SCIENCE 



Friday, Novembee 30, 1917 



CONTENTS 



The Production of Scientific Knowledge : Dr. 

 C. E. Kenneth Mees 519 



The Department of Agriculture and the Food 

 Situation 528 



The Pittsburgh Meeting of the American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science . . . 530 



Scientific Events: — 



Smithsonian Excavations in New Mexico; 

 Progress in Combating HooJcworm; Tlw 

 British Committee for Scientific and In- 

 dustrial Research; A Tribute to Professor 

 Church 532 



Scientific Notes and News 536 



University and Educational News 538 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 

 The Manufacture of Optical Glass in Amer- 

 ica: De. p. G. Nutting. A Note on the 

 "Age and Area" Hypothesis: Professor 

 Edward "W. Berry 538 



Scientific Boolcs: — 

 McClendon on the Physical Chemistry of 

 Vital Phenomena: Professor Ealph S. 

 LiLLiE. Bailey's Text-booTc of Sanitary 

 and Applied Chemistry: Professor W. P. 

 Mason 540 



Special Articles: — 



The Uffington Shale of West Virginia and 

 its Supposed Marine Fauna: Professor W. 

 Armstrong Price 540 



The American Chemical Society 542 



MSS. irlended for publication and books, etc., intended for 

 review sbouia be sent to The Editor of Science, Ga 

 Hudson, N. ^. 



THE PRODUCTION OF SCIENTIFIC 

 KNOWLEDGEi 



The great value of scientific research 

 both to the industries and to the nations at 

 large is now generally recognized through- 

 out the world and the last few years have 

 seen a remarkable increase in the efforts 

 made to stimulate the production of scien- 

 tific knowledge. In 1914 the American As- 

 sociation for the Advancement of Science 

 appointed a Committee of One Hundred to 

 inquire into the steps which should be 

 taken for the increase of scientific research 

 in the United States and the work of this 

 committee has been continued and ex- 

 panded by the National Research Council. 

 Among the European nations there is a 

 great awakening to the national value of 

 scientific research. The British government 

 has appointed a Department of the Privy 

 Council to deal with the subject, while it is 

 announced that in France a new national 

 laboratory on a very large scale has been 

 projected. In Australia the government 

 has appointed a special department to con- 

 sider what steps should be taken for the or- 

 ganization and development of research 

 work in the Commonwealth, and in Canada 

 the matter has been the subject of govern- 

 ment inquiry and solicitude. 



The increase of scientific knowledge can 

 be divided into three steps: first, the pro- 

 duction of new knowledge by means of 

 laboratory research; second, the publica- 

 tion of this knowledge in the form of papers 

 and abstracts of papers; third, the diges- 

 tion of the new knowledge and its absorp- 



1 Being a paper read before the Eochester Sec- 

 tion of the Optical Society of America, October 23, 

 1917. 



