6 4 



X. ITU RE 



[November 16, 1905 



meridian, and b) laying off the predetermined data on 

 this projection — which is illustrated in the description — 

 the observer may quickly find the required quantities. 



The editor of the Review, Prof. Cleveland Abbe, com- 

 mends Mr. Littlehales's method to the attention of all 

 who have occasion to solve spherical triangles to the nearest 

 minute of arc, whether in geodesy, navigation, astronomy, 

 1 general mathematical work. 

 The Meteors of Biela's Comet. — In No. 363 of the 

 Observatory Mr. Denning directs attention to the prob- 

 ability of a strong shower of Andromedids this year. By 

 quoting the observational results obtained during recent 

 years, he shows that the shower has apparently developed 

 into an important annual phenomenon, and he expects that 

 the maximum display will take place on November 1*, 

 although a watch should be kept from November 17 to 

 November 23. The position of the radiant is about 

 R.A.=25°, dec. = +43°, i.e. near to y Andromeda?. 



I111, Magnitude of tj Argus. — From a series of observ- 

 ations made at Johannesburg during May and June, Mr. 

 R. T. A. Innes found the magnitude of 7) Argus for 19055 

 to be 767, and its colour, on Chandler's scale, to be -\. 

 On comparing these with the observations made in 1896, 

 he finds that the change, il any, since that date is quite 

 insignificant (Monthly Notices R. I V. No. 0, vol. lxv.l. 



ENGINEERING AT THE BRITISH 

 \^>OCIATION. 

 T3EFORE dealing with the actual work of the section, it 

 is desirable to put on record the fact that several of 

 the special lectures arranged by the council were ex- 

 clusively engineering in their character, namely, the lec- 

 tures delivered at Johannesburg by Prof. Ayrton on the 

 distribution of power, and by Prof. Arnold on steel as 

 an igneous rock, and the address given at Kimberley by 

 Prof. Porter on the bearing of engineering on mining. 

 In judging, therefore, the work done by Section G during 

 the South African meeting, the effect produced by these 

 lei tuns, delivered in all cases to large audiences, must be 

 kept in mind. 



At Cape Town the first paper read was by Mr. C. H. 

 Smith, on colonial Dutch architecture. In this paper 

 Mr. Smith gave a brief account of the history and develop- 

 ment of the early architecture of Cape Colony. He pointed 

 out that building materials were exceedingly difficult to 

 obtain, but in spite of all difficulties the early Dutch 

 settlers, who were men of excellent taste and education, 

 commenced their labours on true lines. Although drawing 

 upon the well known principles of Dutch and Batavian 

 architecture-, they adapted their buildings to the new 

 country, and developed a style distinctly their own. It 

 was to Governor Simon van der Stel that many of the 

 most picturesque houses in the Cape Peninsula were due. 

 He and his son, who succeeded him, were great builders 

 of houses and planters of trees. The author showed a 

 number of slides illustrating, some of the quaint old houses 

 in the Cape Peninsula and its neighbourhood, in particular 

 at Stellenbosch, famous for its beautiful situation and 

 surroundings. This paper proved a great attraction, and 

 drew a large audience. 



The paper by Prof. Biles, on steam turbines as applied 

 to ocean liners, was the next dealt with. When this 

 paper was first promised, the author hoped that detailed 

 results of the running of the only two completed turbine 

 ocean steamers would have been available for his paper ; 

 unfortunately this was not the case, though Prof. Biles 

 stated that the results so far obtained had completely 

 justified the adoption of the turbine on ocean steamers. 

 He pointed out that such a great revolution as a change 

 from reciprocating engines to turbine engines had never 

 before taken plan in such a short time. The author gave 

 figures dealing with the gain in economy from an engineer- 

 ing point of view; in the case of the turbine steamers the 

 Londonderry and tin- Manxman, as compared witli the 

 Intrim and the Donegal, designed at the same time, and 

 having reciprocating engines, the Londonderry showed a 

 total economy of 2-4 per cent, and the Manxman of 

 77 per cent. Prof. Biles, in summing up the work which 

 had been done so far, stated that he was of opinion that 



no 1 88 1, vol. 73] 



there was every indication that in the largest installations 

 on ocean liners there was an economy of power and cost 

 in 1 In us,, of turbines as well assured as in the case of 

 channel steamers, and that there was little doubt that the 

 turbine would completely displace the reciprocating engine 

 in all moderate and high-speed liners. 



