734 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVt. No. 410. 



title scheme; and as to physical and other 

 sciences, both by broad general titles, and 

 by physical data and properties as well. 



The plan would mean much clipping 

 from several copies each of such works as 

 the Berichie, the journals of the various 

 chemical and physical societies, the Philo- 

 sophical Magazine, etc., and would be a 

 work of great magnitude, requiring for its 

 accomplishment a large force, and it would 

 be a permanent undertaking. ■ 



If the Carnegie Institution is to main- 

 tain a research laboratory at Washington, 

 the uses of such a collection of specially 

 classified literature would be invaluable and 

 obvious, and even if not, it would seem 

 that one such great reference collection 

 (and it is not likely that there would ever 

 be another) would certainly be well lo- 

 cated at such a center of scientific inquiry 

 as the national capital. 



To go a step further, however. To what 

 uses could such a collection be put by this 

 institution 1 



Evidently when once made, it would be 

 invaluable in the preparation of a series 

 of volumes for widespread distribution, 

 along the same lines, but in a much more 

 extended way, of the very excellent com- 

 pilations on the constants of nature al- 

 ready published by the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, with which the name of Professor 

 F. W. Clarke is already associated. 



Such subjects as boiling' points, melting 

 points, specific gravities, specific heats, elec- 

 trical constants, thermochemical constants, 

 constants of refraction, coefficients of ex- 

 pansion, etc., would each form separate 

 volumes of a complete and uniform series, 

 and then a series of annual volumes would 

 naturally be issued, bringing them all up 

 to date from year to year ; and the prepara- 

 tion and publication of such an invaluable 

 encyclopfedia of physical and chemical con- 

 stants, would be a work well worthy the 

 attention of the Carnegie Institution, and 



one not at all likely to be accomplished by 

 any other agency ; and of its great practical 

 value, scientific as well as industrial, there 

 can be no question whatever. 



Moreover, an annual series of volumes 

 on the progress of the year in chemical, 

 physical and other scientific research would 

 also be very acceptable. 



All such work would naturally bring out 

 very clearly the numerous determinations 

 of physical and chemical constants, which 

 have either never yet been made, or else 

 have been made in such a manner as not 

 to inspire one with confidence in the accu- 

 racy of the published results, and it is 

 along these lines of research that there 

 would seem to be a great need for an ex- 

 tensive and well-equipped research labora- 

 tory, located at Washington, and having in 

 hand the determination of chemical and 

 physical constants, wherever the researches 

 of former investigators have passed them 

 by undetermined. One would hardly cred- 

 it how very incomplete existing data are, 

 unless he has been engaged in some re- 

 search work and by actual investigation 

 has learned how few comparatively are the 

 known constants, as compared with those 

 still awaiting determinations, and which 

 are only too often so badly wanted. 



Naturally this institution would also be- 

 come a head center, through the good offices 

 of which the work of independent colabor- 

 ers, at the many laboratories of this and 

 other countries, could be so regulated and 

 planned as to secure cooperation along im- 

 portant lines of research while avoiding 

 unnecessary duplication of work. Such a 

 research laboratory would also naturally 

 take up, from time to time, special lines 

 of original research work, biit its regular 

 every-day routine work would be largely on 

 the determination of those chemical and 

 physical constants, particularly of the rarer 

 and very expensive elements and com- 



