_Introduction._
In July, 1818, one hundred years ago, the first number of the American
Journal of Science and Arts was given to the public. This is the only
scientific periodical in this country to maintain an uninterrupted
existence since that early date, and this honor is shared with hardly
more than half a dozen other independent scientific periodicals in the
world at large. Similar publications of learned societies for the same
period are also very few in number.
It is interesting, on the occasion of this centenary, to glance back at
the position of science and scientific literature in the world’s
intellectual life in the early part of the nineteenth century, and to
consider briefly the marvelous record of combined scientific and
industrial progress of the hundred years following—subjects to be
handled in detail in the succeeding chapters. It is fitting also that we
should recall the man who founded the Journal, the conditions under
which he worked, and the difficulties he encountered. Finally, we must
review, but more briefly, the subsequent history of what has so often
been called after its founder, “Silliman’s Journal.”
The nineteenth century, and particularly the hundred years in which we
are now interested, must always stand out in the history of the world as
the period which has combined the greatest development in all
departments of science with the most extraordinary industrial progress.
It was not until this century that scientific investigation used to
their full extent the twin methods of observation and experiment. In
cases too numerous to mention they have given us first, a tentative
hypothesis; then, through the testing and correcting of the hypothesis
by newly acquired data, an accepted theory has been arrived at; finally,
by the same means carried further has been established one of nature’s
laws.
_Early Science._—Looking far back into the past, it seems surprising
that science should have had so late a growth, but the wonderful record
of man’s genius in the monuments he erected and in architectural remains
shows that the working of the human mind found expression first in art
and further man also turned to literature. So far as man’s thought was
constructive, the early results were systems of philosophy, and
explanations of the order of things as seen from within, not as shown by
nature herself. We date the real beginning of science with the Greeks,
but it was the century that preceded Aristotle that saw the building of
the Parthenon and the sculptures of Phidias. Even the great Aristotle
himself (384–322 B. C.) though he is sometimes called the “founder of
natural history,” was justly accused by Lord Bacon many centuries later
of having formed his theories first and then to have forced the facts to
agree with them.
The bringing together of facts through observation alone began, to be
sure, very early, for it was the motion of the sun, moon, and stars and
the relation of the earth to them that first excited interest, and,
especially in the countries of the East, led to the accumulation of data
as to the motion of the planets, of comets and the occurrence of
eclipses. But there was no coördination of these facts and they were so
involved in man’s superstition as to be of little value. In passing,
however, it is worthy of mention that the Chinese astronomical data
accumulated more than two thousand years before the Christian era have
in trained hands yielded results of no small significance.
Doubtless were full knowledge available as to the science existing in
the early civilizations, we should rate it higher than we can at
present, but it would probably prove even then to have been developed
from within, like the philosophies of the Greeks, and with but minor
influence from nature herself. It is indeed remarkable that down to the
time with which we are immediately concerned, it was the branches of
mathematics, as arithmetic and geometry and later their applications,
that were first and most fully developed: in other words those lines of
science least closely connected with nature.
Of the importance to science of the Greek school at Alexandria in the
second and third centuries B. C., there can be no question. The geometry
of Euclid (about 300 B. C.) was marvelous in its completeness as in
clearness of logical method. Hipparchus (about 160–125 B. C.) gave the
world the elements of trigonometry and developed astronomy so that
Ptolemy 260 years later was able to construct a system that was well
developed, though in error in the fundamental idea as to the relative
position of the earth. It is interesting to note that the Almagest of
Ptolemy was thought worthy of republication by the Carnegie Institution
only a year or two since. This great astronomical work, by the way, had
no successor till that of the Arab Ulugh Bey in the fifteenth century,
which within a few months has also been made available by the same
Institution.
To the Alexandrian school also belongs Archimedes (287–212 B. C.), who,
as every school boy knows, was the founder of mechanics and in fact
almost a modern physical experimenter. He invented the water screw for
raising water; he discovered the principle of the lever, which appealed
so keenly to his imagination that he called for a ποῦ στῶ, or fulcrum,
on which to place it so as to move the earth itself. He was still nearer
to modern physics in his reputed plan of burning up a hostile fleet by
converging the sun’s rays by a system of great mirrors.
To the Romans, science owes little beyond what is implied in their vast
architectural monuments, buildings and aqueducts which were erected at
home and in the countries of their conquests. The elder Pliny (23–79 A.
D.) most nearly deserved to be called a man of science, but his work on
natural history, comprised in thirty-seven volumes, is hardly more than
a compilation of fable, fact, and fancy, and is sometimes termed a
collection of anecdotes. He lost his life in the “grandest geological
event of antiquity,” the eruption of Vesuvius, which is vividly
described by his nephew, the younger Pliny, in “one of the most
remarkable literary productions in the domain of geology” (Zittel).
With the fall of Rome and the decline of Roman civilization came a
period of intellectual darkness, from which the world did not emerge
until the revival of learning in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Then the extension of geographical knowledge went hand in hand with the
development of art, literature, and the birth of a new science.
