February 20, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



179 



tion " Who may be reached by this ? " Some 

 scientific results can not be popularized and 

 these may be written in the concise accurate 

 language of science. Others, however, may 

 by taking sufficient care and trouble, be made 

 interesting to more than a small circle of 

 scientific colleagues. Every effort should be 

 made to enlarge this circle by simple and 

 attractive presentation. In some cases I am 

 inclined to think that a geologist might issue 

 separately or as a part of his complete report, 

 an abstract or resume in which all effort is 

 concentrated on an endeavor to be interesting 

 and clear to as many people as possible. If 

 this were done, I am sure that the writer 

 would be in a position to appraise more truly 

 the value of his complete report and might 

 proceed to rewrite some portions of it and to 

 omit others, without loss to science and at a 

 saving in pajMr and printing. 



Belations with Universities. — ^In connection 

 with the subject of education attention may 

 be called to the fundamental importance of 

 establishing and maintaining close and cordial 

 relationship between a government scientific 

 bureau and the universities. The advantages 

 of such a relationship are so many that it is 

 difficult to enumerate them all but it may be 

 pointed out that any plan of popular educa- 

 tion in science will be seriously crippled if 

 the professional teachers, whose influence in 

 molding the thoughts and determining the 

 careers of the young men and women of the 

 country is so great, are out of sympathy with 

 the government organization that is attempt- 

 ing to quicken the interest of the people in a 

 particular branch of science. Moreover, it is 

 vital to such an organization that it shoiild 

 attract to its service young men of exceptional 

 ability in science. This it is not likely to do 

 if professors of geology feel that they must 

 conscientiously advise their most promising 

 graduates to avoid government service. 

 Doubtless some teachers of geology in the 

 universities fail to realize the necessity for 

 some of the compromises inevitable in a gov- 

 ernment bureau, or in their impatience at 

 some of the stupidities of bureaucratic pro- 

 cedure are inclined to place the blame for 



these where it does not belong; a few may 

 cherish personal grievances. No class of men 

 is without its unreasonable members and 

 neither rectitude nor tact can prevent oc- 

 casional clashes; but if a national geological 

 survey can not command the respect and 

 hearty support of most of the geological 

 faculties of the universities the consequences 

 to the progress of geology must be deplorable. 

 Any approach to such a condition demands 

 immediate action with less emphasis on the 

 question " Who is to blame ? " for in all prob- 

 ability there is some fault on both sides, than 

 on " What can be done to restore relations of 

 mutual regard and helpfulness ? " 



The Amateur in Geology. — In the present 

 age of specialization we are apt to forget how 

 much geology owes to amateurs, particularly 

 in Britain and France. Sir Archibald Geikie 

 in the concluding chapter of his " Founders 

 of Geology " dwells particularly on this debt. 

 He says: 



In the account which has been presented in this 

 volume of tihe work of some of the more notable 

 men who have created the science of geology, one 

 or two leading facts stand out prominently before 

 us. In the first place, even in the list of selected 

 names which we have considered, it is remarkable 

 how varied have been the ordinary avocationss of 

 these pioneers. The majority have been men en- 

 gaged in other pursuits, who have devoted their 

 leisure to the cultivation of geological studies. 

 Steno, Guettard, Pallas, Fiichsel, and many more 

 were physicians, either led by their medical train- 

 ing to interest themselves in natural history, or 

 not seldom, even from boyhood, so fond of natural 

 history as to choose medicine as their profession 

 because of its affinities with thaA branch of sci- 

 ence. Giraud-Soulavie and Michell were clergy- 

 men. Murchison was a retired soldier. Alexandre 

 Brogniart was ait first engaged in superintending 

 the porcelain manufactory of Sfevres. Demarest 

 was a hard-worked civil servant who snatched his 

 intervals for geology from the toils of incessant 

 official occupation. William Smith found time for 

 his researdhes in the midst of all the cares and 

 anxieties of his profession as an engineer and sur- 

 veyor. Hutton, Hall, De Saussure, Von Buch, 

 Lyell and Darwin were men of means, who scorned 



3 Vocations would seem to be the right word 

 here. F. L. E. 



