03 l 



NA TURE 



[February 12, 1903 



seeds being, apparently, produced. Carefully selected arrows 

 from different varieties have produced only about twenty 

 germinating seeds, and of these only four seedlings have been 

 saved and planted out. This is the total result of many trials 

 in the island. 



Reviewing agriculture in the West Indies in 1902, the 

 official Agricultural News states that solid success attended the 

 efforts to establish industries other than sugar in some localities, 

 the progress made in onion cultivation standing out con- 

 spicuously. Both Antigua and Montserrat were able to export 

 considerable quantities of onions, and Dominica and Barbados 

 made satisfactory starts in cultivation. Cotton growing also 

 showed substantial progress, a considerable acreaje being under 

 cultivation in Montserrat, St. Lucia and Antigua. At St. 

 Lucia, cotton was grown on 105 acres last year, the whole 

 southern seaboard, about forty-five squire miles, being con- 

 sidered excellent soil for cotton, where it can be grown at about 

 one-fourth of the cost of sugar-cane. 



TECHNICAL EDUCATION AT HOME AND 

 ABROAD} 



A NATION'S view of the expected outcome of its system of 

 education is frequently shown by the recurrence of a 

 typical question. Thus a Frenchman, when considering a young 

 man's qualifications, will naturally ask, What examinations has 

 he passed ? A German will ask, What does he know ? An 

 Englishman will inquire, What kind of a fellow is he ? An 

 American will ask, What can he do? Tnese varied questions 

 reflect the form of education in vogue. In them we see the 

 French tendency to formalism, the German disposition to over- 

 intelleclualise their schools, the English love of an all-around 

 gentleman and the American fondness for achievement. 



Since the close of the Franco- Prussian war, the development 

 of Germany has been remarkable. Hamburg has risen from the 

 sixth largest port in F'urope to nearly the fir>t ; German cottons 

 are sold in Manchester, German steel in Sheffield and Leeds, 

 German silks in Paris, and " Made in Germany " is a familiar 

 truik to us. From 1875 to 1895, the population increased from 

 45,730,000 to 52,250,000. The working energy, during the 

 same period, increased from twenty-five to more than forty-six 

 million foot pounds daily, or about four times as fast as the 

 population. Between 1889 and 1896, the exports from Germany 

 to China increased 86 per cent ; to Japan 92 per cent. The 

 tonnage of German vessels trading with these countries has 

 trebled since 18S6 The number of German steamers in 1871 

 was one hundred and fifty; in 1897 this number had increased to 

 eleven hundred and twenty-five. During the same period, the 

 tonnage increased from 82,000 to 900,000. That Germany has 

 been successful in a commercial way during the past thirty years 

 is not to be denied. Her suc:ess can be traced to her belief in 

 the industrial value of scientific research and to her fostering 

 care of the technical education of her people. 



From an examination of special industries, we can obtain a 

 clearer idea of this influence. Consider the beet sugir industry. 

 In 1840, 154 000 tons of beets were treated, yielding 8000 tons, 

 or 5i per cent, of raw sugar. In 1899, with improved scientific 

 processes, 12,000,000 tons were crushed, yielding 1,500,0:0 

 tons, or 13 per cent, of raw sugar. This increase cf yield from 

 5i to 13 per cent, is the direct result of the work of technical 

 men in control of the industry. Not only is Germany no longer 

 dependent upon the West Indies for her sugar, but in one year 

 she has sold Great Britain filly million dollars worth. The 

 manufacture of alcohol from potatoes is another lucrative field 

 for German technologists. The cost has been reduced to about 

 25 cents per gallon, and experiments are in progress to deter- 

 mine its efficiency as fuel on steameis. The manufacture of 

 artificial indigo by a chemical process was discovered in Ger- 

 many in 1866. Less than forty workmen were then employed ; 

 now more than six thousand men and a staff of one hundred and 

 forty-eight scientific chemists are employed in the industry. 

 The natural indigo is almost driven out of the market. '1 hey 

 have also discovered a method for obtaining from steel processes 

 ground slag which is used as a fertiliser ; and England, although 

 she produces quite as much steel as Germany, has become a 

 good customer for the article. Recently there came the dis- 



1 Abridged from a paper on the need of technical education, by 

 Prof. Victor C. Alderson, Dean of the Armour Institulc of technology, 

 read before the Chicago Literary Club. October 20, igc2. 



