33^ 



NATURE 



[June 27, 1918 



Humanistic Studies declares that the future citizen 

 should possess knowledge, not only of the physical 

 structure of the world, but also of " the deeper interests 

 and problems of politics, thought, and human life," 

 and that he needs " scientific method and a belief in 

 knowledge even more than physical science." This 

 marks a change of attitude, and the advocates of the 

 dominance of science in education would agree with 

 the proviso that applications of science unknown to the 

 ancients determine the conditions of health and of 

 economic stability in modern life, and that a "belief 

 in knowledge" and method in pursuing it ^re best 

 inculcated by the study of law in the natural world. 



The great merit of Sir Joseph Thomson's report 

 is that it discloses the present causes of the weakness 

 of science in our education. The universities as a 

 whole now show a bias in favour of science teaching, 

 but there is a deplorable lack of students, due partly 

 to weakness in the schools, and partly to the 

 influence of scholarship examinations in which 

 classics predominate. Thus the old universities, by 

 their scholarship systems, tend to discourage science 

 teaching in the public schools, and the public schools 

 react upon the preparatory s'^hools. It follows that 

 manv of the most intelligent boys are deterred from 

 entering upon a scientific career. It is also possible 

 that some class prejudice, based upon long tradition, 

 dating back to the Renaissance, may still operate 

 against science training. The recommendations of the 

 Committee are wise and far-reaching, but I can give 

 only the barest indication of their objects and scope. 

 Nature-study in primary schools up to the age of 

 twelve is to be the foundation, and instruction in 

 science up to the age of sixteen is enjoined upon all 

 secondary schools, physics and chemistry to be taught, 

 because all other sciences, to which they should be 

 treated as passports, require some knowledge of them. 

 Mathematics should be connected with science at an 

 early period. The general aims of a science course 

 at school age are defined with the view of securing two 

 educational objects of primary importance : — 



(i) To train the mind to reason about things the 

 boy observes himself, and to develop powers of weigh- 

 ing and interpreting?' evidence. 



(2) To develop acquaintance with broad scientific 

 principles and their application in the lives of men 

 and women. 



No better foundation for the training alike of the 

 statesman, the leader of commerce and industry, and 

 the manual worker can be laid down. The Com- 

 mittee was strongly impressed with the importance of 

 manual work iat school-age, and, speaking from per- 

 sonal experience, I am certain that I owe much to 

 the handling of the file and the lathe before I entered 

 the Army, although mechanical pursuits at one time 

 caused me to neglect other studies. I believe that if 

 all classes underwent some manual training there 

 would be a better understanding of the dignity of 

 labour. Rightly distrusting examination tests of the 

 conventional tvpe, the Committee recommends the 

 inspection of all schools. 



Higher standards of teaching power, co-ordinated 

 training from the primary school to the universitv and 

 to the post-graduate stage, with a lowering of fees 

 and a liberal allocation of scholarships to Se awarded 

 for "intellectual merit and pwomise," and not in 

 accordance with the results of set examinations— such 

 are the educational ideals which are set before the 

 country. By these means we may hope in time to 

 develop intelligence now wasted, as the Committee 

 points out, to supplv our present deficiency of experts 

 in all branches of science, and to secure more orderly 

 methods of administration and a higher average of 

 leadership. 



NO. 2539, VOL. lOl] 



SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND INDUSTRIAL 

 DEVELOPMENT.'^ 



AT the request of my friend, Lord Sydenham, 1 

 am pleased to support the work which has been 

 so ably carried on by the British Science Guild, now 

 under his leadership. 1 do so principally for two 

 reasons : First, because of the importance of the 

 work; secondly, because I believe that an erroneous 

 impression exists in many quarters as to the attitude 

 of the producing interests of this country to this 

 work, and I wish to endeavour to remove this 

 impression. 



There has been, I fear, a tendency in certain 

 quarters to misjudge the a^^titude of manufacturers 

 upon this subject. The imp-ession seems to prevail 

 that they are not fully alive to the necessity for 

 research work in connection with their industries. 

 This may be true in some quarters, but, speaking 

 generally, I think there is no body of men more keenly 

 alive to the necessity for a very great development in 

 the application of science to industry. 



Among employers there are comparatively few who 

 have studied science or taken degrees in science before 

 entering a business career, but the number of those 

 who have done so has been steadily growing, and 

 is certain to have a great influence upon the future 

 of industry. Further, there is a large number, chiefly 

 of the smaller manufacturers, who have grown up 

 to the practice of " rule of thumb " methods, and will 

 probably never depart from them. 



Thigre is, however, a large number, and they ate 

 chiefly of the most enterprising and intelligent kind, 

 who have a keen appreciation of what science has 

 done, and may yet do, for their industries, and are 

 alive to the necessity of employing men of scientific 

 attainments, and of encouraging others to undergo a 

 training in science. In my industry I believe there 

 are very few firms which do not employ chemists for 

 the purpose of their business. Mine has never been 

 without them for many years, and has found the value 

 of their services. 



I think we cannot absolve Parliament from a share 

 — and that a large one — of the responsibility for our 

 deficiency in scientific research as compared with some 

 other countries. Not only has it been most niggardly 

 in tfje provision that it has made for the study of 

 science : it has persistently ignored, time after time, 

 the claims of business men for legislation that would 

 enable the application of scientific discoveries to take 

 place, and encourage the application of these dis- 

 coveries for business purposes. The most familiar 

 illustration of this is the trade in aniline dyes. I 

 maintain that the blame for the unfortunate position 

 of this industry at the beginning of the war rests 

 chiefly upon Parliament. Many times the demand 

 was made by the dye producers that alcohol should be 

 allowed free of duty for dye-making ; but requests were 

 refused, and the advantage of free alcohol was enjoj^ed 

 by the German producers, which rendered economic 

 production here, in competition with them, impossibje. 

 Further, j'ear after year we went to the Board of 

 Trade to give us a patent law that would be fair and 

 reasonable, and not protect the foreigner and his in- 

 ventions without reciprocal treatment in his country, 

 but until Mr. Lloyd George became President in 1906 

 nothing was done. These, in my opinion, are the 

 two chief causes why the aniline dye trade was 

 virtually lost to this country, and the blame for it 

 rests upon the Government and upon Parliament, and 

 not upon the business man. 



The principle that trade must be left severely alone 



1 From an address by .Sir Alefrnon F. Firth, Bart., read at the annual 

 meeting of the British Science (Juild held at the Mansion House on June 19 



