834 



SCIENCE. 



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



both. Moreover, after the Dewey system 

 had been thoroughly discussed in the de- 

 liberations concerning ' Eesolution 17' — 

 although this resulted in the cancellation of 

 the words relating to this system and in the 

 adoption of a wording which designates as 

 unacceptable all recently recommended 

 systems of classification and transfers the 

 elaboration ot a new system to the Com- 

 mittee of Organization — it would have been 

 appropriate for the Committee, inasmuch 

 as it was pledged to give a ' Report ' on the 

 work entrusted to it, to have explained how 

 it came to construct a system essentially in 

 imitation of Dewey's, and differing from 

 this only by its unsuitableness and incon- 

 sistency. There should also have been 

 given an explanation to serve in using it. 

 Finally, it might reasonably have been ex- 

 pected that the Committee of the Royal 

 Society would have had knowledge of the 

 existence of a Committee of the British As- 

 sociation, which, appointed for zoological 

 bibliographj% might perhaps have had in- 

 fluence upon the determinations of the 

 Royal Society's Committee of Zoology, in 

 view of the exceptional position which this 

 Committee assumes. Instead of this, the 

 paper called ' Report of the Committee, 

 etc. , ' gives the incomplete sketch of a system 

 of classification and indexing devised by the 

 Committee, which completely ignores all 

 similar previous labors and all that had 

 been formerly accomplished in the direction 

 of this great undertaking, all of which, 

 taken in connection with the report of the 

 Conference of July, 1896, seems almost a 

 betrayal of trust. 



The particulars of the organization of the 

 whole machinery cannot be gone into here. 

 However, it is necessary to give warning on 

 two points — against the far too great cen- 

 tralization, by which all titles are to be sent 

 to the Central Bureau in London, where 

 they are to be revised by suitable experts; 

 and against too great confidence in the 'Re- 



gional Bureaux.' In regard to the first 

 point, should a certain uniformity of ex- 

 ecution appear to be secured, nevertheless 

 it must be pointed out that it is quite incon- 

 ceivable how the ' expert,' without having 

 the works themselves before him, could 

 make use of the subject cards and cross- 

 reference cards (compare the examples cited 

 above). So far as regards the activity of 

 the Regional Bureaux, I will call attention 

 to only one fact. In the year 1895 the 

 Societe Zoologique de France formed an 

 organization elaborated according to a 

 definite plan for the purpose of securing the 

 most complete collection of the zoological 

 bibliography of France possible, with com- 

 mittees and sub-committees, all represented 

 by experts and men zealous in the cause. 

 And what has this organization accom- 

 plished ? Next to nothing ! The chief part 

 of the labor will in the present case also be 

 left to that individual industry which, with- 

 out continually meditating on ' Organiza- 

 tion,' accomplishes the real work. 



The subscrijjtion to all departments 

 amounts to £66 ($330.00) ; that of the 

 separate sciences from £4 5s. Od. to £8 

 5s. Od. ($21.25 to $41.25). Zoology belongs 

 to the most voluminous, and will, therefore, 

 demand the last-named price. These calcu- 

 lations are, of course, only j)reliminary, and, 

 so far as regards Zoology, for example, rest 

 on total absence of knowledge of the sub- 

 ject. ' Experts ' have estimated the num- 

 ber of zoological articles (including the 

 whole of Anatomy !) at 5,000. I have cat- 

 alogued yearly during the last three years, 

 without Anatomy and with omissions unfor- 

 tunately not wholly avoidable, about 8,000 

 zoological titles. If one reckons for Anat- 

 omy only half as many additional titles, 

 these two branches furnish nearly one- third 

 of the 40,000 estimated as the yearly num- 

 ber for all the sciences. If this is compared 

 with the scheme of classification in Zoology, 

 Paleontology, Physiology, etc., there is in- 



