144 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 188. 



first men of science and gladly paid the 

 cost of publishing the Annual Proceedings 

 and of the entertainment of the Association 

 for the privilege of seeing and hearing them, 

 and many an endowment for science had 

 its origin in the enthusiasm created by the 

 presence and speech of these men. 



But those who have attended the meet- 

 ings of the Association pretty steadily dur- 

 ing the past quarter of a century know, and 

 many regret, that during the past fifteen or 

 twenty years there has been a very con- 

 siderable change in its relation to the sci- 

 ence of the country and in the influence 

 which it is able to exert in all matters re- 

 lating thereto. There is no doubt that 

 much of this is the legitimate outcome of 

 an evolution which has been almost a revo- 

 lution, and which has affected many other 

 institutions even in a more marked degree. 

 The tremendous movement towards special- 

 ization which has taken place during the 

 past one or two decades has not been en- 

 tirely beneficial to the interests of science 

 and scientific men. The American Asso- 

 ciation has been most seriously affected by 

 it, through the organization of numerous 

 societies of and for specialists, which have 

 materialljr diminished interest in the gen- 

 eral organization. To this must be added 

 the influence of the organization in 1864 of 

 the N"ational Academy of Sciences and es- 

 pecially its practical reorganization ten 

 years later. As the only scientific body to 

 which admission is to be gained only by 

 character and importance of scientific work, 

 the Acadamy is naturally and properly the 

 asjjiration of young men of science. It has 

 indirectly worked an injury, however, to 



the American Association by the fact that 

 many men of first rank find it difficult to 

 attend meetings of both societies, and it is 

 a notable fact that many later meetings of 

 the Association have been conspicuous by 

 the absence of a large majority of the 

 leaders of American science. This absence, 

 which is, 'perhaps, oftener to be attributed 

 to lack of disposition than anything else, is 

 doubly unfortunate because it removes one 

 of the most important attractions to j'ounger 

 men of science. 



The creation of special organizations, 

 such as the Geological Society of America, 

 the American Chemical Society, the Amer- 

 ican Society of Naturalists, and others, has 

 been one of the most serious blows to the 

 American Association. In 1881 it sought 

 to meet the growing demand for specializa- 

 tion by breaking up into sections, but for 

 some reason this has not satisfied the desire 

 of the specialists. It is gratifying to re- 

 cord the fact that among some of the more 

 recent organizations a better spirit towards 

 the older society has prevailed during the 

 past two or three years, and there is an 

 evident disposition toward cooperation 

 which the latter ought quickly to take 

 advantage of. Indeed, it is to be hoped 

 that a way may yet and soon be found for 

 further cooperation between these societies 

 and the Association, it being evident that 

 all may be greatly benefited thereby. 



Many men, eminent in science to-day, 

 owe much of their prominence to oppor- 

 tunites which came to them through the 

 meetings of the American Association a 

 score or more years ago. With them and 

 all, indeed, the obligation to sustain and 



