iiii||iii|iijt|!ij| PLA-E PAL^^CE Q;F LUiXORi THEBES 5 C A L E 10 3 c . THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, SCIENTIFIC AND RAILWAY GAZETTE. VOLUME XIII. 1850. LONDON: R. GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW; J. WEALE, 59, HIGH HOLBORN; W. ROBERTSON, DUBLIN; SUTHERLAND, EDINBURGH ; MATHIAS, PARIS ; MUQUARDT, BRUSSELS; t C. MONIER, MADRID; WILEY AND PUTNAM, NEW YORK. ' Printed and PubUahed bj WILLIAM LAXTON, the Proprietor, at No. 10, Fludyer Street, Whitehall. CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 1850. INDEX TO VOL. XIII. Absorbent power and water contents of chalk, Ansted, 203 Academy of Sciences, Brussels, 207 Adams, on railway carriage springs 117, Adelaide cliambers, Gracechurchstreet, 376 Advances and repayments on Irisli railways, 171 Aerostatic projected bridge across the Channel, 334 Agriculture and engineering, Thorold (rev.) 26, 78 Agricultural buildings, improvements in, 335 Air and water in towns, Dr. Smith on, 295 Air spring hinge for doors, Beattie's pat., 175 Albert (Prince) plan for purification of sewers, 1 93 Algeria, Burnell on public works in, 355 Alternations of level of water in chalk formation, 70, 104 American antiquities, Clegg's lecture, 74 Analysis of proportion applied to architecture, Cousins on, 106; Purdie on, 174 Analysis of well water at Royal Mint, by Prof. Brande, 103 Ancient architecture of Scotland, Billings on, 23 Ancient city in California, ruins of, 160 Ancient Greece, Prof. Rangabe on, 289 Anemometer, integrating. Osier on, 303 Angell, on life and works of Vignola, 79 Ansted, on absorbent power of chalk, 203 Ansted's elementary course of geology and mine- ralogy (rev.) 202 Antiquities— Assyria, 33,72; Athens, 209, 242; Central America, 74; Celtic, 75; China, 73; Egypt, 1 ; Etruria, 145 ; India, 37, 39 ; Jewish, 193; Pelasgic, 109; Phoenicia, 33; Rome, 305, 337, 309 ; Rome, Falkner on, 09 Anvil, Nasmyth's improvements, 292 Appold's register hygrometer, 295 Arcade, railway, Tooley-street, 308 Arches with hollow cast-iron voussoirs, 201 Architects, Royal Institute of British, 23, 39, 69, 79, 104, 123, 128, 153, 159, 215, 217, 221, 249 ; 378 ; President's conversazione, 205 Architects, Royal Institute of British, on cements and stuccoes, 332 Architecture, ancient of Scotland, Billings, 23 Architecture and engineering, Weale's dictionary (rev.) 17 Architecture and sculpture of Assyria, Smirke, 156 Architecture, chapel and school, Jobson (rev.) 350 Architecture, Clegg's lecture on: — I. Egypt, 1. II. Phtenicia, Assyria, Persia, India. 33 III. Cliina, Central America, Celtic remains, 73 IV. Pelasgic remains in Greece, Italy, Asia Minur, India, 109 V. Etrnria, foundation of Rome, 145 Vi, Origm of Greek arcliiteclure, the three orders, 177 VII. Athens: fortifications, temples, 2'i9 VIII. Parthenon, Erechtheion, theatres, Greek domestic areliitecture, i4'£ I.X. Rome: five orders, masonry, temples, sepulchres, 305 X. Rome : roads, aqueducts, fora, basilica, amphithea- tres, circi, theatres, therma;, triumpiial arches, 337 XI. Rome; domestic architecture, 369 Architecture, Edmeston on poetry of, 217 Architecture, Garbett on principles of design in (rev.) 114 Architecture, German, 248 Architecture, Gothic, Laker on the curve of. 365 Architecture, military of Great Britain, Harts- horne, 218 Architecture of southern India, Fergusson, 39 Architecture, Romanesque, Edmeston, 342 Architectural association, 217, 342 Architectural publication society (rev.) Part. I., 137; II., 233 Architectural remains of the Roman provinces. Bell, 378 Architectural sketches, T. C. Tinkler (rev.) 136 234, 399 Arctic expedition, fittings for, 208 Armstrong, on hydraulic pressure applied to cranes, 204 Artesian well at Southampton, 07 Artificial breakwaters, Findlay on, 143 Artificial stone and terracotta. Fowler, 215 Art, application of, to public sculpture. Park, 372 Art in Munich, 307 Art on the Rhine, 307 Arts and sciences, electricity applied to, Highton. 25 Arts, Royal Scottish Society of, 21, 70, 106, 174 239, 398 Arts, Society of, London, 25, 105, 200, 206 Asia IMinor, Pelasgic remains, 109 Association, British, 289. 32S Assyria, architecture of, 33 Assyria, sculpture and architecture of, Smirke, 150 Assyrian antiquities, 72 Atlantic waves, Scoresby on magnitude and ve- locity of, 300 Atmosphere of rooms in tropical climates, Smyt on cooling of, 299 Aulinissou, on motion of water in pipes, 130, 162 374 Austria, prizes for locomotive engines, 207 Axles, railway, deterioration of, McCoiiii^-ll, 125 Aylesbury, plans for supply of water lo, 207 B Bank, Whitby, 284; York, 3i2; Darlington, 380 Bannister's pat. boiler tubes, 230 Banqueting house, Whitehall, Hansanl',- nie.isure- nieuts (rev.) 48 Barlow, on permanent way of Nor;h Midland railway, 204 Barrages on river Seine, 355 Barrow monument, Ulversione, 183 Barry, presentalion of gold medal lo, 208 Bashforlh, on oblique bridges (rev._^ 171 Bastia, new harbour al, 335 Bath of Charles II., Newgate-street, 348 Beams, elastic. Cox on imjiact of, 15o Beardmore's hydraulic tables (rev.) 'i'.Vi Beardmore's plan of new street and sewer (rev.) 322 Beatlie's pat. spring hinge, 175, 295 Beautiful, philosophy of. Cousins on, 106 ; Pnrdie on, 174 Bell, on architectural remains in the Roman pro- vinces, 378 Bermudas, cast-iron lighlliouse tower, 105 ISerne, Mr. Stephenson at, 344 Billings, on ancient architeciure of Scotland. 23 Birkenhead docks, progress of, 172 Bishops' rock lighthouse, 42, 108 Blackfriais and Westminster bridges, failure of, 314 Blackfriars landing pier, account of, 09 Blast furnaces, Biidd on gaseous escape, 297 Board of health report on water supply, 238 ; W. Napier's report to Board of Health on waler supply, 392 Boats, Laird's sectional galvanised iron, 236 Bogs, Hemans on construction of rail nay over, 107 Boiler explosions, 150 Boiler, How's pat. salinomeler, 150 Boiler, Newton's pal. 199 1 ^s 'jo Boiler tabes, Rannisler's paf. 230 Boilers, Davy od iucTU9tatiuu of, 291 Bombay cuttou and lodiao railways, Grant (rev.) 136 Bourne's catechism of steam-engine (rev.) 203 Bourns, on branch railways, 20 Branch railways. Bourns on, 26 Brass rudder of sleam ship Cidumbia, 108 Breakwaters, Findlay on construction of, 143 Brett's electric telegraph, 108 Brewster's chromaiic stereoscope, 70 Brick buildings of Germany, Fowler od mediseval, 128 Brick-making machine, Hart's, 175 Bricks, hollow, 127 Bricks, vitrified, Elliott's pat. 231 Bridge at Clifton, Motley's proposed, 236 Bridge, Britannia tubular, 21, 42, 271, 277, 318, 3ifi; opening; of, 141, 361 Bridge building in America, Roberts on, 263 Bridge, Joiner-street, failure of, 390, 399 Bridge, lift, on Brighton railway, 173 Bridge, oblique, Bashforth (rev.) 171 Bridge over the Khioeat Cologne, 318; award of prizes for designs, 334 Bridge, plate iron girder, Camden town, 361 Bridge, pontoon, Dublin terminus Midland Great Western railway, 174 Briilge, suspension, across the channel, 334 Bridge, suspension, at Kiell", 45 Bridge, timber, on Lynn and Kly railway, 70 Bridge, Westminster, new, 94 Bridge, wrought-iron. South Wales railway, 176 Bridges at Paris, security of, 367 Bridges, Blackfriai's and M'estminsler, Stewart on, 314 Bridges, Britannia and Conway, Buchanan on, 21 ; E. Clark on (rev.) 277, 326 Bridges, Buchanan's account of the raising the Britannia and Conway tubes, 21 Bridges, tubular iron girder, Buchanan, 21 ; Clark, 277,320; Dempsey (rei.) 48; Fair bairn, 142 ; Tate (rev.) 318 Bridgewater House, 177 Britannia tubular bridge, 21, 42,271 277,326; opening of, 144, 361 Britannia and drnway bridges, Clark (rev.) 277, 326; Buclianan, 21 British architi'cis, royal institute, 23, 39, 69, 79, 104, 123, 128, 153, 156, 159, 205, 215, 218, 221,249, 3 12, 378 president's conversazione, 205 British architects, institute of, on cements and stuccoes, 332 British association, 289, 328 British museum, project for enlargement, 264 ; iron railings for, 336 Britton, on lowers and spires of mediaeval period, 159 Brotherhood's pat. covering for railway wagons, 144 Brunei (Sir I. I\I.), memoir of, 18 Brunswick town hall, 281 Brussels academy of sciences, 207 Buchanan, on chimney of Edinburgh gas works, 393 Buchanan, on raising the tubes of Britannia and Conway bridges, 21 Buchanan, on strength of materials, 21 BucliaiiKii's valve tor waterworks, 331 Buckle, on life and inventions of William Mur- dock, 386 Bucknall's water meter, 239 [ Bucid, oil value of waste gases from blast fur- naces, 297 I Building for the exhibition of 1851, 207, 209 271, I 353; ronstructinn of roof. 3HS ] Buildings and moiiunients, Godwin (rev.) part vi. 137 ; part vii. 233 Buildings, fire-proof, 26 Burgess, on the mausoleum of Hadrian, 153 Burn, on practical ventilation (rev.) 203, 231 Burnell.oii the improvement of the Seine, 355 Btirnell, on the Paris gypsum, 185 Btirnell, on ilie public works in Algeria, 355 Buituu's pat. sluueware pipes, 12 INDEX. Burnell, on the waterworks in the United States, 259 Calculations for earthwork, Henderson, 358 C^aledonian canal, report of commissioners. 287 California, Cross on products and prospects of, 105 California, ruins of ancient city in, 161 Campbell's improvements in railway points and crossings, 270 Canal between the Atlantic and Pacific, Lloyd on , 1 9 Canal between the Seine and Rhine, 361 Canal, Caledonian, report of commissioners, 287 Canals, navigable, D Stevenson on, 165 Cardan's filter for sea water, 255 Casks, iron, Da Costa's pal., 15 Cast-iron, Cox on hyperbolic law of elasticity of.296 Cast-iron, experiments on the strength of, K. .Ste- phenson, 191 Cast-iron hollow voussoirs to arches, 201 Cast-iron lighthouse tower in the Bermudas, 105 Casl-iroD lighthouse tower, Saugor island, India, 309 Cast-iron, Wyatl's patent coating or glazing, 231 Cathedral of Sirasburgh, Goethe on, 315 Cayley's (Sir G.) hot-air engine, 105 Celtic antiquities, ('legg's lecture, 75 Cements and stuccoes, Knowles on use of exter- nally, 221 ; review of, 332 Central America, Clegg's lecture, 74 ('hairs, railway, Torkington's pat , 230 Chalk, absorbent power and water contents of, Ansted, 203 Chalk formation, Clntterbuck on water supply from, 70, 104 ; Tabberner, 98 ; Prestwich, 265 ; Pym, 183; Homersham, 67 Chamliers, Adelaide, Gracechurch-street, 376 Cliaiubers's patent railway wheels, 200 Chapel and school architecture, Jobson (rev.) 350 Chappie viaduct, eastern counties railway, 172 Charcoal from peat, Vignolle's pat., 144 Charles II. baths, Newgate-street, 348 Chatmoss subsidence by drain ige, 293 (^hatsworth, 'Victoria regia house, 324 Chemical composition of rocks of coal formation, Taylor, 303 Chester, new railway station, 335 Chimney of Edinburgh Gasworks, Buchanan, 398 Chimneys, Watson on construction of, 331 China, Clegg's lecture on architecture of, 73 Chromatic stereoscope, Sir D. Brewster, 70 Chubb, on locks and keys, 173 Circle, new method of squaring, 171 Civil engineers' institution, 19,41.69,104,141, 172, 203, 397 ; annual general imeting, 20 ; award of prizes, 20 ; president's conversazione, 205 Civil engineers of Ireland, 20, 106 Clark (Edwin) on Britannia and Conway bridges, (rev.) 277, 326 Claudet, on diamond for cutting glass, 2il6 Clay, London, basement bed of, 108 Clegg's lectures on architecture, 1, 33, 73, 109, 145, 177, 209, 212, 305, 337, 369 Clifton, Motley's proposed bridge at, 236 Clutlerbuck, on water supply from chalk lonna- tion, 70, 104 Clyde navigation, interruption to, 3()0 Coal-mines' ventilation, siiedden, 23; Ritchie, 230 Coal mines. West on explosions, 397 Coal formation, Taylor on chemical composition of rocks of, 303 Coating ships' bottoms. Yule and Chanter's pat., 123 Cotferdam at Cirimsby docks, 9 Collieries, Struve on ventilation, 397 Cologne bridge, 318 ; award of prizes for designs, 334 Column, ,)opling on describing the entasis of, 161 Commission of sewers, remarks on proposed plan of Surrey drainage, 100 Coraiuission of sewers, report of engineer, 282 Commissioners' report on the application of iron to railway structures, 49,84, 115, 181 Comparative analysis of well wafers, Brande, 103 Condenser, Siemen's regenerative, 200 Condensing steam-engines. Smith on, 273 Conduit pipes, D'Aubuissun on motion of water in, 130, 162, 374 Contagion, Dr. Wilson on disinfectants, 106 Conway tubular bridge. Tale (rev.) 318 Cooling rooms in tropical climates, Smyth's appa- ratus, 299, 322 Coon's stone-drilling machine, 72 Copyright in design. Turner (rev.) 137 Corn magazine, Novogeorgicvsk, 241 Costa (Da) patent iron casks and vessels, 15 Cottonian and Plymouth library, 316 Covering for railway wagons, Brotherhood'e pat., 144 Cowper, on printing machines, 205 Cox, on hyperbolic law of elasticity of cast-iron, 296 ; on impact of elastic beams, 152 Crane, Fairbairn's tubular, 332 Cranes, hydraulic, Armstrong on, 204 Croton aqueduct, New York, 259 Cubitt (William) inaugural address, 41 ; conver- sazione, 205 Cultivation and manufacture of sugar, Leoo, 25 D Dall's acid and liquor pump, 240 Darlington national provincial bank, 380 Dashwood, on elliptical wheels, 172 Davies, on roof of Westminster-hall, 251 Davison, on elliptical wheels, 132 Davy (Dr.) on incrustation in steam-boilers, 291 Decorated window tracery, Sharpe (rev.) 46 Decorative design in furniture, 137 Defries' gas bath, 336 Design, copyright in, Turner (rev.) 137 Devonport mechanics' instimie, 340 Devonport, steam-docks at Keyham, 207, 400 Diamond, Claudet, on properties of fur cutting glass, 206 Dictionary of architecture and engineering, Weale (rev.) 17 Discharge of water through pipes, Hale's expe- riments, 16; D'Aubuissoo, 130, 162, 374 Disinfectants, Dr. Wilson on, 106 Dock, opening of a new, at Portsmouth, 336 Docks at Birkenhead, progress of, 172 Docks, Grimsby, cofferdam at, 9 Docks, dry. United States, 207 Docks, Hartlepool, 336 Docks, Victoria, Woolwich, 366 Dockray (Mr.) testimonial to 72 Dodgson, on overshot water-wheels, 253 Dodgson, on wave principle in shipbuilding, 302 Domestic architecture of the Romans, Clegg's lecture, 309 Donaldson, on glass manufacture for architectural purposes, 24 Door, air spring-hinge, Beattie's pat., 175, 295 Douglas's machine for mortising and boring tim- ber, 22 Dover harbour, 20, 27, 360 Dover market and museum, 257 Drainage and subsidence of Chatmoss, 293 Drainage of the metropolis, 138, 176, 193 Drainage of the Surrey side of the metropolii, 100, 282 Draining and watering of land. Smith of Dean- ston on, 07 Drain pipes. Hale on discharge of water through 16 Drew,ou deductions from meteorological observa- tions, 309,345 Drew, on instruments employed in meteorological observations, 226 Drilling machine. Coon's, 72 Druidical anliiinities, Clegg's lectures, 75 Dublin railway pontoon bridge, 174 Dwellings of the labouring classes, Roberts on, 123; G. P. Scrope on (rev.) 136; P. Wilson on, 175 INDEX. Frost, apparatus for prevention of bursting of Heath's patent manufacture of steel,230 ; '^. 1 ., ,01 Heatinir of hoiticutural buildings, Jio water-pipes by, 331 Hen.leison, on purifying and aUerin« water, 201 Davison, 132 Earlhnoik, Henderson's calculations for, 358 East Indian railways, 72, 141 Ecclesislical property valuation (rev.) 137 Edmesion, on poetry of architecture, 217 Edmeston, on Itomaiiesque architecture, 342 Effluvia trap, Marsden's pat., 208 Egypt, Clcgg on architecture of, 1 Elastic beams, impact of. Cox, 152 Elasticity of cast-iron, Cox, 290 Elasticity of solids, Rankine, 294 Elasticity of vapour of mercury, Rankine, 15 Eleclricilv and heat as moving powers, Petri., 298 Electricity, Hightoa on application of to sciences, 25 Electricity, Petrie on the dynamic equivalent of, 3U3 Electric telegraph, ISretl's, 108 Electric telegraph, Eiseulohr's improvements, 208 Electric telegraph, Galton's printing, 234 Elias's magnets, 331 Elliot's patent vitrified bricks, 231 Elliptical wheels, Dashwood, 172 ; Eisner, on galvanic soldering, 334 Engine, blowing. Slate's, 275 Engine, condensing. Smith on, 273 Engine, hot air. Sir G. Cayley's, 105 Engine, hydraulic, iNIurton colliery, 175 Engineers' Civil, Institution, 19, 41, 09, 104, 141, 172, 203, 397; president's conversazione, 205 Engineers of Ireland, Institution of, 26, 100 Engineers, interference of railway board with, 104 Engineers Mechanical, Institution of, 1 17 , 120, 273 386 Engineering employment, 26, 78 Engiueering progress, Mr. Cuhitl's address, 41 English patents, lists of new, 32, 72, 108, 144, 176, 208, 240, 272, 304, 336, 400 Engraving on ivory, 272 Enlargement of the British Museum, 264 Entasis of a column, Jopling on, 100 Etruria, Clegg's lecture on architecture, 145 Exhibition of 1851, 207, 209, '271, 353 Exhibition building, construction of roof, 387 Experiments on discharge of water through pipe^. Hale, 16 Experiments on iron, 198 Experiments on lateral strength of stone Stewart, 209 Experiments on the strength of cast-iron, K phenson, 194 Experiments on the strength of iron for railway structures, 49. 84, 114 Explosion at Seaford, 333 Explosions iu coal mines. West on, 397 Explosion of sleani engine boilers, 150 Exposition of French industry in London, 10 Extension of patent for screw propeller, 108 \V. Sle- Failureof girder-bridge. Joiner street, 390,399 Fairbairn, on tubular bridfjes, 142 Fairbairo's tubular crane, 332 Falkener, on Roman antiquities, 09 Farm buildings, improvements iu, 335 Farm draining and watering, Smith, 67 Fayrer's pat. safety steering wheel, 200 Fences, wire. Smith's improvement, 175 Fergusson, on architecture of southern India, 39 Filter for sea water. Cardan's, 255 Filtering and purifying water, Henderson, 261 Findlay, on construction of breakwaters, 143 Fire-proof buildings, 26 Fittings of the arctic expedition, 208 Font, Westminster abbey, 225 Forging iron, Nasmylh, 292 Fowler, on media;val brick buildings of Germany, 128 Fowler, on terracotta and artificial stone, 215 French exposition in London, 10 Furniture, a branch of decorative design, 137 Galton's printing electric telegraph, 234 Galvanic soldering, Elsnor on, 334 Galvanised iron sectional boats. Laird's 230 Garbelt, on principles of design in architecture (lev.) 114 Gas baths, Defries', 336 Gas from water. 72, 263 (las-slove. Ward's, 331 Gasworks chimney Edinburgh, Buchanan on, 398 Gas works iu Great Britain, 271 Gaseous escape from blast furnace, Budd on value of, 297 Gauge, tide, sclfregistering, 106 Gauze, prepared, for illuminated tide gauges, 106 Gelatine, photography on, M. I'oitevin, 286 Geogra^.hy of Great Britain (rev.) 130 Geological conditions of waterbearing strata, l'restwich,205 Geology, mineralogy, and physical geography, Austed (rev.) 202 Geometrical tracery, development of, Poole, 382 German architecture, 348 Germany, raediajval brick buildings of, Fowler, 128 Gibbons, on the action of the sea upon the bar- hours of Kingstown and Newcastle, 126 Girder bridges, tubular, Clark, 277; Dempsey frev.)48; Fairbairn, 145 Girder bridges, plate iron, N.W. railway. Cam- den-town, 360 Glaisher, meteorological quarterly reports, 246, 302 Glass manufacture for architectural purposes, Donaldson on, 24 Glazing of cast-iron, Wyatt's pat. 231 Goddaid's prize model cottages (rev ) 322 Godwin, on buildings and monuments (rev.) 137, 233 Goethe, on Slrasburgh cathedral, 315 Gold medal, presentation of to Mr. Barry, 208 Gordon, on lighthouse in the Skerki channel, 252 Gothic architecture. Laker on the curve of, 365 Government and public enterprise, 346 Grand continental canal. 361 Granite quarry of Rilmabreck, 335 Grant (Col.) on Indian railways (rev.) 136 Great Britain, military architecture of. borne, 218 Great bull from Nineveh, 271 Great exhibition of 1851, 207, 209, 271, 353 Great exhibition building, cnnstruction of 387 Greece, ancient. Prof. Rangabe on, 289 Greece, Clegg's lectures on architecture, 177,209,242 Grimsby docks, description of coflerdam, 9 Grooving and planiug machine, Newton's pat Guide to Ripon, Walbran (rev.) 48 Gjde, on mildew in paper and chemical satura- tion of growing timber, 206 Gypsum, Burnell on character and application of, 185 purilying • Henderson's calculation for earthwork, 358 Herschel, on manufacture of ice, 108 Highton,onelectricily applied to arts and sciences, 25 Hinge, air-spring, Beatlie's pat., 175, 295 History and construction of lighthouses, Alan Stevenson. 232 Hollow bricks, 127 HoUhead harbour of refuge, 208 Hon'iersham, on water from chalk formation, 67 Horner's plan for improvenieuts of Liverpool, 396 Horticultural buildings, heating of, 336 Hospital, York county. 145, 356 Hot-air engine. Sir (i. Cayley's, 105 How's pat. salinometer, 168 Howard, on motion of water in pipes, 130, 162, 374 Huntington's method of squaring a circle, 171 Hydraulic engine, Murtou colliery, 175 Hydraulic pressure cranes and engines, Armstrong on, 204. Hydraulic purchase machinery. Miller's, 44 Hydraulic tables, Beardmore's, 233 Hygrometer, register, Appold's, 295 Harts. roof. 109, , 109 H Hadrian, mausoleum of. Burgess on, 153 Hakewill,on modern tombs (rev.) 47 Hansard's measurements of banqueting house, Whitehall (rev ) 48 Harbours of refuge, 44, 298, 356 Harmonic ratio, laws of, applied to the human figure. Hay, 358 ; Prof. Kelland on Mr. Hay's theory, 359 Hartlepool west harbour and docks, 336 Hartshorne, on military architecture of Great Britain, 218 Hay, on symmetric proportion, 358 Health question and water supply administration, 97 Ice, Herschel on manufacture of, 168 Illumination and construction of lighthouses, A. Stevenson (rev.) 232 Improvements in river Seine, 355 Improvements of Liverpool, Horner's plan, 396 Inaugural address of Mr. W. Cubitt, 41 Incrustation of steam-boilers. Dr. J. Davy, 291 India, Clegg's lecture on architecture, 37 India, southern, Fergusson on architecture of, 39 Indian railways, 72, 141 Indian railways and Bombay cotton. Col. Grant, (rev.) 136 Inland navigation, D. Stevenson, 165 Institute, Siechanics', Devoiiport, 350 Institute of British architects, 23, 39, 09, 79, 104, 123, 128, 153, 159, 215, 218, 221, 249, 378 Institute of British Architects on cements and stuccoes, 332 Institution of Civil Enginei-rs, 19, 41, 09, 104,141, 172, 203,397; annual general ineetiug, 20; president's conversazione, 205 Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland, 26, 106 Instiiution of Mechanical Eugiueers, 117, 120, 273,275,386 Interruptions to the navigation of the Clyde, 306 Inventions and life of William Munlock, 3b6 Inventors, Turner's counsel to (rev.) 137 Ireland, Instiiution of Civil Engiueeis, 26, 106 Irish railways, advances and repayments, 171 Iron boats. Laird's galvanised, 230 Iron bridge over the Shanion, gigantic pile-driving at, 392 Iron casks. Da Costa's pat., 15 Iron, cast, elasticity of. Cox, 296 Iron, cast, experiments on strengihof. R Stephen- son, 194 Iron, cast, hollow voussoirs to arches, 201 Iron, cast, lighthouse in the Bermudas, 105 ; in Saugor island, 309 Iron, cast. Penny, on the quantitative determina- tion of, 331 Iron, cast, Wyatt's pat., 231 Iron, experiments on, 198 Iron, Nasmyth on forging of, 292 Iron, protection of from oxidation, 71, 272 Iron railiugs for the British Museum, 330 Iron roof, Liverpool railway station, 105 Ironwork, ornamental specimens, 352 Italy, Pelasgic remains in, Clegg's lecture, 109 Ivory engraving, 272 Jewish architecture, Clegg's lectures, 112 Jobson's chapel and school architecture (rev.) 350 Jopliug, on the entasis of columns, 101 Joyce, on the Smyrna stiani-mills, 133 Junction of the North of France aud Slrasburgh railways at Paris, 3y4 K Kelland (Prof.) on Hay's theory of symmetric proportion. 358 Kryliam steam-docks, Devouporl, 2t)7, 400 Kii'ir ^uspen^lo^ bridge. 45 Knowlcs, on use of cements aud stuccoes exter- ternally, 221 Labouriiij; classes, Roberts on dwellings of, 123; Strope, 136; \V ilson, 175 Laker, on the curve of Gothic architecture, 365 Laud draiuing aud wateriug, by Mr. Smith of Deanstoii, (J7 Landing pier, lilackfriars-bridge, 69 Lardner (Dr.) on railway economy (rev.) 170 Lassell, on supporting the speculum of large telescopes, 331 Lathe, Whitworlh's pat duplex, 304 Lectures on architecture, Clegg's, 1, 33, 73, 109, 145, 177, 209, 245, 305, 337, 309 Leon, on cultivation aud nianufaulure of sugar, 25 Letter of Mr. Falkener, on antiquities of Uouie, 69 Library, Plymouili and Cottouiau 310 Life of Sir I. INI. Brunei, IS; Lieut. Col. Kobe, 20; Viguola, 79; Mr. .Murdock, 316 Lift bridge on tlie lirigiitou railway, 173 Lighthouse, Bisliop's rock, 42, 1C8 Lighthouse, cast-iiou, iu the Bermudas, 105; Saugor island, 309 Lighthouse, history and construction, A. Steven- son, 232 Lighthouse, Skerki channel. Gordon, 252 Lighthouse. Swan oQ \elocity of revolving appa- ratus, 29h Lily-house, Chatsworth, 324 Lists of new English patents, 32, 72, 108, 144, 176, 20S, 240, 272, 304, 330, 366, 4tl0 Liquid manure, .Smith on distribution of, 07 Liverpool, docks and quays, quarry from whence supplied, 335 Liverpool, Horner's plan of improvement, 390 Liverpool railway station, iron roof, 105 Liverpool shipbuilding trade, 347 Liverpool water supply, K. Stephenson's report, 190,234,257 Locks aud keys, Chubb, 173 Locomotive engines iu Austria, prizes for, 207 Lloyd, on coniuuiuication between the Atlantic and Paciiic, 19 London and Pans, statistics, 367 London clays, basement bed of, 108 Loudon Society of Arts, 25, 105, 200 London strata, Myliie's sections of (rev.) 233 London supply oi^ water, liisiory of, 28; projects for supply, Henley, 64; Mapledurham, 65, Watford, 00; Kingston, 07; Wandle, 07 ; from chalk formation, Homersham, 07; Clutterbui'k, 70,104; Tabberner's lecture on, OS; Prestwich on, 205 ; Pyni, 183 London sii|iply of water, report of Board of Health on, 238 ; Hon. W. Napier's report to Board of Health, 392 Long aud Porter's Geography of Great Britain (rev.) 130 M M'Counell, on deterioration of railway axles, 120 JPPhersou, on preventing water pipes bursting by frost, 331 Magnets, Ellas on, 331 Malleable iron mauufacture, Thorneycroft on, 172 Manufacture and cultivation of sugar, Leon, 25 Marine worms, ravages of upon Southend pier, 19 INDEX. Market and museum at Dover. 257 Martin's plate-iron girder bridge, Camden town 300 Materials, Buchanan on the .strength of, 21 Mausoleum of Hadrian, Burgess, 153 Meadow's, pat. improvements in veneering, 109 Mechanical Engineers, lustitutiou of 1 17, 120,237, 380 Mechanics Institution, Devonport, 340 Media:val brick buildings of Germany, Fowler, 12S Mediaeval towers and spires, Brittoo, 159 ^lemoir of Sir J. M. Brunei, 18; Lieut. -Col A. W. Kobe, 20; Vignola, 79 ; Mr IMnrdock, 386 Mercury vapour, elasticity of, Kankiue, 15 Meteorological observations. Drew on deductions from, 309. 345 Meteorological quarterly reports, Glaisher's, 246, 302 Meteorological Society, 176 Meteorology, Drew on instruments employed in, 220 Meteorology, Glaisher's tables and| remarks, 246, 302 Meteorology of various places in England for 1849, 84 Metropolis, remarks on drainage of, 138 Metropolitan sewers, receipt aud expenditure for 1849, 170 Metropolitan sewers, remarks on proposed plan of Surrey drainage, 100 Metropolitan street paviug, Taylor, 141 Metropolitan water supply administration and the health question, 97 Metiupolilan water supply from chalk formation, Cluiterbuck, 70, 104; Homer.-bam, 07; Prest- wich, 205; I'yiii, 183 ; Tabberner, 98 Metropolitan water supply, history of, 2S Metropolitan water supply projects, Henley, 64 ; Mapledurham, 05 ; Watford, 06 ; Kingston, 07 ; Wandle, 07 Metropolitan water supply — report of board of health, 238; report of Hon. W, Napier to the board of health, 392 Mildew in paper and parchment, Gyde on, 200 Military architecture of Great Britain, Harts- horne,218 Miller's hydraulic purchase machine applied to Morton's patent slip, 44 Mineral veins in the waters of the ocean, 72 Mineralogy, geology, and physical geography, Ansted (rev.) 202 Mines, coal, Uitchie on the ventilation of, 239; Shedden on, 23 Model cottages, Goddard (re?.) 322 Model dwellings for the working classes, Wilson, 175; Hoberts, 123; Scrope, 130 Modern tombs, Hakewill (rev.) 47 Mortising, tenoning, boring, aud ripjiiiig timber, Douglas's machine, 22 Morton s pat. slip. Miller's purchase machine applied to, 44 Motley's proposed bridge at Clifton, 236 Muiiicli, art in, 307 Murdoi k (\\ illiani), memoir of, 316 Museum and market at Dover, 257 Museum, British, iron railings for, 330 Museum British, project for eulargeiiRUt of, 204 N Nasmyth's improvement in forging iron, 292 Nasmyth's improvement of retlecting telescopes, 328 National provincial bank, Darlington, 380 Naval basin at Sebastapol, 207 Navigable canals, D. Stevenson, 165 Navigation of the Clyde, interruptions to, 336 New street and sewer through London, Beard- more (rev.) 322 Newton's pat. planing and grooving machine, 109 Newton's pat. steam boilers. 199 Niueveh, great bull from, 271 Nonconformist chapel and school architecture, Jobson (rev.) 350 North of France and Slrasburgh railways junc- tion, at Pans, 3S4 North-western railway, plate-iroo girder bridge, Camden-town, 3C0 Nortti-western railway station, Chester, 335 North-western railway station pavement, 141 Notes of the month, 70, 108, 144, 175, 207, 271, 335, 367, 399 Novogeurgievsk, corn magazine, 241 O Obituary, .Sir I. M. Brunei, 18; Dr. Potts, 144 ; Lieut. Col. Kobe, 20 ; Mr. Kobt. Stevenson, 271; Mr. John Swindell, 235; M. Lnigi Zaudomeneghi, 235 ; William Murdock, 316 Oblique bridges, Bashforth, 171 Observations, meteorological, Drew's deductions from, 345 Observations, Glashier's quarterly tables, 246, 362 Opening of the Britannia bridge, 144 Open timber roofs, .Morris on structural principles, 249 Ordnance survey of Scotland, 347 Ornamental ironwork, 350 Ornamentation of .\ssyrian sculpture, Smirke, 150 Overshot water-wheels, Dodgson, 253 Oxidation of iron, protection from, 71, 231, 272 Paint, zinc white, 272 Panama isthmus, Lloyd on canal through, 19 Panama isthmus, railroad acro-s, 271, 323 Paper, dry, piioiography on, Evrard, 2bO Paper for tracing, 72 Pans, statistics of roads, 3t)7 ; bridues, fecurity of, 307; gvpsurn, Burnell on, 185; improve- ments in, 308; sewerage of, 307 Park on public sculpture, 372 Parker's water-wh< el, 08 Parochial registers, 208 Patents granted for England, List of : — From November '24 to December 21. ^i From December 21 to January '.^4, 72 From January 1*4 to February a;j, t08 From February 23 to March 2u, 144 From March 20 to April 23, 1 16 From April 23 to May 23, M% From May 23 to June 30, 240 Froni June 20 to July 25, 272 From July 25 to August 22, 304 From August 22 to SeptemDer 26, 336 From September 26 te October 24, 368 From October 24 to November 21, 400 Patents, Register of New: — Boiler tubes, Bannisler, 230 Bricks, vitrified, Eilioil, 2;U Casks, iron, Da Costa, 15 Glazing ca>t-iron. Wyatt, 231 Planing and grooving, Newton, 169 Railway ciiairs. Torkington, 2"li) Railway wlieels, Cliambers, 200 Saliiiomeler, How, 168 Shot, Smith, 14 Steam-boilers, Newton, 199 Steel manufacture, Heath, 230 Stouk'ware pipes. Burton, 12 Veneering, Meadows, 109 Paton, on ravages of insects upon Southend pier, 19 Pavement at North- Western station, Euston- square, 141 Peal charcoal, manufacture of, 144 Pelasgic remains in Greece, Clegg's lecture, 109 Pemberton, on spirit level adjustment, 327 Penny, (Dr) on quantitative determination of iron, 331 Permanent way, North-Westera railway. Bar- low, 204 Persia, Clegg's lecture on architecture, 33 Petrie, on dynamic equivalent of current electri- city, 303 Petrie, on electricity and heat as moving powers, 298 Petrie, on minute vision, 293 PhoeDicia, Clegg's lecture ou archilectiire, 33 Phulusrapliy on dry paper, Evrard, iSti Pliotoniapliy oD gelatine, Poilevin, 2bO Picture galleries, 279 Pipes, niutioi) of water in, D'AubuissoD, 130, 162 Planing and grouving machine, Newtou*s pat., 109 Plate-iron girder bridge, North- Western railway Camdcu-town, 3(51 Plough, steam, I'sber's pat., 329 Ploushiug by sleani, 130 Plymouth and Cottonian library, 316 Poetry of architecture, Edmeston, 217 Pontoon, monster, in the H umber, 72 Pontoon railway bridge, Dublin, 174 Poole, on developmeut of geometrical tracery, 382 Portsmouth, opening of new dock, 336 Prestwich, ou supply of spring water to London, •2611 Principles of design in architecture, Garbett (rev.) 114 Printing machine of the Times, E. Cowper, 205 Proceedings of scientific societies, 19, (">!), 104. 123, 12S. 141, 153,156, 159, 172, 203, 217, 239, 2S9, 32S, 35b, 305, 397 Professioiialjurisdiction, 144 Protection of iron from oxidation. 71,232. 272 Prussian railways, 368 Public enterprise and the government, 346 Public sculpture, Park on, 372 Public works in Algeria, 355 Pump fur acids and liquors. D.ill's, 240 Pureiiase inachiuery, Miller's imjiroved, 44 R Rai'way arcade, Tooley-street, 300 Railway across the Isthmus of Panama, 271, 333 Railway axles' deterioration, McConuell, 120 Railway, Barlow on permanent way of North- western, 204 Railway board interference with engineers, 104 Railway carriage springs, Adams, 117 Railway chairs, Torkington's pat., 230 Railway economy, Larduer (rev.j 170 Railway over bogs, construction of, Heinans, 107 Railway points and crossings, Campbell, 270 Railway pontoon bridge, Dubliu, 174 Railway rope, American, 108 Railway station at Chester. 335 Railway station, iron roof, Liverpool, 105 Railwav structures, report on iron for, 42, 49, 84, 11.., isi Railway traffic, receipts and expenditure, 71 Railway tunnel at Sienna, 30:* Railway viaduct. Tafi' Vale, 106 Kailwny wagon covering;-, 144 Railway wheels, Chambers's |mt.. 200 Railways, branch. Bourns on. 20 Railways, East Indian, 72, 141 Railways in Ireland, advances and repayments, 171 Railways in Prussia, 368 Railways opened in 1849, 70 Rangabe on ancient Greece, 289 Rankine, on elasticity of solids, 294 Rankine,on elasticity of vapour of mercury, 15 Reflecting telescope, Nasmyth, 328 Regenerative condenser, Siemen's pat., 200 Register of uew patents, 12, 168, 199, 230 Registers, parochial, 208 Report of Board of Health on water supply, 238 Report of Hon. W. Napier to Board of Health, 392 Report of Commissioners of Caledonian Canal, 287 Report of commissioners on iron for railway struc- tures. 42,49, 84, 115, 181 Report of engineer on Surrey drainage, 282 Report on failure of Joiner street bridge, 390 Report of K. Stephenson on supply of water to Liverpool, 190,234, 257 Report, meteorological, quarterly, 246, 362 Revolving lighthouse apparatus, Swan on velocity of, 298 Rewards fur scieuiilic purposes, 208 INDEX. Reviews of Books — Arcliiteclure, dictionary of terms of, Wea'e, IT Arcliitecture, principles of design in. Garliett, 114 Arctiitecturai publication society, 13", 233 Architectural sketches, Tinlikr, 136 Banqueting house, Whitehall, elevation and details of, Hansard, -t.S Bridges, oblique, Bashforth, 171 Bridges, tubular, Britannia and Conway, E Clark. 277 Bridges, tubular, strength of materials, Tale 31H Bridges, tubular iron girder, Dempsey, 48 Buildings and monuments, (Godwin, -IS, 137, 233 Chapel and school architecture, Jobson, 3.30 Copyrigpt in desiiln. Turner. 137 Cottages, model, Goddard, 322 Divellings of the poor, Scrope, 13ti Ecclesiastical property, valuation of, 137 Geography of Great Britain, Lang and Porter, and H. Clarke, 136 Geology, mineralogy, and physical geography, Austed, 202 InHJau railways. Giant, 1311 Inventors in useful arts, counsel to. Turner. 137 Iron, report on for railway structures 84, 115, 181 London strata, sections of, ftlylne, 233 Railway economy, Lardner. 170 Ripon, pictorial guide to, Walbran, 48 Sepilchri Riponensii, Bruce, 48 Steam-engine catechism, Bourne, 203 Street and sewer, new, Beardmnre, 322 Tombs, modern, Hakewill, 47 Ventilation, practical. Burn. 203. 231 Ventilation, lints on, Walker, 320 United service institution, visit to, bhaw, 18 Rhine and Seine, proposed canal, 361 Khine, ait ou the, 367 Rhine, bridge at Cologne, 318; award of prizes for, 334 Kipon, Walbran's pictorial guide (rev.) 48 Ritchie, on ventilation of coal mines, 239 Rivers aud cauals, steam haulage on, 208 Road statistics of Paris and Loudon, 367 Robe (Col.), memoir of, 20 Roberts, on bridge-building in America. 203 Roberts. on dwellings of the labouring classes, 123 Roman antiquities, Falkener, 09 Roman provincial arcliitcctural remains, Bell, 378 Romanesque arcliitecture, Edineslou, 312 Rome, Clegg's lecture on architecture, 145, 305, 337, 360 Roof of great exhibition building, 387 Roof ofWestmiusier-hall, Morris, 249; Davis, 251 Rooms, cooling of, 299, 322 Rope, for American railroad, 108 Royal gold medal, presentation to Mr. Barry, 208 Royal Insliiute of British Architects, 23, 39. 69, 79, 104, 123, 128, 153, 159, 205, 215, 218, 221, 249,332, 378 Royal lusiilute of British Architects ou cements and stuccoes, 332 Royal Scottish Society of Arts, 21, 70, 106, 165, 174,239, 398 Rudimentary treatises — dictionary of architecture and engineering, Weale (rev.) 17; history and construction of lighthouses, A. Stevenson (rev.) 232; principles of design iu arcliitecture, Garbett (rev.) 114; tubular iron girder bridge, Dempsey (rev.) 48 Ruins of ancient city in California, 160 Ryde's surveyor's assistant in setting out slopes (rev.) 233 S Salinometer, How's pat., 168 Sallandrouze's French exposition in London, 10 Sanitary measures .''or drainage of metropolis, 138, 281 Sanitary reform, ventilation as a branch of. Wal- ker, 335 Sans Souci, verandah at, 384 Saturation, chemical, of growing timber, Gyde, 200 Saugor Island, cast-iron lighthouse, 309 Scientific purposes, rewards for, 208 Scienlific societies, proceedings of, 19, 69, 104, 123, 141, 185, :i03, 215, 254, 273, 289, 3^8, 358 397 Scoresby, on velocity of Atlaotic waves, 3»0 Scotland, ancient architecture of, Billings, 23 Scotland, ordnance survey, 347 Scottish Society of Arts, 21, 70, 106, 174,239,398 Screw propeller, extension of pat., 108 Scrope, on dwellings of the poor (rev.) 136 Sculpture and architecture of Assyria, S. Smirke, 156 Sculpture, Park on application of high art to, 372 Seaford, great explosion at, 333 Sea water, mineral veins in, 72 Sebastopol, great naval basin, 207 Sections of the London strata, Myloe (rev.) 233 Security of bridges in Paris, 367 Seine and Rhine, proposed canal, 301 Seme, Burnell on improvements of, 355 Sewers, IMetropolilan Commission receipt and expenditure, 176 Sewers of Paris, 367 Sewers of Surrey side of metropolis, remarks on prop>urKb and north of Trance railway junction at I'aris, 384 Strasbur^h cathedral, (Joelhe on, 315 Street paving of the metropolis, Taylor, 141 Strength of iron, report of commissioDera on, 42, 49,84, 115, 181 Strength of materials, Buchanan, 21 ; Tate (rev.) 318 Strength of stone, 21, 2C9 Struvr on ventilation of collieries, 397 Stucco and cenient, KiiowIhs on the use of exter- nally, 221 ; review of, 332 Subsidence of ( hatmossby drainage, 293 Sugar, cultivation and iiiaiiufaiture, Leon, 25 Sunderland harbour, seU-regisleriug tide guage, lOG Supply of water admiaistraliou aud health ques- tion'. <»7 Supph of water 'o Liverpool, report of R. Ste- phenson, 190, 234, 257 Supply of water to London, history of, 28; pro jects for, 64; Henley project, 64 ; iMaple- durham, 63; Watford, 66; Kingston, 67: Uandle, 07 Supplyof water from chalk formation, Homersham, 67; Pjm, 183; Tabberner, 98; Prestwicb, 265. Supply of water to London, report of Board of Health, 238; report of Hon. W. Napier to the Board of Heallh on water supply, 392 Surrey side of metropolis drainage, remarks on. 100 ; report of engineer, 282 Survey, ordnance, of Scotland, 347 Surveyor and civil engineer's assistant, Ryde, (rev ) 233 Suspension bridge at Kieff, 45 Swan, on velocity of revolving lighthouse appa- ratus, 298 Swindon church, Wiltshire, 288 Swiss railways and U. Stephenson, 314 Symmetrical proportion, Hay's theory, 358 ; Prof. Kelland on, 359 Synoptical view of the meteorology of various places in 1849, 84 Syphou barometer, 3iO TafT vale railway viaduct, 106 Tate, on strength of tubular bridges (rev.) 318 Taylor, on chemical composition of rocks of coal formation, 3u3 Taylor, ou street pavement of the metropolis, 114 Tehuautepec route across the Isthmus of Panama, 323 Telegraph, electric, Brett's, 108; Gallon's, 234; Eiseiilohr's impi nvements, 208 Telescope, LassiU on supporting the speculum of, 331 Telescope, rclleutiiig, Nasmylh's arrangement of, 328 Telotype, Gallon's printing electric telegraph (rev.) 234 Terra-cotta and artificial stone. Fowler. 215 Teredo navalis, ravages upon Southend pier, Paton, 19 Testimonial to Mr. Barry, 208; Mr. Dockiay, 72 Thorneycrufl,on uianufactuie of wrought-iron, 172 Thoiold, ou agrjculluic and engineering (rcv.j 26 INDEX. Tide gauge, self-registering, 106 Timber, growing, (!yde, on chemical saturation of, 206 Timber roofs, Morrison structural principles, 249; Davis on, 251 Tinkler's architectural sketches in Italv (rev.) 130, 234. 399 Tombs, modern, Hakewill on (rev.) 47 Torkington's pat. railway chairs, 23o Towers and spires of mediaeval period, Brilton, 159 Town-hall, Brunswick, 281 Tracery, decorated window, Sharpe (rev. J 46 Tracing-paper, 72 Traffic on railways, 1849, 71 Tropical climates, cooling rooms in, Smyth, 299: '• Q ," 322 Tubes, boiler. Bannister's pat., 230 Tubular bridges, Biiclianaii on raising the Bri- tannia and C'onw.iy, 21 Tubular girder bridges, Clark, (rev.) 277 ; Demp- 6ey(rev.)48: Kairbairn. 142; Tate (rev.) 318 Tubular crane, Fairtiairn, 332 Tunnel of Sienna railway, 308 Turner, on copyright in design (rev ) 137 ; on counsel to ioveniors (rev.) 137 U Ulver^tou, Barrow monument, 183 United Service Institution, Shaw's visit to (rev.) IS United States— bridge building, Roberts on, 263; naval dry docks, 207; waterworks, Buruell on, 259 Usher's pat. stejtm-plough, 329 Valuation of ecclesiasiical property (rev,) 137 Valve for waterworks, Buch-man, 331 Veneering, Meadow's pat., 109 Ventilaiing apparatus, Voik lunatic asylum, 356 Ventilating water-wheels, Dodgsoii, 253 Ventilation as a branch of sanitary reform, Wal ker, 385 Ventilation of coal mines, Ritchie, 239 ; Shedden, 23 Ventilation of collieries, Struv^ on, 397 Ventilation of rooms in tropical climates, 299, 322 Ventilation, practical. Burn (rev.) 203, 231 ; Walker (rev.) 320 Verandah, Sans Souci, 384 Viaduct, Chappie. Eastern counties railway, 172 Viaduct, Tall vale railway, lOO Victoria docks, Woolwich, 300 Victoria regia house, Chatsworth. 324 Visnola, life and works, Angell. 79 Viguolle's suspension bridge at Kiefl", 45 Vision, minute, Petrie on, 293 Vitrilied bricks. Elliott's pal., 231 Voussoirs of arches, hollow cast-iron, 201 W Wagon and carriage springs, Adams, 117 Wa;;on.-^, coverings tor, 144 Walbian's guide to Hipoii (rev.) 48 Wallace statue. Park's model of, 351 Walling, 127 Walker, on ventilation as a branch of sanitary reform, 385 Walker's hints cm ventilation (rev.) 320 \\ aid's gas sio\e, 331 Water and air in tuwus. Dr. Smith, 295 Water, chemical composition of. Way, 254 Water, comparative analysis o', Brande, 103 U'ater contents of chalk. Prof, .-insted, 203 Water discharge through drain pi^es, Hale's ex- peiiinents, 10 Water in pipes, D'Aubuisson on motion of, 130, 162 Water, Bliering and purifying of, Henderson, 261 Water meter, Bucknall's, 239 Water monopoly and the sauiiary moveineiil, 28 Water pipes bursting by frost, McPhersoo oo prevention, 331 Water pressure applied to cranes and other machinery, Armstrong, 204 Water supply adinioistratiou and the health ques- tion, 97 Water supply to Aylesbury. 207 Water supply to Liverpool, K. Stephenson's report, 190, 234, 257 Water supply to Lm.don — history of, 28 ; projects for supply, 04; Henley pioject, 01 ; Maplediir- ham,65; Watford, 60; Kingston, 67 ; U audle, 67 Water from chalk formation — Ansled, 203; Ho- mersham, 67; Prestwich, 265; Piiu, 183 ; Tab- berner, 96 Water supply — report of Board of Health, 238 ; report of Hon W. Napier to Board of Health, 392 Water-wheel, Parker's, 68 Water wheel, ventilating, Dodgsou, 25J Waterworks, Buclian.iu's viilve for, 331 Waterworks in the United Slates, Burnell, 2:.9 Watson, on prevention of smoky cliiinoevs, 334 Watt and U oolf steam-engine and Smyrna steam- luills, 95, 133 Wave principle in shipbuilding, Dodgson, 302 Wales of the Atlantic, Scorcsby on, 300 Waves, T. Steveustm on force of, 294 Way (Prof.) on variation in chemical composition of water, 254 West's comparative view of explosions in coal mines, 397 Westminster abbey font, 225 Westminster and Blackfriars bridges, Stewart on failure, 314 \t'estmiuster bridge, new, 94 Westminster hall, Morris on construction ot roof, 249; Davis, 251 Whe. Is, elliptical cog, Dashwood, 172 Wheels, railway. Chambers, pat., 200 Wheels, revolving elliptical, Davison, 132 Whitby bank, 284 Whitehall banqueting house, Hansard's mea- surements (rev.) 48 White zinc paint, 272 Whitworlh's pat. duplex lathe, 304 H ilsou (Dr)on disinfectants, 1J6 Window tracery, decorated, Sharpe (rev.) 46 Wire fences, Smiih's improvements, 175 Wood, glowing, Gydeon chemical saturation, 206 Woolwich, \'ictoria docks. 306 Wyatt's pat. for glazing cast-iron, 231 Yorkshire agricultural and commercial bank, 312 York county hospital, 145; veuiilaling apparatus, 356 Yule and Chanter's coating for ships' bottoms, 123 Zinc, white paint, 272 Zandomenegi.., death of, 235 INDEX. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Arches, 202 .\\les, 117 A'luediict, Croton,261 blink, Darlington, 380,381 Bank, Yorkshire, 312, 313 Bank, Whitby, 284,285 Baths, 349 Boats, iron, 237 Boilers, 151, 152, 199 Bricks, hollow, 13 Bridges, 236. 360, 361, 390, 391 British Musenm, enlargement, 264 Building, exhibition ( 1 85 1 ) 209, 337, 388, 389 Capilals, 4, 5, 147, 348 Cast-iron, elasticity, 296 Cast-iron, strength of, 87 Chairs, railway, 230 Chambers, Adelaide, 377 Chimneys, smoky, 334 Churches, 225, 288 Cielingsof Paris, 188, 189 Circle, mode of squaring, 171 Cotrerdam,9 Columns, 14, 33 Condensing engine, 200, 273, 275 Conduits, 374,375 Corn magazine, 241 Curve, gothic, 365 Dolmen, 70 Doorway, 75 Dwellings ot labourers, 125, 127 Earthwork calculation, 358 Emissarium, 146 Engine, Blowing, 273 Entablature, 38 Facade, 74 Font, Westminster Abbey, 225 Gas stove, 331 Gateway, 110, 111,147 Globe, winged, 74 Hinge, air spring, 296 Hospital, York county, 145 House, Bridgewaier, 177 House, Chinese, 73 House, Victoria regia, 324, 325 Hydraulic purchase machine, 44 Hygrometer, register, 295 Iron forging, 292, 293 Ironwork, ornamental, 352 Lathe, duplex, 304 Library, Plymouth, 316, 317 Lighthouse, 252 Mansion, Komau, 369 Market and Museum. Dover, 257 Mechanics instilule, Llevonporl, 340. 311 Moulding machine, 13. 14 Monument, Barrow, 183, 184 Osiride, 0 Pipes, motion of water in, 130, 163, 164 Plana : — Arch, 202 Bank, 285, 312 Baths, 349 Boats, 237 British Museum, 264 Chimney, 334 Column, 183 Conservatory, 324 Docks, 9 Exhibition building, 209 Plans {continued)— Hospital, 145 Library, public, 316 Market and museum, 256 Mechanics' Institution, 310 Model dwellings, 125, 127 Koman mansion, 369 Temples, 212, 213, 214 Ventilators, 357 Plough, steam, 330 Points and crossings, 270 Roof, timber, 249, 251 Rooms, cooling of, 300, 323 Salioometer, 168 Sepulchral painting, 149 Shot, 14 Sphinx, 6, 35 Springs, buffer, 117, 119 Springs, railway carriage, 117 Steam-engine, 95 S eps, 13 Symmetric proportion, 359 Telescope, 328, 329 Temple, 1,37,212,213,214 Tombs, 8, 36, 112, 114, 156 Towers, 112 Town-hall, Brunswick, 281 Tumulus, 148 Valve, 331 Ventilation, 320,321 Verandah, 384 Water-pipes, bursting, 331 Water-wheel, 68, 253 Wells, 191 Wheels, elliptical, 133 DIRECTIONS TO BINDEK. Plate. I. Palace of Luxor Opposite to page 1 II. Cotierdara Great Grimsby Docks 9 III. Indian Architecture , . 33 IV. Railway carriage springs and axles 117 V.VI. York county hospital 145 Plate. VII. Bridgewaier House 177 VIII. Exliibilion Building 209 IX. Corn Magazine, Novogeorgievsb . 241 X. Condensation of steam and blowing-engine 274 XI. Exhibition Building 353 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LECTURES ON ARCHITECTURE, Bv Samuel Cleog, Jun., Esq. DELIVERED AT THE COLLEGE FOR GENERAL PRACTICAL SCIENCE, PUTNEY, SURREY: PRESIDENT, HIS GRACE THE DVKE OF BUCCLEUGH, K.G., ETC. ETC. The Lecturer on Architecture proposing to deliver a course of lectures upon its history, monthly, in the Hall of the College, tracing the subject from its earliest or' fin to our own times, we have made arrangements for printing these interesting Lectures in our Journal; and we feel satisfied they will prove instructive, not only to tlie young student, but also to many of those more ad- vanced in their profession. M'e have the gratification of adding, tliat free access to these Lectures will be given to Members of the Institute of Architects, of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and to gentlemen being articled pupils in either of the professions, on application to the Reverend, the Principal of the College. For the fees to the standing collegiate Architectural course, and also for that on Civil Engineering, we %vould refer our readers to the prospectus, — with our recommendation, that they personally make themselves acquainted w ith the system and means of instruc- tion at an institution hitherto too little known, but which deserves public encouragement on account of the combination of theoreti- cal and practical science which may be acquired simultaneously at this College. Lecture I. Ixtrodvction. — Egypt. {WWi an Eiiyraring, Plate I.) History is universally allowed to he one of the most interesting and instructive studies that can occupy the attention of a think- ing being. Not the mere chronicle of reigning nionarchs and party factions; not the record of perpetually recurring war, with its consequent suffering and crime, but the history of the human race in its gradual development; of civilisation in its progressive and retrograde movements; of religion and commerce; of litera- , ture, art, and science: the history of all those things the cultiva- ! tion of which have wrought the change from the ignorant savage, but little superior to the flocks and herds that clothed and gave j him food, to the moral and inteUectual man he was destined to become. i What can be more interesting than (standing as we do in the broad daylight of the 19th century) to contemplate the past, — to grope our way through the dark ages, — to pass in review the even- ing glories of Rome, the full blaze of noon in Greece, and the early dawn in Egypt and Assyria? In thus looking backwards, we find no art or science in which the genius of each succeeding age ' and country has so fully developed itself as in Architecture — the art, aliove all others, most useful and ornamental; adding at once , to the safety and accommodation, and the delight and dignity of mankind. Architecture provides citadels for defence, habitations for private life, erects temples for worship, and theatres where we seek amusement; throws bridges over the otherwise impassable torrent, brings the refreshing stream from the distant mountain, raises monuments to our illustrious dead — and, in short, has its part in almost every comfort and luxury of life. Architectural re- No. U8.— Vol. XIII.— January, 1850. mains present the only certain records we possess of several ancient nations: nor can we arrive at a better knowledge of a people separated from us by the interval of ages than by an ex- amination of their buildings and monuments. Their temples speak to us of their faith and forms of worship; their palaces and courts of justice of their civil institutions; their triumphal arches and tripods and obelisks of tlieir heroes and benefactors; their dwelling-houses of their domestic life; and their places of public assembly and amusement of the degree of civilisation and refine- ment to which they had attained. Under another point of view, also, the student will find himself well repaid by the study of the History of Architecture — nothing can tend in a greater degree to mature the judgment and refine the taste. Surely, in preparing ourselves for the practice of any art or science, and in order to carry it still farther towards perfection by our own endeavours, we ought to obtain a complete knowledge of those inestimable trea- sures with which the taste and genius of our forefathers has endowed us. But if we would really learn, we must approach this, like every other study, with a mind free from hastily-formed opinions, and' unfettered by prejudice; we must be willing to admit excellence wherever it exists, and to perceive beauty wher- ever it is to be found, as well as to detect the barbarous and mere- tricious. We must recollect, in our examination of different styles, that no original forms were arbitrary or accidental; that wherever the manner of construction is suitable to the material— wherever the style of architecture corresponds with the climate, and is adapted to the sentiments and manners of the nation and of THE CIVIL ENT.IXEER AND ARCIIITECrs JOURNAL. [Jancaby, the aeo — whorever it constitutes in its jirincipal forms and in its •letails anil iirniments nn Iiarmonious «li(ile, rejectinj; everytliiiif^ inconsistent witli and foioifrn ti) itself, there we may find some- tliinjj to learn frmn and to admire: nutliing is to he condemned hut what is inliarnionious and utisuital)le. These priiuiples will Mssist in fcMTnin;,' a judi,niient on the works of all aa;es and nations: hearing,' tliem in mind, we shall easily perceive where a style has heen Imrroied — where it lias owed its orii^in to a different climate Mniif,'hfare of a jrrcat city, or a dromos of minute (iphinxes keepiui; watch over the door-scraper and snuir entrance- liall of a retireil citizen's sul)urlpan villa? M'hat could he more heautifiil tlian the u:litterin£r shafts of I'entclic marhle, risitifj from some tall cliff, the landmark of tlie Greek adxenturcr on his home- ward way, or tjleamin}^- in the sunliyht friuu amidst the consecrated grore? — or what more unsuitahle than an imitation of such a temple transplanted into tlie damp and fo^^'y atmosphere of England, and misconstructed into doing service as a dwelling-house, with its ]iortico to ohstruct the scanty light, and low-pitched roof to lodge the rain and snow? Can anything he more glorious, more signifi- cant than the (iothic cathedral, with its flowing lines and multi- ])licati(ui of |iarts. leading the mind onward to thoughts of immen- sity and infinity; and shaft upon shaft, arch and tower and piiniacle rising for ever upwards, like the aspiration of the Christians? — or anything move appropriate to the spirit of the age than the strong- h(dd of tlie feudal haron, with its hattlemeuts and watch-towers, the terror or jirotection of the surrounding district? But what shall we say of a cottage in the jjointed Christian style, perhaps with the addition of a row of chimneys I'l In Ciiifjiirrenio? — or of a castellated mansion, in every other respect probahly, the very heau ideal of peace and security? liy the study of the History of Architecture, hoth excellencies and defects become more evident, so that I would dwell upon it not merely as an iiiffdf/int/ f/iidi/^ hut as one of the highest practical importance, hoth to the architect and amateur. Jt is interesting to find the liii;h estimation in which the arts were held in ani-ient times. During- the intervals of peace, the spoils of war and the thoughts and energies of rulers and people were dedicated to the adorniiH'nt of the heloved native land. In Egypt, the profession of artist was considered one of such imiiortance, that no illiterate person was allowed to exercise it. Agamedes and Trophonius, princes of Orchomenes, in Boetia, received from their countrymen an apotheosis, in honour of their skill in the mechanical arts. And the Etruscan lucumones, or nobles, were not only the senators, and generals, and priests, hut also the astronomers, engineers, and architects of their country. A\'herever architecture has been encouraged, it follows naturally that painting and sculpture, and all the decm-ative arts, have flou- rished at the same time, and ha\e heeu held in equal estimation. Though \i e Ui.iy imagine buildings to have been amongst the first wants of niankiud, yet, from the probable slightness of materi.-il of those ]u-imiti\e constructiuns, our oldest architectural remains must date many centuries subsequent to the wooden or mud huts of the early r.ices. In tracing the first steps in the art, therefore, we are left to mere c(mjecture. As we must suppose the first men living in a warm climate, we may also imagine that little more was necessary to them than wh.it Nature had bestowed — the groves for shade and shelter, anil the spontaneous ]iroductions of the soil for food: thus tliey lived without care or l,-.bimr. But as m.inkind in- creased, it was necessary to disperse to procure a sufliciency of food; and colonies from the primeval tribe, wandering to colder or hotter regions where Nature was less lilieral in her gifts, they were forced to think, to invent, to labour, in order to jirovide for their subsistence, VVe may sujipose these early colonists divided into three classes — Hunters, Sheiilierds, and .Agriculturists, 1st, The Hunter, leading a precarious and solitary life, depend- ent n])»n his own individual exertions, and fre>iuently riianging his haunts in following his prey, would, when wearied by d.iy, con- tent himself at night with a cave, or any other natural shelter, w-here he might jirepare his food and recruit for the next day's toil. This is the rudest state of existence; nor do He find the Indian or New Zealander in a much arreater state of civilisatiun than their most remote ancestors may have been, ^nd. The Shf/ih<:rd, living a patriarchal life in the midst of his flocks and herds. As it was necessary for him to seek the open plain for pasturage, lie could not have recourse to the rocks or forests for shelter; and as his was a wandering life, moving off to new districts as the supply of food was exhausted in the old, neither could he build himself a fixed habitation: therefore, we universally find a shepherd people living in tents — which, when required, could be removed with all the goods and chattels appertaining. 3rd. The Ai/riciillurixt.s- — and it is to this class we must look for the first institutions of social life, and consequent progress of civilisation. The agriculturist was necessarily fixed to one spot; labour was divided, the industry of each became beneficial to the whole. As the community increased, a small portion of the popu- lation was found adequate to the tillage of the soil; the remainder must therefore devise some other method of profiting by their time and labour: man's energies were thus first called forth to create and supply artificial wants; members of society became dejiendent on each other, rights of property were acknowledged, exchange of commodities effected, and laws were framed to protect the weak against the strong. The increasing: wealth of the com- munity demanded additional means of safety; not only were houses required for the people, and buildings in which to store up the grain, but walls must lie erected to protect the infant state from the incursions of their less industrious neighbours. A chief or king was chosen to enforce the laws, direct the councils, and lead the warriors; and as all were occupied with their several avoca- tions, a ]iriestliood was set apart to watch over the interests of religion, and offer up sacrifices to the gods: then altars or temples were erected in honour of the presiding deity, and a palace in which the chosen leader might reside with becoming dignity. t)ther habitations naturally multi]died around the altar and the palace: and thus the first cities originated. PVequently, in the earliest times, the king was at the same time high-priest; and then we find, as in Egypt, the palace and temple in one, and the hall of justice an essential part of the edifice, (iradually as one city arose after another, communication w.as opened between them by land and sea, and roads and harbours were constructed. Some united together under one chief for mutual protection, others were offshoots from the mother city, always acknowledging her as their metropolitan: thus kingdoms were formed, and civilisation pro- gressed— not only in time of peace, but in this infant state of society even more rapidly in time of war, — the conquerors adding the arts and learning of tlie conquered to their own previously acquired knowledge. It is this transmission and diffusion of ideas that makes it so difficult to point to the exact origin of any art or science, and has caused so many dissertations, wliethcr to Egypt, to I'hojnicia, or to India, we owe the first advance in the march of human ])rogress. Letting this question rest, I prefer to speak of Egypt first, as w° have more ancient, authentic, and copious records of this, than of any other nation of antiquity. Egypt will alwiiys claim a high place in our interest. To quote the words of Mr. Sharpe, after speaking of the histories of the Jews, of Greece, and of Rome, he says: ".Vfter these three his tories, that of Egypt may certainly claim the next place, from the influence which that remarkable ciumtry has had upon the philoso- phy and science of the world, and from the additions it has made to the great stream of civilisation; which, after flowing through ages of antiipiity, and fertilising the centuries through which it has passed, is even now, in its present fulness, still coloured with the earliest of the sources from which it sprung. Architecture and sculpture, the art of writing, and the use of paper, mathe- matics, chemistry, medicine, indeed we might add legislation, and almost every art which flourishes under a settled form of govern- ment, either took its rise in Egypt, or reached Europe through that country," Before examining the Architecture of the Egyptians, it is neces- sary cursorily to notice those peculiarities of situation, climate, ami habits of thought, from which it took its rise, Egypt being little more than a strip of country formed by the annual inunda- tion of the Nile, in the midst of a sandy desert, hounded by rocks, was so far isolated and protected by the nature of its situa- tion, as to he less subject to those perpetual invasions and inroads that form so prominent a |)art in the histiu-y of other countries. ICgypt could only be attacked through narrow and difficult passes from Ethiopia, Syene, or .Vrabia Nabatoea: consequently, we find the same dynasty governing many hundred years. Manetho gives a list of native Thinite, .Memphite, and other kings, including sixteen dynasties, extending over a period (if we may believe him) Ih50.