970 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVI. No. 416. 



gratory meetings and of special societies for 

 the several sciences. The German Con- 

 gress of Scientific Men and Physicians was 

 established in 1828 and the British Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science in 

 1831. There are similar associations in 

 other European countries, in Australasia 

 and in South America. Our own asso- 

 ciation was established in 1848, being a 

 continuation of the Association of Ameri- 

 can Geologists and Naturalists, founded in 

 1840. 



The Linnean Society for zoology and 

 botany was founded in London in 1788 

 and received a royal charter in 1802. The 

 Geological Society of London was estab- 

 lished in 1807, and the Royal Astronomical 

 Society in 1820. These societies were off- 

 shoots from the Royal Society, and were a 

 necessary result of the differentiation of 

 science and the increase in the number of 

 men of science. At the time, however, 

 they were supposed to weaken the Royal 

 Society, its president Sir Joseph Banks, 

 saying, 'AH these new-fangled associations 

 will finally dismantle the Royal Society, 

 and not leave the old lady a rag to cover 

 her. ' 



The scattering of scientific men in this 

 country delayed the establishment of spe- 

 cial societies. The American Association 

 was divided into two sections in 1875 and 

 into nine sections in 1882. The American 

 Chemical Society was established in 1876, 

 and we now have national societies for the 

 principal sciences— mathematics, physics, 

 chemistry, astronomy, geologj', botany, 

 morphology, ornithology, anatomy, physiol- 

 ogy, bacteriology, pathology, psychology 

 and anthropology. 



New York city and members of our acad- 

 emy have done their share in establishing 

 and supporting these societies. The 

 Torrey Botanical Club, begun in 1870, was 

 the first of the special societies. The 



Chemical Society was established in this 

 city and has its headquarters here. The 

 American Mathematical Society began as 

 the New York Mathematical Society and 

 still has its main center in New York, as 

 has also the American Physical Society. 

 The secretaries of the American Physio- 

 logical Society and of the American Psy- 

 chological Association are officers of our 

 academy, and the secretary of the Ameri- 

 can Geological Society was formerly one of 

 our most active members. The societies 

 for civil, mining, mechanical and electrical 

 engineering have their headquarters in 

 New York city. 



Apart from scientific societies this city 

 has, during the past fifteen years, witnessed 

 an unusual, perhaps unparalleled, devel- 

 opment of its scientific and educational in- 

 stitutions. Columbia University has be- 

 come one of the dozen great universities of 

 the world. Its new grounds and buildings, 

 costing $8,000,000, are but a symbol of its 

 educational position. New York University, 

 with its beautiful new site and buildings, 

 has grown in equal proportion. The City 

 CoUege is erecting new buildings, and 

 high schools have been established. Our 

 libraries have been consolidated, the build- 

 ing for the great public library is in course 

 of erection and numerous branch libraries 

 have been founded. The American Mu- 

 seum of Natural History has more than 

 quadrupled the value of its buildings and 

 collections, and the Metropolitan Museum 

 of Art has equally increased its galleries 

 and endowment. The Botanical Garden, 

 the Zoological Park and the Aquarium 

 have arisen as by miracle. Hospitals, 

 asylums and all kinds of public institutions 

 have increased even more rapidly than the 

 wealth of the city. In spite of Tammany 

 Hall, in spite of reform administrations, 

 our public, educational and scientific insti- 

 tutions have developed in a way that has 



