232 Women in Science. 



popularizing science, especially in compiling books for children ; and 

 thirdly, by subscriptions in aid of science. 



A very large per cent, of those pursuing biological researches 

 have been led into these lines by a course in medicine, and it is 

 rather rare to find a naturalist who may not claim the title of 

 M. D. As women have not been admitted to medical colleges until 

 during the past few years this fact may account very largely for the 

 non-appearance of women's names in the proceedings of museums 

 and scientific societies. It is an almost startling fact that, among 

 the one hundred and fifty contributors to the pages of the proceed- 

 ngs of the United States National Museum during the eleven years 

 of their publication there appear the names of only three women — 

 two on ichthyology, one on mollusca. In the publications of the 

 British Museum I am not acquainted with the papers of any 

 woman, and it is so with most of the scientific societies of foreign 

 lands. The Royal Society, however, is a notable exception, and 

 during the five years between 1882 and '87 four women have pub- 

 lished papers on histological subjects in the Royal Society's 

 proceedings. 



Several of the western academies of science have women on their 

 membership lists who write for the proceedings of these societies. 

 A notable example is that of the Natural History Society of Wis- 

 consin, which has published a number of contributions to our 

 knowledge of the Attidae or Jumping Spiders by Professor G. W. 

 and Elizabeth G. Peckham. The work of Professor and Mrs. Peck- 

 ham is not only descriptive, but they have carried on extensive 

 experiments with regard to the habits of the arachnids. 



To Professor and Mrs. Louis Agassiz must the credit be given 

 for placing an entering wedge for women in science not alone for the 

 State of Massachusetts but for the United States as well. In 1873 

 Professor Agassiz inaugurated a summer school of science on the 

 island of Penikese, in Buzzard's Bay. Here 50 young students 

 gathered, about 20 being women. A few of the young men from 

 some of our eastern universities unused to seeing women in college, 

 entered a protest against their presence at Penikese. Agassiz did 

 not at all share their feeling and at once put a stop to it. Learning 

 who the students were he announced the first morning at breakfast 

 that the launch was then ready at the wharf and certain gentlemen, 

 whose names he called, would leave. No entreaties on the part 

 of both ladies and gentlemen of the school would alter Professor 

 Agassiz's decision. Women were here admitted to the study of na- 

 ture on equal terms with men. 



I have been personally acquainted with six of the women who 



