The following list gives the names and dates of service, as recorded on the Journal title pages, of the gentlemen formally made Associate Editors:
| Wolcott Gibbs | (2) | 11, 1851 | to | (3) | 18, 1879 |
| Asa Gray | „ | 15, 1853 | „ | „ | 34, 1887 |
| Louis Agassiz | „ | 16, 1853 | „ | (2) | 41, 1866 |
| Waldo I. Burnett | „ | 16, 1853 | „ | „ | 17, 1853 |
| George J. Brush | „ | 35, 1863 | „ | (3) | 18, 1879 |
| Samuel W. Johnson | „ | 35, 1863 | „ | „ | 18, 1879 |
| Hubert A. Newton | (2) | 38, 1864 | to | (4) | 1, 1896 |
| Addison E. Verrill | „ | 47, 1869 | |||
| Alfred M. Mayer | (3) | 5, 1873 | to | (3) | 6, 1873 |
| Edward C. Pickering | „ | 7, 1874 | „ | „ | 13, 1877 |
| George F. Barker | „ | 14, 1877 | „ | (4) | 29, 1910 |
| Josiah P. Cooke | „ | 14, 1877 | „ | (3) | 47, 1894 |
| John Trowbridge | (3) | 19, 1880 | |||
| George W. Goodale | „ | 35, 1888 | |||
| Henry S. Williams | „ | 47, 1894 | |||
| Henry P. Bowditch | „ | 49, 1895 | to | (4) | 8, 1899 |
| William G. Farlow | „ | 49, 1895 | |||
| Othniel C. Marsh | „ | 49, 1895 | to | (4) | 6, 1899 |
| Henry A. Rowland | (4) | 1, 1896 | „ | „ | 10, 1900 |
| Joseph S. Diller | „ | 1, 1896 | |||
| Louis V. Pirsson | „ | 7, 1899 | |||
| William M. Davis | „ | 9, 1900 | |||
| Joseph S. Ames | „ | 12, 1901 | |||
| Horace L. Wells | „ | 18, 1904 | |||
| Herbert E. Gregory | „ | 18, 1904 | |||
| Horace S. Uhler | „ | 33, 1912 |
Present and Future Conditions.
The field to be occupied by the “American Journal of Science and Arts,” as seen by its founder in 1818 and presented by him in the first number, as quoted entire on an earlier page, was as broad as the entire sphere of science itself. It thus included all the departments of both pure and applied science and extended even to music and fine arts also. As the years went by, however, and the practical applications of science greatly increased, technical journals started up, and the necessity of cultivating this constantly expanding field diminished. It was not, however, until January, 1880, that “the Arts” ceased to be a part of the name by which the Journal was known.
About the same date also—or better a little earlier—began an increasing development of scientific research, particularly as fostered by the graduate schools of our prominent universities. The full presentation of this subject would require much space and is indeed unnecessary as the main facts must be distinct in the mind of the reader. It is only right, however, that the large part played in this movement by the Johns Hopkins University (founded in 1876) should be mentioned here.
As a result of this movement, which has been of great benefit in stimulating the growth of science in the country, many new journals of specialized character have come into existence from time to time. Further localization and specialization of scientific publication have resulted from the increased activity of scientific societies and academies at numerous centers and the springing into existence thereby of new organs of publication through them, as also through certain of the Government Departments, the Carnegie Institution, and certain universities and museums.
As bearing upon this subject, the following list of the more prominent scientific periodicals started in this country since 1867 is not without interest:
1867– . American Naturalist. 1875– . Botanical Bulletin; later Botanical Gazette. 1879–1913. American Chemical Journal. 1880–1915. School of Mines Quarterly. 1883– . Science. 1885– . Journal of Heredity. 1887– . Journal of Morphology. 1887–1908. Technology Quarterly. 1888–1905. American Geologist. 1891– . Journal of Comparative Neurology. 1893– . Journal of Geology. 1893– . Physical Review. 1895– . Astrophysical Journal. 1896– . Journal of Physical Chemistry. 1896– . Terrestrial Magnetism. 1897–1899. Zoological Bulletin; followed by 1900– . Biological Bulletin. 1901– . American Journal of Anatomy. 1904– . Journal of Experimental Zoology. 1905– . Economic Geology. 1906– . Anatomical Record. 1907– . Journal of Economic Entomology. 1911– . Journal of Animal Behavior. 1914– . American Journal of Botany. 1916– . Genetics. 1918– . American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
The result of the whole movement has been of necessity to narrow, little by little, the sphere of a general scientific periodical such as the Journal has been from the beginning. The exact change might be studied in detail by tabulating as to subjects the contents of successive volumes, decade by decade, from 1870 down. It is sufficient, here, however, to recognize the general fact that while the number of original papers published in the periodicals of this country, in 1910, for example, was very many times what it was in 1825, a large part of these have naturally found their home in periodicals devoted to the special subject dealt with in each case. That this movement will continue, though in lessened degree now that the immediate demand is measurably satisfied, is to be expected. At the same time it has not seemed wise, at any time in the past, to formally restrict the pages of the Journal to any single group of subjects. The future is before us and its problems will be met as they arise. At the moment, however, there seems to be still a place for a scientific monthly sufficiently broad to include original papers of important general bearing even if special in immediate subject. In this way it would seem that “Silliman’s Journal” can best continue to meet the ideals of its honored founder, modified as they must be to meet the change of conditions which a century of scientific investigation and growth have wrought. Incidentally it is not out of place to add that a self-supporting, non-subsidized scientific periodical may hope to find a larger number of subscribers from among the workers in science and the libraries if it is not too restricted in scope.
The last subject touched upon introduces the essential matter of financial support without which no monthly publication can survive. With respect to the periodicals of recent birth, listed above, it is safe to say that some form of substantial support or subsidy—often very generous—is the rule, perhaps the universal one. This has never been the case with the American Journal. The liberality and broad-minded attitude of Yale College in the early days, and of the Yale University that has developed from it, have never been questioned. At the same time the special conditions have been such as to make it desirable that the responsibility of meeting the financial requirements should be carried by the editors-in-chief. At present the Yale Library gives adequate payment for certain publications received by the Journal in exchange, though for many years they were given to it as a matter of course, free of charge. Beyond this there is nothing approaching a subsidy.