B.—CHEMISTRY. 79 
research into problems of practical utility of wide importance, and to 
foster the prosecution of researches in pure science. With the exception 
of the last, these aims can be considered as coming under the designation 
of organised applied research. The Department has always strongly 
insisted that it is this type of work only that it seeks to organise, the 
assisted worker in pure research being left entirely free to follow his bent. 
As regards scientific policy, the Minister in charge of the Department 
is advised directly by a Council of independent scientific men, and these 
are represented also on the various Boards and Committees entrusted with 
the supervision of such investigations as are directed by the Department 
itself. 
Research Associations—From the success attending applications of 
scientific research in military and industrial problems during the war, the 
lesson was drawn that our industries in peace-time should be infused with 
fresh and more vigorous life by methods which had proved their worth at 
our time of need. Foresight in these matters was necessary, since it 
_ behoved Great Britain, no longer with the industrial world at its feet, to 
make the utmost use of its resources, by adopting the methods that were 
most efficient and solidly based on science, in order to produce material 
that would maintain the tradition of the excellence of British goods. 
While it was recognised that the most powerful chemical industries main- 
tained efficient research staffs, it was decided to encourage separate 
industries to organise themselves for the co-operative prosecution of 
research. To the associations erected under this scheme grants, for a 
q 
_ term of years only, and usually on a pound-for-pound basis, are made from 
a fund of a million pounds voted by Parliament in order to demonstrate 
_to the industries the advantage of investigating their own technical 
w+. 
problems, for it was recognised that many industries would have to carry 
out research themselves before they could properly appreciate its 
application. 
In its last published Report the Department remarks on the continuance 
‘of these grants to the associations beyond the originally intended period 
_of five years, as this period has proved insufficiently long for the equipment 
of laboratories and the effective launching of important investigations, 
especially during a time of industrial depression. 
A very wide field is covered by the research associations. Among 
‘those that have been set up in which chemistry is important are associa- 
tions for the textile industries, for rubber, leather, and shale oil, for flour 
and sugar, for non-ferrous metals, cast iron, glass, refractories, and Portland 
Mieicne and for scientific instruments and the photographic industry. 
As the results obtained by the associations are primarily for the benefit 
“of their constituent members, the onlooker has a chance of gauging the 
‘chemical work carried on only from the communications which, following 
an enlightened policy, the management of some of them permits to be 
: 
‘published ; and as many of these are contributions to ‘ pure * chemistry, 
an example is afforded of the opportunity as well as of the necessity for 
work of this kind in the case of investigations undertaken primarily for an 
‘industrial purpose. 
-_ It would be impossible to review the work of the research associations 
for all these industries, even if the data were available, and so reference 
will be made only to some of their publications, including those of the 
