34 REPORT — 1895. 



tions for biological and astronomical research, which in the case of the 

 ' Challenger ' expedition involved very large sums of money. 



In addition to these direct aids to science, Parliament, under tlie 

 Local Taxation Act, handed over to the County Councils a sum, -'.vhich 

 amounted in the year 1893 to 615,000/., to be expended on technical educa- 

 tion. In many country districts, so far as the advancement of real scien- 

 tific technical progress in the nation is concerned, much of this money 

 has been wasted for want of knowledge. And whilst it cannot be said 

 that the Government or Parliament have been indifferent to the promotion 

 of scientific education and research, it is a source of regret that the Govern- 

 ment did not devote some small portion of this magnificent gift to afford- 

 ing an object-lesson to County Councils in tlie application of science to 

 technical instruction, which woiUd have suggested the principles which 

 would most usefully guide them in the expenditure of this public money. 



Government assistance to science has been based mainly on the principle 

 of helping A'oluntary effort. The Kew Observatory was initiated as a 

 scientific observatory by the British Association. It is now supported 

 by the Gassiot trust fund, and managed by the Kew Observatory Com- 

 mittee of the Royal Society. Observations on magnetism, on meteorology, 

 and the record of sun-spots, as well as experiments upon new instruments 

 for assisting meteorological, thermometrical, and photographic purposes, 

 are being carried on there. The Committee has also arranged for the 

 verification of scientific measuring instruments, the rating of chrono- 

 meters, the testing of lenses and of other scientific apparatus. This 

 institution carries on to a limited extent some small portion of the class 

 of work done in Germany by that magnificent institution, the Reich sanstalt 

 at Charlottenburg, but its development is fettered l)y want of funds. 

 British students of science are compelled to resort to Bei'lin and Paris 

 when they requii-e to compare their more delicate instruments and ap- 

 paratus with recognised standards. There could scarcely be a more advan- 

 tageous addition to the assistance which Government now gives to science 

 than for it to allot a substantial annual sum to the extension of the Kew 

 Observatory, in order to develop it on the model of the Reichsanstalt. 

 It might advantageously retain its connection with the Royal Society, 

 under a Committee of Management representative of the various branches 

 of science concerned, and of all parts of Great Britain. 



Conclusion. 



The various agencies for scientific education have produced numerous 

 students admirably qualified to pursue research ; and at the same time 

 almost every field of industry presents openings for improvement through 

 the development of scientific methods. For instance, agricultural opera- 

 tions alone offer openings for research to the biologist, the chemist, the 

 physicist, the geologist, the engineer, which have hitherto been largely 



