43' 



A' A TV RE 



[August 29, 1901 



we are incapable of supplying our own wants. Major Cardew, 

 after considering; and summing up the relative advantages of the 

 two systems, gives his verdict against continuous current and 

 feels " confident in prophesying the successful application of 

 the polyphase system to the working of full-scale railways." 



PRIZE-SUBJECTS IN APPLIED SCIENCE. 



'PIIE programme of subjects for which prizes will be aw.arded 

 ■*■ by the Societe industrielle de Mulhouse next year has 

 been issutd, and copies can be obtained upon application to the 

 secretary of the Society. In general chemistry, medals will be 

 awarded for the best memoirs or works on the theory of the 

 manufacture of alizarin reds ; the synthesis of the colouring 

 matters of cochineal ; theoretical and practical study of the 

 carmine of cochineal ; study of the colouring matter of cotton ; 

 the composition of aniline blacks ; physical and chemical 

 modifications which occur when cotton fibre is transformed into 

 oxycellulose ; action of chlorine and its oxygen compounds upon 

 wool : constitution of colouring matters employed in linen 

 fabrics ; synthesis of a natural colouring matter used in indus- 

 tries ; and theory of the natural formation of an organic 

 substance and preparation of the substance by synthesis. 



In connection with dyeing, medals will be awarded for the 

 best works presented on the following subjects : — A new 

 mordant which admits of practical use ; metallic solutions which 

 give up their bases to textile fibres, and the conditions in which 

 they are most effective ; iron mordants and the part they play 

 in dyeing according to their condition of oxidation and hydra- 

 tion ; an aniline black which will not deteriorate in the presence 

 of other colours or affect these colours, especially those of 

 albumin : a soluble black for dyeing which will resist the action 

 of light and soap as much as aniline black ; a light blue cheap 

 enough to be used to dye wools and not aHected by boiling or 

 by light ; a blue similar to ultramarine which can be fixed upon 

 cotton by a chemical process ; a pure yellow which behaves like 

 alizarin as regards its dyeing properties ; a lake-red ; a purple ; 

 a colouring matter to supersede logwood in its various appli- 

 cations ; an assistant especially applicable to wool, capable of 

 being cleared by simple washing, and composed of substances 

 other than tin salts, hydrosulphites, sulphites, and bisulphites ; 

 new method of fixing aniline colours ; a means of making colours 

 resist the action of soap or of prolonged boiling ; a means of 

 producing the sheen of gold and silver upon materials by 

 metallic powders ; a manual containing tables showing the 

 densities of as many inorganic and organic compounds as 

 possible, in the crystallised state and in cold saturated solution ; 

 the synthesis of a substance having the essential properties of 

 .Senegal gum ; a substance to supersede egg-white in the dyeing 

 of linen ; a colourless blood albumin which can be used instead 

 of egg-white ; a manual on the analysis of compounds employed 

 in fabric printing and in dyeing ; an indelible ink for marking 

 cotton and similar materials ; a practical method of removing 

 grease spots from materials : a memoir on the use of resins in 

 ble.aching cotton fibre ; a memoir on the bleaching and dyeing 

 of various kinds of cotton ; also memoirs dealing similarly with 

 wool and silk ; use of hydrogen peroxide for bleaching ; im- 

 provements in the bleaching of wool and silk ; and manuals on 

 the bleaching of cotton, wool, silk, hemp and other fibres. 



In connection with fabric printing, medals are offered for an 

 alloy or other substance which has both the elasticity and 

 durability of steel and also the property of not causing any 

 chemical action in the presence of acid colours and colours 

 containing certain metallic salts ; a new cylinder machine 

 capable of printing at least eight colours at once ; and an 

 application of electricity to bleaching, dyeing or fabric printing. 



Among the prize subjects in mechanical arts are ; — A means 

 of recording by a graphical method the work done by steam 

 engines in a given period (ordinary indicator diagrams do not 

 fulfil the conditions) ; memoir on the spinning of combed wool ; 

 on the force required to start spinning machines ; a motor for 

 driving machines used in printing fabrics. 



