CIVIL ENGINEERS

Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 44, 20 February 1918, Page 8

CIVIL ENGINEERS

THE CONFERENCE CONTINUED

Last evening and to-day the annual conference of members of the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers was continued under the presidency of. Mr. J. Blair Mason.

"Floods in the Auckland District" was the title' of an instructive paper read by Mr John Wood, A.M.1.C.E., whose chiu'f point was the necessity for full enquiry into the volume of water a watershed was capable of accumulating in relation to the size and strength of the bridges to be erected within that watershed area. If this were done, he claimed, there would be a considerable decrease in the destruction of bridges, which up till now had continued to be washed away with great regularity.

•Mr. G. T. Murray, A.M.1.C.E., gave interesting details concerning the working of the patent "Lightning brasher and pulveriser," established at Devonport, Auckland, for the purpose of transforming into manure the household refuse of the borough. He pointed out the many advantages of the plant, the cost of working which ran out about Is 5d per ton. The product of the machine said readily at 7s 6d per ton, as it had been proved, on analysis, to-be superior to good farmyard manure in the possession: of nitrogenous phosphates and potash.

A number of papers by engineers' in different parts of the Dominion, dealing with road construction and treatment, were referred to the Concrete Koads Committee of the society. :

Following on Mr. Wood's paper, Mr. S. A. R. Mair drew attention to the necessity of the records of the Meteorological Office regarding rainfall and othor kindred subjects being available to engineers engaged in bridge construction work. He suggested that this data should be published in suitable form. A committee, consisting of Mr. R. W. Holmes, Mr. W. H. Morton, and, the mover, -was appointed to interview' tho Minister in connection with the matter.

Mr. R. S. Rounthwaite, ■ M.1.C.E.. read an interesting paper on "Wood Pavements," describing in detail the methods adopted by him in the North of England for a period of over 20 years. — A general discussion followed on the relative merits of wood blocking as against concrete and asphalt roads. During this morning, Mr. R. W. Holmes, Engineer-in-Chief to the Public Works Department, exhibited some specimens, of papa rock which had been tvied in harbour construction works at Wairoa, Hawkes Bay, but which had been rendered useless by the ravages of a little animal—not a teredo, but of the sea-lice tribe.

(Proceeding.)