832 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 233. 



every possible idea. It appears to me, there- 

 fore, that, e.g., the scheme elaborated by 

 Richet for Physiology is not practical. 

 There are few writings that could not be 

 put with equal propriety in two or more 

 places in the system of sciences. Conse- 

 quently one ought to establish rules as in 

 the framing of statutes, indicate general 

 points of view, and not lose oneself in cas- 

 uistics. But the going into details is carried 

 further in parts of some other systems of 

 classification than in Dewey's. Thus, in the 

 Schema des Realkatalogs der Kgl., Uni- 

 versitatsbibliothek zu Halle a.S.,' Eschat- 

 ology is designated by Ig VI. g. F. a. to Ig 

 VI. g. F. 1, polemics on eschatologic sub- 

 jects in the preceding division by IJ IV. 6. 

 tlzx o If IV. 6. l.rr. Dewey employs for 

 these the indices 236 and 237 with the di- 

 visions 236. 1-9 and 237. 1-7. Hartwig 

 devotes about 800 alphabetically arranged 

 catch-words to Roman Law, 138 to Feudal 

 Law and 91 to Commercial Law, Maritime 

 Law, etc. Which classification goes the 

 further, and which symbol is the easier to 

 remember ? 



******* 



By placing side by side the method of ar- 

 rangement and indexing of the Halle Cata- 

 logue, the Dewey system and the recommen- 

 dation of the Royal Society in a special case, 

 the character of each is recognized. 



dations of the Royal Societj-, the indexing of 

 the literature of these sciences does, indeed, 

 need to be altered in the direction of the 

 decimal system. But examples from other 

 branches of science were cited above which 

 prove not only the applicability, but the 

 great usefulness, of the Dewey system. The 

 main disadvantage of the Hartwig plan lies 

 in this, that the schedules have been elabo- 

 rated separately and without regard to one 

 another. They have, in part, been drawn 

 up by able specialists, and may, indeed, be 

 excellent as such, but are not, from the 

 library point of view, suitable. The Com- 

 mittee of the Royal Society desired to avoid 

 all analogy with the Dewey system, and, 

 instead of adopting the simple and already 

 existing system that had proved its useful- 

 ness, the Committe has created a system 

 which is impracticable because illogical and 

 artificial. 



It is, however, not my pm-pose to espe- 

 cially recommend here the Dewey decimal 

 system. The aim of every bibliographic 

 system of classification is not so much to 

 produce a scientific system carried out to 

 the last details as to present a scheme ac- 

 cording to which the writings of all periods 

 can be arranged in a comprehensive and 

 easily recognizable way. The plan must, 

 therefore, be kept so flexible that, on the one 

 hand, any desired amount of space may be 



Halle Catalogue. 



Fauna of Naples Sc. II. 2 6. N(eapel) 



Paleontology 

 Mollusks 



Fossil " 



Tertiary ' 

 Fishes " 

 Fossil " 



Sa. I. 8. C. N (eapel) 

 Sc. III. 9. B. a. (. .) 

 ; Sa. IV. 3. B. f. 



: [Sa. I. 8. C. ?) 



Sc. III. 13. C. (?) 

 Sa. IV. 3. B. i. /3 (?) | 



Dewey. 



591.(457) 

 560.(457) 

 594.(457) 



564.(457) 



564. (t :457) 



597.(457) 



567.(457) 



EoYAL Society. 



L0227, dh(j. e. Italy) 

 K35, dh(i. e. Italy) 

 L 4227, dh(i. e. Italy) 



£3542, dh(j. e. Italy) 



K7542, dli(i. e. Italy) 

 L1427, dh(?. e. Italy) 

 K35, 14, dh(i. e. Italy) 



It is the opinion of many that the Dewey 

 system is best adapted to the Natural Scien- 

 ces. According to the preceding examples 

 from the Halle Catalogue and the recommen- 



easily had for every new branch of a science 

 that may arise, and that, on the other, it 

 can be adopted without difficulty to every 

 requirement of the scientific worker who 



