xx President's Address 



will now form one of the appliances of the Paris Observatory 

 for investigations of the higher atmosphere. This is a step 

 in the right direction, for what little we do know of these 

 regions only indicates how valuable and necessary it is to 

 know more for meteorological ends. What is principally 

 wanted, therefore, to extend our knowledge of the more 

 general laws governing the aerial ocean around us, is the 

 combination of observations made at various atmospheric 

 levels with those obtained at the earth's surface, which 

 latter should undoubtedly include as much as possible the 

 more critical regions, those parts of the earth most, and 

 those least heated by the sun. Such operations it is evident 

 can only be undertaken by the co-operation of observers in 

 all parts of the world, aided by arrangement for rapid 

 telegraphic interchange of the observations, among the 

 central observatories or meteorological offices of all countries, 

 and involving as a sine qua non money help from states. 



State aid to scientific research has been much written 

 about of late in European and especially English papers, 

 and many and strong are the arguments in favour of a 

 systematic granting of money by the state, for the purpose 

 of assisting properly regulated scientific work. A Royal 

 Commission has been appointed in England, to inquire 

 into the present state of science in that country, and the 

 best means of fostering systematic research in its various 

 branches, and it is not at all improbable that a Minister 

 of Science may be created. 



There seems to be an almost unanimous opinion that State 

 scientific laboratories for several branches of science should 

 be established and maintained out of the public purse, such 

 as laboratories for investigations in Physical Science, Astro- 

 nomy, Chemistry, Physiology, and Biology. There can be 

 no doubt that institutions of these kinds, properly endowed, 

 and conducted under the direction of the best men that can 



