NovEMBER 26, 1896] 
NATURE 
85 
(November 18), seems, however, to indicate that the morning of 
the 15th was far richer in meteors, as the following extract 
indicates : ‘* At that hour (Sunday, 3 a.m.), however, we looked 
out, and finding that a few stars were ‘on the shoot,’ began to 
watch for them. Till well after four o’clock there were not 
many visible ; something like one every two or three minutes. 
By five o'clock they markedly increased, and from 5.15 to 5.45, 
there was quite a shower, and between these times we counted 
over sixty meteors. Once three ‘came away’ almost simul- 
taneously, and another time two flashed out together. Nearly 
all of them were very small, and had very short and very swilt 
flight, and many were scarcely more than just visible. There 
was one brilliant exception that shot out from the feet of the 
Twins, and disappeared near Orion’s belt, that was of first mag- 
nitude, and left a red streak that remained for twelve or fifteen 
seconds afterwards. At six o'clock the meteors seemed almost 
suddenly to cease, and shortly afterwards our vigil came to an 
end.” 
M. PERROTIN, director of M. Bischoffsheim’s private observa- 
tory at Nice, has resigned his post in order to become an 
observer at the Meudon Astro-physical Observatory. 
MR. BALFOUR ON SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
f{ Rk. ARTHUR BALFOUR was the principal guest at the 
Cutlers’ Feast at Sheffield last Thursday evening. In the 
course of his reply to the toast ‘‘ Her Majesty’s Ministers ” he 
referred to scientific education jin Germany, and the relations 
between science and manufacture. It is satisfactory to know 
that these subjects are now occupying the minds of our political 
leaders, and that such sound views should be expressed on 
the value of scientific research, and the true meaning of technical 
education, as those contained in the subjoined 7zmes’ report of 
Mr. Balfour’s speech :— 
“«T think that, though we have not much to fear from the action 
of other nations, we have much to learn from the action of other 
nations. I have already said that I think John Bull requires 
the occasional stimulus of a panic to make him do his best. He 
is like a noble horse dragging a load, well within his weight, 
who perhaps gets a little slow in his action unless occasionally 
he hears the crack of the whip. I think that, though I do not 
envy the growth of German manufactures—taking Germany for 
example—though I neither envy the growth of German 
manufactures, nor fear the growth of German manufactures, 
though I do not think that German prosperity can be other than 
in the long run a help to British prosperity, still I am not so 
blind as to think, with regard to a nation which gives itself over 
with such fervour to everything which can by discipline and 
education promote its material prosperity, that we have nothing 
to learn by the study of its proceedings. I believe we have a 
good deal to learn, and I think it behoves us to learn it. Lord 
Rosebery desired that an inquiry should be made into the topics 
on which I am venturing to arrest your attention to-night. That 
inquiry is being made, or is partly being made, by the depart- 
ment of the Government concerned. I do not profess to give 
the results of these inquiries, but it is an undoubted fact that 
the Germans do think it, rightly or wrongly, to be worth 
while to spend money Imperially, municipally, and privately 
upon those branches of scientific research which have a direct 
bearing upon manufactures to an extent and degree absolutely 
unknown in this country, which surely ought to take the lead in 
all commercial matters. I have been informed by a gentleman 
who has recently come from an examination of these technical 
institutions in Germany that there are at this moment in Ger- 
many no fewer than six great technical institutions for the study 
of electrical matters alone, which are superior to anything of 
the kind which we have in this country. The witness of whom 
I speak was not a prejudiced witness. He went to Germany 
with no preconceived views either for or against the method of 
technical instruction there pursued, and I have faithfully 
detailed to you the information I gained. I am further informed, 
on evidence the value of which I cannot for a moment doubt, 
that, while the Government and the municipalities spend these 
vast sums in producing a great body of trained experts, the 
great manufacturers in Germany, to an extent altogether un- 
known in this country, employ a large body of investigators on 
their own account on their own premises, taking advantage of 
every discovery that can be made, and in so far as may be make 
NO. 1413, VOL. 55] 
