28 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
Tf we look at the relative sizes of the largest and best 
English, American and German handbooks of Medical Bacteri- 
ology, we find that the English and American books contain 
under 900 small pages, the German, 5,590 large pages.* That 
gives a rough indication of the relative amount of work which 
has been done on this subject by the three nations. — 
If we consider the articles constantly used in a bacterio- 
logical laboratory such as microscopes, reagents and glass 
apparatus, we find that the best microscope costs about £100. 
Unfortunately, it is made in Germany. Time was when the 
best and most expensive microscopes were made by Ross, 
or Powell and Lealand in England. 
The best dyes procurable are also made in Germany. 
Perkin, an Englishman, was largely responsible for the discovery 
of anilme dyes, and “during the period 1860-1865 Great 
Britam was the chief centre of the dyes industry, but 
nnfortunately the necessity for continuous and careful research 
work was little appreciated in England” (C), consequently 
we lost the industry. At the present time we import dyes 
to the value of £2,250,000, of which £1,750,000 come from 
Germany, and the industries in which these dyes play an 
important or essential part are estimated at £200,000,000 per 
annum.T | 2 
The German dominance in the chemical world is largely 
due to research. ‘‘The Hoechst works employ 350 research 
chemists, the Badische Company about the same number, and 
the Baeyer Company nearly as many, in all—about 1,000 
University-trained chemists, many with the highest degrees.” (C) 
It has been calculated that in Germany there is one University 
chemist to every 50 workmen, whilst in Great Britain the 
ratio is certainly not higher than 1 to 500. <‘‘'There were only 
1,500 trained chemists in this country.” (Viscount Haldane.) 
* Kolle und Wassermann. 
+ See Gardner, W. M., The Brit. Coal Tar Industry. Williams & Norgate, 
London. 
