40 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVI. No. 915 



seareh are appropriated to such a degree 

 that I doubt not many students fail to real- 

 ize the incorporation. In medicine, also, 

 while we still may speak of medical ento- 

 mology, the relations to medical research 

 have been so close that we may find diffi- 

 culty in separating the doctor studying 

 entomology from the entomologist investi- 

 gating insects with reference to their med- 

 ical aspects. The fact is that various 

 fields have been opened up to a far greater 

 extent than is possible for one man to fol- 

 low and we have reached a stage of differ- 

 entiation when to keep abreast of progress 

 one must confine his effort to a. limited part 

 of the entomological field. 



But a feature of the subject which I 

 wish especially to emphasize is the attitude 

 of science, or, to be more personal, the 

 scientific worker toward the application 

 of science in human affairs and for human 

 welfare, that is, toward economic or ap- 

 plied science in all its phases. 



The time was when probably the great- 

 est efforts in invention and in the applica- 

 tion of knowledge were devoted to engines 

 ■ of human destruction, and while this effort 

 may have been a stimulus in the acquisi- 

 tion of knowledge, it could hardly be con- 

 sidered an influence for the promotion of 

 the race. 



Now, however, our boast is rather 

 toward the progress in preservation and 

 promotion of life. It is considered cause 

 for glory that we can reduce the percent- 

 age of infant mortality, that we can check 

 the spread of pestilence, that we can mini- 

 mize the dangers of travel, cut down the 

 property loss and the death list from fire 

 or other disaster, and, in short, lengthen 

 the span of human life and improve its 

 opportunities for betterment and enjoy- 

 ment. And, more significant perhaps, is 

 the fact that such improvement is expected 

 and in large degree made to apply to hu- 



manity as a unit, not to any individual or 

 special class. 



This attitude is the more conspicuous if 

 we go back a few years to note the trend 

 of scientific ideal. Read, for instance, the 

 plea by Professor Rowland, the brilliant 

 physicist, for devotion to pure science, 

 given in 1885. 



I remember how in my own experience 

 scarce thirty years ago the venerable Ur. 

 Hagen, doubtless the most profound stu- 

 dent of entomology of the time if not of 

 the century, made a most emphatic plea 

 with me, with all the force of his German 

 accent, not to go into economic entomology, 

 but to give my effort to the pure science, 

 ' ' for the love of the science. ' ' 



Now I believe that this attitude differed 

 more in appearance than in fact, that the 

 devotees of science, while some of them 

 really did not care to have their discover- 

 ies made of any value to mankind, were 

 really protesting against the commercial- 

 izing of their scientific talent rather than 

 the utilization of science for the good of 

 humanity and often a plea simply for con- 

 tinuous drafts on original sources of 

 knowledge instead of mere applications of 

 knowledge gained. Certainly it is incon- 

 sistent with any reasonable desire for the 

 acquisition of knowledge to deplore its use. 

 Nor does it look strictly consistent for a 

 person with this claim to sell his talent 

 even to a university or a research institute 

 for so much even as the moderate salaries 

 that they usually afford. 



But the attitude which I believe is be- 

 coming most dominant with scientists is 

 that of the service of science to humanity 

 at large, and the wish that beyond reason- 

 able return for the work involved the profit 

 should not be allowed to pile up for the 

 benefit of a few. 



What satisfaction is there in discover- 

 ing a method by which to gain a double 



