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BAUER. 
of seismology, volcanology, meteorology, atmospheric elec- 
tricity, terrestrial magnetism, etc., etc. When the investi- 
gator makes the attempt to apply some of his laboratory 
facts to geophysical and cosmical phenomena, he has opened 
to himself a world of which he never dreamed; he finds zest 
in familiarizing himself with the fundamental facts of other 
sciences in which until now he could take no interest. 
Methods of Research; Discovery of Laws. 
The methods in general have already received treatment 
in connection with the foregoing topics. It is always inter- 
esting to know what was the precise course followed in the 
discovery of a great law. However, no two investigators have 
ever pursued, or at least but rarely, precisely the same paths, 
and we must therefore be content with the statement of the 
general principles of research, such as has already been given. 
A prevalent fault is observed in scientific publications 
whenever the investigator has had good training only on 
the observational side and but very little experience in scien- 
tific computing. He is very apt to violate one of the first 
and fundamental principles of good observing, viz., to em- 
ploy such a method or scheme of observing as will yield 
but one definite result, and that with the highest possible 
accuracy and with the least amount of computation. Oftener 
than may be thought, schemes of observation are used which 
leave an arbitrary element to the computer, and in conse- 
quence a different result is forthcoming, according to who 
makes the computation. Had we time apt illustrations could 
readily be given from published works. The point made, 
that the observer must also bear in mind the computation 
side, and work up his results as soon as possible, is of funda- 
mental importance in research work. 
It may be worth while to consider briefly the insatiable 
desire of the analyst to ring in a series of sines and cosines 
to resemble the course of some natural phenomenon of which 
he does not know the exact law. Is this the old story over 
again, though in somewhat altered garb, of the epicycles 
and deferents of ancient astronomical mechanics, which re- 