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. of nearly 4,000 years before the invasion of the Shepherd Kings. During this time, the arts and sciences had made greater progress than in any other country. The soil and climate also had gi-eat influence in forming the character of the people. The continual struggle to ]ireserve the valley of the Nile from the incroachment of the desert — or, as they expressed it, the perpetual conflict he- tween the god Osiris (who annually arose fnmi his bed in Philiie, to scatter blessings over the land)and tlie evil spirit Typhon — called forth all the energies of the peo]>le, and long preserved them from that enervating spirit of luxury and sloth, to which the downfall of so many nations may be traced. The peculiarities of tlieir country, no doubt, also tended to make them the serious, devout people Herodotus describes. He says, "they are very religious, and surpass all men in the worship they render to the gods." They savv their laud fertilised every year by the hand of Provi- dence— the waters rushing down from an unknown source, and again, in due time, receding; they beheld the sun sinking, night after night, behind the unexplored and silent tracts of the great Lybian desert; and there arose within them an awful sense of the divine and mysterious, a haunting consciousness of the impotency of man compared witli the unmentioMihle One* to whom supreme homage was paid. The Nile was the great source of the prosperity of the country in another way; it was the longest inland navigation known to the ancients, and became the route by which the wealth of India was exchanged for that of Europe; thus pouring a con- tinual stream of riches through the land of Egypt. So early were the advantages of the Nile luivigation appreciated, that villages were thickly scattered over its valley, while the neighbouring countries of Arabia and Syria were only scantily peopled by a few herdsmen. The population of Egypt went on rapidly increasing under these favourable circumstances, and in the reign of Amasis II. (5(jfi B.C.), it amounted to seven millions of inhabitants. We do not possess many legends or traditions respecting ancient Egypt; — other nations boast of their poets and historians; but here they carved the names and deeds of their kings and heroes in stone, and painted the history of their private life on the walls of their tombs: so that if we have less of poetic fiction, we have a more certain basis of reality. The name of Tliis occurs as the first Egyptian city; then we have the names of numerous kings of Thebes and Memphis: of these we have no certain data; we only know that they carry us far up the stream of time; and when Abraham visited Egypt (about 16(10 B.C.), he must have found the country already in a high state of civilisation. Next reigned the abhoired Hyesos, the Shepherd Kings — those "men of an ignoble race," as jManetho calls them; after their expulsion, a succession of native sovereigns extends over a period of 500 years. During this time, Thebes was the chief city, and Egypt surpassed every country in the known world in riches and power. 1400 b.c. Upper and Lower Egypt were united under Thothmosis II., and Queen Nitocris; and in'the reign of Amnopth II. (1300 B.C.), Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians. In the following century (1200 b.c), we arrive at the era of Rameses the Great, the Augustan age of Egyptian history; the age in which native arts and architecture was brought to the greatest perfection. The following 500 years, from the time of Shishak, the conqueror of Rehoboam, the Thebaid sunk to the rank of a province, and Memphis once more became a capital city. The wealth and population of the people continued to increase, ' — but patriotism and virtue had declined. Instead of adding to the magnificent monuments of their predecessors, the nionarchs now bestowed their riches in hiring Greek mercenaries to support their throne. It was in this period that the Greeks began to seek infor- mation from the learned Egyptians; and the illustrious names of Thales, Solon, and Pythagoras, occur amongst those of the travel- lers of that age. Mercenary aid can do little when native valour fails; and Egypt fell, under Cambyses (523 b.c), never to rise again in her pristine glory and independence. The country passed suc- cessively under the yoke of Persians, Greeks, and Romans, though nominally still governed by independent princes. As long as native sovereigns remained to her, however (though only in name), the style of architecture altered but little: but soon after the reign of Cleopatra, it was merged, together with the kingdom, in that of all-conquering Rome. In the general forms of their architecture, the Egyptians seem to have imitated the angularity of the bare rocks and drifted sand- heaps, and the long horizontal lines of the desert plain. Their building materials consisted almost entirely of brick and stone; the indigenous trees being principally palm, sycamore, and acacia (the * It was cOQsidered impious by the EgypiiaDs to name the Supreme Being. former, deficient in strength and durability — the latter, too scarce to be used to any great extent in their buildings), served for house- hold furniture, mummy-cases, &c. Wood was so highly prized by them, that cedar, ebony, and other rare woods, formed part of the tribute imposed on conquered nations; and East Indian ma- hogany was imported amongst the most valuable productions of that country. Brick seems to have been the first material used, probably before the art of quarrying stone was known ; it was afterwards employed in constructing walls of inclosure, and in buildings where cheap- ness and expedition were greater considerations than durability. Egyptian bricks were generally crude, mixed w itb straw and dried in the sun ; kiln-burnt bricks were occasionally used in found, itions, quays, the raised terraces on which the towns were built, or in any situation where they would be exposed to frequent contact with water. The crude bricks were about 15 inches in length, 7 inches in breadth, and a little more than 5 inches in thickness: this sim- ple material was found to be peculiarly suitable to that dry, hot climate, where rain scarcely ever falls ; and were further recom- mended by the ease and rapidity with which they could be made. The bi'ick-fields aff'orded abundant occui>ation for numerous la- bourers ; and the demand was so great, and the trade so profitable, that the Egyptian government took it into their own hands, and considerably increased the revenue by this monopoly. In order to prevent unauthorised persons from engaging in this manufacture, a seal, containing the name of the king or some other privileged person, was stamped upon the bricks before they were dried : nu- merous bricks, thus stamped, have been found at Thebes and else- where. According to Vitruvius, crude bricks should only be manufactured in spring or autumn, in order that they may dry slowly; those which are made in the heat of summer speedily dry outside, while the inside remains moist : the brick thus becomes defective, and easily gives nay. He further observes, that bricks ought to have been dried five years before they can be considered fit for use, and that their having been so should be certified by a magistrate. If these rules originated with the ancient Egyptians, it is probable that the stamp before mentioned may also have been a warrant of the solidity of the bricks. The boundary rocks on each side of the valley of the Nile, afl^orded abundance of stone for every purpose. Basalt, syenite, and porphyry for obelisks and statues, and limestone and sandstone for building, is found from one enil of Egypt to the other. An ancient Egyptian city must have presented a very difl'erent appearance from those of any contemporary nation, from the absence of the surrounding walls, that form so striking a feature in Asiatic and ancient Greek towns, — the isolated position of the country precluding the necessity of this mode of protection. In order to check the incursions of the Arabs, a boundary wall of crude brick extended from Pelusium along the edge of the desert by Heliopolis as far as the Ethiopian frontier at Syene, a distance of about 187 Roman miles: many vestiges of this great work are still remaining. Walls of inclosure surrounded the temples; but these walls, though sometimes as much as 24 feet in thickness, appear to have been less for the purpose of defence than of mark- ing the boundary of the sacred inclosure. The monuments of Egypt may be divided into six kinds : — 1st, Pyramids; 2nd, Those enormous piles adapted to the threefold purpose of temple, palace, and fortification; 3rd, Structural tem- ples, fortified and unfortified ; 4th, Temples, partly excavated, partly structural; 5th, Monolithic and excavated temples; and, 6th, Tombs. The pyramids of Cochome are not only the most ancient monu- ments of Egypt, but probably the oldest in the world. Manetbo ascribes them to Venepbres, king of This, in the 1st dynasty. The great pyramids of Geezeh were built by Supbis, or Cheops, and his successor, Sensuphis, as it is supposed, about 1600 b.c These enormous structures occupy each a square plot of about eleven acres : the largest is 728 feet on each side of the base, and about 500 feet in height. The pyramidal form seems to have obtained favour amongst all the nations of antiquity. ^Ve find pyramids in Assyria, in India, and among the remains of Central America. It has been suggested that the form may have originated from the old Mithratic worshij), and have been symbolical of the rays of the sun. The pyramid may, however, have presented itself as the most enduring form, as well as the simplest in construction, enabling this ancient people to raise monuments on that gigantic scale after which they aspired; nor if we allow that whatever tends to create ideas of superior force and energy contains the elements of the sublime, can we deny this attribute to the pyra- mids and other marvellous works of the ancient Egyptians. Ile- 2* THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [J., rodotus informs us that King Cheops put a stop to all other works until the huiklin^ of liis irreat i)yramid should he completed ; ]n(»,00() men were unceasinijly employed, and relieved every three montlis hy an eipial numher, and that twenty years were occupied in its erection ; he also g-ives us an account of the quantity of radishes, onions, and garlic consumed hy the workmen (prohatily their only wajres) ; on these were expended IGOO talents of siher, or. in our money, ahout eiijhteen]>ence a-year for each workman, 'i'his informatioii Herodotus -rained fnmi the hierodyphic inscrip- tion that still existed on the side of the pyramid in his day. There is now no douht tliat tlie pyramids were intended as sepulchres. Queen Nitocris erected the smallest of the three near Memphis, and cased it witli red pranite from Syene. In the valley of Sai;- garah, thirty pyramids still exist, and there are traces of many more. Both in the plain and on the heights ahove Thehes, are many remains of small crude hrick pyran\ids, in one of which is tlie most ancient arch yet disc-black; and the white, finely-prepared gypsum or lime: these paints were mixed with water and a little gum, to ren- der them more tenacious.* The Egyptians were well acquainted with the manufacture of glass and enamel : a chamber in one of the pyramids of Saggarah is lined with blue porcelain slabs, like Dutch tiles. That the Egyptians had a thorough knowledge of the art of masonry is evident — the stonework in the interior of the great ]iyramid of Geezeh has never been surpassed in any age. The shafts of the columns were sometimes carved out of one solid block; but when formed of sandstone, were built in courses vary- ing in number according to the height of the column — Pococke counted seventeen courses in one cidumn. More than one kind of cement was used by the Egyptians: the mortar employed in build- ing the great pyramid was lime mi.xed with sand. Occasionally, the stones were fitted one to another without cement; and in some cases where they have become partially separated, wooden toggles are observed. It is singular, that in a country where so little rain falls, the architects should have been so ])articular in fitting the stones that formed the roof; but so attentive were they to this, that besides carefully cementing them together, the interstices were covered with a piece of stime let into a groove of about eight inches in breadth, extending equally on each side of the line of junc- tion. I have already noticed the discovery of the arch in the brick pyramid near Thebes; but the most common kind of vault in Egypt was formed by layers of stone projecting one beyond an- other, and capped by a horizontal stone at the summit: the in- verted steps were afterwards hollowed out. In one or two in- stances, the great stones forming the roof have been placed on the supporting columns edgeways, instead of on their face, so as to give a sufficient thickness to allow of their being hollowed out, and thus forming a vaulted ceiling. Crio.Sphlni. There seems to be some doubt as to %vhether the Spliinx is of Egyptian or Assyrian origin: it occupied the same position in both countries — at the entrance of the palace or temple; and in both * The finely painted columnB of Karaac, even now showing In their almost pristine beauty, were tinted in water colour. countries expressed the same meaning, being typical of the most perfect union of physical and intellectual ])ower. In Egyjit, it was used as the symbol of the king or governing power. The Egyptian sphinx was of three kinds — the .\ndro-sphinx, or human- headed; the Crio- sphinx, or ram's-he.ided; and the Ilieraeo-sphinx, or hawk-hended: they were all represented with the body of a lion, and a small figure of the king was occasionally placed between the paws. The great sphinx near Mempliis was carved out of the solid rock, in the reign of Thothmosis IV., about 1300 b.c. ; according to Pliny, it measured 63 feet from the ground to the top of the head, was 143 feet in length, and the head round the foreliead 102 feet in circumference. An adytum, with an altar for sacrifice, was placed under the chin, so that the wnrshiii))ers walked up the avenue formed by its huge paws; and the smoke of the incense ascended to the nostrils of the monster. In their sculpture, as well as their architecture, the Egyp- tians were restricted to the same original forms by religious rules; it is therefore difficult to judge whether, if such had not been the case, they would have been able to delineate the human figure correctly. We know tliey could give the idea of action, from the animated groups in tlie ]iaintings on the tombs. Never- theless, the Egyptian statues have an effect of calm grandeur, and a serenity and benevolence of aspect, that canimt fail to excite a feeling of veneration, as they sit with their hands placed straight on either knee, peacefully looking out into space, and smiling upon the centuries as they ha\e rolled by; or stand with folded arms, bearing the flagellum, as the inflexible judges of human deeds. Thebes contained two great palace-temples — El Karnac and Luxor; the palaces of Medinet-Aboo, and the Memnonium or Rameseum, besides other great buildings, as the temple of Dayr-el-Bahree, built by Queen Nitocris, and that called the tomb of Osymandyas, where stand the osirides, improperly called caryatides: it is worthy of remark that these osirides do not sustain the entablature, but are merely attached to the sup- porting pillars. The most ancient building is the palace-tomple of Karnac; it was the work of many successive kings, and is now the largest and perhaps the most splendid ruin in the world. The wall of the sacred inclosure would appear to have encompassed an entire city, rather than one edifice. This stupendous structure was founded by t)sirtesen I., upwards of 1600 b.c It was enlarged by Queen Nitocris, who set up the two great obelisks in the court, each 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 92 feet in height. Thothmosis III. made several additions, which were carried on by his son, Amunothph II. (1321 b.c), in whose reign the arts of painting and sculpture made rapid progress, — though in the columnar hall built by him at Karnac, with reversed cornices and capitals, we find a greater instance of caprice than of good taste. This palace-temple was enlarged and decorated by almost every succeeding monarch. To give an idea of the gigantic proportions of this edifice, it may be mentioned that the great liall of assembly is 329 feet in length, by 170 feet in breadth, and 85 feet in height, and containing 13+ columns; the lintel of the doorway is formed of one sandstone block, 4-0 ft. 10 in. in length and 5 ft. 2 in. in depth and breadth. Tiie walls of this enormous structure are 25 feet in thickness. The neighbouring palace-temple of Luxor (Plate I.) was begun by Amunothi)h III. about 1300 B.C., and finished by Rameses the Great, nearly 100 years afterwards" Two beautiful obelisks, of red granite, bear his name, and give evidence by their hieroglyph- ics, cut two inches deep, of the wonderful skill of tlie Egyptians in sculpturing this hard material. Tliis temple is only inferior in size to that of Karnac : the length of the colonnade leading to the court is 170 feet; then follows an area of 155 feet by 167 feet, sur- rouniled by a peristyle, containing twelve columns on every side; this terminates in a covered portico, 57 feet by 111 feet, supported bv thirty-two columns. A dromos (not less than a mile in lengtli) of six hundred crio-sphinxes, raised on a causeway far above the level of the Nile, connected the palace-temples of Karnac and Luxor, and formed the main street in the eastern district of Thebes. Another great dromos — called in some papyri found at Thebes, tiie "Royal street" — crossed the city in a westerly direc- tion, communicating with the opposite bank of the Nile by means of a ferry. The soil of the desert was paved with sandstone blocks, as a foundation for the dromos. The palace sometimes called the Memnonium, but more properly the Rameseum, was built or completed by Rameses the Great; this building, and also the palace of Medinet-Aboo (built by Rameses III., 1100 B.C.), do not seem to have been used as temples, but probably united the citadel with tlie royal residence. The cele- brated l'iii)\ called the JMemnon statues, measuring each 60 feet in height as they sit, guarded the entrance to the dromos of the Rameseum; the rest of the avenue was formed by numerous pairs of colossi, nearly as large, but whose fragments now strew the ground. Tlie city of Memphis has ceased to exist. The temple of Pthar, the residence of tlie sacred Ajiis, and all the other great buildings with which it was adorned, have been completely buried or de- stroyed. Piodorus Siculus informs us tliat with its sul>urhs Mem- phis had a circuit of upwards of 16 miles: but now it presents nothing to the eye of the traveller but a sandy plain, an over- thrown colossus of Rameses II., a few fragments of granite, and some foundations. How have the miglity fallen! Amongst tlie numerous temples erected in Egypt, none are more interesting than those adorning the sacred island of Philce. This island rises majestically with its monuments in the midst of the river Nile, above the first cataract, and was believed to be the burial-place of Osiris: "By him who sleeps in Philce," was the Egyptians most solemn oath. The island is entirely surrounded by a wall, marking it as a sacred inclosure, and must have been as enchanting from tlie beauty of its site, as imposing from the mag- nificence of the temples with which it was covered. Numerous P5'lons, p with mud and straw moulded to the required form. The adytum terminates 200 feet from the entrance, and there four more colossal figures are seated, side by side, in the dim light. Another smaller excavated temple exists in the immediate neigh- bourhood, dedicated to the goddess Athor: space will not allow nie to enter upon the description of this, Garf-Hoseyn, and other wonderful excavations with which Egypt abounds. The importance the Egyptians attached to the preservation of the body after death, probably first induced them to seek a |)lace of sepulchre in the neighbouring rock, where security would he found against damp and other destroying influences. As these sepulchres increased in number, as year by year the population of the dead more and more exceeded that of the living, the inhabit- ants of the cities below would be led to think of the brevity of mortal existence, and would be impressed with the necessity of preparing a permanent home in the everlasting rock, against the time when they should be called to leave their transitory abode in the Nile valley. It was the profitable business of the priests to prepare these tombs; they frequently excavated tliem on specula- tion, selling them at a high price to those who had not the means of commencing a se]inlchre early in life, as was the custom among the wealthy. The priests, therefore, took advantage of the natu- ral feelings of the people, and in every way fostered and encou- raged their passion for expensive and elaborate tomb decora- tiim. M'herever an Egyptian city arose, we find a nicropolis in the neighbouring Lyhian or Arabian mountains. These tombs consist of vestibules, halls, galleries, and chambers, differing in number and extent according to the wealth of the occupant, whose name, rank, and mode of life, was illustrated on the walls; they had all square doorways, sometimes plain, sometimes with a riclily orna- mented fa ade. Frequently the entrance to the tomb was closed with solid masonry, but in others the outer chamber appears to have been used as a private chapel; and many had gardens planted in front, wliere the flowers were tended by the hand of some faith- ful mourner. Between three and four miles from the river, in the immediate vicinity of Thebes, is a tortuous path, formed by a natural cleft in s THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, [January, tlie rock: this leads to tlie celeliratod valloy of Bihan-el-Moluk — the valley of the 'I'onibs. where the great 'J'hehan kings have found their last resting-jjlace. Many of these tombs remain unexplored, but those wliich have been opened are sufficient to attest the wonderful labour and skill, and the vast expenditure, lavished on their |)reparation and adornment. The tomb of Aniuuotbpli III. is one of the most extensive of tlie royal sepulchres: it een carved, completes the fa,ade. Upon the archi- trave a sort of dentel is sculptured; the cornice is too much broken away to allow of a decision as to whether it had the Egyptian or Doric character. A beautifully-proportioned doorway forms tlie entrance, the imposts and lintel of which are covered with carved hieroglyphics. On the lintel the following words have been de- ciphered: "A good house, food, and drink — bread, geese, cattle, perfumes, as offerings to the (ieneral, Nahride Nevothph, son of Dgiok." The principal chamber of the tomb is of a square form, about .SO feet in lengih and breadth. Two longitudinal arcliitraves, each sup]iorted by two columns, similar to those on the exterior, divide the ceiling into three parts, each division being \ aulted and decorated with stars on a blue ground: the basement and archi- traves are covered with hieroglyphics, coloured green on a red ground; and the walls are adorned with paintings representing the daily habits of Egyptian life, atul, it is to be supposed, of Naliride Nevothjih in ]iarticular. The fancy of the artist was allowed greater pl:iy in the tond)S than in the temple, and we fre- quently find ornamental patterns \ory similar to those in use up to tiie present day. There are several other grottoes at lieni-IIassan, in one of wliiih are reed-shaped columns; another has polygonal columns with i>biin sides. Although the Egyptians expended so much money and labour in the preparation of their toniiis, they were by no means negligent in Jiroviding for the ciuufcut and luxury of their houses. Fnun the amusingly detailed drawings they h.ive left us, we have accpiired a closer insiglit into the homes ami manner of life of the Egyptians than of those of any otiier ancient nation. Diodorus Siculus tells us that the Egyptians originally built their houses of reeds. This may probably have been the case; but as brick-making was so early an invention, the reed houses were mostly soon confined to the lowest classes; and this may be the reason we find no representa- tions of them on the tombs. The houses there delineated are of crude brick, as are found in the ruins of the Alabastron and else- where, and were covered with stucco. One of the houses painted on a Theban tomb represents a square indosure, to which ingress is gained by doors on opposite sides; the door to the left leads into a garden, where is a vine-arbour, and four trees. Beyond the garden is a courtyard, where, in seve- ral tiers, bread and meat, &c. is set out in the air in vases. On the right of this c(mrt is a gallery or passage, with a large window : then follows the house, witli the entrance-doout the year l(^3i, by Mr. Charles Payne. Tliis exhibition was held in the (dd King's .Mews, before that building was pulled down to make way for the National Gallery. After a very limited existence, the exhibition resulted in the establishment, by Mr. Charles Payne, of tlie Royal Adelaide Gallery for the Advancement of Science; and afterwards, of the Polytechnic Insti- tution, which was organised on a still larger scale, and has been more successful in its operation. Elsewhere, one who had rendered such considerable service to he public would not have been forgotten in the disposal of patron- age; and Mr. Payne is, besides, the author of useful inventions for preserving meat and preparing timber, with which it is almost needless to say he has been left to struggle on without a help from public departments, and with all the discouragement incident in this country to those who prosecute useful undertakings. Cer- tainly it was no mean service to establish a museum of economical productions, with working models of new machines, a course of lectures on mechanical inventions, and a laboratory and school of chemistry. The Polytechnic Institution, we have no hesitation in saying, has had a large share in bringing about the present favourable state of public feeling, and in the establishment of many valuable institutions. The movement for free museums, twelve years ago, led to better arrangements at Woolwich and the other dockyards, as museums of the mechanical arts. The establishment, at the same time, of schools of design throughout the country, w as a successful measure for the promotion of decorated manufactures. These schools have likewise held their yearly exhibitions of drawings and designs. When the Royal Botanic Gardens were formed in the Regent's Park, a museum and exhibitions of economic botany were pro- posed; but little more has been done than to give the impulse to the government gardens at Kew, where a good beginning has been made of a museum. The Museum of Economic Geology is more advanced, but there is still an opening for a Museum of Economic Zoology. The Botanical and Zoological Gardens are open freely to students of the Royal Academy and Schools of Design; but who- ever looks at our designs and compares them with those of the French as shown in Paris, or in London, will see how much we are behind in the study of natural history to what the French are. Indeed, the main strength of their designs is in their intimate ac- quaintance with nature; whereas, our students are still copying from drawings or casts from the antique. The operations of the Mechanical Section of the British Associa- tion, and of the exhibitions and model yards of the Royal Agri- cultural Association, have resulted in yearly exhibitions, on a limited scale, of economical productions, which have made known the resources of many localities. The branch agricultural associa- tions have extended the influence of such exhibitions. The exhibitions by the Society of Arts, in the last few years, of • objects of ornamental manufacture, should not be left out of sight in this enumeration. Provincial exhibitions, as that at Birmingham and those for the benefit of mechanics' institutions have, some of them, been on a considerable scale. Thus, besides the influence of the press, in urging the example of France, Flanders, Dutchland, and the Mechanics' Fairs of the United States, the public mind has been gradually prepared for a great national e.vhibition, and all the elements of it have been slowly organised. One reason for which we have given this sketch is to show that, so far from the exhibition of 1851 being a rash or doubtful venture, it has every element of success, and that nothing is wanted but a careful and honest administration. It is new, as a whole, but not in its parts; it has been rehearsed piece- meal, and is ready for the stage. The first Paris Exposition, restricted as was its organisation, was an experiment much more dirticult, and much more doubtful. In all our colonies, exhibitions similar to those already described exert a like influence, and are equally promotive of effective ar- rangements. If, therefore, we look at the machinery we have now in opera- tion, we may feel confident that all will work well; and we have iu 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCIHTECTS JOURNAL. 11 our local institutions, and in the fiimiliarity of every district wit^h these exhibitions, the means of surpassing any foreipn effort. H any one comes to consider the number of our Societies, and the large sums yearly disbursed by tliem, he will feel little doubt ot our resources. • i- » Agricultural institutions descend from national associations to county and district societies; from these to agricultural clubs and cattle clubs. Horticultural and floral exliibitions are held in every town. In London alone, 3,000/. are yearly given in prizes. The migratory sections of the British Association, the scientific conversaziones, the Polytechnic associations, and the local exliibitions, afford yearly' displays of mechanical inventions. The exhibitions of the Society of Arts, and those of the bchools of Design, are rallying points for the designers. In 1851, these are to be brought tosfether, and nothing but gross mismanagement can afford a cliance for failure. At any rate, we have invited the world to a competition in this its metropolis ; we have thrown down the gauntlet, and we must not be beaten on our own ground and at our own weapons. The French Exposition is a kind of advanced guard ot our rivals, by which we may in some deifree take measure of then- strength. AVithin the walls of exhibition rooms— though those in George-street, Hanover-square, are large— it is not easy to give a complete illustration of the great Paris Exposition; nevertheless the French Exposition constitutes in itself a line exhibition, and affords no mean idea of the resources of our 'yond-Channel neigh- bours. Brought together on the suggestion and by the exertions of iM. SaUandrouze de Lamoniaix, it necessarily partakes much of the character of a private undertaking, and to some extent ot a iirivate speculation. . . Monsieur SaUandrouze holds a high position in connection with the industrial interests of France, being the director of the great national manufacture of tapestry, and a member of the General Council of Manufactures, formerly a deputy, and in 1839, 1844, and 1849, one of the central jury or commission for the National Exposition. IMany of the exhibitors held back from sending their productions, from 'doubts of the results of the Exposition, from jealousy of the proposer, or of the English ; and many of those who seiit did so from motives of speculation, in the hopes of making a sale of their goods. It is, therefore, as much a bazaar as an ex- hibition: but in either case M. SaUandrouze has achieved no mean success. Macliinerv and the heavier productions have a very small share in the collection; neither have the coarser but more important manufactures more than a nominal representation, so that there is little to gratify technical interest; hut it is as a demonstration of Parisian artistic skill, as a display of objects of luxury, that this Exposition remains as yet without an equal in England. '1 1 ■ ' the better for us: for our cottons and our iron we do not fear This IS ; but it is in articles of taste that we are behindhand, and for which we have the struggle to make; therefore we again thank M. SaUan- drouze for this Exposition. Taken altogether, the tapestry, the silks, the porcelain, the glass, the bronzes, the cabinet-work, tlie knick-knackery, present a gorgeous display of cultivated taste, which the English public will see with surprise. These things are not, however, to be seen and wondered at, and never again thought of, but as sights which have been; they must be considered and canvassed, and some profit be drawn from the lesson,— for this Exposition is suggestive of many striking thoughts. Why is it that France, which is neither so wealthy a land, nor has so wealthy an aristocracy, is able to beat us in these attri- butes of wealth ? Have we the power of struggling with her for the mastery, or have we not— and is it worth our while? To our liiind, there is nothing disheartening in these considera- tions, but every gi-ound of encouragement. Our army, it must be remembered, has not yet been brought together on the field; and when we look at that of our rivals, and acknowledge we have not yet seen a force so imposing, we must not give up hope for our- selves, but institute, so far as we can, a comparison of the details, which admit of it. " Have we as good a staff— as good engineers, as good artillery, infantry, cavalrv, and train?" If we can answer "Yes" in each case — or if we can answer that though such an arm is worse, another is better— then we have no need to fear the result; and this, it strikes us, is what ought to be done here— to examine each branch, and then to review the whole. If this be done, those of our readers who know the resources of the country, will feel more confidence for 1851. Tapestry we give up, for it is a government fancy in France, a "specialty," as are the great productions of Sevres; and France must have the glory of these, as Rome of mosaics, Russia of grena- diers, and England of first-rates. As to the porcelain and glass, putting the Sevres demonntrations aside we do not consider we are at all inferior to tlie French In looking carefully at the invention, shape, colour, details and finish there is not that perfection on tlie part of the i rench which should reduce us to despair; but on the contrary, some very strong reasons for measuring weapons with them. There is to our seem- ing a purer taste in shape in England, and a richer taste in colour. We do not believe that in any branch of the arts, liigh or low, the French are our masters on these two heads. The French SO^T"- ment have spent enormous sums at Sevres, but our outward trade in earthenware is a much better stimulant. In porcelain, and in glass, we can make as good masterpieces; while the state of those manufactures is with ourselves much more healthy than in h ranee, or any other country. Our weavers can 'produce those specimens of silk which are the boast of the Lyons looms, but we are inferior in design in the general trade, because we have not reached the same height of cultivation. Spitalfields and Manchester will make a show in 1851; but this is not the test of a healthy condition. Our manu- facturers, pattern drawers, weavers, buyers (as the Art-Journal well shows), mercers, and public, are not so well trained as in France. We want more and better schools of design, more pic- ture galleries, and above all, more public botanic gardens. A free botanic garden in Victoria Park, and another at Manchester, will do more for Spitalfields and Manchester than almost any measure which can be proposed. Under decent management, tliese two botanic gardens could be established and upheld at a very mode- rate expense. ., , ... In the case of the Victoria Park, the twenty acres of land, which is the chief outlay, is already provided. Say, for laying-out paths 1 000/ If no show conservatory is tried, 5,000/. will make a good provision of hothouses and gi-eenhouses. A curator can be had for 200/. a-year and a house. Gardeners are very cheap even in Lon- don—fourteen shillings each a-week for twelve men, will provide a sufficient establishment; for this 450/.; for materials plants, coals, and other stock, 350/. a-year. Say 8,000/. for establishing the garden, greenhouses, and dwellings, and 1.000/. a-year for keeping it up. The 8.000/. might be got by public subscription; and the 1,000/. be raised by a rate or additional ground rent on the houses benefitted by Victoria Park. Something of this kind must be done, for the establishments ot London as now organised are inefficient. Kew is too far off; Chel- sea, although admission is freely granted, is small, and a physic garden- Kensington and St. James's Park present little more than an arboretum. The Horticultural Gardens at Chiswick are too far off. The Royal Botanic Gardens in the Regents lark are only accessible to artists, and not to the public. The Zoological Gardens are more acccessible, but even sixpence is too much tor weavers. The gardens of the Messrs. Loddige, and other poor «ca*ci3. i .IV, ^i..v.^..~-. .--. cj / .. nurserymen, cannot he looked upon as available to the public. The Ornithological Collection in St. James's Park is very limited in its use; and the Surrey Zoological Gardens is a pay place. Putting Kew out of the question, the only places open even for artists are the Royal Botanic and Zoological Gardens; and more students of the Royal Academy than of the School of Design go to either— indeed, very few from the School of Design. It is true plants are used at the 'Schools of Design; but free study from the growing plant is what is most wanted. For the instruction ot the public at large, the means are quite inadequate; and besides the Victoria Park, we would ask for botanic gardens at Battersea and Greenwich. . , j The bronzes at the French Exposition are well executed; and this branch of art, which includes clock-cases and gilt plate, is carried on far beyond us. One reason is, that silver ijlate here takes the place which in France is held by gilt bronze. The latter can hardly be said to have an existence with us; not because we have not the means of execution, but because the fashion and the material are different. The works of Eck and Durand, Marchand, Deniere, .Matifere, Susse, and Villemsens, will be looked upon with admiration. , ,_^ r n. The specimens of cabinet-work are most remarkable tor the inlaying Grohe, Marcelin, and Marchal, have some excellent work. In design, carving, and finish, we think we can meet the French ; but we have not>et reached them as to price. W e would particularly direct the attention of our readers to some of the inlaying, a'nd the prices charged for it. ,, -r. v i. For gilding, we are inclined to give the palm to the English; but they beat us in silks for upholstery. It is, however, rather in 3* 12 THE CIVIL EiVGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [J. the general desifin for decoration that tliey are our masters, than ill separate articles of furniture. 'I'here is one ^'reat specimen of paper-staining— a landscape by Zulicr; and tliere is t)ie Ascension, by Delicourt; but otherwise tliere is no (jreat sliow in tliis way. We know, nevertlieless, that the Frencli lieat us, and nothinir can give us a fair chance for jiapor-hantfinfrs l)ut more schools of desitrn and botanic gardens, the removal of the excise on paper, and tlie abolition of the window duties; perlia])s we ouglit to say the establishment of Mr. Coch- ranc's street orderlies, and street cleansing, ^^■anting light, and wit!i horse-dung blown into our rooms and dignified with the name of (lust, there is little inducement to set up those panoramas and other pictures, w hich are as entertaining as they are tasteful. Our manufacturers are starved out by an oppressive and neglectful government. Of gold and silver plate there is little; and we are fully pre- pared to meet the French or any other manufacturers. Can- delebra, epergnes, racing-cups, and other presentation plate, being the English fashion, where the French give Sevres porcelain, Au- luisson tapestrv, or gilt vermeil. There are two objects that recpiire a special consideration — swords presented to the Presidents of two Spani>h-.\merican republics. This, and a plan of the city of Mejico (.Mexico), by Bauerkeller, put us in mind what a revenue the French manufacturers derive from Spanish-America. In Mexico, and throughout the Soutli, there are swarms of French shopkeepers and pedlars; and the similarity of language favours n knowledge of Spanish tastes and propensities. This is quite neglected here; and, so far as we are aware, there is no public teacher of the Spanish language and learning in Liverpool, Man- chester, Hirmingham, Sheffield, or Glasgow, and the professors in the two London c(dleges have few sch(dars. A little attention to Sj)anish in our great seats of trade and manufactures, would give us a chance with Hfty millions of Spaniards. In jewellery of all kinds there is a very fair show, and we may name Daniel,' Rouvenat, and Froment-Meurice ; but there is nothing to frighten London and Birmingham, although the Parisians are great masters in these arts. There are some good works in gold, silver, steel, mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, and other materials. Some of the shawls by Deneirouze, Gaussen and Pouzadoux, and Rosset and Normand, are very good, and will w ell repay ex- amination. The patterns and designs for silk, cotton, and tapestry are what will be looked at narrowly, for here is a stronghold of the French; and tliey have no unworthy representatives in Couder, Claude, Uraun, Lubiensky, and others, Couder has designs of many classes, in each of which the style most suitable to the material is adopted. Here, as we have before hinted, the study of flowers and of natural history is very apparent, and the necessity for this was fully pointed out twelve years ago by the Committee on Schools of Design. If we are to beat the French, it must be with their own weapons : and in despite of the pig-headedness of our manufacturers, and the self-interested prejudice of academicians, the instruction in our schools of design must be of the highest class, and must be based on the study of nature, from the human figure down to the slightly-organised flower. M. Mathiashas specimens of the scientific works he has published, and of collections of technical works for public libraries. The exertions of M. Mathias should instruct us, for if public industrial libraries are necessary in France, so are they here. We may re- mind our readers that they have now an opportunity of purchasing works in those branches of science in which the French are pro- ficient. The zinc exhibition of the Vielle Montagne Company gives a very good illustration of the varied uses to which that metal is now being applied; and although zinc is much worked up here, still Flanders is the chief seat of ])roduction and supply, and this col- lection cannot fail to ])rove useful to many of our architects and engineers. The zinc nuuildings and ship-sheathing are not among the least promising apjilications. We shall now say a few words upon several subjects for which we have little space at our disposal. The painted glass is good ; but we can ecpial it. There is some good carpeting; but there again we can come in. M. Le Molt has a simple galvanic battery and some philosophical ajuiaratus. The lac4! shown by M. Guyot de Lisle is a worthy ))roduction of French skill. Some of the tipestiies shown by AI. Sallaiidrouze are wonderful — the brilliancy of oil-painting is approached; there wants only a varnish to com])lete the identity. The leather ornaments, by Dulud, are good, and almost equal in effect to the Cannabic composition. The children's toys of M. Theroude should not pass unnoticed. The toy business employs a thousand peojile in London, and yet we import largely from the High Dutch. Carved ivory flourishes at Dieppe, and constitutes the staple of that town. The fancy sta- ticmery is very well represented, and is a branch of industry in which we are making progress, though tlie paper duty is heavily against us. M. Gruel has some bookbinding of a highly artistic character. M. Charpentier has some good chandeliers and lamjis. There is an interesting specimen of wood mosaic, a figure of a monk. Undoubtedly there is not that wealth in France there is here, neither are there so many wealthy men, but France has many com- pensations. There are better means of instruction, and the public are more tastefully trained: the government acts as grand patron. The church still creates a great demand for painting, carving, stained glass, vestments, tapestries, jewellery, and church furni- ture, even to artificial flowers. The great stay, however, is this, that Paris has created and enjoys a reputation for taste, which com- mands the orders of kings, nobles, and churches throughout the old world and the new. Paris has the market of the world — we, not even that of our own empire, for the French share, too, in this. The fight is for millions, and we have a good chance if we w ill but try — we are making good way ; where we try we succeed, and we must go on. Those who deal with us for cotton and iron will deal w ith us for silks, paper-hangings, and cabinet-work ; the market is as open to us as to the French ; indeed, we have more commercial facilities, but we want instruction, and this is the direction in which exertion must be made. The exhibition of 1851 will only be worth anything as a means of public instruction; and therefore is it the more desirable all our rivals should be invited ; but the whole organisation of industrial instruction must be strengthened. Di-awing in the national schools, schools of de- sign, with the live model, free industrial libraries, schools of che- mistry and mechanics, botanic gardens, picture-galleries, art unions, freedom from excises and the tax on God's light ; these are what we want to achieve success. The demand seems large, but the cost is small. REGISTER OP NEW PATENTS. STONEWARE PIPES. Bkn.nett Alfred Burton, of John's-place, Holland-street, Southwark, London, for "cer/«i« improvemetitK in the nuiiuifacture nf pipes, tile,i, hricks, /.tairx, aipings, and other like or similar articles, frimi plastic materials; also improvements in machinery to be employed therein."— Gi-AwieA June 7; Enrolled December (i, 1819. The object of this invention is to produce pipes and other arti- cles from plastic materials of greater strength and durability, more regular in their structure, and of better finish, than has ever yet been accomplished. The manner in which the inventor effects this object is by compressing the plastic material of which pipes and other articles are composed, by a process of rolling; which is found not only to increase the strength of such articles as may be sub- jected to such process, but also to give them a smoother surface, so that they may be less liable to the accumulation of deposit; and in the case of ))ipes, will be found to offer less resistance to the pas- sage of fluids. The machine for making pipes according to this invention con- sists of a vertical framework, su])porting two clay cylinders, so arranged that they can be brought alternately below the screw and piston, for the purpose of forcing the clay through the dies. The object of such an arrangement is to allow of one cylinder being filled during the process of forcing through the die the clay con- tained in the other cylinder. To the centre part of the die (see fig. 1) there is attached a mandril a, the lower end of which just comes below the centre line of four ndlers, turned and arr.inged as shown at fig. 2, which represents a plan of the rollers, and their bearings supported by a cast-iron frame i, b. The mode of driving the rollers is by a wheel c, keyed upon the end of the shaft rf, of the fixed roller, and three pairs of bevel-wheels e,e,e. The wheel f, is driven by a pinion, keyed upon the end of the main driving-shaft of the machine, n hich shaft also gives motion, by means of an upright shaft and suitable gearing, to the screw, which forces the clay contained in the cylinder through the die. It will be seen on referring to the plan that the rollers will be drawn in one and the same direction, and with the same surface velocity. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 13 Tlie process of manufacturing pipes according; to this invention is therefore as follows: — The clay, as it is forced through the die in tlie form of a pipe, slips over the mandril a. The length of a- Fig. I. pipe required is then cut off, and afterwards drawn by the motion of the rollers over the end of the mandril, wliereby the particles of matter forming the pipe become compressed or consolidated to such an extent, that when baked in the usual way they have been found, by repeated e.xperiments, to be upwards of 75 per cent, stronger than pipes made from the same clay, but manufactured in the ordinary way; besides being more regular in their structure, and in every respect better finished. Fig. 2. It will be seen from the above that the pipes are compressed immediately after passing through the die. This will, however, depend upon the nature and consistency of the clay, and state of the weather; for in some cases it may perhaps be desirable to let them stand in a dry place for two or three days previous to being rolled, which w ill entirely depend upon circumstances, and must be left in some measure to the judgment of the workmen: It will also be seen, with regard to pipes of small diameter, that the rolling machine would do a greater amount of work than a pipe machine having but one die. Pipes mav therefore be made in a separate machine, having any required number of dies, and after- wards rolled. For this purpose, the specification describes a modi- fication of the above machine, to be used for the purpose of com- pressing only. In cases where the pipe is required to have a taper hole, the inventor employs a mandril made taper at the point, the mandril being gradually withdrawn by a screw or other suitable means, during the time tlie pipe is passing between the rollers. Fig. 3. When the article to be compressed is not of a circular form, two, three, or more rollers may be employed, as the nature of the case may require (see fig. 3); "which show's the form, mode of ar- ranging and driving three rollers for compressing an oval pipe. Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows the form, mode of arranging and driving three rollers for compressing a stairs' tread or step; the rollers o, and ft, may, in this case, be engraved with any suitable device, or pattern, which will be impressed on the top side and front of the step, as Fig. 5. shown at fig. 5, which represents an isometrical view of a step manufactured according to this invention. 14 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [jANVABy, Fiff 6 is an isometrical view of Diree hollow bricks, and the manner in which thev tit together. Hollow l.ricks or tiles of the form shown in the drawing, are made hy forcing clay through a die of suitable form, and afterwards compressing the clay, by passing it between four rcdlers, two of which are turned of such a form as to produce a rebate on the edges of the bricks; the other two beiiii' en-raved on their jicripheries, so as to jiroduce on the siaes_ of the brick or tile, any suitable device or pattern. I he ends ot the brick are rebated a'fterwards, in a separate machine. Fig. 7. The specification having described the mode of arranging rollers for comnressiiig hollow bricks, copings, columns, and articles to be i emnloved for building purposes, further states, that by the appli- .ation of cams, eccentrics, or convolute rollers, articles of a variety of forms so far as regards their length and tranverse section, may be produced bv the process of rolling, as hereinbefore described. Another part of these improvements relates to the mode ot making bends for pipes; and consists in so constructing the die that a bend of any required curve can be produced, simply by forcino-the clay or other plastic material through the die; whereby the moulds emploved in the process of making bends as heretofore are dispensed with. Bend pipes, after they have been made as described in the specification, are afterwards compressed bypassing them between rollers as described. The specification, after describing several machines for cutting socket, or rebate and screw joints upon the ends of earthenware pipes, concludes somewhat as follows :— I would have it understood, that I do not claim as my invention the combination of four rollers, and mode of driving, as represented at fig. 2, the same having already been applied to the manufacture of iron pipes. But that which I do claim as my invention is — Firxt the application of rollers turned of such a form, and ar- ranged'in such a manner, that they may be employed for compress- ing or consolidating the particles of matter composing pipes, tiles, bricks, copings, stairs' treads, pillars, columns, or other articles composed of plastic materials, intended for building, drainage, and other purposes. ,• i.- e Secondli/, I claim the general arrangement and combination ot parts com'posing the machines for making and compressing pipes, as hereinbefore described. Thirdli/, the mode of making bends for pipes, as described. Laxtiij the general arrangement and combination of parts com- posing'the machines for forming rebate, or socket and screw- joints. Experiments on Stoneware Pipes. KxPEniMKNTS showiiiff the relative strength of Pipes made in the ordinary maimer, and by A. and .VI. Uurton's Patent Machine.—" Umolled" being the commmi pipe, and " Rolled" indicating that the pipe has passed through the Patent Machine. 1 Breakint; No. nf Bore of Thickneaa Length of Weight of u eight in Remarks. Exiieri- ment. PU>i' in of l*\;>e in Pijte in Pipe in lbs. pres- Inches. iuclit/s. inches. lbs. sure per inch. 1 2-812 ■4fi9 20^63 8 75 4-20 Rolled Fine Clay •2 ■2-H7 -471 2*37 9 25 380 1. ft 4 2-8- 2-(:8 •471 •472 22^37 21^ 9--'5 7-75 -.;hO 180 Unpolled Fin'e Clay h 27 •4"3 21 •» 7-89 170 t> *t 6 7 2-9 2/5 ■471 •4(W 213 2I^5 7-9 8 12 2011 140 Rol'l'ed Coarse Clay S 2 75 •46S 22 31 8 25 270 »t >. 10 2- 7.1 2 ".') •468 •6 22^37 21 •57 8-2.J 8 25 160 Unrolled Coarse Clay 11 2 75 •468 2\-S7 8-5 1-20 ' .) 12 13 2-73 2-37.1 ■475 ■f^.lG 21-47 23-12 8-36 12-2.-. 110 660 RolVed Fine'ciay 14 2 375 ■6.6 •22 75 1-2-25 360 .1 " 2-»7o ■6311 24-12 12 75 600 II II — SHOT. David S.mith, of New York, United States of America, lead manufacturer, for ''certain new and useful improvements in themeanji ofmanufucturing certain articles in /ead."— Granted .May 29; J;,nrol- red November 29, 1849. The improvements relate to the manufacturing of "drop-shot," which are now formed by allowing molten lead to fall from a great hei-lit the metal at the same time being separated by the pouring- nan into particles, according to the size of the shot to be manufac- tured The falling of the lead through the atmosphere causes the particles to assume a globular form; and in order that such may be pronerlv effected, it is necessary that the height ot the tall shall be such, that the falling lead will acquire a certain velocity through the atmosphere; hence the necessity of erectin^' high towers tor the purpose, which entails great outlay in the manufacture ot shot To obviate this, the inventor proposes employing a height ot about 50 feet, and vet at the same time obtaining an effect fq"al to a fall of 1.50 feet, or more if desired; and which is obtained by driving a current of air in a contrary direction, the effect ot which, combined with the velocity of the falling lead, is equivalent to the ordinary heights employed. The annexed engraving is a section of the apparatus, for the purpose of carrying out 1 this invention. A, is a vertical metal tube, about ] twenty inches in diame- ' ter, the lower end is en- larged in the form of a truncated cone, and rests on a chamber B, contain- ing water, which forms as it were a base or pedestal for the whole. In the upper part of this vessel B, is an annular compart- ment C, the inner diame- ter of which is equal to the diameter of the tube A, and the outer diameter equal to the large end of the cone. The upper sur- face of this annular cham- ber is thickly perforated with holes, by which air is admitted to the body of the pipe; the air being forced into the annular chamber C, through the pipe rf, from any blowing apparatus calculated to produce a sufficiency of blast to give the required velocity in the tube A. e, is a shoot to guide the shot into the vessel/, and which may be removed through the closed aper- ture g, when filled. The water rising up in the shoot p, receives the fall- ing shot, while the in- closed water case pre- <■ ■ c * vents any escape of air from below. The current of air first en- tering the annular space C, becomes thoroughly diffused over the entire area of the pipe, by transmission through the numerous apertures. The upper part of the tube A, is surmounted by a trumpet-mouthed extension, the larger annular space affording ready egress for the air forced in at the bottom, while the centre is occupied by the pouring-pot A, which rests over a concentric cylin- drical channel ;, supported from a si.-.-armed frame secured in the tube at k. The pouring pot, as usual, is perforated at bottom so as to separate and diffuse the lead over the area of the channel f, the pouriiiff pot A, rests in, and is surrounded by a spill chamber / to receive any lead that may run over, and intercept its descent through the tube. „ , _ ^ i. » „ The metal thus falling through a space of 50 feet, must have an upward current of air that will render it equal to the velocity attained in tailing 150 feet. By increasing the current of air an equivalent for any height of fall may be obtained. Instead of 1950.