SCIENCE, INDUSTRY, AND EDUCATION 



time and attention on the part of the observers, or better 

 conditions in the way of instruments and appliances than 

 can be furnished in the laboratories of private individuals, 

 or even in those connected with the colleges and teaching 

 institutions of the country. A typical case in point is the 

 great tank which, it is hoped, may be constructed in the 

 grounds at Bushey for the purpose of determining the 

 most suitable form of build of a ship's hull from experi- 

 ments made on models drawn through the tank. 



The practical limits of the application of the known 

 laws of physics are, indeed, far from having yet been reached, 

 and since the unexpected and brilliant discoveries of genius 

 cannot be commanded to order, the more immediate work 

 to be carried out in such a national Institution is probably 

 an exhaustive study of the conditions of a more perfect 

 adaptation of known physical and chemical laws to manu- 

 facturing processes, and to the arts of life. An instructive 

 example may be cited from the work of the German Reichs- 

 anstalt. It was from work of this unpretentious order, 

 and not by any direct scientific discovery, that the methods 

 and instruments for the exact measurement of high temper- 

 atures were so developed and made available for the use 

 of the workmen, that Germany has recently acquired its 

 supremacy in the manufacture of porcelain. 



As far back as 1660, Dr. Wilkins, F.R.S., in the Preface 

 to his Mathematical Magick, says : " Ramus hath observed 

 that the reason why Germany hath been so eminent for 

 mechanical inventions, is because there have been public 



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