Copernicus (1473–1543) gave the world at last a sun-controlled solar
system; Kepler (1571–1630) formulated the laws governing the motion of
the planets; Galileo (1564–1642) with his telescope opened up new vistas
of astronomical knowledge and laid the foundations of mechanics; while
Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), painter, sculptor, architect, engineer,
musician and true scientist, studied the laws of falling bodies and
solved the riddle of the fossils in the rocks. Still later Newton
(1642–1727) established the law of gravitation, developed the calculus,
put mechanics upon a solid basis and also worked out the properties of
lenses and prisms so that his Optics (1704) will always have a prominent
place in the history of science.
From the time of the Renaissance on science grew steadily, but it was
not till the latter half of the eighteenth century that the foundations
in most of the lines recognized to-day were fully laid. Much of what was
accomplished then is, at least, outlined in the chapters following.
Our standpoint in the early years of the nineteenth century, just before
the American Journal had its beginning, may be briefly summarized as
follows: A desire for knowledge was almost universal and, therefore,
also a general interest in the development of science. Mathematics was
firmly established and the mathematical side of astronomy and natural
philosophy—as physics was then called—was well developed. Many of the
phenomena of heat and their applications, as in the steam engine of
Watt, were known and even the true nature of heat had been almost
established by our countryman, Count Rumford; but of electricity there
were only a few sparks of knowledge. Chemistry had had its foundation
firmly laid by Priestley, Lavoisier, and Dalton, while Berzelius was
pushing rapidly forward. Geology had also its roots down, chiefly
through the work of Hutton and William Smith, though the earth was as
yet essentially an unexplored field. Systematic zoology and botany had
been firmly grounded by Buffon, Lamarck and Cuvier, on the one hand, and
Linnæus on the other; but of all that is embraced under the biology of
the latter half of the nineteenth century the world knew nothing. The
statements of Silliman in his Introductory Remarks in the first number,
quoted in part on a following page, put the matter still more fully, but
they are influenced by the enthusiasm of the time and he could have had
little comprehension of what was to be the record of the next one
hundred years.
Now, leaving this hasty and incomplete retrospect and coming down to
1918, we find the contrast between to-day and 1818 perhaps most
strikingly brought out, on the material side, if we consider the ability
of man, in the early part of the nineteenth century, to meet the demands
upon him in the matter of transportation of himself and his property. In
1800, he had hardly advanced beyond his ancestor of the earliest
civilization; on the contrary, he was still dependent for transportation
on land upon the muscular efforts of himself and domesticated animals,
while at sea he had only the use of sails in addition. The first
application of the steam engine with commercial success was made by
Fulton when, in 1807, the steamboat “Clermont” made its famous trip on
the Hudson River. Since then, step by step, transportation has been made
more and more rapid, economical and convenient, both on land and water.
This has come first through the perfection of the steam engine; later
through the agency of electricity, and still further and more
universally by the use of gasolene motors. Finally, in these early years
of the twentieth century, what seemed once a wild dream of the
imagination has been realized, and man has gained the conquest of the
air; while the perfection of the submarine is as wonderful as its work
can be deadly.
Hardly less marvelous is the practical annihilation of space and time in
the electric transmission of human thought and speech by wire and by
ether waves. While, still further, the same electrical current now gives
man his artificial illumination and serves him in a thousand ways
besides.
But the limitations of space have also been conquered, during the same
period, by the spectroscope which brings a knowledge of the material
nature of the sun and the fixed stars and of their motion in the line of
sight; while spectrum analysis has revealed the existence of many new
elements and opened up vistas as to the nature of matter.
The chemist and the physicist, often working together in the
investigation of the problems lying between their two departments, have
accumulated a staggering array of new facts from which the principles of
their sciences have been deduced. Many new elements have been
discovered, in fact nearly all called for by the periodic law; the
so-called fixed gases have been liquefied, and now air in liquid form is
almost a plaything; the absolute zero has been nearly reached in the
boiling point of helium; physical measurements in great precision have
been carried out in both directions for temperatures far beyond any
scale that was early conceived possible; the atom, once supposed to be
indivisible, has been shown to be made up of the much smaller electrons,
while its disintegration in radium and its derivatives has been traced
out and with consequences only as yet partly understood but certainly
having far-reaching consequences; at one point we seem to be brought
near to the transmutation of the elements which was so long the dream of
the alchemist. Still again photography has been discovered and perfected
and with the use of X-rays it gives a picture of the structure of bodies
totally opaque to the eye; the same X-rays seem likely to locate and
determine the atoms in the crystal.
Here and at many other points we are reaching out to a knowledge of the
ultimate nature of matter.
In geology, vast progress has been made in the knowledge of the earth,
not only as to its features now exhibited at or near the surface, but
also as to its history in past ages, of the development of its
structure, the minute history of its life, the phenomena of its
earthquakes, volcanoes, etc. Geological surveys in all civilized
countries have been carried to a high degree of perfection.
