In the gloomiest recesses of the deepest mines, the light of the sun, which fell in ages long past upon the former forests of the earth, is entombed in the stately fossils which attest the vegetable origin of coal. The burial of these precious and beautiful relics in such profound depths is a subject for contemplation at once impressive and sublime. Immured for centuries in the "lowest darkness and in the deep," they are again brought forth to minister to our wants-to afford the means of active industry to thousands of our countrymen, and to diffuse in many a cheerful and happy home the glowing comforts of an English fireside.

Whether, then, we contemplate the fossil forests of the coal strata, or the brilliant ores and glittering spars of mineral veins -whether we walk over the barren heaths which cover them, or admire the fertile lands which repose on rocks less productive of mineral wealth-whether we ascend the lofty mountain, or travel across extensive plains-in every road, in every brook, in every quarry, we may observe and study some products of the earth, some arrangement of the strata, some subterranean stores applicable to our use, destined in the order of Providence to give employment to the labourer, profit to the merchant, and solid and lasting gratification to all who rejoice to trace the goodness of the Creato in the marvellous beauty of His works.

If rightly applied, nothing is to be wasted-if rightly studied, every object deserves attention. Particles of lead, so small that millions of them only occupy a cubic inch, may be separated from the dross that surrounds them; and in like manner instruction may be gleaned from what at first sight appears the most insignificant parts of the creation. It is by a right application of economy and skill, in connection with geology, that our mineral treasures are to be fully realized. Connected with such studies are all the great features of our distribution in society-our scenery, our commerce, our domestic comfort, our national prosperity. Hence it is that our mining dales and manufacturing districts are densely crowded; while gently swelling hills, rivers laden with mineral produce, and bright and happy firesides, mark the carboniferous tracts of the kingdom. Hence the dreary solitudes, the rugged steeps, the lofty waterfalls and unnavigable streams, where slates and granites, and other older formations, prevail. Whether we examine the cliffs which yield to the fury of the waves, or mounds and beaches of sand which slowly encroach on their dominion, in these, as in every other geological feature, we find materials for intense thought and lasting gratification. The mind is led to inquire, what prepared the fertile soil to yield our food? what upheaved the mountain whose summit, composed of the shells of a former sea, penetrates the clouds? what endued each rock with some

peculiar property adapted for the use of man? what spread those fair and fertile plains, where

"Peaceful rivers, soft and slow,

Amid the verdant landscapeflow"

and by what means was science ordained tobe the means whereby we may rightly understand and usefully employ the manifold riches which the rocky bosom of the earth unfolds? All nature, with resistless eloquence, proclaims that ALL, from the least to the greatest, is the harmonious work of an Almighty Architect.

If in this spirit, then, we contemplate the structure of the earth, and study to apply its products, with all skill and all economy, to their destined use, we shall derive instruction and delight, as well as profit, from the pursuit. From the observation of such inestimable treasures, the mind is led with gratitude to contemplate, and the heart to offer homage to the beneficent Being whose presiding care sustains and governs all, who, with INFINITE WISDOM AND POWER, has made apparent weakness a source of strength-the seeming disorder and dislocation of rocks the means of rendering accessible their stores of mineral wealthwho, by the agency of rolling waves and vast submersions, has softened down the shattered fabric of the earth's surface-has adorned it with richest scenes of beauty-has filled its fertile vales with fruitful soils, and even in wild and barren hills has poured hidden treasures of precious ores for the service of His creatures.

ON THE DUTIES AND ACQUIREMENTS OF

ENGINEERS.

BY EVAN HOPKINS, C.E., F.G.S.

THE duties of engineers are of great importance to the community at large; independent of the immense capital frequently placed under their direction, to carry on undertakings, the lives and safety of human beings often depend on the skill and security of their works, and often in situations presenting great difficulties to examine and ascertain the real causes of accidents. In mines this is particularly the case, and the numerous accidents which from time to time occur in underground operations are a strong reason for insisting on every improvement that can be practically made towards qualifying men to fill such important posts.

There is a great difficulty in effecting so desirable an object by means of the higher degrees of education, or mixed mathema

M

tics. Indeed there is, in spite of the accumulated new data, an almost impassable gulf between the physics of the mathematician and those of the practical engineer; and proprietors of works prefer frequently the most uneducated practical man to a theoretical man of science.

Some of our best engineers have been obliged to acquire their useful knowledge from men daily engaged in the respective departments of the profession, and abandon the notions they obtained from their professors; thus, after years of intense application in intricate calculations, they find that it is of little avail in practice, inasmuch as many of the laborious theorems are founded on mere old assumptions, and not on experimental data. Pure mathematics, experimental physics, chemistry, and practical geology are essential acquirements to fulfil the duties of civil engineers, and ought to be obtained as an early systematic instruction, free from erroneous ideas, so that a man of science be universally respected as one of knowledge reduced to a system, and worthy of a responsible practical post. Until, however, engineers and others engaged in experimental physics, by their united labours compel mathematical professors to reform some of their physical creeds, the students will suffer the evil effects complained of.

