522 



NATURE 



[August 24, 19 16 



ledge of an equal number of separate subjects to a 

 uniform level of mediocrity, should be in the hands 

 of a succession of form masters, who, knowing their 

 boys, well, may exercise a profound influence upon 

 their characters and carry to a high level their studies 

 in a more coherent curriculum. 



8. That the conditions for admission to universi- 

 ties should be reconsidered and rendered more uni- 

 form as between different universities and less 

 uniform as between different faculties and different 

 honours schools in the same university ; and that, in 

 the interest of candidates of mature age and of other 

 candidates approaching the university otherwise than 

 through the normal avenue of the secondary school, 

 university entrance tests should be distinguished from 

 secondary school examinations. 



g. The reform of university teaching in certain 

 important respects, notably by a reduction in the 

 number of lectures. 



10. That the completion of a three years' university 

 course in engineering should entitle students to no 

 more than the B.A. degree ; and that, until candi- 

 dates have added works e.xperience to academic train- 

 ing, they should not receive technical degrees (such 

 as Bachelor of Engineering or Bachelor of Technical 

 Science) which might then serve as professional quali- 

 fications. 



11. That any time spent in works between school 

 and college should not be unduly prolonged. 



12. That university teachers be encouraged to 

 undertake research on behalf of, and in co-operation 

 with, manufacturing firms; and that additional 

 Government grants be paid to universities and 

 colleges with this end in view. 



13. That, by the establishment of such an associa- 

 tion of manufacturing engineers as we have advo- 

 cated and by other means, the volume of research 

 work carried out in connection with the British 

 engineering industry be greatly increased; and that 

 provision be made for this increase in the volume of 

 research by fully utilising and extending the facili- 

 ties already available in universities and colleges, as 

 well as in the works of private firms, and also by 

 establishing a central research laboratory for investi- 

 gations that cannot be undertaken elsewhere. 



The report was accompanied by a diagram 

 illustrating the scholarship system recommended 

 by the committee. This diagram differs but 

 slightly from one reproduced in Nature of 

 October 21, 191 5 (vol. xcvi., p. 214). 



J. C. M. G. 



THE OPTICAL INDUSTRY IN FRANCE. 



A SERIES of articles by various authors has 

 recently been appearing in the Revue 

 generale des Sciences on the methods to be 

 adopted for the development of French trade after 

 the war. Amongst these have appeared two 

 articles (May 30 and June 13) by M. A. Boutaric 

 on the French optical industry and its future. 



He points out that before the Napoleonic wars 

 France had been dependent on England for its 

 optical glass, and it was as a result of the British 

 blockade that its manufacture was commenced 

 in France. 



At the present time the house of Parra-Mantois 

 manufactures practically all the special optical 

 glasses made by Schott and Co., and the French 



NO. 2443, VOL. 97] 



makers undoubtedly are more successful lh;i 

 their competitors in the manufacture of the gla* 

 discs required for very large astronomical mirroi 

 and objectives. In every branch of optic; 

 science French physicists have invented instn 

 ments and methods for testing their qualities, bi 

 the French manufacturers have not done then 

 selves justice by an efficient catalogue prop; 

 ganda. M. Boutaric, when referring to the fin 

 of Zeiss, mentions especially that it "has su 

 rounded its products with a scientific propaganda. 

 He shows how severe the German competition i 

 microscopes was before the war, although thei 

 are two good French makers — Nachet an 

 Stiassnie. The metallurgical microscope of L 

 Chatelier has been developed by Pellin with coi 

 siderable success. The polarimeter in its presei 

 commercial form was developed by the Frenc 

 makers Soliel and Laurent, and is essentially 

 French instrument, yet the German houses ha\ 

 almost obtained a monopoly in the sale of t\ 

 instrument outside France. 



The manufacture of binoculars is the most sui 

 cessful of all the French optical industries, sever 

 large firms (Balbreck, Baille-Lemaire, Sociel 

 fran^aise d'Optique, Societe des Lunetiers, etc 

 being employed in their manufacture. As showin 

 the large quantity of optical glass used in the; 

 glasses, it is stated that the Societe des Lunetiei 

 alone use about 200,000 kilos of glass annually. 



Although French makers showed several prisi 

 binoculars of the Porro type at the 1867 Exhibitioi 

 yet the manufacture of these glasses passed almo: 

 entirely to Germany. Now, however, glass* 

 equal to the best German models are being mad 

 in France in large numbers for her Army an 

 those of her Allies. The original supremacy ( 

 the French photbgraphic lens has passed awa; 

 because, in the opinion of M. Boutaric, the Frenc 

 makers did not use the new glasses and moder 

 grinding methods, nor sufficiently avail themselv( 

 of skilled technical knowledge. M. J. Richard ht 

 developed with great skill and success a sterec 

 scopic camera, the "Verascope," and also a ver 

 rapid camera shutter, but the majority of th 

 cameras used in France have been imported. Th 

 kinematograph, the invention of a Frenchmai 

 Prof. Marey, has been carried to a high state < 

 perfection by the firms of Lemaire, Pathe, ar 

 Gaumont. To a certain extent France is depei 

 dent on outside sources for kinematograph filn 

 but, on the other hand, she exports finished printej 

 film to the annual value of 6oo,oooZ. The lighj 

 house industry, built on the theoretical work • 

 Fresnel, is a successful one, although it has h- 

 to face keen competition from English and Gern 

 makers. 



M. Boutaric points out that although in near 

 all optical matters French savants are the pionee 

 yet the French optical industry is very small 

 compared with the German. In an interesti: 

 paragraph he endeavours to analyse the reaso 

 for this success. " Here, as in everything else, t 

 Germans have been saved by their deep sense 

 business. The German industry demonstrates 



