IV A TURE 



I 21 



THURSDAY, DECEMBER n, 1902 



COOPERA TION AMONG INSTRUMENT 

 MAKERS. 

 V Industrie Francaise des Instruments de Precision. 

 Catalogue publie par le Syndicat des Constructeurs en 

 Instruments d'Optique et de Precision. 

 Microscopes and Microscopical Accessories. Carl Zeiss, 

 Jena ; Physical Apparatus, Max Kohl, Chemnitz ; 

 Pkysikalische Afiparaie, Ferdinand Ernecke. 



THE German catalogue of scientific apparatus at the 

 Paris Exhibition has been frequently mentioned in 

 the pages of Nature, and its value to students of physics 

 has been noted. 



The first work under review in the present article is a 

 consequence of its publication. It is a catalogue of French 

 apparatus of great interest in itself and of real value to the 

 man of science in that it enables him to obtain inform- 

 ation in a small compass as to instruments of French 

 construction. 



The arrangement differs in some respects from that of 

 the German catalogue, on which it is avowedly based. 

 The object of the latter was to give a complete view of 

 German trade and manufacture ; hence the catalogue 

 was arranged in subjects, the apparatus in each subject 

 being grouped under the makers' names ; the French 

 catalogue is arranged alphabetically under the makers' 

 names. An index " Table des Specialites " enables the 

 reader to find out readily which of the numerous firms 

 in the catalogue make any special class of apparatus 

 and to refer to the descriptions of their products. For 

 most purposes, the German plan seems more convenient. 

 For a man wishing to buy a spectroscope, it is simpler to 

 have all the spectroscopes grouped together ; the plan, 

 however, does not serve to call marked attention to the 

 whole output of any one large firm, and it is natural for a 

 society of instrument makers to arrange their joint cata- 

 logue according to the French pattern. 



It is not easy in a review to give a full account of the 

 catalogue ; it covers some 270 quarto pages, it is clearly 

 printed and well illustrated. The long list of names it 

 contains reminds us what science owes to the skill and 

 workmanship of French mechanicians ; it is impossible 

 to turn over the pages without recognising names which 

 are honourably known wherever science has penetrated, 

 and apparatus which has aided and rendered possible 

 some of its greatest discoveries. One name we miss, 

 that of R. Konig, now no longer with us, who will live, 

 through his acoustical apparatus, as a genius of con- 

 struction. 



The introduction by Cornu, which must have been 

 one of his last pieces of work, adds to the value of the 

 book. M. Cornu gives an interesting history of the de- 

 velopment of scientific instruments in France, and of the 

 close alliance between the man of science and the in- 

 strument maker from early times up to the present day, 

 and then, noting how instruments of precision have 

 become part of one's daily life, draws attention to the 

 necessity for continued close connection between science 

 and the commercial side of an industry if that industry 

 is to flourish. 



NO. 1728, VOL. 67] 



The example of Germany has lessons for France as 

 well as for us in England, and mechanical tools intro- 

 duced in America have become a necessity in French 

 workshops no less than in English. The French in- 

 strument-making industry feared for a moment a 

 dangerous rivalry and the diminution of its own trade 

 through the advance of new comers proclaiming them- 

 selves so fully equipped. 



The catalogue is in part the outcome of this ; it helps 

 to show, as M. Cornu claims, that the French industry 

 has nothing to fear from its foreign rivals. 



" To complete its successful preparation for the struggle, 

 it is only necessary to adopt, in addition to what it has 

 done, the powerful weapons of association and discipline 

 — a discipline voluntarily accepted in view of general in- 

 terests ; then an intelligent union will lead all efforts to 

 converge towards one common end instead of wasting 

 them in those barren struggles which the thirst after 

 immediate interests provokes in short-sighted minds." 



We in England have no Association of Instrument 

 Makers and no catalogue of instruments of precision. 

 The Optical Society, it is true, is doing its best to- 

 strengthen the position of opticians, but it is far from 

 covering the whole field. 



Does not the fact that our French colleagues have fol- 

 lowed the example set by Germany give us food for 

 reflection, and lead us to inquire whether association 

 and discipline might not be helpful to us also? 



And this query is pressed home by three recent cata- 

 logues of scientific apparatus which have been issued by- 

 German firms ; the first in English, the second in 

 English, French and German, the third in German. 

 Messrs. Zeiss's list deals with their microscopes, and is- 

 most complete. As usual with their lists, it is fully illus- 

 trated, while the information about the instruments is 

 given in a convenient form. Details as to the lenses 

 are tabulated, and it is easy to select the particular 

 combination of object-glass and eyepiece most suitable 

 for any desired end. The set of apochromatic objectives 

 is very complete ; lenses of 2 and 3 mm. focus and 1-4 

 numerical aperture are on the market ; these, it is stated, 

 are made of permanent glass. The list is an object 

 lesson of the results technical art and skill can produce 

 when resting on a basis of sound scientific investigation. 



Messrs. Max Kohl, whose agents in this country are 

 Messrs. Isenthal and Co., have issued a catalogue of 

 nearly 700 pages. They supply almost everything 

 required for teaching purposes in a physical laboratory. 

 Their goods are well known, and the list affords striking 

 evidence of the progress of science in education, in 

 Germany at any rate, if not here. Much of the apparatus 

 is extremely well arranged for the purpose for which it is 

 designed, and the list is one which is sure to be of value 

 in every physical laboratory. 



Messrs. Ernecke's catalogue contains an . account of 

 their goods, with illustrations of a high class. Though 

 smaller than that of Max Kohl, it commands attention by 

 the wide range covered and the general excellence of 

 the get up. Lists such as the above must prove of 

 advantage to German trade in all countries of the world 

 and be powerful aids in international competition. Their 

 convenience is obvious. We in England specialise more ; 

 we go to one firm for resistance boxes, to another for 



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