clusion of scores, and eventually of thousands and millions. That which in nature was as much theirs as his is now his alone. That which should have flowed in many channels, shallow, but sufficient to fertilize, has been carried in a single stream, deep and full, but comparatively useless—mostly wasted. Much of the waste is seen clearly and painfully enough in the profuse and extravagant style of living, where one consumes what would decently maintain a thousand. When the properties of the country are thus piled up on a foundation of gigantic wrong, it would be unreasonable to expect a full measure of national health and prosperity, or that it should be really well with the people.—Nineteenth Century.
| SCIENCE IN ITS USEFUL APPLICATIONS. |
By Dr. WILLIAM ODLING, F. R. S.
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS BEFORE THE INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY.[1]
BY the attainment of our incorporation by royal charter, in lieu of the articles of association by which we have, until now, been banded together, we become for the first time an officially recognized professional body, known officially to Government, and both to municipal and to other professional bodies. Further than this, we have had formal acknowledgment made of our fitness to be charged with certain public duties and responsibilities, and have established our claim to be intrusted with correlative rights and privileges. Our profession, the public utility and importance of which have, in this way, received at length so formal a recognition, is one that we may all of us feel a just pride in belonging to. It is not, indeed, with bated breath that we need speak of ourselves as professional chemists. Chemistry, indeed, as a branch of knowledge, pertains not alone to the student, but exists also for the practitioner, and still more for the public. Of exceptional interest as a subject of study, it is of scarcely less interest from its manifold practical applications, and as a contributor to the daily wants and enjoyments of the community, a community in which all are bound up with another, and are under obligation to render services to one another. Nowadays, the ever-extending and increasingly complex wants of the community create a greater and greater demand for what are known as professional services, and for
- ↑ The original Institute of Chemistry was organized in England in 1877, under the presidency of Dr. Frankland, its second president being Sir Frederick Abel. It was reorganized in 1885, and incorporated under the title of the "Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland." The present president is Dr. Odling, who gave his inaugural address before the new organization November 6th, and which is here given, with omission of the preliminary part, which is chiefly of local English interest.
