The Conductors of SCIENCE will be indebted to those who will circulate thts 
advertisement of the Journal. 
Copies can be obtained from the Publishers. 
SCIENCE 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 
EDITORIAL ComMITTEE: S. NEwcoms, Mathematics; R. S. WoopWARD, Mechanics; E. C. PICKERING, 
Astronomy; T. C. MENDENHALL, Physics; R. H. THuRstToN, Engineering; IRA REMSEN, Chemistry; 
J. LE Cont#, Geology; W. M. Davis, Physiography; O. C. MArsH, Paleontology; W. K. Brooks, 
C. Hart Merriam, Zoology; S. H. ScuppER, Entomology; C. E. Brsszy, N. L. Brirron, 
Botany; Henry F. OsBorN, General Biology; C. S. Minor, Embryology, Histology; 
H. P. BowpitcH, Physiology; J. S. BrnLinas, Hygiene; J. MCKEEN CATTELL, 
Psychology; DANIEL G. BRINTON, J. W. POWELL, Anthropology. 
Published by 
THE MACMILLAN COlMPANY, 66 Fifth Ave., New York. 
TO OUR READERS.* 
THE experience of centuries shows that 
great success in advancing scientific knowl- 
edge cannot be expected even from the most 
gifted men, so long as they remain isolated. 
The attrition of like minds is almost as 
necessary to intellectual production as 
companionship is to conversation. The 
commencement of the development of sci- 
ence on a large scale, and with brilliant 
success, was coeval with the formation of 
the Royal Society of London and the 
Academy of Sciences of France. When 
these bodies came together their members 
began to talk and to think. 
At the present day one of the aspects of 
American science which most strikes us is 
the comparative deficiency of the social 
element. We have indeed numerous local 
scientific societies, many of which are meet- 
ing with marked success. But these bodies 
cannot supply the want of national codp- 
eration and communication. The field of 
each is necessarily limited, and its activities 
confined to its own neighborhood. Weneed 
a broader sympathy and easier communica- 
tion between widely separated men in every 
part of the country. Our journal aims to 
*From the Introduction to the new series of SCIENCE 
by Professor Newcomb. 
supply the want of such a medium, and 
asks the aid of all concerned in making its 
efforts successful. It will have little space 
for technicalities which interest only the 
specialist of each class, and will occupy 
itself mostly with those broader aspects of 
thought and culture which are of interest 
not only to scientific investigators, but to 
educated men of every profession. A spe- 
cialist of one department may know little 
more of the work of a specialist in another 
department than does the general reader. 
Hence, by appealing to the interests of the 
latter, we do not neglect those of the scien- 
tific profession. At the same time, it is 
intended that the journal shall be much 
more than a medium for the popularization 
of science. Underlying the process of spe- 
cialization, which is so prominent a feature 
of all the knowledge of our time, there is 
now to be seen a tendency toward unifica- 
tion, a development of principles which 
connect a constantly increasing number of 
special branches. The meeting of all stu- 
dents of nature in a single field thus be- 
comes more and more feasible, and in pro- 
moting intercourse among all such students 
ScreNcE hopes to find a field for its energies, 
in which it may invite the support of all 
who sympathize with its aim. 
