have 

 been drifting gradually towards a chaos more and 

 more confounded. The establishment of the system 

 of international councils seems to be the only hope 

 of ultimately arriving at some state of order. 

 Readers of NATURE have been informed of the 

 establishment in this country of the Committee 

 of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial 

 Research, and the existence of several subsidiary 

 boards, such as those for fuel research, food 

 investigation, and several others, with related 

 advisory boards, as well as the National Physical 

 Laboratory. But the co-ordination of the whole 

 remains to be accomplished, and, so far as this 

 country is concerned, movement in this direction 

 is not yet in view, though it has long been 

 urged by the British Science Guild and in these 

 columns. The British Government is too fond 

 of leaving things at the disposal of its per- 

 manent officials in Whitehall, who, however 

 able they may be as officials, are in nearly all 

 cases laymen in respect to questions involving 

 scientific knowledge and experience. The Presi- 

 dent of the United States proceeds on a different 

 principle in placing the whole task of organisa- 

 tion in the hands of the National Academy of 

 Sciences, with power to select such representatives 

 of the Government as are required for administra- 

 tive work. 



Perhaps it will be useful to add a few remarks 

 on the subjects which are intended for investiga- 

 tion by these National Research Councils. 

 Broadly speaking, there is no limit ; all Nature 

 is to be reviewed, experimented on, sounded, 

 tested. It requires no great foresight to perceive 

 that, on the whole, results which are expected to 

 be immediately useful will especially be looked for 

 by the expectant world outside. Now research 

 may be of two kinds, one of which falls 

 easily within the province of co-operative inquiry : 

 the investigation of the origin, properties, and 

 qualities of natural materials of all kinds — coal 

 and other minerals, fibres, woods, dyes, medi- 

 cinal agents, and tin cultivation of medicinal 

 plants; investigation of problems in connection 

 with agriculture, the strength of metals, corrosion 

 or rusting of metals and dei a) ol .ill kinds of 

 materials, such as timber, cement, and building- 

 NO. 2566, VOL. I02] 



stone. To such inquiries may be added the accu- 

 rate determination ol many physical constants 

 which are at present imperfectly known, such as 

 melting-points, boiling-points, specific heats, or 

 cli' trical conductivities, all of which may come to 

 be very valuable, or even indispensable, in the 

 improvements to be made in machiner) and 

 engines of all kinds. 



Here are fields wide enough and full enough to 

 Occupy whole armies of workers for generations 

 to come, and they afford examples in every direc- 

 tion w-here co-operative labour is likely to ac i 

 ' plish that which might defy altogether the un- 

 assisted effort of the individual worker. It is also 

 quite possible that in the resulting enlarged and 

 more accurate view of natural materials and re- 

 sources phenomena will present themselves among 

 which the eye of genius may perceive the way to 

 generalisations of incalculable importance. It was 

 the i areful and accurate estimation of the densities 

 of gases by Rayleigh which led to the discovery 

 of the argon series of gases. It was the study 

 of the crystalline form of the tartrates which led 

 Pasteur by successive steps to discoveries which 

 resulted later in the development of the entire 

 department of science known as stereo-chemistr\ . 

 For ages the fact has been known that certain 

 substances — e.g. calcined oyster-shells — exhibit a 

 feeble luminosity ; but it was the systematic study 

 of phosphorescent phenomena by Becquerel which 

 led, in the hands of the Curies, to the discovery 

 of radio-activitv, with all its amazing consequences. 



Similarly, it may be expected that research on 

 a large scale will lead to the observation of pheno- 

 mena which the international worker may not be 

 able to interpret, but which will remain for study 

 by the exceptionally endowed worker, who, like 

 the poet, invokes the aid of imagination, while 

 at the same time he has the skill, patience, and 

 wide knowledge which enable him to derive 

 assistance from analogous cases in departments 

 other than his own. This kind of specialist is 

 not to be found every day, and will not be 

 developed even by co-operation on international 

 lines. This is the natural genius who appears, 

 like a Newton or a Faraday, once in a century or 

 two. Individual freedom in fields open to re- 

 search must not be controlled or impeded by 

 schemes of organisation, nor must the public 

 inquire too closely what is the use of this or that 

 discovery. In course of time the study and con- 

 templation of natural phenomena in the light of 

 more extended knowledge will come to be acknow- 

 ledged as the source of a pure joy and satisfaction 

 to many, as art is a recognised source of happiness 

 to others. This view of the matter should be 

 I kept seduli >usly in mind b\ <\ erv teai 



