| Description | A letter from the War Office was forwarded to Stokes, marked '54 - Artillery - 6158', having been initially addressed to the Secretary of the Royal Society. To save time, Stokes as the President, has written a provisional reply.
Stokes explains that testing done at the Kew Observatory relates to testing of instruments' accuracy, with a recent test having been undertaken on optical instruments for the Navy, and he supposes that something similiar could be done for the War Office. However, in the letter referred to, the object appears to be a decision between two patterns of field glass, taking into consideration efficiency and cost. If so, the Royal Society could readily appoint a small committee to examine the two instruments and report their findings, preferably with the aid of one or two Officers of Artillary who are aware of the precise requirements.
Stokes suggests that it might then be desirable to individually test those supplied by the instrument makers to ensure that they reach the required standard, with such routine test work likely to be done by the staff of the Kew Observatory, with the agreement of the Kew Committee.
The initial decision could apparently be made quite quickly and at minimal expense. |