January 12, 1900.] 



SCmNGE. 



53 



versity do for the support and encourage- 

 ment of investigators within its walls?" 

 The primary function, in my opinion, of a 

 professor is to teach ; but, with certain ex- 

 ceptions of rare merit, it is necessary for 

 his reputation and influence that he should 

 do original work. The first duty of the 

 university to him is that he should not be 

 overburdened with teaching. The next 

 problem is, how the expenses of his work 

 are to be met. These must vary with the 

 department. For some lines of research 

 distant expeditions are requisite, necessarily 

 so costly that they can hardly be provided 

 for otherwise than by national or private 

 munificence. But putting these aside, and 

 speaking more particularly of biological 

 and morphological work, the problem re- 

 duces itself to this : what help shall the 

 university give to the investigator, (1) in 

 the matter of providing the material, 

 namely, the subject matter for the study, 

 (2) the machinery and reagents for the 

 work, (3) the means of illustrating it, and 

 finally of publishing the paper. The last 

 need is not urgent on account of the great 

 number of journals of all kinds, but it exists 

 in isolated cases. Till comparatively re- 

 cently the position of universities has been 

 much like that of the Pickwick Club, which 

 when sending it§ honored founder and his 

 companions on their travels saw no objec- 

 tion to every member paying his own bills. 

 But professors for the most part suffer from 

 ' that perpetual lack of pence which vexes 

 public men,' and those who are not yet pro- 

 _ fessors are, of course, vexed the more. Is 

 it fair that a serious tax, ever increasing in 

 direct ratio to his merit, should be laid on 

 the investigator, especially as the univer- 

 sity profits in no small degree by his suc- 

 cess? I am sure we shall all agree it is 

 not. But then difficulties present them- 

 selves as to how this help is to be given 

 and distributed, assuming that the univer- 

 sity admits the claim. Who are to be the 



chief beneficiaries ? The most distinguished 

 or the most needy ? The oldest because of 

 his years? Or the j'oungest because of his 

 youth? And again is it just that the uni- 

 versity should furnish large sums for bring- 

 ing out papers of unknown merit? It seems 

 to me that the most feasible way, if the 

 money can be procured, is to place a sum 

 in the hands of the professor at the head of 

 each scientific department, to be spent for 

 the good of that department, including 

 publication, according to his discretion, or 

 his lack of it. Should the latter be pain- 

 fully apparent, the resulting unpopularity 

 will surely be irresistible, and thus there 

 will be a check on a system which may at 

 first seem too arbitrary. 



Thomas Dwight. 

 Haevaed Medical School, 

 Cambeidge, Mass. 



The primary function of a university is 

 the diffusion of knowledge, and it is, I be- 

 lieve, equally true that these higher insti- 

 tutions of learning are in great part respon- 

 sible for the extent to which knowledge is 

 spread throughout the land. Before there 

 can be diffusion of knowledge, however, 

 there must be acquisition of knowledge, and 

 we may at once ask the question, how far 

 shall the university lend its aid in the en- 

 couragement of scientific research with a 

 view to the enlargement of the boundaries 

 of human knowledge? It is obvious that 

 the force and energy of a great university 

 must of necessity be given to the training 

 of its students in the various departments 

 of study laid down in the curriculum, and 

 a university worthy of the name certainly 

 cannot afford to devote the major part of 

 its energies to the pursuit of scientific re- 

 search, neither in my judgment would it be 

 justified in so doing. By such a procedure, 

 it would forfeit the right to the name of 

 university, and its power for usefulness 

 would be curtailed in no small measure 



