72 
What: general effect can the successful investigator 
have on the methods and processes employed in work 
of this nature?) He must aim at a position under 
which determining methods of working are being 
constantly modified in detail; or even in nature. 
Under the most successful conditions he may, in time, 
find himself working three years in advance of those 
who are not taking full advantage of modern methods 
of investigation. It is difficult for an- industrial 
chemist to hide from his experienced rivals a process 
or method which can be detected in the finished pro- 
duct by ordinary, or even special, means. Many im- 
provements are, however, of such a nature that they 
cannot be detected in this way, and then the above 
condition may be found to apply. In most cases this 
standard is a reasonable one to aim at. More than 
this can scarcely be expected, unless the Patent Law 
comes in to protect ideas and methods for a longer 
period. When this is realised, there is obviously no 
finality to work of this nature, and as a result a con- 
dition of continual change will probably be set up in 
the factory. 
It is surprising to what an extent secret working 
has in some cases secured: a monopoly. Especially 
is this so, when the effect of a process, or use ofa 
machine is not self-evident or easily traced in the 
finished article. Under such conditions, and more 
particularly where an industry has not adopted a scien- 
tific control, a certain sequence of operations has been 
known to remain the monopoly of a firm, or a limited 
number of firms, over many years—as witness the 
Turkey Red industry. 
Even where a close examination of the finished pro- 
duct might suggest, to the experienced investigator, 
the method of treatment employed, its presence is 
often overlooked or unsuspected because of difficulties 
in the way of identification or analysis. A slight and 
inexpensive change in- manufacture may add 10 per 
cent. to the apparent value of a textile material. What 
this means on a large output can easily be imagined, 
as the ordinary net profit on manufacture may be 
somewhere between 20 and 35 per cent. i 
The research chemist is, therefore, constantly trying 
to improve or devise methods. of investigation which 
will enable him to keep in touch with the work of 
those who, for the time being, may be regarded as his 
competitors ; and the methods utilised to this end are 
based more often upon personal experience than pub- 
lished results. Such processes generally deal with the 
recognition of certain physical or chemical changes 
which oceur when the material is subjected to tests 
corresponding to those in actual practice. Owing to 
their value to the investigator, such methods are not 
generally disclosed. Work in this direction, or modi- 
fications in accepted processes of analysis, and in the 
proper interpretation of results, are often carefully 
guarded, until through some change in procedure, 
they no longer retain their original value. Many such 
examples will occur to the technical chemist. 
The aim of the chemist in this respect is'to obtain 
some clue of a physical or chemical nature which will 
suggest to the experienced investigator the nature of 
superior working methods. Such methods of obtain- 
ing an insight into hitherto unknown processes or 
applications are of considerable value.. They can only 
be successfully used by the investigator who has a 
practical knowledge of manufacture in addition to 
an ordinary laboratory experience. Thus, to the in- 
dustrial research chemist, analysis may have a different 
meaning to what it has to the general consulting 
chemist. It is a means to an end which possibly may 
be the discovery of the nature of a process. Analysis 
is also utilised to obtain the correct working conditions 
of a new process, or the better control of an old one. 
NO. 2410, VOL. O32) 
NAT ORE 
{Marcu 19, 1914 
It will be gathered from these remarks that procedure 
must in many cases be empirical in its nature. 
The research chemist often has to watch ordinary 
manufacturing operations over extended periods before 
any plan of control or improvement can be devised. 
Light is sometimes thrown upon such a position by 
the occurrence of irregular results in the daily output, 
or a systematic examination of the effects produced by 
accidental, or predetermined, variations in working 
conditions. Many problems have been successfully 
investigated by such means. Such variations, as they 
occur in everyday practice, may often lead to impor- 
tant improvements, or even suggest new processes. 
Thus, the research chemist will soon realise that his 
right place is in the works. He will use the labora- 
tory mainly to follow up ideas in detail. 
The introduction of new methods naturally calls for 
an immediate re-examination of the conditions of 
working of existing processes. This may often secure 
to them an extended lease of life, as in the case of 
the collodion method of preparing artificial silk. In 
these days of costly apparatus for plant, this factor 
must not be lost sight of. It is the first point to 
consider when the chemist finds he has to deal with, 
and equal, the results obtained, by the introduction 
of a more efficient process, leading to: the production of 
a better or cheaper product. 
The successful worker must, however, go further 
than this. Experience indicates that important results 
have generally been obtained by striking out boldly 
in a new direction. The risk connected with such 
pioneer work can always be minimised by working on 
a moderate scale, and making sure of the details of 
every step as it occurs in a natural sequence. With 
long experience, it is sometimes possible to experiment 
at once on a large scale with a reasonable chance of 
success, but this course should never be folfowed by 
the beginner. Such conditions are comparatively rare, 
and generally governed by some secondary considera- 
tion, such as the prohibitive cost of new apparatus, 
as compared with the utilisation of that already avail- 
able in the works. 
In industrial research, it is sometimes more impor- 
tant to know what not to do than the reverse. This 
restraining influence must be developed equally with 
originality. In this, the worker will naturally be 
guided by instinct, which may be.defined as the tem- 
pering of past experience by an untiring caution. 
Once more, the young chemist may be urged to 
spend most of his time in the works, only working 
in the laboratory. when some work.requires systematic 
investigation. Many manufacturers have objected to 
this procedure in the past, but with tact, such opposi- 
tion, where it still exists, can generally be overcome. 
The industrial chemist who remains in his laboratory 
will be hopelessly left behind in the race for pro- 
gress. 
It is impossible to say how far the chemist should 
experiment in the laboratory, or when he must carry 
out the necessary investigation in the works itself. 
In the latter case, it is well to leave such labour as 
does not entail exact measurement in the hands of the 
workman. The chemist must, however, know how to 
carry on such work, and in cases of difficulty, be able 
to do so under the eyes of the workman. This is 
sometimes a rather trying experience to the novice, 
but it must be faced. 
Be careful, when starting experimental works, and 
reasonably certain that all data which can be obtained 
on a laboratory scale are already secured. Only then 
should the establishment of experimental works be 
attempted. Much can be done in the way of experi- 
mental plant, etc., in the laboratory with rool. An 
experimental works will probably absorb anything be- 
