of dredging and deepening (which does not present especial difficulty) and the operations on the section parallel to the Rupel. In a short time (toward the end of 1912) the Belgian capital will see at its gates the large coasters which up to the present time have been stopping at Antwerp; moreover, the great prosperity of the latter city will in no way be affected by the development of Brussels as a seaport, for the insufficiency of the present facilities for trade by water is notorious. To meet the demand for rapid freight handling, the port of Brussels has been equipped with the most modern appliances; of these nineteen cranes, either electric or steam, are in operation. A 10-ton engine has been obtained especially for the unloading of large stone; each 4-ton grappling crane will unload daily a boat load of 400 tons of coal. A storehouse and a sorting arrangement for coal, which can care for about 200,000 tons per year, has been installed near the wharves. An electric lighting system has been put into service on the wharves of the various harbors. A single river steamboat company, "L'Union," now handles an annual traffic of 100,000 tons; with a view of using the ship canal they have already made plans to build 6,561 linear feet of wharves in the outer harbor. This extension of the harbor also includes railroads, streets and approaches, sheds, cranes, and various buildings to be erected on the ground acquired by the state between the ship canal and the depot at Schaerbeek. It should be noted that it has been necessary to prosecute the work on the harbor and the canal under exceptional difficulties, since it has been carried on so as not to interrupt the navigation of the old canal. Instead of being hindered, the trade has developed wonderfully, the tonnage having risen from 1,700,000 tons in 1898 to 2,600,000 tons in 1909. Such a rapid increase can only be a good omen for the success of the seaport of Brussels. TIMBER FOR PONTON MATERIAL BY Lieut. JOSEPH H. EARLE It appears that the supply of white pine suitable for ponton material is rapidly becoming exhausted; and the Engineer Department has, through various district offices, attempted during the past two years to find a satisfactory substitute. These attempts have not been entirely successful; another species of timber having the necessary qualifications of strength, lightness, and durability being very hard to find. It In July, 1909, authority to purchase and test specimens of certain western woods to determine their suitability for the purpose in question was received by the District Engineer Officer, Seattle. was desired that white pine, sugar pine, Port Orford cedar, western yellow pine and upland spruce be tested; but white pine, sugar pine, and western yellow pine were found to be unobtainable in the sizes, quality, and quantities necessary, and tests of these species were dispensed with. Specimens of Port Orford cedar and of upland spruce were obtained and were tested by Mr. O. P. M. Goss, Engineer in Timber Tests at the University of Washington. Extracts from the report of Mr. Goss follow: MATERIAL The material furnished, upon which tests were made, consisted of 6 pieces each of cedar and spruce. All of these pieces were approximately 32 feet long when received at the laboratory and were all cut to a length of 27 feet before being tested. The spruce and cedar pieces were nominally 4 by 4 inches and 5 by 5 inches in cross section, respectively. All material was green when tested. SPECIMENS Each main piece was tested as a beam and after test two 2 by 2 by 48 inch specimens were cut, one from the uninjured portion of each end of the main piece. These 2 by 2 inch strips furnished two specimens each, a 2 by 2 by 30 inch stick for a small bending test, and 2 by 2 by 8 inch stick for test in compression parallel to grain. There were in all six main bending, twelve minor bending, and twelve end compression tests made on each species, or a total of sixty tests. TESTING 1. Main Beams. Each main beam was supported on a span of 14 feet 8 inches and was placed so that the center came directly under the center of the moving head of the testing machine. Rocking supports were placed on each arm of the testing machine at a distance of one-half the span from the center. Cast-iron plates 4 inches wide were centered over these rocking supports, and served as bearings for the specimen. The load was applied at the center of the span and was transmitted into the beam through a rounded bearing block. This block was made of oak and had a radius of curvature of about 16 inches. A fine wire was stretched along the neutral axis of the beam and supported by nails driven directly over the center of each support. Behind this wire, at the center of the span, a steel scale was fastened firmly to the beam. When the load was applied, the scale descended with the beam and the wire remained stationary. deflection due to the load applied was read to one one-hundredth of an inch by means of a transit. The The load was applied uniformly and the corresponding deflections. for even increments of load were read on the run. The maximum load sustained was recorded. 2. Small Bending Test. The small bending test was made in a very similar manner to the large test, except that the deflections were measured by means of a special deflectometer. The principle, however, is just the same as described for the main test and the same general operations were performed in both tests. 3. Compression Parallel to Grain. This test was a direct endcrushing test and maximum load readings were recorded. The specimen was placed on a plate resting on a spherical bearing to give proper adjustment. The cedar and spruce tests were conducted in identically the same manner and on the same machines, so that the results are entirely comparable. All specimens were weighed immediately after being tested, the failure sketched, and a moisture section cut. This moisture dise was weighed on a chemical balance, dried in the drying oven at 100° C. to a constant weight and reweighed. The moisture percentage was calculated, based on the absolute dry weight. RESULTS The results obtained are set forth in Tables 1 to 4. Table 1 shows a summary of all main bending tests. From this table it will be seen that the average oven dry weight per cubic foot for spruce is 23.2 pounds, while that for cedar is 28.4 pounds, or spruce is only 81.7 per cent as heavy as cedar. Column 9, Table 1, shows spruce to be only 82.8 per cent as strong as cedar when weight is neglected, basing the comparison on the modulus of rupture. Column 11 shows that spruce is 91.8 per cent as stiff as cedar, neglecting the difference in weight of the two woods. Table 2 shows the results of the small bending tests compared in the same manner as those for the main tests. In this table spruce in the oven dry condition is 81.4 per cent as heavy as cedar, which checks very closely with the figures obtained in Table 1. In this table column 9 shows that spruce is 77.3 per cent as strong as cedar, based on the modulus of rupture, and column 11 shows that it is 92.5 per cent as stiff as cedar. These are the same general results as shown in Table 1. Table 3 shows results of end compression tests. From this table, column 8, spruce is 81.7 per cent as heavy as cedar, which again checks similar figures in Table 1. Column 9, Table 3, shows the crushing strength of spruce to be 78.1 per cent as great as that of cedar. In order to compensate for weight of the two species, Table 4 was prepared. This table simply gives ratios of the various factors. indicated to the dry weight per cubic foot. Columns 1 to 4, inclusive, show very favorable for spruce. Columns 5 to 8, inclusive, show a little less favorably, while column 9 shows still less in favor of spruce. Adding the various factors shown in Table 4 and di |