establishments, pensions can be given, they afford the most powerful inducements to industry and fidelity. It is not necessary here to dwell upon the importance of technical education. The advantages that craftsmanship constantly reaps from scientific knowledge are standing proofs of the necessity for special training. All may be summed up in a few words borrowed from the writings of a former French Minister of Finance, Jules Simon : "The practised eye and the sure hand are much, but they do not replace Science. The smith who knows the drawbacks of too rapid oxidation, who knows why throwing water on the surface of fuel increases the heat at the centre of the mass, the puddler who takes into account the effect of an oxidising or reducing flame, and who exposes metals to one or the other at the right moment—such are evidently the best workmen, more skilful for current needs, less disconcerted by an accident, less embarrassed by having to describe an observation, less slaves to routine, and quicker to adopt new processes." He points to the fact that so many of the modern inventions are due to workmen, and justly urges that the more intelligent the workman becomes, the better he will understand the skill possessed by those who direct him, and the more he will appreciate work that differs from his own. In spite of all the advantages that technical education offers, it must be remembered that many metallurgical works in this country are successfully conducted by so-called practical men; not the kind of man so forcibly described by Sir Frederick Bramwell,* as one "whose wisdom consists in standing by, seeing, but not investigating, the new discoveries which are taking place around him, the aim and object of such a man being to ensure that he should never make a mistake by embarking his capital or his time in that which has not been proved by men of large hearts and large intelligence;" nor the man who accepts no rule but the rule of thumb, but practical men possessing technical knowledge of a high order, whose careful observations enable them to use the results of past experience in dealing with circumstances and conditions analogous to those they have met with before, and with which long practice has made them familiar. It would be difficult to overrate the value and importance of such knowledge as theirs, and, when we remember the scale on which smelting operations are carried on, it will be obvious that this kind of knowledge can only be gained in the works, and not in the laboratory or lecture-room, for, however careful metallurgical * Brit. Assoc. Rep. 1872, p. 238. teaching in a school may be, it is only practical in a limited sense. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that a man trained to scientific methods starts with the enormous advantage of being able to deal with circumstances and conditions that are new to him, and with which, therefore, he cannot be said to be familiar. The technical skill that time and opportunity can alone give him will then rest on a solid basis. It is necessary, however, to guard against undervaluing the teaching of experience unaided by reasoning that we should recognise as scientific, for it is only necessary to witness such operations as the roasting of a large mass of ore on the bed of a furnace, or the forging of many tons of iron under a steam hammer, to appreciate the value of the subtle skill of sight and touch on which success depends. The relation between scientific and technical men is thus traced, as hitherto there have been misunderstandings on both sides, or, as Dr. Williamson* so well observes, "Men of detail do not sufficiently appreciate the value and usefulness of ideas or of general principles; and men of science, who learn to understand and control things more and more by the aid of the laws of Nature, are apt to expect that all improvements will result from the development and extension of their scientific methods of research, and not to do justice to the empirical considerations of practical expediency which are so essential to the realisation of industrial success in the imperfect state of our scientific knowledge." While it is no longer necessary to justify the scientific teaching of metallurgy, it is as important as ever that the true relation of Theory and Practice should be clearly understood. It rarely happens that a process can be transferred from the laboratory to the works without important modifications; and it must be remembered that metallurgy is a manufacturing art, and that, when the truth of a theory has been demonstrated, a dividend has to be earned. This would, indeed, often be difficult without the aid of the practical man. Practical men have, however, ceased to undervalue science, and the most practical body of men in the world, in the best sense of the term, the ironmasters of this country, on whom its prosperity so largely depends, formed themselves, in 1870, into an Iron and Steel Institute, of which many of the members possess high scientific attainments, and are distinguished for scientific research. Turn, then, to the advice given by those who are accustomed to deal with metals on a large scale. In 1873 Sir Lowthian * Inaugural Lecture, University College, London, 1870. Bell stated: "If we would avoid the failure of what may be. designated unscientific practice, or the failure of impracticable science, we must seek to combine commercial intelligence with a knowledge of those natural laws which form the only trustworthy groundwork of the complicated processes in which we are engaged." Again, Sir W. Siemens,† in 1877, said, "It is not many years since practical knowledge was regarded as the one thing requisite in an iron smelter, whilst theoretical knowledge of the chemical and mechanical principles involved in the operations was viewed with considerable suspicion." As regards the preliminary training in metallurgy, the utmost efforts of the student should be devoted to securing a thorough acquaintance with scientific methods and metallurgical principles, and, at the same time, to gathering as many well-ascertained facts as possible, remembering that applied science is nothing but the application of pure science to particular classes of problems. It consists of deductions from the general principles, established by reasoning and observation, which constitute pure science. No one can safely make these deductions until he has a firm grasp of the principles, and he can obtain that grasp only by personal experience of the processes of observation and of reasoning on which they are founded. Production of Metals.