TRANSAC'lIdXS Ol" SdCI KTI i:s. 379 



his Parlianiciitary Report, expresses the opinion that the project is one 

 of the soundest and most promising with which lie has ever been asso- 

 ciated in South Africa, and paves the way for one of the most favourable 

 closer settlement schemes which the Union is ever likely to produce. 



Wednesday. June i2th : T- W. W. Perry, M.I.Mech. E., in the chair. — 

 " Variations in ihc character and setting times of Portland cement, anl 

 their effect upon concrete" : J. ¥. E. Barnes. A consignment of 3,000 

 hags of cement ( following upon earlier consignments of some 4,000 bags, 

 which had given excellent results) had been used for making concrete, 

 and fourteen days later the concrete was still soft. The author proceeded 

 to describe the consequent testing (chemically and otherwise) of the 

 various materials, and set forth the deductions drawn from these tests. — 

 " Groutinii of masonry wall zvith liquid cement under air pressure " : C. H. 

 Warren. .\ description of the method adopted in grouting under 

 pressure, and rendering water-tight the walls and foundations of a deep 

 pump well which leaked freely. 



Wednesday, July loth : W. Craig, Al.l.C.M. \"icc-President, in the 

 chair. — ■" Construciiun oj Prins Riier Dam " : F. 1 Patterson. 1 he dam 

 site is 35 miles from Ladismith, Cape Province, and Prins River, a 

 tributary of Touws River, has a catciiment area of 305 square miles at 

 the site. The estimated cost of the dam was £21.000, and the area under 

 irrigation is Itetween 2,400 and 3,000 acres, which will probably be 

 increased to 6,000 by an extension of the irrigation district. The capacity 

 of the reservoir between outlet and full supply level is 3,530 acre-feet, and 

 as the net available annual yield of the catchment area is estimated at 343 

 million cubic feet, it should suffice to lill the reservoir twice per annum. 



Wednesday, August 14th : W. Craig, M.I.C.E., Vice-President, in the 

 cliair. — "The recoustru-ction of bridges. North Coast line. Natal": G. 

 Reynolds. Serious damage was occasioned by extensive Hoods in 

 Northern Natal during March, 1913, necessitating the reconstruction of 

 the bridges over the Umvoti and Amatikulu rivers, and considerable 

 repairs to the Umhloti River bridge. Detailed description of the work 

 involved was given. In several other cases, notable the Umhlatuzi and 

 Umfolozi bridges, temporary deviation works were utilised, while at the 

 Kmeleni bridge the work of restoration was carried on without interrup- 

 tion to traffic— " Selbonie Avenue Bridge'': A. H. Waller A descriptive 

 account of the construction of a bridge in Selborne Avenue, Rulawayo, 

 ■ner the Matjemhlope River, at a cost of £3,841. 



Wednesday, September iitii: Col. G. T. Nicholson, M.I.C.E., Vice- 

 President, in the chair. — '' Field water supplies in the East African cam- 

 paign " : Capt. A. C. Jennings. A description of the incidental works 

 carried out in the field for supplying water for men and animals during 

 the military operations in East Africa. Early in iqt6 a separate unit, the 

 South African water supply corps, was formed to develop and improve 

 water supplies for the troops on the line of march and in standing 

 camps. The corps was furnished with a very complete equipment of 

 drilling machines, well casings, pipes, oil engines, pump heads, hand 

 I)umps, and all necessary tools. Thus provided, the unit landed at 

 Kilindini, in British East Africa, in January, 1916, when the advance of 

 the main force from Mbuyuni was about to begin. There was a heavy 

 demand for water for the camp at the latter place, and a 2.} inch pipe line 

 was laid for a distance of nine miles to a lake in the adjacent hills. In 

 April, Taveta, the starting point for the subsequent main advance into 

 German East Africa, was occupied, and soon became a large base camp, 

 supplied at first with water from the Lumi River, two miles north- 

 Boreholes were subsequently sunk in volcanic formation, and yielded 

 almost inexhaustible supplies of good water. The next place occupied 

 was Moushi, where a good water supply from springs was developed and 

 improved. From Moushi the main force, under General Smuts, moved 

 across comparatively well-watered country, and no excessive difficulties 



