. SCIENCE IN THE UNITED STATES. 99 
argument which runs through this exttact, without presenting 
such an analysis of the whole work as would occupy too mue 
space. We commend the entire volume to the careful study of 
the readers of the NATURALIST, as an admirable example of a sci- 
entific essay. — S. H. SCUDDER. 
The two foreign associates of the French Academy, and the ma- 
jority of the American correspondents of this Academy and of 
the two other bodies above mentioned,* belong to the New Eng- 
land states. Consequently, calculations based on the Union taken 
as a whole do not give correct ideas, and, to appreciate the influ- 
ences at work, we must distinguish between the six northeastern 
states and the rest of the country. 
The most brilliant epoch for New England was that of Franklin 
and Rumford. The population of this part of the United States 
was at that time only half a million, and in consequence of its 
origin it presented very favorable conditions. ; 
The only unfavorable conditions were our Nos. 1, 2, 7 and 18.+ 
None of these are very important or very characteristic. We thus 
understand why New England has made the same progress in sci- 
ence as the most civilized countries of Europe. The early pil- 
grims resembled the protestants expelled from France and 
Belgium, in their ancient intellectual culture, their devotion to 
ideas rather than to interests, their laborious and austere life. 
The rigor of the old Calvinism gave place at Boston, as at 
Geneva and in Scotland, to broader and more tolerant ideas. 
Without this a Franklin would not have been possible, and the sci- 
entific influence of Harvard University can scarcely be otherwise 
explained. If, to-day, anything would seem to threaten this 
Select population of New England, it is the incessant emigration 
of its youth to other parts of America and the immigration of for- 
eigners for the most part very different from the early settlers. 
Perhaps also the characteristic activity of Americans is an obsta- 
od Royal Society of cei! anoi ve —_— of Sciences of Berlin. 
i Small proportion of persons raees one the rich classes, as compared with 
those who are obliged to work for their living and especially to labor with their hands. 
2. Small proportion among the richer classes of those who are contented with their 
Income ane whose DT requires but little attention, = that they are inclined to 
he 7- Insufficient and poorly organized materia bg various scientific work, such as 
15. Distance from civilized countries. 