-According to a diagram prepared by order of the French Minister of Public Works, and shown at the Paris Exhibition of 1889, the world's production of metals in 1887 was as follows:: The world's production of coal during the same year amounted to 435,024,000 tons, valued at 3,000,652,000 francs. The amount of pig-iron produced per head of population in the principal iron-producing countries is as follows: * Journ. Iron and Steel Inst. 1873, p. 12. + Ibid. 1877, p. 7. Price of Metals. In an able paper,* published in 1887, Dr. D. A. Wells contends that depression in trade is largely the result of depression in the prices of metals and other metallurgical products. It is interesting, therefore, to consider past experience in the production and price of metals. In the case of iron Sir Lowthian Bell fixed the world's produc tion of pig-iron in 1870 at 11,565,000 tons, which increased to 14,345,000 tons in 1872. From that date production remained stationary until 1879, when it was 14,048,000 tons. After 1879 the average make for the ensuing five years was 18,co0,000 tons, and in 1883 it rose to 21,063,000 tons, or nearly 50 per cent. more than it was in 1879. While the production of iron increased in the United Kingdom at the rate of 131 per cent. from 1870 to 1884, the increase in the production of the rest of the world during the same period had been 237 per cent. Under such circumstances the price of pig-iron throughout the world has rapidly declined. In America, pig-iron was 45 dollars per ton in 1870; in 1885 it was 16 dollars. Cleveland pig-iron was £4 178. per ton in 1872, £2 108. in 1880, 378. 2d. in 1887, and 338. in January 1888. In 1874 Bessemer steel rails were £12 per ton; in 1887 they were £4. Since 1870 there has been a marked increased production on the same expenditure in capital and labour. In Great Britain, the yield of iron per workman per year was 173 tons in 1870, 194 tons in 1880, and 261 tons in 1884. During the period under consideration, there has been a large substitution of steel for iron. A ship of 1700 tons requires 17 per cent. less material if made of steel than if of wrought iron; at the same time its efficiency is 7 per cent. greater in the former case. Again, on account of the greater durability of steel, a rail of this material has a life probably three times as long as that of an iron one. An iron rail is replaced after eight to twelve years, whilst a steel one lasts for twenty-four years. The consequence is that the British railways require only 200,000 tons annually of steel rails for replacement. If, however, they were of iron, 500,000 tons would be required. The same period has witnessed a great diminution in the production of puddled iron. This, it has been computed, has resulted, in the ten years from 1875 to 1885, in the loss of £4,667,000 of capital invested in puddling furnaces in England alone. Other metals have also undergone great fluctuations in price; in most cases there has been a decline. In the case of copper, the increased annual production for the year 1885, compared with 1873, was 97 per cent., the increase being chiefly in the United States, Spain, and Portugal. In 1886 copper reached its lowest price, it having been, at New York, 9 cents per lb., whilst in 1880 it was 25 cents per lb. In January 1887, Chili bars cost £40 per ton. Many mines had to stop working, for at such prices they could only work at a loss. The great mines alone kept on, but their dividends were considerably reduced. This state of things led to speculation in copper, and endeavours were made to buy up a certain quantity of this metal, to raise the price, and then to sell at a profit. A syndicate was formed in Paris, and large quantities of copper were bought. The first results exceeded all expectations. Copper rose in a short time from £40 to £80. It was then resolved to make the affair permanent, and the syndicate contracted with the leading copper mines to buy their output at a given price. It undertook, in fact, to take 150,000 tons a year, involving an outlay of at least £9,000,000. Besides this, in order to keep up the price and the monopoly, it was necessary for the syndicate to buy all the output of those mines which declined to contract. One of the chief factors in the affair, however, was overlooked. Consumers did not come forward as in previous years. Copper came into the market from all directions, and, owing to the high prices, old sheathing was melted down, meeting the consumption, and copper in many cases was superseded by iron or steel. In short, the stock of the syndicate swelled daily in alarming proportions, and in February 1889 the final crash came, and copper fell to £39. Since this date it has steadily risen, until it is now (September 1890) £57 per ton. From 1880 to 1885, the world's production of lead increased about 30 per cent., and the price fell in the same proportion. In the latter year, there was great commercial distress among British lead miners and smelters. The price is now about £13 per ton. Nickel, not many years ago, was a scarce metal of limited uses, but now the annual production amounts to from 800 to 900 tons. This exceeds the demand, and hence it is quoted at a comparatively low figure. The New Caledonian and Canadian ores are capable of yielding an immense supply of this metal; but until |