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 15 blowinjj in air at the bottom, the same result may be obtained by exhaustion from the top or funnel mouth, tlie outer space of which must be inclosed and connected w ith some suitable exhaust appa- ratus, and in which case the annular chest at the bottom will be dispensed with, and free vent given for the ingress of air. IRON CASKS OR VESSELS. Solomon Isbael Da Costa, of Great St. Helens, city of London, civil engineer, for '■'■ improvenientu in vessels for holilingsolidKorfuids^ and in macliinerii for manufacturing siivh res.vt'Av." — Granted May 22; linroUed November 21, 18+9. [Reported in the Patent Journal.'] This invention relates — first, to an improved mode of construct- ing barrel-shaped vessels of iron, and also to machinery used in the construction of such vessels. In the manufacture of these vessels the patentee forms the body part by bending the plate or sheet iron by means of rollers, some- what similar to plate- bending rollers used for boiler purposes; the plate used being either such as will form either one-half of the vessel, or complete the entire circle. The upper bending or shaping roller, for this purpose, is formed of a barrel-shape (that is, larger at the centre than at the ends), more or less, according to the shape to be given to the plate, while the under roller is the reverse of the upper, so as to receive it and squeeze the ])late between them. On the ends of the upper roller are two cutting discs, or edges, which pare the edges of the plate as it is passed between the rollers. A third roller is employed to guide and give the direction to the plate under operation, its proximity to and position with regard to the other rollers being adjustable for the purpose of bending the plate, more or less, according to the size of the vessel to be made, as well understood in tlie bending of boiler plates. The plate, after being heated red hot, is passed through the rollers, which, at one and the same operation, bend, shape, and trim the body part of the vessel. The plate, after being bent, encircles the upper roller; and in order to remove it readily, the patentee forms one of the be.irings of a spherical shape, which allocs the opposite end to be raised, for the purpose of removing the bent plate. The rollers are so formed as to set back a small portion of the plate at each end, so as to form an enlargement for the reception of the ends of the cask; the enlarged end is of a cylindrical form, or rather slightly coned outwards, to render the ends more easily introduced and fitted. The ends are formed of plate- iron, having an edge turned up, which fits the enlarged part of the end, and is, after being fitted, brazed in its place; these casks are furnished with thickness rings at the bung and tap holes, such bungs being rivetted, or otherwise secured, in their position. The annexed engraving represents in elevation a set of rollers of a different construction; instead of one lower roller being em- ployed, two are substituted, the third or bending roller being the same as before described, but which is not shown in the engraving; these three rollers are geared together in such manner as to pro- duce a like motion of their periplieries, or, as near as possible, taking the medium of their diameter. The cutters are here repre- sented at either end of the upper roller, but the portion wliich is set back to form the enlargement of the end is omitted. The superfluous metal is cut off by the cutters passing or crossing the ends of the upper rollers. The action of these rollers will be sufficiently understood without further description. A third ma- chine for this purpose consists of two blocks, having semicircular cavities, opposed to each other, and which are drawn together or expanded by means of right and left hand screws, on a shaft; the plate having been partially bent, is introduced between the two blocks, and by drawing them together, completes nearly the entire circle. The hollows or cavities of these blocks are of the same barrel form, and in order to press the bent plate into which, the patentee employs a shaft, concentric with the hollow blocks, cariy- ing between two crank-arms and a barrel-shaped roller; after the plate has been partially formed, the shaft is caused to rotate, by which the roller will be pressed and rolled round the interior sur- face of the vessel under formation, causing it to be compressed into the form or cavity in the blocks. The plate, while under operation, is made red hot as before. The second part has reference to the manufacture of such articles as are usually struck or stamped in metal, for which purpose the patentee em])loys a press very similar to the (udinary screw- press, with dies — that is, male and female of the ordinary kind. But instead of using sheets or plates of metal, the patentee uses the metal in a molten or semi-molten state, which is deposited in the bottom of the female die, in sufheient quantity to produce the article required. The upper die is then brought down while the metal is still soft or in a molten state, by which it is caused to rise up and fill the space between the dies; a second depression of the up|ier die further imparting the impression to be imparted to the urticle. M'here the impression is required to be sharper tlian can be obtained by this means, such articles may be again struck in the ordinary manner, by which much finer and sharper lines may be obtained, and with much less work than heretofore. The third part refers to the manufacture of hollow-formed vessels in clay, cement, or other plastic material, which is some- what similar to the foregoing mode of stamping metals, the object being to prevent the formation of bubbles or honeycomb in the articles so manufactured. The clay or other ]ilast;c material is placed in the bottom of the hollow mould, which, as in the last case, rises wlien the plunger or die is depressed, so as to fill the space for its reception, and give the required form to the article to be produced, and by which all bubbles or imperfections resulting from the confinement of air in the moulds are avoided. The patentee claims : First — The improved vessel or cask, manufactured in the manner described; and also the machinery or ap])aratus for making the same. Secondly — The mode of pressing up in moulds or dies, vessels or hollow forms, made in molten or semi-molten metal of any kind suitable for the purpose, so as to produce wholly or in part the shape required, and which shape may be again struck in another die or dies in the ordinary manner of striking up hollow metal goods, by which means a still sharper outline or finer impression may be obtained. Thirdly — The method of making vessels or shapes of hollow forms in clay, cement, or other plastic material suitable for such hollow forms, and pressed upwards from below, which will prevent in a great measure the formation of air bubbles, such bubbles pro- ducing the vessel of a honeycomb and defective character; which mode of manufacture does not require the centre disc die, which in certain articles is necessary, and is usually placed at the bottom, and held by one or more cross-pieces, which separate the plastic form as it passes through, as for instance, in clay pipes. ELASTICITY OF VAPOURS. Sir — In reprinting, in your Journal for December, the principal portions of my paper on the Elasticity of Vapours (originally pub- lished in the Edinburgh New Pliilosuphical Jvvrnal for July), I ob- serve that the co-etficients of the formula for calculating the elasticity of the vapour of mercury have been omitted. As that formula is of considerable utility in delicate observations of the elasticity of other va|)ours, 1 annex the co-efficients, in case you may wish to publish them. The formula being Log P = a ■ r a for millimetres of mercury ^ „ for English inches of mercury = Log 'ii for the centigrade scale = ,, for Fahrenheit's scale =: 7-5305 fi-1259 3-t(irt55n 3-723S23G I am, &c. Edinburgh, Dec. 10, 1849. W. J. Macqiorn Raxkine. IT) THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [January, DISCHARGE OF WATER THROUGH DRAIN PIPES. Experiment, on the Discharge of ''T'''-/'-''- /j^^^!' 7!^f ^7,^1^ ,r,netion of the Metropolitan Commisnoners oj ie^e«.-L* rom tne Mechanicn' Magazine.'] T «enl - . ^^ ^ "[^'l^^:^: system of waterworks are curiously dissimilar; for in t'^ former, tie chief current being supplied !"--'-''^ly "^Z;, timS e"l by a sustained by their various ramifications, and "It""^*'^'-^ 'f' , "^J^/ ; u titude of small mouths, the whole operation Pl-«7>^ ^-^f^^^ ^j^ ^^ and easily bv the silent effort of gi-avitation; wh le in the latter c"se the main line being first charged, the water has to be fo.ced with suffid nt power to "divide itself, and "V've;"th great ve ocity in a multitude of different directions, up hill and doj^'''''^ ^^ intricate and narrow passages, turning at every arety of angle^ In the latter work, again, the power is generated at once at the he-,d of the' vs em, and is continually being expended so long as it acts- but in the former, force is self-generating-.t accumulates ftiie op^ralt enlarges, until the small tributaries become im portant streams, and these streams an '"^P'-'^'^^X" plays in easy to perceive at once what an important partyra(iO« plays in the'one case to what it does in the other. , ,_ . . Hence with regard to formula- constructedon the basis of expe- riments male wiU, heads of water at the ends of pipes, they have r .el totally useless as means of ascertaining the P-per - es of trains and sewers; and when tested by the ac a ^ '^charge ot a drain, I have found them so much >" '^""'^^,^^' j ''^J^;^"^ p.^/ ff-.essed by the eve much nearer the truth. rhe>y '"f^f ^ '^"">' Mher, rm' ch a^ to dc st^y confidence in any one of them unless c nfirmed by other evidence. The e''P»="?;V't^,;i '''^,^ J:t"^^ gZ to describe were made under the sanction of the Metropolitan Com missioners of Sewers, on their premises in Greek-street. The apparatus used was as f.dlows:-A strong platform, 00 feet l„n-7 .. 4li 1 in 240 "" , r • ■ The series of hydraulic experiments from which the foregoing is selected, has be/n in operation for the last two years, at a„ expense of upwa ds of 2000/. 'fhe experiments conducted at .^reek-st eet were a continuation of similar experiments made in the Fleet Tewer: in the latter place the sewage was used, and .n the former pure water supplied by the New River Company. ri ■„, •^ The conclusi.m arrived at is, that the requisite sizes of drams an.^ ewers can be determined (near enough for practical purposes as ai im^-ortant circumstance has to be considered in provu^ing for the depSn of solid matter, which disadvantageously alters he /bm of the aqueduct, and contracts the water-way) by taking the result of the 6-inch pipe under the circumstances before mentioned as a"«°«m, and assuming that the squares of the discharges are as the fifth powers of the diameters. , ,. . . ,i,„ That at greater declivities than 1 in 70 the discharges are as the snuare roots of the inclinations. ,t„i.ta;n. That at less declivities than 1 in 70 the usual law will not obtain , but near approxLatioiis to the truth may be obtained by observing tl e relative discharges of a pipe laid at various small luclina ions That u^easing the number of junctions at intervals accelerates the velocity of the main stream in a ratio which ^f eases as the snuare root of the inclination, and which is greater than the ratio of resistance due to a proportionable increase in the length of the anueditr The velociiies^t which the lateral streams enter the main 1 ne is a most important circumstance governing the flow of wa er In piactice, these velocities are constantly variable con- ^dered individually, and always different considered collectively othaXelr united' effect it is <'iffi'^f ^o estimate Again ;^t^h^ same sewer at different periods may be quite filled, but discharge ^•'Thr:^:^^usi:^:^'^nX^.:^"of^r':uUic.s of the several for!;!::i:rforequo.d^le.tlij^ie.;c.o^ that no man, ^^cept by li own r „.ould' discharge. what a." a.p.educt u„d r a ^^^^^ Uke the trouble to ^:e^a:,:^^:^^^e:^r.L formul. the one with tl. ^he. need dwell on it no lon^ci. ^i- e r„,.te d'ayunrdientr, being the ordinary pay of a "Peon." The chief ])oint, however, insisted on by the author, was the great field opened in the Isthmus, for emigration for the surplus popula- tion of this country. He contended, that it was far preferable to the Canadas, where the poor but industrious and honest mechanic, or labourer, on arriving, found that the rich lands he had heard of could only be reached by a weary journey, and after such hard- ships, in a severe climate, as his limited means and broken strength rendered impossible for liim to bear. Australia, with its arid, trackless wastes, held out still fewer temptations to the emigrant; for the ordeal of misery to be enumerated by the majority, was such as to deter all but the stoutest hearts from encountering it. The Isthmus had none of these disadvantages. It was compara- tively within an easy distance; the emigrant would be .it his desti- nation almost on landing; the resources of the country were great, and the productions varied and cheap, whilst the present popula- tion was infinitely disproportioned to the su])erficial area of the country. This point was strongly insisted on, and it was argued, that a grant of land might be easily obtained, in liijuidation of tlie debt owing by the government of tlie country, and as the Britisli had once possessed an establishment tliere in 1675 to 1090, under the charter of the "Scotch Uarien Company," so a footing being again obtained, a barrier of the most formidable character would be opposed to the annexation propensities of our transatlantic brethren, who were making rapid strides towards the possession of this valualde tract. Ajqiended to the paper, was a copy of the commission granted to Lieut. -('olonel Lloyd, by General Bolivar, authorising his ex- amination and survey of the Isthmus, and of the rivers, which had previously been most jealously refused to every one. This docu- ment was alluded to with some natural jiride, as proving, that to an English engineer was due the merit of having been the first to examine and pmjiose a work of such vital importance to the whole world, but which had been since claimed, and in fact, appropriated by other persons without acknowledgment. Dec. 18. — The annual general meeting of the Institution was held on Tuesday evening, December 18th, when the following gen- tlemen were elected to form the Council for the ensuing year: — William Cubitt, PreMdent; I. K. Brunei, J. M. Rendel, J. Simp- son, and R. Stephenson, M.P., Vice Presidents; J. F. Bateman, G. P. Bidder, J. Cubitt, J. E. Errington, J. Fowler, C. H. Gregory, J. Locke, M.P., I. R. iM 'Clean, C. May, and J. Miller, Members; and J. Baxendale and L. Cubitt, Associates of Council. The Report of the Council, which was read, alluded to the past season of unexamjiled depression in the engineering world, but at the same time held out hopes of impiovement, on account of the agitation of the subjects of better sujiplies of water and gas, the sewerage and drainage of towns, the construction of abattoirs, and other sanitary questions; whilst the improvement of canals, in their struggle with the railways for the heavy traffic, the construction and amelioration of harbours, the embanking and improving of rivers, the recovery of marsh-lands from the sea, and numerous other works, which had been neglected on account of the more attractive railways, would resume their former importance, and eventually afl^ord ample employment for the majority of the members of the profession. It was shown, that the careful administration of the funds had been attended to, and that a considerable quantity of publications had been issued. The alteration of the commencement of the session was shown to have worked well; and, in general, the report of the progress of the Society was very satisfactory, in spite of the bad times for engineers. The debt contracted for the improvement of the House of the Institution was stated to have been entirely liquidated, by the liberality of a number of the members. Telford Medals were presented to Lieut.-Colonel Harry D. Jones, R.E., Mr. R. B. Dockray, and Mr. J. T. Harrison; Council Pre- miums of Books to Messrs. J. T. Harrison and J. Richardson; and Telford Premiums of Books to Messrs. R. B. Grantham, T. R. Crampton, "W. Brown, and C. B. Mansfield; the President address- ing a few complimentary expressions to each of these gentlemen on presenting the premiums. Memoirs were read of the following deceased members: — Messrs. J. Green, P. Rothwell, R. Siblev, and D. Wilson, Members; A. Mitchell; Lieut.-Colonel A. W'. Robe, R.E. ; C. K. Sibley, W. Mitchell, and J. C. Prior, Associates; and J. ^\'oods, Graduate. The ftdlowing extract from the Memoir of Lieut.-('ol(Miel A. W. Robe, will give a specimen of the manner in which civil engineers treat and speak of the memory of their deceased brethren, whether civil or military: — "Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Watt Robe, R.E. , was born at Wool- wich, on the 31st of January, 1793; he commenced his military career, as a gentleman cadet, at Great Marlow, removing from thence to the Royal Military Academy at ^V'oolwich, and ohtaincd a connnission in the corps of the Boyal Engineers, in 1811; finally attaining the rank of Lieut.-Colonel in that distinguished corps, in 1837. By a remarkable combination of circumstances, although he was continually apjiointed for acti\e service, his appearance was generally the harbinger of peace. Ho joined the army of the Pyrenees in 1813, just before the termination of the war in the Peninsula; and in 181+ was attached to the forces under Sir Edward Pakenham, in the expedition to New Orleans, but only arrived at the cessation of hostilities. Immediately on his return to England, he received orders to re-embark for the Netherlands, but only reached the seat of war a few days after the battle of AVaterloo. He remained with the Army of Occupation until 1818, and shortly after his return was appointed to the ( )rdnance Trigono- metrical Sur\ey, the duties of which post he performed with great skill and ability, until 1811, when he proceeded to Halifax, Nova Scotia, as second in command of the Royal Engineers; and in 1813 was appointed C'ommandaut of the Royal Engineers at St. John's, Newfiuuidland, in which command his honourable and useful career 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 21 terminated, with his valuable life, on the 2nd of April, 1849, which was shortened by disease, orijjinatingf in over-exertion on the survey in the North of Scotland, and aggravated by fatigue during the great fire at St. Juhn's. where he toiled incessantly for forty-eight liours, in protecting the lives and property of the inhabitants. "Colonel Rube was descended from a line of ancestors who had all been in tlie military and naval services; his four brothers were also distinguislied officers, and two of tliem fell gloriously in the service of their country. He was devotedly attached to scientific ])ursuits, and was eminently useful in promoting the object of the societies which he joined, and for this his mathematical acquire- ments and topographical knowledge peculiarly qualified him. He was elected an associate of this Institution in 1838, and served on the council for some years, with great zeal and attention, being continually present at the meetings, and inducing the frequent production of original papers, or presents of charts, &c., for the collection. "In the performance of his military and civil duties, his zeal and ability were unbounded; as a sun, a brother, and a friend, he could not be surpassed, and the public estimation in wliich he was held, was fully testified by tlie general mourning for bis loss, at St. John's, Neivfoundland, where he died, and where it was said of him that 'it seldom fell to the lot of a military man to be so beloved by civilians.' The secret of this respect and esteem was the active and untiring benevolence of his character, which was only equalled by his unassuming manner, and the frankness and mildness of his demeanour; and the highest eulogium that can be paid is, tliat 'those who knew him best, esteemed him most.'" The thanks of the Institution were voted unanimously to the President, Vice-President, Members, and Associates of Council, to the Auditors, Scrutineers, and the Secretary, for their attention to the interests of this Institution. The President returned thanks very briefly, and on retiring from the Chair, after holding it most worthily for the two past years, he recommended to the members bis successor, Mr. Cubitt, whose active energy and high position in the profession, rendered him every way fit to occupy the Chair of such a society. The address was very warmly received, and it was proposed to the council, to consider by what means the eminent ])ast Presidents could be enabled to continue their valuable services, in conjunction with the acting council. ROYAL SCOTTISH SOCIETY OF ARTS Nov, 26, 1849. — Thomas Grainger, Esq., President, in the Chair. The following eomniunications were made: — 1. At the request nf the Council an Experimental Exposition was given, containing Ins "Concluding obaerva tions on the ^Strength of Materials^ as ap- plicable to tlie construction of Cast or Wrouy/it-Iron Bridges, and on the Conway and Britannia Tubular Bridges (Part II.), being an account of the method of raising the Tubes of these. Bridges." liy George Buchanan, Esq., r.R.S.E. In this concluding paper Mr. Buchanan commenced by giving the result of an interesting experiment, made since the former evening, on the transverse strength of Caithness pavement. The results of the experiments already shown on slabs 9 inches broad, 3 feet deep, and 3 feet long, were as fol- lows:— Hailes 7941b. Craigleitli 1148 Arbroath 1848 The Caithness pavement was rather less in dimensions than the others, being only Scinches broad instead of 9 inches, and 2J deep in place of 3 inches. From the previous experiments on the tensile and compressive strength of Caithness pavement, he had hardly expected it would equal the Arhroalh; but it was found greatly to exceed it. After piling on stones and brick to the extent of 25 cwt., the frame, being of a temporary nature, gave way, but with all the concussion the stone was not broken ; and on trying it again with a stronger frame, it carried for nearly half a minute 29 cwt. 1 qr. 15 lb., and then gave way. This specimen, he understood, was from the hardest of the quarries, and be has no doubt there are considerable diversities, which shows the importance of these experiments, and of con- tinuing and extending them with every opportunity. The unit of strength from these experiments is easily deduced by taking the breaking weight of each specimen, multiplying it by the length, and dividing by the depth and by the section of fracture. The results are as follows :— Units of strength. Hailea 3i3 lb. Cralnleilh SIO* Arbroath 821 Caithness loUO Mr. Buchanan then proceeded to complete his description of the lifting of the Britannia Tubes. The main process of lifting was completed previous to his visit, and the tube raised to its place; but as it still required some finishing adjustments in the bed-plates, he had an opportunity, when there, through the kindness and attention of Mr. Clarke, of witnessing this great and interesting operation ; and it was truly gratifying to observe the simplicity and perfect action of the machinery by which it was accomplished, the movement of the small engine and piston being smooth and easy, while the gigantic mass of the tube rose slowly and majestically to the place required. The ascent to the lifting machinery is first by long ladders in the dark hollow or void within the Britannia Tower. This brings us to the level of the bottom of the tube, and from thence the ascent to the top is by similar ladders in open day, resting on the sides of the tube, and, when ascended, we attain an elevation of 133 feet above high-water mark, and nearly 150 feet above low water ; and in walking along the top of the lube, between the towers, there being no rail- ing, the gusts of wind at such an elevation appear at first rather alarming, yet it is curious to remark, that immediately on the surface of the tube, and for several feet above it, a comparative calm prevails, owing to the wind im- pinging upon the sides and flying over head ; so much so, that he was informed, even in a very strong wind, a li^ihted candle could he carried near the surface nf the tube all the way without being extinguished. He then illustrated the process of lifting by drawings on a large scale, and models of the Bridge and Towers, and an enlarged model of the lifting ap- paratus; all which exhibited very clearly the whole details of the operation. It is accomplished by hydrostatic power, worked by steam-engines, which are all erected and fixed on the top of the towers, the engines giving motion to small force-pumps by which water is forced witii an intense compressioti into the interior of large cylinders, which again communicate this pressure with increased effect on the enlarged surface of the pistons or rams which move up and down within these cylinders, and at each ascent are capable of bearing a most enormous load resting on the top. In the Britannia Tower there are two of these cylinders and rauis, standing about 6 feet apart, and carrying a vast beam of cast-iron, resting at each extremity on a shoulder on the top of the ram, and extending between them, in one solid mass, 4 feet deep, and a proportional thickness, and strengthened along the bottom by very strong malleable iron ties. The rams being made to rise simultaneously, the whole beam rises with a slow and regular motion, bearing up whatever may be attached toil. The pressure of the water within the tubes is capable of being raised as high as 450 atmospheres, or 6,700 lb., or 3 tons and upwards per square inch; and the area of each ram, which is 18 inches diameter, being 260 inches, the combined effect of the two rams is capable of lifting upwards of 1,500 tons. But all this machinery and power would he of no avail, unless it hail a proportionally firm and secure place to stand on, and to bear up the weight of the machinery itself, and in addition to this, the 1,500 tons which it is capable of lifting. For this purpose, two very massive beams or girders, not of cast-iron, but of malleable iron, are extended across the recess or opening in the tower, resting at each extremity on strong masses of cast-iron, or wall boxes built solidly into the masonry. These beams are 21 feet long, 4 feet deep, and 18 inches thick, consisting of a mass of plates laid together and firmly bolted, and the whole, being of malleable iron, gives great additional security and confidence. To communicate the above power of the presses to the tube, which, after being floated, is still situated 120 feet below the level of the pumps and presses, two enormous chains, consisting of long and shoit links ot fiat plates, descend from the cross beam or head which rests upon the rams, down to the extremity of the tube to which they are attached; very particular ar- rangements are necessary for attaching these chains to the tubes. For this purpose, the extremities of the tube are strengthened at the sides by three strong cast iron pillars or frames, standing upright on each side of the tube, and rivetted to the thin sides of it, and connected by cross beams to the top and bottom, so as to form each one entire rectangular frame, fitting the interior of the tube. These frames are necessary, in the first instance, for strengthen- ing the tube itself; for, strange as it may appear, though the tube carries an enormous load in the centre, yet at the extremities where it rests on the piers, and where the whole pressure is thrown and concentrated upon the thin sides, it would not, without aid, carry its own weight; it would fall to pieces in a moment by the accumulated pressure ; and it was found, on th.; remarkable occasion of the bursting of the cylinder, though the tube only descended a few inches, such was the efl^ect of the concussion, that these pillars and frames were fractured and shivered to pieces. It is by these frames, then, that a secure attachment is obtained for the lifting chains, and for this purpose three additional cross-beams are extended at intervals be- * It was here sugfrested by Mr. Black, architect for Heriot's Hospital, that these expe- riments would probably not give a fair criterion of Craigleith stone, as he conceived the strength would be very much diminished by the hammering and chisseling necessary to reduce it to a 3-inch thickness, and that if the trials were made upon larger masses a greater unit of strength would, be thought, be found applicable to them. It was ex- plained, however, that the above specimen was not from the liver rock of the quarry, but from the common rock ; and, as afterwards stated by Mr. Notman, who furnished all the specimens, from what is called the pavement flakes, which run in parallel beds from 4 to Ij inches thick, the same way as the other pavements. It was -1^ inches thick when taken out of the quarry; and the reduction, Rlr. Buchanan did not think could aflfect the strength on the above general result. The hver rock would have borne less than the 5i:e- cimeu. 22 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Jamauy, twefti the top and bottom of tlie outikie frames, ami to each of tliese the chains are attached, so as to have a secure hold of all the three together. Every provision and proper attachment being now made for the lifting, there is nothing to prevent the process going on. But as the rams are only capable of rising 0 feet, another arrangement still remains to be explaiiifd, and which is a curious one, and has admirably answered the purpose. Un- less the rams and llieir cross-bearing beam had a very secure hold of the chains, nothing would he safe ; ami yet when the rams have ascended to the top of their stroke, they must let go this hold, otherwise nothing farther can proceed. The chains, therefore, must be detached from their hold of the hearing beams. In order to provide for this detachment, the chain, instead of being bolted or fixed to the beam, is merely passed through the centre of it, and the top of each link having a square shoulder formed upon it, two moveable or sliding blocks are laid on tlie top of the beam, capalile of being moved by screws, more or less apart, so as to come under the shoulder of the link, and being screwed hard up, it forms a complete, and yet not a perma- nent, attachment for the chains. When the rams, therefore, have completed their lift, the chain is detached from its seat on the top of the beam by un- screwing these sliding blocks ; but unless some farther provision were made for supporting the chain and tube — while it is detached from its bearing on the rams, the vvl-.ole would fall to the ground. A second set of sliding hlocl.s, therefore, is provided, resting on the top of the malleable iron beam, which carries the whole machinery, and the links of the chain being made e.\actly 6 feet in length, the lower sliding blocks are placed exactly 6 leet below the upper, so that the moment the rams have raised the chains 6 feet, it brings the ihoulder of the next lower link level with the lower sliding blocks. These being then screwed together, lay hold of the chain at the Iwttom of the link, and keep firm hold until the blocks are detached from the top. The rams are then allowed to descend by letting off the water pressure, and having reached the bottom of the stroke, the sliding blocks then become level with the shoulder of the next link lower in succession. The upper blocks being then screwed up and the lower blocks detached, the rams again rise by the internal pressure communicated by ihe pumps and en- gine, and again carry the tube and all its appurtenances 6 feet higher, and the same operation is repeated by 6 feet lifts in succession, nntd the whole height is attained. When the chains ascend above the level of the rams, each link, as it rises above the level of the bearing beam, is taken down and removed out of the way by unscrewing the bolts. The opening and shutting alternately of these blocks is all contrived in- geniously, so that the four ends of the two blocks, which have each separate movements, are yet all made to approach or recede by the turning of a single handle and piidon-winch, so as greatly to facilitate the process. On the Aoglesea Tower there is only a single press, the ram being 20 inches in dia- meter. The single power has one advantage, that acting in the centre of the tube, this must be raised simultaneously and equally at both sides. In the double power, which possesses other advantages, there is some risk of the tube rising unequally at the sides, and turning off the perpendicular. To avoid this, an assistant is stationed at each ram, who observes on a scale, and calls out every inch as the rams ascend, and thus an equality is maintained. The opposite ends of the tubes might be lifted simultaneously by having the opposite engines and rams at work together, as was the case in the Conway ; hut this is liable to produce an oscillating movement in the whole tube, wliich it is desirable to avoid ; so the lifts are made at each end alternately. As the tubes ascend at each end, care is taken to follow these up with layers or plates of timber or iron, piled up uniformly to within an inch or two of the bearing beam, so that in the event of anything going wrong, the tube would fall and rest on this packing, and do no injury. In regard to the strength of the tube, Mr. Buchanan gave the result of some experiments, communicated by Mr. Clarke, on the strength of malleable iron. It had formerly been considered from those of Telfordand Brown that malleable iron would bear 27 tons on the square inch, but these experiments were made with hydraulic or lever power, which is affected by the anomalies of friction. Clarke's experiments are not liable to this objection, as they were made by direct tension, by heaping on masses of iron or other weights till fracture took place, and from them it appeared that the average strength of malleable iron cannot be reckoned greater than 20 or 21 tons per square inch. Some remarkable experiments were also made on rivetted plates. It had hitherto been considered, and very naturally, that the tensile strength of rivetted plates must be diminished by a quantity equal to the aggregate section of the rivet-holes, which being pierced through the metal, must, as was assumed, detract from its strength. .Mr. Clarke, however, has found by careful trials, that when the bolts are put in red hot, and quickly and pro- perly rivetted, that the contraction of the iron in cooling is such as to com- press the plates together with a pressure about 5 tons to the inch, so as to require an enormous power to make the plates slide one upon another, and the heads being, moreover, so closely compacted into the plate, the holts also resist this sliding by the power of detrusion, — in proof of which, these holts, in cases of fracture, are often seen cut clean across as if by the shears. But whatever may be the cause, the result is, that he considers' the rivetted portion of the plate as strong as the solid. These experiments, therefore, though contrary to the r('Cei\ed notions, are highly important; they give ad- ditional confiilcnce to the structure of the hrulge, and are also extensively applicable in various cases of steam boilers and others. He then explained particularly another remarkable circumstance in tho structure of the bridge — namely, the uniting of the two great central tubes of the Britannia Tower. This was proposed to be done by inserting a small middle portion of tube in the Britannia Tower, so as, by this connectmg link, to unite the two extremities of the opposite tubes in one continuous mass ; and, in order to give full etfect to the principle, it was proposed, before rivet- ting the last and final joint, to lift the extreme end of the tube resting on the land tower 12 inches or more, while the joint was making, and then let it down again to its place. The effect would be, by the two tubes pulling against one another, and distending powerfully the upper side of the tube in the Britannia Tower, that the deflection in the two opposite tubes will he diminished, and the strain, instead of being home by the central portions of the tube, would be distributed, and shared by the whole of the section at tha extremities in the Tower, where the depth is the greatest, being there 30 feet. This was a happy idea, and he had no doubt it would be successful ; it would have the effect, indeed, if all the ends were united, that though ona of the central tubes were cut across at the middle, it would still hang by the extremities and sustain a very great load ; and he explained particularly the nature and effect of the strains on a beam in this situation, which resembled in fact a continuous beam or flooring deal passing over several bearings or joists intermediate between the walls, or like the rails of a railway resting on its chairs. It is well known that the continuous beam is much stronger than if it were cut across at any of the intermediate joists, and the rails are subject to greater deflection in the space next the joint chairs, which, on this account, are brought closer togetiier. Now, it is important to remark, in the case of such a beam, not merely supported at the ends, but fixed or attached longitudinally to auother beam, that the whole of the particles on the upper side of the beam are not subject to a compressive force according to the general notion, but are only compressed near the centre. The extremities are subject to violent distention, and the middle parts re- main neutral. The true lines of the compressive force resembled exactly that of the rafters of the roof relative to the tie-beam ; and this confirmed what he had formerly explained, that the nearer we can approach, in the form of our girders, to this simple figure of a triangular frame, the more perfect would be the distribution of the tensile and compressive forces throughout the material proper for bearing them. On the whole, this ar. rangement would give great additional confidence in the structure of the Britannia Tubular Bridge; for, in ordinary girders, if there were any imper- fection or failure in the centre, nothiug could save the structure ; but here we have a girder which, though it were cut through the centre, would still bear up the bridge, and any load that might be upon it, by the great strength remaining in the extremities. Great, however, as is the strength and security of this structure, it should not be forgotten that bridges of this description, and of such enormous spans, could not be executed without great sacrifice of materials, and should not therefore be attempted, unless from absolute necessity, as in the present instance. As we increase the span, the strains on the bridge arising from its own weight and that of the passing loads must increase rapidly, owing to the nature of the transverse strain, even if there were no increase of load ; and when we consider that, in addition to this, the bridge itself must he increased in all its dimensions — in length, depth, and thickness — and the passing load increased also in proportion to the length, it is evident that we must quickly approach a limit beyond which the mass of the structure will nearly overpower its strength, and leave no remnant for either load or con. tingency. This is shown very clearly when we compare the strength of the model tube, as shown by the experiments of Fairbairn, with those of the Conway and Britannia Biidges. The model tube weighed nearly G tons and carried 92| tons in the centre before breaking, which is equivalent to 30 times its own weight equally distributed. Now, the Conway or Britannia tube, cal- culating from the experiments on the model tubes, and the data furnished by them, could not be expected to carry more than three or four fimes their own weight. As the passing load cannot, in the most extreme case, exceed one-fourth part of the weight of the bridge, there is still here an ample margin of strength and security; but yet it appears that if we were to extend our spans much farther we would rapidly approach the limit of safety. In answer to a question from the President, he explained the mode by which provision was made to allow the tube to expand or contract by heat or colli. This was done by fixing the ends in the Britannia Tower, and causing the tube at the other hearings on the towers and abutments to rest on numerous cast-iron rollers, on which it could easily move backwards or forwards. And, in answer to a question from the Vice-President regarding the means of keeping up continuity in the rails at the extremities of tha tube, he did not think any inconvenience was found from this in the Conway, and it was proposed to be provided for in the Britannia Bridge by sliding joints. The thanks of the Society were voted to Mr. Buchanan for this interest- ing series of expositions on the strength of materials, which were given to him from the Chair. 2. "Description and Drawing of a ilachine for Mortising, Tenoning, Boring, and Ripping Timder," By Mr. William K. Douglas. It was stated that this machine in all its parts possesses great advantage over hand-labour ; and, as all the parts are useful fur the trade, it is a saving 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 23 of room and framing to have them eonnecteJ. The mortising is done liy a fly-wheel and douhle-crank connected to a cross-head similar to an engine, in the centre of which is fixed the mortising-iron, the wood passing under it between two guides, the one fixed and the other elastic, to suit wood of unequal thickness. To tenon, the niortising-iron is taken out, and the frame containing tlie two saws is fixed to the cross-head. On the driving shaft is fixed an eccentric shove, which communicates the motion to a ratchet fixed on the cud of a roller to which is fixed one end of a rope, the other is at- tached to a slide carriage on which the wood is conveyed to the saws or mortising-iron. To hore, a journal is put into the centre of the cross-head containing the auger, which is coupled to a square iron rod, which is made to move easily through a shove and fly-wheel placed on the top of the fram- ing, the motion to which is communicated from a sliove and fly-wheel outside the framing; any amount of pressure may he obtained by adding weight to one side of the large fly-wheel. The motion is communicated to the ripping saw by the large fly-wheel : the cross-bead requires to be disconnected during the time of ripping. 3. "On a method of introducing an abundant sripphj of Fresh Air into Coal-Mines, and of preventing the accumulation of Fire-Damp therein." By Mr. NYilliam Shedden, of Leith, The author gives the following abstract of his method : — Fans have been long used for winnowing corn. They are used for smelting cast-iron in foundries. They are used for blowing smiths' forges. They are used by brewers and distillers for cooling their liquors. Tliey are used for ventilating large bnildings. The question occurs — could they not be efficiently used for ventilating coal-mines ? Fans being of such general use, their properties are well understood. By their rapid rotatoiy motion they send otY a large cur- rent of air from the extremity of the blades, and by which means a partial vacuum is created at the centre. Attach a pipe to this centre and let it go along the roof of all the workings in the mine — thus the enemy will be with- drawn, and a constant circulation kept up. Let another set of fans be put in raotioB, and pipes attached to the extremity of the fan-box, and these pipes running along the bottom of all the workings, an abundant supply of fresh and wholesome air would be thrown in, restoring the equilibrium, and making it impossible for an explosion to take place. Any one of these fans would do alone, but the two combined would be far more complete, A small engine would answer the jiurpose, and for the price of fuel, it might he said to be nothing at a coal-mine. I do not think it would be necessary to keep the engine in motion 2t hours in the day, perhaps 12 would be suf- ficient— a few hours before the miners commence work, and stop when they stop. The pipes alluded to do not require to be strong, nor their jinnings to be air-tight. By not being tight they will operate along their whole length. It is calculated that since the year 1800, more than 20,000 human beings have been killed by explosions in coal mines in this country. In l8-i7 and 1848, more than 1,200 lives were thus lost, and in 18-19, upwards of 700. ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS. Dec. 3, 1849. — Tuomas Bellamy, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. "On t?ie Ancient -Architecture of Scotland." By R. \V. Billixgs, Asso- ciate; who exhibited a large number of beautiful sketches, forming part of the illustrations of the work on the ' Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland.' Antiquities are to be regarded not merely as objects for date-mongers, but as works of art; as memorials of ancient limes, most valuable as illustrating history. The antiquarians of France and Germany — nay, we ourselves, have been too apt to claim great remoteness for their antiquities, but all these are put to shame by the more ancient remains of India and Egypt. As a preliminary remark it was to be observed, that although the principal monuments of both England and Scotland may be identical in minute details; yet, at the same time, great changes and varieties occurred in various leading features, so as to produce a distinct individuality in the character of Ihe Scottish edifices. The beantiful little Church of Leuchars, in Fife, by some reputed as of Saxon origin, is a fine Norman specimen, with an apsidal east end. The Cathedral at Elgin is a beautiful edifice, and the arcaded streets of that town most interesting, somewhat resembling those of Chester — the arcade, how- ever, being on a level with the street, and constructed of stone. At three miles from Elgin is a curious old fire-proof house, at Coxton, in which the alternate stories are arched, with semi-vaultings, the upper one, however, being pointed. The turrets of Cawdor Castle, near Inverness, are curious, being circular in the lower part and octagonal above. Mr. Billings considered the first Scotch architectual era to have ranged as in England, from 1066 to 1200. The Abbey and Palace of Dunfermline, and the Cathedral of Kirkwall, are gigantic examples of that period, and they bear a striking affinity to Durham Cathedral, the solid cylindrical columns in the two being identical ; and history informs us that .Al'alcolm the Third, in 1093, assisted in laying the foundation of Durham Cathedral, and soon after hia return from that place, founded the Abbey of Dunfermline, the first monks of which were from Canterbury. The smaller Scotch buildings of the Norman period approach nearer ia beauty to those of England. Among the most beautiful and perfect specimens are the Churches at Leucharj and Dalmeney. An endless variety of detail was presented in Scottish architec- ture, most remarkable ; when not only animals and foliage were introduced, hut even the signs of the Zodiac. At the period of the transition to the early Pointed or Lancet, the mouldings of the Scotch buildings became so minute, as to excite almost a feeling of pity for the workman who had to accomplish such a task. Some of the capitals at Holyrood Chapel are a verification of this — the quality of the ornament was, however, equal to tha quantity. At a later period, the system became the very reverse, and mors efi'ect was produced without mouldings by the use of the chamfer, the splay of the arch however being moulded. The Catheilral of Dunblane is an extra- ordinary example of the great etTect produced by the judicious use of limited means. Had the ancient friendship between Scotland and England continued to exist, there is little doubt but that the architecture of both would have re- mained nearly identical ; but the complete severance of all friendly ties between the two kingdoms, and the endless feuds among the various clans and even families of Scotland, compelled the lairds to make their housei strongholds of defence, both against their English foes, and the attacks of their own countrymen. This state of things gained for Scotland at least this advantage, that of possessing what no other country can boast of — a complete series of Castellated .\rchitecture. Not only did the clannish con- stitution of society in Scotland at this time divide the population into very small parties, hut the very disposition of the people was averse to large con- gregations; this may easily he proved by the small size of the ancient portiou of Scotland's capital, and of Stirling, the approaches being defended by a strong fortress. The political changes of society have, however, gradually had their effect in Scotland, and the application of steam and machinery have almost entirely changed the state of the country in this respect. Ancient mansions have been deserted and dismantled, and detached houses of the lower classes, and many " towns," as they are called, have been allowed to decay and fall. It is very singular that Scotland does not now possess one recognisable specimen of a Norman Castle; although, close to her borders, so many ar« to be found, such as Norham, Bamborough, Newcastle, and Durham. Yet, that such castles did exist, there can be but little doubt ; and the only mods of accounting for their disappearance is the supposition that they were sold by the magistrates as quarries, out of which so many of her abbeys were constructed. So determined seems this desire to have been for the destruc- tion of old castles in Scotland, that Caerlaverock is the only example earlier than 1350, and it still retains its corbelled parapet. Kililrummie, in Aber- deenshire, appears to be the first recognisable Scotch castle, and was built about 1270 to 1300, belonging to the early English style. One side is ex- ceedingly singular, forming the end of a church with three lancet windows; probably so constructed in the expectation that any attacking force would respect the place of worship. The early Scotch castles appear to date with the time when the Bruces and Baliols left their English castles and occupied Scotch ones. During the 14th and 15th centuries there existed a considerable affinity between the Ecclesiastical and Castellated architectural decorations, thus the hanging tracery of Rosslyn Cbapel and the west front of Holyrood is found in the court-yards of Llinlithgow Palace and Stirling Castle. The projecting turrets, so peculiar a feature in Scotch Castellated Architecture, are wonder- fully constructed ; many of them being infinitely more massive and weighty than the walls to which they are attached. This is the case at Kirkwall, where the Bishop's Palace is a fine ecclesiastical fortress residence. This edifice ami the Abbey of Crossraguel are magnificent specimens. In fact, the latter is a fortified abbey, with all the requirements of a cathedral establishment. Some of the old castles appear to have been elaborately painted io what has been called fresco; but, from the fact of the paint peeling off, it was evidently never incorporated with the plaster or wood. In their plans tha castles varied considerably ; and this must be attributed to the most natural of causes — the architects in those days invariably suiting their plan to the nature of the ground on which they were about to build. Caerlaverock Castle may be mentioned as one of the most singular in plan, being triangu- lar with round towers at two of the angles, and at the third double towers with a gateway between them. This is the only fortress in Scotland retain- ing a moat ; the portcullis room, too, is very complete. Inigo Jones is said to have imitated the plan in Longford House, Wilts, belonging to Lord Radnor. Fivie Castle is another, quite peculiar in plan, and its elevation one of the grandest in Scotland : the centre also is highly illustrative of the Scotch Castle of the 16th century. The construction of the staircase is well worthy of notice, with its steps 16 feet long. After the general introduction of gunnery on a large scale, by means of which the reduction of any fortress by a regular investment became only a question of time, the Scotch prudently defended their buildings against attacks by small arms, the only means that flying parties of marauders could have at command. This system was of great importance in developing architecture, for it did not prevent the addition of ornament to the Castel- lated house. The decorated terminations of the massive walls in some of these buildings, form a highly picturesque and pleasing contrast. It was, however, upon the old walls of keep towers, that the turrets, windows, and roofs of the domestic character are raised ; and this will account for the dis- appearance of many of the old castles. Glammis, Castle Fraser, and others, 24 THE CIVJL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Jamarv, are striking instances of the extent to wliicli the Turreted style prevailed through the kingdom; nearly all the old kerps reteiv.ug new tops, some of them heiiig of a highly ornanjcntal character. In the early part of the I4th century was introduced another mixed style, in which the licclcsiasticai and Domestic Architeiture were comhined, as at Dunfermline, where the history of domestic architecture is carried hack to the Norman time: for in the windows of the hasement, the hold arches of Malcolm's palace surmount the windows of a later periu i. As the tirst to notice this, Mr. Billings recommended its being preserved jealou>ly, as the only known specimen of Domestic Architecture in Scotland of the Norman period. We now pass to the revival of the Italian' styles, which, beginning about the year IbSO, continued for a full century, pro lu' ing luimherless buildings in a style romantically picturesque, and whi-.-h bear slrnuj? evidence of the architectural ability of that period. Indeed this may Le callerl the flowery period of Scotch Architecture. The mansious may be divided into three classes of design ; — 1st, where the chimney-shafts, crow. step-, and open para- pets appear in combination, as at Wintoun House, near Tranent ; 2iidly, where a combination of turrets and square chimney-shafts exists, as at Newark; and 3rdly, where the chimneys become quite secor^dary, the main feature of design being high roofs with dormer windows, crow-steps and turrets. Here the court-yard of Heriot's Hospital may be cited as an example. Dalpersic, in Aberdeenshire, is the link between the castellated and domestic styles. The Domestic Architecture of Scotland bears evidence of the great atten- tion paid by the architects to details. Thus the window heads, and other ornaments of lleriot's woik, are a complete school of desigti : for in that building, oidy one case of repetition occurs in the ornaraenls surmounting , tne windows. Indeed this edifice, as a colossal exan^ple of on? date, ii un- equalled. Two sides of Linlithgow court-yard are of a corresponding style uf architecture, the remaiiung two forming an interesting example of the Domestic Architecture of the 15th century. In Scotch houses tin; opposite sides generally present a striking contrast in style; this peculiarity is fu!ly illustrated in an example at Newark-on-Clyde. On the river front of this building, the combination of turrets, jutting staircases, and square chimneys, is prominent: while on the court-yaid side not a turret is to he seen, and the dormer window forms the main feature of the elevation. The fild keep lower, to which these domestic buildings have been attached, alone enables one to recognise the fronts as belonging to the same building. There is strong reason to believe that the original comliination of jutting turrets and corbelled staircases is to be awarded to Scotland alone, in spite of what may be called foreiiin types. Their conifltl tops may possibly have i arisen from the staircase or recesses called oratories, which frequently occur in street architecture of the Gothic period on the Continent, and of which there is a specimen or two also in the Cowgate, at Edinburgh. The.-e recesses are invariably supported upon a column, whose capital is bracketed out to the required size ; but the corbelled bases of the Scotch turrets belong to the early period of castellated architecture, the variety and quaiiitness of decoration in their windows and mouldings matking thena unniistakealily as Scotch. The general picturesque appearance of the small round turrets so peculiar to Scotland, is much heightened by their contrast with the opposite forms of square massive chimney-shafts, as may be seen at Newark. Whosoever formed the school of design which lasted during the whole of the 17th century, deserves the higbest credit. Schaw, who reliuilt one of the western towers at Dunfermline, died in 1G02; and although the mixture of Italian and Gothic did not predominate until the 17th century, yet many of the Aberdeenshire castles bear evidence of its advent towards the end of the 16th, and Schaw was most undoubtedly practising successfully at this time. The principal baronial buildings were built, however, after Schaw's death, and generally bear their own dates, about lOoO. An interesting fact, discovered by Mr. Billings, proves that M'intoun House, Moray House, the Great Hall at Glammis, and Craigievar Casile, are works of the same architects and builders: nearly all the plaster work of these are cut from the same moulds. As an excellent example of the archi- tecture of the middle of the 17th century, when it became the fashion to introduce the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, surmounting one another, the body of llolyrood Palace may be cited. Although Inigo Jones has always had the credit of designing Heriot's Hospital, and his name been identified with Glammis and with one side of Linlithgow Palace, it is singu- lar that his name never appears on the records of the luiihiing, such as con- tracts or bills giving minute particulars, which are still in existence. TI.ere is, however, such a strong affinity between many of that great master's works ill Lmidon and some of the northern buildings, that in the absence of proof positive to the contrary, they may safely be attributed to ids gei.ius. The elegance and variety of design in the ornamental porlions of the buildings of this period must nut be passed over in silence ; thi \ evince a bold and vigorous determination to accomplish something orieina!. carrying art as far beyond the meagre Italian types as it was possible. Wintoun House may here be mentioned as standing pre-eminent in the qi.ality of its ■work. The design and execution of all its detail is perfection of the style. 'I he artistic window-heads, quite distinct from the Italian style ; the elabo- rate geometric foliated ceilings, the chimneys and their stacks, are all equally admiratile ; presenting together, perhaps, the most impressive specimen of Scutch Domestic Architecture. It should be mentioned as beiug unique among Scotch houses in not possessing corbelled turrets. In Craigiev.ir Castle, in Aberdeenshire, the ceilings throughout are very similar to those at Wintoun, but infinitely more varied among themselves; and even the furni- ture partakes of the architectural character of the building : it offers a fine example of its time (1620). Having shown how prominent the details stood in most of the buildings mentioned, it must be observed that one of the great causes of success in the Domestic or Baronial Architecture of Scotland was the comprehensive study of situation, and the composition of designs to suit these. The jutting tur- rets, gables, broken forms of detached roofs and surmounting towers, and, in short, all the playfully-pieluresqne forms of Scotch architecture, essentially agree with its landscape, and the fitful forms of its ever-changing clouds ; and is as completely in harmony with the country, as are the stately un- broken forms of Greek and Roman temples with the cloudless skies of the countries to which they belong. After the relinquishment of regular fortification, the Scotch did not give up its external appearances, for stone canuon in hundreds of forms, as gur- goyles, water-spouts, and more often as ruere ornaments, are to be seen upon the more modern castles. In some of the old castles the formidable looking port-holes are on inspection found incapable of being used for working cannon, from the narrow dimensions of the walled recesses behind, there being barely room to make use of a carbine. The picturesque gateway at Linlithgow may be instanced as an example, being almost a sham armament. This innate love for fighting, which the Scotch at all times possessed, induced them to carry out their emblems of strife beyond the buildings in which they secured themselves ; even the flower gardens beiug made to partake of a military character, as at Stirling. After the reformation had shaken the foundations of ecclesiastical domination in Scotland, it was to castles aud houses that the ability of the architects were turned; aHd here is the golden age of Scotland's building fame. In other countries, the invention of gun- powder put an end to Castellated Architecture. It is scarcely to be doubted, that architecture in Scotland would have become more interesting, but for well-defined causes; the divided power of the monarch and the great feudal lords, and, the still more disastrous one, the English interference beginning with Edward the First. The variety of Triforia in Scotland forms a curious feature, differing from those of England in the varied dimensions of the columns, in which must be recognised a spirit of determination to produce new etTects. The profusion of niches, also, and their elaborate details, must be consi- dered also as a distinct feature in Scotch architecture. Bishop Kennedy's Monument, at St. Andrew's, is one of the most elaborate examides of monu- mental art in the world. With regard to the Arch in Scotland, it cannot, with the exception of a few instances, be considered, as in other countries, any index to the style or date of buildings. The circular arch, only used iu Norman architecture elsewhere, vvas always in general use north of the Tweed. A doorway of a later date than 1400, in the High-street, Edinburgh, the western door and the tower windows of Haddington, the doorway inserted in the semi-Norman wall of Holyrood Chapel, are all cases in point; their details proving them to be of a date later than their first appearance would imply. All kind of arches are common to Scotland, excepting the four-centered, peculiar to the English perpendicular; the only approach to this style out of England is to he seen in the east end of Stirling Church. It is rather then to tiieir foliated detail of capital, bases, and mouldings, that we must look for the type of the time in which Scotch buildings were erected, and by these means the difficulty of distinction ceases. This is a remarkable feature in the Scotch architecture, a tenacity of retaining forms of styles while detail was degenerated. Thus, in Fifeshire, Dairsie Church and Michael Kiik have all the main features of early decorated buildings, and at a distance would be mistaken as belonging to that style, but the detail is decidedly debased ia character, and the date upon each confirms the style from 1620 to 1630. In the same manner that Scotch Arcldtects mingled styles, Scotch Poetical epitaph makers adapted mixed languages ; thus — Here lies ttie Laird of Lundie Sic Irausil gloria muudi. Hie jacet Joliiinnes Spends. Qliua biggit this KirJt Vaird Dyke at his ain expences. England undoubtedly adopted the classical styles more readily than Scot- land, and when the orders of architecture once had a hold they retained it, and our own styles became a dead letter. Scotland, on the contrary — ever cautious — adopted the orders very charily, and it was not until a compara- tively recent date (1660) that the three orders were seen surmounting one another in llidyrood Palace. It is to this position that the Scotch castles and houses owe much of their interest, for the architects of the time only adopted so much of the detail of Italian architecture as left the spirit of their buildings entirely Gothic. A cordial vote of thanks was immediately passed to Mr. Billings, for his graphic sketch of the history of Scotch architecture, and for the brilliant drawings by which bis remarks were illustrated. Dec. 17. — Sydxet Smirke, Esq , V.P., in the Chair. "On the Manufacture of G/ass, and its application to Architectural Pur- poses." By Professor Donaldson. After a few observations on the original introduction into Great Britain of 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER ilND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 25 this useful material (for architectural purposes) — which appears to have takea place in the seventh century of the Christian era, — Mr. Donaldson proceeded to describe the different materials and their proportionate quantities as employed in making glass. He then gave a very elaborate description of the various processes connected witli the manufacture of the several qualities known as flint or crystal, crown, sheet and German sheet, bottle or common green, and plate glass. — A number of drawings illustrative of each stage of the manufacture were exhibited. — Mr. Donaldson particularly alluded to the extensive use of the " rough plate glass" for roof lighting, either in the form of tiles or of " lunette domes;" — some of which were exhibited, being 5 ft. 6 in. in diameter, from tlie establishment of Messrs. Swinburne. — The Venetian plate, impressed with a diiimond pattern, was also mentioned as a beautiful and useful article for transmitting the light without allowing ob- jects to be seen through it. — The ventilating glass for windows, called the ■' patent perforated," is an admirable invention; the glass panes being per- forated at regular intervals, and thus admitting air v\-hi!e transmitting the light. As an auxiliary to the sanitary improvement of dwellings it may prove valuable, and become generally used. In allusion to the colour ac- quired by plate glass on exposure to the atmosphere, Mr. Donaldson observed that some experiments by Mr. Faraday had proved the cause to be the pre- sence of metallic oxides, which were thus influenced by the atmosphere, and imparted the blue and purple tinge so frequently observable in window panes. Some specimens of glass silvered by a new process patented by Mr. Thomp- son, of Uerners-street, were exhibited, and a deposit of pure silver is ob- tained by aid of saccharine solutions. The expense of this process has been reduced within such limits as give every prospect of its adaptation to a mul- titude of useful and ornamental purposes. The effect of gold, bronze, steel, &c., is readily given by the application of this process to coloured glass. A discussion arose from an objection raised by Mr. Tite as to the cor- rectness of the term " plate" being applied to glass which was blown. The question is one on which much difl'erence of opinion exists, but Mr. Swin- burne contended that the term is extensively used in the trade. Mr. C. H. Smith offered a few observations on the practicability of cut- ting large squares of plate glass by the aid of a plane-edge saw and very fine sand — which he had ascertained beyond a doubt during the last summer. SOCIETY OF ARTS, LONDON. Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, 1849. — Benjamin Rotch, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. " On the Cultivation and Manufacture of Sugar." By Mr. J. A. Leon. The modern agricultural improvements, irrigation and subsoil drainage, are little known in most of the British colonies, and very few of the commonest agricultural implements have been introduced there. The chief alteration which has been adopted is the planting the canes at a greater distance from each other than formerly. The theory of clearing, planting, moulding, and cutting the cane in suitable season is understood, but seldom practised. It is erroneous to suppose that European labourers cannot endure the climate in the sugar-growing colonies, and European emigration ought to be encou- raged. The first improvement in the West Indies should be the organisation of a new system better adapted for emancipated negroes. The planter of the present day cannot do better than lease his fields to a set of negroes, on con- dition of their planting for him three-fourths of the land with sugar-canes; so that the negroes will be dependent for support on the produce and its quality, and will not fail to cultivate the Ian in a proper manner; the owner of the estate erecting improved steam-machinery, giving up the cultivation of the land, and remaining a sugar-manufacturer. The ex-planter, in his new establishment, will then no longer require hired negroes, for the people of his manufactory being British emigrants, the colonial sugar will be pro- duced by Creole growers and European manufacturers. Small West India proprietors should join their lands, so as to form a farm of 700 or 800 acres, to be cultivated as before mentioned, and erect thereon a central sugar ma- nufactory capable of working the produce from 500 acres of sugar-canes, which will be, on an average, 1,000 tons of Muscovado sugar from 10,000 tons of canes. Thus they would farm in a small space, and manufacture with powerful machinery, in which consists the required agricultural im- provements, and isolated estates might send their concentrated saccharine matter, or crude sugar, to a parochial central factory. The cultivation of the sugar-cane requires more labour than other plants, and in that respect a cane-field may be compared to a garden, and, like it, requires constant care and attention. The woody part of the ripe sugar-canes is generally consumed as fuel in the process of manufacturing sugar; other portions are used as seed, forage, and manure, the green leaves being given as food to cattle. It is found that 100 lb. of canes generally yield 50 lb. of juice ; these 50 lb. of juice produce by the old process of manufacture 5 lb. of Muscovado sugar and 5 lb. of molasses scum ; the remainder, 40 lb., is the quantity of water to be evapo- rated by the manufacturing process. Nothing can surpass the slovenly, unscientific way in which sugar is made on those estates where the common process is in use : and in the whole British dominions only four sugar plantations have received complete steam- machinery. The author recommends steam, not only as a moving power, but also for heating and evaporating purposes, and refers to a Colonial Steam Generator, which he has invented, as answering every purpose that caa be required ; but this modern apparatus will be only beneficial when worked on a large scale. In sebcting the ground on which a manufactory is to be erected mainly depends its future success. The essay then describes the various existing mills made use of in the ma- nufacture of sugar, of which the chief defects are — 1. Overspeed in motion. 2. Mismanagement in feeding. 3. Incflicicncy of the moving power. The great price of coal, however, in the West Indies, being 2/. 18s. per ton (when used), renders the working of steam-power very expensive ; how- ever, the steam may be economised and employed in subsequent processes. The essay proceeds to describe the Steam Defecator, and other apparatus employed in the manufacture of sugar, and the advantages peculiar to each. A great improvement in sugar manipulations, even greater than the con- centration in vacuo, is the application of Animal Charcoal for manufacturing and refining sugar. The discovery of revivification allowing the same carbon to be used again enables the refiner to produce the best quality of sugar from the raw material by a single operatioti : and by improving on the same prin- ciple of filtration, the colonial manufacturer will succeed in producing refined sugar direct from the cane, and thereby dispense with the secondary mani- pulation in Europe. Concentrated cane-juice, containing more than 50 per cent, of saccharine matter, will be altered if boiled at a high temperature, or re-concentrated at a low one ; but if boiled in vacuo, the saccharine liquid may be rapidly con- ceutrated at evena low temperature. The author recommends the use of Clark's Condenser, in which the steam is distributed all at once, in 216 ver- tical pipes, radiating to a single collecting pipe, communicating with the air- pump, — and a double-evaporation apparatus constructed by himself, and operating, 1st. Without alteiing the saccharine matter, as well with a minimum as a maximum of water. 2nd. Without borrowing any water. 3rd. Without requiring active superintendence, and saving fuel to a large amount. In building a sugar manufactory, the main flue of the steam generators should pass close to the curing-house wall before reaching the chimney, — cast-iron tubes lying across the flue, having one end in the curing-house, whilst the other receives the outside air, being heated from the caloric from the furnace, warms the inner air passing from the yard into the curing-house. Thus a hot-air apparatus is formed with great economy. The direct bleaching, i. e. the artificial mode for separating the liquid from the solid sugar, is done by sprinkling water on the sugar with a small instrument made for that pur- pose ; and, according to tlie number of ablutions, this operation will produce crushed lumps, or stamped loaf-sugar. The modern steam apparatus for manufacturing sugar with profit requires the fulfilment of several conditions : During crop-time, continuous work night and day, — from whence three advantages arise : 1st. The cane.juice does not become sour, as when standing during the whole night in the heated apparatus. 2nd. Fuel is saved, because the fire has not to be re-lit. 3rd. Double work being done, the expenses of the machinery are reduced 50 per cent. A better class of labourers must be procured, and work for the whole year round provided for them. Mr. Leon is of opinion that nothing but such a total change can restore the British sugar colonies ; and to prepare for this, two things are necessary : 1st. A thorough knowledge of the modern art of building, erecting, and working tlie improved apparatus. 2nd. Regular theoretical and practical information on sugar manipulation for the instruction of colonial factory managers, to be given in a London laboratory, furnished with the necessary utensils for working on a small scale. The sugar for expeiiraent should be extracted from the beet-root,^ the juice of which is nearly identical with that of the sugar-cane. The essay was accompanied with numerous drawings and models, illustra- tive of the apparatus and processes referred to. Dec. 12. — T. Webster, Esq., V.P., in tlie Chair. " On the Application of Electricity to the Arts and Scienas." By Mr, HiGHTON. The paper was illustrated by beautiful speoimens of simple and compound deposits as applied to works of art ; also specimens of electrotyping, as ap- plied to the preservation of animals, insects, and plants. A beautiful elec- trotype cast from a daguerreotype plate was aUo exhibited. Mr. Highton thea alluded to the application of electricity to the art of war ; to the freezing of water; to the formation of hail; to the ventilation of coal-mines; and finished by showing, that from the fact of electricity differing from all other known forces of nature in its property of producing direct circular motion, it became a most valuable analytical test for ascertaining yvhether certain other foices weie simple and direct, acting in one stiaight line, or the re- 5 26 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Januaby, sultant of a combination of forces acting in various directions. The author concluded by applying this analytical test to the motions of the heavenly bodies. Dec. 19. — T. UwiNs, Esq., R.A., in the Chair. Mr. IIiOHTOX read a short supplementary paper, " On the Applicalion of Electricily to the Arts and Sciences," when a long and interesting discussion took place, during which tlie various processes of electrotyping were de- scribed by Messrs. Ilighton, Newton, and Ilunl. A number of new specimens of electrotype were exhibited, among which was some iron tubing coated with a deposit of cailmium to prevent oxida- tion ; also iron covered with a deposit of brass, hitherto deemed impossible — the brass being a deposit of copper and cadmium, instead of copper and zinc. The constrnction of chronometer balances, on which a deposit of copper on the steel remains instead of brass without fusion, and the temperature of the steel remains the same as that of the atmosphere, was also exhibited. The remaining specimens, which were of remarkable beauty, were supplied chiefly by Capt. Ibbetson, Mr. Elkington, Mr. Collis, and Mr. Ackermann ; those of the last-named gentleman being from the royal manufactory at Berlin. The paper concluded with a further explanation of the philosophi- cal part of the subject. A paper, " On an improved method of consttntctiiuj Buildings wtiereby they are rendered Fire-proof icithout increase of Cost" was read. The leading features of the proposed method are, the substitution of joists of wrought or cast iron for those of timber (generally used), and the employment of suc- cessive layers of incombustible materials, supported by these joists, and form- ing the finished floor or roof. The great principle of the method is the de- velopment of strength and firmness by the combination and consolidation of the whole of these materials into a compact mass. The model placed on the table illustrateil the successive steps in the formation of the floors and roof; and the remainder of the building was explained by the diagrams exhibited. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS OF IRELAND. Sec. 11, 1849.— Lt.. Col. Harry D. Jo.ves, R.E., President, in the Chair. 1. A paper was read by Mr. D. Gibbons, describing " The Effects pro- duced by the Action of the Sea in recent gales, itpon the Piers at Kingston Harbour; also at Newcastle, in the county Doxcn." The history of the injuries caused by the action of the sea to the works of these harbours involved the consideration of two very important prin- ciples connected with harbour engineering — viz., the most suitable trans- verse section for sea-walls and piers ; and also the depth of water at which the force of a wave, in its onward motion, would cease to prove etiective, when coming in contact with sea-walls. These two subjects bad engaged the consideration of other scientific societies for a long period, and much practical information was elicited, both from the account of the injuries as detailed by Mr. Gibbons, and from the very interesting discussion which ensued, and in which many members joined. The President brought before the Institution the subject of "Dover Harbour," and elucidated bis remarks by reference to a plan prepared for the purpose. lie described the original state of the haibonr, and the effects produced by the motion of a pebble Leach along the coast, by which, after a severe gale of wind, the month of the harbour was liable to be com- pletely blockaded. The President minutely detailed the state of the har- bour, as he had observed it, when he made a visit of inspection some years back, for the purpose of reporting to government the precautionary means which he might consider advisable to recomnieml. lie also described the works at present in progress of exfcution, and the effects which he observed when visiting Dover this autumn as having been produced on the coast, by the construction of the groynes and pier, which was in the course of building, to arrest the progress of the beach. 2. " On Branch Railways." By Mr. Cii.\rles Doubns, C.E. I hope the general importance of this suliject will be deemed a sufficient apology for its introduction to the notice of the Institution. It may be assumed as self-evident, tliat the desire for investing money in railway spe- culations has been over-wrought. It is manifest that this laudable desire has been crippled, and realuced to a state of exhaustion by undue excitement. In fact, it is undeniable that vast sums of money have been injudiciously evjiended on railways. First of all, it is notorious that many lines of rail- way have been projected, and some of them partly constructed, which, pro- bably, will never pay even their working expenses. Then, in England, the competition between different companies has led to ruinous expense. M"e have all heard of the " battle," or more properlv the war, "of the Gauges;" which has cost the Great Western and the London and North-Western Com- panies such large sums of money. To such injuiious stimulation, and to the prodigal expense incurred in the constrnction of branches and extensions, to say nothing of duplicate lines, we may .itlrihute the present depression and stagnation. Ltt us, then, take warning by the errors of others, and endea- vour to profit by their experience. \Vc have to a great extent as yet escaped most of these ; the object of this paper is to point out a mode of avoiding one main one. It appears to me that a grand error has been committed in having neglected the maintenance of a due proportion between main trunks and branches. In many cases, direct railway communication cannot be ac- complished by main lines, and short branches on the same scale as the main lines wonhl not be remunerative, and could not be advantageouslv worked; and no adequate means of overcoming these difficulties having yet been gene- rally adopted, considerable towns are slill shut out from many of the advan- tages of the railway system. Fortunately, however, we do not require another George Stephenson to invent a system for us. We have hut to look back, and return to, ami modify an old one, which in our .speed we have almost forgotten. 1 .illude to the working of railways by horse-power, which mode appears to me to be well adapted to meet the requirements of branch lines generally. A branch to connect a town, or not unfrequently two towns, wiih a main line, will seldom exceed twenty miles in length — frequently not more than ten miles. In such cases the difl"ercnce in time between horses and locomotives would not be important; and the means (that is the number of horses) could be adapted to the amount of traffic; whereas, if locomotive power were employed, it would be necessary always to use the engine, although probably not more than one carriageful (say twenty or thirty passengers) cuuld ever he expected by one train. Then the fire must be kept alight all daylong. Appropriate carriages being constructed, one horse, on good gra- dients, could draw thirty or forty passengers at a rate of ten miles an hour; of course, where stitf gradients occurred, two or more hors'^s should be em- ployed. But the expense of the construction of a line would be very considerably less for horse-power than for steam ; because the speed and the weight of the train being comparatively small it could at any time be readily stopped ; so that public roads might be crossed on the level, thus saving the heavy ex- pense of road-bridges, and their consequent heavy cuttings and embankments. The cuttings and fillings being thus made very light, and a single line only formed in the first instance, a hint might frequently be taken from the con- tractors' propensity for running into side-cuttings ; so that where the em- bankments were of any considerable length, they might be formed, principally of the stuff taken from the boundary ditches ; and this being all barrow- work, would be done at a cheap rate, and would afford much manual labour. As to the working of the traffic the power required to move one ton on a level, on a well-made railway, is estimated variously at from six to ten pounds ; we may fairly take it at 'J-33 lb. or Tr^th of the load. .\n average horse's tractive power is estimated at 150 lb., at 2J miles per hour for eight hours a day. Then dividing one-horse power — viz., 150 lb. by the power required to move one ton — viz., 9'33 lb., we find that one horse can draw sixteen tons, twenty miles in a day, on a level railway. But as gravity acts in direct pro- portion as the height of a plane is to its length, we find that in ascending a gradient of one in two hundred and forty, the power required is doubled ; so that up that plane a horse could draw only one-half of w hat he could do on a level. But on descending the same portion of the line he would have little more to do than to keep out of the way of the carriages. On descending a sharper gradient than one in two hundred and forty Ihe horses might ride on trucks, as the vehicles would run down by the force of gravity. But it is not necessary to occupy the time of the Institution with these details. It may be stated, however, that locomotives not being employed, the greatest weight to be provided for would be a goods wagon, travelling at about five miles an hour, so that a much lighter rail might be used than is required on a main line. I may observe, that 1 have made estimates, at full prices, for the works that would be required by the parliamentary sections of three widely different branch lines in this countiy. For two of these the amount falls short of 2,000/. per mile. In the other ease, where the works would unavoidably be heavy, it would not exceed 2,000 guineas per mile. But this amount does not include land or stations, or other contingencies. However, as the land would be much less injuriously severed than for main lines ; as locomotives would not be used; and all desiied crossings might he given, the amount of compensation for land would be materially lessened. Another thousand pounds, therefore, that is, 3,000/. per mile, may safely be stated as being amply sufficient money to make any branch line of railway in Ireland, including the payment for land and stations, and all necessary works. AGRICULTURE AND ENGINEERING.* ExGiNEEKiNG is an enterprising calling; and it had need be so, for one great field of employment — railway work — has been very much narrowed, and others must be found: until a return to com- mon-sense on the part of the lawmakers, or a turn in tlie money market, again allows the prosecution of public works At the time when the great rush was made into the engineering profession, and faculties and schools of engineering were set up, it was pointed out how wide is tlie scope for the application of engineering know- ledge, besides the special construction of public works or machinery. In our mines, our manufactories, and the great operations of hus- * "An Essay on the Present and Fut\;re Prospects of Funning." By William Thorold, M, Inst, C.E. London: Bidgway, 1S41I. 18S0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 27 baiulry, in these islands, and in our settlements abroad, it was well said there was room for many men of good training. This lias been found to be so; and notwithstanding the stoppage of railway and otiier works, we believe tliere are now more engineers in per- manent employment than there were five years ago. Nevertheless, the field is still untilled; for in our mines, in our works, and in tlie country districts, there are not so many skilled men employed as there ought to be. This must be set down mostly to two causes — the first, that young men start witli the notion of becoming resident engineers, assistant engineers, or engineers-in-chief, with very liigh pay; and next, and following from the first, that all their time is given to railways or machinery; and without thinking of what is wanted to be a good mine captain, manager of a factory, or country engineer. The truth is, we liave too many of the silver-fork men. AV'hen tliere was a good start given to engineering by the railways, papas and mammas thought there was an opening to put in some of those idle young men who want tlie lu.xuries of life with as little Iiard work as may be. Papa was quite willing to give a thousand pounds premium to a first-rate engineer, or to pay two hundred a-year at an engineering college, if liis son were to get an appointment of five hundred or eight hundred a-year. The class of people who put one son in tlie army, another at the bar, send one to India, and buy a living for a fourth, thought a new land of promise was opened to them, — but which has turned out a land of disappointment to many. The end is, tliat all are looking after one wall< of tlie profession, leaving seve- ral others less promising, but more sure, quite unoccupied. If a young man will content himself to make, as in otlier professions, a smalf beginning, we believe that, with a little capital to help him, there is enough to be done. Tlie alterations in the corn laws have served more than anything to show the English the need of more scientific, and we may say more mechanical, farming. This is now veiy fairly acknowledged — but how is it to be done.'' Not by the farmers, for tliey are the M'orst taught, least teachable, and least knowing of tlie community. It can be done and will be done by the engineers, if the latter will bestir themselves. They have already got work under tlie Boards of Health and in the colonies ; now they must strive to get work from the landowners. JMr. AV^illiam Thorold is a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, but he was brought up as a Norfolk farmer; and in tliis strait of free trade lie comes forward to help his former brethren, by showing them how much is to be done: and as tlie few leaves he has written are mostly of an engineering character, our readers will like to hear something of what he says. We will not trouble them with Mr. Thorold's politics, and we will not give any of our own; but to put our readers in mind how the industry of the country is neglected, and how the true end of government is lost sight of, by the factions who hold the reins of power, we will simply say that in these islands The labour of Five Millions of people is wasted, and heavy poor- rates paid, althougli the country might be ))rovided with rail- roads, canals, harbours, docks, piers, breakwaters, bridges, drainage, churches, and schools, and witli a good house for every man, rich or poor. Millions of acres of improvable land are left waste, because those who would improve it are not allowed to do so. Hun- dreds of thousands of acres of rich land might be recovered from the sea and rivers, but tlie government gives every hin- drance.* Manure sufiicient to grow food for Five Millions of people is yearly wasted. Speaking of the re-arrangement of farms, Mr. Thoi-old says — It will then be practicable to arrange the several farms in a more contigu- ous and compact manner, and the buildings as near as possible being in the centre of the occupation, it will probably turn out that several fields cannot be brought into an occupation, being too far from the huililings. These can frequently be let off at a higher rent to tradesmen and others, as accommo- d;ition lands ; or converted into small farms and let to deserving tenants, who by perseverance in well-doing, will ultimately become competitors for a larger one ; or it may even appear more desirable to take the ont-laying fields from several adjoining occupations to make an additional farm. It can hardly be expected that this system can be carried to its fullest extent without an act of parliament being obtained to exchange lands by consent of the parties in possession, regardless of the tenure and condition * The Woods and Forests have lately claimeil the lanj recovered by the Cork and Pas- sage Railway in Cork Harbour, but without offering to pay the expense of its reclama- tion. It is not 80 long a.o since they made the Corj.oratlon of Liverpool comnound with them for ^elOO.UUO, lor land reclaimed at Birkenhead.— The recovery of 30,U0U acres of land in niorecanibe Bay was prevented by the Crown and Duchy of Lancaster claiming It, it recovered. under which lands may be then held. Nothing can be more easy than to take powers in that act to secure all incumbrances, settlements, Sec, upon the exchanged land that existed upon the original. Powers also might he taken to borrow a limited sum of money (as has been already done by tlie Drainage Act) to carry out the exchange and improvements inherent thereon. In carrying out these arrangements, the landowner will do right to have farms of different sizes, according to the extent of his estate, in order, as has been before hinted, to keep up a wholesome emulation and materials for competition, when necessary; and it should be a principle universally acted upon, that upon any farm falling into the landowner's hands, the first offer of it should be given to the most deserving and suitable tenant, then in the occupancy of another farm upon the same estate. The next sacrifice is with regard to the timber and hedges upon the re- arranged farms. It is an essential part of the new system of farming, that trees, excepting those around the homestead, and in the boundary and fences next public roads, should all be cleared off the land ; and in like manner the hedges and ditches also, except those forming the common out-fall drain of the district. The old ditches used as master drains upon wet soils, will, of course, have to remain as pipe drains of larger diameter. It is not intended to have permanent pastures, except in particular locali- ties, where it is obviously most profitable from the advantage that can be obtained by the frequent application of liquid manure, so as to produce two or more crops of grass in the same season ; in all other circumstances, it has long been known that great injury has been sustained by both landowner and tenant, in retaining old hide-hound upland pastures, and most kinds of meadow land — whereas by a constant succession of corn and green crops, more food for cattle can be produced with the addition of a crop of corn every alternate year. lu carrying out all these arrangements, the landowner and tenant must cordially co-operate, the first supplying the capital for all permanent im- provements, and the tenant paying interest upon the amount. Great care and judgment should be exercised in the execution, and they should be con- stantly under cfiicient supervision, not from any want of good intentions, but to avoid the possibility of failure. The author is sorry to say his impression goes to show that tenants with matured judgment are the exception, and not the rule. It must also be a consideration in the first instance, whether the tenant, from his previous habits of business, not only can, but also will carry out, both the new arrangement of his farm, but likewise apply himself to the best modes of cultivation, and the application of manures to the growth of green and corn crops alternately, according to the best examples, it is pre- sumed, he will see around him ; if there is no prospect of a tenant's fulfil- ing all these desiderata, there is no alternative but for him to leave the estate, for " Why curahereth he the ground ?" — Landowners having quite as much right in taking the means offered for their own defence, as a party would in defending an action at law. It is also essential in carrying out this system, as before stated, that the farm-huildings should be as near the centre of the farm as possible, which, if it cannot be obtained by exchange, addition, or reduction, the buildings necessary for occupation should be removed or built anew. The old farm- house can remain as a residence, or he converted into cottages, as may be most convenient in the preliminary stage of proceeding, and as it will fre- quently happen that where cottages are wanted, it will be a question whether the old farm-houses that are now on the outside of the farm, and conse- quently badly situated for the farmers' occupation, will not be in the most proper position for cottages .=■ It is also necessary that good hard roads should be made, so as to approach one side of every field in all weathers, and a drift road made from the buildings to the most frequented public road. Mr. Thorold proceeds to describe his plan for farm buildings: — It will be impossible in an essay of this kind, to give general directions as to what buildings will be required, for in some instances, the old buildings may be made available to the new system, by means of internal alterations, and in other cases many buildings will bear the expense of removal; but by way of filling up a blank, the author has prepared a design for new farm- buildings, which is appended herewith, and as an explanation of this design will tend in some degree to elucidate part of the new system, he will proceed with the description. The object of this design is to convert all the straw, hay, and green crops into manure, and to retain or prevent the loss of such' manure after it is obtained, in the most effectual and economical manner; it is applicable to any sized farm, by merely increasing or diminishing the feeding and storing departments ; but in all cases it should be limited to farms not exceeding a convenient length or breadth from the homestall, on account of the expense of road making and carriage. Steam power is intended to be applied to thrashing, dressing, grinding, and bruising corn, steaming food, cutting hay and stiaw into chaff, pumping water and liquid manure, slicing turnips, breaking oil cake, sawing wood, raising manure from the house by an inclined plane, to load the carts instantly, and prevent the horses waiting for the same ; and probably for the purpose of exhausting foul air from the feeding houses, to excite hunger in cattle, and thereby diminish the time of fatting. It is here necessary to inform our readers, that this last plan has been adopted in factories as a principle of ventilation, and the only objection to it has been, that it makes the work-people always hungry, the very thing of all 5* 28 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL, [Janoaby, others, beneficial in grazing or falling cattle. Provision should also be made for rendering the feeding houses perfectly dark for an hour or so after feeding time, in order that the cattle may take their rest. Cramming may thus be introduced into cattle feeding, as has long been practised with ortolans, poultry, &c. For tills purpose a portable steam-engine is preferred (with fixed barn machinery, &;c.) on account of its being applicable to more than one set of buildings, which will render it less expensive, and also more adapted to meet the possible contingency of steam ploughing, and being sent to the factory to be repaired, thus avoiding the nuisance of having mechanics on their premises, or it can further he supplied by a travelling or club engine. There is the corn barn open at each end, with a railway running through it, upon which stacks are to he liuilt upon staddle-frames running upon wheels, instead of standing as heretofore upnn fixed piers or pedestals, and as many staddlcs are to be provided as the probable number of stacks. A stack is to be built on these staddle-frames, upon any part of the railway, and can be run into the barn at night, and remain there under cover until is thatched, which it is obvious can be done either in wet or dry weather. As soon as it is thatched, it is to be run through the barn, a sufficient distance out of the way, and another staddle-frame is to be brought empty from the cross line, and a stack built thereon as before. .\s soon as it is ascertained that the barn will contain the remainder of the crop, it can be filled in the usual way, and of course this last must be thrashed out first; afterwards the stacks on the staddles can be introduced into the barn, and thrashed by alike pro- cess. The length of railway will be limited by the locality and expense, but it must be of sufficient length to admit of two or more kinds of corn being stationed on either side, so that any particular stack can be thrashed when wanted, by running all those before out of the way; as it is intended to have the rails perfectly level, but little power will be required to do this. Hay stacks may also be stationed on close boarded siaddles at one end of the line, and can afterwards be brought into the barn when they are required to feed the hay cutter, being thus under cover during the time it would otherwise be partially exposed to the weather. THE WATER MONOPOLY AND THE SANITARY MOVEaiENT. The subject of the water monopoly is now attracting so much attention as to induce tlie Times to devote to it its valuable co- lumns, and the following forms part of a series of excellent articles, evidently from a man of knowledge and ability : — In the year 1580 Peter Morrys, a Dutchman, came to the Lord Mayor of London, and declared himself the inventor of a plan for making the Thames water, by its own force, flow upward to the tops of the highest houses in the city. The supply of water being at that time excessively scanty, and the population rapidly augmenting, permission was granted to this daring schemer to try his experiment at bis own risk. He stipulated for a lease of the first arch on the north side of old London-bridge, which was granted to him for 500 years, at a nominal rent of 10s. per aniium, and he proceeded forthwith to erect his machinery. He set to work with such vigour that, a few months afterwards, the inhabitants of that part of the town were asto- nished one day to see a column of water rising into the air, and thrown completely over the steeple of St. Magnus Church. The lord mayor and aldermen came down to witness this experiment, the like of wliich had never before been known in England. The pipes of elmwood laid along Thames-street, Fish-street-hill, and Gracechurch-street, with their valves to prevent the reflux of the up-forced water, and their small leaden branches ramifying to the bouses on either side, came in for a full share of admiration ; and it would be difficult to exaggerate the joy of the fortunate householders in that neighbourhood at finding the water, which they had been accustomed toilsomely to fetch from the Wall-brook hard by, or to draw up with bucket and windlass from wells, now gushing spontaneously into their abodes, and let in or shut oft" as required, by the mere turning of a stopcock. We gather from ancient records of William the Conqueror's time, that the Lon- don water-sources of that period were, the Thames on the south, the subur- ban fountains on the north, such as Clerk's-well, Holy-well, Clement's-well, &c. ; and in the heart of the city several brooks and bourns which rose from those fountains and ran southward to the Thames — the Wall-brook, for in- stance, the Long-bourn, the Old-bourn, and tlic Rivulet of the Wells; to which springs and streams the Londoners then resorted after the fashion of simple villagers, with pail and pitcher for their supplies. The artificial conduit system appears to have originated in London towards the middle of the 13th century. For, in 1235, when the encroachment of buildings and the heightening of the ground had spoiled or dried up these fountains and rivulets, causing a dearth of water, while the rapid growth of the population still further increased, we find the Lord Mayor and Common- alty, at the request of King Henry HI., engaged in bringing fresh supplies to the city from the town of Tyburn by six-inch pipes of lead, and setting about the erection of a great stone cistern, lined with lead and handsomely castellated, for the public use, in Westchcap. This, the " Great Conduit," as It was called, was the first of its kind in London, and its tedious and ex- pensive construction occupied 50 years. The pipes from this watercourse were subsequently extended eastward, to supply other cisterns which were established successively in Fleet-street, Aldermanhury, and at divers other points of the town. As the population ontgrew these supplies, the springs of Highbury (1-138), Paddington (1-139), Hackney (1535), and Hampstead (1589), were successively laid under contribution, and brought in earthen pipes, " brick drains," or tubes of lead, to the several standards or conduits, as they were called, in Oldborne (Holborn), Eoldgate (Aldgate), Cripplegate, Bishopsgate, &c. These particulars give some idea of the solicitude felt from the earliest times to secure a good water supply for the metropolis. And, if we picture the water-carriers, stooping at the riverside, clustered round the public tank, or bearing away on head or shoulder their replenished tankards — wide-bot. tomed, narrow-mouthed vessels, hooped like a pail, and fitted with a cork or bung — wc shall have a tolerably complete notion of the ancient London water service. The conservancy customs of those early times are vividly pictured by Maitland, who describes the mayor and aldermen riding forth on horseback, with their ladies following in wagons, to take their annual survey of the conduits; after which they used to hunt the hare across the neighbouring fields ; then dine with the chamberlain ; after dinner go to hunting the fox ; and after " great hallooing at his death, and blowing of homes," ride back through London to the Mansion-house. The invention of the lift-pump (in 1425) might have been expected, by facilitating the raising of water, to improve in some degree the semi-bar- barous state of the city. But the pump shared the common fate of useful inventions, always slow, — and especially slow in tliose days — to win popular acceptance ; and, moreover, the cost of setting up an engine, then reckoned so rare and intricate, operated as a further hindrance to its general intro- duction. The success of his first water-wheel, which raised 216 gallons of water per minute, induced Morrys to apply for a lease of the second arch of the bridge, which was immediately granted by the corporation on the same pro- digal terms as the first. Beneath this arch Morrys proceeded to erect a second set of pumps and cisterns, with another water-wheel, by which means, 158-1, he more than douliled his first supply. Our enterprising Dutch- man, however, did not remain long without competitors. Within ten years after Morrys set up his first wheel, one Bevis Bulmar erected a large horse engine at Broken Wharf, in the city, and raised water through leaden conduit- pipes for the supply of Cheapside, St. Paul's Churchyard, and the parts adjacent, as far westward as Fleet-street. Anirual power had previously been employed by the corporation to pump water to a standard on Dowgate-hill ; but this mode of pumping proved too costly to be compatible with moderate rates, and Bulmar, like several similar speculators on a smaller scale, was ultimately ousted by the powerful competitor who next appeared in the field. This was no other than the famous Sir Hugh Myddelton, a London gold- smith, who, having enriched himself by fortunate raining speculations in Wales, was emboldened by foregone success to adventure on novel hazards. The project was, to cut a trench or watercourse large enough for the supply of all London to any suitable spring that might be found within a circuit of 20 or 30 miles round the city. The conception, grand as it was, did not exceed the grievous necessities of the time. For, the water supplied by Morrys from the Thames, besides being limited in quantity, was often exceedingly turbid and foul ; and the unspeakable squalor of the poor occasioned well-grounded apprehensions that the plague, in those days a frequent sojourner in London, would renew its dreaded visitation. Moved by such considerations, the corporation had already, towards the end of Elizabeth's reign, obtained power from parlia- ment to out a river for conveying water to the city from any part of Middle- sex or Hertfordshire. This done, they had rested on their oars, with true corporate procrastination, for six or seven years, — till, suddenly, in 1603, the plague broke out, and raged with such virulence that in one week it carried off upwards of 1,000 persons in the metropolis. Thus fearfully admonished, the corporation sent surveyors to examine where water might be procured ; and having, after much delay, fixed on the springs of Amwell and Chadwell in Hertfordshire, 20 miles north of London, as sufficiently copious and pure for their purpose, they obtained in 1600-7 a new act, authorising the convey- ance of these waters by an aqueduct to the city. Then followed two more years of vacillating delay ; and at length, in 1609, their courage failing them after all, they made over to Myddelton, at bis instance, their power to con- struct the New River, together with any profit that might accrue from the enterprise. Myddelton immediately set to work, and soon found that he had under- taken a very tough job. The undulations of the ground obliged our pro- jector, for the even distribution of the fall, to give his channel a devious and meandering course, nearly doubling the crow-flight estimation of its length, and the computed cost of the work ; so that by the time Myddelton had brought it to Enfield — just about half-way to London— his progress was stopped by exhaustion of funds. The corporation, to whom in bis exigency Myddelton applied for assistance, met him with a direct refusal : and King James I., to whom he next applied, declined, with characteristic rapacity, to afford him aid except on condition that a moiety of the concern should be made over to him for his exclusive profit and emolument. To these hard terms Myddelton perforce acceded ; and, resuming his operations with his wonted energy, finally completed the work in 1613, twelve months before the expiration of the term allotted by the corporation for its achievement. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 20 Estimating on the most liberal scale, the cost of timber, lead, and bricks, for the raised troughs, the reservoirs, &c., and making ample allowance for contingencies, we shall scarcely arrive at a larger sum than 150,000?.-"^ as the probable total expenditure up to Michaelmas Day, 1613; — when the water first flowed into the New River head, 85 feet above the mid tide level of the Thames. Myddelton was now overwhelmed with laudations. He, however, being a shrewd, practical man, with a clear eye for the main chance, proceeded to retrieve his fortune by dividing his moiety of the concern into 3G shares, of which he s.ld about half, so as to replace, in part at least, his adventured capital. lie then, in conjunction with his new partners, set about laying down wooden /pipes through the town for the distribution of the water, which he shortly after began supplying to the inhabitants at an annual charge of about \l. 6s. Sd. per house. As several thousands sterling per annum must have been thus received from the outset, and nothing was divided for 20 years, we may suppose that the excess of receipts, after paying cost of maintenance and interest of loans, was applied in extending the pipes. In 1619 the concern was incorporated by royal charter as the New River Company, with Myddelton as its (irst governor. Myddelton, however, who mistrusted the notorious selfishuess and rapacity of his royal associate, contrived, with great sagacity, to exclude him from any share in the management. For nearly a century the New River Company had the metropolitan water trade almost entirely to themselves. Morrys, indeed, continued to pump up and sell the feculent water of the Thames ; and two small works, one at Shadwel! (1660), the other at York-buildings, Villicrs-street, Strand (1691), were also set up in the same trade. But both these latter establishments were ultimately beaten by their stronger rivals ; and the York-buildings Company, in particular, was broken up by the competitiou of the New River Company, who, having ruined them, took possession of their district, buying only such portions of the plant as suited their purpose, and leaving the rest, an uncompensated loss, on the ousted company's hands. During the earlier part of their career the dividends of the water traders were kept down by the frequent fracture and constant leakage of their pipes. These, being of wood, were of so small a bore that eight or nine collateral trains were required where now one capacious main is laid. One-fourth of the whole water supply leaked through them, converting the ground of London into an artificial sv.amp ; and the discovery of one broken pipe would often involve 20/. or 30?. worth of digging and search. Notwith- standing these difficulties, however, we find the New River shareholders receiving, in 1663, 15/. 3s. 3d. per share on 72 shares, on which probably (by the foregoing estimate) from 1,500/. to 2,000/. each had been subscribed. From this time the profits increased rapidly ; and Myddelton, finding this Very shrewdly proposed to the needy and prodigal Charles to buy back the shares which his royal predecessor had acquired. King Charles willingly gave up his 36 shares for an annuity of 500/. a year; being probably between J and 1 per cent, on the capital which they represented. In 1C80 each New Biver share is stated to have produced a net dividend of 145/.; so that, on the re-acquired Crown shares alone, the company at that period must have netted a balance of 4,720/. per annum clear profit. An unlucky mischance having destroyed the company's ancient records, we are left very much in the dark as to ther original outlay and gains. But the returns of their modern expenditure on pipes and machinery, if pared down to a reasonable valuation, show a total probable outlay of capital of from 500,000i. to 750,000/., at the utmost ; or from 7,000/.' to 10,000/. for each of the shares which now nominally represent and sell for about double the mean of those two sums. Even of this capital, a large proportion has, in reality, been contributed in the shape of excessive water-rates by the public. The public water-service was gradually let slip by the corporation of Lon- don during the 17th century; and, little by little, yielded up to chance and private speculation. Many of the conduits, for example, which were damaged or destroyed by the great fire in 1G6G, were left to their fate; the melted pipes remaining unrepaired, and the tank-houses in ruin or de- molished ; so that a writer of the time bewails the hard case of the poor tankard-bearers, whose trade the conflagration had destroyed, "making them like to perish by fire who were wont to live by water." In 1692 the Ilamp- stead waters, with the reservoirs which a century before had been built, at the public cost, for their reception, were given up by the corporation to some private individuals who, having obtained a charter, formed the germ of the present llampstead Water Company; and a few years later (1701), the cor- poration let out the " Maribone" water, and several other conduit waters, to one Soams, a speculative goldsmith, reserving only a proportion of the supply for the use of the prisons and compters. It was in the same year that the family of Peter Morrys, after having struggled on for nearly a century against the New River Company, was obliged at length to give up the contest; and it was to the above-mentioned Soams that they sold ofl:' their lease and plant for 38,000/. Soams seems to have made a good bargain; for he resold the concern to a company for 150,000/. in 300 shares. To this company, with are cklessness now become habitual, the corporation granted three more arches of the bridge, on leases, like the former, equivalent to perpetuity; which leases the city was obliged * A watercourse of the dimensions of the New River is. we are informed, at this mo- ment in course of execution in Holland, at a charge of 2.«)(Kl/. per mile j at which ratk the cost of the New River (39 miles long) would be only 97,500^ to redeem at a heavy cost to the public, when it became necessary to pull down old London-bridge and to remove the water-wheels beneath it. A few years later, London having in the meanwhile rapidly extended west- ward, the Chelsea Company was established (1723), to supply a large district which lay beyond the range of the New River Company's pipes. Soon afterwards the pn]mlous district south of the Thames — in itself a great city — attracted the notice of the water speculators. In 1758, the germ of the present Soulhwark Company was set up ; and in 1785 a few private individuals commenced, on a very humble scale, the now powerful and lucrative concern known as the Lambeth Waterworks. These five companies, three on the north of the Thames, and two on the south, possessed, until about the year 1805, the whole water trade of the metropolis.* Each enjoyed an effective, though not a legal, monopoly in its own district ; and of their profits some notion may be formed from the fact that the Lambeth Company, which started with a capital of only 5,920/., in 32 shares of 185/. each, obtained water-rents of such amount as enabled them in 33 years to invest, out of profits, 130,000/. in the extension of their works, iesides paying dividends of 50 to 100 per cent, and upwards on the subscribed capital. f To this palmy condition of the water companies the introduction of steam power into the water service had not a little contributed. This improvement, which we have adopted as marking the fourth epoch of our London water- history, dates from 1782, when the Chelsea Company substituted one of Boulton aud Watt's condensing engines for the tidal wheel which had pre- viously worked their pumps. Five years afterwards (1787) the New River Company, who had before employed, first a windmill, and then a horse- engine, to impel the water through the upper levels of their district, also set up a steam-engine on ^Vatt's condensing principle. Even the old Londou- bridge Company erected a steam-engine to aid their water-wheels at lavs' tides; and the three southern companies likewise found it their interest to adopt the same rapid and economical means of pumping.J One invention involves another. The old wooden pipes, which required renewal every 14 or 15 years, and were always leaking at the joints, soon proved inadequate to sustain the increased pressure of the higher level to which the water was raised by means of the new steam pumps. Hence the gradual adoption about this period of iron pipes, which were laid down in place of the wooden ones as these latter successively wore out. In this metal mains of 3 feet diameter, it was found, could be easily cast ; and the vast columns of water thus conveyed took up less space under the roadway, caused less leakage, and required less frequent repairs, than half the stream conveyed tin he clumsy hollow trunks before employed. Iron pipes have their inconveniences, no doubt ; amongst which may be mentioned that they appear apter than wood to accumulate, in the form of adherent incrustations, the chalky deposit of the water; so that in 20 years a 5-inch pipe has been found reduced to a 3-inch capacity ; and in 50 or 60 years it may probably become necessary to incur the cost of taking it up, in order to remove this obstruction. The tenacity of the newly-adopted material, however, being such as to withstand with ease a pressure of 300 feet of water, facilitated the introduction of a third great improvement — viz., the high service. This fell in, happily enough, at the beginning of the present century, with the gradual introduction of closets requiring elevated cisterns for their supply. To the companies it proved highly advantageous, as affording them a pretext for adding 50 per cent, to their rates. In 1805, however, an unexpected storm broke in upon their prosperous career. A wafer mania, like our recent railway mania, began at that period to spring up ; and on its sudden outbreak in 1810 the principle of competition, to which the legislature had all along looked for the protection of the public, was put upon its trial. Two powerful companies, which had been several years occupied in obtaining tli£ir acts and setting up their machinery, now took the field : one, the West Middlesex, attacking the old monopolists on their western flank ; the other, the East London, invading their territory from the opposite quarter. A the same time a band of dashing Manchester speculators started the Grand Junction Company with a flaming prospectus ; and boldly flung their pipes into the very thick of the tangled network, which now spread in every direction beneath the pavement of the hotly con- tested streets. These Grand Junction men quite astonished the town by the magnificence of their promises. "Copious streams" of water derived, by the medium of the Grand Junction Canal, from the rivers Colne and Brent, — "always pure and fresh, because always coming in" — " high service, free of extra charge" — above all, " uniniermittent mpply, so that customers maij do loithout cis- terns;"— such were a few of the seductive allurements held out by these interlopers to tempt deserters from the enemy's camp. * We pass over as insigniflcant three or four minor establishments no longer in exist- ence, such as the small works at West-Ham, Shadwell, Rotherhithe, Bank-End, and Hackney. We also leave out of the account the Hampstead Company, which supplies spring water from Hampstead-hill to part of Kentish and Camden towns; the Kent works, which supply water from the river Ravensbouriie to part of Deptford, Woolwich, Greenwich, and Rotherhithe ; and the Paddington springs, which belong to the Bishop of London's estate, and supply the inhubit.ints of the immediate vicinity. t The aggregate dividends received by the Lambeth shareholders during l*j years end- ing 18;:i3, amounted to tit',.400/., or eleven times the amount of their original subscription. Of these Hi years the U earliest also form p.irt of the 33 years (ending 18:!8) during which the vast capitalisation of the revenue mentioned in the text took place. t The old steam-engines of Savery and Newcomen, in which the cylinder itself was cooled at each stroke of the piston, had been tried so far back as the beginning of last century by the York-buildings Company. 