rt 
OcroBeR 26, 1916] 
NATURE ; 161 
what they thought was their monopoly and to bring in 
outside works to help in the production of munitions 
as it has been to persuade the Trades Unions to forgo 
trade customs and to enable outside sources of labour 
to be employed, such as women and other unskilled 
labour. But both have had to do it. In other words, 
“dilution of works’ has been as difficult to effect as 
“dilution of labour,’’ and the position both of the 
armament ring and of the workman would have been 
very different if they had consented freely to it when 
it became obviously necessary for the safety of the 
Empire. 
The necessities of research work have already been 
dealt with, and by the pooling of such research work 
enormous advantages in any one trade could be ob 
tained. Such pooling of information has been effected 
with most beneficial results, especially in the chemical 
trade abroad. Any workable scheme which would 
enable this to be done and get over the jealousies 
between one firm and another would be of enormous 
benefit to the trade in general. 
Another thing that must not be lost sight of is the 
urgent need of improving our educational system. It 
is little short of a disgrace that the older universities 
are closed to those without a knowledge of Latin and 
Greek. } 
Languages are of the greatest importance to an 
engineer—not dead languages, but living ones. And 
these should be properly taught, so that the student 
should be able not only to read and write them, but 
also to speak and understand them when spoken. Itis 
quite a different knowledge of a language to be able to 
read, write, speak, or understand it. Many people can 
read a language without being able to write, speak, or 
understand it when spoken, and conversely it is not un- 
common to meet people who can speak and understand 
a language without being able to any large extent to 
read or write it. And it is only in living languages that 
a man is trained to speak and understand a language. 
Why is it that we are so wedded to the dead 
languages? There is, of course, the tradition that 
such are necessary. for a liberal education, and there 
is the argument that modern languages are not so 
good a training for the mind. Granted that they are 
not quite so good from the point of view of learning 
to read and write them, does not the fact that they 
can also be taught as a living language to be spoken 
and understood make them on the whole. the best 
educationally fora man? This is entirely apart from 
the fact that modern languages are useful and ancient 
useless to the man in commercial work. There is, 
of course, bitter opposition from that most con- 
servative man, the schoolmaster, and one great reason 
is that it is much easier and cheaper to get a man 
to teach Latin and Greek than modern languages 
which have to be taught orally. The teaching of 
Latin and Greek as they are usually taught has been 
standardised to the last degree, and as a result they 
can be taught by the ‘“semi-skilled’’ man, and a 
‘skilled’? man is not necessary, to use engineers’ 
phraseology. In fact. the teaching of Latin and Greek 
is a pure “repetition job.” At the same time, no 
education is complete unless science is combined with 
languages, and also literature, and here lies one great 
danger of modern technical education. 
After the boy has left school and enters the 
shops more facilities should be given to enable him 
not only to keep up but to continue his education. In 
the shops and drawing office too often the boy is left 
to pick up a knowledge of his trade as best he can. 
The apprentice who asks questions is often looked on 
as a nuisance, and requests for information are gener- 
ally met by a blank refusal or worse. Often the fore- 
man or chief draughtsman is afraid to answer ques- 
tions for fear of being charged with giving away 
NO. 2452, VOL. 98] 
so-called ‘trade secrets,’ but an immense deal of 
information can be given to an apprentice without 
doing so, 
Evening classes are all very well in their way, but 
more facilities should be given for the diligent appren- 
tice to attend day classes, and this can be arranged 
in various ways if the employer has a will to do it. 
A thing that at present often prevents boys desirous 
of educating themselves getting on is the fact that 
overtime is allowed as soon as a boy is eighteen, and 
often he is compelled to work overtime regardless 
of classes that he ought to be attending. 
It is important to remember that the boy of to-day 
is the man of to-morrow. 
One complaint is that after a lot of trouble is taken 
about a boy he leaves after a few years and goes to 
another employer. The good of the trade in general 
must be considered. and a man who has had experi- 
ence of various classes of work is generally a much 
more valuable man than one whose knowledge is 
confined to one class only. In any case, the other 
employer gets the benefit of what has been done by 
the first, and thus the trade in general benefits. 
It is realised that this is a very imperfect review of 
things as they are at present, but if this address in- 
duces all classes engaged in engineering to consider 
how things can be bettered the author feels that a 
part, at all events, of his object has been attained. 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 
INTELLIGENCE. 
CAMBRIDGE.—Notice is given of the forthcoming 
appointment to the George Henry Lewes studentship 
in physiology. The object of the studentship, the 
annual value of which is 2ool, and is tenable for three 
years, is to enable promising students to devote their 
whole time to physiological research. Candidates are 
requested to send a short statement of their qualifica- 
tions to Prof. J. N. Langley, the Physiology School, 
Cambridge, by November 18. 
Lonpon.—At a meeting of the Senate held on Octo- 
ber 18, the Vice-Chancellor (Sir Alfred Pearce Gould) 
being in the chair, the following doctorates were con- 
ferred :—D.Sc, (Engineering), Mr. E. H. Salmon, an 
internal student, of the East London College, for a 
thesis entitled “Columns.” D.Sc. (Economics), Mr. 
P. Bandyopadhyay, an internal student, of the London 
School of Economics, for a thesis entitled “ Public 
Administration in Ancient India.”” D.Sc. (Physiology), 
Miss D. J. Lloyd, an external student, for a thesis 
entitled (a) ‘The Osmotic Balance of Skeletal Muscle,” 
(b) “The Relation of Excised Muscle to Acids, Salts, 
and Bases.” 
OxrorD.—The reports for the year 1915 of the 
curators of the Botanic Garden and of the Department 
of Botany have just been published. They contain 
long lists of contributors, both public and private, of 
specimens and other material for study to both insti- 
tutions. To most of those who have sent donations 
to the garden.a return has been made in kind. Many 
interesting plants have flowered in the garden during 
the past year. In the Department of Botany lectures 
have been given .by the Sherardian professor and 
Messrs. A. H. Church and W. E. Hiley. Practical 
work in physiology has been conducted by Mr. Kempin. 
Considerable progress has been made with work on 
the herbarium. The accounts show that great economy 
has been practised in the matter of expenditure. 
Tue University of Lund is founding a personal pro- 
fessorship in the theory of heredity for Dr. N. H. 
Nilsson-Ehle. 
