196 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI, No. 1442 



preparatory studies contended for by M. Pas- 

 teur as essential are only too likely to be under- 

 rated or overlooked. 



The bearing of his views on the question of 

 technical education, now so much spoken of in 

 England, will be apparent to every reader of 

 the following translation of a portion of the 

 article referred to. Its introduction in this 

 place would be incongruous were it not that 

 the main object of the various essays published 

 in this book was to create a public interest in 

 science as a source of knowledge, and as a 

 means of culture, without present regard to its 

 material results. But the issues of studies 

 animated by this spirit are incalculable; for, 

 though undertaken with no practical intent, 

 they are really the prime movers of all prac- 

 tice. If the purely scientific discoverer die out, 

 practical applications cannot long survive him. 



The following three quotations are selected 

 from Pasteur's article : 



Few persons comprehend the real origin of 

 the marvels of industry and the wealth of na- 

 tions. I need no other proof of this than the 

 employment more and more frequent in lec- 

 tures and speeches, in official language, and in 

 writings of all sorts, of the erroneous expres- 

 sion applied science. The abandonment of sci- 

 entific careers by men capable of pursuing 

 them with distinction was recently complained 

 of in presence of a minister of the greatest 

 talent. This statesman endeavored to show 

 that we ought not to be surprised at this result, 

 because in our day the reign of theoretic science 

 yielded place to that of applied science. Noth- 

 ing could be more erroneous than this opinion; 

 nothing, I venture to say, more dangerous even 

 to practical life, than the consequences which 

 might flow from these words. They have rest- 

 ed in my memory as a proof of the imperious 

 necessity of reform in our superior education. 

 No, a thousand times no! There exists no cate- 

 gory of sciences to which the name of applied 

 science could be given. We have science and 

 the applications of science, which are united 

 to each other as the fruit and the tree on which 

 it grew. 



At one time the majority of the foremost 

 disciples of the Eeole Polytechnique followed 

 the career of mathematical and physical sci- 



ence, and of the higher studies generally. In 

 our day this fact is only a rare exception. It 

 is not that the pupils of this great school are 

 less numerous than formerly, or less capable 

 than their predecessors, the Maluses, the 

 Poissons, the Fresnels, to render their country 

 illustrious by fruitful discoveries, but the 

 course of events invites them to carry the fruit 

 of their studies into the operations of industry, 

 such as the working of mines, the construction 

 of railways, etc. 



The German nation has understood that there 

 exists no applied science, but only the applica- 

 tions of science, and that these latter are only 

 rendered valuable by the discoveries which 

 nourish them; while the constant preoccupation 

 of our statesmen regarding public instruction 

 during fifty years has had principally for 

 object primary and secondary education. They 

 have forsaken the higher studies, particularly 

 that of science, to the impulse they had received 

 from the renovation of science in the eighteenth 

 century. 



Finally Tyndall says : 



The opinions of so eminent a man regarding 

 the relation of science to its applications, and to 

 the general culture of the nation, merits our 

 gravest attention. 



Charles Robertson 

 C.\KLiNviLLE, Illinois 



CULTIVATION AND EVAPORATION 

 To THE Editor oe Science: Dr. L. S. Frier- 

 .son (in Science, March 24, 1922,- p. 317) 

 shows by his remarks the danger of confound- 

 ing facts with their explanation. What "all 

 practical farmers from the days of King 

 Hamurabi to date" agree upon is the fact that 

 cultivation helps plants in di'y weather. But 

 Dr. Frierson and I have differed as to the 

 explanation of this fact — he believes that culti- 

 vation "stops evaporation, and thus conserves 

 the store of soil water," whereas my view was 

 that "a greater total surface is exposed to 

 evaporation, and evaporation is therefore facili- 

 tated." 



The remarks of Dr. H. A. Noyes (in Science, 

 June 9, 1922, p. 610) throw further light on 

 the subject. He believes that "cultivation lets 

 air down in the soil, thereby increasing bac- 