30 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. f Ja uAitv, Meanwhile the South London (or Vauxhall) Company was started (in 1805) on the other side of the river, with a view to wrest from its old rulers the watery dominion of the South. The war was not, however, carried on in a very royal sort; for, as the travelling mountebank drives six-in-hand through a country town to entice the gaping provincials to his booth, so these water jugglers went round the streets of London, throwing up rival jXs d'eaux from their mains, to prove the alleged superiority of their engines, and to captivate the fancy of hesitating customers. The New Kiver Company, thus put upon its mettle, boldly took up the gauntlet. It erected new forcing engines, changed its remaining wooden pipas for iron, more than doubled its consumption of coals, reduced its charges, augmented its supplies, issued a contemptuous rejoinder to its ad- versaries, and, appealing as an "old servant" to the public for support, en- gaged in a war of extermination. I'or seven years the battle raged incessantly. The combatants sought (and openly avowed it), not their own profit, but their rivals' ruin. Tenants ■were taken on almost any terms. Plumbers were bribed to tout, hke omni- bus cads, for custom. Such was the rage for mere numerical conquest, that a line of pipes would be often driven down a long street to serve one new customer at the end. Arrears remained uncollected, lest offence should be given and influence impaired. Capricious tenants amused themselves by changing from one main to another, as they might taste this or that tap of beer. The more credulous citizens, relying on the good faith of the "public servants" (as these once powerful water-lords now humbly call themselves), were simpletons enough, on the strength of their promises, to abandon their wells, to sell ofl' their force-pumps, and to erect waterclosets or batlis on the upper stories of their houses. In many streets there were three lines of water-pipes laid down, involving triple leakage, triple interest on capital, triple administrative charges, triple pumping and storage costs, and a triple army of turncocks — the whole atfording a less effective supply than would have resulted from a single well ordered service. In this desperate struggle vast sums of money were sunk. The recently established companies worked at a ruinous loss ; and such as kept up a show of prosperity were in fact, like the East London Company, paying dividends out of capital. The New Kiver Company's dividends went down from 000/. to 23/. per share per annum. In the border-line districts, where the fiercest conflicts took place, the inhabitants sided with one or other of the contending parties. Some noted with delight the humbled tone of the old arbitrary monopolists, and heartily backed the invaders. Some quiet old stagers stuck to the ancient companies, and to the faces of familiar turncocks. These paid ; but many shrewd fellows put off the obsequious collectors, and contrived to live water- rate free. Thus the honest, as usual, paid for the knaves ; and the ultimate burden of all these squandered resources fell (also as usual) on society at large. Such a state of things could uot last ; and in 1817, the great water com- panies coalesced against the public ; and coolly portioned-out London between them. Their treatment, on this occasion, of the tenants so lately flattered and cajoled, will never be effaced from the public memory. Batches of customers were handed over by one water company to another, not merely without their consent, but without even the civility of a notice. Old tenants of the New River Company, who had taken their water for years, and been their thick and thin supporters through the battle, found themselves ungrate- fully turned over — without previous explanation — to drink the "puddle" supplied by the Grand Junction Company. The abated rates were imme- diately raised, not merely to the former amount, but to charges from 2j to 400 per cent, more than they had been before the competition. The solemnly promised high service was suppressed, or made the pretext for a heavy extra charge. Many people had to regret "selling their force-pumps as old lead," or fixing waterclosets on their upper floors on the faith of these treacherous contractors. Those who liad fitted up their houses with pipes, in reliance on the guarantee of *^ luuiitermitting pressure'^ found themselves obliged, either to sacrifice the first outlay, or to expend on cisterns and their appendages further sums, varying from 10/. or 20/. up to 50/., and even in many cases, 100/. When tenants, thus nnhandsoruely dealt by, expressed their indigna- tion and demanded redress, they were "jocosely" reminded by smilrng secretaries, that the competition was over, and that those who were dis- satisfied with the companies' supplies were quite at liberty to set up pumps of their o\\ u. Flesh and blood could not long endure such exasperating treatment. The murmurs uf the public, after continuing to increase during three years, broke out at last in a storm of indignation ; and iu 1821 the first of a series of parliamentary investigations tuok place. The committee of the House of Commons which conducted tiiis iuquiry, addressed themselves chiefly to the financial branch of the subject. They called for returns, examined engineers and secretaries, as well as aggrieved tenants, and brought to ght innumerable instances of injustice. Amongst other examples of rhitrary conduct on the part of these monopolists, it came out that they would frequently refuse water to a whole street of new houses ; declining, when applied to, to run a service-pipe along it, even tliough their main passed the end of the str'eet. And thus builders, in order to avoid having their houses on hand tenantless, were constrained to lay down pipes at their own rosl; and then come humbly, cap iu hand, to the company, to beg a supply at the oi'diuary rates. The iuquiry ensued a report (dated 1821) which deprecated the irresponsibility of these companies, and recommeuded a legislative restric- tion of their rates. Acting on this hint, Mr. Michael Angelo Taylor brought in his well known bill to restrict the water companies from increasing their rates to more than 25 per cent, beyond the rates of 1810. This bill passed the House of Commons, but was lost in a committee of the House of Lords by a majority of one. In the meantime the public attention had taken another direction ; and the companies, finding the storm passed by, became bolder and more arbitrary than ever. During this period the memorable bubble-fever of 1824-5 took place ; and, as on a more recent occasion, the "earth had bubbles," so at that lime had also the water, — iu the tliape of various brilliaot schemes for bringing rivers to London by mighty aqueducts, and stupendous tunnels. Suddeuly, however, in 1827, a pamphlet appeared which threw the whole town into a state of consternation. This painplet, which was called the Dolphin, originated, as its author declared, in the deathbed repentance of one Kobson, a director of the Grand Junction Company; who, to use his own expression, "feared God would never forgive him" for having been party to the wronging of 7,000 families by the false promise of good water, and the cruel service of poisonous filth ; and who, shortly before his death, to ease his conscience, divulged the enormities in which he had taken part to Mr. Wright (the pamphleteer), with an earnest request that he would by every means in his power seek legislative reparation of the fearful wrong inflicted on the public. This strangely originated document disclosed the secret abominalions of the water trade; especially dwelling on the fact, that the Grand Junction "Dolphin" or suction pipe, lay exactly opposite the great Ranelagh sewer, and only three ijards from it» moxdh at low water.' The ti-act was eagerly bought up, and caused au excitement so intense that subscriptions amouuting to upwards of 300/. were readily entered into for promoting its circulation. A public meeting was convened under the auspices of Sir P'. Burdett, and all classes of society, from the highest peers of the realm down to the humblest shop- keepers, eagerly attended it. In the next sessiou (1828) a scientific com- mission was accordingly appointed to institute the requisite in\'estigalions. The facts elicited in the course of this inquiry were perfectly astounding. The New River Company, which was the first examined, was driven to admit that its principal reservoir had not been cleaned for 100 years ; and that, when at last ihe water was run off, eight feet of mud werefonnd at the bottom ! It appeared that their pretended spring water was eked out by supplies, not merely from the river Lea, polluted by the sewage of Hertford, but also, to the extent of 300,000 hogsheads and upwards annually, from the Thames, between the mouths of the Fleet-ditch and the great Walbi'ook-sewer. To crown all, it came out that Myddleton's aque- duct itself hdii, by the neglect of the company for 200 years past, dege- nerated into a " common ditch," receiving the surface waters of the manured fields and the sewage of the populous villages through which it passed— aa abomination which, having become a " vested interest," continues, we believe, to this day, in spite of the company's tardy and ineffectual remonstrance. It was furlher alleged that iu consequence of their exor- bitant charges for water, road-trustees had been drrven to employ sewer- water for watering the streets ! One witness stated that on being reniou siraled with for leaving their water-plugs uncovered, so that ponies and doukies put their legs in the holes and were maimed, the company's oBicers declined to abate the nuisance, declaring it "cheaper to pay for the breaking of a donkey's leg now and then, than to incur the cost of pulling covers to the plugs." Finally, afier weighing all the evidence, the commissioners ptoduced a very able report, recognizing the insalubrity of the existing supplies, and the necessity of seeking purer sources. In accordance with these recommendations, and at the instance and cost of Sir F. liuidett, the Lords of the Treasury shortly afterwards directed Mr. Telford, the engineer, to survey the .country round London, with a. view to discover the springs and streams most available for the supply of Loudon, and to report on the means of conveying their waters to the metro- polis. These researches having been set on foot, the public excitement again died away; and another six years' lull ensued. The damaging disclosures which had resulted from the parliamentary iuquiry of 1S2S, aud the strongly expressed dissalisfaction of the public, at leugth aroused ihe fears of the water companies ; who at this period appear to have been seriously alarmed as to the permanence of their misused pri- vileges. Accordingly, in 1829, the Chelsea Company began to send out filtered water; and in Ihe following year the New Uiver Company furiued two settling reservoirs near Stoke Newington, with a view to purify by subsi- dence their drain-infected stream. These improvements, though their empirical adoption under the influence of the "pressure from without" reflects small credit on the water monopo- lists, were, nevertheless, a very real and important step in advance. They were regarded by their introducers (and even by the parliamentary com- missioners of 1828) us mere\y mechanical contrivances lor the removal of sediment; but, when properly understood and practised, they are, as we shall hereafter have occasion to show, in a great measure chymical pro- cesses; aud the dale of their adoption opens au entirely new epoch of our melropolitan water-history. This, the fifth, or cliymical period, is siill iu its infancy; and, though our present business is rather to record than to suggest iniprovemenls, we may perhaps venture, in defining the characters of this period, to indicate also the probable course of its fuuire develop- ment. In the meantime we are bound to record, to Ihe indelible disgrace 18S0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 31 of the London water companies, that filtration, to which they had only partially resorted in or about the year 1829, was in full operation many years previously at Manchester for the supply of pure water to the cotton manufacturers ; of whose filters, in fact, those subsequently established ou the banks of the Thames were but imitations at second-hand. The example thus set was followed by several of the other companies ; those, for instance, whose sources of water were the foulest and worst, began to thinly of exiending their suction pipes to less objectionable quarters. Thus, the East London Company, which had previously pumped, at flood tide, from a point of the Lea so near its mouth, that the water obtained was in fact the turbid infiu?c of the Tliarnes itself, now brought their water by a canal three miles long from a place above the influence of Ihe tide. The South Loudon, following the example of the Chelsea, began to filter their drain-polluted water through beds of gravel and sand; and several other companies adopted, or discussed, similar partial measures of improvement. As for the Grand .Junction directors — who had, from the first, been distinguislied for the splendour of their promises — they gave out that they had in view a scheme of almost IJomau grandeur. This dazzling proposal was to bring the water of the Colne to London by a canal twenty five feet wide, witii several tunnels and colossal aqueducts (of which lalter, one was to be as high and three times as long as Blackfriars-hridge) and to undertake, by this means, the supply of water to the whole metropolis ! This schenie was the revival of one originally proposed in 1719, during the South-Sea-bubble mania ; and which, afiei- being three times reproducfd in tlie last century, and three times more in the present, by a serias of more or less visionary projectors, was adopted by Ihe Grand Junction Company. The directors introduced their bill into parliament ; and were, of course, stopped by a resolution of the house to await the result of INtr. Telford's survey. It need hardly be added that the project was subsequently abandoned. Suddenly, in the midst of these dilatory proceedings, the cholera morbus of 1S32 broke out, and public attention in the metropolis was again drawn to the defective state of the water supply. The Asiatic plague had not yet entirely subsided, when a new water com- mittee was appointed to receive and consider Mr. Telford's scheme, and to examine generally the remedial branch of the question. As the two pre- vious committees had reported respectively on tlie price, and on the quality of the water actually sold in London, so the business of the present com- mittee was to investigate the relative feasibility of the various projects for improving, in both these respects, the future supply of the metropolis. This comiuiltee produced no report; but the minutes of evidence taken before them filled a large blue book, dated 1834. It would be dilficult to determine which of the various engineers exa- mined cut the sorriest figure. Mr. Telford's assistant, Mr. Mills, charged his employer with filching his ideas ; and the illustrious constructor of the Menai-bridge seems certainly, on this occasion, to have looked through his colleague's eyes somewhat more than he was willing to confess. The plan was to form two aqueducts : one for the supply of London north of the Thames, the otlier for the service of the southern nietrojiolitan districts. The northern aqueduct, 10 miles long, was to bring water from the Verulam, near Watford, at the rale of 30 cubic feet per second (about double the actual consumption of the northern districts); tlie southern aqueduct, 6 miles long, was to convey water from Ihe U'andle, near Bed- dingtou, at the rate of 13 cubic feet per second — the actual consumption of the metropolis south of the Thames being then about 5J cubic feel per second. The northern reservoir was to be on l*rimrose-hill, 146 feet above high water in Ihe Thames ; Ihe southern one on Clapham-comir.on, at a level of 80 feet above high water mark. The cost, including compensation to millers, was to be 785,9G5Z. for the nortliern, at'd 391,873/. for the southern works. These works were to be executed at the public cost by government, who were to raise the money by loan, and to deliver the water into the pipes of the several companies, charging them interest on the capital expended, and leaving to them its retail distribution through the town. Altogetlier Ihe result of ihis third inquiry was negative. The need of improvement was clearer than ever, but Ihe means of etlecting it seemed proportionably more doubtful Ihau before. The clashing opinions of Ihe rival engineers showed on how empirical a basis our water system had grown up ; and the i)old pretensions of the chartered companies atibrded a uew proof how firmly corporate privileges, once concetled, lake root ; and liow difficult it becomes, in the process of time, to correct the evil conse- quences of past legislative errors. One point, however, was very clearly made out— viz., that notwith- standing Ihe iuertial resistance thus opposed by some companies to the public demand for progress, aud the narrowness of the concessions which even the most liberal of them reluctantly made, Ihe collective metropolitau water rents had increased since Ihe last return in 1821 no less than 79,054/. a-year, an augmentation equivalent, at 5 per cent., to an expenditure in fixed capital by Ihe companies of 1,581,000/. sterling ; whereas 300,000/. only, or less than a fifth of the due proportion, had actually been laid out on extension of "plant" within Ihe same period. Nor was this all. The added capital, thus virtually producing upwards of 26 percent, per annum profit to the companies, had been mainly provided by the application of surplus revenues ; or, in other words, had been extracted from the pockets of the public ; against whom, nevertheless, this very outlay was now reckoned as a reason for maintaining the monopoly rales. 729,885/. was the vast total of capitalised plunder confessed to, iu 1834, by six. of the eight great companies, — the two others (the Southwaik and the New River) setting down their plunder at zero. The West Middlesex Company, in like manner, returned their "real capital embarked" as 568,045/. — a purely nominal and ficlilious amount, eked out by Ihe monstrous charge of 163,712/. as the interest which their plant should have produced, but did not, during the ruinous contest which they themselves set on fool. Wooden pipes, persisted iu after iron ones had been invented ; stone pipes, rashly adopted on insufficient trial, and burst by Ihe first influx of Ihe water ; iron pipes screwed together in incon- ceiyable defiance of the first principles of physics, so that Ihcy formed a solid rod, which, by its own contraction in the cold weather, lore itself asunder into fragments about 100 yards long— fragments which had to be patched together, and in that bungled condition remain to this day, a hidden monument of engineering incapacity ; all these, and scores of equally costly errors, stand charged against the public as " capital embarked." la what other trade is such a mode of compulation admitted ? But if, adopt- ing a truer standard, we compare their charges with the real value of Ihe service rendered, as shown by the payment for which it can be, and is, profitably performed elsewhere, we shall find their rates something like 2,000 per cent, beyond the fair market price of the accommodation. Thus, at Tavistock, 4,000 inhabitants, residing in 650 houses, receive a constant and unlimited supply of water at an average charge of 2s. 5d. per house per annum; Ihe average charge of Ihe West Middlesexbeing 52s. \0d. per house per annum, Ihe difTerence 2,200 per cent. And if 200 per cent, be thrown off to meet Ihe objection that Tavistock is iu respect of water service more favourably situated than Loudon, and other such like pleas, there will still remain the monstrous excess of 2,000 per cent, as the measure of monopolist extortion ! No wonder that the public indignation remained unabated ; that new- water schemes abounded ; and that Sir F. Burdett, who had already taken a prominent part in the free-water agitation, should again, in 1810, bring this question before a parliamentary committee — this time, however, of the House of Lords. The Water-Committee of Ihe Lords, in 1840, was specially charged to examine ihe project of a Mr. Paten, who enjoyed the patronage of Sir F. Burdett, aud who proposed to bring water for the supply of London from the springs in a valley at Ihe foot of the chalk hills near liushey, by an aqueduct 12J miles long, to a reservoir behind the Eyre Arms at St. John's- wood. This scheme virtually raised the important question how far the Artesian or deep-well system is available as a means of supplying Ihe metropolis with water! Their lordships, however, separated without set- tling this or any other qiieslion, and without even making any report. But they printed the evidence taken before them iu an entertaining blue book. But the water companies, since llieir confederation in 1818, and after weathering the storms of 1828 and 1834, began to feel and exercise the independent powers of an imperium in imperio. In reply to the request of the Lords for returns of llieir pumping-costs, coal-cunsuniption and Ihe like, they one and all sent civilly-worded but firm and positive refusals of the Inquired information. Having thus, for the third time, passed through the ordeal of a parlia- mentary investigation without any legislative curtailment of their privi- leges, the waier companies, in 1840, began again to regard their position as impregnable ; and from that time to the present day they have accord- ingly continued to draw from Ihe metropolitan public revenues, constantly augmenting with the annual extension of the town. In the meantime, however, a new influence, unobserved by them, had been slowly growing up, and silently gathering strength— an influence which bids fair, at no distant period, to overthrow their confederated strength, and to emancipate London from their henceforth intolerable mo- nopoly. This influence was Ihe Sanitary movement. In 1842, Mr. Chadwick condensed the information obtained as to the general health and conilition of the people, in a report (the first on the Health of Towns) which created a profound sensation, aud may be said to have given its first definite shape and powerful impulse to the rising sanitary parly. Several thousand copies of Ihis work wore eagerly bought, besides 8,000 or 10,000 which were distributed to members of parliament and to the union olficers. The horrible consequences of high- priced, scanty, and polluted water-supplies, detailed and demonstrated \n Ihis book, made a powerful iinpressiou ou the public mind; and struck a deep though noiseless blow at the root of the metropolitan monopoly. In 1843 this successful stroke was followed by another from tlie same hand, in Ihe shape of a supplemental report on Intramural Sepulture — a work which extended and enforced Ihe views of Mr. Walker on this sub- ject ; and which, amongst other things, proved the horrible pollution of the urban landsprings by the percolation of graveyard sanies. These disclosures, though apparently lending to strengthen the water traders by discouraging reliauce on the pump as a means o escaping their exorbitant charges, produced, in fact, a precisely opposite eiTect, — increasing the public abhorrence of the water monopoly by making its absolute and oppressive nature more undeniable. In 1841 Sir IJobert I'eel (who had taken office three years previously), perceiving the strong current of public opinion that had set in towards sanitary reform, and fully recognising its importance himself, appointed a commission to inquire into l!:e means and appliances, mechanical and administrative, proper for carrying into effect the sanitary principles that 32 THE CIVIL ENGIKEEE AND ARCHlTECrs JOURNAL. [January, had been enunciated, especially in respect to the drainage, paving, cleans- ins, and water supply of towns. In 1S45 the Health of Towus Commissioners produced their report and minutes of evidence on these questions — certaiuly one of the ablest and most comprehensive stale papers that has ever issued from a government office. Two years afterwards — in 1847 — the government of Lord John Russell (who had in the meantime succeeded lo oflice) appointed a commission to report on the means of carrying these principles into eO'ect in the metro- polis. This, the Metropolitan Sanitary Commission, whicli is still open, produced in the same year another admirable report. In the foliowins year — 1848 — the gloomy tidings reached us that the Asiatic cholera was rapidly travellinj; westward, and might be expected shortly to reach our shores. To meet this emerj;eucy, tlie sanitary parly, ably represented on this occasion by Lord Morpeth (now Lord Carlisle^ introduced and carried through, in spile of strong opposition from interested parties, the Public Health Act. The prominent tendency of the new health act is to bring about, in every town of the kingdom, an economical comclidation, under one responsible public management, of those various services — drainage, paving, wuler supply, *xc., on whose harmonious co-adaptation, bilherlo unattainable, the sanitary v\ ell-being of the urban population depends. The water companies, indeed, found means to procure the insertion of a special clause to protect their monopoly from the adverse operation of this act, by threatening its promoters, in the event of refusal, wiih a degree of opposition and delay, which, with a plague impending, it was in the highest degree important to avoid. The excepting clause, however, stands in sucli palpable contradiction to the general tenor of the act, that common sense cries out against its maintenance ; and the discreditable tactics that procvired its insertion, will, we have no doubt, by a just reaction, lend to hasten its inevitable repeal. Scarcely had the sanitary idea thus acquired force of law, when the fierce outburst of pestiiencp through which we have just passed gave terrible proof of its necessity. At the eleventh hour, and after a stubborn resistance on the part of several local boards, the house-to-house inspection took place, and led to those dreadful disclosures which are still fresh in tlie public memory. Day after day men read with indignation and dismay of poor plague-stricken wietches crowded by scores round dribbling staudcocks, and literally ^' fighting for water," Instances still more horrible were re- ported by hundreds ot squalid lanes and courts from which the monopolists had entirely withheld supplies of wafer: pat^siug them by to lay their triple and quadruple rows of competing pipes in richer neighbourhoods promising more lucrative returns. The inspectors' reports, indeed, teemed with the coniphiiuts of destitute wretches, thus driven by joint-stock avarice lo pump up and drink the waters of drain-infected wells; — of others, if possible, worse oil", who had not even a pump to resort to, but begged their daily jugful from door to door;— and of a third set, most miserable of all, whom this last shift of penury had failed, so to use the ofljcial declaration of the city medical otlicer, they " actually lacked water for the ordinary purposes of ablution!" LIST OF ME^Wr PATENTS. GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM NvOEMDER 22, TO DECEMBER, 21, 1849. Sio" Months allowed for Enrolment^ unless otherwise expressed, William Garnett Taylor, of Biuton-Iiouse Hall, Westmoreland, gentleniiin, for im- provements in lint, mid in liming machiues.— Sealed November 24, lH4y. George Callaway, of Putney. Surrey, station agent, and Robert Alee rinkus, of the same jilace, engineer, for certain improvements in propelling ships and oilier vessels; also iu apparatus for ploughing land. — November 24. Charles Covvper, of liouthampton-buildings, Chancevy-laiio, for certain improvements in piling, faggoting, and forging iron for plates, bars, shafts, axles, tyres, cannons, an- chois, and otlier similar purposes. — Novembe.i 24. Joseph liarrans. of St. Paul's, Deptford, Kent, engineer, for improvrmeuts in axles and axle boxes of locomotive engines and other railway carriages.— November 24. Anibroise Ador, of Paris, France, engineer, for improvements in producing light.— No- vember 24. Henry Lamplough, of Snow.hill, Loudon, consuUiug chemist, for a new mode of sup- plying pure water to cities and towns. — November 24. James (Jaorgc Hewey and James Newman, of Birmingham, for improvements in the manufacture of butions, studs, and other dress fuslenlngs and ornaments.— November 28, Francis Tongue Ilutt'ord, of Prtscot House, Worcester, fiie brick manufacturer, Isaac Mnrson, of Cradley, Worcester, and John Finch, of Pickaid street, City-road, Rliildlesex, manufacturer, for improvements in the manufacture uf baths and wash-tubs, or wasb vessels — Novemljcr 2y. Frank Clarke Hills, of I'eptford, Kent, manufaeturing chemist, for an improved mode of comproBsing peat lor making fuel or gas; and of manufacturing gas ; and of obtaining certain buhstances applicable to purifying the same. — November 2S. Charles Bailow, of Chancery lane, London, gentleman, for improvements in the manu- facture of a certain pigment. (A communication.)— November 2ll. Louis Napoleon Le Gras, of Paris, France, civil engineer, for improvements in the sepnration and disinfection of foical motters, in the manufacture of manure, and in the apparatus employed therein. — November ;iO. Walter Cruni, of Thomliebank, Renfrew, Scotland, for certain improvements in the finishing of woven fabjics.— December 3. Conrad Montgomery, of the Army and Navy Club, St. James's square, Middlesex, esq. for improvements in brewing, distilling, and rectifying.— December Z. William Ectles, the elder, WillLim Kccles, the younger, and Henry Eccles, of Black- burn, Lancaster, cotton spinners, lor certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for preparing, spinning and weaving cotton and other libious substances.— December 3. Joseph Paradis, of Lyons, France, merchant for improvements in the manufacture of elastic mattresses, cushions, and paddings, parts of which improvements are applicable to other purples, where sudden or continuous pressure is required lo be sustained or transmitted. (A communication.) — December 5. George Buchanan, of Edinburgh, civil engineer, for improvements in cocks, valves, or stoppers ; and in the use of flexible substances for regulating or stopping the passage of fluids; and also in making joints of tubes and pipes, or other vessels.- December 'S. Baron James Ulric Vaucber de Strubing, of Margaret-street, tavendish-square, Mid- dlesex, for improvements in Iha manufactuie of axlelree boxes for carriages, and of the bearings of tiie aile'. uf railways ; and in the making of an alloy of metal suitable for such and like pHrposes. — December ;t. Georgtf Edmund Douisthorpe, of Leeds, Yorkshire, manufacturer, for improvemects in wheels of locomotive carriages, — December '6. Peter Fairbutrn, of Leeds, Yorkshire, machinist, and John Hetherington, of Manches- ter, for certain Improvemants in machinery for preparing and spinning cotton, flax, and other fibrous substances. — December .1. Samuel Fisher, of Birmingham, engineer, for improvements in railway carriages, wheels, axles, butfer and draw springs, and hinges for railway carriage and other doors.— Decern, bcr •> Edward Carter, of Merton Abbey, Surrey, machinist, for improvements in printing calico and other fabrics. — December 5. Jonah Davies and George Davies, of the Albion Iron Foundry, Tipton, Staffordshire, engineers and iron founders, for improvements in engines worked by steam, air, water, and other fluids, and whether locomotive, marine, or stationary; and also in boilers, the principle of which improvements is likewise applicable to blowing air and pumping water — December iO. Jean Bapiistie Ecarnot, of France, for improvements in the manufacture of sulphuric, sulphurous, acetic, a:id oxalic acids, and nitrates.— December 10. David Christie, of St. John's phice, Broughton, Salford, Lancaster, merchant, for im- provements in niacliinery for preparing, assorting, straightening, tearing, teasing, doubling, twisting, braiding, and weaving, cotton, wool, and other fibrous substance. (A communication.)- D-jcember 10. John Houghton Christie, of Craven-street, Strand, Esq., for an improved construction of wrought-iron wheels, and machinery for effecting the same. (A communication.) — December iO. Thomas Grimsley, of Oxford, sculptor, for improvements in the manufacture of bricks and tiles. — December 10. The Baron Louis Lo Presti, of Paris, in France, for improvements in hydraulic presses, which arc, in whole or in ])art, applicable to pumps and other like machines. — Decem- ber 10. William Holt, of Preston-place, Bradford, organ builder, for certain improvements in tlie construction of pallets or valves of organ sound-boards or wind charts, the same being applicable to seraphines, eolophous, harmonicums, harmoniums, and all other musical instruments, in which the tone is produced by the admission of wind, supplied by bellows or other machinery, to pipes, reeds, or springs, and played upon by a key-board, or key- boards, and also to various other purposes connected with all the above-named musical instruments. — December 10, John Henry Jenkinson, of Salford, Lancaster, machine-maker, and Thomas Prieatlj*, of Shuttleworth, Lancaster, manager, for certain improvements in machinery or appara- tus to be used for preparing, spinning, ami doubling cotton, wool, fla-\, silk, aud similar fibrous materials. — December 12. William Birkmyie, of Fulbech Cottage, Hampstead, chemist, for improvements in the manufactuie and refining of sugar. — December 12. Robeit Harcourt, of Birmingham, manufacturer, for certain improvements in knobs, handles, and fastenings lor doors and drawers; and in fastenings to be used in fastening window sashes, curtain and other rods, and for other like purposes. — December \eanston, Perth, now residing in Glasgow, for certain improvements in treating the fleeces of sheep when on the animals.— December VJ. William Ackroyd, of Birkenshavv Mills, near Leeds, Yorkshire, for improvements in dressing and cleaning worsted, and worsted mixed with cotton and other fabrics, after they have been woven. (A communication.) — December IS'. Warren De la Rue, of BunhiU-row, Middlesex, manufacturer, for improvements in the manufacture of envelopes, — December, 11'. Frederick Hale Ihomson, of Beruers-street, Oxford-street, and Edward Varnish, of Kensington, Middlesex, for improvements in the manufacture of ink-stands, mustard- pots, and other vessels of glass. — December 19. Hemiy Fox Talbot, ot Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, esquire, and Thomas Augustine Malone, of Regent-street, Middlese.v, photographer, for improvements in photography.— Decemljer 19. Joseph \\ hitworth, of Manchester, engineer, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for cutting metals, and also improvements in machinery or apparatus applica- ble to agricultural or sanitary purposes. — Decenibbir lit Frederick George Spray, and George \\'evell, oi Hampstead-road, engineers, for an im- proved steani-en^'ine; parts of the arrangements of which may be applied to apparatus for regulating, measuring, and registering the flow of liquids and gases.— December 21. ^^^J ■0.- I I a. P^ r I i ^ ^ ^ -^ M N^ 1 1 ^ 1 lHs g j ^ 1 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEKR AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 33 LECTURES ON ARCHITECTURE, By Samuel Clegg, Jon., Esq. Lei'tiire II. Phcenicia. — Assyria. — Persia. — India. {With an Engraving, Plate III.) In the Egyptian bas-reliefs we constantly meet with battle-pieces, where the enemy aa;ainst whom the Egyptians are fighting are represented as on an equality with themselves, as regards civilisa- tion and tlie art of war. These are the Hycsos, the inhabitants of Ludin, names of frequent occurrence on the Egyptian monuments; the former translated by Signor Ilosellini as "strangers and wan- derers," and the latter denoting the west and south of Asia. We have seen that these Hycsos were sufficiently powerful to overcome the Egyptians, and to keep possession of their country for upwards of a century. The principal nations included in Ludin must have been Phcenicia and Assyria; the former of which touched upon the Egyptian frontier at Pelusium. We are told that the Phoenicians were an industrious people; the invention of letters is by some writers ascribed to them; and in commerce and navigation they far excelled the Egyptians, who, like the Indians, had a superstitious awe of the sea, and all who ventured thereon. The Pheenician manufacturers were so celebrated in ancient times, that to whatever was elegant and tasteful in wearing apparel or domestic utensil, the epithet Sidonian was always applied. The most ancient author amongst the Gentiles, of whose writings any fragments have been handed down to us, vvas a Phoe- nician, by name Sanchoniatlio. He claims for his native country the high honour of having given birth to our first parents; and, like all the old liistorians wiio were not particular in separating tradition from fact, evidently places implicit faith in the circum- stances he relates. After enumerating several generations, San- choniatho says: "Then Hypsuranius inhabited Tyre; and he invented the making of huts of reeds and rushes, and of the papyrus." Then follow three more generations, after which lie continues: "Of these were begotten two brothers, who discovered iron and the forging thereof. One of these, called Chrysor, who is the same with Hephoestus, exercised himself in words, and charms, and divinations; and he invented tlie hook, bait, and fish- ing line, and boats slightly built; and he was the first of all men that sailed; wherefore he was worshipped after his death as a god, and called Diamichius.* And it is said his brother invented the way of making walls of brick Afterwards, from this generation were born two youths, one of whom was called Technites, the other Geinus Autochthon. These discovered the method of min- gling stubble with the loam of bricks, and of drying them in the sun; and found out tiling." In the next generation, we are told, courts and fences for houses were invented, and caves or cellars. Then follow many other generations, and in their course the origin of almost all the useful arts is referred to the Phoenicians. From the scanty information we possess relative to the architec- ture of the Phoenicians, we might be led to conclude that this bustling, trading, manufacturing people had not paid as much attention to the arts of architecture and sculpture as their more serious and learned neighbours, the Egyptians. But we are told in one place that the Tyrians were "the first to have advanced the science of architecture to any degree of perfection with regard to proportion, design, and variety of ornament;" and again, that among the Phoenicians not only the Doric order was known, but also a kind of rude Ionic, though with a different entabla- ture. Is it not probable that in the grotto of Beni-Hassan (see engraving in Lecture I., Ecjypt, p. 8), we have a specimen of Phoenician architecture? Tiiese polygonal columns differ so widely from the native Egyptian (those in the form of a bundle of reeds), and though the form is again repeated in a second grotto at Beni-Hassan, and at Kalapsche, there is no reason why they may not have been equally imitations. The columns of the principal grotto at Beni-Hassan are pure, primitive Doric, and the dentel on the architrave has been found (as far as I have been able to ascertain) nowhere else in Egypt. We have no means of knowing in what style the more ancient buildings of This and Memphis may have ijeen constructed; but as the sacred architec- ture was under the control of the priests, and as the most ancient was always held in the highest veneration, we have no reason to suppose that it differed from that of Karnac and Luxor, where no vestige of Doric appears, though the former temple was commenced * The name " Hepliceslus" occurs in the list Maaetbo gives of kings in Egppt. No. 149.— Vol. XUI.— February, 1850. about the same time as the grotto of Beni-Hassan (1600 B.C.) We learn from the inscription that Nahride Nevothph was a general — is it not probable that in some incursion into Phoenicia, he had seen and been struck with the Doric architecture, and had imitated it in his tomb? which, no doubt, for so eminent a man, had been prepared during his lifetime. It is strange that of a country so flourishing, and from which such numerous colonies were sent out, we should have no more exact information: even of its greatest daughter, Carthage, once the proud rival of Rome, there is now scarcely one stone left upon another, to tell what has been. In the sacred writings we have an account of Hiram, king of Tyre, exchanging gifts with King Solomon: it seems they were both great bviilders. We find these monarchs mentioned, also, in a fragment of 'Dins' (Tyrian annals); but there, instead of being instructed in the style of King Hiram's building, we find those great potentates amusing themselves with setting each other rid- dles, and playing at forfeits. The anecdote runs thus: "Upon the death of Abibalus. his son, Hiromus (or Hiram), succeeded to the kingdom. He raised the eastern parts of the city, and enlarged it; and joined to it the temple of Jupiter Olympius, which stood before on an island, by filling up the intermediate space; and ha adorned that temple with donations of gold. And he went up into Libanus (Lebanon), to cut timber for the construction of the temples And it is said that Solomon, king of Jerusalem, sent enigmas to Hiromus, and desired others in return, with a proposal that whichsoever of the two was unable to solve them, should for- feit money to tlie other. Hiromus agreed to the proposal, but was unable to solve the enigmas, and paid a large sum as forfeit And it is said that one Abdemonus, a Tyrian, solved the enigmas, and proposed others which Solomon was not able to unriddle, for which he repaid the fine to Hiromus." It is worthy of remark, that mention is here made of a temple of Jupiter Olympius, in Tyre, about 1012 b.c; the first authentic record of any temple erected in Greece being some centuries later. The inhabitants of vEgina, indeed, claim .Silacus, son of Jupiter, as the founder of their temple of Jupiter Panhellenius; but it is needless to observe that such legends are worthy of little credit. We now proceeed eastward to Assyria, whose sovereigns styled themselves "king of kings," as an assertion of their power and greatness. Until the present day, the Assyrians were even more enveloped in mystery than the Phcenicians; but by the talents and energies of Mr. Layard much has been revealed to us. All honour to him, and such as he is! Tiiere is a child's story, where a magi- cian, by waving a wand before a mirror, brings over its magic surface the images of people and things belonging to long past .iges, — nor is the story altogether a fable: it is our historians and antiquarians who ai'e the true necromancers, bringing to our view scenes, and even the likenesses of those whose very existence had passed into the twilight of legendary times. We need not leave London to see Nimrod, "the mighty hunter," face to face; and to make ourselves as familiar with the eunuchs and ministers of the Assyrian court, as Holbein has made us with Henry VIII. and Cardinal Wolsey. According to an ancient tradition, a civilised people possessed the country when Ninus founded the Assyrian empire; and having conquered this people, he attempted to destroy their works. We have no certain date of the reign of Ninus, but there is no reason to suppose the Assyrian empire less ancient than the Egyptian. Berossus, the Chaldean historian, a priest of Belus, who wrote in the time of Alexander the Great, describes Babylonia as a countiy which lay between the Tigris and Euphrates: "It abounded with wheat and barley There were also palm trees, and apples and most kinds of fruits; fish, too, and birds At Babylon there was (in these times) a great resort of people of various nations, who inhabited Chaldea, and lived without rule and order, like the beasts of the fields." He then goes on to de- scribe how an animal, part man and part fish, came up from the Erythraeum sea, which bordered upon Babylonia, and "taught them to construct houses, to found temples, to compile laws, and explained to them the principles of geometrical knowledge; he made them distinguish the seeds of the earth, and showed them how to collect fruits: in short, he instructed them in everything which could tend to soften manners, and humanise mankind." The ruins of Babylon and Nineveh now present to the eye of the traveller, only vast mounds of earth; nor were there many more striking remains of the latter great city when Xenophon passed by with his "ten thousand," twenty-two centuries ago. To quote from Mr. Layard: "The graceful column, rising above the thick foliage of the myrtle, ilex, and oleander; the gradines of the amphitheatre, covering a gentle slope, and overlooking the dark blue waters of a 34 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [Febbuaby, like like b.iv the richly-carved cornice or capital half hidden by tl.t luvuriat t'herha'e- are replaced by the stern, shapeless mound, i^ri k " ' 11 f-- the scorched plain,-the fragment, ,, po tery, and the stupendous mass of brickwork, "'^X " i U>e uin 1 e by the winter rains The scene around '« ^^hy oi he rum he iscontemnlating- desolation meets desolation,— a teeling V' f "f ucceeds tSer; for there is nothing to -l-ve the n,„d^^^ lead to hone, or to tell of what has gone by. -^ \'f , "^"'i"!'"",^ brines forcibly to mind the words of prophecy: "And he will stretch out h s hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and wlfmake Nineveh a desolation, and dry !*« f -f.^^J.^of the flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts ot tne nations both the cormorant and the bittern sha 1 lodge m the npper intels of it; their voice shaU sing in the -'""i^^; /^-^^ tion shall be in the thresholds: for he shall ""'^^f'-.^.^.^^^^f^^ work This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is n^ne beside me: how is she become a ''^':X^:':i^^'>^^^ ^ ^triking contrast to that oVthe £-ptTans; nor, in'taking the soil and « t-t .^^o consideration,'-are we at a loss to account for the difference Nineveh, Babylon, Risen, and other great cities, had no doubt beln founded on\he' banks 'of the Euphrates and Tigris fo^ the sake of the easy transit afforded by the rivers, ^/ J'^l^/^ {°^ ^^j^ great fertility caused by the abundant supply of water. Assyiia ^cupied a vaL plain, boLded on the north and ^a^t by the moun tains of Armenia and Khurdistan; and on the west by the Arabian desel-t Stone,of a serviceable k-d, could only be brougU from the distant mountains by an Intense expenditure of t.n^e and labour, and was consequently only employed on statues, obelisks &c ■ Lnd wood appears also to have been scarce, for Berossus, then enlerating'p'alm, apple, and different kinds ofriu, makes no mention of timber trees; nor have t>'e present inhabitants of the country any other than the palm and the poplar. Cedar was doubtless imported from Phoenicia, but nuist have been too va uable ?o use as a common building material The Assy.ans^w-ere, there- fore, wholly confined to the use ol brick, and the native coarse alabaster, which could only be used for cutting '"to slabs: this want of stone accounts for the total absence of fragments of columns, generally so abundant amongst ancient ruins, btrabo tells us thiy constructed columns of palm trees, round which, by way of ornament, thev twisted bulrushes painted in various co- lours. These are probably the kind of columns represented on their sculptures; but of such frail materials all vestiges would naturally soon pass away. „+;„„. The walls of Babylon have been a fertile source of exaggeration, but aUowing for this, they must have been extraordinary works, and to the dweUers in the open plain they formed the only means of defence. According to Diodorus Siculus, there was sufficient space within the outer walls of Babylon not only for gardens and orchards, hut to cultivate corn enough for the subsistence ot the whole population, in case of siege: each city had also a citadel, and a ditch 'round the walls. The citadel was the holy place where the palace-temple stood, where the treasures were kept and where were preserved the records of the kingdom, carved in stone; it was also the place of refuge in time of danger This sacred ground was elevated above the other buildings, both to give d g- nity to the palace-temple and strength to the citadel. In these plains, where no natural eminence was at hand, a. regular plat- form of crude brick was constructed, 30 or 40 feet in height: the custom of building on elevated ground still exists and many ot the ancient mounds are occupied by a modern citadel. It was to defend this sacred inclosure that those huge walls were bu. t so often celebrated by ancient authors. Herodotus speaks oi the walls of Babylon as 300 feet in height, and about Jo feet in thick- ness- and, according to Diodorus, the walls of Nineveh were 100 feet in height, and so broad that three chariots might be driven abreast upon them; 1500 towers were built at intervals along the walls, each 200 feet in height. AVhether these dimen- sions be correct or not, it is certain that the fortihcation must have been of prodigious strength, as, in the reign of Sardanapalus, Nineveh was only subdued by the combined forces of the I ersians and Babylonians, after a siege of nearly three years At certain distances in the wall were the gates, either flanked by towers, or ornamented at the entrance by gigantic figures, such as the winged hull The exterior of the wall was frequently cased with square slabs, most probably of the native alabaster, and was decorated with 'paintings. Eztkiel speaks of these P'^^^tings: "For when she saw men pourtraved upon the walls, the images of the Chaldean, pourtrayed with' vermilion; girded with girdles upon their loins, exceedin.^ in dved attire upon their heads." Diodorus says that on ™outskle of- the principal palace of Babylon, bin t by Queen Semiramis, figures of men and animals were painted; and th.t tirpaint was laid on the bricks before they were phiced in the furra e. Some enamelled bricks have been found at N^niroud, on which the colours appear to have been thickly laid in a liquid state, "tf "rrrchitSrl^of the palaces of Babylon we have no account- hut we mav suppose it to have resembled the s yle of those structures discovered by Mr. Layard. Straho has left us an account of the temple of Belus; by whose description it would seem to have been a pyramidal tower, of eight stories, with a vi'^ding staircase on the outside from the base to the summit, the i"hest^story containing an observatory, fitted up for astronomical ur noses ive are told also of quays, of beautiful workmanship, purposes " « ar i ^^ ^^.j^. ^ ggn.iramis : rth\1.™esfpart of t'he Euphrates, "founded with wonder ful skm- in the bed of the river, supported by columns 12 feet auirt In order that the stones of which the bridge was composed s Cld be firmly united, they were bound together by cramps of "ron run with lead and to break the force of the water iron, run ,i' ,ina- masses of masonry were built up ^l^in them eroadtro? the bridge was formed with beams of cedar and cypress, and was 30 feet in breadth. Dams were a so constructed across the river, to secure a constant supply of water t^the numeious canals, which spread over the country like net- work! and were known'to have been the work of an ancient people in tbp time of Alexander the Great. I fear the preceding descriptions must he taken as somewhat apociTphal,Vhen we consider 'for how many centuries the mighty cftks of Assyria have lain a heap of ruins; according to Mr. Lavard however, the Arabs state that when the river runs low, S st'one^runited by cramps of iron, become visible, which they assert to have been the work of Nimroud. It is not probable that any judgment can now be formed of the exterfor arch7tecture of Nineveh, so completely are the buildings buried in heaps of earth and rubbish; and it was only by laborious excavations that Mr. Layard gained an entrance into the interior of one of the great palaces. It is most probable they were flat- roofed, fnd did'not rl above the height of o-f ory The .val s of the chambers were constructed of ^'^"-'^"f ,^"f^'f' ^^^^t"^ from 5 feet to 15 feet in thickness; from 9 feet to 12 teet or tne height of this wall was panelled with slabs of the coarse alabaster or gypsum, with which the plains of Mesopotamia abound.- The slab we?e fixed in their place by wooden or metal cramps dove- fatdinto corresponding grooves in tlie.adjon.ng slabs Af wall was formed, the bas-reliefs and inscriptions were cniseiie(i out IhTs s evide'nt from the manner in which the sculptures and ornLme It are continued from one slab to another. The wall above thk Alabaster panelling was formed either of richly-coloured baked hrcksorof sun-dried bricks covered with a coat of plaster, and variously decorated and painted. Here, several ornaments now feniUar to us through Greek art, appear to have ongmated- "gst others, the guiUoche and the device know as the G^eek 1 i.in ni. nnlnipttp Assvriau art miluencea inat oi j\iui Srand%"artrnsm\tte''/To the Greeks who knew so well how to harmonise and beautify every idea they borrowed tha what tbPV m-oduced from the crude conceptions of other nations was hkl te pel fectly developed flower compared with the just opening bud The roof in Assyrian buildings was formed of beams of wood; ouu. lae juui i hranrhes of palm were laid across them, Tnd u'^X'le' plas red orero.nhe oStside The disproportionate C'rot'nrss^of ?he chambers .vould -m to forbid the lea of inte. narrowness of the chambers wouiu ''«"",^",,'rr^ :„„,:" though vinr sunuort by means of columns; one hall of the palace, tnougn 160 feet' n length, is only 35 feet in breadth. In the wider halls, it is probab e that t le centre was open to the air; indeed, it is to be nresumed that all the chambers were lighted through an opening Fn the 1 oof unless artificially illuminated, for there are no traces of windows'- and drains are found leading from each chamber, as if fi.r the purpose of carrying off the rain that might have fallen from Zle 'in' the open halls it is conjectured that a projecting ledge mav have been ca'^^ried round the walls, sufliciently wide to afford Se =:.Krshelter,-and here, f °bably, the pal„^ colunins -en- "^^ ':>;^tviS^r '^qJi^re^'^ompr;^. ^^ of;^^ith nahited flower^ or figures oi" animals, a'lid surrounded by elegant ITiet anrmo'uldinrgs: in some instances, the compartments w ere ^"^rtla^Ss^^i^^^^^il:^^ inscribed alabaster sl^ or bated briX; at the threshold of each chamber, beneath the 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 25 pavement, a small image was deposited, intended as a protection to the hoiiseliold. The entrance was guarded on either side by human-headed hulls, or sphinxes; the former were from 10 feet to 16 feet in height. The Assyrian sphinx was winged— thus adding the idea of uhiiiuity to that of physical and intellectual povyer; they oecui)ied the same position here as in Egypt, and were in a like manner a type of the governing power. Assyriaa Sphinx. The colours used by the Assyrians were the same as those em- ployed in Egypt — copperas blue, red and yellow ochres, lamp- black, and calcined gypsum. There is no doubt that they were skilful workmen, and well acquainted with the use of metals. Of their skill in carving stone, we have only to examine the human head of the bull, and the small black obelisk, now in the British Museum, fully to satisfy ourselves. I shall close this account of Assyria with another extract from Berossus, relating to Nebuchodonasor. He says: "Nebuchodona- sor ordered the captives [Jews, Syrians, and Egyptians] to be distributed in colonies in the most proper places of Babylonia; and adorned the temple of Belus, and the other temples, in a sumptuous and pious manner, out of the spoils he had taken in this war. He also rebuilt the old city, and added another to it on the outside; and so far restored Babylon, that none who should besiege it afterwards might have it in their power to divert the river, so as to facilitate an entrance into it: and this he did by building three walls about the inner city, and three about the outer. Some of these walls he built of burnt brick and bitumen, and some of brick only When he had thus admirably fortified the city with walls, and had magnificently adorned the gates, he added also a new palace to those in which his forefathers had dwelt; adjoining them, but exceeding them in height and in its great splendour. It would, perhaps, require too long a narration, if any one were to describe it: however, as prodigiously large and magnificent as it was, it was finished in fifteen days. In this palace he erected very high walls, supported by stone pillars; and by planting what was called a pensile paradise, and re[)lenishing it with all sorts of trees, he rendered the prospect an exact resem- blance of a mountainous country. This he did to please his queen, because she had been brought up in Medea, and was fond of a mountainous situation." This account places Nebuchodonasor before us in an amiable and poetical light, building up mimic mountains for his young Medean bride, to woo her into forgetful- ness of her exile: for we can imagine her pining in the wide plains of Babylonia, being, as Berossus says, "fond of a mountainous situation." Nineveh was destroyed by the united arms of Cyaxares, king of Persia, and Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, 606 B.C.; and Babylon shared the same fate in the following century, 538 B.C. The ancient Persians do not appear to have been so learned or cultivated a people as the Egyptians and Assyrians, and evidently borrowed much of their architecture from their more civilised adversaries. When Cambyses conquered Egypt (52+ b.c), he not only carried away rich spoils and many works of art, but also skilful artificers; and it is evident that 'Cyaxares and Cyrus were not more scrupulous with regard to the Assyrians. We may form some idea of the appropriating propensities of the Persians, when we read that Ptolemy Euergetes, when he invaded the Persian dominions, brouglit back 2500 statues and other Egyptian works of art. According to the most ancient native authorities, Persia dates as a kingdom from a very remote period, and was governed bv a race of kings called the Pai'shdadian, or distributors of justice; the most celebrated amongst these was the renowned Jemsheed, as familiar a name in ancient Persian history as that of Shah Abbas in more modern times. Persepolis is said to have been founded by this race of kings, and hence its native name is Tackt-i-Jemsheed, or the throne of Jemsheed. The only other ancient Persian cities of which any tradition or ruins exist, are Ecbatana (the ancient capital of Medea), Susa, and Pasargadoe, the royal city of Cyrus. We have the same extravagant accounts of the walls of Persian as of the Assyrian cities. According to Herodotus, Ecbatana was surrounded by seven walls, each one rising above the other towards the citadel, and each painted a different colour; and the walls of Susa are described as above 120 stadia (15 miles) in circumference. After the kingdoms of Persia and Medea were united under Cyrus (550 B.C.), Ecbatana was the summer, and Susa the winter residence of the monarch, on account of the warmer climate of the latter city. The royal treasures were kept at Susa, and the palace is described as having been built of white marble, and its pillars covered with gold and precious stones; indeed, the Persians, though at first hardy and simple in their habits, appear soon after their union with' the more luxurious Medes, to have imbibed that taste for gorgeous colouring, and elaborate ornament, that distinguishes the Persian architecture at the present day. The remains of Persepolis, Ecbatana, and Pasargadoe, are suf- ficient to show that the same style of architecture prevailed throughout the Persian kingdom, and how nearly it resembles, in some respects, Egyptian architecture, and in others that of Assy- ria. Quintus Curtins speaks of Persepolis as "the glory of the East," and says that no other city existed that could be compared with it. Diodorus Siculus says, "A triple vvall encircled the palace. The first wall was 16 coudes in height, defended by parapets, and flanked with towers; the second wall was in form like the first, but twice its elevation The third wall was a square, and cut in the mountain, being 60 coudes in height. It was defended by pali- sadoes of copper, and had doors of the same, of 20 coudes high The first wall was to inspire awe, the second for strength, and the last for the defence of the palace." The principal ruin now re- maining of Persepolis is called the Palace of Forty Pillars: the first object that attracts the eye is a large and high square plat- form, which is divided into 'three parts, each raised above the other. The stones of which this platform is constructed are of enormous size, some as much as 52 feet in length; and most of them from 30 to 40 feet in length, and from 4 feet to 6 feet in height; they are carefully hewn, and most of them polished; and so admirably fitted, that even after this lapse of time the joinings are almost imperceptible. The communication from one part of the platform to another is by means of a staircase, so wide that ten horses might ascend it abreast. The columns and fragments around would appear to have formed a vast portico; four pilasters remain, each 4 feet in thickness, and from 24 feet to 25 feet in height, probably forming the entrance, as on these are carved the human-headed bull, precisely similar to those found at Nineveh. Sir John Chardin speaks of thirteen columns as standing when he visited Persepolis, two hundred years ago, but several have since fallen; the columns are of white marble, with fluted shafts of slen- der proportions. The Persian capitals occupied a great proportion of the height of the column, and were of singular form— some being ornamented with rows of small volutes, something like the curls of an old-fashioned bag-wig, while others were surmounted by busts of the unicorn-bull: the bull being sacred to the worship of Mithra, it may be presumed that the columns with this form of capital were part of some religious structure. There are several niches yet standing, that no doubt formed part of the wall of the building: such niches are frequently seen in Persia at the present day, and are occupied by vases of flowers or plants. 'What makes these niches at Persepolis worthy of remark is, that they are finished with the bead-and-cavetto moulding, precisely similar to the doorways in Egypt. Another interesting part of the ruin is a terrace, on 'which are carved two ranges of bas-reliefs, representing a procession; the figures are a little less than 4 feet in height, and bear a remarkable resemblance to the Assyrian sculptures.— 1 erse- 6* 36 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Febbvaby, £olis was destroyed by Alexander the Great, after the defeat of •ariiis (331 B.C.) It would appear singular, at the first glance, that while Egypt and India abound in ruins of sacred buildings, a great and wealthy nation lil~j.'^7<- :'?^'i\> .55JF-- .ijij^il'-,- '-:, ,.,^.-:^ Nakshi Roustam. The Mithratic worship, though apparently at some remote era extending over almost all the then known world, lost its simplicity, and gave place to idolatry much sooner in some countries than in others; thus, while in Persia it was retained for many centuries, in Egypt and India it was soon confounded amongst other creeds, though never wholly disappearing: in India, therefore, temjiles exist from as early a period as in Egypt. It has been a sulycct of frequent discussion, which country can lay claim to tlie greatest antiquity, and whether (some resemblance being found in the arts and architecture of tlie two countries) one was derived from the other, or whether both may be esteemed coeval and original. I incline to the latter opinion. It does not appear that any resem- blance exists tliat may not be accounted for by similarity of clim- ate, and a common Asiatic origin. The palm and lotus are repre- sented in the ornaments of both countries, because the palm and lotus fiourisli on the banks and in the waters of the Ganges, as well as of the Nile. The same gigantic proportions were aspired to l)y all the nations of antiquity; and we are equally struck with ihe magnitude of the ruins at Persepolis and in Central America, as with tlie temples of Egypt and the pagodas of India. