ENGINEERING 



2034 



ENGINEERING 



Nile, and of the reservoir for the supply of 

 water to New York erected in the heart of the 

 Catskill Mountains. In Canada the opening 

 of the Canadian Northern Railroad from ocean 

 to ocean in October, 1915, marked a triumph 

 of engineering skill in railroad construction. 



Engineering is one of the most ancient of 

 arts and had been brought to a remarkable 

 state of perfection among Eastern nations 

 centuries before the birth of Christ. One of 

 the greatest engineering feats of all time is 

 seen in the building of the mighty Pyramids 

 of Egypt. So perfectly were they planned and 

 executed that the most delicate of modern 

 engineering instruments and calculations fail 

 to find an error in the theory or practice of 

 their construction, and nobody has ever dis- 

 covered how the mighty stones were raised to 

 their lofty positions. The Romans left behind 

 them striking monuments to their engineering 

 skill in bridges, aqueducts and roads they built. 

 Ancient Babylon, in its Hanging Gardens, pos- 

 sessed one of the wonders of the world. 



Engineering Schools. The need for special 

 education in engineering subjects was first 

 recognized in France and Germany. Schools 

 were established in France in 1747 and in Ger- 

 many in 1824 for the purpose of training engi- 

 neers for government service. This example 

 was followed in the United States by the estab- 

 lishment of the West Point Military Academy 

 in 1802; but little else was done in this direc- 

 tion until near the end of the War of Seces- 

 sion. Canada was even later in the field, but 

 so thoroughly has the need of such training 

 been realized that technical schools have been 

 opened in connection with nearly every great 

 university in North America, and many sep- 

 arate technical institutions have been estab- 

 lished. The object of these schools is the 

 same in all cases; they aim to give the stu- 

 dent a thorough practical and theoretical grasp 

 of that branch of engineering to which he 

 wishes to devote himself. Entrance to the 

 technical schools is gained by examination or 

 by certificate from recognized high schools. 



No young man should select any branch of 

 engineering as a profession unless he has an 

 aptitude for higher mathematics. Civil engi- 

 neering, mining engineering and the like re- 

 quire good physique or ability to endure more 

 or less exposure and hardship. To the boy 

 who has a leaning towards constructive work 

 and who is willing to prepare himself thor- 

 oughly, some branch of engineering offers high 

 inducements. 



Engineering Instruments. For their varied 

 and delicate tasks engineers have need of 

 many special instruments, some of them very 

 complicated. A description of these is not 

 possible here, nor is it necessary, but a more 

 or less general statement as to the basic instru- 

 ments in use will be helpful and interesting. 

 The engineer must be able to measure dis- 

 tances accurately, to distinguish directions, to 

 measure angles and to determine at any time 

 whether a certain line or surface is absolutely 

 horizontal, and for each of these processes he 

 makes use of special instruments. 



His commonest measuring instrument is the 

 chain, made up of links of steel wire. The 

 usual length of this is fifty or 100 feet. As it 

 is subject to a slight variation in length with 

 wear or with alteration in the shape of the 

 links, it is used only for rough measurements. 



The instrument used in determining direc- 

 tions is the compass (which see) ; that for 

 measuring angles is the transit (which see). 

 This last-named wonderful instrument is the 

 basis of much of the engineer's most impor- 

 tant work, and its invention made compara- 

 tively easy many computations impossible 

 before. Another very useful instrument is the 

 level, which shows with perfect accuracy 

 whether or not a line is horizontal. E.D.F. 



Related Subject*. Various phases of the 

 general subject of engineering will appear 

 clearer and more interesting if the reader will 

 consult the following articles in these volumes. 

 Lists of related subjects are also given with 

 some of these articles : 



Aqueduct 



Assuan 



Breakwater 



Bridge 



Caisson 



Canal 



Cofferdam 



Crane 



Dam 



Electricity 



Engine 



Gearing 



Hanging Gardens of 



Babylon 

 Heliograph 

 Hydraulics 

 Hydrostatics 



Irrigation 



Jetty 



Levee 



Level 



Lighthouse 



Lock 



Physics 



Pier 



Pyramids 



Reservoir 



Steam Engine 



Strength of Materials 



Surveying 



Tunnel 



Turbine 



Viaduct 



Well Boring 



The following distinguished engineers are also 

 given separate articles in these volumes : 



Armstrong, William G. 

 Bessemer, Henry 

 Eads, James Buchanan 

 Eiffel, Gustave 

 Ericsson, John 

 Fulton, Robert 

 Goethals, George W. 



Lesseps, Ferdinand de 

 Nasmyth, James 

 Russell, John Scott 

 Stephenson, George 

 Stephenson, Robert 

 Stevenson, Robert 