Within a very limited period in our own history, the profession of engineer was comparatively unknown; now it is universally in the ascendant; it embraces everything which can promote the comfort, the happiness, and the civilization of the human race.

The intelligence, ingenuity, and industry of our practical engineers in connection with our subterranean stores of coal, iron, copper, &c., constitute the principal portion of the real wealth of England.

The greatest engineers, both of the past and present age, have acquired the most valuable part of their education in the workshops, their success and celebrity having been mainly obtained through the strict adherence to the laws of nature and experimental data in preference to those founded on mere assumptions. The prudent engineer fully appreciates the value of mathematics to aid his reasoning, but always keeps geometrical laws wholly independent of physical facts; he knows well that motion cannot be continued without a continual moving force. We cannot discover the fundamental properties of matter without observing and making experiments; after we have once by observation or experiment ascertained things to exist in fact, we may then reason, and not before, upon them by means of mathematical laws.

Many of our students have imagined that engineering and physics could be acquired entirely in the academy, and have had their heads so filled with doctrines founded on assumptions, that they too often cherish such notions for real and substantial

knowledge; when they come to practice, they find, to their own as well as to their employers' cost, that they have to abandon many of their preconceived notions, and must descend to the mechanical drudgery of experimental inquiry to make themselves fit for their office.

It is by strictly learning the laws of nature, instead of those assumed by theoretical mathematicians, that the English engineer has obtained so much celebrity.

The mining student shares the same fate as others, but in a greater degree; he must receive many lessons underground from the working miner, so as to understand even the true character of rocks and minerals he will have to learn to separate geology founded on assumption from geology founded on natural laws; otherwise, he can only be but a mere mechanical surveyor, and an ordinary miner would be found superior to him to take charge of such works.

The converse is equally true with regard to the uneducated engineer; however versed he may be in the great laws of nature and practical acquirements, yet, without a moderate scientific knowledge, he will only be fit to fill a post in an ordinary routine. He must not look with an unfavourable view on men of science, because some of them abuse the laws of geometry, and usurp the province of physics by improper inductions. However grand mathematical doctrines may appear as physical generalization, if incompatible with the observed effects of matter, they stand on perishable bases, and must soon be swept away in the progress true science. The respective laws of terrestrial physics in geology, mineralogy, chemistry, statics, dynamics, and hydrostatics, and the laws of geometry, are unalterable; we only require to comprehend and judiciously apply them, free from the errors arising from human assumption.

of

The accumulated knowledge of the past and present experience should be carefully preserved for the benefit of the rising generation, and it is time that we should amalgamate the knowledge of facts with the acquirements of pure mathematics, so that the student may have a more efficient training for the profession.

We fully admit the arguments of many of our practical men, that some of our greatest discoveries and greatest works have been made without the aid of refinement; also, that geological science, as now taught, is of little use to miners. With regard to the first, there can be no doubt but that they have been more or less achieved by the aid of natural science, acquired in the great school of nature, and as the self-taught engineer is always learning during the whole period of his existence, he obtains the very elements which constitute a man of science, and therefore, however unrefined he may appear, he possesses what we wish to obtain for the benefit of the student, i. e. practical science, free from both extremes.

We may say the same with respect to geology, that all our intelligent mining engineers who have acquired their knowledge in the mines, are to a certain degree local geologists; the laws of structure, composition, different character of minerals, their accumulations, heaves, &c. &c., are as essential as the tools they employ for the explorations; hence the true science of geology should be studied by the mining engineer. This science is abused like others, but that is no reason that its utility should be depreciated. It is true that in England we have a certain series of sedimentary works, in which coal, salt, &c. have their definite limits, and this has led some geologists to promulgate a certain law of deposition which is totally inapplicable to other parts of the world, and, consequently, the science has been looked at by many as a mere source of amusement; the poor miner of the crystalline rocks below is left, as yet entirely unaided, to his own geological judgment.

The productions of our mines are to us of immense importance ; the incessantly improved application of the metals, may be compared to a river, which, by extending its streams, irrigates the soil and spreads fertility. The iron alone of this country has been of inestimable benefit. One glance at the early periods of human history will suffice to impress upon us a due sense of the wonderful changes effected by its application, and this has been effected by the united labours of practical engineers. Iron and coal, through the aid of engineering, are rendered inexhaustible sources of wealth and prosperity to the British empire. The total quantity of coal brought to the surface in Great Britain and consumed annually amounts to about 35,000,000 tons. The total annual value of the British mineral produce is about £30,000,000.

If we reflect that this island is merely the focus of the industry created by British enterprise, and that it branches over other distant parts of the globe, and that capital is often left to the sole judgment of the mining engineer in distant countries; it will be evident that a mere local practical knowledge cannot be sufficient to qualify a man to fill such a responsible situation. The time is now fast approaching when the mere theoretical student on the one hand, or the ordinary practical man on the other, will not suit, and solid practical science, free from both extremes, will be considered as an indispensable qualification for the profession of an engineer in all its branches.