The Third Indian Science Congress, Lucknow, 



January, 1916. 



The Third Indian Science Congress was held in Lucknow 

 on January 13th, 14th and 15th, 1916, under the presidency of 

 Colonel Sir Sidney Burrard, K.C.S.L, R.E., F.R.S. The meet- 

 ings were attended by over 300 members and visitors, and 

 some 70 papers were communicated, abstracts of which are 

 given below. A special feature of the Congress was the popu- 

 larity of the three evening lectures delivered respectively by 



Dr. E. P. Hankin, Dr. J. C. Bose, CLE., C.S.L.and Professor 

 Neogi . 



His Honour Sir James Meston, Lieutenant-Governor of the 

 United Provinces, was present at the opening Mmtincr *nA wai. 

 corned the visitors in the following speech ; 



Burrard 



It is my 



Lucknow 



offer you such hospitality as may lie in our power, and to do 

 anything and everything that we citizens of Lucknow can 

 accomplish to help you to enjoy your stay in our city. That 

 is the only message that I have for the Congress this morning. 

 1 should not on such an occasion presume to address you on any 

 subject in which the Congress is interested, even if I had the 

 capacity to do so, which I have not. For to those of us who, 

 hke myself, date from the old bad days of education, when a 

 <*reek aorist was of greater value than all the marvels of 

 nature, it is not given to do more than penetrate the outer 

 courts of the tabernacle ; to do more than to gaze with the 

 admiration and envy of ignorance upon the worshippers 

 within. But not even our most profound ignorance can blind 

 any of us to the great work which scientific research is doing 

 and has done for this country. There is no one of us who is 

 m any way associated with the work of government in India 

 who fails to recognize the supreme importance of adequate 

 scientific advice and assistance in the problems which 



?^y by day. We sometimes may ask impossibilities c. « „„^. 



Many of you perhaps remember how a bumptious cross- 

 examiner once tackled Lord Kelvin upon a subject in which he 

 was the greatest master in the world, and perhaps you will 

 remember his reply. " My dear Sir," he said, •« you might as 

 well ask me the distance between London and Wednesday 

 week." That is the type, I fear, of the conundrums which 

 we occasionally press upon our scientific advisers, and I can 

 OI uy ask them to treat such foolish questionings as evidence of 

 °ur pathetic belief in their wisdom. For we do, ladies and 



face him 



