confidence in the value of interdisciplinary 
research and joint management in dealing with 
major pest-control problems, 
Collaborative approaches to the pesticide 
problem are also well advanced in other 
countries, notably the United States (8) and 
the United Kingdom (9); and the international 
Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
Development (OECD) is considering a confer- 
ence to assess the problem of environmental 
contamination from pesticides on a still wider 
geographic scale. Undoubtedly a further stimu- 
lus to interdisciplinary research will arise 
from these deliberations. Certainly the 
achievement of intermanagement planning is 
prerequisite to the full development of inter- 
disciplinary science. 
OTHER CONSIDERATION 
The development of science is part of our 
cultural evolution. Its division into disciplines, 
faculties, kinds of research, etc., is tempo- 
rary and subject to change. And change it must 
as we accumulate new knowledge and increase 
our understanding of nature. Neither knowledge 
nor nature is truly divisible and this fact, of 
itself, lends support to giving greater and 
greater emphasis in the future to interdiscip- 
linary research in any field. 
There is also a need to balance develop- 
ments in broad complementary fields of re- 
search, if man's best interests are to be 
served, For example, too little notice has been 
given hitherto to the interdependence of medi- 
cine and agriculture. As John Rust (10) said, 
'.,.saving lives and improving health through 
medical practice are only meaningful if agri- 
culture can keep pace and supply the food 
needed to maintain the life and health of those 
saved. Medical and agricultural sciences ... 
must increasingly work as a team if they are 
to serve mankind fully." Then he added this 
important point: 'In any cold analysis of the 
recent advances and developments in the medi- 
cal and agricultural sciences, it is quite ap- 
parent that medicine leads."' This he explained 
on the basis that medical science, "in its art- 
ful practice,'' is applicable to a wider variety 
of world situations than is agricultural science. 
Sir William Slater (1) in discussing problems 
in colonial development concluded that agricul- 
tural progress presented a much more difficult 
and complicated task than the improvement of 
public health. This disparity between essential 
human needs is most pronounced in the less 
developed countries, where agricultural sci- 
ence has had a relatively smaller impact. To 
redress such imbalance will require assess- 
ment of all major research programs at the 
highest levels nationally and internationally 
and a mutual willingness to define and support 
long-range objectives in terms of the common 
good. 
A promising start has already been made in 
this direction. Several of the advanced nations 
now have special advisory science committees 
and ministers, or other senior government ap- 
pointees, for the development and coordination 
of their science programs. Just this year, 
Canada established a Scientific Secretariat to 
advise the Prime Minister on such matters. 
And in 1963, OECD convened the first meeting 
of Ministers for Science to share experiences 
in developing national science programs and 
to discuss intergovernment collaboration. 
PROGNOSIS 
These significant events when combined with 
the lessons gleaned from pest control and other 
complex problems provide an augury for the 
future. Our scientific and cultural evolution 
appears to have reached the point where some 
long-established concepts, prerogatives, and 
procedures are becoming outmoded. As the 
tempo of scientific discovery increases, our 
organization for research must be updated with 
increasing frequency to serve better the pur- 
pose for which it exists. At any rate, the 
sanctity of organization must not be permitted 
to impede scientific progress. Independence 
and isolation must gradually give place to in- 
terdependence and collaboration. More atten- 
tion should be given to the development of 
attitudes and administrative arrangements that 
will provide the flexibility of operations appro- 
priate to our rapidly changing circumstances. 
The new circumstances that will shape our 
future will arise as problems that generate 
strong public pressures within countries and 
among countries and demand afresh approach; 
problems that might well suggest that it is 
more important to have an adequate total 
