Page:Engineering and the university (IA engineeringtheun00chaprich).pdf/13

 of mathematics, be instructed in the, practical engineering science connected with the branch of the profession which he intends to follow. I may here remark that the present staff of the University does not provide for this kind of instruction, but this deficiency, I trust, will ere long be supplied." We were a good many years before we attempted to make good the deficiency referred to by His Excellency, but having now put our hands to the plough I trust that the vigour of our progress will atone for the length of our neglect.

The first object of an Engineering School at a University is to provide that foundation of scientific knowledge which is necessary to the young man entering upon the engineering profession. We may state at the outset that no University or Technical School in the world can furnish the complete training for an engineer. The scientific laboratories of a University cannot possibly give the same kind of experience as that obtained in practical workshops or on the construction of large works. It is not sufficient for a man to know how to test cement and gravel in order that he may determine in what proportions to mix them so as to obtain thedensest possible concrete; he must know how to handle his materials, what are the best appliances for the purpose, and how to order his men when he has to make a few hundred cubic yards of it. It is not enough that he should be able to compute the stresses on the various members of a bridge y and even to produce a creditable design; he must know how to erect it without killing his men and without ruining the contractor. If he is a mechanical engineer, he must have that practical knowledge of workshop methods that will enable him to design an engine or machine that will not only work when made, but which can be constructed at a reasonable cost. If he is a civil engineer, he may be required to determine the appliances to be used, and to order the work of large gangs of men in the shifting of