In biology, itself a word which though used by Lamarck did not come into
use till taken up by Huxley, and then by Herbert Spencer in the middle
of the century, the progress is no less remarkable as is well developed
in a later chapter of this volume.
Although not falling within our sphere, it would be wrong, too, not to
recognize also the growth of medicine, especially through the knowledge
of bacteria and their functions, and of disease germs and the methods of
combating them. The world can never forget the debt it owes to Pasteur
and Lister and many later investigators in this field.
To follow out this subject further would be to encroach upon the field
of the chapters following, but, more important and fundamental still
than all the facts discovered and the phenomena investigated has been
the establishment of certain broad scientific principles which have
revolutionized modern thought and shown the relation between sciences
seemingly independent. The law of conservation of energy in the physical
world and the principle of material and organic evolution may well be
said to be the greatest generalizations of the human mind. Although
suggestions in regard to them, particularly the latter, are to be found
in the writings of early authors, the establishment and general
acceptance of these principles belong properly to the middle of the
nineteenth century. They stand as the crowning achievement of the
scientific thought of the period in which we are interested.
Any mere enumeration of the vast fund of knowledge accumulated by the
efforts of man through observation and experiment in the period in which
we are interested would be a dry summary, and yet would give some
measure of what this marvelous period has accomplished. As in geography,
man’s energy has in recent years removed the reproach of a “Dark
Continent,” of “unexplored” central Asia and the once “inaccessible
polar regions,” so in the different departments of science, he has
opened up many unknown fields and accumulated vast stores of knowledge.
It might even seem as if the limit of the unknown were being approached.
There remains, however, this difference in the analogy, that in science
the fundamental relations—as, for example, the nature of gravitation, of
matter, of energy, of electricity; the actual nature and source of
life—the solution of these and other similar problems still lies in the
future. What the result of continued research may be no one can predict,
but even with these possibilities before us, it is hardly rash to say
that so great a combined progress of pure and applied science as that of
the past hundred years is not likely to be again realized.
_Scientific Periodical Literature in 1818._
The contrast in scientific activity between 1818 and 1918 is nowhere
more strikingly shown than in the amount of scientific periodical
literature of the two periods. Of the thousands of scientific journals
and regular publications by scientific societies and academies to-day,
but a very small number have carried on a continuous and practically
unbroken existence since 1818. This small amount of periodical
scientific literature in the early part of the last century is
significant as giving a fair indication of the very limited extent to
which scientific investigation appealed to the intellectual life of the
time. Some definite facts in regard to the scientific publications of
those early days seem to be called for.
Learned societies and academies, devoted to literature and science, were
formed very early but at first for occasional meetings only and regular
publications were in most cases not begun till a very much later date.
Some of the earliest—not to go back of the Renaissance—are the
following:
1560. Naples, Academia Secretorum Naturæ.
1603. Rome, Accademia dei Lincei.
1651. Leipzig, Academia Naturæ Curiosum.
1657. Florence, Accademia del Cimento.
1662. London, Royal Society.
1666. Paris, Académie des Sciences.
1690. Bologna, Accademia delle Scienze.
1700. Berlin, Societas Regia Scientiarum. This was the forerunner of
the K. preuss. Akad. d. Wissenschaften.
The Royal Society of London, whose existence dates from 1645, though not
definitely chartered until 1662, began the publication of its
“Philosophical Transactions” in 1665 and has continued it practically
unbroken to the present time; this is a unique record. Following this,
other early—but in most cases not continuous—publications were those of
Paris (1699); Berlin (1710); Upsala (1720); Petrograd, 1728; Stockholm
(1739); and Copenhagen (1743).
For the latter half of the eighteenth century, when the foundations of
our modern science were being rapidly laid, a considerable list might be
given of early publications of similar scientific bodies. Some of the
prominent ones are: Göttingen (1750), Munich (1759), Brussels (1769),
Prague (1775), Turin (1784), Dublin (1788), etc. The early years of the
nineteenth century saw the beginnings of many others, particularly in
northern Italy. It is to be noted that, as stated, only rarely were the
publications of these learned societies even approximately continuous.
In the majority of cases the issue of transactions or proceedings was
highly irregular and often interrupted.
In this country the earliest scientific bodies are the following:
Philadelphia. American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743.
Transactions were published 1771–1809; then interrupted until 1818 _et
seq._
Boston. American Academy of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1780.
Memoirs, 1785–1821; and then 1833 _et seq._
New Haven. Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, begun in 1799.
Memoirs, vol. 1, 1810–16; Transactions, 1866 _et seq._
Philadelphia. Academy of Natural Sciences, begun in 1812. Journal,
1817–1842; and from 1847 _et seq._
New York. Lyceum of Natural History, 1817; later (1876) became the New
York Academy of Sciences. Annals from 1823; Proceedings from 1870.
The situation is somewhat similar as to independent scientific journals.
