536 SCIENCE. 
is positively appalling. The difficulty encoun- 
tered by a student seeking information in any 
important library to-day lies more in differ- 
entiating what he wants from the mass of ma- 
terial at hand than in integrating the results of 
his search. As a consequence, the sciences of 
classification and indexing are becoming daily 
more important, and have already reached a 
high pitch of development. But existing card 
catalogues (and none but card catalogues de- 
serve to be considered in this connection), even 
when including a well-arranged subject-index, 
still leave an immense amount of labor which 
might be saved to the student if he could but 
get a bird’s-eye view of the contents of the 
books whose titles he finds so admirably ar- 
ranged in the index of the well-equipped modern 
library. 
In making use of the magnificent Public Li- 
brary of Boston I have often felt keenly the 
discouragement that comes from trying to find 
certain definite information—in my case usually 
relating to electrical matters—almost hopelessly 
concealed by the very wealth of the literature 
upon the general subject. 
I wish, therefore, to lift up my voice—or 
typewriter—in the warmest support of the plan 
which was well and clearly set forth by Pro- 
fessor William Townsend Porter, of the Harvard 
Medical School, in the issue of SCIENCE for 
September 15, 1899. It contemplates a series 
of abstracts of books and periodicals devoted 
to physiology. These abstracts are to be printed 
upon standard cards, and will therefore take on 
all the well proved advantages of the card- 
index system—indeed, the abstracts themselves 
will constitute a complete card-index, as well 
as a most valuable bibliography, for the subject 
in hand. In many cases, moreover, the card 
abstracts will supply directly the information 
sought, and so will save much time by fore- 
stalling the need Of going to the books them- 
selves. 
But it would be supererogatory for me to here 
go into a detailed explanation regarding the 
system itself. What I do wish to emphasize is 
the fact that the plan proposed is co-extensive 
in scope with science itself; and that it is pro- 
posed to make a beginning with the science of 
physiology because the generous interest taken 
[N. S. Von. X. No. 250. 
by Professor Porter renders available to the 
plan a wider view of that subject than of any 
other, and gives assurance that the abstracts 
shall be so intelligently edited that the useful- 
ness of the scheme shall have a fair trial. 
The plan is laid down in such wise that it 
can be extended to deal with any other depart- 
ment of scientific knowledge without any change 
in its general features; and, in my earnest de- 
sire to see such a system applied to the litera- 
ature of electrical science, I am most anxious 
to see the Physiological Index established. 
For I am convinced that as soon as a beginning. 
is made which shall familiarize students with 
the idea, there will be so general an apprecia- 
tion of the usefulness of the system that its 
rapid extension to other departments of knowl- 
edge will follow asa matter of course. 
Science is classified knowledge, and the pro- 
posed scheme, as an advance in classification, 
is a service to science so important that I hope 
all who are loyal to ScrENcE will manifest 
such an interest in the proposition that the 
trustees of the Boston Public Library will have 
no hesitation in undertaking the publication of 
the Physiological Index. 
PHILIP HENRY WYNNE. 
SCIENCE AND SCHOLASTICISM. 
PROFESSOR BROOKs’ comment, in the current: 
number of SCIENCE, on the remarks made by 
me concerning his review of Ward’s Naturalism. 
and Agnosticism, is most suggestive and stim- 
ulating. It amounts to a very positive decla- 
ration that ‘naturalists’ (and by this I under- 
stand him to imply scientific men in general) 
must expel all ‘abstractions’ from their 
methods aad results. No one who has made 
an impartial eftort to appreciate the course 
of scientific thought—‘so-called,’ as Brooks 
would probably say—can fail to assent heartily 
to this proposition ; for, it signifies that the 
mechanical theory cannot be regarded as a 
legitimate inference from the evidence assem- 
bled by the sciences. So far as I am able to 
discover, Ward means no more than this. His. 
objections are taken against theories which, 
though masquerading in the name of science, 
cannot be ranked as of its household. To be 
brief, my own complete accord with everything 
ES 
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