The Habits and Doings of Clever Animals
Nothing, for instance, could be more absorbing to the average school-child than the article Ant (Vol. 2, p. 85), by Prof. George H. Carpenter of the Royal College of Science, Dublin, who wrote the well-known book Insects; their Structure and Life. Here he tells how colonies of ants are founded, and how they live, and how they receive other insects as guests in order to obtain the food they desire, and how some species make slaves of other species. Numerous examples of their sense and intelligence are given, and the question as to whether their actions are rational or instinctive is discussed in the light of the most recent knowledge. The story of the Bee (Vol. 3, p. 625), also by Professor Carpenter, is equally wonderful, for we learn all about the solitary and social bees, the social organization of the hive, and how the worker bees are victimized. Both of these articles are fully illustrated. Spiders (Vol. 25, p. 663), by R. I. Pocock, superintendent of the Zoological Gardens, London, is another example of the adaptability of the Britannica to children’s reading. The accounts of their webs, nests and modes of catching prey hold the attention throughout.
A great deal of the most curious and recent knowledge of the animal kingdom is related in supplementary articles such as Colours of Animals (Vol. 6, p. 731), by Dr. E. B. Poulton, Hope professor of zoology at Oxford, author of The Colours of Animals, and Mimicry (Vol. 18, p. 495), by R. I. Pocock. The latter tells how animals protect themselves from their enemies by resemblance to other animals or objects.
Knowledge about Plants and Animals
Space will not permit further specific mention. The life-story of the entire animal kingdom, detailed information about plants and flowers are to be found in the pages of the new Britannica. The accurate and beautiful illustrations and the text, written in every case by naturalists of acknowledged reputation, and written always in the clearest language, help to give the work its unique position as the greatest source of authoritative and easily comprehended knowledge.
Marvelous Machines
Children delight in machinery and what it accomplishes, and the Britannica tells about this with great thoroughness in its complete section dealing with processes of manufacture. A number of the articles on this subject have been suggested in the last chapter as suitable for parents who wish to interest their children in the industrial world, and the list may be further extended for the benefit of older children by including such articles as Textile Printing (Vol. 26, p. 694), by Dr. Edmund Knecht, of Manchester University; Finishing (Vol. 10, p. 378) also by Professor Knecht; Wool, Worsted and Woollen Manufactures (Vol. 28, p. 805), by Aldred F. Barker, professor of textile industries, Bradford Technical College; Typography, Modern Practical Typography (Vol. 27, p. 542), by John Southward, author of Practical Printing, and H. M. Ross; Printing (Vol. 22, p. 350), by C. T. Jacobi, managing director of the Chiswick Press, London; Dredge and Dredging (Vol. 8, p. 562), by Walter Hunter, a noted consulting engineer; Reaping (Vol. 22, p. 944), by Primrose McConnell, author of Diary of a Working Farmer, etc.
Boys with a practical, mechanical turn of mind will delight in such articles as Bridges (Vol. 4, p. 533), by Prof. W. C. Unwin, with many illustrations; Motor Vehicles (Vol. 18, p. 914), by the late C. S. Rolls, a pioneer of motoring, and Edward S. Smith; Flight and Flying, Artificial Flight (Vol. 10, p. 510), which describes, with many pictures, flying machines from the earliest types to the latest, and Cycling (Vol. 7, p. 682), an historical and pictorial account of the velocipede and bicycle. Nothing could be more interesting and instructive than Ship (Vol. 24, p. 860), of which the historical part is by Rev. Edmond Warre, formerly head master of Eton College, and the account of modern ships by Sir Philip Watts, who designed the “Dreadnought” and the “Mauretania.” It is a real story, equivalent in length to 190 pages of this Guide, with nearly 130 illustrations of all sorts of craft including modern warships, ocean liners and vessels for inland navigation. Under Railways (Vol. 22, p. 819) there is an equally good history of the railway by H. M. Ross, editor of The Times Engineering Supplement, and others.
Electrical Apparatus
The remarkable attraction possessed by electrical apparatus for many boys will doubtless send them to such articles as Dynamo (Vol. 8, p. 764), by C. C. Hawkins, author of The Dynamo; Telephone (Vol. 26, p. 547), by Harry R. Kempe, electrician to the General Post Office, London; Telegraph (Vol. 26, p. 510), also by H. R. Kempe, and the chapter on Wireless Telegraphy (p. 529), by J. A. Fleming, professor of electrical engineering in the University of London. These accounts are full of the most practical information, and will be of inestimable help to any boy who wishes to experiment for himself.