SCIENCE. 



FKIDAY, AUGUST 21, 1885. 



COMMENT AND CRITICISM. 



The announcement is made in another col- 

 umn, bj- Dr. C. S. Minot, that Mrs. Elizabeth 

 Thompson of Stamford, Conn., has given to a 

 board of trustees the sum of twenty-five thou- 

 sand dollars " for the advancement and prose- 

 cution of scientific research in its broadest 

 sense." It is a generous gift for a noble pur- 

 pose. With a degree of wisdom which is for- 

 tunately more and more evinced b}' those who 

 make endowments, the methods to be employed 

 for the accomplishment of these ends have 

 been left by the donor to the judgment of those 

 whom she intrusts with the fund. The}^ are 

 men in whom the public will also have confi- 

 dence. One of them is a physiologist, one an 

 astronomer, one a political economist, and one 

 a biologist. The income will soon be avail- 

 able ; and the founder maj^ hope to see within 

 another j'ear good work in progress, which her 

 liberality has made possible. 



the promotion of knowledge, ' The Elizabeth 

 Thompson science fund.' 



It has been suggested that the fand thus 

 established should be administered by an inter- 

 national association of science, if such a body 

 is initiated by the British and American asso- 

 ciations. This would doubtless give eclat to 

 the new organization, but diffused responsi- 

 bilit}^ is by no means essential to the success 

 of the fund. A small bod}' of trustees, such 

 as that now instituted, is quite adequate to the 

 direction of the project, particularly if its en- 

 deavors and its results are made known to the 

 public by annual reports, which may evoke the 

 comments and suggestions of other scientific 

 men. But whichever form of direction may 

 be finally adopted, the far-sighted and gener- 

 ous gift will be everywhere recognized as de- 

 serving the gratitude of all vrho believe in the 

 progress of science, and the endowment of 

 research. We welcome as a new agency in 



No. 133. — 1885. 



Within a few years a change has been 

 effected in the organization of the American 

 association, through a considerable increase in 

 the number of its sections. In its present 

 composition, it resembles much more than 

 formerl}' its prototj'pe, the British association. 

 The change w^as a necessit}" of the immense 

 recent growth of our association. There is 

 another desirable change, not so radical, but 

 in its future significance quite as important, 

 which would be in keeping with the example 

 of the British association, and which, even if 

 entirely within the province of the standing 

 committee to cany into effect, should receive 

 the countenance of the members at large. 

 This concerns its annual volume of pro- 

 ceedings. Means of publication have now 

 so vastly- increased in all parts of the countiy, 

 that there is no longer need of this one addi- 

 tional channel of communication with the 

 outer world ; and the publication in full of all 

 the papers read at any meeting (which has 

 never been attempted in recent years) would 

 absorb at once all the increasing income of 

 the association. A considerable number of the 

 papers are printed only by title, most of 

 the remainder only by abstract ; but the ab- 

 stracts are apt to be of undue length, and a 

 considerable number of papers are printed in 

 extenso. 



The change which we would advocate is, 

 that all papers should be printed in the ' pro- 

 ceedings ' either by title, or by brief abstract 

 only. Should anj^ papers prove of such ex- 

 ceptional interest that they should be printed 

 in full (and desirable, as would then be the 

 case, that they should appear under the au- 

 spices of the association), it is also manifestl}^ 

 important that they should be published by 

 the association without dela}" ; which, under the 