A list of the names of those started only to find an early death would
be a very long one, but interesting only historically and as showing a
spasmodic but unsustained striving after scientific growth.
It seems worth while, however, to give here the names of the periodicals
embracing one or more of the subjects of the American Journal, which
began at a very early date and most of which have maintained an
uninterrupted existence down to 1915. It should be added that certain
medical journals, not listed here, have also had a long and continued
existence.[1]
_Early Scientific Journals._
1771–1823. Journal de Physique, Paris; title changed several times.
1787–. Botanical Magazine. (For a time known as Curtis’s Journal).
1789–1816. Annales de Chimie, Paris. Continued from 1817 on as the
Annales de Chimie et de Physique.
1790. Journal der Physik, Halle (by Gren); from 1799 on became the
Annalen der Physik (und Chemie), Halle, Leipzig. The title has been
somewhat changed from time to time though publication has been
continuous. Often referred to by the name of the editor-in-chief, as
Gren, Gilbert, Poggendorff, Wiedemann, etc.
1795–1815. Journal des Mines, Paris, continued from 1816 as the
Annales des Mines.
1796–1815. Bibliothèque Britannique, Geneva. From 1816–1840,
Bibliothèque Universelle, etc. 1846–1857, Archives des Sci. phys. nat.
Since 1858 generally known as the Bibliothèque Universelle.
1797. Journal of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and the Arts
(Nicholson’s Journal) London; united in 1814 with the Philosophical
Magazine (Tilloch’s Journal).
1798–. The Philosophical Magazine (originally by Tilloch). This
absorbed Nicholson’s Journal (above) in 1814; also the Annals of
Philosophy (Thomson, Phillips) in 1827 and Brewsters’ Edinburgh
Journal of Science in 1832.
1798–1803. Allgemeines Journal der Chemie (Scherer’s Journal).
1803–1806; continued as Neues Allg. J. etc. (Gehlen’s Journal). Later
title repeatedly changed and finally (1834 _et seq._) Journal für
praktische Chemie.
1816–18. Journal of Science and the Arts, London. 181930, Quarterly J.
etc. 1830–31, Journal of the Royal Institution of Great Britain.
1818. American Journal of Science and Arts until 1880, when “the Arts”
was dropped, New Haven, Conn. First Series, =1–50=, 1818–1845; Second
Series, =1–50=, 1846–1870; Third Series, =1–50=, 1871–1895; Fourth
Series, =1–45=, 1896–June, 1918.
1818. Flora, or Allgemeine botanische Zeitung. Regensburg, Munich.
1820–1867. London Journal of Arts and Sciences (after 1855, Newton’s
Journal).
1824–. Annales des sciences naturelles. Paris.
1826–. Linnæa, Berlin, Halle; from 1882 united with Jahrb. d. K.
botan. Gartens.
1828–1840. Magazine of Natural History, London; united 1838 with the
Annals of Natural History, and known since 1841 as the Annals and
Magazine of Natural History.
1828–. Journal of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, from 1826;
earlier (1825) the American Mechanics Magazine.
1832–. Annalen der Chemie (und Pharmacie) often known as Liebig’s
Annalen. Leipzig, Lemgo.
_The Founder of the American Journal of Science._
The establishment of a scientific journal in this country in 1818 was a
pioneer undertaking, requiring of its founder a rare degree of energy,
courage, and confidence in the future. It was necessary, not only to
obtain the material to fill its pages and the money to carry on the
enterprise, but, before the latter end could be accomplished, an
audience must be found among those who had hitherto felt little or no
interest in the sciences. This great work was accomplished by Benjamin
Silliman, “the guardian of American Science,” whose influence was second
to none in the early development of science in this country. Before
speaking in some detail of the early years of this Journal and of its
subsequent history, it is proper that some words should be given to its
founder.
Benjamin Silliman, son of a general prominent in the Revolutionary War,
was born in Trumbull, Connecticut, on August 8, 1779. He was a graduate
of Yale College of the class of 1796. Though at first a student of law
and accepted for the bar in Connecticut, he was called in 1802 by
President Timothy Dwight—a man of rare breadth of mind—to occupy the
newly made chair of chemistry, mineralogy (and later geology) in Yale
College at New Haven. To fit himself for the work before him he carried
on extensive studies at home and in Philadelphia and spent the year 1805
in travels and study at London and Edinburgh, and also on the Continent.
His active duties began in 1806 and from this time on he was in the
service of Yale College until his resignation in 1853. From the first,
Silliman met with remarkable success as a teacher and public lecturer in
arousing an interest in science. His breadth of knowledge, his
enthusiasm for his chosen subjects and power of clear presentation,
combined with his fine presence and attractive personality, made him a
great leader in the science of the country and gave him a unique
position in the history of its development.
