May 10, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



521 



post'd subject-index of scientific papers, and 

 to express my opinions on .some of the points 

 contained therein. I will not burden you 

 Avith the arguments that might be brought 

 forward in support of the opinions, at this 

 time ; but, of course, I am ver_v ready to give 

 my reasons in detail should you desire 

 them. 



I. It appears to be of the utmost impor- 

 tance that the Royal Society should continue 

 to issue its author-indexes, i. e., the quarto 

 Catalogues of Scientific Papers. Such in- 

 dexes can be made at comparatively small 

 expense, and by comparative!}' unskilled 

 workers, under the direction of a single 

 competent scientific head. 



II. It is entirely otherwise with a subject- 

 index. Here the routine work must be done by 

 the expert. Professor Helmholtz was none 

 too good to make the subject-index of his 

 Optics. If it had been made by one of his 

 pupils, it would have been less valuable ; 

 if it had been made by clerks, it would have 

 been of little use except to beginners. It 

 is perfectly clear that, in general, we can- 

 not expect our liibliogi-aphies, etc., to be 

 made by the heads of science, as Helm- 

 holtz, Houzeau, etc., and it therefore seems 

 to me that it is unadA-isable to attempt 

 a general subject-index to science on any 

 plan whatever. 



III. If it is ever attempted at all, it 

 should not, in my judgement, be done Ijj" 

 international cot")peratiou," but by a single 

 society responsible only to itself. Inter- 

 national cooperation has, I believe, gener- 

 ally failed (the only marked exceptions 

 that I recall are the International Geodetic 

 Association and the International Bureau of 

 Weights and Measures). The Zone obser- 

 vations of the German Astronomical Society 

 are of the highest use and excellence, but 

 they were begun by international coiipera- 

 tion about 18(56 and are not yet published. 



IV. If the work is attempted, it should 

 be printed in English alone, one would 



think. If the past is not ours, the future 

 surely is to be. 



V. My own opinion, therefore, is that the 

 general subject-index should not l)e attemp- 

 ted. The Royal Society and other great 

 academies might well subsidize the making 

 of special bibliographies, for example, Hou- 

 zeau's Bililiographie de 1' Astronomic (al- 

 readj- printed;, or Professor Cleveland 

 Abbe"s Bibliograi)hj' of the Literature of 

 Meteorology (now in 5IS.), and other under- 

 takings of the kind, when they are directed 

 by men of special learning, and not other- 

 wise. 



VI. It, however, appears to me that the 

 Roj'al Society can do a great work in the 

 dh-ection aimed at, at comparatively litttle 

 expense and trouble, as follows : I would, 

 first, saj' that it is uecessarj- — essential — 

 that an author-index should be complete. 

 It is very desirable, but by no means essen- 

 tial, that a subject-index should be exhaus- 

 tive. A subject-index is generally required 

 to set the inquirer on his way, and once 

 fairly started in his reading, the foot-notes 

 will keep him informed. This being 

 granted, the plan I refer to is for the Royal 

 Society to undertake the publication, in one 

 volume, of a subject-index, or guide, to the 

 ten quartos of author-indexes already pre- 

 prepared. The work could be easily done 

 as follows: Select a scheme of subject- 

 headings, under the advice of specialists. 

 The Melville Dewey plan of lilirary cata- 

 loguing* would serve as a basis, and it is 

 capable of indefinite and logical subdivision. 

 This subdivision should be made under the 

 advice of the heads of English science ; and, 

 in my opinion, the thing to lie avoided is 

 too minute division. A practical point is, 

 also, that the .same pajx^r should be cata- 

 logued under all the headings under which 

 it might be sought, not merely under the 

 strictly logical and appropriate heading. 



* 'Wniich is based on the scheme of Dr. W. T. Harris, 

 Editor of tlie Jourual of Speculative Philosopliv. 



