Oct. l.i. 1882.] 



• KNOV\ALEDGE • 



331 



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mble. 



opininnD of hit eorreiiporidfntl. 

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mentt of the tcriter'i meaninij .'] 



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' In knowled);:^, that i 



nion." — Faraday. 

 lan who makes no j 

 -LieHg. 



ill show you a man 



THE SCHOOL OF TELEGRAPHY AND ELECTRICAL 

 ENGIXEERIXG. 



[589] — The more critical portions of the article on Electrical 

 Engineering which appeared in your issue of September 22 — 

 an article which, rendering unsolicited justice to the endeavours 

 we have made for many years past, goes far to repay us for the 

 labour and sacrifices which have accompanied them — has received 

 very careful consideration on our part. This has confirmed us in 

 our determination, to which we had already nearly arrived, to 

 increase from six to nine months, the period in which we undertake 

 to qualify for useful electrical work, any youth possessed of a fair 

 educational training, and a taste for some of the applications of 

 science. But we feel called upon to give some explanation of the 

 method by means of which wo have obtained a most encouraging 

 measure of success — in some cases even beyond onr expectations — 

 within the smaller minimum period of tuition, and of the reasons which 

 induce us to think that the longer period above-mentioned — which 

 might still be regarded as inadequate — will be ample for our purposes 

 under our system of tuition. We have already intimated that we do 

 not accept as students those who have not in themselves some foun- 

 dation upon which we can build a superstructure of useful and 

 extensible theoretical and practical knowledge. And, as wo have 

 also intimated, we arc sometimes surprised at the amount of natural 

 talent we find, only waiting for development under a proper system. 

 A capacity for somewhat severe work is a primary qualification we 

 do not lose sight of. Then it is part of our system to make prac- 

 tical and experimental work a recreation in respect to theoretical 

 studies, and ricevers<3. We may claim also that it has been our 

 good fortune to secure the best available talent and knowledge for 

 technical tnition ; in some cases from quarters in which, by reason 

 of pressing demands upon time, co-operation in this direction 

 would ordinarily be declined. For instance, some of the editors and 

 members of the editorial staff of more than one of onr foremost 

 technical journals take charge of certain branches of tuition. It 

 should be mentioned also that endeavours are always made to dis- 

 cover the particular or most prominent aptitude of each student, so 

 that his energies may V>e directed into the right channel. To this 

 course we, in great measure, ascribe the fact that so many of our 

 men, shortly after leaving the school, find themselves, /nci/e yriii- 

 eipes, virtual!}-, if not ostensibly, at the head of some important 

 branch of some large commercial undertaking. 



In regard to the theoretical training : this may be considered 

 under the two broad headings of electro-statics and electro- 

 <lynamic8, each being interlinked with certain kindred studies. 

 Ordinarily, the former of these two branches would bo neglected, 

 and attention would bo given almost exclusively to the latter of 

 them, since they have been considered as two very distinct sciences, 

 of which the latter is practically the more important. Hut it may 

 safely be stated that no electrician can have any real mastery over 

 his work who is deficient in electro-statics. Now the main charac- 

 teristic of the theoretical training at the school is that the student 

 is not called upon to wade through two totally distinct sciences. 

 The perfect analogy between the two branches of electrical science, 

 the almost absolute identity of the theoretical and practical formnlro 

 involved in them, is not only pointed out, but acted upon to tho 

 extent of making tho two branches mutually elucidate each other. 

 It is not too much to eay that if tho analogy in question were 



ignored — as too frequently it is — nine months' tuition would be alto- 

 gether insufficient for the theoretical training alone; whilst its 

 recognition throws such a light upon the science that within six 

 months the student may feel that he already has mastered its 

 essential principles, and holds the clue to its more recondite 



[n rcfffird to mecTianical work, we may mention that the students 

 are cnciiuraged to take to pieces and reeonstrnct the instruments 

 mill a]pparatu8, dynamo-machines, lamps, &c., used for their daily 

 jiractical instruction. They receive information also as to the 

 coiistruvtion and working of steam and gas-engines, economy of 

 fuel. &c. 



