Engineering plans may be carried out by con tract, or directly by the city, company. or indi vidual concerned. but in every case a competent engineer is essential, and generally one or more assistants and inspectors are required, the num ber running into the hundreds on important work. Contractors are generally employed, particularly for works of magnitude.
The education and training of the' majority of the best modern engineers comes first in the technical schools and next in actual work in some subordinate position. The hest, of these schools aim to give a thorough grounding in mathe matics, the development and use of heat, elec tricity, and other forms of power; the strength of the various materials used in construction. the stability of masonry and framed structures; chemistry, physics, and bacteriology as related to engineering. Some part of the engineering course is generally spent in practical work, in the machine-shop or field. Facility in free-hand and mechanical draughting, plain hut rapid let tering, photography, the use of engineering and other scientific instruments, the taking of notes, tabularand graphic presentation of statistical in formation, and, above all, a quick and sure grasp of the relation of things, are essential to a first class engineer. The ideal plan would be for the prospective engineer to pursue the so-called academic course before taking up strictly profes sional studies in the engineering course, but this is not always feasible. Important aids to the
student and the practicing engineer alike are the various periodicals devoted to engineering and allied subjects, including the proceedings of the engineering societies. Membership in the latter is of great advantage. In America there arc national or international societies devoted, re spectively, to civil, mechanical, electrical, mining. 1Nater-works, heating and ventilating, and 1111111iri pal engineering, besides hosts of State and more local engineering societies. There is also a so ciety of naval engineers and architects. Other countries likewise have their engineering so cieties, the oldest of which probably is the Itritish Institution of Civil Engineers, founded in 1818 and now having a large membership of various grades scattered all over the world.
In many engineering works there is an oppor tunity to combine the artistic with the utili tarian, and where the training of the engineer has not fitted him to do this the cooperation of the architect may be secured with advantage.
See ENGINEERING, iIIIILITARY ; ENGINEER CORPS; ENGINEERS, CORPS OF; etc.