December 26, 1901] 



NA TURE 



175 



to enter the results of their experimental work in an 

 intelligible manner, such students could not enter the 

 derman technical high schools. 



Students of chemistry who enter the technical high 

 schools do not devote the whole of their time to 

 chemistry ; they take out a full technological course, in- 

 cluding such subjects as trigonometry, higher mathe- 

 matics, physics, botany, electrotechnics, technical draw- 

 ing, machine drawing, &c. The above subjects have been 

 taken at random from the syllabus of the Darmstadt 

 Technical High School for 1895. Perhaps, however, the 

 thoroughness of the courses through which the student 

 must pass before obtaining his technological diploma is 

 best shown by a study of the syllabus of the Stuttgart 

 Technical High School. 



Mineralogy and geology 



Zoology 



Botany 



Physics 



Experimental chemistry 

 Theoretical chemistry ... 

 Analytical chemistry ... 

 Organic chemistry 

 Technical chemistry 



Dye industries 



Building construction ... 

 Elements of machinery 

 Electro-chemistry 

 Political economy 

 Elementary jurisprudence 

 Microscopic laboratory 

 Chemical laboratories ... 



3 i - 

 3 I 3 



34 34 29 35 



Any extra time at the students' disposal is devoted to 

 practical chemistry, bacteriology, or the chemistry of 

 foods, &c. 



The pioneering labours of the German Universities 

 are known to everyone. For pure chemical research 

 they have obtained for themselves a position which 

 places them almost above criticism, and which has made 

 them the envy of the world, insomuch that students 

 flock to them from all countries. In 1897 there were 

 13,000 students at the Prussian Universities ; of these 

 9 per cent, were foreigners. Each of these students 

 costs the State 31/. annually, or about 36,000/. In the 

 Prussian high schools during the same year there were 

 4246 students, of whom 13 per cent, were foreigners, 

 costing the State 14/. per head, or nearly 8000/. That 

 is to say, in 1897 the Prussian State expended 43,000/. 

 on the education of foreigners, many of whom would in 

 all probability enter into trade competition with them- 

 selves. Taking the whole of Germany into account it is 

 calculated that no less than 60,000/., or the interest on 

 2,000,000/., was expended in educating foreigners. 



In one respect the (ierman Universities and poly- 

 technics possess an enormous advantage over those of 

 this country— ///^j' arc not hampered by luai:/ of funds. 

 The German Government realises the importance of 

 education, hence the Universities and technical high 

 schools are built upon the most modern principles and 

 fitted up in a style which is little short of perfection. It 

 must not, however, be denied that here we also build 

 NO. 1678, VOL. 65] 



and fit up polytechnics in a manner which leaves little to 

 be desired, so far as the external structure and paint and 

 varnish are concerned. But it so often happens that all 

 the funds have been swallowed up by bricks and mortar, 

 hence there is no money forthcoming for adequate equip- 

 ment and maintenance,' much less for research. The 

 result is, the teaching staff is miserably inadequate and 

 consequently overworked. 



The following table, the numbers in which are taken 

 from the reports from University colleges, issued by the 

 Education Department, gives the income and the Govern- 

 ment grant for five of our University colleges for the year 

 ending July 31, 1899 : — 



King's College. London 

 University College, London 

 Owens College 

 University College, Liverpool 

 Mason College, Birmingham 



Contrast this with the German Universities and tech- 

 nical high schools ; for our Universities and University 

 colleges, as well as our polytechnics, are but too often 

 without sufficient income. 



In 1899 the total income of the University of Berlin 

 was i43o55''- ; of this large sum no less than 83 percent, 

 was contributed by the State, while 80 per cent, of the 

 income of the University of Bonn (63,037/.) was obtained 

 from the Governinent. Turning to the technical high 

 schools, that of Berlin, with a total income of 69,077/., 

 received 33,675/. ; Hanover, total income 25,240/., 

 obtained 15,094/. ; while Aachen, having an income of 

 22,998/., received 16,581/. from the Government. The 

 teaching staff" of the chemistry department — I have not 

 the numbers for the other departments — is also on an 

 equally lavish scale, as the appended table shows : — 



Teaching Staff. Students. 

 10 ... 315 



Heidelberg University 

 Strasburg University 

 Berlin Polytechnic ... 

 Stuttgart Polytechnic 

 Karlsruhe Polytechnic 



278 



It has already been mentioned that the technical high 

 schools are taking a more and more leading place ; this 

 is shown by the fact that during the last seventeen years 

 the students at the technical high schools have increased 

 206 per cent., whereas at the Universities the increase 

 is only 12 per cent. In some chemical works preference 

 is given to students who have studied at the technical 

 high schools, one reason being that technical high schools 

 devote much more attention to the teaching of tech- 

 nology. It is estimated that there are in Germany about 

 4500 trained chemists who have had the full courses at 

 the Universities or technical high schools. But not- 

 withstanding this vast array of expert technical chemists 

 and the preeminent place which German chemical in- 

 dustries have obtained, in chemical industrial circles in 

 Germany there is a widespread feeling that there must 

 be no resting on their oars, but that increased facilities 

 for technical education must be obtained, and it is felt 

 that, unless the Universities devote more attention to 

 technology, the diminution in the number of students 

 will in the course of ten or fifteen years react most un- 

 favourably upon the German chemical industries. How 

 much more so is this the case in our own country, where 

 chemical technology is rarely taught ? .^t our Univer- 

 sities and polytechnics we appoint one professor, who 

 has to teach all the branches of chemistry. In Germany 

 there is a professor set apart to teach technology, a 



' The_ Technical Education Board of London do their best to remedy 

 defects in equipment, but their funds are not unlimited, and it is not their 

 province to pay for the general upkeep of the institutions. 



-This does not include the day training college, which has an income 

 of 5400/. and 3679/. in the form of grants from the Education Dipartmsnt. 



