1870.] Engineering — Civil and Mechanical. 118 



railway through submerged tubes laid at the bottom of the sea ; and 

 3. For the improvement of the passage-boats, or, in other terms, 

 the construction of a huge Steam Ferry between the two countries. 

 A fourth class of projects may be enumerated, namely, those having 

 for their object the construction of a high-level bridge across the 

 Channel, but such hardly come within the category of practical 

 schemes. That which can be constructed at least cost and with 

 most expedition is the Channel Ferry project, and this we are in- 

 clined to think will, for the present at least, be found the most 

 practical solution of the difficulty. 



Neiv York Society of Practical Engineering. — At a meeting 

 of this Society, on 13th October last, a most useful and practical 

 paper was read by Mr. C. Williams, C.E , on " Bailway Accidents 

 and the Means of Prevention." In the absence of wooden tic 

 sleepers, the author advocated the laying of rails upon sleepers 

 bedded upon sand confined in trenches formed either transversely or 

 longitudinally with the track. The importance of securely attaching 

 the rails to the substructure was dwelt upon ; and, lastly, improved 

 fish-joints and methods for avoiding the breaking of railway car- 

 riage axles were discussed, and the methods for effecting such means 

 of security were dwelt upon at some length. 



Literature. 



'The Theory of Strains in Girders and similar Structures,'* 

 by Bindon B. Stoney, B.A. — The first volume of this work appeared 

 three years ago. The present volume treats of the subject of girders 

 under compression and in tension, as well as elasticity, temperature, 

 and the practical designing and estimating of girder-work ; and in 

 the former part of the volume numerous references are made to the 

 experiments carried out by Mr. Kirkaldy and Mr. Hodgkinson. As 

 a text-book for practical engineers this will be found a useful work, 

 but it would be impossible to enter fully into its merits within the 

 space to which we are limited. 



1 A Practical Treatise on Concrete, and How to make it ; with 

 Observations on the Uses of Cements, Limes, and Mortars/t by 

 Henry Keid, C.E. — At the present day when the use of concrete 

 and cements is being so largely introduced into almost all engineer- 

 ing works, a more perfect knowledge of their properties is a subject 

 much to be desired, and every fresh information coming from a 

 reliable source is much required. During the earlier period of the 

 introduction of concrete, which, in this country, is attributed 

 by General Pasley to Sir Bobert Smirke, it was regarded as being 

 only fitted for foundations, or hidden work of a similar kind ; but of 

 late years that material has acquired a higher standard, and is now 



* Longmans, Green, & Co., London. f E. and F. N. Spon, London. 



VOL. VII. I 



