This is the third of a series of articles which have been exclusively prepared for this journal coincident with the visit of the Iron and Steel Institute to Ziirich. Further articles, which will appear in the issues up to and including the date of the meeting, will deal with various aspects of the engineering industry of Switzerland including locomotives and rolling stock for Swiss railways, electricity, machine
tools, etc. The author of this article, who has been Director of the Eidgenossische Materialprüfungsanstalt, Ziirich, since 1924, has had a most distinguished career. Among the many positions of importance which he has held is the General Secretaryship (1927-1937) of the International Association for Materials Testing. Since 1926 he has been President of the Swiss Association for Materials Testing and last year he was elected an honorary member of the Société Franqaise de Métallurgie.