discoveries for themselves. I do not comment upon the fact; I 
simply state the fact to you. I should be reluctant to say how 
great is the adyantage which any country thus liberally disposed 
is likely to reap. It may be that the Germans have been 
squandering their money in unremunerative investigation, and 
that they will not get in the shape of national profit any result 
for what they have done. That may be so, but I remember the 
late Mr. Bagehot’s pointing out that one of the great advan- 
tages that England had over every other nation in the world was 
this—that when any discovery was made, when any new outlet 
of industry was invented, the amount of disposable English 
capital was so great that England reaped the chief benefit from 
it. Now this is the question I want to put. Is not Germany, 
by bringing into existence this vast body of fine specialists, pre- 
paring itself to make the utmost use of any possible advances 
in scientific manufactures which may be made? Is it not likely 
that it will have the advantage, as compared with other nations, 
in turning to account the smallest hint in any direction, in 
developing any discovery however slight, in making the most 
of any advance, however small that advance may be? That 
question I put to men incomparably more qualified to answer it 
than I am myself.” 
“But I think the question is worth putting in the great manu- 
facturing centres of this country, and I would ask them not to 
be put off—I do not think Sheffield is likely to be put off— 
but I will ask any who read my words not to be put off with 
the idea that what is called technical instruction, by which I 
mean manual instruction in arts and crafts, however good in 
itself, has anything to do with the particular kind of education 
of which I am speaking. It has nothing to do with it. Educa- 
tion in the first three standards of your primary schools has more 
to do with the higher University training than the manual 
education of which I speak has to do with the technical educa- 
tion which I desire for the country. For the education in your 
primary schools is, after all, a necessary preliminary of your 
University education. You must learn to read, you must learn 
to write, you must learn to do arithmetic before you can take 
advantage of what Oxford and Cambridge, Edinburgh and 
Glasgow, have to give you, but still education in the three R’s 
leads up to all this knowledge, but the manual education called 
technical does not lead up to and has no relation to or connection 
whatever with that scientific education of which I speak. 
England became a great manufacturing country, the greatest 
manufacturing country which the world has ever seen, before the 
intimate relation of organised science to manufactures was 
thoroughly understood. I fear that in some quarters it may still 
be a fact that the relation between science and manufactures is 
not thoroughly grasped, and there may still be some who think 
that money spent in what appears to be abstract investigations 
far removed from the practical things of life has but a small 
effect on national well-being and national commerce. If any 
hold that view, believe me, they are profoundly mistaken. They 
have not followed the course of human knowledge, they have 
not kept abreast of human progress, and if we have leeway to 
make up in this matter, if we have to learn a lesson which 
perhaps came easier to the Germans than it did to us, let us 
hasten, at all events, to learn that lesson completely, and then I 
doubt not we shall—even in the eyes of the most pessimistic 
critic—continue to hold that position which hitherto we have 
held unchallenged, and then British manufactures, British 
industry, British capital may still maintain throughout the world 
the supremacy they have so long held and so well deserved.” 
THE LONG PERIOD WEATHER FORECASTS 
OF INDIA. 
IN days when the cxz bono of everything connected with 
scientific research is subjected to the glare of criticism by a 
public which is frequently too busy to analyse or understand the 
laborious methods by which accurate knowledge is attained, the 
Meteorological Service of India poses as a happy exception to 
that of many other scientific departments in being able to demon- 
strate its practical utility by the success, not merely of its every- 
day routine forecasts, but by its unique initiation and develop- 
ment of seasonal or long-period forecasts of the alternate 
monsoons. 
The foundations so carefully laid by the late Mr. Blanford, 
have enabled his successor, Mr. Eliot, to realise the expectations 
he so hopefully expressed years ago regarding the important role 
that India would play in the future development of meteorology. 
