—— == SS SS ee eae 
OcToBER 23, 1913| 
NATURE 
ah, 
which would inevitably follow an adequate encourage- 
ment of research, the irony of the position becomes 
more evident. It was stated on authority that 
Pasteur during his lifetime saved for his country the 
whole cost of the Franco-Prussian War. It is com- 
puted that nearly one and three-quarter millions of 
our population are to-day dependent for their living 
upon industries connected with the mechanical 
generation of electricity—a population which may be 
said, without undue use of imagery, to be living on 
the brain of Faraday. We possess mathematicians 
who, granted encouragement, opportunity, and time, 
could establish laws of stability of aéroplanes. Sup- 
pose we spent some millions in discovering the man 
and enabling him to complete his task; the result 
might be an addition to our security greater than 
that of a fleet of super-Dreadnoughts. Unfortunately, 
there are no votes to be gained by the advocacy of 
opportunities for research! 
Associations such as ours should spare no effort 
to bring home to the minds of the people the truth of 
the statement that the prosperity of this kingdom 
is dependent on its industries, and that those indus- 
tries are founded on applied science. 
Some years ago the Petit Journal invited its 
readers to answer the question, ‘“‘Who were the 
twenty greatest Frenchmen of the nineteenth cen- 
tury?"’ No fewer than fifteen million votes were 
recorded. The resulting list included the names of 
nine scientific men, and Pasteur led by 100,000 votes 
over Victor Hugo, who came second, Napoleon secur- 
ing the fourth place. It is obvious that a poll of 
such magnitude must have been representative of all 
classes. I ask you to reflect on the probable result, 
mutatis mutandis, if such a poll was taken in this 
country. I am afraid we should find the names of 
football and cricket heroes included, but I doubt if 
the name of a single man of science would appear 
amongst the immortals. 
It should be our mission to make evident to the 
working man his indebtedness to the pioneers of 
science. Demonstrate to him the close connection 
between the price of his meat and the use of re- 
frigerating processes founded on the investigations of 
Joule and Thomson; between the purity of his beer 
and the labours of Pasteur. Show the collier that 
his safety is to no small extent due to Humphry 
Davy; the driver of the electric tramcar that his 
wages were coined by Faraday.’ Make the worker 
in steel realise his obligation to Bessemer and 
Nasmyth; the telegraphist his indebtedness to Volta 
and Wheatstone, and the man at the ‘ wireless” 
station that his employment is due to Hertz. Tell 
the soldier that the successful extraction of the bullet 
he received during the South African war was accom- 
plished by the aid of Réntgen. Convince the sailor 
that his good “landfall”? was achieved by the help 
of mathematicians and astronomers; that Tyndall 
had much to do with the brilliancey of the lights which 
warn him of danger, and that to Kelvin he owes the 
perfection of his compass and sounding line. Im- 
ress upon all wage-earners the probability that had | 
P y 
it not been for the researches of Lister they, or some 
member of their family, would not be living to enjoy 
the fruits of their labours. If we can but bring 
some 5 per cent. of our voters to believe that their 
security, their comfort, their health, are the fruits of 
scientific investigation, then—but not until then— 
shall we see the attitude of those in authority towards 
this great question of the encouragement of research 
change from indifference to enthusiasm and from 
opposition to support. 
When we have educated the man in the street it is 
possible that we may succeed in the hardest task of 
all, that of educating our legislators. 
NO. 2295, VOL. 92] 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 
INTELLIGENCE. 
BirRMINGHAM.—A valuable addition to the equip- 
ment of the mining department of the University has 
been made in the form of an electrically-driven oil- 
boring derrick, which has been presented by the Oil- 
well Engineering Company, of Cheadle. The appa- 
ratus is capable of boring to a depth of 2000 ft., and 
by its means mining students will be able to acquire 
practical experience in the handling of oil-boring 
plant. 
The following appointments have been made :—Mr. 
L. J. Wills, assistant lecturer in geology and geo- 
graphy; Mr. David Brunt, lecturer in mathematics 
(to succeed Mr. S. B. McLaren); Dr. C. L. Boulenger, 
reader in helminthology; Mr. H. G. Jackson, assistant 
lecturer in zoology. 
By the will of the late Henry Follett Osler the 
University is to receive the sum of Io,oool., with a 
prospective share in the residuary estate. 
Leeps.—The following appointments have been 
made to the staff of the University :—Mr. S. H. Stel- 
fox, assistant lecturer and demonstrator in engineer- 
ing; Mr. F. Powis, demonstrator in chemistry; Mr. 
E. Lee, assistant lecturer in agricultural botany; Mr. 
N. M. Comber, assistant lecturer in agricultural 
chemistry; Mr. D. B. Morgans, assistant lecturer 
and demonstrator in mining. 
Tue Concrete Institute has arranged a course of 
six educational lectures on reinforced concrete: its 
commercial development and practical application, to 
be given by Mr. H. Kempton Dyson, on Wednesdays 
in November and December, beginning on November 
12. The lectures will be given in the Lecture Hall 
of the institute, Westminster. There is no fee for 
the course; admission will be by ticket, obtainable on 
application from the secretary, the Concrete Institute, 
Denison House, 296 Vauxhall Bridge Road, West- 
minster, S.W. 
AN examination of the prospectus of the East Ham 
Technical College, which was opened in 1905, and 
on which some 33,0001. was spent, shows that the 
boroughs round London are fully alive to the import- 
ance of providing a practical training in technology 
and science for those engaged in the industrial pur- 
suits of the locality. The work of the college is done 
in some eight departments, and important among 
these are those for men engaged in building trades, 
engineers, chemists, commercial men, and for women 
workers. The more elementary evening classes are 
held in three preparatory evening schools in different 
parts of the borough, but in the college itself a 
preparatory industrial course has been provided de- 
signed to enable students later to follow intelligently 
the lectures and laboratory work in the different de- 
partments of technology. 
PRESIDING at a recent meeting of the Senate of 
Calcutta University, Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee made 
an interesting speech on some of the work of the 
University. According to a report of the speech 
given in The Pioneer Mail, the University has ar- 
ranged for lectures for M.A. and M.Sc. students 
| in eleven different branches of study, including pure 
mathematics and botany. The University has made 
itself directly responsible for the instruction of 1005 
students in Calcutta in these subjects for the M.A. 
and M.Sc. examinations. Post-graduate teaching on 
this scale has never before been attempted in any 
Indian university, and that there is a genuine demand 
for higher instruction is established by the readiness 
with which students in large numbers have eagerly 
' joined the classes in such subjects as pure mathe- 
