224 



NATURE 



[May II, 1916 



quence; but they are, at any rate, best able to 

 understand its meaning, and to distinguish be- 

 tween promise and performance. It remains for 

 the general public to arrive at the same state of 

 knowledge by experience. 



GERMAN METALLURGY AND BRITISH 

 METHODS. 



MUCH attention has been devoted in the Press 

 recently to the strong position of the 

 German metallurgical industries, both before the 

 war, and now after a year and three- 

 quarters of stress. It is not too much 

 to say that apart from this metallurgical 

 industrial foundation, the war would have 

 ended in three months. The growth of 

 modern German metallurgy is due largely to two 

 causes, and these are closely connected in origin 

 and result. They are trade combinations, such 

 as are represented by the " Stahlwerksverband," 

 and scientific management and control. As we 

 have said, these are closely associated, for apart 

 from large undertakings, with regular output, 

 there can be no large laboratories, with highly 

 trained and reasonably remunerated scientific 

 staffs. On the other hand, apart from scientific 

 direction the success of large combinations, such 

 as Krupp's, would be impossible. The tendency 

 of the w^ar appears to have been in the direction 

 of unifying and standardising many of our metal- 

 lurgical industries, and this tendency is likely to 

 continue when peace is proclaimed. 



At present, owing to the war, there is a con- 

 siderable demand for metallurgists in this 

 country, and more particularly for such as have 

 had a few years' works experience in addition to 

 college training. Hitherto, the supply of such 

 men has roughly met the demand, but the number 

 trained has been wholly inadequate to the^ real 

 needs of the country. The crux of the question is 

 the want of recognition on the part of manufac- 

 turers of the value of scientific knowledge in their 

 businesses. Three results may be expected from 

 the work of a properly trained metallurgist, 

 namely, greater uniformity, economy, and origin- 

 ality. But the system adopted in many British 

 establishments, and particularly in those of 

 moderate size, will never yield satisfactory results. 

 A young man straight from college is appointed 

 at a salary of perhaps 120Z. per annum, placed in 

 a small, ill-ventilated room, supplied with the 

 minimum of apparatus, and kept on routine 

 analyses. No prospect is held out to him of 

 regular advancement, or of profit sharing. He 

 sees office boys, who have had nothing spent on 

 their education, promoted to be secretaries and 

 general managers, because they come into per- 

 sonal contact with the directors ; while he remains 

 unseen and unknown to the powers that be. 



Some public-school boys and university trained 

 men are, from weakness of character, unfit for 

 positions of responsibility. But the great majority 

 of them are of a different type, and form the very 

 best of our young manhood, as we see in other 

 directions alike in peace and war. The position 

 NO. 2428, VOL. 97] 



of the scientifically trained man in our metal 

 works is very unsatisfactory. He has no trade 

 union to protect his interests, and no professional 

 body which is strong enough to fix a reasonable 

 scale of remuneration. If our metallurgical in- 

 dustries are to be carried on successfully after 

 the war many more properly trained metallur- 

 gists will be required. Capable men will only be 

 attracted if suitable inducements are offered ; 

 otherwise they will naturally drift into other em- 

 ployments. In the midland counties, for example, 

 the bright son of a local resident can be trained, 

 at the expense of the State, to become an elemen- 

 tary schoolmaster ; he will work twenty-five hours 

 per week, and receive a pension. Or he may 

 decide to study metallurgy, in which case he must 

 spend at least 300L on fees and maintenance, and 

 devote three years to study. He will then get no 

 higher stipend than the schoolmaster, no pension, 

 and be expected to work about fifty hours weekly. 

 . In Germany the value of scientific training has 

 been long recognised. If we are to retain our 

 position after the war it will be by development 

 of industrial undertakings which are conducted 

 on a large and comprehensive scale. Such em- 

 ployers alone can, as a general rule, utilise the 

 best scientific training, or adequately remunerate 

 and recognise their properly trained assistants. 

 A man who has been trained on broad scientific 

 lines is not merely capable of conducting, or 

 superintending, accurate analyses. If he is 

 treated as a confidential adviser, like a doctor or 

 a lawyer, his abilities will have free scope. It is 

 oy such men that we can hope rightly to direct 

 the large metallurgical operations which will be 

 more than ever necessary in this country after the 

 war. T. T. 



A MARKET-GARDEN RESEARCH STATION.^ 



FEW people other than those connected with the 

 trade know of the extent and importance of 

 the market-growing Industry in this country. The 

 general public is so accustomed to imposing- 

 statistics of imported fruit and vegetables that it 

 is apt to ignore the not unsatisfactory fact that 

 a large proportion of the market produce con- 

 sumed in this country is home-grown. Still less 

 does the public realise the extent of the capital 

 and the skill and enterprise of the growers en- 

 gaged in this industry. Although it may be 

 regarded as lying beyond the scope of this severely 

 practical first report of the work of the research 

 station recently established by the growers in the 

 Lea valley, we could wish, nevertheless, that the 

 director had prefaced his account of the year's 

 work by a short statement of the "statistics of 

 production " in the market-growing industry. For 

 we believe that such a statement would evoke 

 widespread interest among the intelligent public. 



Those who know of the origin and purpose of 

 this new research station believe that It is destined 

 to do a great work, and are anxious that its activi- 

 ties may not be curtailed by reason of insufficient 



1 First Annual Report (1915) of the Experimental and Research Station. 

 (Nursery and Market Garden Industries' Development Society, Ltd.). 



