880 report— 1884. 



apply the teachings of Section A in optical science, and in the case of fogs, or as 

 regards buoys at night-time, the science of sound. I parenthetically alluded to 

 soundings as one (indeed a principal one) of the safeguards of ships when ap- 

 proaching shore. It is important in these days of high speeds that these should 

 be made with ease and without the necessity of stopping the ship, or even of 

 diminishing its velocity. Sir William Thomson, by the application of the science 

 of pneumatics, has enabled this to be done. Again, most important is it that 

 the compass, midst all the difficulties attendant upon its being situated on an iron 

 or steel structure, should be trustworthy. And here Sir William has applied the 

 science of magnetism in his improved compass to the practical purposes of navi- 

 gation. 



To go to another important branch of engineering — water supply. The engineer 

 dealing with a district to be fed from the surface will find himself very deficient if 

 he have not the power of applying the science of meteorology to the work that he 

 has in hand ; he must know, not the average rainfall, for that is of but little use to 

 him, but the maximum, and most important of all, the minimum rainfall over a 

 consecutive period of years : the maximum so that he may provide sufficient chan- 

 nels and by-washes for floods ; the minimum so as to provide sufficient storage. 

 He must know what are the losses by evaporation, what are the chances of frost 

 interfering with his filters and with his distributive plant. 



Coming to the mathematical side of Section A — whether we consider the naval 

 architect preparing his design of a vessel to cleave the waves with the least resist- 

 ance at the highest speed, or whether we consider the unparalleled series of 

 experiments of that most able Associate of Naval Architects, the late William 

 Froude, carried out as they were by means of models which were admirable in their 

 material, their mode of manufacture with absolute accuracy to the desired shape, 

 and their mode of traction and of record, we must see that both architect and experi- 

 menter should be able to apply mathematical science to their work, and that it is 

 in the highest degree desirable that they should possess, as Froude did, those most 

 excellent gifts, science and practical knowledge. 



Again, the mathematical side of Section A has to be applied by engineers when 

 considering the strength and proportion of boilers, ships, bridges, girders, viaducts, 

 retaining walls, and in short the whole of the work with which an engineer is 

 intrusted. Notable instances of great bridges will occur to all our minds, especially 

 meeting as we are in this Continent of grand streams, Stephenson's Tubular Bridge 

 in this city, Eads' St. Louis Bridge, Roeblings' Niagara Bridge, and his and his 

 sons' East River Bridge, Hannaford and Gzowski's International Bridge, and going 

 back to our own land, Fowler and Baker's Bridge over the Forth. 



Passing from Section A to Section B, there is evidently so much overlapping 

 of these sections that a good deal that I have said in reference to Section A might 

 properly have been reserved for Section B. The preparation from the ore of the 

 various metals is in truth a branch of engineering ; but to enable this to be 

 accomplished with certainty, with economy, involving the not throwing away of 

 that which is called the waste product, but which is frequently a valuable material, it 

 is essential that the engineer and the chemist should either be combined in one and 

 the same person, or should go hand in hand. In the manufacture of pig iron it is 

 absolutely necessary that the chemical constituents of the ore, the fuel, and the 

 flux should be thoroughly understood, and that the excellence of the process followed 

 should be tested by an analysis of the slag. For want of this chemical knowledge 

 thousands upon thousands of tons of bad pig iron have been made, and thou- 

 sands upon thousands of tons were formerly left in the issuing slag. Similar 

 remarks apply to the production of lead and of copper from the ores, and still 

 more do they apply to that great metallurgical manufacture of the last few years — 

 ' steel.' In the outset steel was distrusted because of the uncertainty of its be- 

 haviour, but the application of chemical science now enables the manufacturer 

 to produce with precision the material required to fulfil the physical tests imposed 

 by the engineer. 



Reverting to the water engineer, the chemist and the microscopist have their 

 sciences applied to ascertain the purity of the intended source, and, as in the case 





