Under present circumstances, many promising young men, fitted to become good investigators, have been driven out of science altogether. I have found by long experience and persistent enquiry, that there are many young men distributed over this country, who are very desirous of engaging in scientific research, and likely to make good investigators, but are entirely prevented by the non-remunerative character of the labour, every one wishes to know "what will it lead to"? Even amongst our most able discoverers, scarcely one who has not possessed private means has continued research beyond the middle age of life, because such labour enables no provision to be made for old age; and all those who have left have devoted themselves to less important but more lucrative occupations. Most of these gentlemen have been {185} obliged to abandon research at a period of life when their faculties were in the most perfect state for continuing it. Where one young beginner in science meets with the fortunate circumstance of a helping hand, as Scheele did in Bergmann, and Faraday in Davy, many are crushed out. The want of encouragement to scientific discovery in this country is so very great that extremely few men are able to struggle through it, and this is one reason why we have had so few discoveries. Some persons have argued that the very difficulties and discouragements offered are an advantage to science by producing only men of the very highest eminence in discovery; but it is manifest that however great the amount of ability may be that is developed by discouragement, that amount would probably be still greater by judicious assistance. Moreover, progress in the developement of the national scientific intellect is not so much to be reckoned by the few great successes which have occurred in spite of all obstacles, but rather by the much more numerous ones which would have resulted from proper encouragement. The advocates of such an argument can have no idea of the heart-sickening feeling of long deferred hope experienced by the young beginner in science; or the disgust gradually engendered in his mind at the injustice of other men taking all the profits of his labours and leaving him without means of support; or they would never adduce it. In this country the success of the few {186} eminent men of science has resulted from the accidental combination of a few more or less fortuitous circumstances, and their own great natural determination, and not from legitimate and just support. How many investigators we have lost from the above causes it is impossible to tell. The encouragement also of unusual ability should not be left to accident.