July 27, 1906.] 



SCIENCE, 



103 



er power has been provided by the gas 

 engines and producers, and, with the aid 

 of electrical transmission, water power is 

 also the basis of great power plants. Large 

 wheels, higher speeds, better regulation and 

 more efficient results are some of the new 

 requirements which are being met in hy- 

 draulic work. 



The problems in connection with the 

 handling and transportation of materials 

 have made great demands on the mechan- 

 ical engineer and have resulted in improved 

 hoisting machinery, conveyors, cranes, ele- 

 vators, larger and more efficient locomotives 

 and cars. 



On the manufacturing side the demands 

 have been fully as great, competition re- 

 quiring more rapid and economical meth- 

 ods of production. These have been met 

 by better and more powerful machine tools, 

 automatic machinery, jigs and interchange- 

 able parts, and within the last few years 

 the introduction of high-speed steels for 

 rapid work and surface grinding. Rolling- 

 mill machinery has kept pace with the re- 

 quirements for structural steel, while the 

 response to the calls for strong and light 

 parts for the bicycle and automobile has 

 made possible the present perfection of 

 these machines. The rapid development of 

 machine molding in the foundry has come 

 from the demand for cheaper and better 

 castings. The further reduction of factory 

 costs has led to the study of shop manage- 

 ment, where every movement of worker 

 and material is considered with an idea of 

 reducing the cost of production. 



While there have been no startling dis- 

 coveries along mechanical engineering 

 lines, there has been a continual evolution 

 toward greater and more efficient produc- 

 tion of power and of commercial products. 



As illustrations of practical results at- 

 tained may be mentioned the fact that an 

 indicated horse-power can be produced to- 



day with one third the coal consumption 

 of thirty years ago. 



While in the important art of wire rod 

 rolling, in the development of which the 

 oldest and a most highly respected member 

 of our board of trustees and graduates from 

 this school have had a very conspicuous 

 part, the tonnage output has been increased 

 twentyfold and the cost per ton for rolling 

 has been greatly reduced. In the year in 

 which the first board of trustees was organ- 

 ized, wire manufacturers in Worcester were 

 importing Swedish iron billets which were 

 rolled in South Boston at a cost of $1 per 

 100 pounds. To-day steel billets can be 

 rolled for 12-| cents per 100 pounds. 



In the department of civil engineering 

 the training in 1870 was confined to pure 

 mathematics, surveying and a very limited 

 application of theory to practise ; what 

 would now be regarded as rudimentary. 



To-day the student must receive a thor- 

 ough training in mathematics, physics, 

 theoretic and applied mechanics; he must 

 be well grounded in the elements of chem- 

 istry; and familiar with all the principles 

 of bridge construction, and the framing of 

 great buildings; he must possess intimate 

 knowledge of materials, stone, brick, ce- 

 ments, mortars, concrete and reinforced' 

 concrete; he must know what has been 

 done and is being done in actual construc- 

 tion in the several lines of his profession. 

 And that he may be fitted to eventually 

 direct large undertakings, he must be 

 familiar with the principles of power de- 

 velopment and transmission in all its 

 modern forms. 



The work of the civil engineer of to-day 

 consists largely in the design, construction 

 and maintenance of fixed structures. 

 Streets, bridges, water supply systems, 

 sewers, conduits, subways, elevated tram- 

 ways, docks and wharfs in our cities; em- 

 bankments, deep cuts, bridging, tunnels and 



