220 On Practical Scientific Instruction. [April, 



candle being taken to a burst cask of petroleum, or into places 

 known to be full of escaped coal-gas ; of miners habitually carrying 

 keys to open their lamps in the explosive atmosphere of coal-mines ; 

 and of men smoking pipes in barges laden with gunpowder. Fre- 

 quent mishaps or accidents in the management of material sub- 

 stances are a sign of minds untrained in science. 



Our working-men are also frequently very wasteful in the use 

 of substances and forces ; not having the skill to use them econo- 

 mically, they try to obtain increased quantity of results by a too 

 liberal employment of means. In consequence of the greatness of 

 our supply of coal, and a want of knowledge of science, British 

 manufacturers have also been exceedingly wasteful of the force of 

 heat. Coal differs from nearly all other abundant substances by 

 containing within itself an immense store of power. Every particle 

 of coal we use contains sufficient power stored up in it to lift itself 

 a height of more than two thousand miles, or a pound of it contains 

 enough power to lift a ton nearly a mile high. 



There is no manufacture which does not continually involve 

 a necessity for scientific knowledge. Every person who has to ope- 

 rate either physically or chemically upon material substances, or 

 who has to superintend such operations, ought certainly to possess 

 a general knowledge of the forces and materials under his care. A 

 man who handles a substance should be familiarly acquainted with 

 all its leading properties. Eational knowledge is far more valuable 

 than empirical knowledge. A man who understands a principle 

 can solve a new difficulty nearly as well as he can an old one. In 

 the management and manipulation of materials it is manifest that a 

 workman who possesses an intelligent knowledge of the principles 

 of the processes, and of the properties of the forces and substances 

 with which he is dealing, in addition to the every-day working 

 experience, is better able to prevent accidents, correct errors, and 

 vary the process so as to produce special effects ; and must also, in 

 many trades, be a better artisan than he who has only the daily 

 working experience, guided by the " rule of thumb." In all manu- 

 facturing employments, science, combined with natural ability, is the 

 only true foundation of skill. There is no kind of physical labour, 

 however simple and rude it may be, in which superior intelligence 

 does not enable a man to produce better or larger results. In most 

 other human affairs the means employed are adapted to the object 

 in view, but in the manipulations with natural forces and material 

 substances in this country, men are nearly always employed who 

 are largely ignorant both of the one and the other. Faraday, in his 

 evidence before the Government Commission appointed to inquire 

 into the state of science education in our large public schools, stated 

 that " we cannot find the intelligent common man in this country." 



What is really wanted in our workmen and managers is not the 



