Electrical Engineer's staff, or by that of the Mechanical Engineer, they should at all events pass through the latter's hands.

It will be necessary for him to carefully check all particulars as to the material used and the time expended by his staff, so that both may be accurately allocated to their proper Works Order numbers. These particulars are afterwards entered up by the works clerical staff in a book, which may be conveniently reproduced here (see Form 19, p. 397).

In this, a separate page, or group of pages, is assigned to each boiler or other important piece of plant, from which, as will be seen by inspection, the exact cost of all repairs can be learned.

Books will be kept by the Steam Engineer showing the dates of overhauling and cleaning boilers, cleaning out main flues, etc., and also giving particulars of samples of gases, coal, etc., so that they may be identified when the chemist reports upon them. Such books are easily prepared, and need not be given in detail.

The Steam Engineer will present a weekly report to the Chief, describing broadly the ordinary work done, and in detail any experiments made.

The Mechanical Engineer will follow practically the same course as the Steam Engineer, and particulars of the repairs carried out by him will be entered up in precisely similar books devoted to engines and dynamos.

The salaries to be paid to the various officials vary between wide limits, according to the importance of the station. For a large one, fair salaries would be as follows:

The wages of the workmen will be practically independent of the size of the station, but will vary somewhat in different parts of the country. The following rates are applicable to the Lancashire district :

The custom as to payment for overtime varies in different stations. For fitters, the union rules of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers are in force; for others, for the first two hours worked, each hour is counted as one and a quarter; after this, and up to the time of starting on the next day, each hour worked is reckoned as one and a half, while for Sunday work, each hour worked counts as two.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE MAINS DEPARTMENT.

THE work of the Mains Department at once falls into two chief divisions, viz. constructive work, or the laying of new mains; and maintenance, or the keeping in repair those already laid.

In the first stage of the undertaking, the constructive work will probably be done by a contractor, but after the first instalment, it is far better, except in the case of very small concerns, to have a staff of men in the employ of the Undertakers to lay all mains and keep them in repair. By having a permanent staff to lay all mains, the men become familiar with them, and the work of jointing on services is thereby simplified, while faults are more likely to be quickly found, because weak places are known, and the locality of the mischief suspected. The work is much more likely to be well done, no one having any interest in scamping it; on the contrary, the Nemesis of bad work, in the shape of faults, acts as a powerful deterrent. The saving in cost is very material, and, in itself, is sufficient to justify the course. In the case of a municipally-owned undertaking, there is the further strong incentive, that the control of the streets is retained absolutely in the hands of the local authority.

It cannot be too strongly insisted that this department is one of the most important of all, if not the chief. The capital spent on mains represents some 35 per cent. of the total expenditure; the mains cannot be duplicated, and, hence, the supply to the consumers connected to them is wholly dependent on good workmanship in the first instance; and this is to be secured only by skilful design and keen watchfulness during construction, for, once the ground is filled in, there is no further opportunity for examination. Again, the failure of a main may disorganise the whole supply, and make all the elaborate duplication of parts and care in the Generating Station of none effect. What can be said strong enough, then, of the folly of entrusting the work to a pupil or improver, or to an assistant at £2 or £3 per week? The work calls for skill, training, judgment, watchfulness, and the ability to look after a class of workmen notoriously difficult to manage, and the salary should be commensurate with the