542 



NA TURE 



[April 5, 1900 



it out and reeling it in. It also involves the design of 

 the best arrangement of telephonic communication 

 between the generating plant, the lights, and the officers 

 in command and the general officer, possibly miles 

 apart. 



Again, is there anything of greater practical importance 



Fig. 2. — Mounted projector 



than this ? Suppose we have such electric generating 

 plant in the field ; the engine, which is a traction engine, 

 may be utilised in actual traction. Or a spare dynamo 

 may be sent forward across a river or up a kopje with a 

 simple winch arrangement, which may quickly be set in 

 position, so that waggons or the materials of a bridge may 

 be hauled across the river, or the heaviest guns may be 

 hauled up the hills, or ammunition hoists or pumps may 

 be set in motion. Electricity gives us the means of 

 transmitting power in great or small quantities to any 

 distance for all sorts of purposes ; and Major Crompton 

 imagined the gradual working out of all such problems, 

 one at a time, by this corps of men, whose qualifications 

 were just perfect for such purposes. It is to be re- 

 membered that in such work the requirements of war 

 service introduce special conditions such as never have 

 to be taken into account by the ordinary engineer. 

 Everybody understands something about traction engines. 

 Now the best English traction engines are made to run 

 on good roads ; their wheels are, therefore, too small ; 

 their tires are too narrow ; their spring arrangements, 

 and therefore their gearing, are quite unsuited for motion 

 on a South African veldt. Not only so, but they are 

 ■designed for places where the supply of water is plentiful 

 everywhere. A traction engine, using up at least a ton 

 of water every five hours, is not quite what is wanted in 

 a dry country. 



I wonder if the War Office officials dream of the 

 number of ways in which the scientific engineer might 

 be made useful. A few really e.xperienced practical 

 electrical engineers will sometimes get together and un- 

 bend and talk of the things that might so easily be done, 

 if instead of appointing third class men to important 

 posts, the Government would really try to utilise the 

 services of good engineers. 



I shall not here refer to the fact that temptations are 

 NO. I 588. VOL. 61] 



dangled before the eyes of third class men by un- 

 scrupulous contractors ; about this side of the subject 

 I do not care to speak. I think merely of the importance 

 of the services of clever experienced men. 



Even a good man would perhaps have but little chance 

 of doing much service under existing arrangements. A 

 Government prefers to spend ten millions of pounds in 

 building ships that are something like existing ships, 

 slight improvements on existing models, than to waste, 

 as they would call it, a hundredth part of the sum in 

 making experiments which would teach how ships may 

 really be improved. And so it is in all branches of 

 applied science. Bring forward a cut and dried scheme, 

 perfect ; be prepared to spend your own money in show- 

 ing that it is good ; if you have sufficient influence your 

 scheme will be tried and may be adopted. But even a 

 powerful clever head of a Government department must 

 show a finished working thing to represent expended 

 money. As this is so generally the case in all Govern- 

 ment departments, it is probably not very fair to blame 

 the War Department for not utilising the inventive and 

 experimental talent of the Corps of Electrical Engineer 

 "V'olunteers. Even if it could justly be blamed, there is 

 now no desire to criticise the past inaction of the War 

 Office. There is no inaction now ; Major Crompton has 

 been given a free hand in the equipment of active service 

 contingents. He has worked night and day for two 

 rr.onths,and his success has been marvellous. One of these 

 contingents, consisting of fifty-eight men and six officers, 

 started for South Africa a few days ago. Under Captain 

 Lloyd, R.E., it took with it a complete equipment of two 

 search-lights, including four waggons, each carrying 

 4 tons, and two traction engines, each with its dynamo 

 as well as one spare dynamo, and I am greatly mistaken 

 if this spare dynan)o be not before long used as a motor 

 for many useful haulage purposes. The dynamos are 

 multipolar, semi-enclosed, no volts ; 750 revolutions per 

 minute ; 80 amperes all day, or occasionally 100 amperes. 

 Instead of working the projectors they may work 



Fig. 3. — Mounted projector. 



ordinary arc and incandescent lights for use with night 

 working parties (24 arc lights with portable lanterns, as 

 well as 200 incandescent lamps have been sent out). 

 Future dynamos will have spare armatures wound for ^ 



