SCIENTIFIC NEWS, 



[Oct. 1st, if 



EVENING TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION 

 IN ENGLAND.— III.* 



T 



HE trades in connection with which courses of lessons 

 are subsidised by the Institute are the following : — 



1. Alkali and Allied Branches. 



(a) Salt manufacture. 



(b) Alkali „ 



(c) Soap „ 



2. Bread-making. 



3. (a) Brewing. 



(6) Spirit manufacture. 



4. Coal-Tar Products. 



5. Sugar manufacture. 



6. Fuel. 



7. Oils, Painters' Colours and Varnishes, manufac- 



ture of. 



8. Oils and Fats, including Candle-manufacture. 



9. Gas manufacture. 



10. Iron and Steel manufacture. 



1 1. Paper „ 



12. Pottery and Porcelain ,, 



13. Glass ,, 



14. Dyeing— 



{a) Silk. 



(b) Wool. 



(c) Cotton and Vegetable fibres. 



15. Bleaching and Printing of Calico or Linen. 



16. Leather. 



(a) Tanning Leather. 



{b) Boot and Shoe manufacture. 



17. Photography. 



1 8. Electro-Metallurgy. 



19. Textile Fabrics — 



(a) Cloth manufacture. 



(b) Cotton „ 



(c) Linen „ 

 {d) Silk „ 

 («) Jute „ 



20. (a) Lace manufacture. 

 (b) Framework Knitting. 



21. Weaving and Pattern-designing. 



22. Electrical Engineering — • 



(a) Telegraphy. 



(b) Electric Lighting and Transmission of Power 



(c) Electrical Instrument Making. 



23. Metal Plate Work. 



24. Plumbers' ,, 



25. Silversmiths' „ 



26. Watch and Clock Making. 



27. Tools — 



(a) Wood-working. 



(b) Metal-working. 



28. Mechanical Engineering. 



29. Carriage Building. 



30. Printing — 



(a) Tj'pography. 



(b) Lithography, etc. 



31. Ores, Raising and Preparation of 



32. Mine Surveying. 



25- Milling (Flour manufacture). 



34. Carpentry and Joinery. 



35. Brickwork and Masonry. 



Examinations in these subjects are held simultaneously 

 in the month of May. In some of the subjects the candi- 



* Continued from page 163. 



dates are required to do practical work in addition to 

 answering the questions of the examiners. Thus, in 

 weaving, the candidate is expected to design an original 

 pattern, to transfer the design to special paper, and to 

 weave in suitable material his own pattern. He is 

 also required to answer questions on the structure of looms 

 and other questions connected with the subject of weaving. 

 In carpentry, the candidate is required to execute a piece of 

 work from his own drawings, and to forward the drawings 

 and the work to the Institute for examination. Candidates 

 in printing are practically examined in printing works in 

 different parts of the country, and candidates in plumbing, 

 besides showing by their answers to questions that they 

 understand the principles of sanitation, are required, in the 

 presence of the examiners, to make joints, and to beat sheets 

 of lead to given shapes. 



It will be seen that the object of the instruction is to 

 supplement the instruction in mathematics, physics, me- 

 chanics, and chemistry which is under the direction of the 

 State. Students are encouraged to present themselves for 

 the examinations of the Institute by the offer of certificates, 

 and by prizes of from _£i to ^$, with medals of silver and 

 bronze. Employers of labour commence to accept the 

 certificates of the Institute as certificates of proficiency, and 

 in this way the examinations in technology held by the 

 Institute of Guilds are coming to replace the ceremony of 

 admitting the young apprentice to the freedom of his Guild, 

 which took place, years ago, under the auspices of the 

 master and assistants of the Guild. 



The Institute has experienced great difficulty in finding 

 competent teachers for these classes. The teacher of the 

 technology of a trade must understand the sciences that 

 have reference to that trade, and at the same time he must have 

 obtained the experience which can only be acquired in the 

 workshop or the factory. It is this combination which is 

 difficult to find. The demand, however, is bringing forth 

 the supply, and some of the most intelligent of the foremen 

 in large works study the principles of science first at the 

 evening classes in their own towns, and afterwards at the 

 Normal Schools in London, to qualify themselves as ^ 

 teachers. 



The number of students in attendance at these classes 

 has greatly increased since the year 1880, when they were 

 established. In that year there were 816 students examined 

 in 24 subjects, and of these 515 obtained certificates. In 

 1886 classes were held at 192 centres, 7,660 students re- 

 ceived instruction, and 4,764 candidates presented them- 

 selves for examination, of whom 2,627 obtained certifi- 

 cates. 



The system of evening technical instruction in England, 

 both as regards science, art, and technology, is complicated 

 by the fact that it is controlled from a central office situated 

 in London. This arrangement has its advantages and dis- 

 advantages. In many cases, the instruction cannot be well 

 adapted to local demands and to the requirements of difler- 

 ent trades. The practices of a trade differ in almost every 

 locality, and each school would doubtless prefer to adapt its 

 course of instruction to the requirements of the trade of the 

 district. On the other hand, it is an advantage that the 

 State encourages artisans to learn the elements of science 

 apart from their application to any particular industry. The 

 great value of science to the artisan consists in this : that it 

 enables him to understand the cause of unexpected pheno- 

 mena, and for this purpose it is necessary that he should 

 know facts in science which would seem to be quite remote 

 from those connected with his ordinary work. Moreover, 

 the examinations conducted by the State and by the Institute 

 furnish a guarantee that the instruction has been satisfactory, 

 and enable a correct comparison to be instituted between 



