XL PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 
the audience, has not had brought to mind the description of Dean 
Swift : : 
“The first man I saw was of meagre aspect, with sooty hands and 
face; his hair and beard long, ragged, and singed in several places. 
He had been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams 
out of cucumbers, which were to be put into phials hermetically 
sealed, and let out to warm the air in raw and inclement summers, 
He told me he did not doubt in eight years more he should be able 
to supply the governor’s gardens with sunshine at a reasonable rate; 
but he complained that his stock was low, and he entreated me to 
give him something as an encouragement to ingenuity, especially as 
this had been a dear season for cucumbers.” 
Now although this matter has a comical phase, it has also its 
serious and difficult side. No man of science wishes to suppress the 
opinions of others, and ingenious speculations are worthy of atten- 
tion, but he has a right to his own time, and should be freed from 
the trouble of listening to absurd projects. How this can be done 
with such an easy course of admission to membership I do not see. 
There is another hindrance to the successful operation of the Ameri- 
can Association which comes from the great extent of our country 
and the cost and difficulty of attending its meetings. To those who 
have ample time and means at their disposal this hindrance is not, 
perhaps, very great. This vigorous and generous society may need 
a little pruning, but on the whole its influence has been good, and 
every one must wish it a long and honorable life. 
We have another scientific organization of national character in 
the National Academy of Sciences, established in 1863. This is a 
body on a basis quite different from that of the American Associa- 
tion for the Advancement of Science. The National Academy was 
brought into existence during a great civil war, and its members 
were of necessity chosen from one section of the country. It was 
incorporated by act of Congress, and this act limited the number of 
its members to fifty. From the language of the act we may fairly 
infer that the academy was intended to be the adviser of the Gen- 
eral Government in matters of science. During a time of great 
civil commotion, when the powers of the Government were greatly 
extended, such a society would very naturally come into existence; 
but when the strife had subsided it became an object of criticism. 
In filling vacancies in its membership it was difficult always to 