Much might be said of the man and his work, but, the best tribute is
that of James Dwight Dana, given in his inaugural address upon the
occasion of his beginning his duties as Silliman professor of geology in
Yale College. This was delivered on February 18, 1856, in what was then
known as the “Cabinet Building.” Dana says in part:
“In entering upon the duties of this place, my thoughts turn rather to
the past than to the subject of the present hour. I feel that it is an
honored place, honored by the labors of one who has been the guardian
of American Science from its childhood; who here first opened to the
country the wonderful records of geology; whose words of eloquence and
earnest truth were but the overflow of a soul full of noble sentiments
and warm sympathies, the whole throwing a peculiar charm over his
learning, and rendering his name beloved as well as illustrious. Just
fifty years since, Professor Silliman took his station at the head of
chemical and geological science in this college. Geology was then
hardly known by name in the land, out of these walls. Two years
before, previous to his tour in Europe, the whole cabinet of Yale was
a half-bushel of unlabelled stones. On visiting England he found even
in London no school public or private, for geological instruction, and
the science was not named in the English universities. To the mines,
quarries, and cliffs of England, the crags of Scotland, and the
meadows of Holland he looked for knowledge, and from these and the
teachings of Murray, Jameson, Hall, Hope, and Playfair, at Edinburgh,
Professor Silliman returned, equipped for duty,—albeit a great
duty,—that of laying the foundation, and creating almost out of
nothing a department not before recognized in any institution in
America.
He began his work in 1806. The science was without books—and, too,
without system, except such as its few cultivators had each for
himself in his conceptions. It was the age of the first beginnings of
geology, when Wernerians and Huttonians were arrayed in a contest....
Professor Silliman when at Edinburgh witnessed the strife, and while,
as he says, his earliest predilections were for the more peaceful mode
of rock-making, these soon yielded to the accumulating evidence, and
both views became combined in his mind in one harmonious whole. The
science, thus evolved, grew with him and by him; for his own labors
contributed to its extension. Every year was a year of expansion and
onward development, and the grandeur of the opening views found in him
a ready and appreciative response....
And while the sciences and truth have thus made progress here, through
these labors of fifty years, the means of study in the institution
have no less increased. Instead of that half-bushel of stones, which
once went to Philadelphia for names, in a candle-box, you see above
the largest mineral cabinet in the country, which but for Professor
Silliman, his attractions and his personal exertions together, would
never have been one of the glories of old Yale....
Moreover, the American Journal of Science,—now in its thirty-seventh
year and seventieth volume [1856],—projected and long-sustained solely
by Professor Silliman, while ever distributing truth, has also been
ever gathering honors, and is one of the laurels of Yale.
We rejoice that in laying aside his studies, after so many years of
labor, there is still no abated vigor.... He retires as one whose
right it is to throw the burden on others. Long may he be with us, to
enjoy the good he has done, and cheer us by his noble and benign
presence.”
In addition to these words of Dana, much of vital interest in regard to
Silliman and his work will be gathered from what is given in the pages
immediately following, quoted from his personal statements in the early
volumes of the Journal.
_The Early Years of the Journal._
In no direction did Silliman’s enthusiastic activities in science
produce a more enduring result than in the founding and carrying on of
the Journal. The first suggestion in regard to the enterprise was made
to Silliman by his friend, Colonel George Gibbs, from whom the famous
Gibbs collection of minerals was bought by Yale College in 1825.
Silliman says (=25=, 215, 1834):
[Illustration: THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, MORE ESPECIALLY OF
_MINERALOGY_, _GEOLOGY_, AND THE OTHER BRANCHES OF NATURAL HISTORY;
INCLUDING ALSO _AGRICULTURE_ AND THE ORNAMENTAL AS WELL AS USEFUL ARTS.
CONDUCTED BY _BENJAMIN SILLIMAN_, PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY,
ETC. IN YALE COLLEGE, AUTHOR OF TRAVELS IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND
HOLLAND, ETC. VOL. I. ... NO. I. ENGRAVING IN THE PRESENT NO. New
apparatus for the combustion of TAR, &c. by the vapour of water. New
York: PUBLISHED BY J. EASTBURN AND CO. LITERARY ROOMS, BROADWAY, AND BY
HOWE AND SPALDING, NEW-HAVEN Abraham Paul, printer. 1818.]
“Col. Gibbs was the person who first suggested to the Editor the
project of this Journal, and he urged the topic with so much zeal and
with such cogent arguments, as prevailed to induce the effort in a
case then viewed as of very dubious success. The subject was thus
started in November, 1817; proposals for the Journal were issued in
January, 1818, and the first number appeared in July of that year.”
He adds further (=50=, p. iii, 1847) that the conversation here recorded
took place “on an accidental meeting on board the steamboat Fulton in
Long Island Sound.” This was some ten years after Robert Fulton’s
steamboat, the Clermont, made its pioneer trip on the Hudson river,
already alluded to. The incident is not without significance in this
connection. The deck of the “Fulton” was not an inappropriate place for
the inauguration of an enterprise also great in its results for the
country.
In the preface to the concluding volume of the First Series (loc. cit.)