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, 37 But if we notice points of resemblance, we must also notice striking marks of dissimilarity — for instance, the Egyptians always made ornament subservient to a meaning, and never allowed it to interfere with the grandeur of the outline: the Hindoos, on the contrary, sacrificed purity of outline to the elaborate ornament with which their pagodas are overloaded. In Egypt, the temples were of one simple angular form; and the peculiar worship to which they were dedicated, whether of Osiris, Amun, or Athor, was taught by the sculptures and hieroglyphics on the walls: in India, the whole exterior form of the temple was made to bear a certain significance; thus a corrupted form of Mithratic worship gave the circular dome, which in the interior was to represent the holy concave of the heavens, and was sprinkled with stars on an azure ground, or decorated with a sculptured zodiac; other pago- das took the more ancient pyramidal form, and some the two com- bined, showing a pyramid terminated by a cupola or globe; other Hindoo Temple at Deo, in Bahar, Indian temples assumed, from the theology of their builders, the oval form of the mundane egg; and others, again, a square or cross symbolical of the four elements and four cardinal points. 1 he Egyptians, though avoiding all expression of human action or passion m their statues, never gave them those additional heads and limhs that deform Hindoo sculpture: while in some of the Indian bas-reliefs there is an idea of grouping and graceful attitude, not seen amongst the Egyptians. The term "pagoda" applied to Indian and Chinese temples is derived from the Persian words pout, an idol, and ghmhi, a temple. Ihe exterior of the pagodas are generally covered with figures of Indian deities or animals, sculptured \vith great spirit; and the lotty walls and ceiling of the interior are profusely adorned with rich painting and gilding: daylight is only admitted by the soli- tary entrance-door, but they are illuminated by ever-burning lamps suspended from the roof. The banks of the Ganges, Kistna; or other sacred rivers is, when possible, selected for the site of the great temples, m order that the worsliippers may have the benefit ot ali]uti(ui in the holy stream: when the pagodas are at a distance trom the river, a large quadrangular tank or reservoir is con- structed in front, lined with freestone or marble, and having a f ^ o"i„ 1"^ descending from the margin; many of tlie tanks are trom 300 to 400 feet in breadth. The entrance to all the principal pagodas is formed by a portico with lofty columns, and ascended by a flight of stone steps, sometimes, as in that of Tripelli, to the number of one hundred. The gate is always fronting the east. 1 he interior is divided into three parts, which may be compared to a centre and two side aisles; at the further end is the sanctuary, surrounded by a stone balustrade to keep ofl' the populace. The pagoda of Santidus, in Guzzerat, is described by Tavernier as in- cluding three courts, paved with marble, and surrounded by por- ticoes supported by marble columns, and decorated with female figures sculptured in the same material. Into the inner court no one was allowed to enter without taking off his sandals. The ceil- ings and walls of the interior of the pagoda are adorned with mosaic work and variously coloured agates. The courts of the temple of Seringham, measured round the outer wall, are nearly four miles in circumference, and are entered through immense pyramidal gateways on each of the four sides. The pyramidal gateways leading to the magnificent pagoda of Chillambrun, on the coast of Coromandel, exceed 120 feet in height. The Choultry, or hall, in some cases is of enormous size, having 100 columns in length and 10 in width, or 1,000 columns in all: they are popu- larly called "halls of a thousand columns;" and this is usually lite- rally true. AVhen it is remembered that each of these columns is ornamentally carved from capital to base, that these carvings are usually all different in design, and that the material used is gra- nite, it must be admitted that they are wonderful works. The excavated temples of Hindostan have afforded a fertile theme for argument,— some authors taking their remote antiquity for granted, while others deny their existence beyond the invasion of the Saracens. Lieut. Fergusson upholds the latter opinion, prin- cipally on account of the frequent use of the arch. Now, the vault being a sacred form, a section of it may have been adopted in ancient times, and thus account for the semicircular arch so con- stantly found in these rock-cut temples; yet we must allow that when the ogee arch also appears, it affords conclusive evidence of their more recent date, as it is well known that this form was first employed by the followers of Jlahomet. The remote antiquity of the excavations in India, as in Egypt, is objected to because most of them are imitations of structural models. Lieut. Fergusson says, that the Brahminieal caves are always imitations, thougli those of the Buddhists are generally simple excavations. A mistake may have arisen from treating these rock-cut temples as if ex- cavated at one period, when it is probable they were the work of successive centuries; for it is known that the Buddhists were the earliest cave-diggers, and that they made use of natural caverns, which they improved by art. The most simple excavations con- sist of a square cell with a porch; but frequently in the monastery eaves, the verandha or porch opens into a square hall, three sides of which are occupied by cells — the hall being sometimes so large as to require the support of pillars; in a deep recess of it, facing the entrance, is placed a statue of Buddha: thus tlie cave is a place of worsliip as well as an abode for the priests. The Brahminieal caves have generally a temple attached, which consists of an ex- ternal porch, an internal gallery over the entrance, and a centre aisle twice the length of its breadt'i, having a vaulted roof, ter- minating in a semi-dome, under which stands a dagopa; a narrow aisle surrounds the whole interior, separated from the centre by a range of massive columns. This side aisle is generally flat-roofed, though sometimes in earlier examples covered by a semi-vault. Kxcavaled Temii Generally speaking, all those parts which would be ot wood in structural buildings, are of wood in the caves; when this is not llie case the same forms are presened, though carved in the rock. 'J'he cave-temples are usually lighted by a lartre ajierture over the en- trance, having the striking effect of throuiug the full blaze of light upon the idol, while the rest of the cavern remains in com- 38 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [Febbvaby, ])arative fjlnom. There are numerous groups of excavations tlirouyliout India, at Elephanta, Salsette, EUora, and elsewhere. Lindschotten describes the caves of Salsette as so many separate ran!;es of apartments, rising in succession to four galleries or stories, containing as many as 300 cliambers. The caves of EUora, near Aurungabad, are amongst the most interesting — and the mas- sive columns, with tlie cushion capital, the best specimens of this style. Some of the "ruths," or monolithic shrines, are cut out of isolated bloclis of granite; others have the rock out of which they were cut so close round them, that they stand as it were in a pit, and are consequently imperfectly seen. Sometimes the excavated caves and monolithic slirines form a group, the latter being gene- rally of a pyramidal form. Oude is said to have been the first imperial city of Hindostan. Sir Wm. Jones says, " that if we may believe the Brahmins, it extended over a line of about 10 miles, and the present city of Luclinow was only a lodge for one of its gates." According to the ' Maliabbarat' (an Indian historical poem), Oude continued to be the chief city, until the erection of Canouge on the Ganges, about lOOO B.C.; at which time idolatry was introduced, idols set up, and Canouge adorned with numerous royal and sacred edifices. Tlie regular empire of India may be said to have fallen with ('i'.llian Chund, who reigned over Hindostan about 170 B.C. I'alibothra was the ancient city of which Strabo asserts that it was situated at the conflux of another river with the Ganges ; that its figure was quadrangular; that in length it was 80 stadia, and 15 in liieadth; and that it liad a fortification of wood, with turrets for the archers to shoot from; and that it was surrounded by a vast ditch. Delhi was founded about 300 b. c. This city is described by the Persian historian Sherifeddin as consisting of three cities, Seiri, Gehampenah, and old Delhi or Inderput. Seiri and old Delhi were encircled by a wall; Gehampenah occupied the space between the two former, and was considerably larger than either; the walls by which it was fortified ran in parallel lines on each side, and connected Seiri and old Delhi. This threefold city spread over a vast extent of ground; according to Sheriffedin, it had thirty (others say fifty) gates: he informs us also that it was celebrated for a magnificent palace, erected by an ancient king of India, and adorned with one thousand marble columns. This noble city was destroyed by Timur, but rose again under his suc- cessors; when Agra was also founded, and strongly fortified. The most wonderful amongst these monoliths or excavations is Kylas, or Paradise, near Aurungabad; this ]iresents the appear- ance of an assemblage of temples, shrines, and columns, of various dimensions, — the wliole loaded with minute and fanciful ornament that baffles description. The portico of one of the largest of the temples is supported by colossal elephants, and the front is entirely covered w itli figures of idols, animals, and ai-abesques, in infinite variety. For an idea of this marvellous excavation, I must refer the student to the beautiful and elaborate drawing of Lieut. Fer- gusson, in his work entitled, 'Illustrations of the Rock-cut Tem- ples of India.' The rules and principles of architecture, like those of most other sciences in India, have been locked up in the Sanscrit language; and every attempt made by the workmen to diffuse the knowledge they verbally received, was considered an encroachment upon the rights and privileges of the higher orders. Some interesting translations have, however, been given by Ram Raz, himself a Hindoo. The Sanscrit writings commence with various aphorisms, such as: "An architect should be conversant in all sciences; ever attentive to his avocations; of an unblemished character; gene- rous, sincere, and devoid of enmity or jealousy Woe to them who dwell in a house not built according to the proportions of symmetry. In building an edifice, therefore, let all its parts, from tlie basement to tlie roof, be duly considered." Tlien follow rules for choosing the ground: "The best sort of ground," says the San- scrit author, "should abound with milky trees, full of fruits and flowers; its boundary should be of a quadrangular form, level and smooth, with a sloping declivity towards the east; producing a hard sound; with a stream running from left to right; of an agreeable odour; fertile; of an uniform colour; containing a great (juantity of soil; producing water wlien dug to the height of a man's arm raised above his head; and situated in a climate of moderate tem- jierature." The ground to be avoided is, "That which has the form of a circle; a semicircle; containing three, five, or six angles; re- sembling a trident, or a winnow; shaped like tlie hinder part of a fish, or the back of an elephant; or a turtle, or the face of a cow, and the like. Abounding with human skulls, stones, worms, ant- hills, hones, slimy earth, decayed woods, dilapidated walls, sub- terraneous pits, fragments of tiles, limestones, ashes, husks of corn; or exposed to the wafted eflluvia of curds, oil, honey, dead bodies, fishes, &c. Such a spot should be avoided on every ac- count." Then follow rules for ascertaining the solidity of the ground, and for various ceremonies, which so nearly resemble those practised at the founding of Rome, and conse1 CO (°) (pi M t°) (Pi (el ig) (M'M/)!M^-i ))e1)Q:>)o.))o))g>:')e'))^')) 31) o))&a s)) 3-1)^1)3^) a)) g>^) a)) s))e7^ jyjiiiyiyy;U)yiimMiiM]iMJ^^ regard to the proportion of the column. The profile of the enta- blature changes little, but the pedestals and bases offer a great variety of outline and ornament. Occasionally, in temples and porticoes, figures of men or animals are carved in bold relief on the sides of pillars or pUasters. The pedestal is frequently em- ployed over cornices, where the edifice consists of several stories, and also as a support for thrones and statues: in the latter situa- tion, great skill has been displayed in their decoration, — nor would they disgrace any period of art in richness of ornament and beauty of proportion. The Engraving, Plate III., shows four of the In- dian columns, and a fifth with a lion sujipoi'ter. The Hindoos make use of two sorts of cement, or "chunani;" in the interior of the country, it is prepared from a gravelly sort of limestone mixed with sand; and along the coast, from the shells washed out of the salt water marshes — the shell "chunam" is pre- ferred— also mixed with sand; and is mixed with "jaggery-water," a solution of molasses or coarse sugar, the use of which seems to have prevailed from the earliest ages. There is another kind of chunam (not mentioned by Ram Raz), prepared from calcined shells, without any admixture of sand or other foreign matter, and used as plaster; it is tempered with as little water as possible, antl well worked-up; when yet moist, it is rubbed, and is susceptible of a high polish. I shall conclude this lecture with the description of an ancient Indian city, as given in tlie 'Ramayana': — "On the banks of the Saraya is a vast, fertile, and delightful country, called Cosala, abounding in corn and wealth In that country is a city, called 18 JO.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 39 Ayodhya, greatly famed in this world, and built by Mann himself, the 'lord of men' This great and ])rosperous city was twelve yojanas (nine miles) in length, and three yojanas in breadth, and stored with all conveniences. The streets and lanes were admir- ably disposed, and the high roads were well sprinkled with water. It was adorned with arched gateways, and beautiful ranges of shops; it was fortified with numerous defences and warlike ma- chines, and inhabited by all sorts of skilful artists It was beautiful witli gardens and groves of mango trees, and inclosed with high walls It was surrounded by impassable ditches, and secured by fortifications difficult of assault by foreign kings It was ornamented with palaces of exquisite workmanship, lofty as mountains, and enriched with jewels; abounding with beautiful houses consisting of several stories; and it shone like Indra's Heaven Its aspect had an enchanting effect; and the whole city was diversified with various colours, and decorated with re- gular avenues of sweet-scented trees It was tilled with build- ings erected close to one another, and without intermediate voids; and situated on a smooth, level ground This city truly sur- passed any that was ever beheld on earth." LIST OF AUTHORITIES. Cory*B Fragments.— Canina, Architettura Antlca. — Layard'8 Nineveh.— Sir Robert Ker Porter's Travels. — Sir John Chardiiie's Travels. — Maurice's Indian Antiquities — Haoi Rdz. Architecture of the Hindoos.— Fergusaon's Rock-cut Temples of India.— Daniel's Oriental Autiquitiea, ARCHITECTURE OF SOUTHERN INDIA. Oil the Architecture of Southern India. By James Fergusson, Esq., Architect. — (Paper read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, January 7th.) Those who heard me on a former occasion may recollect that I pointed out, and strongly insisted on the fact, of India being occu- pied by two distinct and separate races: one of these aboriginal, occupying exclusively at the present day the southern extremity of the peninsula, and extending to and across the valley of the Gan- ges; but there only as an underlying stratum to a second race. These latter, commonly called the Indo-Germanic or Sanscrit race, came across the Indus from the north-west, and gradually displaced tlie aboriginal native tribes in the valleys of the Indus and Ganges (except to the extent above pointed out); in these countries they are, and, as far as our histories extend, they always were, the dominant classes. All we know of the literature or history of the country is owing to their superior energy and intellectual de- velopment. The Southern or Tamul races never, apparently, had a litera- ture of their own; most of their dialects are quite uncultivated, and so deficient are their literary records that we know almost nothing of their history or of their intellectual culture. Not- withstanding however this literary and historical poverty, the in- habitants of the south were far more daring and extensive builders than those of the north; and indeed I do not know of any region on the surface of the globe, that can boast of the same number of temples, covering so much ground, and showing such an infinity of labour bestowed on their details; and as such, they certainly de- serve to be known and studied. The principal buildings in the south of India are of course temples, as is the case in most countries, and is always the case in half civilisetl ones. In this region the temples consist principally of two parts; one of which, called the Fiiiiaaa, is the temple pro- per— the other, or Gopura, is the gateway. There are besides, halls of various dimensions, and walls surrounding the various courts, which I wUl speak of afterwards. But to begin with the vimana — this consists in all instances of a square basement, of one or two stories in height, ornamented with pilasters, between which are niches containing statues of the gods; within the basement is a square or rather cubical apartment or cella, the sanctum of the temple, in which the principal image of the god is placed. This basement is always built of stone — in the extreme south, an old red sandstone; a little further north, of compact limestone; but over the greater part of the country of a fine close-grained gra- nite. Above the basement rises a pyramidal building, composed of brickwork covered with the fine durable cement of the coun- try, which retains its sharp edge even after the wear and tear of nearly a thousand years. This pyramid consists of one, two, three, four, or more stories, up to twelve or fourteen, according to tlie dimensions or importance of the building, and is always surmounted by a circular dome-like termination. Each story of the building is ornamented by alternate long and short miniature temples or shrines — alternate' vimanas and gopuras in short— each smaller one with at least one image before it, the larger oneii with three, or often with groups of a greater number of figures. These smaller shrines, however, though they relieve and vary the surface of the pyramid, are never so important as to break the general outline, which always retains that of a straight-lined pyramid. The gopura is in every respect identical with the vimana, ex- cept that its plan instead of being an exact square is always ob- long, generally in the ratio of three to two, so as to admit of its being pierced by the great doorway which always traverses its lesser diameter. The change in the form of the base also neces- sitates a change in that of tlie crowning member, which instead ot being circular is elongated into a sort of wagon roof, difficult to describe, but easily understood from the drawings. In the mode of decorating it, either architecturally or with sculpture, it is identical with the vimana. To the vimana is generally attached a porch (or Mantapa) ; frequently this is only a repetition of the basement of the temple, but with a low roof instead of the high pyramidal one of the temple; frequently, however, the porch is open and columnar; in small temples of merely two or four pillars supporting a flat roof, but frequently of thirty or forty pillars, arranged as shown in the diagrams, in a manner which displays the principal peculiarities of the style. Generally speaking the columns are square in plan, changing into octagons and circles, or figures with sixteen sides, according to the rules of Hindoo art, and sculptured from tlie basement to the bracket capital, which always forms the upper termination, the pillars are generally placed so as to be equidistant from one another all over the floor; but as there is always a wider aisle in the centre running to the door of the temple, and generally a similar one crossing it at right angles, this is obtained by omit- ting one, two, or even three rows of pillars, and replacing them constructively by attaching bracketing shafts to the fronts of the i-emaining sitle columns, and carrying forward from them a bold series of brackets carrying longitudinal ties and trusses, all in stone, till the space to be roofed by flat stones is the same, or nearly so, as that of the side aisles. Besides being used as por- ticoes to temples, an arrangement similar to this, of one centre and two side aisles on either side of it is used in some temples as a cloister surrounding the courts: at Ramissiram fur instance, such a cloister extends for nearly 1,000 feet. A still more e.-itraordinary columnar arrangement is that of the Choultries, or nuptial halls, — usually called "halls of a thousand columns," and frequently containing exactly that number. At Tinevelly for instance, of which a plan is on the wall, the number is easily calculated, as the hall is 10 pillars in width and 100 in length; at Chelumbrum it is 21 X *!, which with the 16 pillars of its porch would make up the number exactly, but there some have been omitted in the centre, so as to allow of open spaces for the ceremonies, so that the actual number is 930; in many instances, how ever, there are only 600 or 700, but in none that I know of less than 500, and considering that in most cases all these are of granite, generally of one piece from 16 to 20 or 30 feet in height, and always carved from basement to capital with the most varied ornaments, it will be easily conceived what works of labour they must have been, and what impression of infinity of toil they pro- duce on the spectator. I need not here enter into more detail on this subject, but may now proceed to point out how these various component parts of a temple are grouped together, so as to com- pose a whole. The simplest and most general arrangement, at least for smaller temples, such as those found in villages, and some of the larger ones, as that for instance at Tanjore, is that of a vimana and its portico standing in the centre of a stpiare court, surrounded by cloisters and inclosed by a high plain wall, with one gopura in front of the entrance to the temple. Few temples, however, except of the smallest class, are of so simple a form, but generally they are surrounded by a second inclosure, the sides of which are parallel to those of the first; say at the distance of about 100 feet. This is likewise surrounded by cloisters, and incloses several minor shrine.s, or temples dedicated to inferior deities. Generally it possesses two gopuras, the one in front of that belonging to the inner inclosure being generally connected with it by a handsome colonnade or mantapa, with an aisle at right angles to the princi- pal one. The other gopura is placed behind the temple, and is oi less importance than the one in front. Almost all the great temples of India possess a third inclosure with four gopuras, one on each face, thus making up seven in all. Besides minor shrines and Brahmins' residences, the outer court generally contains the 40 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Febrdabt, preat choultrie or hall of a thousand columns; and in this form the southern Hindoo tem|i!e may be said to be complete. In some instances a fourth, fifth, sixth, and even a seventh inclosure is sub- sequently added, and as each of these has a shrine with four gopu- ras, as in the famous tem))le at Seringham, a temple may have as many as twenty or twenty-three of these. Tliis however may he said to be rather the exception than the rule; the temple being complete with tliree courts and seven gopuras. There is however anotlier form, when tiie temple is dedicated to Siva, of placing two such as I have described side by side, one dedicated to tlie god himself, tlie other to the goddess Prava his wife. This is the case at Tinevelly and .Madura, in either of which instances there are only eight gopuras, though had the design l)een carried out as if there w ere two complete separate temples and three indosures, the num- ber should have been thirteen, as there is only one temple common to both. Tiie dimonsion.s of these buildings are very considerable; the outer inclosure, when there are three, seldom being under 500 feet, and ranging from that up to 1000, and even 1200 feet, the usual dimensions being about 600 or 700 feet. Tiie gateways generally are, or are intended to be, in proportion to the length of the wall to which they are attached, thus the inner gateways are generally smaller than the external ones, though not in any exact proportion. lu the great temple at Seringham for instance, the inner gopura is quite insignificant, while the outer four attached to the seventh inclosure would, if completed, have been the most splendid in India. Unfortunately they were commenced only in the beginning of tlie last century, and our wars with the French, and the conse- quent trriubles of the country, jiut a stop to their erection. The principal one however is a nearly solid mass of granite, 150 feet wide by 100 feet in depth, pierced by a gateway, of 21 ft. (i in. clear v\ idth and about 15 feet in lieight, roofed with large slabs of gra- nite, 23 or 24 feet in length; had a pyramid of the usual pro])or- tion been added to this, it could scarcely have been less than 300 feet in height, which is more than double the usual size of such erections. The materials also, which were used in these gateways, are on the same scale, the door-posts being generally of one slab of granite, 30 or 10 feet in length, and covered with the most elaborate sculpture. The vimanas are seldom on the same scale as the gopuras, and it is one of the principal defects of these build- ings, that they want a central point of attraction round which the subordinate ones are grouped. This arose in many instances from n \illage temjile having become sacred, either from some supposed miracle wrouglit by the god, or some accession of wealth to the fouuilation — for there as here wealth works miracles — and instead of pulling down and rebuilding the original edifice, inclosures and gopuras were added to the utmost extent the means of the temple would afford. Another cause was, the mysterious effects produced by the sanc- tuary not being visible from the exterior: but when you are imme- diately under the temple, or inside its walls, under its colonnades, the defect is not perceived. AVhile, after passing under its gate- ways and from one court to another, each more holy and splendid than the last, the effect is certainly grand — when you behold before you the holy of holies, shrouded from human eyes by its high im]ienotrable walls, and can only peer through its colonnades into tlie mysterious gloom that shrouds the deity himself. At a dis- tance, however, the defect in an architectural point of view is very striking; and though the number and size of the gateways tell always witli striking effect, the mind is ever puzzled and unsatis- fied by seeing them all facing different ways, and pointing towards sometliing — and that something is wanting in every view. This, however, is not always the case: at Tanjore, and generally in the smaller temples, or those built on an original and uniform plan, the viiuaua is the principal object, and the gopuras and mantapa are all in proper subordination to it. Hefore leaving this part of my subject, it remains for me to l)oint out some similarities with other styles, which have often been insisted upon by others; and though 1 myself am not in- clined to attach much weight to them, tiiey are still interesting, and others may be inclined to take a different view of the matter from tliat which I take of it. Tlie first is its presumed identity with Egyptian architecture. In looking, for instance, at the plans of the temples at Karnac or Edfou, we find two or three successive inclosures of high dead walls surrounding the sanctuary. The same and indeterminate number of predominant high massive pro- pyla, which form the only object seen outside; while the sanctuary is low and concealed by the high walls that surround it. The great choultries, besides are both in position and apparently in use simi- lar to the hypostyle halls of these temples; and the propyla are in both instances the great Iconostases, or image-bearing screens of the temple. I may also add, that the same successive mode of erection was, at least in some instances, followed in both cases. These certainly are strong points of similarity, and at first sight almost conclusive. But on a closer examination they are over- powered by the extreme dissimilarity of design and principle ; by the total absence of hieroglyphics, or hieroglyphic expressions, in the Indian examples; and by the utter dissimilarity in every de- tail between a style so exuberant in strength as tlie Egyptian, and one so tending to frailty as the Indian. Still, the difference may only be such as e.xists between the Norman and florid Gothic styles, whose connection no one doubts. It is easier, however, to point out similarities than dissonances, and there are some points in which all masonry styles must resemble one another. It is only by weighing fairly the two styles by one, and by an accurate know- ledge of both, that any one can he able to arrive at a just conclu- sion on the subject. I have myself been so staggered at times by the points of resemblance, that I have been inclined to accede to the general opinion; but on the whole I fear it must be considered in the present state of the question, as too hasty a generalisation. The similarity that exists between these temjiles of the south of India, and that at Jerusalem, as described by Josephus, is even more striking and puzzling than that just pointed out; but as it would require large drawings, and more space than I can here afford, to make this intelligible, I will not insist here on what may be after all merely accidental. It only remains that I should in conclusion say a few words on the general architectural effects of the examples I have been de- scribing. I cannot of course ask you to admire them, nor to agree with me in my estimation of them, for I am aware that to you they must seem both strange and uncouth, if not positively ugly. So at least they appeared to me when I first became ac- quainted with them, and it was only after I was thoroughly accus- tomed to their form, familiar with their details, and more than this, thoroughly understood the motives and meaning of every part, that I could see either beauty or design in them. Nor do I think this ought to surprise any one, who recollects how short a time ago it is since every man of taste thought it necessary to characterise the Gothic style as a barbarous jumble of ill-connected incongruities, which our fathers— not even our forefathers — mutilated without mercy, and thought it the greatest merit to hide and obliterate whenever an opportunity occurred. By de- grees we came to understand the style, and by deej) study of it found out that pinnacles, buttresses, banded shafts, and other jieculiarities, which so far from being mere barbarous caprices, were motived elenients of construction; and when once we were familiar with the details and understood the construction, all was beauty and order, where only deformity and caprice seemed to exist. So it is with these Indian styles; a man must be familiar with the climate and the people where they are found, must under- stand their manners and religion, and must familiarise himself with all the peculiai-ities of the building, before he can either appreciate or admire them. Once, however, he is educated to this, I think he can scarcely fail to perceive beauty, rising some- times to sublimity, in the immense colonnades, and in the massive propyla and spacious courts of these temples, all of which are constructed on well-defined principles, and all consequently pro- ducing the effect the architect designed they should produce on the spectator. I have learnt to admire these styles in their own country, and do admire them in many respects: hut I should be sorry if any one should interpret this expression of admiration on my part as if I were recommending them as models to be transplanted to this country, or as containing anything that could be successfully imi- tated here. On the contrary, the lesson which the study of these exotic styles seems to me to teach, is diametrically opposed to this, and goes to show that every age and every climate has its own appropriate style, beautiful and appropriate when so used, but absurd and incongruous when either transplanted to another climate, or copied in another age. Another lesson, which a very slight study of these styles would convey, is the knowledge of the infinity of forms into which stone may be wrought for building purposes. For nearly two centuries all Europe believed that the Roman forms were the only ones capable of producing architectural beauty, and consequently, from the Reformation till the beginning of this century, no other details were used, though their incongruity was frequently ludicrous. Stuart and Revett, and their followers, taught us that we had been copying a corruption, and we in consequence found out that pure Greek details were the only ones worthy of notice. We have now 1850.1 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 41 transferred onr affection to Italian and Gothic. A large view, however, of the question, and one to which I conceive the study of the Indian, the Saracenic, the Mexican, and all the other exotic styles would inevitably lead, would show that the forms of archi- tecture are not confined to three or four styles, but are infinite, and so far from being exhausted by those who have gone before us, so as to reduce us of necessity to the mere ranlc of copyists, as has been often asserted, and would prove we do not yet stand beyond the threshold of invention in this branch; but that new forms spring forward at the bidding not only of every cultivated man who thinks, but even of the savage or the half-civilised man, who tries to express in stone the idea with which he is filled. The most important lesson, however, that can be derived from the study of these monuments arises from the fact, that they are built by persons who seldom can read or write, and who never can draw, in the European sense of the term at least, and for a people who have neither a written literature nor history of their own, — who have no institutions worthy of the name, and whose religion is one of the grossest superstitions that ever disgraced humanity. Yet these people could invent and perfect a style of their own, which should not only express their own feelings' and civilisation, but convey to posterity a higher idea of that civilisation than we can obtain from any other source, and which we with all our culti- vation must be content to admire, but have not yet dared to emu- late. Remarks made at the Meeting after the reading of the foregoing Paper. Mr. Fergusson having concluded his paper, the Chairman, Mr. Sooles, and other Members, put several questions to Mr. fergusson, wlio explaineii, that in nine cases out of ten, all the upper part of the vimana, above the first story, was a mass of solid brickwork. There were small chambers in each story; but they were not used for any purpose, and were obviously made for the object of saving material. Access to them might be obtained by hidden staircases. No skill in construction was exhibited ; it was a mere piling up of material. The immense stones used in building the gateways were raised on end or placed across, simply by force of the immense num. bers of hands employed. They covered the stone to he raised like ants, and by inserting bamboos after the manner of wedges, literally " shove " it up. He could not use a more dignified term to describe the operation. There was a column 80 feet in height erected at Seringapatam, in memory of Sir David Baird : it was put up in this way. There were no indications of the arch in these sacred buildings. Mr. TiTK.— The lecturer has described this architecture as being of a character sui generis, and I am quite of his mind. At the same time I must say that I have been muoh interested by the beautiful drawings of Central America, prepared by Mr. Catherwood, a member of the Institute; and 1 have been led by the extraordinary character of the ruins depicted by him, to endeavour to trace the people to whom they are to be attributed. Philo.' logical analogies are quite at fault. The language of tlie people, and that of the other races of India are entirely different. Now I cannot help fancying that I can see a great similitude between the sketches now submitted to us and those of Mr. Catherwood. The Mexican architecture is akin to that of Yucatan, and the characteristics of the latter may be traced in that of Java. It is undoubtedly an immense distance from the south-east point of Hiudo- Btan, the architecture of which has this evening so ably been brought before us; and the totally different character of the languages— they having no cognate root— a still greater obstacle. Yet I think this may turn out one of those cases, in which the comparatively imperishable character of architec- tural remains will aid us more in tracing the connection of races than even phil.)logy. Sir Stamford Raffles describes the temples of Java to be pyra- midal edifices, like those of Southern India. That is the case also in Mexico, the altar being placed on the top, and the carcases of the victims thrown down the steps, it may be after all, that these resemblances are only those created by the common requirements of a similar climate. I agree with Mr. Fergusson that the supposed resemblance of the Egyptian architecture is not worth consideration. It arose no doubt from the'wonder of the sepoys on visiting Egypt; but an uneducated eye would fancy a resemblance, where that of an instructed person would at once decide that there was no real resemblance at all. There is nothing in the architecture of any of these countries to suggest a belief that thev are of enormous age. Despite the almost insurmountable difficulties that present themselves, I cannot help thinking that there was a connection between the widely separated races, geographically and philologically speaking, by which these buildings were erected. ° Mr. Fergusson.— Javanese architecture is acknowledged to be Hindoo. I know the Hindoo architecture well, and when I was in Java I satisfied mv. self of the fact. With regard to Mexican architecture, I can onlv say, that I went carefully over Mr. Catherwood's drawings with him, andwe agreed that It had no resemblance to India ; all the similarity arises from their being both of a rude style generally, with details most exuberant,— the charac° teristic of all rude styles. The religion of the Mexicans is totallv different from that of India; the latter has no' human sacrifices, and in fact no pyramids. They have pyramidal gateways, but altars they have none. In the one case the sacrifices took place always in the sight of the people ; in the other the rites are performed secretly inside the temples. In Java, the religion is in fact a branch of Buddhism from the Indian continent. Mr. Billings thought the models exhibited had a striking general resem- blance to the pagodas of the Chinese. We had long prided ourselves in England as the originators of the four-centred arch, but in the drawings now exhibited there it was. Mr. I'Anson thought the paper just read proved that the snbject was one which the government of a great nation like England would do well to take up; particularly as our connection with India was so close. With regard to the architecture before them, he saw in some of it a resemblance to the Greek and even to the Roman tombs. Professor Cockerell was anxious to acknowledge the great advantage the lecturer had conferred on the Institute, by making known this new family of architecture. It was an interesting fact, that at the extremity of this peninsula there should have arisen a people, whose architecture was so different from all others known. With regard to the peculiar character of the present architecture and its analogies, be must say, that he thought the difference of climate was productive of most of the distinctive features of the styles of different countries. The Jewish temple, for instance, was built in a climate which required those extensive porticoes ; and accordingly in the temple there was the inclosure and the portico; and in like manner, in this extraordinary grouping of Indian architecture, a similar arrangement was united, and hence the halls of a thousand columns. Human nature was the same in every climate, and the same feeling which made the shrine of Our Lady at Loretto to be visited by pilgrims from all parts of the Christian world, was traceable in the small temples of India, which, having acquired the odour of a peculiar sanctity, became large temples surrounded by manv walls and dignified by many columns. A most instructive study would be that of models of the temples of all religions in the world, by which the similarities of all would be brought out, and their differences traced to their various causes, and particularly in reference to the climate. They had all reason to thank Mr. Fergusson, for the clearness and completeness of the account he had given of this extraordinary architecture. Mr. Fow-ler reminded the meeting that one of its honorary members, the Rajah of Tanjore, had presented them with drawings of these very tem- ples. He supported the views of Mr. I'Anson, with respect to the duty of the Government, or of the East India Company, to take up the subject. Mr. Godwin informed the meeting, that the local papers of India had become strongly alive to the importance of the suhject, and the East India Company were doing something for the preservation of these relics of de- parted generations. Mr. Fergusson said that the East India Company had taken 40 copies of his work on India, and in consequence of that publication, orders had been sent out to employ persons to make copies of all decaying remains, ere they disappeared altogether. This was done with some ardour until the wars put a stop to the work. Capt. Gill, however, had been three years at work with a large staff, making copies of the celebrated frescoes in the Ajunta Caves. Thirty or forty large paintings, representing the manners and customs of the people during the last 1200 years, had been received at the India House. They were facsimiles of the paintings in the caves. The work was now going on slowly, but would, he hoped, ultimately present a complete illustration of most of the monuments of the past existing in India. Mr. Papworth inquired whether, as Mr. Fergusson had in his former lecture spoken of five styles, there was any evidence of the duration of each ; and whether the character of the religious worship was impressed on the temples. He should also like to know, whether the work of Ram Kaz was valuable or not. Mr. Fergusson said there was no difficulty in determining the age of the works, for the farther they went back the more perfect they were in respect to the carving. The buildings used for temples could not be mistaken for anything else. In the estimation of a native, the newest, the latest built edifice was always the most handsome and the best. That was the chief fault of the work of Ram Raz; but with that exception, and also some geo- metrical defects in the drawings, the work was valuable. It had however no details to which an European could work. ENGINEERING PROGRESS. The Institution of Civil Engineers having elected Mr. ^V'illiam Cubitt as their President, that gentleman, according to custom, has delivered an inaugural address (January 8); wherein he takes a rapid but interesting review of the chief engineering triumphs of the past year, and points out the new iields of usefulness opening up to the inventive powers of man in the mechanical sciences. After thanking the members for the honour conferred on him, and modestly attributing his election to the fortuitous circum- stance of his being "the senior Vice-President in duration of office," rather than to any peculiar fitness on his part, he proceeded to direct attention to some matters relating to the internal policy 7 42 THE CIVIL EXGIXEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [February, of the Institution, and proposed that the evening meetings should terminate at half-past nine o'clock, in order to afford an opportu- nity for the members and visitors to assemble in the liliiary, and to obtain those personal introductions to each other which constitute one of the great advantages of all societies. He then announced, that the Council had, with great pleasure, acceded to the recommendation of the last Annual General Meet- ing, and had invited Mr. Walker, Sir John Rennie, and Mr. Field, the past Presidents, to take their seats at the Council table, in the Council-room, and in the Theatre, as "Honorary Councillors," and that, in future, .all those members who should fill the posts of Vice President and President consecutively, holding the latter position for two years, should be considered "Honorary Councillors"; ex- pressing a hope, that the pjist Presidents might long be spared, to continue that assistance from which the Institution had already reaped so much advantage. He then announced, that, as the representative of the Institu- tion, he had been nominated a member of the Royal Commission for the promotion of the Exhibition of the A^'orks of Industry of all Nations, under the auspices of H.R.II. Prince Albert, and re- quested the aid and cordial concurrence of all the members in that "real Peace Congress." Mr. Cubitt then proceeded to notice the principal engineering works now ^in progi-ess, or lately completed, as arranged under their respective heads, as follows: — Tubular Bridges. — Although during the past year there has not been so great a demand for the talents, or the energies of en- gineers, several remarkable works have been finished, or have far advanced towards completion; I will allude briefly to a few of them, and if others of importance escape notice, it must be attri- buted to the engineers not having brought accounts of them be- fore the Institution, or even incidentally mentioned them in the discussions. Among these, the tubular bridges across the river Conway and the Menai Straits, are pre-eminent, for the boldness of the conception, the scientific simplicity of the design, and the difficulty of the execution. In tracing the original idea of the most advantageous disposition of a certain amount of material, in a tubular form; the more definite conception of a hollow beam, to permit the passage and support the weight of an engine and train; the experiments for determining the proper distribution of the material, to prevent compression, or disruption; the arrange- ment for the construction and building up these gigantic masses of material; the means of floating them to their situations, and of raising them to their ultimate destination, at an elevation of 102 feet above the sea (at high water of spring tides); — we must feel justly proud of possessing among us the man whose comprehensive mind could originate this magnificent design, and so successfully perform a portion of the work as to leave no doubt of its ultimate accomplislinient. The world already duly appreciates this great undertaking, and we should not be behindhand in testifying our estimate of the bold conception of Mr. Robert Stephenson in the original idea, his professional skill in the design and execution, his care and caution in availing himself of the talents and expe- rience of Mr. W. Fairbairn and iSIr. Eaton Hodgkinson, whose scientific investigations respecting the strength of cast-iron, are so well known to the world and so highly appreciated by our pro- fession, and his intrusting the general construction and elevation to Mr. Frank Forster and Mr. Edwin Clarke. Upon the merits of all these gentlemen we may look with pardonable pride and par- tiality; their labours speak for themselves. However advanta- geous may be the results of this construction, in facilitating an im- portant communication I shall have occasion to allude to here- after, it has already been extremely useful in directing attention to the more general employment of wrought iron for the purposes to which it had not previously been deemed applicable ; and it will be found that its introduction to structures of all kinds will he- come more common, exactly as the method of using it becomes better understood. Report on Iron. — M.iy I here be permitted to diverge for an in- stant, in order to direct attention to a subject of considerable im- ])0rtance to the profession. In the year 18+7 a commission was appointed (of which I was named a member) for the purpose of inquiring into the conditions to be observed by engineers, in the application of iron, in structures exposed to violent concussions and vibration; and for endeavouring to ascertain such principles and forms, and to establish such rules as should enable the engineer and the mechanic, in tlieir respective spheres, to apply the metal with confidence, and should illustrate, by theory and experiment, the action which would take place, under varying circumstances, in the iron railway bridges which had been erected. Numerous witnesses of great theoretical attainment and practical experience, were exan\ined before the commission, and a very interesting series of experiments was carried on, for ascertaining certain points re- lative to the compression and extension, the tensile and crushing strength, the effect of statical pressure, and of vibration, concus- sion, &c. The result of this laborious investigation is (in the words of the report, which is now before the public) that 'con- sidering that the attention of engineers has been sufficiently awakened to the necessity of providing a superabundant strength in railway structures, and also considering the great importance of leaving the genius of scientific men unfettered for the development of a subject as yet so novel and so rapidly progressive as the con- struction of railways, we are of opinion that any legislative enact- ments with respect to the forms and proportions of the iron struc- tures employed therein would be highly inexpedient.' It would be foreign to my present purpose to enlarge upon the importance of this decision; but I must recommend the Report to your careful perusal and consideration. The Harbours of Refuge now in progress are works of national utility. Those at Dover and in the Channel Islands, by Mr. Walker, deserve particular attention. The former has already produced extraordinary effects on the litoral currents and in the movement of the shingle on the coast, and the latter will afford protection to the storm-driven mariner, where he before expected only danger and death. The Breakwater off Portland Island is important, not only as utilising one of the finest bays on our coast, but also as an immense engineering work, intended to be executed almost entirely by convict labour, and on that account it was necessary to render its construction as simple as possible. This has been achieved by Mr. Rendel, whose design is to form along the site of the intended breakwater a timber staging, carried upon screw piles; on this will be laid railways connected by inclined planes with the quarries on the hill, whence the trains of stones will be brought, and their contents be distributed simultaneously, and in regular thickness over given areas, enabling a careful ad- mixture of large and small-materials to be effected, and the whole mass to rise gradually to the surface, and being thus self-support- ing, to prevent the washing away of the materials, which has been experienced in other works of a similar nature. The harbour at Holyhead, and the new docks at Leith and at Grimsby, also by Jlr. Rendel, do equal credit to his comprehensive designs and his exe- cutive skill. Lighthouses. — In conjunction with these maritime works may be mentioned two lighthouses, both possessing remarkable features. The first is an iron structure, erected on the Bishop's Rock, by Mr. Walker. It is situated about 30 miles from the Land's End, Corn- wall, and four miles due west from the St. Agnes Lighthouse, which would probably not have been constructed had our ancestors possessed the modern facilities for the execution of works of this nature. The position is more exposed to the force of the Atlantic than the famed Eddystone Lighthouse, and the surface of the rock is of such an outline as scarcely to admit of a solid building. It was therefore determined to erect such a structure as should offer little or no opposition to the waves, and bear a light at such an elevation as to render it extensively useful. Six hollow cast-iron columns, with a strong bar of wrought iron in each, sunk to the depth of five feet into the rock, forming at the base a hexagon 30 feet in diameter, and tapering upwards, support, at a height of about 100 feet, the dwelling of the three light-keepers, with stores and provisions for four months, the whole being surmounted by the lantern. The access to the dwelling is by a centre column of cast- iron, containing a spiral staircase. The difficulties overcome in the execution of this bold design can scarcely be appreciated with- out a more detailed account of it, which, however, I trust, will be laid before you during this session. — The other is a stone light- house, called the Skerryvore, erected by Mr. .Man Stevenson, on a small desolate rock situated about 11 miles W.S.W. of the island of Tyree, and 90 miles from the mainland of Scotland. The rock is exposed to the fury of the North Atlantic, and is surrounded by an almost perpetual surf. The talent and perseverance ot the en- gineer enabled him, however, to complete, without loss of life or limb — great as were the difficulties he had to contend with — a structure far exceeding the dimensions of the famed Eddystone and Bell Rock Lighthouses, their relative heights being — the Eddy- stone, 08 feet; the Bell Rock, 100 feet; the Skerryvore, 138 ft. 6 in. The difficulties of the construction, the merits of the struc- ture, and the system of lighting, are so fully described in Mr. Stevenson's published account of it, that it is not necessary for me isio.l THE CJVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 43 to do more than to point to it, as one of the remarkable works of the present day of whi 'i we have justly reason to be proud. In Steam Navigation prreat efforts have been made by some of the principal marine engineers and the builders of wood and iron vessels. The result has been the production of four steamers, with engines by Messrs. Seaward, Miller, Penn, and Forrester, in vessels built respectively by Messrs. Mare, Miller, Thompson, and Laird, for conveying the mails; and an equal number of engines by Messrs. Maudslay and Field, Forrester, and Bury, in vessels by Messrs. AVigram, Alare, Laird, and Vernon, for carrying passen- gers between Holyhead and Dublin, which have attained the speed of nearly 18 miles per hour, and accomplish the passage, on an average, in four hours. By these means when the Britannia tubular bridge is completed, the journey between London and Dublin may be accomplished within 11 hours. This is an extraordinary ad- vance upon the opinions of only a few years since, when it was re- ported to be possible to perform the same distance in 14 hours. The excellent machinery of Messrs. Maudslay and Field, and of Messrs. Forrester and Co., in the iron steamers built by Mr. C. Mare and Mr. J. Laird, have also contributed mainly in accom- plishing a journey to Paris, as we have recently seen it performed, in eight hours and a half; giving a death-blow to the onerous sys- tem of passports, which hitherto interfered so materially with that free and unrestricted communication so essential for the mu- tual benefit of the two countries. In the accomplishment of this rapid communication with Paris, I may be permitted to feel som pride, as, in my capacity of engineer of the South-Eastern, and in my professional connection with the Boulogne and Amiens rail- ways, the possibility of expediting the intercourse between the two capitals constantly occupied my mind; and so long ago as in June, 18i3, before the present fast steamboats were placed on the sta- tion, I undertook and accomplished the task of conveying the di- rectors and their friends from London to Boulogne, and home again, between 6 o'clock in the morning and 10 o'clock in the even- ing, with a sufficient interval for a public reception at Boulogne. Among the builders of steam-vessels, iVIr. Scott Russell must be par- ticularly mentioned, for tlie successful investigation and applica- tion of the wave lines to the forms of vessels, so that the curves of least disturbance can at once be adapted to a vessel the ultimate, or greatest velocity of which has been previously determined; and thus high speeds, and easy motion through the water, can be at- tained; whilst a given immersion is arrived at with certainty. These points were remarkably shown in the Manchester, a vessel for carrying passengers across the Humber, at New Holland, and with its consort steamer the Sheffield, constructed by Messrs. Rennie, becoming as it were floating bridges, completing the line of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway, and con- veying the contents of the trains, from point to point, at a speed of about sixteen miles an hour. In connection with this railway must be mentioned, the large pontoon, recently built by Messrs. E. B. Wilson and Co. (of Leeds), from the design, and under the direction of Mr. John Fowler. This immense iron vessel, which is four hundred feet long, fifty feet wide, and eight feet deep, with a deck area of twenty thousand square feet, serves as a floating landing stage, for these fast pas- sage-steamers, rendering the railway ti-ains independent of the tide, and of the muddy shores of the Humber. The deck-area of this landing stage is about half that of a some- what similar structure, built a short time previous, from my designs, and under my direction, at Liverpool, and of which a description and drawings will be prepared for an early meeting of the Institution; as an earnest of my intention to practise what I have ventured to impress upon all those, who not only possess the information, but the power of imparting it, for the benefit of their professional brethren. A number of fine steamers have also been constructed, for the Government, for private companies, and for foreign States, in which the beautiful engines of Maudslay and Field, Miller, Seaward, Penn, Napier, Rennie, and others, have fully maintained their European reputation. Railways. — This incomplete sketch of a few of the engineering works of the past year, leaves untouched that vast subject, the Railway System, towards the completion of which, much has been accomplished within the last twelvemonths, without that public excitement which accompanied all its former progress. There are now nearly five thousand five hundred miles of railway completed in Great Britain, at a cost of about two hundred and twenty mil- lions sterling, which immense sum, derived from private sources, has been expended within the realm, encouraging in an extraordi- nary degree, productive industry of all kinds, and inducing a revo- lution in all mercantile transactions and social relations. The Steam Engine and the Power Loom have been regarded by the sober-minded political economist, as the real sources of the power and influence of Great Britain, and though the gallantry of her hardy sons, both in the military and naval services, may Iiave been more publicly apparent, and were, in fact, inestimably valuable when called into action, it is the productive classes of this country that constitute its real strength. The example of England, in boldly abandoning the finest roads, and adopting throughout the length and breadth of the land, a network of iron ways, over which, by the aid of steam, passengers and merchandise are conveyed at a velocity, which, at its first proposition, was by the world deemed worse than visionary, first filled our continental neighbours with astonishment, and then compelled their imitation, so that within a few years, by this new power, the relative positions of the conti- nental states are changed, and the ultimate effect must be to intro- duce wants, and consequently civilisation, to the most remote corners of the earth. If this be true, we are naturally led to inquire who were the authors of this great revolution, what minds conceived, and what energies executed these vast projects, thwarted and controlled, as theymust have been, by vested interests on the one hand, and the necessity of urging into action a whole nation, before such a mo- mentous change could be effected. The reply. Gentlemen, must spring spontaneously from you all. The Civil and Mechanical Engineers have been the great actors in this most interesting chapter of the social history of our country; and if we may look back, almost with reverence, to the splendid careers of Arkwright, Brindley, Smeaton, Jessop, Mylne, Ralph Walker, Dodd, AV^att, Telford, Rennie, and a host of other illustrious names, we may with equal pride look around upon the men of our own time, whose voices have frequently been heard within these walls, instructing and urging us onward in the course they had so successfully fol- lowed; some of them are removed from us, but the names of Rennie, AValker, Stephenson, and Brunei, are yet here, and they have left worthy scions to complete the works they so nobly com- menced. One great duty the departed have enjoined on us — the record of their works and of our own; and let us remember, that if we desire to hand down our names to posterity, as useful members of society, it is our duty to render this Institution the depository of the accounts of our works, that the future historian of this event- ful age, may find in our archives, not only accounts of the works themselves,' but of the men who conceived and accomplished them, and to whom their country is so deeply indebted. For the junior members of the profession, many of whom have already given indications of talent and power, auguring iveU for their future fame, a wide field is opened in the sanitary question, which embraces the subjects of the drainage and sewerage, the paving, lighting, and cleansing of cities and towns; the more copious and less expensive supplies of water and gas; and, in con- junction with the architects, the improvement of the dwellings of the labouring classes; the establishment of baths and wash-houses; and the introduction of abattoirs. In this latter portion of the question, the railways should act an important ]>art; for if their establishment has created a wish, or a necessity for travelling, and produced great changes in commercial transactions, by rendering unnecessary the intervention of a third person between the manufacturer and the tradesmen, it would appear feasible to use the same facilities for bringing up from the country large supplies of animal food, ready for sale, instead of the living animals, to be slaughtered in a crowded city, and introdu- cing noxious and unhealthy trades, for using up those portions not fit for food. If, as we have been recently informed by the jour- nals, there be a great discrepancy in the prices of food, between London and the country towns, the aid of the railways should be invoked, and the same producers should be glad to avail them- selves of an opportunity of supplying the metropolis, in such a manner as would soon equalise the general prices. The engineers have always been the real sanitary reformers, as they are the originators of all onward movements; all their labours tend to the amelioration of their fellow-men; and though in times past the introduction of machinery was looked upon with jealousy, education has now happily caused a more just appreciation of their labours; indeed they would deserve the highest encomiums if only for the application of steam, which, in production alone, now repre- sents the power of forty millions of human beings, who, even if thev had been able to perform the labour, would have been degraded by it to the level of mere animals, instead of thinking creatures, sent each to perform his part in the complete system of social life. 7* 4t THE crVJL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [FEBISUiRV, The heavy demimls on the invention and skill of en^neers, in the construction of railway worlds, diirin"; past years, have left but little time for the devotion of their enerj^ies to the improvement of the mechanical and commercial workinff of the lines. A wide field is, however, now ojjened for the exercise of professional skill and ability, In perfecting the applications of tractive power, and all the machinery of railway plant; and it may be reasonably expected thiit the oj)portMnities thus afforded to railway companies, of hringinif the highest engineering skill of this country to hear upon these questions, may not only produce great economy in the work- ing expenses, and greater efficiency in the general plant, hut lead to radical improvements in the construction and maintenance of the destructible parts of the f so called) " permanent vvay," and thus set at rest the question of depreciation — a desideratum which is now felt to be of almost ritaj importance to railways as an investment. I feel. Gentlemen, that, hurried and imperfect as this sketch may be, the subjects have carried me far beyond the limits 1 had ■ iriginally intended; and I must request your indulgence for having occupied so much valuable time. You will not, Iiowever, find me so trespass upon you again; and, with reiterated thanks for the honour you have conferred on me, I will at once enter on the duties of the office, and proceed to the regular routine of the evening meeting. MORTON'S IiMPROVED PATENT BLIP. Patent Hydraulic Purchase Machinery, applied to Morton's Patent Slip, by Mr. DANif:L Miller, C.E., St. Georges-road, Glasyow. The great advantages of "Morton's Slip" over all other modes of docking vessels for repairs, Ike, in s])eed, economy, and efficiency, have been long established by the evidence of the ablest scientilic authorities, and its jiractical operation in many ports of the United Kingdom and other countries. The present improvements on it increase these advantages in an eminent degree. They consist in the substitution of improved hydraulic purchase machinery, in- stead of the system of wheel-work at present in use, and possess the following recommendations: — )st. That the im])roved machinery can be laid down for less than one-half the cost of the present machinery; for veiy large slips mucli less. '^nd. Ships will be taken up at double the speed, as but a very small proportion of the power is absorbed by friction; and, from the machinery being self-acting, no time is lost by stopping it to take a fresh hold. 3rd. The moticm in drawing up a ship is so perfectly smooth and uniform, that no part of the carriage or ship is exposed to any undue strain. "tth. It occupies little space, is not subject to breakage or de- rangement, and the same foundation does for both purchiise ma- chinery and steam-engine. Description. — The engraving, fig. 1, is an elevation of the pur- chase machinery, in wliich A, re)iresents a hydraulic cylinder, fas- tened securely to a firm foundation at the upper end of the slip. It is fitted with a moveable ram B, working through cup|ied lea- thers at the neck. Two side rods, rice for so large a work. Mr. Vignoles has already prepared, by command of the Emperor, designs for several other large bridges in Various parts of Russia. Some of them have been approved, and others are still under consideration, and designs are in various stages of progi-ess for still more bridges, besides other works; for all of which the iron must be furnished from the English manu- factories.