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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVII. No. 688 



of problems and the answering of questions 

 is of most worth as a means for developing 

 the workers themselves, and good plans for 

 cooperation must be in harmony with this 

 idea. 



Recognizing these limitations, by which 

 cooperative endeavors are necessarily re- 

 stricted, and at the same time recognizing 

 the existence of relations which might be 

 improved by a more vivid appreciation of 

 the cooperative spirit which underlies bio- 

 logical activity, my colleague. Dr. Green- 

 man, with the assistance of his advisers, has 

 undertaken to utilize the Wistar Institute 

 for the purpose of such improvement. 



Permit me to mention two things which 

 have been done, and which are distinctly 

 promising. They constitute my special 

 contribution at this time. • 



On looking over the field a year ago, it 

 appeared that American biologists lacked 

 suitable facilities for the publication of 

 papers which were extensive and required 

 ample illustrations. Most journals did not 

 feel justified in devoting to such long 

 single communications the space and money 

 which are demanded for them. Neverthe- 

 less, papers of this character mark a step 

 in advance, for they result from the effort 

 to be more critical and thorough, and 

 plainly they deserve encouragement. It 

 appeared, therefore, that we could advan- 

 tageously cooperate with investigators in 

 this country, by arranging for the publica- 

 tion of such researches, and through the 

 appreciative generosity of a colleague it 

 has been possible to do this by reviving the 

 Journal of Morphology under most favor- 

 able conditions. 



In your presence it is hardly necessary 

 to enlarge on the significance of this step, 

 but I have ventured to call attention to it, 

 as one example of cooperative activity. 



My second example is from quite a dif- 

 ferent field and relates to the collection and 

 preservation of material, in order to make 



it accessible to investigators at large. The 

 endeavor to do this has grown out of a 

 movement started and fostered by His. 

 Some years ago His persuaded the Asso- 

 ciated Academies to appoint commissions 

 for embryology and for brain study, in 

 order to develop cooperative work in both 

 these fields. His knew from personal ex- 

 perience that studies in these departments 

 had reached such a stage of elaboration, 

 and were so largely comparative, that the 

 labor of preparing the material for a 

 given research often overtaxed the powers 

 of even the most industrious, and the hour 

 had come to assist investigators by gather- 

 ing and storing at central stations series of 

 sections and related material, which should 

 be available for all. 



This idea naturally appealed to us, and 

 we are now endeavoring to develop it, lay- 

 ing emphasis at present on the material 

 which illustrates the structure of the nerv- 

 ous system. The plan gives to the museum 

 of the institute something of the functions 

 of a library, with this difference, that it 

 handles specimens instead of books. 



Such specimens are derived from two 

 sources: from the laboratories of the in- 

 stitute itself, and from elsewhere. In con- 

 nection with the latter source, permit a 

 passing comment. 



We all have occasion to lament the fact 

 that many of our promising scientific 

 youths, after an encouraging start, turn 

 aside from pure science to follow the 

 primrose path of some more remunerative 

 calling. For their loss and ours, we must 

 always grieve, but there is comfort in the 

 thought that in a measure it may be pos- 

 sible to save the pieces. The youth is gone, 

 his special skill diverted, but his prepara- 

 tions may still be rescued for the benefit of 

 others. 



Too often these preparations find their 

 last resting place in some forgotten trunk 



