V

THE  PORTABLE  LABORATORY
One  of  the  first  essentials  in  scientific  work  of  any  kind
is  a  laboratory.  A  laboratory  is  a  place  where  work  can  be
done  under  uniform  and  controlled  conditions,  and  where
the  apparatus  necessary  for  an  experiment  can  be  properly ­
  set  up  or  stored.  Most  universities  are  equipped
with  a  psychological  laboratory  differing  little  in  general
appearance  from  a  physics  laboratory.  Whenever  an  experiment ­
  is  to  be  conducted  in  one  of  these  laboratories,
the  apparatus  is  set  up  and,  when  preparations  are  complete, ­
  the  subjects  who  are  to  be  tested  are  required  to
come  to  the  laboratory  according  to  a  prearranged  schedule. ­
  For  a  time  it  was  considered  desirable  to  establish
and  equip  a  similar  laboratory  to  be  devoted  exclusively
to  the  psychological  work  of  the  factory.  At  first  glance,
such  a  laboratory  would  seem  to  be  in  line  with  the  physical ­
  and  chemical  laboratories  which  now  form  an  essential
part  of  every  large  industry.  However,  it  soon  became
obvious  that  such  a  laboratory  was  impracticable  for
factory  purposes.  It  was  highly  inadvisable  to  ask  a
large  number  of  employees  to  leave  their  work  and  come
to  the  comparatively  remote  point  occupied  by  the  laboratory. ­
  Not  only  would  such  a  procedure  have  caused
a  great  loss  of  time,  but  it  would  also  have  made  inevitable ­
  a  disconcerting  uncertainty  in  the  arrival  of  the
expected  subjects.  And  yet  it  was  highly  desirable  to
conduct  experiments  and  tests  under  conditions  of  a  cer ­