340 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. 



advantages to be gained by standardisation. Tl)e department in wliich 

 Sir Joseph Whitworth's work took practical shape was in connection with 

 the series of screw-threads introduced by him, which have now come to 

 be regarded as tlie standard threads almost universally. So advantageous 

 is the existence of standard sizes that the Whitworth series, though based 

 on the inch, is largely used even in countries where the metric system is 

 in vogue. Sir Joseph Whitworth's favourite illustration when urging the 

 necessity for standardisation was that of candles and candlesticks, which 

 came home in the early eighties to every user in a way which it may not 

 do in the present day, when so many of us are accustomed to light our 

 rooms by merely turning a tap or a switch. Sir Joseph Whitworth 

 says : 'Candles and candlesticks are in use in almost every house, and 

 nothing could be more convenient than for the candles to fit accurately 

 into the sockets of the candlesticks, which at present they seldom or never 

 do.' The lesson taught by his illustration lies at the root of standardisa- 

 tion, and necessarily carries with it the restriction of the few for the 

 advantage of the many. Broadly speaking, there is no reason why the 

 candle-maker should not make the ends of his candles to any design and 

 shape which may be most convenient to himself, and the candlestick- 

 maker can adopt any form of socket in his candlestick which he may 

 desire, but obviously the multiplication of sizes and shapes of candles and 

 sockets is not to the advantage of the general user, while a restriction to 

 a sufficiently wide range of sizes to suit all practical purposes is beneficial 

 to the user, and consequently must result ultimately to the advantage of 

 the manufacturer. The principle underlying the above homely illustration 

 is applicable to all engineering practice, and lies at the root of the work 

 which the Engineering Standards Committee has been formed to carry 

 out. 



The opposition Sir Joseph Whitworth met with in many quarters 

 from those who thought that the maintenance of some particular form 

 of screw-thread would ensure customers returning to them for repairs, 

 ikc, is well known, and it was some years before the series of threads 

 introduced by Whitworth could in any sense be said to have been univer- 

 sally adopted as standards. 



Formation of the Engineering Standards Committee. 



It had been felt of late years that a great waste of time and money was 

 occurring in the rolling-mills throughout the country by the use of an 

 unnecessary number of varying sizes and .shapes of angles, channels, tees, 

 bars, rails, itc. The want of some recognised and important body to lay 

 down authoritative standards was emphasised on my mind by some 

 remarks made by Lord Salisbury in his reply to the deputation, of which 

 T formed one, who waited upon him at the Foreign Office in February 

 1897 to ui'ge the establishment of the National Physical Laboratory. 



Inquiries among engineers and manufacturers of steel convinced me 

 that though there was not complete unanimity, there was a great pre- 

 ponderance of opinion that it was high time in the interests of the 

 nation, as also of the manufacturers, that an effort should be made to 

 simplify and economise the cost of production. The need of .some action 

 to lay down authoritative standards, at least in manufactured steel, was, 

 amongst other similar communications, forcibly expressed in a letter 

 received by rae in 1900 from the chairman of one of the chief steel works 



