NOVKMBKK 28, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



861 



these investigations is simply a bit of new 

 territory pertaining to the intimate life of 

 the cells, and we fincl here, as whenever we 

 are able to penetrate deeper into this life, 

 that there comes a flood of new light into 

 every department of biology.. The re- 

 searches on immunity, which to some of 

 short vision once seemed to threaten the 

 foundations of cellular pathology, have 

 served only to strengthen them. These 

 researches, which have already led to the 

 saving of thousands of human lives, and 

 will lead to the saving of untold thousands 

 more, have been carried on by the experi- 

 mental method, and can be conducted in 

 no other way. This method is as essential 

 for the advancement of medical science as 

 for that of any of the natural or physical 

 sciences. To restrict unnecessarily and 

 unjustifiably its use is nothing short of a 

 crime against humanity. It is an evidence 

 of the robust vitality of English physiology 

 and medicine that in spite of unwarrant- 

 able obstacles thrown in their path their 

 contributions to science in recent years 

 have been so numerous and so important. 

 The influence of English thought and ac- 

 tion is great with us in America. See to 

 it, my colleagues and men of science in the 

 British Isles, that you retain for yourselves 

 and hand down to your successors, at least 

 without further impairment, the means of 

 promoting medical knowledge and thus of 

 benefiting mankind. 



William H. Welch. 

 Johns Hopkins University. 



SCrENTIFIO BOOKS. 

 International Catalogue of Scientific Litera- 

 ture; first annual issue — M, Botany. Pub- 

 lished for the International Council by the 

 Royal Society of London. London, Har- 

 rison & Sons, 45 St. Martin's Lane. Vol. 

 I., Part I. May, 1902. 

 For some years the Royal Society has had 

 under consideration the preparation of a com- 

 plete index of current scientific literature. 



which now has materialized to the extent of a 

 thick pamphlet of 378 pages, designated as 

 ' part I., of volume L' The part before us 

 is devoted to botany, and from it we may 

 make an estimate of the probable value of 

 the complete work. The preface discusses 

 the magnitude of the undertaking, and the 

 inadequacy of a mere authors' catalogue, 

 scientiiic workers needing subject indexes as. 

 well. This task being far greater than the 

 Royal Society alone could undertake, interna- 

 tional cooperation was sought, resulting in a 

 conference of delegates in London, July, 1896. 

 At this conference ' it was unanimously re- 

 solved that it was desirable to compile and 

 publish, by means of an international organ- 

 ization, a complete catalogue of scientific 

 literature, arranged according both to subject 

 matter and to authors' names, in which regard 

 should be had, in the first instance, to the re- 

 quirements of scientific investigators, so that 

 these might find out, with a minimum of 

 trouble, what had been published on any par- 

 ticular subject of inquiry.' 



Subsequent conferences were held in 1898 

 and 1900, the result being the appointment 

 of an international council, the establishmeiit- 

 of a central bureau in London, and the under- 

 taking of the Royal Society to act as the pub- 

 lishers of the catalogue on behalf of the 

 council. Provision is made for an interna- 

 tional convention, which is to have supreme 

 control over the catalogue, and which is to 

 meet in 1905, and again in 1910, and every 

 tenth year afterwards. It is to ' reconsider, 

 and if necessary, to revise the regulations for 

 carrying out the work of the catalogue.' 



Seventeen branches of science are to be 

 included in the whole catalogue, and these 

 are arranged under the letters of the alphabet 

 as follows : A, mathematics ; B, mechanics ; 

 C, physics; D, chemistry; E, astronomy; F, 

 meteorology; G, mineralogy; H, geology; J, 

 geography; K, paleontology; L, general biol- 

 ogy; M, botany; N, zoology; O, human anat- 

 omy; P, physical anthropology; Q, physiology; 

 R, bacteriology. In this scheme physiolog.y 

 is made to include experimental psychology, 

 pharmacology and experimental pathology. 

 " Each complete annual issue of the catalogue 



