FUTUJIE ENOINEEETNG. 



201 



tunnels or bridges. Tlio completion of railways to India is 

 a question likely to bo settled, seeing that the journey from 

 England could be performed in seven days, or one quarter of 

 the time it now takes by water. There are several great 

 Bchomes being advanced for making canals, viz., Mr. Keel- 

 ing's canal for connecting Birmiugliam and the Bristol 

 ("liniuinl ; a canal from Sheffield to the Humber ; Mr. Lloyd's 

 scheme proposes to make Birmingham the centre of a lai'gn 

 system of canals, with branches to London, the Bristol 

 Channel, the Humber, and the Mersey. The construction 

 of these canals will load to great improvements in our 

 natural waterways. In those future schemes one can 

 foresee a great field for engineers in all branches ; their 

 carrying out will require much thought and invention, and 

 their progress should be watched with interest by young 

 engineers especially, who should study their requirements 

 in order to bring to bear upon the practical work their 

 knowledge and assistance. 



Next in order of requirement come the supplying to 

 communities, both large and small, of water, light, heat, and 

 power. The extreme dryness of last summer proved our 

 Water supply to be quite insufficient in a great many places. 

 Our present supply consists of surface water — containing 

 impurities of all kinds, and requiring to be filtered — and 

 Water which has been naturally filtered through various 

 depths of the earth, and is ready for use. Engineers are 

 likely to be called upon to substitute the latter supply for 

 the former ; and this means the reconstruction, at a probably 

 early date, of a largo number of waterworks. London is 

 almost wholly supplied with water taken from the surface, 

 the quantity taken being nearly one-third of the quantity 

 available. Artificial filtering is liable to failure, owing to 

 withholding the expense and labour necessary, and it is 