In electricity medals will be awarded for an electric motor 

 the power and driving rate of which can be easily varied ; a 

 memoir on the comparative cost of electricity and gas for light- 

 ing a town having a population of at least 30,000 ; and com- 

 parative costs of electricity, gas, acetylene and water-gas for 

 lighting an industrial establishment. 



NO. I 66 I, VOL. 64] 



Money prizes as well as medals are awarded for some of the 

 subjects, and all the competitions are open to every one, irre- 

 spective of nationality. The memoirs, designs or models sub- 

 mitted for the awards should be sent to the president of the 

 Societe industrielle de Mulhouse before February 15, 1902. 



PROGRESS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING} 



TN response to a request of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 

 Tredgold gave this ever memorable definition of civil 

 engineering in 182S : — 



" Civil engineering is the art of directing the great sources of 

 power in Nature for the use and convenience of man ; being 

 that practical application of the most important principles of 

 natural philosophy which has, in a considerable degree, realised 

 the anticipations of Bacon, and changed the aspect and state of 

 affairs in the whole world.'' 



After a brief sketch of the objects of civil engineering, he 

 added : — " The real extent to which it may be applied is limited 

 only by the progress of science ; its scope and utility will be 

 increased with every discovery in philosophy, and its resources 

 with every invention in mechanical or chemical art, since its 

 bounds are unlimited, and equally so must be the researches 

 of its professors." 



A more concise and comprehensive definition of a great truth 

 can hardly be conceived. From a physical and intellectual 

 standpoint, a nobler aim for the exercise of the mental powers 

 cannot be imagined than the direction of the great sources of 

 power in Nature for the use and convenience of man. Psycho- 

 logy deals with mind alone, physics considers the nature and 

 the laws of matter, but civil engineering treats of the intelligent 

 direction of the laws governing matter so as to produce effects 

 which will reduce to a minimum the time and physical labour 

 required to supply all the demands of the body of man and leave 

 more opportunity for the exercise of the mental and spiritual 

 faculties. Philosophy, physics and civil engineering must work 

 hand in hand. The philosopher must imagine, the physicist 

 prove by experiment and mathematical computation, and the 

 engineer apply to practice the laws of matter. Each must keep 

 himself informed of the progress made by the others and must 

 aid them by suggestions as to the lines on which research needs 

 to be carried forward. The civil engineer, in attempting to 

 solve some problem of construction, finds that he needs a 

 material which shall possess a certain quality which he cannot 

 discover that any natural product possesses. He calls the 

 chemist to his aid, and he, from a study of the combinations of 

 existing forms of matter which most nearly approach the desired 

 ideal, reasons that some special combination of elements will 

 entirely fulfil the conditions, and he experiments to find whether 

 such combination can be made. Sometimes he is successful in 

 his first attempt and sometimes not. But, whatever the result, 

 he has added to his knowledge of the laws of combinations and 

 has furnished to the philosopher fresh data for his generalisations 

 and to the engineer a new material for his use. 



As the knowledge of the nature of steel and the precise 

 methods in which it can be manufactured have progressed, the 

 engineer has gradually come to know just what he wants and 

 how it can be produced, and, in his specifications, requires that 

 the particular material of this class which he desires shall be of 

 a certain chemical composition and also possess certain 

 characteristics. The same is the case with almost every 

 material which enters into the construction of engineering works 

 of the present day. Matter in its original state is rarely used. 

 Its chemical condition must be transformed before the engiiieer 

 can utilise it with any confidence. That almost any desired 

 transformation can be effected was not realised until late in last 

 century. Starting with the atom, the ultimate particle of 

 matter so far comprehended by us, the chemist found that 

 several diff'erent kinds of atoms could be identified, and that 

 these would combine in certain ways according to laws which 

 could be formulated. But in the application of these laws and 

 the tabulation of the results gaps were found to exist which 

 could not be filled without the supposition that other elements 

 existed than those already known. The existence of such 

 elemental substances was confirmed by the revelations of the 



1 Abridged from an address delivered at the annual meeting of the 

 American Society of Civil Engineers, June 25, by the president, Mr. 

 J. J. R. Croes. 



