778 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 231. 



Mearns? The date of the advance sheets is, in 

 this case, given with the paper itself, and they 

 are described as 'published.' But if so, there can 

 be no meaning in the date 'January 19, 1898.' 

 If, on the other hand, ' Januarj', 19, 1898,' is 

 regarded by the Secretary to the Smithsonian 

 as the date of publication, then the advance 

 sheets must be ruled out of court. What do 

 you mean by 'advance sheets,' anyway? Are 

 they proofs under revision ? Are they to be had 

 by the public"? Can they substantiate a claim of 

 ten or eleven months' priority ? These ques- 

 tions are not rhetorical. We want to know. 

 The ever-green preliminary notice is nuisance 

 enough ; but a preliminary notice that ranges 

 vaguely between March, 1897, and February, 

 1899, ought to be snuffed out by its own ab- 

 surdity. 



To turn from these vexed and vexing ques- 

 tions to the papers themselves — After Dr. 

 Scudder's monograph, which occupies nearly 

 half the volume, the more important are Pro- 

 fessor E. Linton's ' Notes on Cestode and Trem- 

 atode parasites of fishes,' Professor Dean C. 

 Worcester's and Dr. F. S. Bourns' ' Contribu- 

 tions to Philippine Ornithology,' Walter 

 Faxon's ' Observations on the Astacidfe in the 

 U. S. National Museum and in the Museum of 

 Comparative Zoology [Cambridge, Mass.], with 

 descriptions of new species,' Professor C. P. 

 Gillette on ' American leaf-hoppers of the sub- 

 family Typhlocybin£e,' Professor A. E. Verrill's 

 and Miss K. J. Bush's ' Kevision of the deep- 

 water Mollusca of the Atlantic coast of North 

 America, with descriptions of new genera and 

 species. Part I., Bivalvia.' From these and the 

 lesser papers in the volume it is clear that the 

 U. S. National Museum plays an effective part 

 in the advancement, no less than in the diffu- 

 sion, of knowledge ; and the high proportion of 

 contributions from others than those on the 

 staff indicates a total absence of that dog-in-the 

 manger quality which often finds a congenial 

 home in establishments of this kind. 



Indeed, if there is one character more praise- 

 worthy than another in these records of work 

 done it is the spirit of helpfulness and fraternal 

 cooperation that animates the whole. The con- 

 centration of the national collections in one 

 group of buildings, the association of the 



Museum with an institution of such world-wide 

 scope as the Smithsonian, the proximity of other 

 administrative and scientific departments of the 

 government, all tend to foster this spirit. 

 Nevertheless, its development, as we see from 

 the example of other cities, is not a necessary 

 consequence ; it needs cultivation. In Wash- 

 ington its growth is due less to favoring circum- 

 stances than to the high character and ideals of 

 the men connected with the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, and notably of recent years to the 

 charming personality and unwearying efforts of 

 the late Assistant Secretarj'. A remarkable 

 instance of this appears in the list of the scien- 

 tific and administrative staff, which comprises 

 among the Curators or Assistant Curators no 

 less than 28 described as ' Honorary, and serv- 

 ing without salary.' The work done by these 

 unpaid curators is no mere amusement ; they 

 take their share in the drudgery of registration, 

 labelling and cleaning. It is true that the 

 majority of them receive pay from the govern- 

 ment in other capacities ; but this emphasizes 

 the point, for rivalry rather than cooperation 

 between the various departments is the rule in 

 most other countries. The gain, of course, is 

 not wholly on the side of the Museum. 



In harmony with these principles of mutual 

 aid, the Museum differs from many national 

 museums in its custom of sending out large 

 quantities of material. Partly this is in connec- 

 tion with local exhibitions, and this branch of 

 the Museum's activity may be compared to that 

 of the Loan Section of the British Science and 

 Art Department. Further, specimens are lent 

 to scientific workers freely and in large quanti- 

 ties. Presumably this applies, not to specimens 

 of historic interest, but to material in the re- 

 serve collection. No doubt some damage is 

 done and some specimens may be lost in conse- 

 quence of these operations. For all that, the 

 Museum is a gainer, on the one hand by the 

 awakening of national interest and the increased 

 number of its correspondents, on the other 

 through the elaboration of its material by 

 specialists in all parts of the world. 



Apropos of correspondents, those of the Smith- 

 sonian and the Museum are perhaps numerous 

 enough already. Every citizen of the United 

 States seems to be as tenacious of his right to 