Silliman adds the following remarks which show his natural modesty at
the thought of undertaking so serious a work. He says:
Although a different selection of an editor would have been much
preferred, and many reasons, public and personal, concurred to produce
diffidence of success, the arguments of Col. Gibbs, whose views on
subjects of science were entitled to the most respectful
consideration, and had justly great weight, being pressed with zeal
and ability, induced a reluctant assent; and accordingly, after due
consultation with many competent judges, the proposals were issued
early in 1818, embracing the whole range of physical science and its
applications. The Editor in entering on the duty, regarded it as an
affair for life, and the thirty years of experience which he has now
had, have proved that his views of the exigencies of the service were
not erroneous.
The plan with which the editor began his work and the lines laid down by
him at the outset can only be made clear by quoting entire the “Plan of
the Work” which opens the first number. It seems desirable also to give
this in its original form as to paragraphs and typography. The first
page of the cover of the opening number has also been reproduced here.
It will be seen that the plan of the young editor was as wide as the
entire range of science and its applications and extended out to music
and the fine arts. This seems strange to-day, but it must be remembered
how few were the organs of publication open to contributors at the time.
If the plan was unreasonably extended, that fact is to be taken not only
as an expression of the enthusiasm of the editor, as yet inexperienced
in his work, but also of the time when the sciences were still in their
infancy.
He says (=1=, pp. v, vi):
“PLAN OF THE WORK.
This Journal is intended to embrace the circle of THE PHYSICAL
SCIENCES, with their application to THE ARTS, and to every useful
purpose.
It is designed as a deposit for _original American communications_;
but will contain also occasional selections from Foreign Journals, and
notices of the progress of science in other countries. Within its plan
are embraced
NATURAL HISTORY, in its three great departments of MINERALOGY, BOTANY,
and ZOOLOGY;
CHEMISTRY and NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, in their various branches: and
MATHEMATICS, pure and mixed.
It will be a leading object to illustrate AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY,
and especially our MINERALOGY and GEOLOGY.
The APPLICATIONS of these sciences are obviously as numerous as
_physical arts_, and _physical wants_; for no one of these arts or
wants can be named which is not connected with them.
While SCIENCE will be cherished _for its own sake_, and with a due
respect for its own _inherent_ dignity; it will also be employed as
the _handmaid to the Arts_. Its numerous applications to AGRICULTURE,
the earliest and most important of them; to our MANUFACTURES, both
mechanical and chemical; and to our DOMESTIC ECONOMY, will be
carefully sought out, and faithfully made.
It is also within the design of this Journal to receive communications
on MUSIC, SCULPTURE, ENGRAVING, PAINTING, and generally on the fine
and liberal, as well as useful arts;
On Military and Civil Engineering, and the art of Navigation.
[Illustration: Very truly Yours, B. Silliman]
Notices, Reviews, and Analyses of new scientific works, and of new
Inventions, and Specifications of Patents;
Biographical and Obituary Notices of scientific men; essays on
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY, and generally on such other
branches of medicine as depend on scientific principles;
Meteorological Registers, and Reports of Agricultural Experiments: and
we would leave room also for interesting miscellaneous things, not
perhaps exactly included under either of the above heads.
Communications are respectfully solicited from men of science, and
_from men versed in the practical arts_.
Learned Societies are invited to make this Journal, occasionally, the
vehicle of their communications to the Public.
The editor will not hold himself responsible for the sentiments and
opinions advanced by his correspondents; but he will consider it as an
allowed liberty to make slight _verbal alterations_, where errors may
be presumed to have arisen from inadvertency.”
In the “Advertisement” which precedes the above statement in the first
number, the editor remarks somewhat naïvely that he “does not pledge
himself that all the subjects shall be touched upon in every number.
This is plainly impossible unless every article should be very short and
imperfect....”
The whole subject is discussed in all its relations in the “Introductory
Remarks” which open the first volume. No apology is needed for quoting
at considerable length, for only in this way can the situation be made
clear, as seen by the editor in 1818. Further we gain here a picture of
the intellectual life of the times and, not less interesting, of the
mind and personality of the writer. With a frank kindliness, eminently
characteristic of the man, as will be seen, he takes the public fully
into his confidence. In the remarks made in subsequent volumes,—also
extensively quoted—the vicissitudes in the conduct of the enterprise are
brought out and when success was no longer doubtful, there is a tone of
quiet satisfaction which was also characteristic and which the
circumstances fully justified.
The INTRODUCTORY REMARKS begin as follows:
The age in which we live is not less distinguished by a vigorous and
successful cultivation of physical science, than by its numerous and
important applications to the practical arts, and to the common
purposes of life.
In every enlightened country, men illustrious for talent, worth and
knowledge, are ardently engaged in enlarging the boundaries of natural
science; and the history of their labors and discoveries is
communicated to the world chiefly through the medium of scientific
journals. The utility of such journals has thus become generally
evident; they are the heralds of science; they proclaim its toils and
its achievements; they demonstrate its intimate connection as well
with the comfort, as with the intellectual and moral improvement of
our species; and they often procure for it enviable honors and
substantial rewards.
