October 30, 19 19] 



NATURE 



181 



work was completed before the recent rise in prices, 

 and at a conservative estimate could not be done now 

 for less than 6o,oooZ. 



Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen said that for many 

 years agriculture had been neglected bv the State, but 

 its national importance was discovered during the 

 war, and he knew it was the intention of the Govern- 

 ment, and of the Prime Minister in particular, that 

 agriculture should not be neglected in the future as 

 it had been in the past. It was possible that some 

 of the methods proposed might lead to controversy, 

 but he was sure that on one point there would be 

 complete agreement, and that was the necessity of 

 adequate provision for research in agricultural science. 

 It was a fortunate, and perhaps significant, coincidence 

 that the opening of the new Rothamstcd laboratories 

 was almost simultaneous with the Prime Minister's 

 speech, which might announce an important agricul- 

 tural policy. Sir Arthur expressed his faith in the 

 system of demonstration farms, at which farmers 

 could see new methods in operation. But behind and 

 above all such farms must be the research stations, 

 where facts and principles could be ascertained in 

 a truly scientific manner and with truly scientific pre- 

 cision. The Board of Agriculture realised that reduced 

 expenditure on agricultural research would be false 

 economy ; it was essential that agricultural produc- 

 tion should be increased and that the best possible 

 advice should be available for the farmer. The Board 

 of Agriculture was conscious of the splendid work 

 that was being done at Rothamsted, and he wished 

 every success to that admirable institution. 



The Hon. Rupert Guinness, in thanking Sir Arthur 

 Griflfith-BoscjAven for having, at only ^n hour's 

 notice, taken Lord Lee's place, emphasised the need 

 for increased facilities for investigations in agricul- 

 tural science as one of the surest means of progress, 

 and expressed his satisfaction with the work done at 

 Rothamsted. 



Sir Horace Plunkett, in seconding the vote of 

 thanks, referred to the simplicity of language in 

 which the results of the Rothamsted inquiries were 

 expressed, thereby making them intelligible to the 

 ordinary farmer. 



The door of the building was then opened by Sir 

 Arthur Grilfith-Boscawen, and the company proceeded 

 to the insopction of the various laboratories and of 

 the interesting series of exhibits which had been 

 arranged by the staff. 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT 



BOURNEMOUTH. 



SECTION G. 



ENGINEERING. 



Opening Address by Prof. J. E. Petavel, D.Sc, 

 F.R.S., President of the Section. 



During the last five years every resource of the 

 Empire, moral, intellectual, and material, has been 

 concentrated on one great task, now successfully 

 achieved ; and the present period marks the end of a 

 gigantic military struggle and the beginning of a new 

 social era 



I. — Engineering and Science during the War. 



To summarise adequately the part played by en- 

 gineering in the war would constitute a task far 

 beyond the power of the writer or the scope of the 

 present address. Now, as in the past, the fate of 

 nations in war or peace is primarily determined by 

 moral, intellectual, and physical attributes ; but, under 

 modern conditions, these' forces can find efficient 

 NO. 2609, VOL. 104] 



application only through the agency of science and 

 engineering. 



A large army depends for its subsistence and equip- 

 ment on the combined effort of every branch of 

 human activity ; and every productive industry, when 

 organised on a large scdle, is in turn dependent upon 

 the engineer. 



Before the end of the war this country had become 

 transformed into one vast factory, every department 

 of which required the services of trained engineers. 

 Every member of this section has contributed his own 

 share to the task, and our programme includes papers 

 giving detailed accounts of several branches of the 

 work. 



It is fitting, therefore, that I should restrict myself 

 to a mere outline of some of the more outstanding 

 facts. 



The urgent necessity for an output of munitions 

 vastly in excess of any previous production made 

 centralisation and standardisation essential, and in- 

 volved -a complete revolution in workshop practice. 

 The Ministry of Munitions was responsible for the 

 formation of the required organisations and guided 

 the transformation of industrial conditions, and, 

 when the dilution of skilled labour became inevitable, 

 the technical engineer designed the machinery and 

 devised the methods which made efticient work 

 possible. 



Credit is due to the unions for the concessions 

 made; greater credit to the women for their en- 

 thusiastic response to the call and the steady output 

 they maintained. 



Munitions. — The Ministry of Munitions was created 

 in May, 1915, its early efforts being concentrated on 

 the production of guns and shells. A year later the 

 Ministry was in a position to meet the ever-increasing 

 demands of the Army, and by 19 18 a large reserve 

 of munitions had been established, the expenditure 

 being limited only bv difficulties of transport at the 

 Front. The maximum expenditure of ammunition 

 was reached one day in October in that year, when 

 900,000 shells, weighing 40,000 tons, were fired. The 

 total number of guns manufactured during the war 

 was 20,000, and more than 200,000 machine-guns had 

 been delivered by November, 1918. 



The Ministry of Munitions took charge also of the 

 production of aircraft, which were ultimately turned 

 out at the rate of 4000 per month ; later, the provision 

 of motor transport was in addition placed under its 

 control. Finally, our production of "poison gas," 

 for which this Ministry was responsible, rose during 

 the last few months of war to several thousand tons 

 a month, sufficient to make the Germans rue the 

 day on which they had introduced this weapon into 

 warfare. 



Among the inventions which have had an influence 

 on military operations I will mention only tbree as 

 typical of three distinct classes : — 



Tanks were first used in 1916, and the results pro 

 duced were greatly enhanced by the surprise created, 

 and consequent moral effect, but the idea of an 

 armoured chariot is as old as organised warfare. The 

 problem of constructing a vehicle which could travel 

 across the trackless and shell-pitted district which 

 extended between the two armies remained to be 

 solved. In the light of the experience gained with 

 various types of tractors it was, however, clearly not 

 insoluble, and credit is due to the man who had the 

 courage to hazard a novel and important experiment. 

 The resulting tank was the product of careful design 

 and experiment, and the outcome of the co-operation 

 of several engineers with special knowledge. Sound- 

 ranging introduced the complex methods and delicate 

 instruments of physical research into the trenches. 



