94 



NATURE 



[Junez, 1875 



the Southern Highlands, Lochs Vennachar and Lomond, 

 without revealing its presence by any abrupt surface 

 features. These transverse valleys can be admirably 

 studied in some of the river ravines. The gorges of the 

 Ericht, Isla, and North Esk, indeed, are true caiions, 

 their precipitous walls range from 80 to sometimes 200 

 feet in height, between which the rivers toil in narrow 

 tortuous chasms. It is easy to examine the strata in 

 these natural sections, and to find conclusive proof that 

 in spite of their fissure-like character the ravines have 

 been cut out of the solid and unbroken Old Red Sand- 

 stone, the strata of which can be traced from side to side 

 in undisturbed continuity. The pot-holes marking old 

 levels of water-grinding can be traced at various heights 

 above the present streams, which are still at work deepen- 

 ing their channels in the same way. The contribution 

 therefore which this geological ramble makes to the dis- 

 cussion of an interesting question in the physiography of 

 Great Britain may be put thus :— An enormous disloca- 

 tion crosses the island along the southern margin of the 

 Highlands. It has not given rise to any marked line of 

 glens or valleys. It is crossed by all the rivers and some 

 of the lakes which emerge from the southern side of the 

 Grampians, and some of these rivers flow in deep narrow 

 gorges across the line of fracture. Yet in none of these 

 gorges could any trace be found of transverse fracture ; 

 on the contrary, they everywhere bore evidence only of 

 long-continued aqueous erosion. 



Another point of interest noted in the course of the 

 excursion was the fact that Comrie — a locality so long 

 and widely celebrated for its frequent and sometimes 

 sharp earthquake shocks— lies almost directly over the 

 line of the great fault. This fact seems to be the first of 

 any consequence which has been ascertained in the 

 attempt to connect the abundance of tremors at that 

 place with any geological structure of the ground under- 

 neath. From this brief notice it will be seen that there 

 was plenty of geological interest and novelty to keep up 

 the enthusiasm of the party Irom the beginning to the 

 close of the excursion. Glorious weather and an endless 

 variety of scenery added fresh charms to each day's 

 work, while over the whole came the glee and hearty 

 exuberance which the free open face of nature could not 

 but evoke in men who had been working hard together in 

 town £ill the winter and spring. 



THE U.S. GOVERNMENT BOARD FOR TEST- 

 ING IRON AND STEEL 

 IN accordance with " An Act making Appropriations 

 for Sundry Civil Expenses of the Government, for 

 the fiscal year ending June 30, 1 876, and for other pur- 

 poses," approved March 3, 1875, and in reply to a 

 memorial presented to Congress in January last by the 

 American Society of Civil Engineers, the President of the 

 United States has appointed a Board with instructions to 

 determine by actual tests the strength and value of all 

 kinds of iron, steel, and other metals which may be sub- 

 mitted to or procured by it, and to prepare tables 

 which will exhibit the strength and value of these mate- 

 rials for constructive purposes. 



The object of this Board is so admirable, and in this, 

 as already in some other similar respects, the U.S. has set 

 an example so worthy of imitation by European Govern- 

 ments, that we shall be doing a service in publishing the 

 details of the organisation of the Board. Congress, we 

 may state, has voted 50,000 dollars to defray the expenses 

 of the Board. 



The following are the names of its members : — Pre- 

 sident, Lieut.-Col. T. T. S. Laidley, U.S.A. ; Commander 

 L. A. Beardslee, U. S. N. ; Lieut.- Col, Q. A. Gillmore, 

 U. S. A. ; Chief Engineer David Smith, U. S. N. ; W. 

 Sooy Smith, C.E. ; A. L. Holley, C.E. ; R. H. Thurston, 

 ^,E., Secretary, 



The work of the Board is divided into sections, each 

 section being entrusted to a standing committee from the 

 members of the Board. The following are the Sections : — 



(A) On Abrasion and Wear. — Instructions : To exa- 

 mine and report upon the abrasion and wear of railway 

 wheels, axles, rails, and other materials, under the con- 

 ditions of actual use. 



(B) On Artnour Plate. — Instructions: To make tests 

 of armour plate, and to collect data derived from expe- 

 riments already made to determine the characteristics of 

 metal suitable for such use. 



(C) On Chemical AVj^«;r//.— Instructions : To plan 

 and conduct investigations of the mutual relations of the 

 chemical and mechanical properties of metals. 



(D) Oti Chains and Wire Ropes. — Instructions : To 

 determine the character of iron best adapted for chain 

 cables, the best form and proportions of link, and the 

 qualities of metal used in the manufacture of iron and 

 steel wire rope. 



(E) On Corrosion of Metals.— Instructions : To in- 

 vestigate the subject of the corrosion of metals under the 

 conditions of actual use. 



(F) On the Effects of Temperature. — Instructions : To 

 investigate the effects of variations of temperature upon 

 the strength and other qualities of iron, steel, and other 

 metals. 



(G) On Girders and Columns, — Instructions : To 

 arrange and conduct experiments to determine the laws 

 of resistance of beams, girders, and columns to change 

 of form and to fracture. 



(H) On Iron, Malleable.— Insirwciions^: To examine 

 and report upon the mechanical and physical proportions 

 of wrought iron. 



(I) On Iroft, Cast. — Instructions : To consider and 

 report upon the mechanical and physical properties of 

 cast iron. 



(J) On Metallic Alloys. — Instructions : To assume 

 charge of a series of experiments on the characteristics 

 of alloys, and an investigation of the laws of combination. 



(K) On Orthogonal Simultaneous Strains. — Instruc- 

 tions : To plan and conduct a series of experiments on 

 simultaneous orthogonal strains, with a view to the deter- 

 mination of laws. 



(L) On Physical Phenometia. — Instructions : To make 

 a special investigation of the physical phenomena accom- 

 panying the distortion and rupture of materials. 



(M) On Re-heating and Re-rolling. — Instructions : 

 To observe and to experiment upon the effects of re- 

 heating, re-rolling, or otherwise re- working ; of hammer- 

 ing, as compared with rolling, and of annealing the 

 metals. 



(N) On Steels produced by Modern Processes. — In- 

 structions : To investigate the constitution and charac- 

 teristics of steels made by the Bessemer, open hearth, 

 and other modem methods. 



(O) On Steels for Tools. — Instructions : To determine 

 the constitution and characteristics, and the special adap- 

 tations of steels used for tools. 



The Sectional Committees of the Board, we learn from 

 the official circular sent us, are appointed to conduct the 

 several investigations, and the special researches assigned 

 them in the interval during which the regular work of the 

 Board is delayed by the preparation of the necessary 

 testing machinery, and during such periods of leisure as 

 may afterward occur. 



These investigations are expected to be made with 

 critical and scientific accuracy, and will, therefore, con- 

 sist in the minute analysis of a somewhat limited number 

 of specimens and the precise determination of mechanical 

 and physical properties, with a view to the detection and 

 enunciation of the laws connecting them with the pheno- 

 mena of resistance to flexure, distortion, and rupture. 



The Board will be prepared to enter upon a more 

 general investigation, testing such specimens as may be 



