410 SCIENCE OKGANISATION : SOCIETIES, ETC. 
science. Their immediate purpose was to establish the Linnean 
on a sound basis, and cultivate a catholic spii-it amongst 
naturahsts. ' The crying evil,' in Hooker's words, ' is that 
Naturahsts are profoundly indifferent to one another's wants, 
and so long as each is regardless of whether it is reasonable 
to suppose that his fellow Naturalists will get access to his 
publications, science must drift into confusion.' Let the 
Linnean then provide the means of rapidly publishing abstract 
researches with the certainty that they would soon be in the 
reach of all European and American Natm^alists. Then 
the time would come when all the best papers on such 
subjects would as certainly be sent to the Linnean as the 
French ones to the Paris Academy. In the same way, if 
circumstances compelled the dropping of the Kew Journal 
of Botany, the best of its material would be absorbed in 
the Linnean, with its wider circulation, to the advantage 
of science. 
Another valuable piece of centrahsation planned was 
a comipte rendu from Burlington House, with a classified 
index of all important papers contributed to the various 
societies in the United Kingdom. In all these ways the 
minor societies might be brought together, while the highest 
flight of hope saw the Eoyal and Linnean publications issued 
together. 
During the years of reconstruction, Hooker was unflagging 
in his support of the Linnean Journal, calling on his fellow 
workers to help, and receiving many promises. Even so it 
was difficult to keep all up to concert pitch, as appears from 
an urgent appeal to Henslow, apparently written in 1859. 
I now therefore beg and entreat you not to leave us in 
the lurch any longer; it is of greatest importance that 
authors of repute should contribute to the first volume of 
the Journal, and of all those who promised me two years 
ago to contribute, and who spurred me on to get up the 
Journal, scarcely one has kept his word. The responsibihty 
of the thing very much lies upon my shoulders, and I am 
now calling upon those who induced me to take it, to keep 
their words : but some of the best are dead ! and as to 
