MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 105 



for to acquire it a man must do something more 

 than read books. He would call the attention 

 of the House to answers given by Major-General 

 Napier and the Duke of Cambridge on the value 

 of scientific attainments. Lord de Ros asked 

 Major- General Napier : 



Is not chemistry becoming of more daily advantage 

 and importance, both to the Artillery and to the 

 Engineers ? He answered — Yes ; and it is taught at 

 Woolwich very successfully. The Duke of Cambridge 

 was asked — Perhaps scientific attainments should be 

 regarded as one qualification among several ? His 

 Royal Highness replied — Most assuredly ; and I should 

 like to see them extended as much as possible : but I 

 think that a happy combination of both is what we 

 should strive at. 



As regarded geology, he might call attention 

 to two or three cases, in order to illustrate its 

 importance to officers. Portsdown great fort 

 was built on the summit of a chalk ridge, on 

 what geologists called an anticlinal axis. The 

 strata sloped in each direction away from the 

 summit ; a very deep well had been sunk here ; 

 but as the rain which fell on the hill drained away 

 along the line of the strata, this was the worst 

 possible place for such a purpose. When the 

 military authorities were building the College 

 at Sandhurst, they had a quantity of bricks 

 made in the Blackwater Valley of river alluvium. 

 These consequently fell to pieces, and others 

 had to be made. Along our South Coast, groins 

 were placed to arrest the movement of the 

 shingle caused by the prevalent winds and tides. 

 The Military Engineers were ordered to set 

 groins on the Dover coast, and they slanted 



