THE ENGINEERS' OPEN HOUSE. 



V. S. POWERS, '18. 



THE honor of having the best exhibit at the Fourth Annual 

 Engineers' Open House held by the departments of Engineer- 

 ing, Mining, and Forestry on the University Campus March 29, 

 was won for the third consecutive time by the College of For- 

 estry. The decision this year was awarded by popular vote of all 

 visitors attending. The public's conviction of the superiority of the 

 Foresters' exhibit was demonstrated when a count of the votes cast 

 showed that over one-half of the total number were in our favor, 

 thereby placing^ the Foresters far in advance of the Civil Engineers 

 who were the nearest competitors. 



The surprise that was manifested when the Foresters won in 

 915 turned to intense rivalry when they won again in 1916. Be- 

 use of a faculty decision to permit the Open IJouse only biennially 

 the future, this spirit of rivalry was increased with the determina- 

 ion that the Foresters should not win for the third time. However, 

 he woodsmen made up what they lacked in numbers by hard work 

 and spirited co-operation, and by working day and night they proved 

 that they were capable of managing at least part of the forest re- 

 sources of this country. 



In viewing the Foresters' exhibits the first point of interest was 

 a model cruiser's camp located in the heart of a Douglas fir forest 

 in front of the Forestry building. Before a cheerful camp fire was 

 assembled a complete cooking outfit and in a tent nearby were to be 

 seen hypsometers, aneroids, compasses and other instruments used 

 in reconniassence work. To make the picture more realistic a camp- 

 packer demonstrated the intricacies of the "diamond hitch" while 

 packing and unpacking his outfit on a patient pack-horse. 



By following a wooded path into the building one saw the most 

 up to date equipment in portable tents and beds for camp use in the 

 woods. The articles which proved of most interest were the "El 

 Commanche" combination tent, bed, and blankets, and a silk storm 

 tent which w r eighed but two pounds. A fourteen piece folding, alum- 

 nium cooking set of very light weight, attracted the attention of the 

 lady visitors, and not a few of the men. 



In an adjoining room a large working erosion model gave a 

 startling comparison of the erosion resisting properties of a forest 

 covered area as compared with that of a non-forested area when both 

 were subjected to a regular Puget Sound rain storm. This exhibit 

 illustrated how the forests not only retain the humus and organic 

 soil but also protect the mineral soil from erosion and regulate 

 stream flow. 



Comprising another exhibit were various instruments used for 



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