November 7, 191S] 



NATURE 



197 



college remains still nourishing and still fulfilling 

 al function an lu< aticnal institu- 



It is po ent periods 



in 1I1 1 stud) 



of pui G eal Britain. First, 



the hull'-rt nun \ 1 '9>4i when progress was 



comparative!) slow owing to the apath) ol tin- general 

 public towards all branches of exact knowl 

 During i H i- period cur former teachers played a pro- 

 minenl part both as teachers and andists, 



ogress in our scientific industries was impeded, 

 not onl) In general and official ignorance, but also 

 ip< til : "n 1 1 • •■ 1 1 the 1 Continent. I he - 



ransition; it embraces the last four 



, and is now rapidly coming to an end. In the 



m of H114 practicall) all branches of technical 

 1 in this country were on the verge of break- 

 ol impi M ts "f number- 

 less chemical and engineering products, man) of them 

 ol small financial importance, I>lh all ol them essential 



in technical production. The whole nation 

 realised, suddenly but tardily, that the neglect of 

 applied science had brought it to the brink of ruin. 

 I In last foui years of transition have been a period 

 of unprecedented technical activit) in (neat Britain; 

 during this time we have had to learn how to manu- 

 facture multitudes of scientific products which we were 

 previousl) content to purchase ready-made from 



id, and the whole countn has become one vast 

 tnd engineering workshop. When the his- 

 tory of ihis time ol stress comes to be written it will 



tade cleat that the rapidit) and success with 



which this countn has organised its scientific indus- 



nd brought them to a production of essentials 



far exceeding that of Central Europe are entirely 



miraculous. 



The third period, the period of reconstruction, lies 

 in the immediate future, and we see ever) sign that 

 it will be accompanied by unexampled developments 

 on both the chemical and engineering sides of technical 

 During the past four years a vast provision 

 of chemical and engineering equipment has been 

 accumulated; our country has regained control of all 

 the sources existing in tin- Empire of raw materials 

 which had b l>\ Germany, and 



our people have been learning that ihi-- war was ren- 



possible onl) b) British neglect of applied science, 

 and particular!) of chemical technology. Within this 



I ile country has becomi an enormous pro- 

 ducer of such necessary materials as oleum — fuming 

 sulphuric acid — and nitric acid; these are the prime 



tials of a flourishing chemical industry. It has 

 also undertaken with success the manufacture of 

 large numbers of tine chemicals, such as coal-tar dves 

 and pharmaceutical products. I lie countn now pro- 

 duces materials like tungsten and similar metals essen- 

 tial to the manufacture of hardened steels of different 

 kinds for use in cutting-tools, armour-plate, and the 

 like. The installation of works processes for these 

 has been effected hurriedly, and years of careful 

 technical investigation will l.. needed in order to 

 improve methods and establish processes upon an 



mica! i.asis. Inasmuch as success in applied 

 science is possible onlv through the intensive cultiva- 

 tion of pure science, it is to bo foreseen that before 

 us lies .1 period of gnat scientifii and technical activity 

 in Great Britain. 



The importance of all this lies in the fact that thi 

 future is in your hands. Streatfeild, CastelUEvans, 

 Meldola, Thompson, and Ayrton, who have p 



away, and Other veterans happil) still with us, like 

 Perrs and Armstrong, did their best work in the firs', 

 of our three periods; the men of m generation are 



NO. 2558, VOL. 102I 



expending theit energies in tin- present transitional 

 period. It is upon I now at college that 



1I1.' main burden of thi coi 1 1 tructionai work 



will fall. If yot ..mi work with the suc- 



.ni.il.! and bis colleagues in the 

 performance of their duties, it you approach your 

 future work in the spirit with which m\ content- 

 have attacked theirs, we need have no doubt 

 thai this Empire "I ours will continue to influence 



the world for good Ion- after you and I a 

 and forgotten. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Birmingham. — Tin- installation of the new. Chan- 

 cellor, Lord Robert Cecil, is to take place on Novem- 

 ber 12 in the Town Hall. The occasion is to be 

 marked by the conferment of honorary degrees on the 

 French and Italian Ambassadors, Sir George 

 Buchanan, Mr. Austen Chamberlain, Mrs. Fawcett, 

 Sir Maurice Hankey, Lord Moulton, and Lord Philli- 

 more. The following representatives of other uni- 

 versities are also to be present at the ceremony : — 

 Sir Alfred Dale (Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool), Sir 

 Gregory Foster (Provost of University College, 

 London!, Prof. Gillespie (Pro-Vice-Chancellor of 

 Leeds), Dr. Alex. Hill (Principal of University Col- 

 lege, Southampton), Sir Isambard Owen (Vice-Chan- 

 cellor of Bristol), and Prof. Ripper (Vice-Chancellor 

 of Sheffield). 



London. — The following have been elected deans 

 of faculties for the period 1918-20 '.—Medicine : Sir 

 Bertrand E. Dawson (London Hospital Medical Col- 

 legi 1; Science: Prof. \. N. Whitehead (Imperial Col- 

 lege, Royal College of Science); Engineering: Prof. 

 H. C. II . Carpenter (Imperial College, Royal School 

 of Minesj; and Economics: The Hon. W. P. Reeves 

 1 I. mill. m School of Economics). 



THE nineteenth annual general meeting of the Asmi- 

 ciation of Public School Science Masters will be held 

 on Tuesday, December 31, and Wednesday, January 1, 

 and will be opened with an address by the president, 

 Sir Ronald Ross. The subjects to be discussed are :— 

 The importance of restricting specialisation in uni- 

 versity scholarship examinations and giving weight 

 to general education; the modernisation of the teach- 

 ing of biology; the position of systematic biology and 

 kindred subjects in a school course; science in the 

 general education of boys; the teaching of elementary 

 science b) the form master; the difficulty of securing 

 diligence "and accuracy in teaching general science to 

 small boys; and courses in general science for Sixth 

 Forms, both classical and non-classical. 



Teachers of geography will be interested in an 

 account by Miss' Christina Krysto entitled "Bringing 

 the World to our Foreign-language Soldiers," pub- 

 lished in the August issue of the National Geographic 

 Magazine, which describes the methods of teaching at 

 Camp Kearny, California. Ordinary handbooks were 

 found useless for the purpose of teaching the facts_ of 

 the geography of Europe to Mexican and other foreign 

 recruits. The first step was a series of conversations 

 intended to lead the pupils to the understanding of 

 new facts. These were supplemented by geographical 

 charts with photographs. The comparison of the dis- 

 tinction between the results gained in the case of 

 Italians and Mexicans is full of interest, and will 

 supplv useful suggestions for the teaching of geography 

 after the conclusion of the war. 



