experience of others not to be the best. Even the books and
published researches to which he must have access may be so
voluminous that he cannot find time to completely examine them for
himself; or they may be inaccessible. All this will make it clear
that, with an occasional exception, the best results of research
are not to be expected except at centres where large bodies of men
are brought into close personal contact.

In addition to the power and facility acquired by frequent
discussion with his fellows, the appreciation and support of an
intelligent community, to whom the investigator may, from time to
time, make known his thoughts and the results of his work, add a
most effective stimulus. The greater the number of men of like
minds that can be brought together and the larger the community
which interests itself in what they are doing, the more rapid will
be the advance and the more effective the work carried on. It is
thus that London, with its munificently supported institutions,
and Paris and Berlin, with their bodies of investigators supported
either by the government or by various foundations, have been for
more than three centuries the great centres where we find
scientific activity most active and most effective. Looking at
this undoubted fact, which has asserted itself through so long a
period, and which asserts itself today more strongly than ever,
the writer conceives that there can be no question as to one
proposition. If we aim at the single object of promoting the
advance of knowledge in the most effective way, and making our own
country the leading one in research, our efforts should be
directed towards bringing together as many scientific workers as
possible at a single centre, where they can profit in the highest
degree by mutual help, support, and sympathy.