NO. 1737, VOL. 67] 



covery, by a chemist, named Giebler, of a process of hardening 

 steel which makes it, it is said, 14 percent, stronger, 50ptr 

 cent, lighter and one-third less costly than the Kruppor Harvey 

 steel. Twenty-five years ago, the English and French makers 

 of scientific instruments of precision were far in advance of the 

 German. However, through the organisation of the Reichsan- 

 stalt, an institution for original research and the standardising 

 of instruments, supported by the Government, Germany has 

 become the manufacturer of the best scientific instruments in 

 the world. The value of her exports in this line is nearly 

 2,000,000 dollars, three times what it was fifteen years ago, and 

 the work gives employment to 15,000 people. 



The Germans are fully alive to the necessity of being well 

 prepared to engage in the struggle for industrial supremacy. 

 Prince Bismarck once said : " The war of the future is the eco- 

 nomic war, the struggle for existence on a large scale. May my 

 successors always bear this in mind and take care that when the 

 struggle comes we are prepared for it." Bismarck's behest has 

 been heeded. The Germans, by dint of long and thorough 

 preparation, are ready for an economic war. For more than 

 thirty years they have been preparing, and we can see in all 

 directions the steps that have been taken to improve the tech- 

 nical sides of education, so as to produce men who are capable of 

 carrying Germany to the front in this industrial and commercial 

 struggle. The system of German technical schools comprises 

 first a group of Technischen Hochschulen, situated at the 

 capi als of the German States, like those of Berlin, Dresden, 

 Munich and Carlsruhe. These are of the very highest grade, ad- 

 mitting only students who have completed a Gymnasium or Real- 

 schule course of study. They have without exception developed 

 gradually from mere trade or building schools. Most of them 

 were founded in the twenties and thirties of last century, and 

 one — the Charloltenburg — was founded as early as 1799. These 

 schools are all beautifully housed, have superb equipments, and 

 are doing a high grade of professional engineering work. Next 

 below them in educational rank comes a great number of trade 

 schools, like the Textile School of Crefeld. These trade schools 

 are located at the centre of the industry to be benefited and are 

 distinctly utilitarian in character. Besides these, there are many 

 continuation and manual training schools. So numerous are 

 these specialised schools that a German can always find one in 

 which he can learn the latest and best principles, devices and 

 methods of any trade or profession he may desire to follow. 

 Add to all these the latest German innovation of commercial 

 high schools and colleges of commerce, then wonder, if you 

 can, why German competition is so keen and why German trade 

 and industry are reaching every market the world over. The 

 Germans have discovered that the secret of success in trade and 

 industry depends upon education ; not upon the education of 

 the library and cloister, but upon the education of the laboratory, 

 the shop and the modern lecture room. 



Contrast with this the condition of England. 

 In 1870, Great Britain, exclusive of her colonies, did one- 

 quarter of the world's bu-iness, and, including her colonies, 

 35 per cent. In 1895, her share had fallen to 18 per cent., or, 

 including her colonies, to 31 per cent., showing that while she 

 still held the lion's shaie, that share was steadily diminishing. 

 From another point of view, a similar tendency can be seen. 

 Between 1870 and 1895, British exports increased only 13 per 

 cent., while during the same period the exports of Russia in- 

 creased 17 per cent., of France 20 per cent., of Germany 42 

 per cent., and of the United States 1 10 per cent., showing that 

 England's commercial advancement during this period was 

 relatively the least of all. 



American tools and labour-saving devices are rapidly enter- 

 ing British workshops. One firm recently expended 100,000 

 dollars in new machinery, two-thirds of which was of American 

 make. In other branches of manufacture, the American and 

 Continental engineers have succeeded in introducing into 

 England many articles which the English imagined, but a 

 short time ago, could not be made, cheaper or better than in 

 Great Britain, like electrical machinery, locomotives, steel rails, 

 sugar-producing machinery, and even stationary engines, the 

 pride of the British engineering industry. The year 1901 was 

 noteworthy in that the output of steel in Great Britain fell 

 behind that of the United States by 5,000,000 tons and behind 

 that of Germany by more than a million tons. The machine tool 

 trade is also fast becoming Americanised. In agricultural 

 machinery, the United States is outstripping England with giant 

 strides. In gas machinery, Continental orders are seldom 



