108 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



necessary knowledge to fill a permanent position. The number of these 

 scholarships should not be large, lest more students should undertake 

 the work than would be required to fill the permanent paying positions 

 in astronomy, as they become vacant. 



In Europe, a favorite method of aiding science is to offer a prize 

 for the best memoir on a specified subject. On theoretical grounds this 

 is extremely objectionable. Since the papers presented are anonymous 

 and confidential, no one but the judges know how great is the effort 

 wasted in duplication. The larger the prize, the greater the injury to 

 science, since the greater will be the energy diverted from untried fields. 

 It would be much wiser to invite applications, select the man most likely 

 to produce a useful memoir, and award the prize to him if he achieved 

 success. 



The award of a medal, if of great intrinsic value, would be an 

 unwise expenditure. The Victoria Cross is an example of a successful 

 foundation, highly prized, but of small intrinsic value. If made of 

 gold, it would carry no greater honor, and would be more liable to be 

 stolen, melted down or pawned. 



Honorary membership in a famous society, or honorary degrees, have 

 great value if wisely awarded. Both are highly prized, form an excel- 

 lent stimulus to continued work, and as they are both priceless, and 

 without price, they in no way diminish the capacity for work. I re- 

 cently had occasion to compare the progress in various sciences of 

 different countries, and found that the number of persons elected as 

 foreign associates of the seven great national societies of the world was 

 an excellent test. Eighty-seven persons were members of two or more 

 of these societies. Only six are residents of the United States, while an 

 •equal number come from Saxony, which has only a twentieth of the 

 population. Of the six residents here, only three were born in the 

 United States. Not a single mathematician, or doctor, from this 

 country appears on the list. Only in astronomy are we well repre- 

 sented. Out of a total of ten astronomers, four come from England, 

 and three from the United States. Comparing the results for the last 

 one hundred and fifty years, we find an extraordinary growth for the 

 German races, an equally surprising diminution for the French and 

 other Latin races, while the proportion of Englishmen has remained 

 unchanged. 



A popular method of expending money, both by countries and by 

 individuals, is in sending expeditions to observe solar eclipses. These 

 appeal both to donors and recipients. The former believe that they are 

 making a great contribution to science, while the latter enjoy a long 

 voyage to a distant country, and in case of clouds they are not expected 

 to make any scientific return. If the sky is clear at the time of the 

 eclipse, the newspapers of the next day report that great results have 



