784 REPORTS ON THE STATE OP SCIENCE. — 1915. 



of its competitor. Later, when one of these institutions applied for a Royal 

 Charter, tlie other, in its own interests, successfully opposed the application. 



But in 1913, through the happy possession of two Presidents who could 

 distinguish parochial from national interests, both institutions agreed to a 

 delimitation of their spheres of influence, and each supported with succe.ss the 

 petition of the other for a Royal Charter. They are now no longer competitors, 

 but sister institutions; and, instead of competing for recruits, they can afford 

 to define and maintain a common standard of technical qualification and pro- 

 fessional etiquette for the British mining engineer. 



One of the first principles observed by a student of science is that of classi- 

 fication. Classification means not merely the bringing together of things that 

 are similar in some essential feature ; it also means the separation of those that 

 are essentially unlike, although superficially bearing some form of resemblance. 



One realises how hard it is to apply the pruning knife of scientific classifica- 

 tion when one contemplates the spectacle of the various ' literary and philoso- 

 phical societies ' which still survive, mostly under financial difficulties, in many 

 of our large provincial cities, vainly endeavouring to cover ' the whole realm 

 of Nature.' buch societies, embracing the general range of sciences, and some- 

 times even including literary subjects, exist at Aberdeen (founded in 1840), 

 Birmingham (1858), Cambridge (1819), Edinburgh (1731), Glasgow (1802), Leeds 

 (1820), Manchester (1781), and Newcastle (1793); while at Dublin, where indivi- 

 duality seems ever to flourish in various departments of civilised activity, there 

 are two such societies, with apparently overlapping interests in general science : 

 the Royal Dublin Society, founded in 1731, and the Royal Irish Academy, 

 founded in 1785. 



There are not many among these societies whose publications can be safely 

 neglected by the research worker in any of the specialised branches of science, 

 and yet most of them could not show an average annual output of one serious 

 paper in each of the science subjects as defined by the twelve Sections of the 

 British Association. They become in turn the fortunate victims of some local 

 enthusiast, who in time passes away like a comet or finds wider scope for his 

 ambitions, either in the Royal Society of London, or in the metropolitan society 

 that governs his own pet subject, where his products enjoy the benefit of more 

 thorough discussion, and sometimes appreciation, by fellow experts. He 

 removes his attentions from the gaUery to tickle the fancy of the stalls. 



If we take the Literary and Philosophical Society of this city, which has 

 for many years devoted itself almost entirely to science, and issues memoirs 

 which no serious worker can afford to overlook, we get an example of the way 

 in which the student is taxed in his search for the 'previous literature.' Of 

 ninety-one papers published in The Manchester Memoirs during the past five 

 years, as many as thirty-four belong to a class that would be referred to 

 Section A of this Association, this abundant enthusiasm being largely due to a 

 local occiu-rence of radio-activity. Of the remainder, ten would come under 

 bection B, seven— entirely palccontological in character— come under Section C. 

 twenty-two under Section D, two under Section H^ two under Section I, thirteen 

 iindei; Section K, and one under Section M. 



One can sympathise with those readers who grumble at one halfpennyworth 

 of geological bread to this intolerable deal of physical and biological sack. 



Now, it IS important to remember that this Society is maiiitained by fewer 

 than 150 members, many of whom are members only through general 

 interest in science, or merely in consequence of a commendable desire to 

 keep alive an institution which has an honourable record. Thus the critical 

 discussion of most papers presented must be confined to a very small number, 

 and herein arises a danger that may at any time give rise to consequences far 

 more serious than the burial of a paper with an overburden of unrelated litera- 

 ture ; for the author of the paper himself must often be the only member 

 capable of deciding as to whether his paper is or is not suitable for record as a 

 definite addition to scientific data or thought. 



To the outside student, therefore, the publication of a paper by such a small 

 society gives no prima facie reason for regarding it as a serious' and probably 

 trustworthy addition to scientific literature. The papers so issued must be 

 most embarrassingly unequal, and wholly indeterminate in character; yet no 

 stranger can run the risk of disregarding such publications. 



