May 15, 1885.] 



KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



419 



Ctiitoitnl (gossip. 



I sixcsRKLY hope that every one interested in technical 

 education — and especially the members of the various City 

 Guilds, whose funds are beins; so merrily spent for them — 

 will read the admirable address delivered by Dr. Percy 

 before the Iron and Steel Institute on the GtK insUint. 

 Here are words which may well be pondered over by those 

 who are being led by the nose by an astute clique wholly 

 and solely (or their own protit : — 



Of the advantaire of special instrnction adapted to special 

 artificers, in addition to what thev could acquiro in the ordinary 

 practice of their respective arts, there conld not, ho presumed, bo 

 two opinions. But, on the other hand — and this was the point to 

 which he desired to direct particular attention — he contended that 

 there was a largo nuniber of artisans who would not bo rendered 

 more competent by instruction of that kind. In support of this 

 contention he adduced file-cutters by way of example, and others, 

 whose sole industrial work was the performance of one and the 

 same mechanical operation. Nothing in the way of manipulation 

 was more calculated to excite surprise and admiration than the 

 marvellous' skill which a file-cutter displayed in the practice of his 

 art. This was. indeed, an illustration of technical education in the 

 troest sense. It wonld puzzle some of those gentlemen who talked 

 so glibly and profuse y about technical education to suggest an 

 improvement in that of the file-cutter. Let him be satnrated with 

 knowledge of all the mysteries of iron and steel, and he certainly 

 would not in consequence become a more skilful artificer, any more 

 than wonld a sculptor by being informed that the marble on which 

 he operated was composed of carbonic acid and lime. 



The plain common sense of this must commend itself to 

 every impartial person ; but, of course, " Central Insti- 

 tutes " and the like are established for the benefit of the 

 teachers ; that of the taught being a very ancillary 

 matter indeed. The Science and Art Department doesn't 

 give instruction in file-cutting, though ! 



a lesson out of hi.s bonk in mattor.s like the.'so. It is very 

 silly of them ti> kill the geesi! that liavo for tlie last year or 

 two laid them such an abundance of golden ejigs. 



The attempt of the Royal, Noble, and Right Honour- 

 able showmen at South Kensington to imitate the dignified 

 and honourable tactics of the directors of the opposition 

 exhibition at Norwood, seems to be exciting disapproba- 

 tion and indignation in the very outset. Pr^.suuiably, 

 because the public has been apparently content to be 

 deluded into visiting the Crystal Palace under the false 

 pretence that the admission is only one shilling (the fact 

 being that the visitor is stopped at every turn to pay Gd. 

 extra for this, .3d. extra for the other, and so on), the 

 exilted propri-tors of the show at Brompton appear to 

 have thought that &soup';on of quackery in their advertise- 

 mt-nt would "draw" equally well. Here is their own 

 announc=in)ent, cut from pige 3 of their official " Railway 

 Guide and Route Book " : — 



Intf.enatiox.4l Inventions Exhibition, 1885. — Season tickets, 

 one guinea each, admit to all parts of the Exhibition, including the 

 Boyal Albert Hall and the Koyal Pavilion, and are available for the 

 whole duration of the Exhibition. Holders are entitled to witness 

 the opening ceremony (May 4th), and to visit the E.thibitiou every 

 day (except Sunday). 



From letters which have appeared, however, it would 

 seem that the absolutely unqualified words, "the whole 

 durafion of the ExhiVjition," and " every day (except 

 Sunday)," must be taken to mean that on four fete days 

 (two Wednesdays and two Fridays) the happy possessor of 

 the i-easoij-ticket will be again calUd to |. ay for his ad- 

 mis-ion after 6 p.m. ; and that, save on similar extra 

 payment, he will be excluded from the Altiert Hall on six 

 W>-dnesday aiid two Saturday afternoons, and on all 

 Wednesdays after 6 p.m. As they seem to have gone 

 permanently into the show business, the Commissioners 

 might with advantage consult Mr. P. T. Bamum, and take 



AxoTiiER particularly paltry piece of sha'p practice, too, 

 1 discovered on Friday last, when I paid my own first visit 

 to the show. A great parade is made, in the iHicial guide, 

 of an alleged boon conferred on tlio public, which is set 

 forth (pp. 2G and 27) in the following words : — 



By special arrangement with tho railway companies, a scheme 

 has been made available within a radius of twonty-fivc miles (or 

 thereabouts) by which joint tickets can bo obtained at the stations 

 named in this Guide, such tickets to cover the entire railway 

 journey (hy the shortest nvailahle route) to and from South Ken- 

 sington, the use of tho Subway, and admission to the Exhibition. 



Would, or could, any human being, reading the words 

 "The use of the Subway" above, come to any other con- 

 clusion than tli:it the railway tickets enabled their pur- 

 chasers to proceed straight from the station l>y the covered 

 way into the Exhibition without further fee or charged 

 And yet there is a tr.rnstile with a penny toll (! ! !) to be 

 paid both on entering the building and leaving it. It is to 

 be hoped that someone, finding himself thus further mulcted 

 for what he hasalreaily paid under an implie i contract, will 

 try this matter out in the county court ; in fact, I am not 

 quite convinced that the issuers of the announcement I have 

 copied above do not bring themselves within the four 

 corners of the Statute 24 & 2.5 Vict., c. 9G, s. 88. 



When once in the building there is a good deal to 

 interest the visitor — notably in the exhibition of recent 

 improvements in implements of warfare, in the de])ariment 

 of machinery, ifco. Jluch, however, shown is familiar 

 enough, while the old nuisance of refreshment-rooms, 

 bottled beer, buns, and eating and drinking all over the 

 building exists in full force ; and the cigarette-stall, with 

 its gaily-attired female attendants and the like, is not 

 wanting to accentuate the Cr.iiiorne element, so patent the 

 moment the galleries are quitted and the grounds entered. 

 In fact, disguise it as they may under a cloud of high- 

 sounding language, the Commissioners are merely com- 

 peting with other caterers for |)ublic amusement, and while 

 supplying those interested in applied science with a certain 

 quantity of material which will really repay inspection, bid 

 even higher still for the patronage of 'Arry and Hanner- 

 mariar in their " evenings out." 



iifbifius* 



SOME BOOKS ON OUR TABLE. 



The Ladi/'s Journal of Decoration. Vol. I., Part I, 

 (London: H. Vickers.) — Ladies who desire to make their 

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 and other aids to the adornment of the interior of a house. 

 If we rnay accept the first number as an earnest of whut is 

 to come, we may well look forward to a really valuable 

 contribution to the economical ]iursuit of art for the 

 purposes of domestic decoration. 



A^eiv Commercial Plants and Drugs. By T. CllRISTY, 

 F.L.S., &c. (London : Christy & Co. 188.5.)— Those 

 interested in economic botany will find in Mr. Christy's 