Mention is then made of the journals existing in England and France in
1818 “which have long enjoyed a high and deserved reputation.” He then
continues:
From these sources our country reaps and will long continue to reap,
an abundant harvest of information: and if the light of science, as
well as of day, springs from the East, we will welcome the rays of
both; nor should national pride induce us to reject so rich an
offering.
But can we do nothing in return?
In a general diffusion of useful information through the various
classes of society, in activity of intellect and fertility of resource
and invention, producing a highly intelligent population, we have no
reason to shrink from a comparison with any country. But the devoted
cultivators of science in the United States are comparatively few:
they are, however, rapidly increasing in number. Among them are
persons distinguished for their capacity and attainments, and,
notwithstanding the local feelings nourished by our state
sovereignties, and the rival claims of several of our larger cities,
there is evidently a predisposition towards a concentration of effort,
from which we may hope for the happiest results, with regard to the
advancement of both the science and reputation of our country.
Is it not, therefore, desirable to furnish some rallying point, some
object sufficiently interesting to be nurtured by common efforts, and
thus to become the basis of an enduring, common interest? To produce
these efforts, and to excite this interest, nothing, perhaps, bids
fairer than a SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL.
The valuable work already accomplished by various medical journals is
then spoken of and particularly that of the first scientific periodical
in the United States, Bruce’s Mineralogical Journal. This, as Silliman
says (=1=, p. 3, 1818), although “both in this country and in Europe
received in a very flattering manner,” did not survive the death of its
founder, and only a single volume of 270 pages appeared (1810–1813).
Silliman continues:
No one, it is presumed, will doubt that a journal devoted to science,
and embracing a sphere sufficiently extensive to allure to its support
the principal scientific men of our country, is greatly needed; if
cordially supported, it will be successful, and if successful, it will
be a great public benefit.
Even a failure, in so good a cause, (unless it should arise from
incapacity or unfaithfulness,) cannot be regarded as dishonourable. It
may prove only that the attempt was premature, and that our country is
not yet ripe for such an undertaking; for without the efficient
support of talent, knowledge, and money, it cannot long proceed. No
editor can hope to carry forward such a work without the active aid of
scientific and practical men; but, at the same time, the public have a
right to expect that he will not be sparing of his own labour, and
that his work shall be generally marked by the impress of his own
hand. To this extent the editor cheerfully acknowledges his
obligations to the public; and it will be his endeavour faithfully to
redeem his pledge.
Most of the periodical works of our country have been short-lived.
This, also, may perish in its infancy; and if any degree of confidence
is cherished that it will attain a maturer age, it is derived from the
obvious and intrinsic importance of the undertaking; from its being
built upon permanent and momentous national interests; from the
evidence of a decided approbation of the design, on the part of
gentlemen of the first eminence, obtained in the progress of an
extensive correspondence; from assurance of support, in the way of
contributions, from men of ability in many sections of the union; and
from the existence of such a crisis in the affairs of this country and
of the world, as appears peculiarly auspicious to the success of every
wise and good undertaking.
An interesting discussion follows (pp. 5–8) as to the claims of the
different branches of science, and the extent to which they and their
applications had been already developed, also the spheres still open to
discovery.
The Introductory Remarks close, as follows:
In a word, the whole circle of physical science is directly applicable
to human wants and constantly holds out a light to the practical arts;
it thus polishes and benefits society and everywhere demonstrates both
supreme intelligence and harmony and beneficence of design in the
Creator.
The science of mathematics, both pure and mixed, can never cease to be
interesting and important to man, as long as the relations of quantity
shall exist, as long as ships shall traverse the ocean, as long as man
shall measure the surface or heights of the earth on which he lives,
or calculate the distances and examine the relations of the planets
and stars; and as long as the _iron reign of war_ shall demand the
discharge of projectiles, or the construction of complicated defences.
The closing part of the paragraph shows the influence exerted upon the
mind of the editor by the serious wars of the years preceding 1818, a
subject alluded to again at the close of this chapter.
In February, 1822, with the completion of the fourth volume, the editor
reviews the situation which, though encouraging is by no means fully
assuring. He says (preface to vol. =4=, dated Feb. 15, 1822):
Two years and a half have elapsed, since the publication of the first
volume of this Journal, and one year and ten months since the Editor
assumed the pecuniary responsibility....
The work has not, even yet, reimbursed its expenses, (we speak not of
editorial or of business compensation,) we intend, that it has not
paid for the paper, printing and engraving; the proprietors of the
first volume being in advance, on those accounts, and the Editor on
the same score, with respect to the aggregate expense of the three
last volumes. This deficit is, however, no longer increasing, as the
receipts, at present, just about cover the expense of the physical
materials, and of the manual labour. A reiterated disclosure of this
kind is not grateful, and would scarcely be manly, were it not that
the public, who alone have the power to remove the difficulty, have a
right to a frank exposition of the state of the case. As the patronage
is, however, growing gradually more extensive, it is believed that the
work will be eventually sustained, although it may be long before it
will command any thing but gratuitous intellectual labour....
