vill FOREWORD 
The chapter on History was to have been prepared by 
Mr. W. G. Gosling of St. John’s, Newfoundland, who 
had devoted some years, and gone to no small expense, on 
a special study of this subject. But his results involved 
such an extended treatise that it was thought wiser to 
issue them under a separate cover than unduly to enlarge 
this volume, and Mr. W. 8. Wallace, of Balliol College, 
Oxford, has prepared a brief historical introduction. 
For seventeen years I have been collecting such facts 
as my regular work permitted. From them I have 
selected material for certain chapters. To many friends 
who have supplied such information I wish to acknowl- 
edge my indebtedness. Incomplete as this book surely 
is, it is issued from a desire to record the more interesting 
facts, the coins of science, which might otherwise need 
rediscovery. It is hoped that the book may be of use 
even to those familiar with Packard’s excellent work. 
