Dana — American Journal of Science, 1818-1918. 31 



Contributors. — An interesting summary is also given 

 by Silliman of the contributors to the Journal and the 

 extent of their work (vol. 50, pp. xii, xiii) ; he says : 



We find that there have been about 600 contributors of orig- 

 inal matter to the Journal, and we have the unexpected satis- 

 faction of believing that probably five-sixths of them are still 

 living; for we are not certain that more than fifty are among 

 the dead; of perhaps fifty more we are without information, 

 and if that additional number is to be enrolled among the ' ' stel- 

 ligeri," we have still 500 remaining. Among them are not a 

 few of the veterans with whom we began our career, and several 

 of these are still active contributors. Shall we then conclude 

 that the peaceful pursuits of knowledge are favorable to long 

 life ? This we think is, cozteris paribus, certainly true : but in 

 the present instance, another reason can be assigned for the 

 large amount of survivorship. As the Journal has advanced 

 and death has removed its scientific contributors, younger men 

 and men still younger, have recruited the ranks, and volunteers 

 have enlisted in numbers constantly increasing, so that the 

 flower of the host are now in the morning and meridian of life. 



We have been constantly advancing, like a traveller from the 

 equinoctial towards the colder zones, — as we have increased our 

 latitude, stars have set and new stars have risen, while a few 

 planetary orbs visible in every zone, have continued to cheer us 

 on our course. 



The number of articles, almost exclusively original, contained 

 in the Journal is about 1800, and the Index will show how many 

 have been contributed by each individual ; we have doubtless 

 included in this number some few articles republished from 

 foreign Journals — but we think they are even more than coun- 

 terbalanced by original communications without a name and by 

 editorial articles, both of which have been generally omitted in 

 the enumeration. 



Of smaller articles and notices in the Miscellany, we have not 

 made any enumeration, but they evidently are more numerous 

 than the regular articles, and we presume that they may amount 

 to at least 2500. 



Of party, either in politics or religion, there is no trace in 

 our work; of personalities there are none, except those that 

 relate to priority of claims or other rights of individuals. Of 

 these vindications the number is not great, and we could heartily 

 have wished that there had been no occasion for any. 



General Scope of Articles. — Many references will be 

 found in the chapters following which throw light upon 

 the character and scope of the papers published in the 

 Journal, particularly in its early years ; a few additional 

 statements here may, however, prove of interest. 



