PROFESSOR PARK'S VISIT TO EUROPE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15098, 22 March 1911, Page 4

PROFESSOR PARK'S VISIT TO EUROPE

SCHOOLS OF MINES TN OTHER

LANDS.

HIGH STATUS OF THE OTA.GO SCHOOL.

Professor Park, director of tho Otago School of Mines, left Dunedin last October for a visit to the Commonwealth and Europe, after an absence of 36 years from. England," and returned to Dunedin on Saturday, by tho Warrimoo. Yesterday a represantative of this journal intoryicved Professor Park, and inquired from him the objects of his tour, and the result of some of his observations.

"The primary objeots of my tour," said tho Professor, "were, in the first place, to study the more recent developments in mining school educational methods in tho Commonwealth /and Euro;», and in tho second plaoe to observe and note tho various systems adopted for the working of coal and metal mines on theso continents, more particularly in respect of methods of equipment, ventilation, and sanitation. With theso objects in view I visited the west coast of Tasmania, the deep gold mines at Bendigo. the fold mines at. Kalgoorlie, Bullfinch, and Tilgarn goldGclds in • Western Australia, the principal metalliferous mining centres in the Black Forest and Horz. in South Germany, the coalfields of Wostphalia, in North Germany, of Belgium, and North France,, of South-west Scotland, and South Wales. Short visits wore also made to the oil shalo deposits between Edinburgh rjid Glasgow, and to some of the tin mines in Cornwall

"In tho course of my journeys I visited most of the leading , sanools of mines and many of the universities in the Commonwealth. Continental- Europe, and Britain. In visiting tho raining schools ono is specially struck with tho fine, commodious buildings, splendid equipment, and large staffs of teachers. In point of equipment tho Schools of Mines at Berlin and Paris easily take first place, but when its new laboratories are' finished , the' Royal School of Mines will not be far behmd. Many of tho schools of mines in Australia, perhaps tlio majority of them, including even tho university ■ mining schohok, are combined technical and mining schools, the technical element predominating. The same also is true of mining Eohools at Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, and Glasgow, On the other hand, the Royal School of Mines the schools in Cornwall are purely mining and metallurgical. \ "In Germany there are two classes of mining school—namely, the University Mining School, or academy, and the secondary schools Tho last, being situated in the mining , centres, are largely attended, while tho former have only a small number of students. The reason for this, as explained to me by Professor Bernhardt, the director of the Berlin School of Mines, is that there is a greater demand for mine officials than for hihghly-trained mining engineers. I was surprised to find that in tho matter of students taking the full courses in the mining and metallurgy, the Otago School of Mines compared favourably with the leading mining school in Australia and Continental Europe. It is everywhere recognised fchat in euch a highly specialised profession as mining engineering it is not quantity but quality that counts, hence the standing of the different mining schools is determined by the quality rather than tho quantity of i graduates turned out.

" In respect of status I wae, I can assure you, gratified beyond measure to find that the Otago School of Mines was by common consent looked on as the premier mining school in Australasia and other oversea, dominions. In point of standing, it is placed next to the Eoyal School of Mines, and I may say that after my investigations abroad I am satisfied that it is rightly so placed. The- A.O.S.M. of the Otago School of Minds is held in high repute everywhere. ■ Our graduates have secured lucrative and highly responsible- places in all the continents, and oven in London itself I found our graduates competing- successfully as consulting engineers with associates of the best mining schools in Europe." ;At the , various universities on the Continent the Pfofo-eoT.mot many old friends of not© in'the geological world. In London ho was dined and toasted at the Criterion, by the Follows of thv Geological Society, and- nt • a meeting of the council of the Mining and Metallurgical Society, in Salisbury House, he was formally and most cordially welcomed by tho president, Mr John fay lor. Among the interesting people he met in England were Sir Archibald Geikie, president of the Royal Society; and Dr Tcall, director-general of the Geolojriacl Surveys of; Great Britain, ond many members of his staff. Among tho professora most enjoyable experiences was his meeting with his old chum and colleague, Professor S. H. Cox," who 1 recently succeeded Sir William le Neve Foster as Professor of Mining at thto Royal School of Minis. While; touting in. Switzerland, Soutli Germany, and the Highlands of Scotland, Professor Park paid particular attention to tho evidence of pleistcccno gkciation. To our representative ho lemarkod that generally speaking the marks of glaciation were fresher and more obvious in New Zoaknd and Tasmania than in tlio Swiss Alps or in Soot-land. The piles of moraitiic material that extend from the CSutiha. to Saddlp Hill, forming what is known aa the Taieri moraine, and tho still greater morainic piles on the Marlborough soacoast, and in the Rua-pehu districts of the North Island, completely the pleistooeno moraines in Europe. Even the younger pleistoccno valley moraines of Switzerland axe email compared with the vast piles of glacial debris at Pukaki a,nd Tekapo, in fcho Mount Cook area. In the Scottish Highlands Professor Park Te-cxamincd many of the typical glaciated contours, particularly in the vicinity of the great lochs, and took special note of the character of the boulder clays and glacial debris scatterod along the east coast of Scotland, tho Moral Firth, and tho Don—the last hie native country. He was greatly interested to find that" in tho Alps, as in New Zealand, the greatest evidences of glaciation were not found on tho higher mountains, but on the foofcliil's and secondary ranges. The higher mountains have become sharp and serrated because they arc mo-ro subject to tho effects of rapid sub-aerial erosion than the lowlands, where tho iriTotapitation is less, the climatic conditions not so vigorous, and l the gathering ground smaller. Professor Helm, reocgaiisod as th© foremost glaciologist ill Europe, in the course of conversation, stated that this was tho case in. all highly glaciated Togioßs. Professor Park continued that His observations on the Continent and in Great Britain confirmed him in tho views of New Zealand glaciation ho had expressed in his recent work on the geology of Now Zealand. This work had been woll received in Australia and Europe, and was selling well.

The exhaustion of iron is a matter that is exciting tho greatest interest amongst statesmen and economists at Home. It is estimated bV competent authorities that in 150 years the iron mipply of the world will be exbtmstocl, anc] what is to lake its place? At tho present time tlic.re.is no known metal to tako its place in ship-building, ami railway, and steam enBine construction, N&t'urally, the problem is Oiuisiag no lit-tlo anxiety in Europe an 4' America. In fcbe latter it has been estimated i>y Cb«nin«M , «\ner Hayes, of the Department of the Interior, that at thb present rato of conmimption irpn ores of America will bo edmusted within 50 years. Steps are boir.ij taken to conserve tho iron lands, and practically nothing Morn can bo done. As * keoa observer Prof<«icr Park took nolv> of many ot.her matters dirring hi 3 Sojonrn abroad—r.l'.o dfift ff imulation io OaimK tho cwiscsted iu-n-fTio in the ."vilhge by tlv> Tliareoa," tho social oonditiiMi of Ihn people, cti. ITo. was in Lonat tho titnn of tho ' Hni-ndsditch affsirr. After a .plcns-int chr.i on tlxw and othor tonits our reporter tWiked Prof*«sor Ystk for a very insiructi l 'e into.'view.