156 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIV. No. 605. 



be sufficient to meet the present difficulties. 

 The idea of admitting a certain number of 

 fellows without the payment of entrance fees 

 has not been accepted, on the ground that 350 

 would have to be elected to bring in the same 

 sum as 100 who paid the entrance fee. So 

 this apparently simple inducement to get new 

 members is to be put aside. Whether they 

 continue to join at all with the five guineas 

 entrance and two guineas annual subscription 

 remains to be seen. It is clear, however, that 

 the same sum will give more privileges in most 

 horticultural societies. It has been suggested 

 that the transactions of the society should be 

 brought out in a more pretentious form, and 

 the council certainly seems wise in rejecting 

 this proposal at present, which is only likely 

 to increase the expenses of the society without 

 adequate compensation. Whether the plan of 

 admitting nurserymen to the gardens and 

 giving them space for growing the plants they 

 offer for sale is the best way of insuring an 

 improvement in the gardens may be open to 

 question, but there is much to be said for the 

 plan; and the plots need not occupy all the 

 available space: anyhow this, too, is rejected. 

 But no alternative alteration is contemplated 

 by the council, who appeal to the opinion of 

 four trustworthy experts, who have reported 

 on the condition of the gardens. From the 

 point of view of good gardeners they have no 

 fault to find; the upkeep of both the open 

 ground and the greenhouses reflects credit on 

 the staff. 



But what strikes the outsider is that in this 

 age of progress in horticulture, when people 

 are constantly getting new ideas and studying 

 fresh combinations, there are no opportunities 

 to learn at the botanic gardens. There is 

 nothing to stimulate, nothing to inspire. The 

 gardens are not better than the park outside; 

 so the inducements to become a fellow are few, 

 although the club-room and library are a val- 

 uable addition. Even at the shows many 

 people feel there will not be so much that is 

 novel, and the keenest horticulturists do not 

 go, and the nurserymen, who admit that they 

 are given every facility, and that every con- 

 sideration is shown them, and they have more 



room for display, yet take far fewer orders in 

 three days there than they do in one elsewhere. 

 The fact is, the gardens, although charming 

 in many ways, are .not up to date, and com- 

 placent satisfaction in their present fitness 

 will not mend matters. 



It is strange also that lectures should not 

 have been well attended. ' Those given on 

 botanical subjects at the Chelsea Physic Gar- 

 den, which is not in a much more central 

 position, had an average attendance of seventy, 

 which shows there is room for work in this 

 direction. 



It will be a great loss to science if this im- 

 portant society, once the leading one, forfeits 

 its high position by not pursuing a more for- 

 ward policy at this critical moment in its 

 history. 



TEE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF 

 SOCIOLOGY. 



The Institut International de Sociologie 

 was organized in 1893, with headquarters in 

 Paris, where its congresses have hitherto been 

 held. Its first president was Lord Avebury, 

 the present president of the Sociological So- 

 ciety. From the beginning, its international 

 character has been maintained. Its member- 

 ship has included Professors Kovalewsky and 

 Novicow for Russia; Brentano, Biicher, Con- 

 rad, Schmoller, Schaeffle, Simmel and Wagner 

 for Germany; Gumplowicz and Menger for 

 Austria; Baldwin, Giddings, Small and Ward 

 for America; and, besides Lord Avebury, Pro- 

 fessors Poxwell, Nicholson, Tylor, Sidgwick 

 and Mr. Frederic Harrison for Great Britain. 



The present congress came to London 

 through the joint invitation of the Sociolog- 

 ical Society and the University of London. 

 All of the sessions were held in the Jehanghir 

 Hall of the University Building, South Ken- 

 sington. 



After the closing meeting, excursions to 

 Oxford and Cambridge took place, which, it 

 was hoped, could be arranged as motor car ex- 

 cursions. A visit to Edinburgh and Glasgow 

 was planned to take place some time during 

 the v^^^eek following the congress. 



The provisional program was as follows : 



