NATURE 



[August i~, 1911 



THE LIBRARY AND THE SPECIALIST. 

 •yHIS is the age of the specialist. There is scarcely 

 any branch ol science in a review of which i't 

 would be inappropriate to remark that "the litera- 

 ture ol this important section of the subdivision to 

 which we allude is already assuming- enormous dimen- 

 sions." The published mass of scientific research is 

 accumulating in ever-increasing volume. The investi- 

 gator, especially when the circumstances of his life 

 are Mich that he lives remote from intellectual centres, 

 1- generally exposed to the danger of working either 

 along lines inferior to those already followed'by pre- 

 decessors in the same field, or in a direction which 

 has been shown to lead to barren results. During 

 his hard-earned leisure he may have been spending his 

 energies upon work of research, only to discover at a 

 later stage that he has been anticipated. The philoso- 

 pher will murmur, " Comme les beaux esprits se re- 

 contrent! " The man of modest temperament will 

 say resignedly, with one of Hermite's correspondents, 

 "Je suis predestine, semble-t-il, a decouvrir des 

 theorem. :s connus ! " More ordinary mortals will ex- 

 claim, each with his own degree of vehemence : 

 "Pereant 1115 qui ante nos nostra dixerunt ! " In each 

 ..is.' time has been wasted, and it may be that science 

 has suffered. 



De Morgan has somewhere said that the history 

 of science is in the main the history of books and 

 manuscripts. If this were true in the days of that 

 accomplished bibliographer, to whose untiring efforts 

 the student of the history of mathematics in the 'forties 

 and 'fifties of last century was so profoundly indebted, 

 it is even more so now if we consider the cosmopolitan 

 character of the development in every department of 

 intellectual activity. It is becoming more and more 

 imperative that the work of investigators in any 

 branch of science shall not be impeded by causes 

 which, by a mere effort of cooperation, may be effec- 

 tually and for all time removed. The organisation of 

 scientific research has of late years been the text for 

 man) sermons from the leaders of opinion, and the 

 problem of its most effective promotion is slowly and 

 surely assuming that ultimate form which will secure 

 the solution. We wish to direct attention to what 

 some may consider a minor detail, but as it concerns 

 the working specialist— and he is not always articu- 

 late — we make no apology for bringing once more 

 to the front the relations between the libraries of the 

 country and the investigator. 



In Nature (Feb. 15, iqo6, p. 372) we referred to 

 a paper published by Dr. Muir in the Proc. Rov. 

 Soc. Edinburgh (Dec. iS, 1905), in which the his- 

 torian of determinants indicated his reasons for the 

 belief that "under existing circumstances mathemati- 

 cal research can only be pursued in Scotland with 

 difficulty and uncertainty, and that research in mathe- 

 matical history is practically an impossibility. . . . 

 Then- can be little doubt that other subjects 'are in 

 as bad a plight, and that the whole question of library 

 aid is worth serious and prompt attention from ail 

 scenliiic men." In the current number of the Ouar- 

 terly Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, on 

 presenting his "Fiflh List of Writings on Deter- 

 minants," Dr. Muir returns to the charge, and laments 

 that practically nothing has been done in the way 

 of improvement, so far as London is concerned, for 

 the last five years. He finds that the large general 

 libraries — e.g. those of the British Museum, the 

 Royal Society, South Kensington. University College, 

 &c.— are "surprisingly well supplied with mathematical 

 works and are reliably cared for." On the other hand, 

 there is "no self-sufficient reference-library for mathe- 

 maticians." and "the libraries that have a partial 

 mathematical equipment are as far as ever from enter- 



xo. 2 181, vol. 87] 



mg into cordial cooperation with one another for the 

 purpose of providing a reasonable substitute." The 

 library of the London Mathematical Society is " poorlv 



housed, p -I) cared for," and "has many of its serial's 



imperfect." The library of the Mathematical Asso- 

 ciation is practically valueless, has no home ol its 

 own, and does not even possess a printed catalogue, 

 though this blemish, we understand, is to be remedied. 

 In all cases the main faults are redundancy and de- 

 ficiency. One great failing is the imperfection and 

 even the absence of series oi mathematical periodicals. 

 For instance, the onlj sets to be found in the country 

 of recent volumes ,,1 the Periodico di Matematico 

 With Us supplements, ,,] the Journal de Mathimatique 

 Spdciales .7 Elementaires, of the American Mathe- 

 matical Monthly, L'lnterm&diaire des Mathimatici 

 and Wiskundig Tydschrift were alter some search 

 discovered in the hands of a private individual. As 

 for the Monatshefte, Rivista di Fis. Mat., &c, and 

 Math, is Phys. Lapok, Dr. Muir had. we are inclined 

 to think, to make a pilgrimage to the Continent to 

 consult them lor his purpose. 



This is a slate of affairs that is little to our credit. 

 Surely the time has come to remove these impedi- 

 ments in the way of the working specialist! Until 

 we possess a " self-sufficient " mathematical reference 

 library it ought to be possible to do something to 

 the point by proper cooperation between our libraries, 

 general or otherwise. To diminish duplicates bv ex- 

 change or gift, to complete imperfect sets of serials, 

 to keep on hand an up-to-date list of serials in which 

 they are deficient, with a list of the libraries where 

 they may be found — this is the least that each librarv 

 ought to do, and if the matter were properly organised 

 it might be done in a few months, so far as mathe- 

 matics is concerned. The longer it is delayed, the 

 more difficult will it become to place within reach of 

 the working specialist the mere tools of his trade. 

 There is little doubt that in other branches of science 

 than mathematics there will be many who will bless 

 Dr. Muir for thus directing attention to this serious 

 blot upon our organisation of scientific research. The 

 matter appeals to all who are interested in the ad- 

 vancement of science. Miserably inadequate as are 

 the funds at the disposal of the British Association for 

 that object, we cannot help feeling that here at anv 

 rate a small grant in aid would be well spent, and 

 would be productive of fruitful results. 



FLIES AS CARRIERS OF INFECTION. 1 



THIS report contains further work on the import- 

 ance of flies in the conveyance of disease para- 

 sites. 



The first report, by Dr. Copeman, Mr. Howlett, and 

 Mr. Merriman. deals with the range of flight of flies. 

 In July last year Postwick, a small village five miles 

 east of Norwich, experienced a plague of flies. No 

 special conditions existed in the village for the breed- 

 ing of the flies, and attention was directed to a refuse 

 dep.it about half a mile distant. The opportunity 

 was taken In ascertain to what distance flies may 

 travel and whether tie flies in Postwick were derived 

 from this refuse heap, and, if so, whether the flies 

 were merely attracted to it from the surrounding 

 country or whether they were distributed from it as 

 a breeding centre. For this purpose flies were caught 

 in various localities, marked by being shaken with 

 coloured chalk powder, and liberated; subsequently 

 some ot th. Hie, were recaptured. The experiments 

 showed that the flies were distributed from the refuse 



1 Further Reports (No. 4)011 

 the Local Government Board 



(Nl I ",n. \ 



es as Carriers of Infection. Reports to 

 Public Health and Medical Subjects. 



