January 31, 1902.J 



SCIENCE. 



167 



sonally. Broadness of mind does not im- 

 ply a scattering of resources, a futile waste 

 of opportunity; it means an intelligent 

 appreciation of all good scientific work, 

 whether it be within our own bailiwick or 

 elsewhere. To exalt one specialty at the 

 expense of others, to claim supremacy for 

 our own small interests, indicates a self- 

 conceit which is both mischievous and ab- 

 surd. 



With so many opportunities for research, 

 and with numberless problems in sight, 

 chemistry should have gro^vn according to 

 some law of symmetry, giving us to-day a 

 well-balanced and harmonious whole. His- 

 tory, however, tells a different tale. The 

 science has expanded enormously in some 

 directions, and advanced slowly in others; 

 a glaring disproportion is the result. For 

 this condition of affairs there are two rea- 

 sons : lack of coordinated labor and the in- 

 fluence of fashion; for there are fashions 

 in thinking, just as there are in dress, and 

 only the most original minds can escape 

 from their domination. Theoretically, 

 every investigator is free to follow his own 

 bent; practically, his course is shaped by a 

 complexity of circumstances. The line of 

 least resistance is the easiest line to take, 

 and in science that is determined by tem- 

 porary conditions. Certain researches have 

 been fruitful; and so, like miners flocking 

 to a new camp, we are tempted to enter the 

 same field, rather than to play the pioneer 

 elsewhere. The greatest prospect of im- 

 mediate success is the power which attracts 

 us. Through influences of this kind chem- 

 istry has developed unevenly, with one side 

 over-cultivated and another suffering from 

 neglect. 



To illustrate my meaning. I ,do not wish 

 to underrate the importance of organic 

 chemistry, nor to question, in the smallest 

 degree, the value of its achievements. Its 

 interest, its attractiveness, the beauty of 

 its methods, its profound influence upon 



chemical theory, are all admitted; and yet 

 it has received, it seems to me, an undue 

 share of attention. During fifty years a 

 large majority of all chemical investigators 

 devoted themselves to this one branch of 

 chemistry, leaving only a few workers to 

 occupy other fields. Organic chemistry was 

 the fashion; in it reputations were easiest 

 made; the great professional prizes, the 

 best positions, went to its devotees. 



Now, in spite of all that organic chemis- 

 try has accomplished, we may fairly admit 

 that chemical research should have a 

 broader scope. Carbon is but one element 

 among many; and all must be considered 

 before we can be sure that our interpreta- 

 tions of chemical phenomena are sound. 

 Special cases are easily mistaken for gen- 

 eral laws; and to such errors we become 

 liable when we confine our studies within 

 too narrow bounds. Fortunately for chem- 

 istry, a broadening process has begun ; and 

 the prospects for the future are most en- 

 couraging. 



During the past ten or fifteen years two 

 movements have gained headway in the 

 chemical world. One is marked by the re- 

 vival of interest in inorganic problems, the 

 other by the development of physico-chem- 

 ical research. To a certain extent the two 

 have much in common ; each one is aided, I 

 might say fertilized, by conceptions bor- 

 I'owed from the organic field ; both are al- 

 ready fruitful to a remarkable degree. In- 

 dependent journals devoted entirely to 

 inorganic or physical chemistry, have come 

 into existence, and investigators of thehigh- 

 est rank fill them with contributions. It is 

 not my purpose to discuss either movement 

 in detail ; I mention them as symptoms of a 

 more liberal spirit in research, as indicating 

 the commencement of a new era. Physical 

 chemistry in particular is becoming the 

 center of interest; laboratories are built 

 and equipped for its benefit alone; it bids 

 fair to surpass even organic chemistry in 



