THE TEACHING OF APPLIED SCIENCE. 249 



and be able ultimately to take advantage of bis theoretical knowl- 

 edge, so as to aspire to make discoveries tbat will place him in the 

 rank of inventors — the dream of every chemist of any ambition. 

 The young student who presents himself in industry with such a 

 supply of knowledge will be sure to find for himself a most honor- 

 able place at once, and will have every encouragement to continue 

 his studies for a year or two longer rather than present himself 

 insufficiently equipped ; for once in conflict with the daily difficulties 

 inherent in every exploitation he will have no more time to learn. 



It is not necessary to say that the " ideal " chemist does not exist 

 in France, and with the kind of teaching that is given can not exist. 

 Young men may indeed be found possessing a remarkable stock of 

 theoretical knowledge and in every way capable of brilliantly sus- 

 taining their graduating theses, and some can even perform a min- 

 eral analysis or an organic analysis correctly. But I do not think 

 I am too severe when I say that I believe that further than that they 

 have only the vaguest smattering — and there is nothing surprising 

 in that, for nobody has taught them more. For this I do not blame 

 the science of the masters or the motive of the students. The 

 teachers have not had their attention directed toward industrial 

 affairs, and have not therefore been able to teach their students with 

 reference to them. 



The reform we need can not be introduced by the personal initi- 

 ative of the students; for even if they should awake to the necessity 

 and turn their minds to industrial research and the acquisition of 

 practical knowledge available in the shops, they are powerless so 

 long as they have to prepare for the examinations. Might we hope 

 that the manufacturers should be disposed to favor special labora- 

 tories for the training of industrial chemists? Their effort would 

 invoke our sympathy, but it would be many years before it would 

 yield results; and all that time our rivals would be gaining on us. 



The best remedy, it seems to me, is to look to the existing schools 

 for measures to improve their methods and give their teaching a more 

 practical, more industrial direction. Since I first called attention 

 to this subject in 1878 a number of schools have been established 

 where chemistry is specially and practically taught; but the results 

 they yield will, I fear, always be incomplete so long as the direction 

 of them is intrusted to purely scientific men. However eminent 

 they may be, they are not familiar with what is wanted in chemical 

 industries, and they can not familiarize themselves with it except 

 by placing themselves in constant relations with the heads of great 

 manufactories and studying their requirements, as is done every- 

 where in Germany. 



A reform of the kind sought could be brought about without 