Wo have hitherto taken no notice whatever of the statements, 

 more or less unjust, if not injurious, to ourselves, which ha<e 

 recently been put forward in advertisements issued by the new 

 establishments which have sprung up in various directions; bnt wo 

 may without Offence point out that the real requirements and diffi- 

 culties of tuition in the direction aimed at are as yet unknown, and 

 have not only to be discovered, but also overcome by the promoters 

 of these undertakings. T. J. Jones. 



12, Princes-street, Hanover-square, W. 



EFFECTS OP ALCOHOL. 



[590]— After feeling nearly exhausted by a long and fatigning 

 day's work, which terminates at 10.30 p.m., with, perhaps, a stiff 

 North-easter and a shower, as a finis!i-up on the way home, J. .S., 

 in letter 583, p. 31-t, advises me, as an improvement on my habit of 

 taking a small quantity of alcohol mixed with light food, "to have 

 a cold bath, followed by dumb-bell exercise." He also wishes to 

 have my opinion of his proposition. 



Well, I think his remedy incomplete. A slight touch on the head 

 vnth a poleaxe would give the requisite finish. Mephisto. 



FIGURE-TRAINING BY CORSET. 



[591] — From time to time the advocates of stays or no stays give 

 forth their extreme notions, most of them crude in nature and 

 physiologically wrong. It is difficult to tell in what light some of 

 them view the matter, for the conclusions to which they are led 

 indicate that they have been jumjied at without thinking. 



The letter No. 560, on page 2G7, is a step in the right direction, 

 showing an inclination on the part of the writer to adopt moderate 

 views and express a reasonable opinion. I do not believe for one 

 moment with P. U. U. that fully !)0 per cent, of women are de- 

 formed by stays ; it would be extremely difficult to arrive at a safe 

 statistical conclusion at all. If such were the case, I should not 

 hesitate to say that 90 per cent, of women know nothing of lacing, 

 for if lacing the figure is practised in a judicious manner, instead of 

 deformity would come elegance and health. If such a statement 

 be taken as true, then 90 per cent, do not know how to apply tho 

 corset. 



A well-applied corset leaves the upper part of the chest perfectly 

 free, and dcvelopcs the capacity of the lungs in that situation — tho 

 most important situation, by-the-by, especially in the female sex. 

 Tulicrculnr consumption usually attacks the apices of tho lungs, a. 

 part far removed from the pressure of a corset, however tight — in 

 fact, the tighter the corset in the lower part of the chest, the greater 

 amount of work and expansion in tho upper part, but this would 

 not lead to consumption. A similar state exists during pregnancy, 

 when the utenis encroaches npon the lung space. 



There ap])ears to be only one way in which tight-lacing directly 

 can bring about consumption, and that is by so compressing tho 

 lung in its lower part that no fresh air can enter it, a sort of collapse 

 and carnification ensuing, a diminished use leading to degeneration 

 of lung tissue. Such a state of affairs would only take place when 

 tight lacing has been suddenly jierformed and persisted in at an 

 ago when the figure has become somewhat set. 



-V woman is better in health, and certainly far more elegant in 

 figure, when wearing a jiroper- fitting corset ; nor is she so liable to 

 suffer from such diseases as consumption, dyspepsia, or spinal 

 curvature. I quite deprecate, however, beginning tight-lacing 

 suddenly or violently with the simple object of reducing tho figure 

 quickly to genteel proportions, or for fashion's sake. 



What 1 consider to lie perfection in the application of the corset 

 to the female figure or to tho male is to begin early in life, say at 

 the age of seven or ten years, and then only with very yielding 

 materials, permitting the corset simply to touch the contour of the 

 body, though a little firmer at the waist. .\s the girl prows up tho 

 chest expands, the bust of tho corset may bo very pro|>crly mado 

 larger, the waist at the same time being kept within bounds, I do 

 not doubt some would advocate it being kept at its original measure- 

 ment. If such a system bo carefully carried out, there never would 