Mr. How, in his paper on roller bearings, which was 

 read in his absence by the Recorder of the section, gave 

 some results of recent tests on line shafting when fitted 

 with roller bearings, and on tramway and railwaj vehicles. 

 In the Birmingham electric tramways it was stated that 

 a saving of 243 per cent, of tractive power per ton of 

 load was obtained, and that the net saving per ear per 

 annum would amount to 38/. 16s. 3d. Several railway 

 companies had experimented with roller bearings, and in 

 all cases a considerable economy in coal consumption had 

 resulted. On the Liverpool overhead railway, tests proved 

 that the reduction per ton mile of coal consumption was 

 equal to 9 per cent., and that longer trains could be 

 employed. 



A very interesting paper was that on motor-cars in 

 South Africa, by Mr. A. T. Hennessey. The chief object 

 of the author was to make clear the special points in 

 car design and construction to which attention should be 

 paid if the motor-car is to be a success in South Africa. 

 So far, of course, all the cars in use there are imported 

 ears, and are built for conditions which prevail in Europe 

 and America, and not for the conditions which prevail 

 in South Africa. In comparing steam cars with petrol 

 cars, Mr. Hennessey came to the conclusion that the latter 

 were the more suitable for South African conditions ; in 

 fact, he was of opinion that the shortcomings and dis- 

 abilities of the steam car were greatly accentuated by the 

 climatic and road conditions of South Africa. Tin- ques- 

 tion of the cooling of the cylinders in a semi-tropical 

 country, with roads carried up very steep hills, is most 

 important, and very few imported cars have anything like 

 enough water-cooling capacity. As regards springs, also. 

 there has been great difficulty, and motorists at home 

 have very little idea as to the strain placed upon the 

 springs by the ordinary South African roads. In a motor- 

 car excursion, arranged for the visiting members of the 

 association on the Saturday of the Cape meeting, along 

 the beautiful coast road which runs from Cape Town 

 to Hout Bay, owing to a landslip on the mountain-side, 

 caused by the heavy rains of July and August, the visitors 

 had an ample opportunity of testing the kind of strain 

 to which motor-cars are subjected in South Africa ; the 

 cars had to charge through a mass of liquid mud and 

 stones, probably 12 inches in depth, and extending for 

 some 100 yards along the road. In many country dis- 

 tricts the author pointed out that it is a common occur- 

 rence for the centre of the track to be from 6 inches to 

 12 inches higher than the sides, which would render it 

 impossible for a car with only a 5-inch under-ciearance, 

 which is the maximum clearance of many cars, to travel 

 over these country roads. This paper provoked a very 

 interesting discussion, in which the claims of the steam 

 car were strongly upheld by one or two of the speakers. 



The most important paper read before the section in 

 Cape Town was Mr. Tippett's, on Cape Government 

 railways. The author is one of the leading engineers in 

 the Cape Government Railway Service, and the Govern- 

 ment gave him every facility in the preparation of his 

 paper. The paper formed practically a complete record 

 of the growth of the railway industry in Cape Colony, and 

 of the methods adopted in surveying, in constructing, and 

 in working the railways. It bristled with statistics 

 and figures, and there were a number of excellent diagrams 

 and reproductions of photographs to illustrate the paper. 

 It will form a most valuable paper for reference pur- 

 poses to anyone engaged in studying the conditions of 

 railway construction and working in our South African 

 j colonies. It is obviously impossible to give anything but 

 a very faint notion of the contents of a paper of such 

 length and importance in a brief summary, such as 

 this is, of the proceedings of the section. One or two 

 salient points to which the author devoted much attention 

 may, however, be briefly dealt with. The one is the 

 question of gauge. He pointed out that the original line 

 from Cape Town to Wellington, now part of the main 

 western system, which was constructed by a private com- 



