2 17 



HULL'S CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE. 



THOMAS SHEI'PAKI), F.tl.S., 



Seci-etaty oj the Yorkshire .\aturalisls' Union; Ciirntor of the 

 Miuiicil>al Musruiit, /lull. 



Having rei^^ard to the size of the third port and the important 

 part it has plajed in the history of the country, Hull's contri- 

 bution to science on the whole cannot be looked upon as a 

 lar^e one. Moreover, what has been accomplished is but little 

 known to-day, and the following- notes are written with the 

 object of placing- upon record particulars of the work o'i some 

 of Hull's scientific worthies. 



With the exception of the last few years, the past quarter of 

 a century has witnessed a very sad state of things so far as 

 Hull's scientific attainments are concerned. During that period 

 almost all that was ever accomplished has been forg-otten, and 

 of our former workers in the paths of science it truly might be 

 said that ' the g'ood is oft interred with their bones.' 



As in every other walk of life, the prog^ress of science, great 

 and recognised as its advantages are, has its disadvantages. 

 The continual studies of a whole army oi workers has resulted 

 in almost every possible branch of science being thoroughly 

 pursued ; new studies have sprung up in every direction in 

 alarming numbers ; students are following their vocations in 

 continually narrowing grooves, and the ' specialist ' has been 

 created or evolved. The effect of all this is that it is impossible 

 for any human being to have even an elementary knowledge of 

 everything. In former years it was no rare event for an educated 

 man to be fairly conversant with all the then known sciences : 

 to-day this is utterly impossible. Our life is much too short. 

 The average scientific man must now know ' something of 

 everything and everything of something,' or as near 'every- 

 thing of something' as he can get. 



Many illustrations of what has been accomplished in the 

 matter of the specialisation of research could be given from the 

 records of various societies.* 



The scientific societies formerly existing in Hull have died 

 a natural death, or have so altered their /nodus operandi ■a.s to be 

 hardly recognised, except in name. New societies have been 



* Excellent examples are quoted by Sir Michael Foster in the 'Naturalist ' 

 for 1S99, pp. 210-21 1. 



1903 June I. 



