NATURE 



433 



THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1877 



THE WORK OF THE IKON AND STEEL 

 INSTITUTE 



IT cannot be denied that of late years the component 

 parts of that great aggregation of the contributions of 

 workers in a thousand different fields, and which is known 

 by the name of Science, have arrived at their common 

 destination as much through the paths opened up by the 

 development of the applied sciences as through those of 

 original research or the seeking after scientific truth for 

 the truth's sake. 



In this country the institutions set apart for the further- 

 ance of the applications of science to the use and 

 convenience of man form collectively a very powerful 

 body. Their influence upon the greatest industries of the 

 country renders them indispensable to trade and finance, 

 and that connection places at their disposal large means, 

 both monetary and influential, without which many of the 

 most important scientific researches could never have 

 been attempted. The mere mention of the names of 

 the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of 

 Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Naval Archi- 

 tects, the Society of Telegraph Engineers, and the 

 Iron and Steel Institute, suggests at once to the mind 

 wealth, and influence, and scientific progress ; and it is 

 not too much to say that the wealth and influence of all 

 those institutions has been brought to bear upon the 

 advancement of applied science with remarkable success. 

 The Iron and Steel Institute ranks second to none 

 for the importance of its objects to the welfare of 

 the country, for the scientific value of its papers and 

 discussions, and for the influence of its members. It was 

 founded rather more than eight years ago for the purpose 

 of advancing the knowledge of the manufacture of iron 

 and steel, by bringing before its members the latest 

 inventions and methods of working adopted in difterent 

 establishments, for the encouragement of scientific 

 research bearing upon the manufacture of iron and steel ; 

 whether in the domains of geology, metallurgy, chemis- 

 try, mechanics, or physics, and for the improvement 

 of the operations of mining, smelting, and working the 

 ferruginous ores of the country so as to obtain the highest 

 perfection of the products at the smallest expenditure of 

 capital and labour. 



The field which the Iron and Steel Institute set itself to 

 cultivate was partly covered by the domains of the institu- 

 tions devoted to the advancement of the above sciences 

 respectively, but a very large portion of it was never 

 reached by any of them ; and even the knowledge derived 

 from discussions in other societies was too general to be 

 of much practical value to the iron and steel manufac- 

 turer. No greater proof could be given of the need of 

 such an institution in such an iron-working country as 

 this than the very rapid rise and progress which it has 

 made. It includes in its list of members, we believe with- 

 out exception, all the leaders in the iron and steel trade 

 of this country, as well as many of the eminent workers 

 on the continent of Europe and in the United States 

 of America ; and among its most active members are 

 the leading metallurgists and several of the first chemists, 

 physicists, and engineers. 

 Vol. XVI. — No. 412 



There cannot be any doubt that with so influential a 

 body of members, with such varied and important objects, 

 bound up as they are with the largest commercial 

 interests of this great country, and with so many excep- 

 tional advantages, the Iron and Steel Institute has many 

 and great responsibilities. Its only connection with trade 

 is a scientific one (for the commercial interests of the 

 iron and steel industries are represented by the British Iron 

 Trade Association), and commercial matters have no right 

 to be introduced into its discussions except in so far as 

 accurate scientific knowledge, sound technical experience, 

 and correct mechanical manipulation, by producing per- 

 fection in the products, and economy and certainty in 

 the various processes employed, enable a manufacturer 

 possessing these advantages to outdo those who do not, 

 and by the guidance of scientific truth to command the 

 market for his productions. 



The iron and steel trade, represented in its scientific 

 aspect by the Iron and Steel Institute, owes to pure 

 science a deep debt of gratitude ; but through that valu- 

 able institution it is year by year repaying that debt, at 

 one time advancing the science of metallurgj , at another 

 that of mechanics, at another adding to chemical know- 

 ledge, and so on. And we have little doubt, judging of its 

 future by its past, that it will make still greater additions 

 to scientific knowledge, in consequence of its increasing 

 scientific organisation and the habit of scientific thought 

 which it engenders among manufacturers and others by 

 its meetings and published transactions. 



The work of the Iron and Steel Institute is necessarily 

 very varied. First and foremost it should promote, by 

 every means in its power, the technical education required 

 to make its various processes and operations understood 

 by those who are entering the profession, and who in a 

 few years will be its representatives. The importance of 

 this can hardly be over-estimated. And it should be 

 given in no grudging or half-and-half spirit ; the days 

 of the monopoly of knowledge, more especially of 

 such as is based upon philosophical research, are long 

 past, and though there must necessarily be some trade 

 secrets, the results of knowledge and experience, still the 

 knowledge which led to them is patent to all ; and a 

 technical society which has the best interests of its mem- 

 bers at heart must be foremost in encouraging the dis- 

 semination of the scientific and technical knowledge 

 required for advancing the interests which it represents. 

 Another point for the consideration of such an institution 

 is economy in fuel, and in the various processes employed 

 in the making of iron and steel. In these days of close 

 competition, when not only individuals but whole coun- 

 tries are doing their utmost to undersell one another, and 

 a saving of a few shillings here and a few pence there 

 may mean the difference between a profitable or a losing 

 adventure, it becomes of the utmost importance to be 

 working in a direction which is guided by scientific know- 

 ledge and proved by experiment and practical experience. 

 Then again the encouragement of the investigation of 

 the physical and chemical laws which come into play 

 within the smelting, puddling, and converting furnaces is 

 a most important duty for the Institute to discharge, for 

 if the amount of fuel consumed in proportion to the 

 amount of metal produced can be reduced by only one 

 per cent, an important step is gained and in large works 



