INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS OF WAYS OF COMMUNICATION.

(Institut Inženierov Putiej Soobśćeńja.)

History and object of the institution. The Institute of Engineers of Ways of Communication was established in 1809, originally as a school of military engineers, organized along the lines of the famous French institution, "Ecole des ponts et chaussées." The first professors of the institute were French engineers, former professors or graduates of the French school; the instruction was in French, and the military organization remained in force until 1864. The original purpose of the institute was to prepare engineers for the army service, and the students were promoted during the course through successive military grades, until finally they were graduated as second lieutenants and passed from the school directly into service in the engineering branch of the army. The reform of 1864 abolished the military organization of the institute and made its distinct purpose the training of civil engineers specializing in roads and waterways. The present statute regulating the school has been in force since 1890. Administration.-The administration of the institute is vested in the council of the institute under the presidency of the director. An inspector is charged with the enforcement of discipline. The council decides in matters of lesser importance, pertaining to temporary measures and regulations, program of studies, conduct of practical work, etc.; in questions of greater consequence the council submits its opinion to the minister of ways of communication who is ultimate authority in the administration of the institute. The financial affairs of the institute are in charge of a special committee of finance, which also consists of professors.

Sources of maintenance, and tuition. The institute is maintained entirely by the Government, but owing to comparatively high tuition fees (50 rubles per semester) nearly one-half of the expenditure is covered from the latter source. In 1912 the State provision for the institute was 168,240 rubles; the students' fees amounted to 126,000 rubles. The number of students at that time was 1,267. There is a provision for free scholarships and board for 50 students; the funds for this purpose are furnished by railroads and private citizens. The total amount of scholarship funds is 250,000 rubles. The students who are granted free scholarships must sign a pledge to serve in Government positions one and a half years for each year of scholarship. Degree. The leaving examination leads to the degree of "engineer of ways of communication." By virtue of this degree the graduate acquires the civil rank of tenth or twelfth class, according to his success in the examination. The best graduates may, after two years of

practice, become attached to the institute in the capacity of aspirants for the position of instructor. As such they receive free board and means of study. In each individual case, however, the sanction of the minister of ways of communication is necessary. The examination for the position of adjunct may take place in two years after graduation, and includes a report on practical work in which the graduate has been engaged since he left the institute, an oral examination, a thesis, and two trial lessons.

Admission requirements. The candidates for admission must present a certificate of maturity and submit to a competitive examination in algebra, arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, physics, drawing, Russian language, and one foreign language. University graduates are accepted without examination and have precedence of all other candidates. University graduates of the physico-mathematical faculty may be admitted to the second or the third year after passing an appropriate examination. How these admission rules operate to sift the enormous numbers of candidates, with the view of selecting the most promising, may be inferred from the fact that often fully half the candidates fail to pass the tests and that only a part of the remaining half is accepted; among those refused admission often are students of great ability, as is shown by average ratings received by them in the examination, often reaching 4.5 and over, or 90 and over by the centenary system.

As a rule, foreigners are not admitted to the institute, but exceptions are made upon the recommendation of the minister of ways of communication.

Curriculum. The program of studies covers five years and includes class study and practical work in laboratories, shops, etc. The subjects of class instruction are the following:

Laboratory work. The laboratories attached to the institute are: Mechanical, chemical, and physical.

The mechanical laboratory is used mainly for testing structural materials: Cement, iron, wood, and stone. The work done in this laboratory, besides being of educational importance to the students of the institute, serves the interests of the native industries and transportation, since tests are made here of samples of constructional materials supplied from all parts of Russia. This part of the laboratory's activity is described more fully under a separate heading.

The chemical laboratory is utilized for practical occupations in general chemistry, especially by students of the first year; it is also used for chemical tests of constructional materials. The students of the advanced classes do optional work in the laboratory in qualitative analysis and technical quantitative analysis of constructional materials.

The physical laboratory furnishes the means of practical instruction in physics to the students of the second year, in connection with their theoretical study of physics; special emphasis is placed on heat, light, and electricity.

Summer occupations of students.-All students of the fourth and the fifth years, and part of the students of the first three years, are sent after the close of the spring examinations to different constructional works for practice.

The following work is included in the program of summer occupations: (1) Railroads: Research work, construction, and operation; (2) roads; (3) waterways; (4) harbor construction; (5) machine plants and shops; (6) different kinds of governmental road-building works conducted under the ministry of ways of communication.

The students of the lower classes who do not take part in the above summer occupations are engaged during a part of the summer vacation in topographical exercises, astronomical and hydrometrical observations, and boring of artesian wells.

Tests of constructional materials.-The mechanical laboratory of the institute, established in 1856, was destined to play an important part in the development of Russian transportation and industries. For a long time it was the only place in Russia where constructional materials, both imported and produced by home industries, could be tested with any degree of reliability. Some of the finest bridges in Russia are made of materials tested in the institute laboratory. The wider activity of the laboratory in this field dates from 1877, when, owing to large importation into Russia of foreign building materials, especially of English cement, it was found necessary to enlarge the facilities of the laboratory by the purchase of modern machinery. During the following years a series of appropriations helped to bring the laboratory equipment to a highly satisfactory condition

The laboratory has participated in several international congresses on methods of testing building materials. It arranges public tests with the view of impressing upon those interested facts bearing upon the relative value of building materials. A series of such tests conducted in 1891-1898 promoted the introduction and spread of reinforced concrete constructions in Russia.

Other laboratories and equipment.-The institute possesses a wellequipped museum, a library of 70,000 volumes, and a photographic laboratory, outside of the laboratories described above. The Imperial Duma recently voted 901,000 rubles for additional laboratories and the enlargement of the old ones. At the present time the following laboratories are either in construction or recently completed: Electrotechnical, physical, aerodynamical, mechanical, and for locomotive construction. The laboratory for the testing of building materials is to be located in a separate building.

Publication. The institute publishes a monthly report, issued since 1884 under the name "Sbornik Instituta Inżenierow Putiej Soobśćenja."

TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF EMPEROR NICHOLAS I, AT PETROGRAD.

Technologićeskij Institut Imperatora Nikolaja I.

- The institute was established in 1828 by Count Kankrin, then minister of finance, and put into operation in 1831. It was organized originally as a "practical" technical school with two departments, mechanical and chemical, and was connected with a number of well-equipped mechanical shops and chemical laboratories. It admitted pupils at the ages of 13 to 15 years, and offered a six-year course. In 1862 it was reorganized as an institution of university grade. Another reform in 1877 gave the institute the organization which it has preserved to this date. At the same time the buildings and laboratories were greatly improved and enlarged. In 1898 the institute was again extended and reequipped.

Administration. The Petrograd Technological Institute is controlled by the ministry of public instruction. Its statute is iden- tical with that of the Kharkof Technological Institute (see statistical table), and is similar in its essential features to the statutes governing the operation of Russian universities. At the head of the institute stands the council of professors, consisting of 15 members, with a director, his aid, and a secretary, all elected for two years. The director's election must be approved by the Emperor; the vice director and the secretary are elected subject to the approval by the minister of public instruction. Business affairs of the institute are confided to the care of the finance committee of three members, presided over by the director.