TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION G. 715 



student. One of his early lectures was about flowing water, and he told us of a lot 

 of things he had observed, w'hich I also had observed without much thought ; and 

 he showed how these simple observations completely destroyed the value of every- 

 thing printed in every text-book on the subject of water flowing over gauge- 

 notches, even in the otherwise very perfect Eankiue. I felt how stupid I had been 

 in not having drawn these conclusions myself, but in truth till then I had never 

 ventured for a moment to criticise anything in a book. I have been a cautious 

 critic of all statements in text-books ever since. If any engineer wants to 

 read what is almost the most instructive paper that has ever been written for 

 engineers, let him refer to the latest paper written by James Thomson on this 

 subject.^ The reasoning there given was given to me in lectures in this very room 

 in 1868, and had been given to students for many years previous. 



Again, soon afterwards, he let me see that although I had often looked at the 

 whirlpool in a basin of water when the central bottom hole is open, and although 

 I had read Edgar Allen Poe's mythical description of the Maelstrom, I had been 

 very much too careless in my olDservation. Among other things, Thomson had 

 observed that particles of sand gradually passed along the bottom towards the 

 hole. When he found out the cause of this, it led him at once to several dis- 

 coveries of great importance. Indeed, the study of this simple observation gave 

 rise to all his work on (1) What occurs at bends of pipes and channels, and why 

 rivers in alluvial plains bend more and more ; (2) The explanation of the curious 

 phenomena that accompany great forest fires; (3) The complete theory of the 

 great wind circulation of the earth, published in its final form as the Bakerian 

 Lecture of the lioyal Society in 1892. 



But why go on ? He taught me to see that the very commonest phenomenon 

 had still to reveal important secrets to the understanding eye and brain, and that 

 no man is a true student unless he is a discoverer. And so it was with Kelvin 

 and Andrews. Their names were great before the world, and yet they treated one 

 as a fellow-student. Is any expenditure of money too large if we can obtain 

 great men like these for our Engineering Colleges ? Money is wanted for 

 apparatus, and more particularly for men, and we spend what little we have on 

 bricks and mortar ! 



The memory of a man so absolutely honest as Professor James Thomson was 

 compels me to say here tliat I was in an exceptionally fit state to benefit by 

 contact with him, for 1 hungered for scientific information.- I do not think that 

 there was so much benefit for the average student whose early education had 

 almost unfitted him for engineering studies. To work quantitatively with 

 apparatus is good for all students, but it is absolutely necessary for the average 

 student, and, as I said before, there was no apparatus. Also the average student 

 cannot learn from lectures merely, but needs constant tutorial teaching, and the 

 Professor had no assistant. 



Anybody who wants to know what kind of engineering school there ought to be 



' Brit. Assoc. Report, 1876, pp. 243-266. 



^ Some of our most successful graduates went direct to works from the Model 

 School, Belfast, and afterwards attended this College. No school in the British 

 Islands could have given better the sort of general education which I recommend 

 for all boys. English subjects were especially well taught, so that boys became fond 

 of reading all manner of books. There were good classes in freehand and machine 

 drawing, classes in chemistry and phjsics (at that time I believe that there were no 

 such classes in any English public school), and the teaching of mathematics was good. 

 Some of the masters started classes also under the Science and Art Department. 

 Some of the masters had much individuality, and there was no outside examination 

 to restrain it ; there was only encouragement. Evidence has been given before a 

 committee of the London School Board as to the excellence of the teaching at this 

 school forty years ago. Foreign languages were not in the regular curriculum, but 

 they could be studied by boys inclined that way ; and in my opinion this is the 

 position that all languages other than English ought to take in any British school 

 With such preparation a boy was eager and able to understand what went on in 

 engineering works from his first day there. 