These facts, with the obvious one,—that its pages are supplied with
contributions from all parts of the Union, and occasionally from
Europe, evince that the work is received as a national and not as a
local undertaking, and that the community consider it as having no
sectional character. Encouraged by this view of the subject, and by
the favour of many distinguished men, both at home and abroad, and
supported by able contributors, to whom the Editor again tenders his
grateful acknowledgments, he will still persevere, in the hope of
contributing something to the advancement of our science and arts, and
towards the elevation of our national character.
In the autumn of the same year, the editor closes the fifth volume with
a more confident tone (Sept. 25, 1822):
A trial of four years has decided the point, that the American Public
will support this Journal. Its pecuniary patronage is now such, that
although not a lucrative, it is no longer a hazardous enterprise. It
is now also decided, that the intellectual resources of the country
are sufficient to afford an unfailing supply of valuable original
communications and that nothing but perseverance and effort are
necessary to give perpetuity to the undertaking.
The decided and uniform expression of public favour which the Journal
has received both at home and abroad, affords the Editor such
encouragement, that he cannot hesitate to persevere—and he now renews
the expression of his thanks to the friends and correspondents of the
work, both in Europe and the United States, requesting at the same
time a continuance of their friendly influence and efforts.
Still again in the preface to the sixth volume (1823) he takes the
reader more fully into his confidence and shows that he regards the
enterprise as no longer of doubtful success. He says:
The conclusion of a new volume of a work, involving so much care,
labour and responsibility, as are necessarily attached, at the present
day, to a Journal of Science and the Arts, naturally produces in the
mind, a state of not ungrateful calmness, and a disposition, partaking
of social feeling, to say something to those who honour such a
production, by giving to it a small share of their money, and of their
time. The Editor’s first impression was, that the sixth volume should
be sent into the world without an introductory note, but he yields to
the impulse already expressed, and to the established usages of
respectful courtesy to the public, which a short preface seems to
imply. He has now persevered almost five years, in an undertaking,
regarded by many of the friends whom he originally consulted, as
hazardous, and to which not a few of them prophetically alloted only
an ephemeral existence. It has been his fortune to prosecute this work
without, (till a very recent period,) returns, adequate to its
indispensable responsibilities;—under a heavy pressure of professional
and private duty; with trying fluctuations of health, and amidst
severe and reiterated domestic afflictions. The world are usually
indulgent to allusions of this nature, when they have any relation to
the discharge of public duty; and in this view, it is with
satisfaction, that the Editor adds, that he has now to look on
formidable difficulties, only in retrospect, and with something of the
feeling of him, who sees a powerful and vanquished foe, slowly
retiring, and leaving a field no longer contested.
This Journal which, from the first, was fully supplied with original
communications, is now sustained by actual payment, to such an extent,
that it may fairly be considered as an established work; its patronage
is regularly increasing, and we trust it will no longer justify such
remarks as some of the following, from the pen of one of the most
eminent scientific men in Europe. “Nothing surprises me more, than the
little encouragement which your Journal,” (“which I always read with
very great interest, and of which I make great use,”) “experiences in
America—this must surely arise from the present depressed condition of
trade, and cannot long continue.”
Six years more of uninterrupted editorial work passed by, the sixteenth
volume was completed, and the editor was now in a position to review the
whole situation up to 1829. This preface (dated July 1, 1829), which is
quoted nearly in full, cannot fail to be found particularly interesting
and from several standpoints, not the least for the insight it gives
into the writer’s mind. It is also noteworthy that at this early date it
was found possible to pay for original contributions, a privilege far
beyond the means of the editor of to-day.
When this Journal was first projected, very few believed that it would
succeed.
Among others, Dr. Dorsey wrote to the editor; “I predict a short life
for you, although I wish, as the Spaniards say, that you may live a
thousand years.” The work has not lived a thousand years, but as it
has survived more than the hundredth part of that period, no reason is
apparent why it may not continue to exist. To the contributors,
disinterested and arduous as have been their exertions, the editor’s
warmest thanks are due; and they are equally rendered to numerous
personal friends for their unwavering support: nor ought those
subscribers to be forgotten who, occupied in the common pursuits of
life, have aided, by their money, in sustaining the hazardous novelty
of an American Journal of Science. A general approbation, sufficiently
decided to encourage effort, where there was no other reward, has
supported the editor; but he has not been inattentive to the voice of
criticism, whether it has reached him in the tones of candor and
kindness, or in those of severity. We must not look to our friends for
the full picture of our faults. He is unwise who neglects the maxim—
—fas est ab hoste doceri,
and we may be sure, that those are quite in earnest, whose pleasure it
is, to place faults in a strong light and bold relief; and to throw
excellencies into the shadow of total eclipse. Minds at once
enlightened and amiable, viewing both in their proper proportions,
will however render the equitable verdict;