Oct. 26, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



447 



ANNOUNCEMENTS. 



The Institution of Civil Engineers. — The Council 

 invites original communications on the subjects included in 

 the following list, as well as on any other questions of pro- 

 1 fessional interest. This list is to be taken merely as sugges- 

 tive and not in any sense as exhaustive. For approved papers 

 the Council has the power to award premiums, arising out of 

 special funds bequeathed for the purpose, the particulars of 

 which are as under : — 



1. The Telford Fund, left " in trust, the interest to be ex- 

 pended in annual premiums, under the direction of the Coun- 

 cil." This bequest (with accumulations of dividends) produces 

 ^260 annually. 



2. The Manby Donation, of the value of about ^10 a year, 

 given " to form a fund for an annual premium or premiums 

 for papers read at the meetings." 



3. The Miller Fund, bequeathed by the testator " for the 

 purpose of forming a fund for providing premiums or prizes 

 for the students of the said institution, upon the principle of 

 the ' Telford Fund.'" This fund (with accumulations of divi- 

 dends) realises ,£150 per annum. Out of this fund the Coun- 

 cil has established a scholarship — called " The Miller Scholar- 

 ship of the Institution of Civil Engineers " — and is prepared 

 to award one such scholarship, not exceeding ^40 in value, 

 each year, and tenable for three years. 



4. The Howard Bequest, directed by the testator to be ap- 

 plied "for the purpose of presenting periodically a prize or 

 medal to the author of a treatise on any of the uses or pro- 

 perties of iron or to the inventor of some new and valuable 

 process relating thereto, such author or inventor being a mem- 



, ber, graduate, or associate of the said Institution. The 

 annual income amounts to nearly ,£16. It has been arranged 

 to award this prize every five years, commencing from 1S77. 

 The next award will therefore be made in 1892. 



The Council will not make any award unless a communi- 

 cation of adequate merit is received, but will give more than 

 one premium if there are several deserving memoirs on the 

 same subject. In the adjudication of the premiums no dis- 



| tinction will be made between essays received from members 

 of the Institution or strangers, whether natives or foreigners, 

 except in the cases of the Miller and the Howard bequests, 

 which are limited by the donors. 



List, 



1. The utilisation of unused sources of power in Nature 



— such as the tides, the radiant heat of the sun, etc. 



2. Standard specifications for the materials used in the 

 construction of engineering works. 



3. The influence of sea water upon Portland cement, 

 mortar, and concrete. 



4. The construction, ventilation, and working, of railway 

 tunnels of great length. 



5. Description of any new or peculiar type of mountain 

 railway for very steep gradients. 



6. Recent improvements in cable tramways. 



17. The value, with respect to the safety and durability of 

 metallic bridges, of (a) increase in the weight of the 

 structure, by the choice of other than the latest design ; 

 (b) increase in the dead load, by the adoption of a 

 heavy description of flooring, with or without the addi- 

 tion of concrete or ballast 

 8. The painting and preservation of metals, woods, etc. 

 - 9. Recent examples of hydraulic lift graving docks. 



10. Forms and construction of masonry dams for reservoirs. 



11. The cleaning and deepening of drainage and irrigation 



canals by mechanical means. 



12. On the sale of water by measure. 



13. Descriptions of mining machinery of improved design. 



14. Gold quartz reduction and amalgamation — description 

 of the various machines, and of their method of 

 working. 



15. The physical properties of metals under test. 



16. The working strength of iron and steel as affected by 



(«) the amplitude ; (b) the frequency ; and (c) the time 

 rate of the stress variations. 



17. The present position of the manufacture of steel — its 

 defects, and suggestions for its improvement. 



19. 



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iS. The effect upon basic steel of (a) chromium ; (b) alu- 

 minium ; and (c) tungsten. 

 The properties of bronzes and other alloys. 

 Researches on the actual working limits of stress in 

 machinery or structures under known conditions of 

 variation of loading. 



21. The corrosion of metal structures, and the best means 

 of preserving them. 



22. The effect of wind upon structures, as influenced by 

 (a) their superficial area ; (b) the form or position of 

 the exposed surfaces ; (c) the shelter of adjacent 

 bodies ; and (d) the dynamic action of sudden gusts. 



23. On forging by hydraulic pressure, and casting under 

 the same. 



24. The construction of the working parts of steam en- 

 gines, in relation to the high pressures and tempera- 

 tures now becoming general. 



The practical limit to the working pressure of steam in 

 marine boilers. 



The various systems of forced draught in boilers, with 

 the economical results obtained. 



The most recent types of (a) mail steamers ; (b) cargo 

 steamers ; and (c) war ships. 



On modern experience in screw propulsion, comprising 

 the comparative efficiency of propellers of large dia- 

 meter, and of smaller ones deeply immersed, and of 

 the influence of form. 



On the highest speeds attained and attainable on rail- 

 ways, having reference to gradients, curves, and the 

 locomotives employed. 



The application of the compound principle to locomo- 

 tive and to portable engines. 

 Mechanical traction on common roads. 

 The petroleum engine and its applications. 

 The distribution of power by compressed air or by 

 vacuum, and the construction of machines to be worked 

 by compressed air or by vacuum. 

 Hydraulic rotative motors for high pressures. 

 The means of governing and economising high pressure 

 fluid in hydraulic cranes, engines, etc. 



36. The construction and working of windmills suitable 

 for raising water for the supply of villages and isolated 

 houses. 



37. The best combined system of warming, ventilating and 

 lighting large buildings. 



The transmission of steam underground in the United 

 States, with the results obtained. 



The plant used in the execution of important engineer- 

 ing works 

 40. Tools used in the building of iron and steel ships, and 

 in the construction of boilers. 



The construction and working of friction-brake dynamo- 

 meters. 



Steam cultivation by digging and by ploughing. 



The generation of alternating currents in dynamo elec- 

 tric machines, and their utilisation for lighting and 

 power purp'oses. 

 44. Electric meters for recording the consumption of elec- 

 trical energy. 



The construction and maintenance of secondary 

 batteries. 



Central station electric lighting. 



The application of electricity to the working of street 

 tramways and of railways. 



48. The application of electricity to the working of cranes, 

 pumps, tools, etc. 



49. The application of electricity to smelting and metal- 

 lurgical operations. 



50. The application of electricity to the purification of water 

 and of sewage. 



51. The purification of copper, and the reduction of copper 



ores by electrolytic processes. 



52. Contributions to the bibliography of special branches 

 of engineering. 



For further particulars apply to the Secretary, The Institu- 

 tion of Civil Engineers, 25, Great George Street, Westmin- 

 ster, S.W. 



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