October 8, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



341 



QUOTATIONS 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT CARDIFF 



The Cardiff meeting of the British Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science came 

 to a successful end last night. Any attempt 

 to follow, or, still more, to report, its proceed- 

 ings in detail was baffled by the multitude of 

 subjects covered, and the subdivisions of the 

 association into specialized sections. There 

 were eleven sections and one subsection at 

 work simultaneously every day, to say nothing 

 of a number of committees, subcommittees, 

 and conferences. Some of the papers and 

 discussions dealt with questions of the widest 

 interest; there were others apparently ad- 

 mitted only to gratify individual readers or 

 speakers, or to pander to notoriety. There 

 was a notable tendency to combination of the 

 sections for the discussion of borderland 

 questions, and on every occasion where this 

 took place the attendance at the combined 

 meetings was much larger than the sum cf 

 the attendances at separate meetings. It is 

 understood that such concentration has the 

 sympathy of the council and officers. We 

 trust that it will be encouraged, and we could 

 wish that it would lead to a permanent fusion, 

 at least for the purpose of the public meet- 

 ings, of kindred sections. The general stand- 

 ard of the proceedings was highest in Section 

 A, which has most successfully resisted sub- 

 division, although it covers mathematics, 

 astronomy, and the physical sciences. 



The leading scientific feature of the meet- 

 ing was the president's exposition of the need 

 and advantage of increased study of the sea. 

 The Lord Mayor expressed the hope that some 

 of the merchant princes of Cardiff might be 

 led to establish a department of oceanography 

 attached to the university or to the National 

 Museum of "Wales. Far be it from us to offer 

 advice that might chill local generosity. 

 Hitherto private munificence has played a 

 greater part in the encouragement of learn- 

 ing and research in America than in England 

 and Wales. But oceanography requires ex- 

 pensive equipment. The chair established by 

 Professor Herdman himself at Liverpool and 



the station of the Marine Biological Assc^ 

 elation at Plymouth still need encouragement 

 and support. Much better work might be ac- 

 complished by two good than by three in- 

 different centers. Although research must 

 have a local habitation, its results are of 

 universal benefit. If the hearts of the mag- 

 nates of Cardiff warm to the science of the 

 sea, their benevolence, although bestowed on 

 Plymouth and Liverpool, would still assist the 

 fisheries and the ocean traffic of their own 

 city. But if local munificence must have an 

 object characteristically local, there are many 

 opportunities for research strictly bearing en 

 other industries of South Wales. 



The President made the interesting sug- 

 gestion that the time had come to prepare a 

 new " Challenger " expedition. He was sup- 

 ported by all the sections concerned, by physi- 

 cists, astronomers, zoologists, botanists, geog- 

 raphers, and geologists, all of whom know of 

 scientific and practical problems requiring 

 investigation at se-a. Mr. . F. E. Smith, Di- 

 rector of the Admiralty Board of Research, 

 at the conference held en Thursday afternoon, 

 stated that the Lords of the Admiralty favored 

 the idea, with the reservation that the whole 

 cost of an expedition, which would have ob- 

 jects far beyond naval requirements, should 

 not fall on the N'avy Estimates. The original 

 " Challenger " expedition was financed by the 

 government, en the invitation of the Eoyal 

 Society. Prom 1872 to 1876 the ship sailed 

 all the oceans of the world, except the Indian 

 Ocean, which the government of India wished 

 to be reserved. The results were issued in 

 fifty volumes issued from 1880 to 1895, under 

 the guidance of the late Sir John Murray. 

 By general admission the " Challenger " ex- 

 pedition was the greatest scientific exploit in 

 aim and achievement undertaken before or 

 since. But, like all scientific research, it 

 showed the need of further research, for the 

 deepest dredge can not bring up all the secrets 

 of nature. The general committee of the 

 British Association recommended their coun- 

 cil to appoint a small expert committee to 

 devise a program of work, and to consider 

 the technical apparatus and the scientific staff 



