August 5, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



171 



the movement as one for the promotion 

 of nature love rather than as nature study. 

 At present it involves far too little real 

 study and concentration of purpose ; which 

 is unfortunate, as rural children particu- 

 larly need training in exactness. 



One branch of work initiated in the office 

 of experiment stations at Washington of 

 extreme importance, to which reference 

 should also be made, is that relating to the 

 nutrition of man, which has been carried 

 out in various parts of the states under the 

 supervision of my friend Professor At- 

 water— a fellow student with me in Ger- 

 many in years gone- by— who initiated the 

 inquiry in 1877. The scope and results of 

 the investigation are described in the re- 

 port of the director of experiment stations 

 for the year ending June, 1901. Un- 

 doubtedly the most important and valuable 

 part of this work has been that done dur- 

 ing recent years at the Wesleyan Univer- 

 sity, Middletown, Comi., where a large 

 respiration chamber has been erected and 

 brought to a remarkable state of perfection 

 by Professors Atwater and Benedict. The 

 installation is a very costly one. It is pos- 

 sible for a man to live within this chamber 

 for days or even weeks and for account to 

 be kept during the whole time, not only of 

 the products of respiration, but also of the 

 amount of heat given out and the oxygen 

 consumed, with a degree of accuracy equal 

 to that with which ordinary analyses are 

 carried out in a laboratory. No better 

 illustration can be given of the amount of 

 thought and care which is now being de- 

 voted to investigations of practical impor- 

 tance in the United States. I went spe- 

 cially to Middletown to examine the appa- 

 ratus and was gratified beyond measure; 

 to see it alone was worth a pilgrimage to 

 America. The investigations which can be 

 carried out with such a chamber are of far- 

 reaching importance and touch very closely 

 on the domain of household economics. It 



is much to be desired that we, on this side, 

 should be able to do similar work. 



The geological survey is also a well-or- 

 ganized department in Washington. The 

 wealth of material at the disposal of Ameri- 

 can geologists is extraordinary. If oppor- 

 tunity beget supply, we may look to 

 America as the breeding ground of geol- 

 ogists in the future. Besides field work 

 and the attendant office work, the depart- 

 ment now carries on scientific research work 

 on geological problems. It has a well- 

 equipped chemical department, at the head 

 of which is Professor Clarke, who a few 

 months ago delivered in Manchester the 

 lecture commemorative of the centenary of 

 Dalton's atomic theory. Much valuable 

 work has been done in this department, 

 which is now quite the seat of authority in 

 mineral analysis. Dr. Hillebrand, the senior 

 member of Professor Clarke's staff, being 

 probably the most accomplished and ex- 

 perienced analyst of the day. 



Lastly, it may be mentioned that a 

 bureau of standards has recently been es- 

 tablished at Washington to do work on the 

 lines of that done by our standards depart- 

 ment, the board of trade and the national 

 physical laboratory, but with a wider out- 

 look than any of these and well provided 

 with funds. 



When we consider how uncoordinated our 

 efforts are, how little public appreciation 

 exists of the value of science to the com- 

 munity, it is impossible not to feel envious 

 of what is going on in Washington. It 

 would well repay us to inquire very fully 

 into the causes which have operated to 

 produce a willingness in America to listen 

 to counsel which here passes altogether un- 

 heeded. Something must be done to create 

 a public belief in the value of knowledge, 

 Avhich will lead us to coordinate our scat- 

 tered efforts. So long as our outlook is 

 merely insular the future may appear to 

 afford little promise; but if we consider 



