SCIENCE. 



FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1884. 



COMMENT AND CRITICISM. 

 The American association for the advance- 

 ment of science borrowed its constitution, in 

 large measure, from the British. Yet, while it 

 is evident in the nature of things that the same 

 rules cannot answer for two countries differing 

 so widely in geographical extent, one weak- 

 ness of the American, as compared with the 

 British societ}', lies in its lack of an efficient 

 organization in the interim between two meet- 

 ings, and the necessity that the non-permanent 

 members of the standing committee should be 

 chosen from and by the members present at 

 one of the annual gatherings This deficiency 

 has been emphasized by the visit of the Brit- 

 ish association on this side of the water, and 

 by the proposal for an international association 

 of some sort. 



This leads us to draw the attention of those 

 interested to one or two features of the recent 

 Montreal meeting, which might well be adopted 

 by the American association, and would re- 

 quire no alteration of the constitution. One 

 is the grouping of papers in each section, so 

 that those of a similar character are read to- 

 gether, eliciting a better discussion, freer from 

 discursiveness, and at less cost of time ; an- 

 other is fixing set subjects for discussion on 

 some topics of interest, to be opened by desig- 

 nated members ; a third is the daily disposal of 

 the entire schedule, no matter how much the 

 papers have to be abbreviated or the session 

 prolonged, so that each day's programme is 

 fresh. The most important of all is the appro- 

 priation of grants of money to committees for 

 special scientific work during the year, the 

 grants this year amounting to over £1500. 



if it will simply reverse its plan of printing 

 papers in full. We believe that only five of 

 the numerous papers read at Montreal are to 

 be printed in extenso; such papers having to 

 be recommended by the sectional committees, 

 and approved b}^ the general committee. In 

 our own association, the matter is completely 

 within the control of the standing committee, 

 which, by adopting a similar policy, might soon 

 bring the association into possession of a per- 

 manent fund of fifty thousand dollars, — such 

 as the British association now enjoys, — instead 

 of leaving it to fulfil but half its mission on its 

 paltry investment of a couple of thousand dol- 

 lars. At present, the American association is 

 expending more than four thousand dollars a 

 year in printing ; while the British association, 

 with twice the membership, and an average 

 presentation of twice as mairy papers, prints 

 no bulkier a volume, and less than half of it 

 is made up of members' papers. The avenues 

 of publication in America are now ample enough 

 for all papers of permanent value. 



The growth of the American association, 

 during the past five years, warrants the belief 

 that such grants are entirely within its disposal, 



No. 84. — 1884. 



It has been justly held, that the meeting of 

 the British association in Canada would produce 

 a direct stimulus to science in the dominion. 

 The association itself has evidently deter- 

 mined that it shall. Welcomed with the utmost 

 cordiality, fostered b} T the government, and re- 

 ceiving the marked attention of the governor- 

 general, it has raised, among its own members, 

 a science-scholarship fund for McGrll Uni- 

 versity, — probably to be devoted to civil en- 

 gineering, — has been the occasion of a gift 

 of fifty thousand dollars for a public library in 

 Montreal, and has passed a series of resolu- 

 tions pointedl}* calling the attention of the 

 Canadian government to two important duties 

 to science and humanny which it has hitherto 

 neglected, — a proper system of tidal observa- 

 tion along its extended coasts, for the benefit 

 of navigation ; and systematic researches upon 

 the native tribes of half a continent. 



