30 
SCIENCE 1 . 
SCIENCE: 
A Weekly Record of Scientific 
Procress. 
JOHN MICHELS, Editor. 
Published at 
229 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 
P. O. Box 3838. 
SATURDAY, JULY 17, 1880. 
To Correspondents. 
All communications should be addressed to the Editor — Box 3838, P. 
O., New York — with name and address of writer, not necessarily for pub- 
lication without consent. 
Scientific papers and correspondence intended for publication, should be 
written legibly on one side only of the paper. Articles thus received will 
be returned when found unsuitable for the Journal. 
Those engaged in Scientific Research are invited to make this Journal 
the medium of recording their work, and facilities will be extended to 
those desirous of publishing original communications possessing merit. 
Proceedings of Scientific Societies will be recorded, but the abstracts 
furnished must be signed by the Secretaries. 
Both questions and answers in “ Notes and Queries” should be made 
as brief as possible ; an answer appearing to demand an elaborate reply, 
may De written in the form of an article. 
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Six months, $2.50. Single copies 10 cents. 
Subscriptions forwarded by mail should be addressed to the Editor, 
Box 3838, P. O., New York, and Post-office orders made payable to 
44 John Michels.” 
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Terms tor advertising may be obtained at the office of Journal, 229 
Broadway. 
CO-OPERATION IN SCIENCE. 
At this season of rest and recreation, naturalists are 
now wandering on many a hill and dale or upon the 
breezy shore, intent on collecting specimens which shall 
employ their leisure hours in the Autumn and coming 
Winter. From the close precincts of a city, who 
would not be free and join the little band, who with 
nets, bottles, corks and pins, are now seeking things 
bright and rare, which Nature has so lavishly scattered, 
and yet with such a cunning hand, that even the 
search and gathering affords delight to those who dili- 
gently seek. 
The number of collectors is steadily increasing, but 
when we contemplate the immense ground to be cov- 
ered, the necessity for increasing the force becomes but 
too apparent. Not only have the depths of mighty 
oceans to be explored, and the bottom of great seas 
investigated ; but also tiny denizens of little rock pools 
must be described and classified. The surface of the 
earth might seem too immense to be minutely 
examined by the naturalist, but still he has to 
descend many hundred feet into the bowels of the 
earth to there find records of past life, so as to com- 
plete the great catalogue of Nature’s works. 
Earth, air, and water have thus to be surveyed, and 
still another world of life and form which is invisible 
to the natural vision of man. These microscopic 
forms are not to be neglected, for they decimate popu- 
lations and destroy the industry of nations, and are so 
numerous, that the accumulation of their countless 
numbers rear up mighty ranges of mountains. 
With such a work before collectors who are hope- 
fully struggling to add to our garner of a knowl- 
edge of Nature, who cannot desire that their number 
may be increased. Yet how easily it might be done. 
From the fact that some of our best collectors are 
not scientific men, it would seem that a convenient 
division of labor is here suggested, namely : the ama- 
teur who collects, and the scientist who describes and 
classifies. Some men possess special qualifications for 
collecting, they discover localities which others would 
never dream of, and they have a happy knack of 
always finding what they are in search of. Such ex- 
pertness may be largely due to constant practice, but 
the professional scientist finds himself tied to his 
study and laboratory, and has no time for these con- 
stant perambulations ; he must therefore largely rely 
on the amateur collector for his material, as the latter 
must depend on him, for his technical and scientific 
knowledge. 
If therefore, there are two classes who are depend- 
ent upon each other for the extension of a great and 
valuable work, let that co-operation be more distinctly 
recognized and accepted, for such is far from being 
the case at the present time, particularly in the United 
States, where of all places it might be expected to 
thrive. 
One of the best means of organizing an efficient 
corps of amateur workers, is the establishment of local 
scientific societies, and the circulation of moderate 
priced but strictly first-class scientific journals. 
In Europe, and especially England, scientific 
societies, chiefly supported by amateurs, are now doing 
excellent work ; but in the United States (with a few 
exceptions) they drag on a miserable existence of 
poverty and inutility. What is the cause of this ? 
Simply a want of co-operation between the amateur 
and professional scientist, and a due regard for each 
other’s position. 
To be effective, the officers and council of a scien- 
tific society should be taken from the best professional 
scientists in the neighborhood — men able to command 
and organize the work of the society, and give a 
