extremity of the steam channel, the friction roller at that moment
enters one of the depressions in the groove, and thus lifts up the
piston and allows it to pass freely beyond the plate which closes the
channel.

* * * * *




THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.

ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, JAMES BICHENO FRANCIS, AT THE THIRTEENTH
ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE SOCIETY AT MONTREAL, JUNE 15, 1881.


You have assembled in convention for the first time outside the limits
of the United States, and I congratulate you on the selection of this
beautiful city, in which and its immediate neighborhood there are so
many interesting engineering works, constructed with the skill and
solidity characteristic of the British school of engineering. Nine of
our members are Canadian engineers, which must be the excuse of the
other members for invading foreign territory.

The society was organized November 3, 1852, and actively maintained up
to March 2, 1855. Eleven only of the present members date from this
period. October 2, 1867, the society was reorganized on a wider basis,
and from that time to the present it has been constantly increasing in
interest and usefulness.