In an era which is so characterized by scientific progress in all directions it would be strange and unfortunate indeed if medical men should lack the instinct for intensive study or for scholarship. Primarily, and in its highest expression, specialization represents the attempt to fulfill an intellectual craving, and as such it is most desirable, both for the tone of the profession itself and for the public which depends on the profession. Such a view of the situation is, however, far from complete, and other motives, of a less disinterested nature it must be confessed explain a considerable part of the tendency of medical men to prefer specialization to general practice. Thus, for example, the life of the specialist sometimes appears to be an easier one than that of the general practitioner, for the latter has less regular hours of work and may be called to his patients at most inconvenient times. If he is successful in his calling it is true that his life can never be called his own. Many doctors whose careers were interrupted by the war said, “I am not going back to continue being at the beck and call of every one by day and night. I’m going to specialize, and do an office practice.” On the other hand, it must be remembered that the life of the specialist is not an easy one. His hours of work can be to a considerable extent regulated, but they are long and exacting, and, if he is worth his salt, he will run up large bills for lighting, since most of his evenings must be devoted to study in a struggle to keep abreast of the advances that are being made in his field throughout the world. Again, the financial rewards of the successful specialist are usually considerably greater than those of the general practitioner, and to some this is unquestionably the determining factor in the choice of a career. Many others, however, are but slightly influenced by either of these considerations in their preference for the limited fields of medicine, and are chiefly affected, not by the new developments in the specialties, but by the fundamentally altered circumstances which at present surround the life of general practice.