92 Ths American Naturalist. [January, 
SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 
Bibliographical Reform.—The pressing need of an improvement 
in the methods of indexing scientific literature is admitted on all sides, 
Especially a young and growing science like zoology feels this want. 
Present bibliographical aids are inadequate in three principal re- 
respects: First, they are incomplete; second, they are tardy in fur- 
nishing notices of papers; and third, they do not enable one to find 
quickly all references to any subject of which one desires the litera- 
ture. 
Although at various times attention has been called to the exisiting 
imperfections in our bibliographical service, it is only lately that 
active steps have been taken to improve that service radically. 
Over a yearago Dr. H. H. Field began to agitate the matter of reform 
in the bibliography of zoological literature by a letter, printed in Na- 
ture (Vol. xlvii, p. 607, Apr. 27,1893). Last spring the Royal Society 
of London, whose Catalogue of Scientific Periodicals is well known, sent 
a circular to scientific men and institutions asking for suggestions con- 
cerning the compilation through international coöperation, beginning 
with the year 1900, of a complete catalogue of scientific literature, giv- 
ing not only titles arranged according to authors’s names, but also an 
index to subject matter. This request has already excited earnest at- 
tention and seems certain to elicit a cordial response. 
Dr. Field’s plan in no wise conflicts with the Royal Society’s purpose ; 
it may, indeed, be said to codperate in it. He believes that the reform 
on the zoological side ought not and need not wait half a decade. It 
should begin at once. Ifthe plan proposed by Field should be suc- 
cessful it would show the probability of success of the larger undertak- 
ing mentioned in the Royal Society’s circular. If that undertaking 
should be begun in 1900 the zoological part of the work, already 
organized would be easily absorbed by it. 
Field has already drawn up the outlines of a definite plan after con- 
sultation with prominent zoological bibliographers in Europe. These 
he has already published. Besides the printed letter in Nature, refer- 
red to above, a statement of his plan can be found in the Biologisches 
Centralblatt, Bd. xiv, pp. 269-272; Verhandl. Deutschen Zool. Gesell. 
iv Jahresversammlung, 1894; and Mém. Soc. Zoologique de France, 
Tome vii, pp. 259-263. 