— Times. REVIEVl^S. A Treatise on the Rise and Progress of Decorated Window Tracery in England. By Ed.mund Sharpe, M.A., Architect. London: Van Voorst, 1849. If the passion for mediceval works has had no better results, it has had a good one in this, that it has given us a copious literature for the mediseval styles, and has destroyed the monopoly of the Greek and Roman styles. So long as these latter were the only learned styles, their professors could put forward a magistral claim, and assume the air of superiority without allowing dispute; just as the Greek and Latin languages were called learned, when these alone had a philological organisation. It is always a bad thing when people are saved the trouble of thinking for themselves, and become '"''Ullius jurare in verba magistri." When once they have taken to themselves a master, and swear in his name, they are, like other dogs, faithful to his service, and snap and snarl at everybody else. So was it with our classic architects — the princi- ])les of art were set aside, and the Ionic or Doric canon was flou- rished as a weapon against any unlucky wight who thought any- thing could be beautiful or sublime without the Grecian stamp. It is to be hoped we are getting to a better period, when we shall be neither Ionic, Italian, or Christian-ite sectarians, but shall be able to acknowledge and appreciate the beautiful in art, w hether in the Indies, Persepolis, Hellas, or Germania; and having got thereby so much nearer to the right shrine and the true worship, we may be inspired to do something of our own. Everyone who has a true love for art has, therefore, a deep interest in the culti- vation of every department of it: the architect should make a saying for himself, that there is nothing architectural which does not claim his sympathy; and the writer should be encouraged who gives us practical information not only as to Greek and mediieval art, but as to the productions of Egypt, Persepolis, and Hindostan. Thus, Layard, Fergusson, and Owen Jones are as great benefactors to the cause of art as Wilkin or Pugin. It is very certain that we want all the energies of the human mind to be successful in the noble study of architecture; and nothing can be so surely detri- mental as restriction to any one school or school-book, if we are to have a national school of architecture as we have a national school in everything else. There are few now who are contented to be the lacqueys of the Greeks and Normans — and yet such we are; while in every other pursuit of genius, we have shown ourselves not unworthy rivals of the great men of olden and of later time. To study any department of architecture jiroperly, as much attention must be paid to constructive peculiarities as to artistic effect; and as this requires a practical treatment, it seems to us, suiting so well the English character, the field of architectural exploration is one in which we are likely to be particularly suc- cessful. Indeed, however much the High Dutch have dreamed, the English have with pen and pencil truly done their share of work; and in England, Normandy, Flanders, Dutchland, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Lesser Asia, Assyria, Hindostan, and Mexico, our students have done much for the extension of architectural know- ledge. It is not, however, given to every one to wend his way to the great shrines of art; and though railway travelling has extended the resources of architectural study, a scamper to Rome or to i\Iem])his can hardly be looked upon as greatly conducive to the instruction of the mass. If, however, this is not so, we believe, if they are properly used, there are large means of instruction open to every study, even in the remotest parts of this country, if he will but choose them. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 47 There is hanlly a parish cliurch which has not some point of interest to the practical man; and indeed it is from the careful inspection of these buildings by a practical eye, that a few men, more painstaking than their brethren, have put us in possession of the architectural practice of the middle ages, and have en.ibled us to construct modern works in the mediivval styles in a much more respectable and much truer manner than our imitations of the Parthenon and other classic models. Nevertheless, a few men can do but little of themselves, however hard they work: it is the concentrated energies of the mass which must act to produce any great result; and this can only be attained inasmuch as each mem- ber of the profession will look upon himself as an instrument, however humble, for its .advancement. The pupil in the country, beginning his early studies, has often opportunities, denied to the most ardent votaries in the great seats of knowledge; and if he diligently takes advantage of the resources of his neighbourhood, he may do very much good to himself and his neighbours. There is, too, nothing so mean in itself, which as a part of a great whole, wlien properly studied, does not acquire considerable importance; and, indeed, often the neglect of a trifle destroys the most meritorious exertions devoted to a great building. In the Gothic revivals of the last century, we are much more struck with pain than witii pleasure, for the discordance of the details mars the most ambitious designs, — and this much more attributable to want of constructive knowledge, than to want of artistic skUl. As the writer now before us reminds his readers, the liistory of the mediaeval styles in England is one of progress; and the experience of many years, and the genius of many men, led to improvements in construction, as much as to variety in design. These escape the mere archaeologist or artist, or he sees them only as trifles, the value of which he does not know; but to the practised eye even of a workman, a knowledge of these trifles is the way to the economi- cal and successful prosecution of a restoration or of a new con- struction. It is very evident that had we a better knowledge of the con- structive details of Greek buildings, we should be much more suc- cessful in the imitation of them; neither would so much diversity of opinion prevail upon many questions of interest, as lights, win- dows, doors, stairs, roofs, polychromy, and so forth. A knowledge which limits itself to broad general features, might have been thought more favourable to the study of the Greek style; but it has not so proved — and perhaps most from this cause, that the groundwork of our knowledge is imperfect, and imperfect in the practical part. On the other hand, we have monuments which present a repertory of mediaeval practice; and it will be found that just in proportion to our better acquaintance with these, has been our successful progress. Wren, ^Valpole, and Dance had the great works of old before their eyes, and yet the towers of Westminstes Abbey, Strawberry Hill, and the front of Guildhall are the fruitr of their exertions. The restorations of the beginning of this cen- tury abound with errors, and we shall have before us a fresh work — that of re-restoration. Mr. Sharpe gives some examples of this. The careful study of details has given us works on mouldings, fonts, and church fittings, and now on decorated window tracery. Although the subject is so limited, Mr. Sharpe has required for its illustration a volume of text and one of plates; and even yet he has only laid the foundation of his own part, and leaves for other labourers quite enough to till other volumes. Nearly two hundred engravings are required, to furnish examples from which authori- ties are deduced, — and yet the writer is neither prolix nor trifling, nor minutely archasological. He gives a sufficient sketch of the history and chronology, to determine the characteristics of style; but, throughout, his attention is devoted to practical construction. From this the workman will benefit as much as the architect. Inasmuch as the engineer is often too much of a workman, so is the architect often too little of a workman : and yet there is in this country no academy of architecture with so much as a carpenter's shop attached to it. The architect of the middle ages, inasmuch as he practised all the higher branches of art— carving, painting, and music — so was he often skilful as a blacksmith, mason, or cai'- penter. The necessities of his position as much made him so, as do those of an Indian officer of engineers make him a workman. In a remote part of the country, the architect had to teach and train the workmen, as well as to furnish the plan. This, too, was one great means of architectural progress. VVhoever looks at the buildings of the middle ages, is astonished to see how much was then done. There is hardly a parish church in England which was not then built; and yet in parishes which must then have had a smaller population, we have buildings much more massive and expensive than our modern resources enable us to supply. The monk or ecclesiastic who undertook to build a church, was much more wanting in money-help than the modern patron; but he drew largely on the unskilled labour of the population. The days of idleness incident to agricultural pursuits, instead of being devoted to the alehouse, were claimed for the pious work of church building; and an enlightened instructor trained a willing flock to undertake the several duties, from quarrying the stone to the carving of it and building it up. AV^e have now to rely upon trained workmen, instead of upon trained architects; and though we are better off' than we were, we are far from having reached perfection. We now look with sliame upon the carpenter -Gothic windows of good King George's time — and yet pei-haps the day is not far off, when the hypercritical eyes of those who follow may point out the failings of our own works. The only bulwark against this is the practical instruction of archi- tects and workmen. AVhile it is an object of ambition to an ar- chitect to produce a beautiful piece of tracery, he is often at the mercy of the workman for the realisation of his designs, for even such a detail requires much knowledge and skill. If Mr. Sharp has done his duty, so have the publisher and en- graver; for the work is handsomely and copiously illustrated throughout, in a manner which is well deserving of praise. We like much the moderate and judicio\is spirit in which Mr. Sharpe writes; and he gives full assurance that he merits the con- fidence of his readers. While he has carefully availed himself of the studies of others, he has added largely to the common stock; and has, by his own observations, been able to correct many theo- ries which were founded on erroneous data. The work has, there- fore, tlie best kind of originality in a professional work — an ori- ginal investigation of the whole subject of inquiry. ]\Ir. Shar|)e classifies tracery into three styles — geometrical, cur- vilinear, and rectiline.ir; and not merely determines the essentials of style, but examines the several arches of the window opening, as the window arch, the scoinson arch, and the rear vault; the foliation; and the mouldings. Upon each of these heads he enters into copious explanations. There is, however, one thing we miss — a sufficient index. We are debarred from entering further into a subject which is so much matter of special detail, though we are tempted by the merits of the author so to do; but we cannot take leave of him without saying that he has written a book well worthy of the perusal of members of the profession, and of the large circle of students of niediajval architecture, its lay and clerical devotees. Modern Tombs, Part I. By Arthur W. Hakewill. Some years since we had occasion to notice a work on tombs, and to make some remarks on this branch of art; and we are not sorry to have it again brought to mind by this work of Mr. Hake- will's. In churches, tombs are most commonly one-sided; and as there is no finished back, there is a limited scope for artistic exer- tion. If, too, a tomb be truly designed, its character is deter- mined by that of the building; and this is another point of restric- tion. Where not attended to, as it very seldom is, our cathedrals become curiosity shops or museums, in which naked Greeks and negroes besport beneath the canopies and shrines of mediaeval architects. The establishment of the cemeteries threw open a new field for the artist, and one in which he has much more freedom. At the same time the architect could fairly claim a participation, and thus the body of skilled labourers has been strengthened. It is quite true the marble-mason still claims the graveyard as his domain, and leaves many boundmarks of his authority; but there is a greater disposition on the part of the public to encourage architects; and this it is Mr. Hakewill's object to support. Which, however, will become the chief ruler, the architect or the sculptor, will depend very much on the exertions of each. While architecture gains a new field of display, it further bene- fits by the necessity imposed upon sculptors of becoming students of architecture, and strengthening thereby that union of the arts, without the observance of which they cannot prosper. Then, too, the architects must learn something of sculpture, or the public will not be satisfied. At a former period we were obliged to be contented with designs for tombs, and with the promise of what the future was to do for us; but now we have got some earnest of progress, as Mr. Hake- will's book gives examples from tombs already in our cemeteries. This book, too, will give the greater encouragement to artists, as it shows them what has been done, and that they will not labour in vain. Every way, therefore the book is of interest. 48 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [[pKBRrART, At such an e.irly periml we ;ire not to expect perfection — we are to be prepared for many faults; but nevertheless we say that many of the exami)les presented by Mr. Ilakewill deserve consideration and i)raise. The monument to the prize-fij^hter, Jackson, by Thomas IJutler, in Earl's-Court Cemetery, is very praiseworthy, from the boldness of the desiresent powers of analysis except in the simplest and most elementary case — namely, in ivhicli the load is so arrano-ed as to press upon the bar with one point of contact only or in other words, the load is considered as a heavy moving poiiit. 'in practice, on the contrary, a single four-wheeled car- riage touches each rail or girder in two points, and a six-wheeled engine witli its tender has five or six points in contact on each sid'e. This greatly complicates the problem. , . , Tlie above smaller apparatus is so arranged as to comply with the simple condition that the load shall press upon one point only of the bar, and is also furnished with a contrivance by which the efl-ects of various proportions of the mass of the bar to that of the load can be examined. From the nature of the problem, it is con- venient to consider, in the first place, tlie forms of the trajectories that are described, and the corresponding deflections of the bar w-hen the mass of the bar is exceedingly small compared with that " Having obtained these under different relations of the length of the bridge, its statical deflection, and the velocity of the passmg load, we proceed to investigate, in addition, the effect which a greater proportional mass of the bar or bridge has upon the deflections. We have been greatly assisted m this research by a most elaborate and complete analytical investigation by George Stokes Esq., Fellow of Pembroke CoUege, Cambridge, undertaken at the'request of one of the members of the Commission. Ln- fortunately, the extreme difiiculty of the problem has rendered its solution unattainable excepting in the cases in which the mass of the bridge is supposed to he exceedingly f^f 1 fon^P^^^^^ "''^'^ f'^^ of the load, and in the opposite case in which the mass ot the load is supposed to be small compared witli that of the bridge Che exanfples that occur in practice lie between these two extreme ; for iA the experiments of the Commission, performed "t I orts- mouth, with the inclined plane, already described, tlie weight of the load was from three to ten times tliat ot the bar; but this s a much greater proportion thaji that which occurs in bridges paitiy on account of the necessity for employing in experiments very flexible bars, to render the changes of deflection sufhcierily appa- rent, and partly on account of the great difference of legh,toi if bars be,' ring the same ratio of weiglit to hat of the lo<«l "eie employed in experiment, the deflection would become ^o^"^" ^^ to be scarcely appreciable. This wiU readily be perceived « hen it is stated that in a bridge of 33 feet long a deflection "ot^ greater than one-fourth of an inch is usually allowed, which deflection is only ^^th part of its length; whereas m experiment it i, neces- sary to employ deflections of two or more inches. In actual bridges of ibout 40 feet span, the weight of the engine and tender is vei-y nearly the same as the weight of that J^aU of the bi dge over whicli it passes; and in large bridges the weight of the load is much less than that of the bridge. , -j „ • Mr. Stokes has shown, that vvhen the inertia of the bridge is supposed small, the trajectories of the load and the ««"-esponding defection of the bridge depend upon a certain '1"=^^ 'tJ' w '„ch he terms B; this quantity varies directly as the square of tbelen^b of tlie bar, and inversely as the product of the central sta ical deflection (namely, that which would be produced by the load et at rest on the centre of the bridge), and of the '^'l""^ ^^ o t e ^ elo- city with which the load passes over the bridge. W hen U s small, U^ increase of deflection due to the velocity of the load becomes very great, so much so that if « be equal to 1-3, the statical deflec- tions'^are doubled, and are tripled when fi = ''■'' '^''l^^'^i^.f, greater as lesser v'alues of & are taken. On the .eo'f^'-J ',f sbol^ Values of 6 correspond to small deflections; and it 'f?^''^'^^' '''^owa by our researches that in the cases of real bridges i^/- ^'^ ^^J^^ than 14 and is commonly very much greater; and that, conse- quently,'the greatest increase of deflection from velocity would be upon th'is thiory never gi-eater tlian one-tent i varying fom that to one-hundredth, or less. As H varies directly "J. the squaie ot the length of the bridge, it is plain that the n'"e-*/,^\!'.f'^ "U''^ Portsmouth experiments will correspond to much e=s ^- "e ot ^ than tJie 20 and 30-feet lengths of actual ^"^ges; hile t'.e ^alues of B in the former cases are still furtlier diminislied b) the greater deflections necessarily employed in experiments, fjf'^l^^- i.lained. It is thus shown that the enormous increa,e of deflection m-oduced by velocity in tlie Portsmouth experiments cannot occur with real bHdges, since it appears that the phenomena in question are developed to a great extent when the magnitude ot the stiuc- ure is din inished. But these calculations are made upon the sup- ^t on that the iirertia of the bridge is very --'l';, -^^ e^Tn iients made with the small apparatus ahove-mentioned hue shown that while H is less than about unity, the inertia ot tl e budge ends to diminish the deflection; while, on tin. other hand, when « is greater than unity (including, of course, aU practical cases), the 18S0.1 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 51 inertia of the bridge tends to increase tlie deflections, obtained upon tlie above supposition. Lastly, the total increase of the statical deflection, wlieu the inertia of the bridge is taken into account, will be found much greater for short bridges than for long bridges. Supposing, for exam])le, the mass of the travelling load and of the bridge to be nearly equal, the increase of the statical deflection at the highest velocities for bridges of 20 feet in length and of the ordinary degree of stiffness may be more than one-half; whereas for bridges of 50 feet in length, the increase will not be greater than one-seventh, and will rapidly diminish as greater lengths are taken. But as it has been shown that the increase ceeteris paribus is diminished by increasing the stiffness of the bridge, we always ha^•e it in our power to reduce its amount within safe limits. Hence in estimating the strength of a railway bridge, this increase of the statical deflection must be taken into account, by calculating it from the greatest load which is likely to pass over the bridge, and from the liighest ])0ssible \elocity. It must be remembered, also, that this deflection is liable to be in- creased by jerks produced by the passage of the train over the joints of the raUs. ^V^e also made some experiments by means of the large appara- tus, before mentioned, on curved bars, and tliese bore much greater weights at high velocities than straight bars; but the deflections of these bars were very great, compared with their length. In drawing attention to these experiments, we would remark that, in actual structures, where the deflections are so very small, the effect of cambering the girders, or of forming a curved pathway for the load, would be of less comparative importance, and might tend to introduce practical inconvenience. The general impression amongst engineers appears to be at variance with the above results. They, for the most part, state their belief that the deflection caused by passing a weight at a high velocity over a girder is less than the deflection which would be produced by the same weight at rest; even when tliey ha,ve observed an increase, they have attributed it solely to the jerks of the engine or train produced by passing over inequalities at the junction of the rails, or other similar caiises. For the ])urpose of examining this question, we have submitted two actual bridges to the test of experiment. These bridges, one of ivhich, the Ewell Bridge, is situated upon the Croydon and Epsom line, and the other, the Godstone Bridge, upon the South Eastern line, are both constructed to carry tlie railway over a road. A scaffold was constructed, which rested on the road, and was, therefore, unaffected by the motion of the bridge, and a pencil was fixed to the under side of one of the girders of the bridge, so that when the latter was deflected by the weight of the engine or train either placed at rest or passing over it, the pencil traced the extent of deflection vipon a drawing-board attached to the scaffold. An engine and tendei', which had been in each case liberally placed under our orders by the directors of the companies, was made to tra^verse the bridges at different velocities, or rest upon tliem at pleasure. The span of tlie Ewell Bridge is -IS feet, and the stati- cal deflection due to the above load rather more tlian one-fifth of an inch. This was slightly but decidedly increased when the engine was made to pass over the bridge, and at a velocity of about SO miles per hour, an increase of one-seventh was observed. As it is known that the strain upon a girder is nearly proportional to the deflection, it must be inferred that in this case the velocity of the load enabled it to exercise the same pressure as if it had been increased by one-seventh, and placed at rest upon the centre of the bridge. The weight of the engine and tender was 39 tons, and the velocity enabled it to exercise a pressure upon the girder equal to a weight of about ^3 tons. Similar results were obtained from the Godstone Bridge. We would take this opportunity of mentioning how much we are indebted to Mr. P. W. Barlow and to Mr. Hood for the assistance they afforded us in making these experiments. We have also to express our obligations to the Astronomer Royal for the advantage of his presence during the above and other experiments, as well as for many valuable suggestions during the progi-ess of the inquiry. In addition to the above experiments, we have made many for the purpose of supplying data for completing the mechanical theory of elastic beams. If a beam be in any manner bent, its concave side will be compressed, and its convex side extended. An exact knowledge of the laws which govern its compression and extension must precede any accurate general theory of its deflec- tions, vibrations, and ruptures. The law which is usually assumed in mathematical investigations, and by which the longitudinal compressions and extensions, within certain limits, are assumed to be directly proportional to the forces by which they are produced, although very nearly true in some bodies, is not, perhaps, accurately true for any material. Experiments have, therefore, been made to determine with pre- cision the dii'ect longitudinal extension and compression of h ;ig liars of cast and wrought iron. The extensions were determined by attaching a bar, 50 feet in length and 1 inch square, to the roof of a lofty building, and suspending weights to its lower ex- tremity. The compressions were ascertained by enclosing a bar 10 feet long and 1 inch square in a groove, ]ilaced in a cast-iron frame, which allowed the bar to slide freely without friction, and yet per- mitted no lateral flexure. Tlie bar was then compressed by means of a lever, loaded with various weights. Every possible precau- tion was taken to ensure accuracy. The following formulie were deduced for expressing the relation between the extension and com])ression of a bar of cast-iron, 10 feet long and 1 inch square, and the weights producing them respectively: — Extension, w = 116117e — 20190oe- Compression, w = 107T63d — 36318rf-. AT'here «■ is the weight in pounds acting upon the bar, e the exten- sion and d the compression in inches. And the formulje deduced from these, for a bar 1 inch square and of any length, are — For Extension, 13934040 ^ — 2907432000 j. For Compression, w = 1293I5G0 — ■ 522979200 -. AV'liere I is the lengtli of the bar in inches. These formulfe were obtained from the mean results of four kinds of cast-iron. The mean tensile strength of cast-iron derived from these ex- periments is 15,711 lb. per square inch, and the ultimate extension 5^5 of the length, and this weight would compress a bar of iron of the same section yf^ of its length. It must be observed, that the usual law is very nearly true for wrought-iron. Many denominations of cast-iron have got into common use, of which the properties had not yet been ascertained with due pre- cision. Seventeen kinds of them i^ave been selected, and their tensile and crushing forces determined. Experiments have also been made upon the transverse strength and resistance of bars of wrought and cast iron acted upon by horizontal as well as vertical forces. These experiments will be found to exhibit very fully the deflections and sets of cast-iron and the defect of its elasticity. The bars which were experimented upon by transverse pressure, were of sections varying from 1 incli square to 3 inches square, and of various other sections, and the actual breaking weights show that the strength of a bar 1 inch square should not be taken as the unit for calculating the strength of a larger casting of similar metal, although the practice of doing so has been a preva- lent one, for it appears that the crystals in the jiortion of the bar which cools first, are small and close, whilst the central portion of bars 2 inches square, and 8 inches square, is composed of compara- tively lai-ge crystals, and bars of 3 inches square in section planed down on all sides alike to f of an inch square, are found to be \'ery weak to resist both transverse and crushing pressure. Hence it appears desirable in seeking for a unit for the strength of iron of whicli a large casting is to be made, that the bar used should equal in thickness the thickest part of the proposed casting. The performance of these various experiments has been greatly facilitated by the permission wliich was liberally granted to us by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, to make use of Ports- mouth Dockyard in carrying on our investigations, in addition to which, liowever, we found it necessary to hire for several months some premises in Lambeth. This was found requisite for the per- formance of those portions of the experimental inquiry which had been undertaken by Eaton Hodgkiuson, Esq. Although we are aware that, to point out the labours of individual members of the Commission would be impossible, and that it may appear invidious to single one out for praise, « e cannot resist the expression of our thanks to the above-named gentleman for the zeal and intelligence with which he has carried out the remarkable series of experi- ments which are detailed in the Appendix to this Report, and which constitute a large proportion of those which have beea already described. In addition we have obtained, from many of the iron-masters, information respecting the various processes employed by them in the manufacture of their irons, and the effect of such processes 8* 52 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [February, upon the strength and nroperties of the material produced: and we have also made carcfiil inquiries of civil enf^ineers with respect to the qualities and mixtures of iron preferred by them, for the large castings used in tlie construction of railway bridges, and to the respective properties of hot-blast and cold-blast iron: this in- vestigation has been greatly facilitated by the liberality and can- dour with which tliese gentlemen have communicated to us the results of their experience. As no ma]) of tlie kingdom had been constructed representing the districts in which iron is found and worked, we applied to the officers of tlic Museum of Practical Geology for their assistance, and tliev caused one to be prepared expressly to accompany this Kejiort, in which the principal furnaces now in blast are shown. Great differences of opinion exist with respect to the best qua- lities and mixtures of iron; and, after all, it appears that those employed for large castings depend practically so much upon the commercial question of relative cost that engineers arc rarely able to select the very best material. It is generally admitted that en- gineers have no guarantee that the mixture for which they have stipulated in a contract shall be that used by the founder, and no certain test by which to determine whether a given piece of iron has been manufactured by hot or cold blast. A ^ery good protec- tion appears to he contained in the recommendation of JNIr. Fo.x, that engineers in contracting for a number of girders, should sti- pulate that they should not break with less than a certain weight (leaving the mixture to the founder), and cause one more than the required number to be cast. The engineer may then select one to he broken, and, if it 1)reak with less weight than that agreed npon, tlie whole nuiy be rejected. At the beginning of the railway system the bridges were natu- rally constructed upon similar principles to those which had been already employed for common roads or aqueducts. Some of these ordinary constructions have proved inadequate to sustain the enor- mous loads and vibrations of railway trains. Some have been con- sidered too expensive; others, as the suspension bridges, have been found wholly unfitted for railway purposes. Moreover, tlie neces- sity for preserving the level of a railroad as much as pi>ssible, com- bined with that of passing under or over existing canals, rivers, or roads, has created a demand for those forms of bridges which ad- mit of being kept as low as possible, consistently with the proper headway or passage below; or, in other words, of making the least possible difference of level between the road or stream which the bridge has to carry and that which it has to cross. From these causes, combined with the innumerable opportuni- ties of building new- bridges which the railways have given occa- sion to, and a constant endeavour to reduce the expense of build- ing them, a variety of new constructions have been projiosed and essayed, most of them of great merit and value, while others appear to be of very doubtful stability. On the whole, the art of raihi ay bridge-building cannot be said to be in that settled state which would enable an engineer to apply principles with confidence, ^\'e have tlierefore thought it our duty to inquire into the present methods of railway bridge-build- ing, to collect in evidence the opinions and practice of the leading members of the profession of civil engineers upon this branch of construction, and especially with respect to the form and jiropor- tions of simple cast-iron girders, the practical limits to the em- ployment of such girders, the methods of combining them with the rest of the structure, the various forms of compound girders, the expediency of several combinations of wrought-iron with cast- iron: and, finally, the comparative merits of plain girders, and of other forms in which the principles of the aixh, or otlier methods of giving stiffness, are introduced. The simplest bridge, and that which admits of the greatest por- sible headway at a given elevation, is, undoubtedly, the straight girder bridge. The length of a simple cast-iron girder appears to be limited only by the power of making sound castings, and the difficulty of moving large masses. Thus the practical length has been variously stated to us as 4U, 50, and GU feet. The form resulting from Mr. Hodgkinson's former experiments on this subject is universally ad- mitted to be that which gives the greatest strength; but the re- quirements of construction compel many variatians from it, espe- cially in the ratio between tlie top and bottom flanges. Moreover the convenience and the necessity of keeping the roadway for rails as low as possible has introduced a practice of supporting the beams which sustain the rails upon one side of the bottom flange. The pressure of tlie roadway and of the passing loads being thus thrown wholly on one side of the central vertical web of the girder produces torsion (which is not always taken into account in deter- mining the proportions of the girder). The existence of this torsion is admitted on all hands, and various schemes are employed to counteract and diminisli it; but the form of a girder that will effectually resist this disturbing force, without incurring other evils, still remains a desideratum. The requisite length of girders is increased considerably by the excessive use of skew bridges; and it is much to be regretted that difficulties should often be thrown in the way of altering the course of existing roads and canals when the line of a proposed railway ha])pens to cross them at an acute angle. Partly from these causes and partly from a little indulgence in the priile of construction, skew bridges may be found, of which, from the obliquity of the bridge, tlie girders are more than double the length that would be required by the direct span of the oi)ening to be crossed. M'lien the span of the opening or other circumstances render the use of single straight girders unadvisable, straight girders built up of several separate castings bolted together, and some- times trussed with wrought-iron tension rods, are largely em- ployed, and necessarily with great varieties of construction. By tliese means the ffirders may be extended to spans of upwards of 120 feet. When wrought-iron is combined with cast-iron in the manner of trussing, several difficulties arise from the different expansions of the two metals and the difference of their masses, which causes the wrought-iron rods to be more rapidly affected by a sudden change of temperature than the cast-iron j)arts. The constant strain upon the wrought-iron tends to produce a permanent elongation, and hence tension-rods may require to be occasionally screwed up. We have sought for ojiinions and information upon all these ques- tions, and these show that the greatest skill and caution are neces- sary to insure the safe employment of such combinations. It is not admitted that the vibration of railway trains would loosen or injure the bolts or rivets of compound girders. Nevertheless, wood, felt, or other similar substances have occasionally been in- ti'oduced between surfaces to diminish the communication of vi- bration. The general opinion of engineers appears to be that the cast- iron arch is the best form for an iron bridge when it can be selected without regard to expense or to tlie height above the river or road which is to be crossed. For low bridges the bowstring girder is recommended. Lattice bridges appear to be of doubtful merit. The latest mode of construction that has been introduced con- sists of boiler plates riveted together as in iron ship-building, and combined in various ways with cast-iron. Hollow girders are thus formed, which are either made so large as to admit of the road and carriages passing through them, as in the Conway and Britannia bridges, or else these tube girders are made on a smaller scale and employed in the same manner as the ordinary cast-iron girders, to sustain transverse joists which carry the road. The first kind is applicable to enormous spans, those of the two bridges above men- tioned being 100 and 462 feet respectively. The second kind are said to be cheaper and more elastic than other forms for spans that e.vceed tO feet. These methods appear to possess and to promise many advantages, but they are of such recent introduction that no experience has yet been acquired of their powers to resist the various actions of sudden changes of temperature, vibrations, and other causes of deterioration. We have thought it our duty to seek for information with respect to them, and we find engineers to be for the most part exceedingly favourable towards tliem ; but for the reasons above stated we are unable to express any opinion upon them. At the same time we desire to bear testimony to the patient care and scientific manner in which the forms and propor- tions of the great tubes of the Conway and Britannia bridges have been elaborated; and we must beg to refer to the ^liuutes of Evi- dence for the details of the information which we have collected. The investigation in which we have been concerned has made it evident that the novelty of the railway system has introduced a variety of new mechanical causes, the effects of which have not yet had time fully to develope themselves, on account of the ex- tent and number of new railways, and the rapidity with which they were constructed, in many cases scarcely giving breathing time to the engineers, by which to observe and profit by the experience of each successive new construction. Thus it has happened that some portions of mechanism and structure lia\e been made too weak, or placed in unfavourable combinations; and hence some unavoidable but most lamentable, and sometimes fatal accidents, have been occasioned. It also appears that there exists a great want of uni- formity in practice in many most important matters relating to railway engineering, which shows how imperfect and deficient it yet is in leading principles. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 5S But we have also oliserved throughout the present inquiry that the engineers have been already warned by experience of the necessity for increasing the strength of bridges employed in rail- ways; and of watching more narrowly their construction, so as to render them as strong as possible. Accordingly we have found that the original structure of all those bridges which had shown the least signs of weakness, has been carefully altered and strengtliened, so as to leave no ai>parent cause for apprehension; while in new bridges, better and stronger combinations are adopted. And in conclusion, considering that the attention of engineers has been sufficiently awakened to the necessity of providing a superabundant strengtli in railway structures, and also considering the great importance of leaving the genius of scientific men un- fettered for the development of a subject as yet so novel and so rapidly progressi\'e as tlie construction of railways, we are of opinion that any legislative enactments with respect to the forms and proportions of the iron structures employed therein would be highly inexpedient. ^Ve would, however, direct attention to the general conclusions we have arrived at from our oiin experiments and from the infor- mation supplied to us, namely, — That it appears advisable for engineers in contracting for cast- ings to stipulate for iron to bear a certain weight instead of en- deavouring to procure a specified mixture. That to calculate the strength of a particular iron for large castings the bars used as a unit should be eijual in thickness to the thickest part of the proposed casting. Tliat, as it has been shown that to resist the effects of reiterated flexure iron should scarcely be allowed to suffer a deflection equal to one-third of its ultimate deflection, and since the deflection produced by a given load is increased by the effects of peixussion, it is adiisable that the greatest load in railway bridges should in no case exceed one-sixth of the weight which would break the beam when laid on at rest in tlie centre. That as it has appeared that the effect of velocity communi- cated to a load is to increase the deflection tliat it would produce if set at rest upon the bridge; also that the dynamical increase in bridges of less than 40 feet in lengtli is of suflicient importance to demand attention, and may even for lengths of 20 feet become more than one-half of the statical deflection at high velocities, but can be diminished by increasing the stiffness of the bridge; it is advisable that, for sliort bridges especially, the increased deflec- tion should be calculated from the greatest load and highest velocit)' to which the bridge may be liable; and that a vveight which would statically produce the same deflection should, in esti- mating the strengtli of the structure, be considered as the greatest load to which the bridge is suljject. Lastly, the power of a beam to resist impact varies with the mass of the beam, tlie striking body being the same, and by increasing the inertia of tlie beam without adding to its strength the power to resist impact is within certain limits also increased. Hence it follows tliat weight is au important consideration in structures exposed to concussions. "Whilst, however, we lament that the limited means which have been placed at our disposal, and the great time required for such investigations, have compelled us to leave in an imperfect state, or even to neglect altogether, many interesting and important branches of experimental inquiry, we trust that the facts and opinions which we have been enabled to collect will serve to illustrate the action which takes place under varying circum- stances in iron railway bridges, and enable the engineer and me- chanic to apply the metal with more confidence than heretofore. Whitehall, 26th July, 1849. DotTGLAS GaLTON, Lieut. Hoyal Engineers, Secretary. Wrottesley. Robert Willis. Henry James. George Rexxie. W. CUBITT. Eaton Hodgkinsox. Analysis of the Evidence received by the Commission. Chemical Const iluenls of Iron.— }.U.notT\es Stirling states, that iron in its pure state is malleable, and that it is a combination of carbon with iron which produces cast-iron. In addition to carbon, the cast-iron in this country contains silica, lime, magnesia, alumina, occasionally some of the phosphates and other admixtures ; but iron made from magnetic ores is much purer. The strength of cast-iron depends upon its freedom from impurities and upon the proportion of carbon it contains. The strongest cast-iron con- tains about three per cent, of carbon, or, according to Mr. Charles May, when the carbon is in the smallest proportion that produces fluidity, a larger proportion tends to make the iron soft and weak, and a smaller hard and brittle. Mr. Glynn states, that the strongest iron generally shows a clear grey, or slightly mottled fracture, and he considers that that colour indicates the combination of carbon with iron which produces the greatest strength. Mr. Morries Stirling states, that while colour is admissible as a test of strength it is not bo of chemical constitution, for though dark-coloured iron is usually weak, grey iron usually strong, and white iron usually brittle, yet black iron when chilled becomes white, although it must be supposed to contain the same quantity of carbon j hence, as a general rule, he concludes that colour indicates the treatment to which iron has been subjected, and in some cases only the quantity of carbon. Mr. Charles May coincides in con- sidering the question of strength to be very much reducible to the quantity of carbon contained in the iron, as some of the tenderest iron skilfully treated will produce some of the strongest castings. Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Morries Stirling mention that the fluidity of the Berlin iron is due to the presence of arsenic, and the latter has observed that manganese mixed artifi- cially with cast-iron closes the grain and is an improvement boih to cast-iron and steel. On wrought-iron the effect of manganese is stated to be to give it the hot short property, whilst the cold short is produced by the presence of a small quantity of phosphorus ; and the admixture of arsenic renders wrought-iron hard and brittlc- Qualities and Mixtures of Iron. — The use of the hot-blast in the manufac- ture of iron, it is stated by Mr. Glynn, does not of itself make iron worse or better ; but by its means, materials, otherwise intractable, yielding alloys of iron may be smelted, instead of ores yielding purer metal. Mr. .Morries Stirling has not found any distinct difference between the chemical consti- tuents of hot-blast and cold-blast iron, but apparently there is more carbon in the hot-blast iron, and graphite is more commonly to be seen on the sur- face of No. 1 hot-blast than on cold-blast iron. Mr. Charles May considers, that by the use of the hot-blast the quantity of carbon which can be com- bined with the iron is increased. Mr. Hawkshaw and Mr. Fairbairn consider hot-blast iron weaker than cold-blast ; the latter gentleman and Mr. Stephen- son state that the use of the hot-blast renders the metal very fluid ; and Mr. Glynn says that its use is to produce in large quantities and at a cheap rate a soft fluid metal to be employed in light castings, and that in that respect he considers the invention to be of great pubhc benefit, as enabling Scotch iron-masters to use a new kind of ore, which though of a weaker character, further experience may enable them to purify and improve. At the same time the hot-blast is essential for smelting the iron-stone from South Wales with anthracite coal, and the metal yielded is of the strongest character. Mr. Glynn and Mr. Stephenson mention that generally hot-blast iron is dark grey in colour and very fine in the crystal ; but it appears to be universally agreed that there is no certain method of distin- guishing hot-blast from cold-blast iron. Mr. Uastrick states that the temperature of the hot-blast at the Gartsherrie furnaces was 680^ Fahrenheit. Mr. Stephenson does not attach much importance to the variation in strength of diftereut sorts of iron, he considers that taking the average of irons generally throughout the country there is a proximity to an uniform standard. He concludes, from a series of experiments made by him for the High Level Bridge at Newcastle, that hot-blast iron is less certain in its results than cold-blast; that mixtures of cold-blast are more uniform than those of hot-blast ; that mixtures of hot and cold-blast give the best results; that simple samples do not run so solid as mixtures ; that simple samples run too hard and sometimes too soft for practical purposes. Mr. Kastrick would prefer making girders of forge iron. Mr. Hawkshaw would use the Low- moor iron. It is, however, generally admitted that mixing irons from dif- ferent parts of the country produces the best castings, and since the object in mixing them is to obtain the proportion of carbon to iron which gives the greatest strength combined with the required degree of fluidity, the exact proportion will be regulated by the appearance of the fracture of the several irons. Mr. Morries Stirling states that No. 1, hot-blast iron, mixed with No. 3, cold-blast, will give the right proportion of carbon ; but that if iron containing that proportion could be obtained at once from the blast-furnace, it would be very superior. Mr. Charles May, however, observes, that the strength of cast-iron depends upon the bulk into which it is to be run as well as upon its constituent parts, and that the art of theironfounder consists in his ability to produce the required amount of strength without any very definite knowledge upon the subject, either chemical or mechanical. Jlr. Fox considers a very good mixture for girders to be cold-blast Blaenavon, two-thirds, and of hot-blast Scotch two sorts, from the black band and the red hccmatite ores, one-third. Mr. Grissell considers the use of old scrap iron to be of immense value, and would use Scotch iron, cold-blast Welch, and old scrap. Mr. Fairbairn names as the best mixture independently of price — Lowraoor, No. 3 . . . . 30 per cent. Blaina, or Yorkshire, No. 2. . . 25 „ Shropshire, or Derbyshire, No. 3 . 25 „ Good Old Scrap .... 20 „ 100 54 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, [February, Mr. Glynii names one-third strong iron from South Wales and two-thirds of the more fluid metal of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Shropshire. Mr. C. Fox, Mr. Grissell, and Mr. Charles Jlay, however, all concur in staling that mixtures of iron practically depend very much upon the commercial question of cost, and it is generally ailmitted that engineers have no guarantee that the mixture for which they may have stipulated in a contract shall be that used bv the founder ; hence Mr. Fox recommends that engineers in contract- ing for a number of girders should stipulate that they should not break with ess than a certain weight (leaving the mixture to the founder), and cause one more than the required number to he cast ; the engineer might then select anv one to be broken, and if it broke with a less weight than had been agreed upon, the whole should be rejected. Mr. Glynn considers that the strongest castings are those cast from the air-furnace in dry sand, and castings in loam are stronger than those in open sand. The metal is more dense and more free from impurity when cast upright. Mr. Fox aud Mr. Fairbairu also prefer the air-furnace. With respect to wrought-iron, Mr. Morries Stirling considers the process adapted in its manufacture as capable of great improvement. Mr. E. Clarke states, that wrought-iron from the same maker is not always the same, and though there is not much difference in the ultimate strength of iron, that some qualities extend much more than others before breaking. Proporlion of Load to Breaking Weight, in Girders. — There appears to he a considerable difference of opinion as to the proportion between the greatest load which a girder should be allowed to bear and the breaking weight. There are two conditions under which the weight may be applied, viz., first, when stationary, as in the case of water-tanks, floors, &c. ; second, when the weight moves so as to cause concussions and vibrations, as in railway bridges. In girders required for the first case Mr. Fox and Mr. T. Cubitt consider that the breaking weight should be three times the greatest load ; Mr. P. M'. Barlow four times; and Mr. Glynn would not make it less than five times the load. In girders for railway bridges Mr. Brunei states that he allows the load to he one-third or two-fifths of the breaking weight ; but he considers that the rule he adopts for calculating the dimensions of his girders gives more than the nsual strength. -Mr. Grissell and Mr. Charles May consider one- third to be suflScient; Mr. Eastrick, Mr. P. W. Barlow, Mr. E. Stephenson, and Mr. Joseph Cubitt adopt one-sixth; Mr. Hawkshaw prefers one-seventh, except in cases where great care is exercised in the selection of materials and workmanship, when a smaller proportion would suflice; aud Mr. Glynn considers that in structures exposed to concussion and vibration the ultimate strength of a girder should be ten times the greatest load. Testa for Girders. — The general opinion as to the amount of test which should he applied to girders is that the test should amount to twice the greatest load. Mr. Joseph Cubitt would employ three times the greatest load, or half the breaking weight ; and Mr. Thomas Cubitt considers it safer to test a girder almost to the extent that would break it than not to prove it at all, as the testing of girders is the only means of discovering defects under the surface, and concealed from the eye. Mr. Brunei, however, thinks that a girder should not be tested with a weight exceeding the greatest load, as the object in testing is to ascertain the soundness of the casting, which may he judged of by its appearance under the load, and all risk of permanent injury should be carefully avoided. Mr. Eastrick, Mr. Glynn, and Mr. Joseph Cubitt recommend that blows be applied to cast-iron girders when under the testing load. Mr. Hawkshaw and Mr. P. W. Barlow consider that where actual weight is used sufficient vibration is given to the beam by throwing the weight into the scales used in testing. It is stated that, for convenience sake, girders are usually tested by means of the hydraulic press; but Mr. Fairbairn, Mr. Locke, Mr. Brunei, Mr. Joseph Cubitt, and Mr. Fox prefer using actual weight, on account of the uncer- tainty as to the actual pressure the hydraulic press brings upon the girder ; though the latter gentleman considers that all liability to error in the press is obviated by an improved construction which he has adopted. Mr. C. May states that, as girders are bought at the lowest possible price per ton, the manufacturer is compelled to adopt the most convenient and not the best mode for testing them, or ten times his profit would not pay him for the experiment. Loads on the Bottom Flange. — It is admitted that the mode of supporting the roadway on the bottom flange of a girder causes torsion in the girder, though Mr. Eastrick and Mr. Locke do not consider that the strength is diminished by the pressure being so applied; and Mr. Stephenson does not think the torsion is of sufficient consequence to be noticed. In order to guard against any ill effects which might arise from the torsion, Mr. Locke fits in transverse pieces of timber between the two girders which support a line of rails, chocked perfectly tight, and he ties the bottom webs together with tension bars. Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. Hawkshaw consider it would be advantageous to alter the form of girders to enable them to withstand the torsion. Mr. Fairbairn thinks the cross beams should either lay on the top flange, or be suspended by hook bolts from the bottom flange, in whicli opinion Mr. Glynn concurs. Mr. Hawkshaw would increase the top flange of the girder, or would cast shoes or brackets on them to bring the bearing of the transverse joists close to tlie vertical web. Mr. P. W. Barlow has adopted a new form of bridge to avoid this torsion. Mr. W. II. Barlow observed considerable torsion in a girder without auy top flange. Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. Hawkshaw are of opinion that wooden cross-bearers for the roadway are liable to increase the amount of torsion by bending ; but Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Brunei state that wood is desirable as a cushion to prevent the noise and vibration which iron on iron would he subject to. Length for Simple Cast-Iron Girders. — The use of simple cast-iron girders in bridges appears to be limited only by the power to make sound castings (which arises chiefly from the difficulty of pouring the metal equally, and the inconvenience of handhng large masses. Mr. Eastrick, however, would not put any limit to the length. Mr. Hawkshaw considers that they may safely be made more than 50 feet long; in which opinion Mr. Fox and Mt. Grissell concur, but name CO feet as the limit. Mr. Glynn, Mr. Charles May, and Mr. Joseph Cubitt would make them from 40 to 50 feet. Mr. P. W. Barlow, Mr. Fairbairn, Mr. W. H. Barlow, and Mr. Stephenson state 40 feet as the limit; and Mr. Brunei names 35 feet, as he does not consider that sound castings can be ensured to a greater length. Mr. Fairbairn, however, mentions a girder in Holland 70 feet long cast in one piece. Form for .Simple Girders. — It appears to he universally admitted that the form resulting from Mr. Hodgkinson's experiments on the tension and com- pression of iron is that which gives the greatest strength; but the actual proportions are generally modified to suit the varying circumstances under which girders are employed. Mr. Stephenson sometimes makes the top flange equal to the bottom one, but usually in tlie proporlion of 3 ; 5, partly to obviate any risk from unequal cooling of the materials, and partly from the necessity of having a large top flange to bolt the flooring to. In prefer- ence to using a single girder, Mr. Stephenson recommends two girders to be bolted together, with a baulk of timber between, to which the rail is fixed. Mr. Hawkshaw, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Joseph Cubitt recommend that the top flange be increased beyond the proportions given by Mr. Hodgkinson, in order to resist the lateral torsion. Mr. W. H. Barlow and Mr. Locke would use the arched form of girder whenever practicable, and the former gentle- man says that straight girders have been in fashion, and consequently more used than practice actually required. Mr. Fox, in girders subject to dead weight only, would make the proportion of the top flange to the bottom one as 1 ; 6; but in railway bridges he recommends 1 ; 4. Mr. Thomas Cubitt. mentions that shoes, or sockets, or any projections cast on girders, have a tendency to create flaws from causing the dirt to accumulate in those places, and he considers that the shape which will ensure a sound casting should be as much considered as the theoretical form of greatest strength. Deflection of Girders, and Effects of Permanent Loads and Change of Temperature. — It is considered that girders should not deflect more than from if^th to :rio"' "f their length according to the form of the girder. It does not appear from the evidence that a weight equal to what a girder is constructed to carry will, even if left on for any length of time, cause the deflection of the girder to increase, unless subjected at tlie same time to considerable changes of temperature. Some experiments made by Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. Braidnood show that iron loses a considerable pro- portion of its strength when heated to a temperature of more than 220° Fahrenheit, and that it becomes uncertain below 32°. Mr. Clarke described the effect of the sun coming out and shining on the Conway tubular bridge for half an hour to have been to raise the tube vertically one inch ; and he mentions that at night, from the low temperature, the deflection was always greater than in the day-time. Mr. Fox instances the eflTect of frequent and great changes of temperature on some short girders, 6 feet long, which support the hoods of the forges in his workshops. In the day-time they are so warm that the hand can only just bear the heat ; at night they become cold. The effect is to make the girders sicag, and the swagging appears to be continually increasing. Some have attained as nmch as 3" deflection in the centre; but their strength does not seem to be impaired. The general impression of engineers appears to be that the deflection caused by passing a weight at a high velocity over a girder is less than the deflection which would be produced by the same weight at rest; and the increase ob- served, in many instances, is attributed by ilr. Locke, Mr. Stephenson, and Mr. Fox, to the inequaUties at the junction of the rails, or to the jerks of the engine. Mr. Hawkshaw however considers, that the deflections would be increased, and has given some examples of a manifest increase. Mr. P. W. Barlow has observed a slight increase, and Mr. M". H. Barlow, in reference to this subject, cites a curious phenomenon which he observed on a timber viaduct, viz.: that with a heavy goods train at a low velocity, a certain amount of deflection was produced ; but an express train passing immediately afterwards, with a much lighter engine, seemed to push the bridge like a wave before it. Forms of Girders beyond the limits of simple Cast-iron Girders. — The modes of construction which have been adopted by engineers for crossing spans beyond the limits of girders made of a single casting, are very various ; but the chief forms which have been adopted by engineers for girders of a compound nature in railway bridges may be classed under straight built- girders of cast-iron in separate pieces bolted together; arched girders of cast-iron; trussed girders^ bow-string girders; wrought-iron box and tubular girders. The Bmlt Girder is formed of separate castings fitted closely at the joints and bolted together, and is entirely dependent upon the bolts for support. Mr. Grissell instances one of 120 feet span, and states that he should have 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 55 no hesitation in making one of 200 feet span ; but the engineers generally seemed to consider that other modes of construction disposed the material more advantageously. Mr. P. M'. Barlow exhibited a new form of girder in separate castings, for moderate spans. The Arched Girder. — The cast-iron arch is a mode of construction which all engineers concur in approving of, when not limited by considerations of levels or of abutments. Mr. Locke states he would never willingly use cast- iron in any other shape than that of an arch. Mr. \V. H. Barlow has also adopted it where practicable. The Trussed Girder is straight and of separate castings bolted together, assisted by wrought-iron tension rods. The Dee Bridge girder was on this principle. Mr. Stephenson caused an experimental girder to be made, to exhibit the effect produced by the tension rods, adjusted as they were in the Dee Bridge girders, as well as the effect when adjusted to lie parallel with the bottom flange and adjoining it; these experiments, in conjunction with some made by Mr. T. L. Goocb, show that tlie tension-rods, though th eydo not, when acting at the angle, as they did in the Dee Bridge girders, produce the full effect ; yet, that they add considerably to the strength of the girder. Mr. Rastrick and Mr. Fairhairn object to the trussed girder on account of the different rates of expansion in cast and wrought-iron. Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Wild propose to obviate this objection by putting the tension-rod along the bottom flange, and applying to it an initial strain of five or six tons per square inch, so as to cause the wrought-iron to come into play as soon as any weight is applied to the girder. Mr. Fox approves of this arrangement, bnt he considers that a strain upon wrought-iron tends to stretch the metal permanently, and that the tension-rods would require to be tightened perio- dically, whilst Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Wild have concluded from their experiments, that with a less weight than ten tons per square inch, the elas- ticity of the metal is not affected. The measure of the strain upon the tension rods is the amount they are actually elongated by screwing up. As a com- bination of wrought and cast-iron, Mr. P. \V. Barlow has proposed to cast a bar of wrought-iron in the bottom flange of a girder, and not to make the bottom flange so large. Mr. Locke, Mr. Stephenson, and Mr. C. May, con- sidered that the different rates of expansion of the two metals would be au objection to it. Jlr. Brunei objects to the use of cast-iron in long spans, and its combination with wrought-iron, and prefers a framing of wrought- iron and wood. Bowstring Girder. — Mr. Hawksbaw, Mr. Glynn, Mr. W. H. Barlow, Mr. Locke, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Joseph Cuhitt, are agreed in considering the how- string form of girder, with a bow either of cast-iron or wrought-iron cells and the tension-rods of wrought-iron, as f °e from any objections urged against other modes of combining wrought and cast-iron. It is considered applicable, under almost all circumstances, as the roadway can be suspended from the bow. Box or Tubular Girders. — Mr. Fairbairn considers these girders the best for large spans, and from some experiments be made, considers them capable of resisting not only dead weight but also impact. Mr. Stephenson states that they are cheaper and more elastic than other forms for spans of more than 40 feet, and he recommends that the top should be made of cast- iron to resist compression. Mr. Glynn and Mr. Locke mention that they have been used for steam-engines for some time, and consider the plan sound. Mr. Brunei looks upon the introduction of wrought-iron into the construction of girders as the most important step that has been taken for some time in engineering; and he considers that, with ordinary care, and with the improvements which have been introduced in the mode of riveting, the joints made by riveting may be as permanent, and in every respect equal to the other parts of the structure, and he does not consider oxidation or vibration can affect them. With respect to riveting, Mr. Brunei considers that two plates could be riveted together so as to ensure their not breaking in any part contiguous to the rivets or joints, because the rivets should not act as pins or bolts, but as clamps, whicli by pressing the plates together, produce an enormous friction. Mr. Clarke, however, who has made a good many experiments on the subject, does not appear to have obtained so close an union of the plate, as he states that they generally broke at the riveting. Mr. Hawksbaw has adopted wrought-iron girders for large spans, because he considers the use of wrought-iron more advisable than cast-iron for large spans : the box form is adopted to produce lateral stiffness. Mr. Fox and Jlr. Rastrick consider that a large structure, like the Menai Bridge, must be subject to sudden compression and extension from the changes of tem ■ perature. Suspension Bridges. — Mr. Stephenson does not consider suspension bridges applicable to railways except to very small extent; and he states that he has been informed that an engine and train passing over one at Stockton (which has since been replaced by a girder bridge), pushed the bridge hke a wave in front of it. Mr. Brunei states that, under very peculiar circumstances, he once proposed a suspension bridge himself. Mr. Brunei considers that the lattice bridge is advantageous only under circumstances which would prevent materials of more than a certain length being procured. Mr. Stephenson objects that the compression cannot be carried through them, and that the base through which the strain has to be carried is not sufliciently broad. It is stated, however, that Sir J. M'Neill has remedied the want of power to resist compressiou by introducing a cast-iron top. Best form for Bridges independently of Expense. — Mr, Rastrick, Mr. Hawksbaw, Mr. Fox, Mr. P. W. Barlow, Mr. Glynn, Mr. Locke, -Mr. Brunei, and Mr. Cubitt, agree in considering that the best form for ii-on bridges of large span is that of a cast-iron arch. Mr. Grissell states that he considers a well-made straight girder equally to be depended upon, hut admits that the arch is the strongest form ; and Mr. Fairbairn says that for spans beyond 70 or 80 feet he would prefer wrought-iron tubular girders. Mr. Stephenson would use narrow wrought-iron girders. Action on Skew Bridges. — It does not appear that the deflection of gird- ers is sufficient to cause oscillation in engines passing over skew bridges, by causing one side to be deflected to the full amount before the other. But Mr. Stephenson mentions that when the road has been in had order, one wheel being on the solid angle of the brickwork, while the other was on the soft ballast, has caused considerable oscillation. Effect of Impact and Vilration. — It is not admitted that the vibration caused by a railway train on bridges would injure the bolts or rivets of compound girders, if well-made and strong in the first instance. Mr. Grissell gives them a large amount of surplus strength, as he thinks that when no greater strength of iron is put than is absolutely necessary, every jar must tend to loosen the joints, and he considers that vibration has much more effect on wrought iron than on cast iron. Mr. Fox states that he would not depend on a cast-iron girder of separate pieces bolted together without strengthening it with a wrought-iron tie-bar, but the use of wooden sleepers interposes a cushion which does away with the vibration. Mr. W. II. Barlow mentions that with light engines he found felt very useful in diminishing vibration, but that with the heavy weights now in use on the Midland line any interposing medium is crushed out. Mr. Stephenson attaches no great importance to vibration, and has laid iron girders on brick without interposing medium; and the fact of old caSt-iron mill-work having run for so long a time without breaking is cited by Mr. Hawksbaw, as an instance of the apparently small efl'ect of vibration. Mr. W. H. Barlow con- siders that the irregularities wiiich exist on the road from uneven joints, &c. in the rails is a greater cause of danger than vibration, and he mentions that to experiment on the impact he caused the rails to be whitewashed for a mile before the passage of a fast train of 12 carriages, and that the small imperfections in the joints caused spaces adjoining them of 5 inches in length to be left untouched by any of the wheels in the train. Change of Internal Structure in Iron. — Mr. Rastrick mentions that at the Pont-y.Pool Iron Works a bar of wrought iron suspended, and continually struck by a hammer at the bottom, dropped in two after a length of time, but he knows of no instance of a change of structure on railways. Mr. Hawk- sbaw, though he has observed crystallization in broken rails and axles, has not traced it directly to vibration : be thinks mill-gearing and shafts would furnish good examples, though when they break the various circumstances under which the fractures have taken place should be observed. Mr. Grissell has observed that the vibration to which crane chains are exposed changes the iron from very beautiful malleable iron to the crystalline appearance of cast iron. He does not consider that east iron is subject to the alteration of structure. Mr. Fox considers that vibration does produce a change in the internal structure of wrought iron, and instances that if the thread of a screw be cut in a wrought-iron bar, and that the bar be broken across the tapped part, the fracture there will be found more crystalline than at the other part : he mentions the frequency with which shafts and mill-gearing break, and states that cold-hammering the axles to give them a high polish changes their internal structure; bnt instead of remedying the injury by an- nealing, he recommends that they should be finished at a high temperature. Mr. Grissell mentions tliat chains of cranes often break with a crystalline fracture, which he attributes to a change in the internal structure, but he does not consider the same effect is produced in cast iron. Mr. Fairbairn states, that repeatedly making a wrought-iron bar red-hot, and plunging it into cold water, renders it crystalUne, and that the fibrous texture may be restored by annealing ; he considers that percussion renders the fibres more liable to break off short, but that without it is sufiicient to cause a consider- able increase of temperature, it does not produce any real internal change. Mr. Glynn considers that the structure both of wrought and cast iron is altered by a succession of blows, the wrought to a crystalline structure, the cast to larger crystals ; he has observed this appearance particularly in axles, mill-shafts, toothed wheels, crowbars, and crane chains, the latter even when specially made of strong fibrous iron require to be annealed after about three years ; the axles of tenders to which breaks have been applied he men- tions as particularly subject to this change. He attributes the alteration to galvanic action, induced by the alloys from which iron is never entirely free, and considers that the action is increased by blows. He also mentions that brass wire, of copper and zinc, originally tough and fibrous, continually breaks off' short with a crystalline fracture radiating in the form of a star, showing a change in the structure such as would have taken place if the metal had been melted and had crystallized in cooling ; this effect is more rapidly produced in an atmosphere containing sulphuric acid. Mr. W. H. Barlow mentions having caused a piece of fibrous iron to be hammered for a long time by a blacksmith, and that he found the iron changed from a fibrous to a crystalline structure ; but as axles do not undergo the same sort of hammering, he does not know whether the same efl'ect takes place in them. Mr. Stephenson considers the fact of an alteration of structure as 56 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Febkcart, highly improbable, and cites the connecting rod of an engine having vibrated 25,000,000 times, and yet being perfectly fibrous. In the cases of axles the iron may not have been fibrous in the first instance, for though when a piece of iron is rolled from 1 foot in length to 20 feet it necessarily becomes fibrous, it does not necessarily become so when rolled from 1 foot in length to G feet. He says that in all the cases of change of structure which he has heard of there has always been some important link wanting. Mr. Locke considers that concussion would alter the structure of iron, but would not offer an opinion as to whether the fracture of axles arose from that cause; he mentions that a great many axles broke when the crank axles were in use, but tliat since straight axles have been adopted fewer breakages have occured. Mr. Brunei doubts the change of internal structure, and thinks the various appearances of different fractures result as much from the mode in which the iron has been broken as in any change in structure, and that change of temperature will also produce a variation in the fracture ; that iron in a cold slate shows a more crystalline fracture than the same iron warmed a little, and that wrought iron docs not actually become crystalline and fibrous, but breaks either fibrous or crystalline according to the combination of circumstances under which it is broken, but with the combination re- quired he is not acquainted; he cites the stratification and planes of cleavage of rocks, which may be broken with different fractures according to the mode of applying the blow. Mr. Brunei exhibited various specimens broken, some with a fibrous fracture by means of a slow heavy blow, and some with a crys- talline fracture by means of a sharp short blow. Mr. Charles May cites the beam of a steam engine as an instance of continued vibration not. affecting iron, and mentions as an instance in favour of the change the fact that a gun used in his works to break pig iron across, at last dropped in two as if it had been cut. Greatest Weights on Railways. — Mr. Hawkshaw states that locomotive engines are the greatest "weights which can come on railways, and reckon IJ tons per foot linear as the greatest weight for a single line of way. Mr. Fox, Mr. Fairbairn, and Mr. Brunei mention 1 J tons. Mr. W. II. Barlow states that on the Midland there are engines on four wheels weighing 32 tons ex- clusive of the tender, but that that weight is too great for the permanent way, and that the rails are crushed and flattened by it. Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Locke state, 1 ton per foot linear is the greatest weight which comes on a single line of rail. Analysis of the Evidence given by the Witnesses examiner!. John Vrpeth Rastrick, Esij., Civil Engineer. — Has experimented on Staffordshire aud Shropshire iron. Prefers forge iron for large castings. AVith pure mine hot-blast iron is equal in strength to cold blast, but the hot blast enables cinder to be used, which deteriorates the quality. The temperature of the blast alters the quantity but not the quality of the metal produced, about 500° or 000° is preferred. The only guarantee against bad iron is to contract for a particular quality. There is no mode of detecting the difference between two kinds of iron. A mixture of the I'euistone ore from Shropshire with the Staffordsliire irouslones improved the quality of iron. For strong castings a mixture of pig iron is preferable to mixing the ores ; a good mixture is formed from Low IMoor iron, Old Park iron, and Colebrooke Dale iron. Cast the bridge at Chepstow. Allows a ton as the breaking weight of a bar I inch square and 1 foot between the bearings. Proves a beam to l-3rd of the breaking weight, but never trusts it to carry more than 1-Gth. Iron girders may be cast of almost any length provided they have strength in proportion ; made beams for the British Museum 41 feet long in 1821 or lb2,'j, they had open v\ork in the web, and were 3 feet or 3 ft. C in. deep ; they were proved by laying on l.i or 20 tons of actual weight, and struck with a lieavy hammer of 14 or 20 pounds weight. In simple girders, if the height is too confined, the strejigth required must be given by thickness. A girder will bear the same weight on the bottom flange as on the top. The torsion caused by plaring the weight on the bottom flange is very trifling, and canuot take place without a greaier amount of deflection in the bearer than should be allowed. Puis on brackets to unite the flange to the girder. The strength of the joists sup- porting the roadway should be sufficient to prevent them pushing out the flanges. A flange never breaks ofl'. As long as a weight on a girder is not suflicient to injure the elasticity no matter how long it remains. A beam taken out of a mould while hot will break by its own weight. Cast iron is more fragile in winter than in summer. In the Chepstow Bridge of 112 feet span, versed sine 3 feet, the difference of temperature between summer and winter altered the position of the crown of the arch by 2 inches. Bridges requiring a flat soflit are best supported by a bow above the roadway. No combination of wrought or cast iron is equal to a solid casting, the two metals hamper each other. An arch is the best form for a bridge of cast iron. Vibration and impact will not injure the joints and rivets of compound girders if they are strong enough. Railway girders should be so strong that the deflection should be immaterial. At the Pont-y-pool Iron Works a bar of wrought iron 1 inch square was hung up by one end, and struck at the bottom by a small hammer continually for 12 months until the bar dropped in two. The vibration upon a railway bridge is too small to affect it. Doubts whether the fractures of railway axles can be attributed to vibration. If in a railway bridge no permanent deflection has taken place after it has been in use for 12 or ItJ months. considers it has not been affected by the running of the train. Has not observed that fish-bellied rails break from becoming crystallized. In proving a girder allows a deflection of ^J^ of the length. Considers a rapidly passing weight will cause less deflection than a stationary weight. Prefers cast iron in all cases to wrought iron. In a span of 100 to 200 feet an arch is best ; if the height does not admit of it under the road- way it should be placed above. The difficulty of transport is the only limit to the length of castings. Jolm Hawkshaw, Esq., Civil Engineer. — Low Moor iron is the best for girder bridges, good grey Staffordshire the next best. l-3rd of No. 1 and 2-3rds of No 2 of the best Staffordshire or South Wales iron is a good mix- ture for large castings. Hot-blast iron is not so strong as cold-blast iron. The only guarantee against the use of hot-blast iron is the character of the founder. The strength of a girder should be seven times the load, and would test it to at least double the load. The spans for simple cast-iron girders might be increased beyond those in use. Would not hesitate to make a simple cast-irun girder of 100 feet span. In designing a simple cast-iron girder obtains the form for the requisite strength by Sir. Hodg- kinson's formula, and trebles the area of the top flange to get lateral stabi- lity, thus making the top flange half the area of the bottom. In testing beams it is desirable to give vibration by blows while the pressure is on, or if actual weight is applied, to throw the weights into the scale. A gir- der cannot bear so much weight on one of the bottom flauges as if applied at top. The weight so applied produces a torsion. By increasing the top flange aud adding brackets, the torsion is diminished. It would be nearer a practical residt to test a beam in the way in which the weight will be applied. The objection to contrivances for throwing the weight in the cen- tre plane of the girder is that by departing from the simple form the liabi- lity to unsoundness from tlie casting is increased. It is possible that weak girders loaded with a permanent weight might increase in deflection after a length of time. The deflection of a girder should be almost impercep- tible. The Knotliugly Canal Bridge of 89 feet span deflected half an inch with an engine of 22 tons going at -50 miles per hour; the bridge is too weak. Prefers not using compound girders, it is however possible to make them strong and safe. Prefers plain girders with the top flange increased to prevent lateral twisting. It would be useful to ascertain the strength of beams under loads applied as in practice. For spans of 100 or 200 feet which must be crossed with a level soflit a truss like that for a roof is preferable, or a bowstring bridge. .Joints and rivets will not suffer from vibration if made originally strong. Where there is impact or vibration there should be large surplus strength, a breaking strength of seven times the load. Has seen nuaiberless cases of broken axles aud broken rails, when frequently crystallization existed, but cannot say whe- ther it is attributable to a succession of blows. Experiments on the sub- ject are desirable. Mill-gearing affords examples already made ; tbe cast iron is there subjected to blows and vibration, and the machinery goes on running for years. The use of cast iron in mill-gearing gives confidence in its application to other purposes ; by inquiring into the wear and tear of mill gearing, the length of time that iron will hear shocks might be ascertained. The irregularity in the surface of the rails would cause a weight moving with velocity to deflect a beam more than a similar station- ary weight. No practical velocity would be such as not to give time for deflection. Ice does not afford a parallel case ; ice has a better surface, aud time must be allowed for the displacement of the water. Is erecting two bridges with wrought-iron tubular girders. Wrought iron gives more warning than cast iron. The load on railway bridges may be taken at 1 J tons per linear foot. The heaviest load is a locomotive engine: there is a rule on all railways prohibiting trucks being loaded beyond a certain poiut. Locomotives weigh about 22 tons, and the tenders 10 or 12 tons. The weight on a bridge covered with locomotive engines, including tbe roadway would be 2 tons per linear foot. It is desirable to ascertain the real facts with regard lo the trustworthiness of cast iron. The conditions under which cast iron is placed in railway structures is similar to that in mill-gearing, «nd the quantity of cast iron ehafting aud length of time it has been in use might be ascertained. Is making a wrought iron bridge of 100 feet span ; it appears easier to construct oue of that span of malle- a' le than of cast iron. The cost determined the adop'iou of wrought irou; objects lo the combination of wrought and cast iron except in bowstring bridges. The wrought iron girders are made double, to obtain lateral stiffness. Without reference to expense, an arch is the best form for cast iron. The level soflit is adopted from necessity. For the strength of wrought iron girders, Mr. Hodgkinsou's formula for cast iron was used, adopting 70 as a coeffioient iustead of 2S, and taking care to make the upper flange strong enough ; has not had enough to do with that form of girder to be certain of the precise proportions. Charles Fox, Esq., Civil Engineer. — Tbe mixtures to be preferred for particular works depend upon the locality, as the cost must be considered ; would use in the Rlidland Counties iron from Stall'ordshire and Shropshire, on the sea coast \\ elch and Scotch. Tivo-thirds Blaeuavon (cold blast M'elch), aud one-third of Scotch in equal proportions from the Blackbaud and from the Red Hematite, is a very good mixture. Is convinced that metal made by tbe hot blast would be as good as from cold blast if the mine were properly treated ; but the custom in Scotland has been to care for quautitj not for quality. Tbe only guarantee against inferior metal is to contract that girders shall nut break with less than a specified weight, and to cast one more than is required, and select any one for trial, and if laso.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. it fails reject tlie whole. In girders not subjected to vibration, considers that the greatest load should not exceed one-third of the breaking weight; in girders for railway bridges, one-fourth. Proves girders to double the greatest load. For girders of new forms applies the proof by dead weight ; but in known forms, uses the hydraulic press as being more convenient, observing the amount of deflection. Considers the objection to the hydraulic press obviated by the use of cylindrical instead of conical valves. The load on one of the bottom flanges is not objectionable pro- vided the girder does not cant. Tesis girders sometimes by a weight ap- plied to one of the bottom flanges. Considers a span of about 50 feet as the limit for simple cast iron girders. For girders to support a quiescent load would make the section of the top flange one-sixlh that of the bottom. In a railway bridge, where the lop table would not be supported laterally, would make the area of the top table one-fourlh that of the bottom. In a railway bridge, where the top table is supported laterally, makes the area of the top flange one-fifth that of the bottom. The top flange of a girder being subject to compression may be compared to a column ; and if bent, its liability to break will be increased. If circumstances required, would make a girder of more than 60 feet long in one piece ; roving bridges over the New Birmingham Canal are 80 feet long, cast in one piece. In well constructed bridges the deflection of the platform should not cause any injury. Considers the smallest weight applied impairs the elasticity of a beam, and that a girder exposed to change of temperature and vibration will swag, and that this effect will go on increasing; but he considers that the only diminution of strength from this is due to the diminution of the sectional area of the bottom table ; but that in cases where a beam is not subject lo change of temperature, it would retain its original position. Instances some girders 0 feet long for supporting hoods to smiths' foiges, which are warmed by day and allowed to cool at night; they swag nearly 3 inches in the centre. Considers that in the alteration in the arrange- ment of the particles of iron caused by a change of temperature the weight takes advantage of the change. Does not consider that remoung and re- placing a weight on a beam continually would have quite the same efl'ect; mentions that anchors when tested take a week to regain their original position ; considers alteration of temperature more likely to produce swag- ging than vibration. Thinks that railway girders will gradually swag and must be exclianged, and that few which have been ten years in use have not swagged, but that their strength is only impaired to the extent men- tioned above'; the greater the inertia of the bridge the longer would the action be delayed. Considers the mode of supporting the roadway on one side of the girder to be wrong. The deflection of a girder should not be considered with reference to the span. For large spans, prefers cast iron on the principle of compression. Would make straight girders for large spans of several castings bolted together with wrought iron tension rods fixed horizontally along the bottom flange, and put considerable initial strain upon the w rought iron bars, that the cast iron may come into opera- tion when the wrought iron is under a considerable degree of tension, so that the ultimate efl'ect from the two may be obtained. The expansion produced by changes of temperature being only a difl^erential quantity, would be small in a length of 100 feet; and the wrought iron being more elastic than cast iron, should bear it. The bow string girder, with a bow of cast and a string of wrought iron, would be cheap and safe. A bridge for crossing the Arno is being made of straight girders on the above men- tioned principle ; the wrought iron bars are under a tensile power of 6 tons per square inch. In process of time the wrought iron would stretch; wrought iron would stretch ^th inch in 10 feet, with a weight of 10 tons. Would not let rails rest on the top of a wrought iron riveted girder without a piece of wood between. Girders made of separate castings should, in addition to bolts, have a wrought iron tie bar. .Soft timber between the rails and girders will prevent danger from vibration. Considers alteration of temperature as likely lo subject wrought iron girders lo a great deal of undue compression and extension. Thinks experiments on impact and vibration desirable. Believes that wrought iron is rendered crystalline by a succession of slight blows at a low temperature, and has observed that the older axles are, the more crystalline they are ; also remarks, that if the thread of a screw be cut on a bar of fibrous iron, the tapped part will break with a more crystalline fracture than the other. Shafts in mill work break and exhibit a crystalline structure. Thinks cold hammering injurious to axles from tending to make them crystalline, and also from producing a strain like Ihat produced by straightening castings by ham. mering. Would prefer their being finished at a high temperature to being annealed. Cold hammered axles may be detected by their appearance. Ihinks experiments on long continued deflection are very desirable. In estimating the strength of a girder, adopts as the greatest weight li Ions per foot per single line of way ; that is ^lon per foot for weight of platform and 1 ton per foot for weight of train ; for two girders of 40 feet span, would take the weight at 60 tons distributed, equal to 30 tons in the centre. \\ ould calculate the breaking weight of each girder at 60 tons in the centre and prove them to 30 tons. Considers that with a carefully laid road the deflection due to rapidly moving weights is less than that due to such weights at rest, from the shorter time allowed to overcome Ihe vis mertia of the bridge. There has been a great want of fixed principles in the construction of railway bridges: no general principle has been laid down ; whilst one engineer is satisfied with one amount of proof, another adopts SIX limes as much. In making contracts for railway chairs, stipu- lates that the mixture he uses when cast into a bar of a certain form shall break with a specified weight. Is inclined to think the castings from the air furnace better than those from the cupola, but the diflference is rery minute. Henri/ Grissell, Esq., Iron-founder and Machinist. — Amongst other large works, is at present constructing a built girder bridge for a span of 121 feet ; it is 12 feet high, and weighs 100 tons; it has been proved lo IDS tons distributed over it. Has not studied the chemical constitution of iron. Prefers a mixture of iron for castings. The mixture depends on the state of the markets ; and from old iron being so plentiful in London, pig-iron is not considered so much as in the country. Mixes Scotch iron, old iron, cold-blast Welch iron, the proportions being dependent on the ap- pearance of the fractures ; for cylinders a larger proportion of cold-blast iron is used than for girders. Considers London castings 15 per cent stronger than country ones, from the use of old iron. Hol-blast iron when mixed is as good as cold-blast, but alone it is not to be depended on. The proportions lor mixtures are so dependent on the qualities of iron, that he is guided by the appearance of the fractures in determining them. Con- siders he could mix iron so as to make a casting bear any weight in rea- son. Could not tell hot-blast from cold-blast iron from the fracture. The proportion of stress to strength varies with the section of the girder and the strains to which it is subjected ; generally considers the load should be one-third the breaking weight for railway bridges. Handed in the rule he adopts in calculating the strength of girders. Has made simple and compound girders. AV'ould make a girder in one casting 50 or 60 feet. Considers a level top flange a waste of metal. In designing a girder, judges by the eye of the probable strains it would be subject to, and then calculates the strength, and alters the form so as to obtain the greatest strength with the least quantity of inetal. Adopts the double T section, the bottom flange being largest. Girders may be proved by a lever or an hydraulic press; the latter is what he usually adopts, and it is as certain as the lever when correctly made. Does not think a girder will bear the same weight if applied only on one flange as if applied to both equally. Proves girders to find out whether the casting is sound, and so applies the proof to the top. Has never noticed that length of time or change of temperature makes beams swag. For compound girders prefers the built girder. Considers half an inch deflection may be allowed in every 20 feet of length ; can regulate the deflection by the mixture of iron he uses; would not consider a beam injured by a deflection of | inch in 20 feet, if it returned lo its original position. For large spans when not tied by expense or height, would generally prefer a built girder. But thinks that an arch is a stronger form than a straight girder, but more expensive, Would guarantee a straight girder with top and bottom flange lo bear any amount of pressure. Would not hesitate to use one for a span of 200 feet ; thinks it would bear any weight th^t could come on. Does not think impact and vibration would affect large bolts and rivets, but that where no more than just the necessary sirenglh is put in, every jar would tend to loosen them. Thinks vibration dangerous to wrought iron ; vi- bration takes much more effect on wrought than on cast-iron. Has ob- served in crane chains an alteration in the structure of the iron, after a few years' use ; instead of its breaking with a black tensile appearance, it breaks short and white like cast-irun; it is changed from beautiful malleable iron lo the appearance of very good cast-iron. Cold hammering will also produce this efl'ect on cast-iron, but it can be restored very nearly to its original texture by annealing. Feels convinced wiought-iron girders will become altered to a crystalline texture by vibration. Knows no case of cast-iron becoming altered, or breaking from vibration alone. Has not given his atteution to axles. Has made numerous experiments on iron of all sorts and mixtures. Considers that if the form of a girder be given him, he could mix the iron for making it to such a degree of nicely, 'that he could guarantee any amount of deflection, and carry any load required in moderation. ,\ttaches the greatest value to old iron, but not to differences in pig-iron ; considers all Scotch iron to be much of the same quality, except one or two sorts, which are very superior. The metal for mixtures must be selected with great judgment. Does not con- sider it necessary to try the relative strengths of the different sorts of metal before mixing, but judges of the proportions by the fracture. A good mixture would be one-third hot-blast iron, one-third old iron, one- third Blaenavon Welch iron, but he does not confine himself lo one parti cular mixture. Peter William Barlow, Esq., Civil Engineer. — Has been employed chiefly latterly on the Soulh-Eastern Railway. Has not observed much difference in the strength of castings. Has always made the breaking weight of girders six times the greatest load fur railway bridges. For other works four times would be sufficient. Proves girders to one-third of the breaking weight, or double ihe greatest load. Prefers proving them with actual weight, and giving some vibration lo the beam by putting ou the weight. Girders will not bear the same weight when resting on the bottom flange as if applied at top. Has adopted another form of girder, the object being to make the bridge one complete plate. Considers 40 feet as the limit for such a bridge. Has made one over a railway at Tonbridge wells. Finds that the deflections are less than he calculated, from the assistance one part affords lo another. Has not observed any injury from the bending of the joists which carry the roadway between two girders. Has not noticed any increase of deflection from a permanent load or from 9 58 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHJITBCrS JOUHNAIL' [Fedrjabt, changes of (cmperature. Allows tott"' "^ "'^ ^P*" ''"' '''^ deflection of a girder. The deflection of the Godstoiie Bridge is ttsti''' "f ""= span, or §ths of an inch. Proposes 10 ff et as the limit for simple cast-irou girders. Used a level and levelling staff for obtaining the deflections of the God. stone Bridge. Considers the girders rest so flrmly on their beds, that the deflection observed is not due to any yielding in that respect. Depends on Mr. Hodgkinson's rules for the form of construction for girders. Has made no experiments on tlie amount of torsion caused by supporting the roadway on the bollom flange of a girder. Considers a girder of separate castings boiled together is a good mode of construction beypnd spans of 10 feet. Would not use that method for bridges of 101) feet span. Would limit girders cast in one piece to tO feet span. Does not consider suspen- sion rods a good mode of combining wrought and cast-iron. Would lay a ■wrought-iron rod along the bottom flange. Assistance given to the ex- tended part of a beam is more efl'ective than when given to the compressed part. To avoid a large mass of cast-iron, would lay a wrought-iron rod along the bottom flange. Does not consider that the different rates of expansion would prevent the wroughtiron coming into play. When the bridge gels much load it must come into play. Prefers an arch of cast- iron where expense or height is not a matter of consideration. Is making one over the Surrey Canal of three pieces bolted together. Does not consider the vibration on a railway bridge sufficient to disturb the screws. Does not consider that there is much difference of effect between engines going fast or going slowly. Does not think vibrution so important as is imagined. Fancied he observed an increase of deflection from engines going fast ; there was a great deal of horizontal jar. Which he attributes (0 blows given by the engine on the rails. Some may be due to the torsion created by the weight being on one of the bottom flanges. Has not ob- served any change produced in the internal structure of iron from repeated blows at a low temperature. Thinks the subject an important one, and that experiments could be made best by breaking beams which had been long in use. Or testing girders whose previous test had been recorded. Engines and tenders are being made, weighing together 32 tons. Engines for inclines weigh as much as 30 tons without a tender. In estimating the greatest load for a railway bridge, considers it covered with a train, or a train composed of engines. Considers the Commissioners might make some useful experiments on the Godstone Bridge. Has paid attention to wrought-iron girders. It is desirable in a girder to concentrate the power of resistance as near the lop as possible, and the power of extension as near the bottom as passible, which can be accomplished in a cast-iron girder; but in wrought-iron tube girders the bottom web, which does most work, is a very small proportion of the whole section. Prefers wrouglit- iron, or wrought-iron combined with cast-iron, to resist compression, to cast-irou alone. Considers solid-sided wrought-iron girders an imperfect mode of construction. Thinks the top of tube girders should be of cast- iron. For a large span, considers wrought-iron safest. On account of the uncertainty of cast-iron would make a cast-iron girder 50 per cent, stronger than a wrought iroa one. The relative expense would be about half. William Fairbairn, Esq., Civil Engineer. — In early life was a mechanical engineer. Has been employed in engineering works of various descriptions. Thinks Welch cold-blast iron, Blaina, for instance, best for girder bridges. Considers most British irons improved by mixture. A good mixture is two-thirds strong Welch, No. 3, the remainder Scotch or Stall'ordshire, No. 2, with a little old iron. The same mixture is used in girders for railway bridges and girders to support dead pressure only. Thinks Mr. Morries Stirling's patent for mixing wrought iron with c;ist iron gives indications of very superior strength, and states the results of experiments upon it; also cites experiments by i\Ir. Lillie, of Manchester, on the mixture of wrought and cast iron, which proved that the mixture was one-third stronger ihan common cast iron, and one-eighth stronger than wrought iron to resist transverse pressure. Considers the following mixture of cast iron the best, viz. : — Lowmoor, No. 3 . Blaina, No. 2 . . . Shropshire or Derbyshire, No. 3 Good old scrap 30 per cent. 25 per cent. 25 per cent. 20 per cent. 100 This mixture can rarely be obtained on account of the price of Lowmoor, and founders cannot be depended upon for the exact proportions. Prac- tically he doubts any mixture unliss the parties interested were present to witness the selection of the iron, and to see it put in the furnace. Scotch and SlaUbrdshire iron are good for light castings. Good castings depend on the care of the furnace man, the temperature of the furnace, and the heat at which the metal is run into the mould. Recommends the anthracite iron where rigidity and strength is retjuired. The strongest iron should be put in railway bridges. Considers that the hot blast does not improve the quality of \\ elch and English irons; but that its applica- tion in the Scotch furnaces to the reduction of the black band is an im- provement. Scotch hot blast mixes well with Welch irous. The etiects of the hot blast vary with the quality of the fuel and ore, and much depends on the quantity of sulphur present in the coal and coke. The Lowmoor ores were injured by the application of the hoi blast. Fuel is an important element in the manufacture of iron, the nearer it approaches pure carbon the better. In the Scotch black band and similar ores the hot blast will bring more iron out of the same mine than the cold blast. The hot blast enables the manufacturer to work up not only poorer ores but cinder heaps, into apparently flue granulated iron. The use of the hot blast at first led to the introduction into the market of a very inferior description of iron. Considers the Scotch iron weaker and more fluid than most English irons; it is equal to Staffordshire, but weaker than Welch and Yorkshire. Scotch iron is an exceedingly fluid and fine-working iron, and well suited to machinery ; it runs well into the mould, an 1 brings out tiie castings with the edges sharp. Does not think the most experi- enced metallurgist could tell the dilierence between hot blast and cold blast iron from the appearance. Considers that liot blast presents greater uniformity than cold blast in its granulated appearance, and indicates a more perfect process of crystallisation, probably arising from the greater heat of tho furnace. In cast iron girders, would make the breaking weight four times the greatest load. In structures exposed to shocks or vibratory motion would adopt live times or six times. It is safer to adopt a light load, so as to make allowance for casual strains which cannot be com- puted. Never proves a girder to more than half the breaking weight, gene- rally one-third; disapproves of testing a girder much beyond the permanent load, the object being to ascertain its soundness and elasticity ; a further test tends to permanent injury. In testing girders, carefully inspects the outward appearauce, and then hangs weight from the centre, and observes the deflection and permanent set. Does not consider that a permanent set given to beams in the early stages of loading injures the strength. Thinks that within certain limits the form of a beam may be distorted without its strength being injured. Considers that to support the load on one side of the bottom flange is wrong in principle, and to a certain extent injurious in practice ; but the method has many conveniences: to meet the requirements of structures, self-evident principles must in practice be sometimes abandoned. When the load is supported on the bottom flange, the bearing should be brought as close as possible to the central web, by casting a fillet or shelf to carry the cross-beams ; bolt holes should be made as near the neutral axis as possible , or when required for bulling wooden bearers to the bottom flange, projections on the bottom flange should be cast to receive them ; bolting the roadway to the girders resists, in a great measure, any lateral strain on the girders ; but the lateral strain is best resisted by broad top and bottom flanges. Considers bolt holes and other perforations in cast iron girders very objectionable, and they should in no case be made, even through tlie neutral axis, without thickening the adja- cent part to compensate for the part taken out. These objections arise from considering the complexity of such a girder and the additional mate- rial required to make it equally strong as if plain. Is an advocate for simplicity of construction in everything, and would only allow distortion of form when inevitable. M^ould prefer supporting the cross bearers on Ihe top flange or suspending them from the bottom flange by hook bolts. Supporting the road on one side of the bottom flange is wrong la principle, but convenient. If the top flange be broad and rigid, that mode of construction is less objectionable. It would be advantageous to seek for a new form of beam ; a narrow top flange, though well proportioned for vertical pressure, is weak to resist lateral strain. The practice of supporting the roadway on the bottom flange is simple, cheap, and conve- nient, and will not easily be abandoned. Recommends a new form of girder to be sought for, to give the girder suflicient stiffness. Has him- self always increased the top flange to resist the lateral strain. In a large span with girders having small top flanges, the lateral deflection, if not resisted by a firm connection of the cross beams to the girders, might cause an outward pressure dangerous to the structure. .Vs girders are generally tested to ascertaui their soundness, it is usual to apply the test to the top flange, but it would be of great value to test them as they are to be used. The test is usually applied to ascertain the soundness of the casting, the strengtli being computed at three or four times the load. The joists which support the roadway when carried on the bottom flange, tend to cause by their deflection a lateral pressure on the girder. This effect takes place to some extent in wooden and Sandwich beams ; from experiments it appears that this latter description of cross beam is weak, and its elasticity so im- perfect as to render it inadmissible for supporting great weights. The Sandwich beam is objectionable and expensive. Is of opinion that a beam loaded with a given weight, even approaching its ultimate powers of re- sistance, would support the load ad injinituni if not disturbed or exposed to changes of lemperature; although time is an element in the change which lakes place in every material, any increase of deflection in a loaded girder may be traced to atmospheric action, vibration, change of load, and teniptratiire : remove these disturbing causes and the deflection will remain fixed. Casl iron of average quality loses strength when heated beyond a mean lemperature of 220"^, becomuig more ductde and less rigid to resist an uniform strain, and becomes insecure at the freezing point or under 32" of Falireuheil. In girders of 40 feet span finch is the maxi- mum allowable deflection, that is, '02 inches per linear loot; '005 inches is preferable. Adopts Mr. Hodgkinson's form of girder modified in the top flange to ensure uniforinily in the casting. Considers 40 feet to be the greatest allowable length between Ihe supports for simple cast iron girders. Knows an instance of a girder 70 feet long, cast in one piece in Holland. Never heard of a girder breaking by its own weight; a properly propor- tioned girder could not do so. For spans beyond the limit of simple cast iron girders which must be passed with ii level soflit to the extent of 100 or 200 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL 53 feet, recoiiimends the wrought iron tubular or box girder. Being a strong advocate for simplicity in mechanical structures, he would not recommend compound girders where they can be dispensed with. Approves of •wrou};ht iron tension rods to girders only in cases of necessity, and where the top flange is enlarged, but prefers girders all of one material, even if formed in parts. A\'ould rather give strength to a cast iron girder than assist it by a wrought iron truss; the two materials are so widely different in character that it is safer to keep them separate. By screwing up the tension rods a strain is thrown either on the girder or on the tension rods themselves ; an ignorant person might do injury without being aware of it. M hen not limited by expense or levels, would prefer for narrow spans a simple girder ; for moderately wide spans, the arch ; for spans exceed- ing 70 or 80 feet, the wrought iron girder. Thinks that no vibration to ■which railway bridges are subject can injure the joints or rivets, unless the work is shamefully executed; nor would impact bave any effect on the joints of a well-made cast iron girder. Does not think any effect is produced by the load in skew bridges being alternately nearer one side than the other. It is the opinion of some practical men and philosophers that iron when hammered at a low temperature undergoes a complete change in its internal structure, and that this effect is due to percussion, heat, and magnetism, and time, which is an element in every process of crystallisation. The application and abstraction of heat operates more powerfully than probaljly any other agency ; too much influence is pro- bably attributed to the other-mentioned causes ; a bar of the best wrought iron, heated red hot and plunged into cold water, is changed from a fibrous to a crystalline body ; heating and cooling will produce this effect in a de- gree proportioned to the intensity of the heat applied ; by annealing the iron its fibrous texture is restored, and sonielinies made more tougli than before. Thinks magnetism may have some effect ; but often whei e causes are inexplicable we fly to electricity for the solution; heating iron to a high temperature deprives it of its magnetic powers which are restored by cooling. Doubts that vibration changes the fibrous structure to a crys- talline one, but thinks that each blow produces injury. Axles of a loco- motive engine are subjected to repeated shocks from irregularities in the rails and lateral action in passing curves, fiom a body weighing 18 or 20 tons, moving at 40 miles per hour. Each percussion tends to bend the axles, and from the injury being continued many thousand times, it is evident that time alone will determine the moment of fracture. If the axles were so rigid as to resist the efl'ect of percussion, no injury could ever take place or crystallisation appear. A bar bsat with a small ham- mer is not altered at all, but the blows of a large hammer produce a change of form which renders it brittle, not probably crystallising it. Is of opinion that a fibrous body cannot be changed to a crystalline one by any mechanical process, except when percussion is carried on lo the ex- tent of proilucing a considerable increase of temperature. Fibres may be shortened by continual bending, and the parts be thus made brittle, but fibres cannot be changed into crystals. These clianges apply to all mate- rials subjected to repeated alterations of form. Has not traced the break- ing of null work to the change of internal structure. The shafts usually break eventually from getting out of line. It would be interesting and useful to experiment on the above points. The greatest weights on rail- ways may be reckoned at IJ tons per foot linear for a single line, or two tons per foot for a double line of rails. Considers that recommenda- tions made by the Commission as to particular forms for bridges would probably not be followed, but that experiments would be very beneficial. Joseph Glynn, Esq., Civil Engineer. — Was engineer-in-chief to the But- terley Company. Cast iron is always combined wilh earths, as lime and silica, as well as with carbon ; the more puje the iron is the stronger it is. Never saw pure iron. Iron cast from the air furnace of a mottled or of a clear grey fracture, bears ihe greatest weight. Iron cast from the air furnace is stronger than from the cupola. Doubts the utility of mixing wrought with cast iron for increasing the slrenglh of iron; doubts the complete union of the two. The quality of iron depends, to a certain ex- tent, on the ore, fuel, and flux used ; and an experienced person can gene- rally tell what the produce will be. From a reverberalory furnace the required mixture can be invariably produced. The length of time iron remains in the furnace affects the quality. In the air-furnace it is weakened by remaining too long. The best mixture for girders is about one-third of strong crystalline Vtelch iron with two-thirds of the softer irons of Derbyshire, Yorkshire, or Shropshire. The hot blast of itsell produces no effect on iron. It may be used to smelt stubborn uniractable materials that would not afford strong iron, and could not be otherwise smelted. In the west of Scotland inferior iron has been produced by means of the hot blast. There is no certain mode of detecting the difference between hot and cold blast iron, but iron of a dark grey colour and very fine in the crystal is generally hot blast. The difference is more marked as iron is harder. Loam castings are stronger than open sand. Casts machinery required to be very strong from the air-furnace in dry sand. A shaft cast in an upright position is stronger than one cast horizontally on account of the impurities floating to the top, and the density being increased. Adopts the H form lor the section of girders, the bottom flange being largest. Would not make a simple cast iron girder more than 50 feet long. Where spans have exceeded that, has always used the arched form. Built an arched bridge of 70 feet span over the Aire, at Haddesley; and one of 100 feet span over the Trent on the Midland Counties Railway. M ould in- variably employ an arch when possible. Would not employ wrought iron as an auxiliary to cast iron in point of strength. Would only employ it for bolts; on a large scale the workmanship cannot be so accurate that each will bear its share of the stress. For spans beyond 50 feet, would give the girder as much depth as possible, and join the pieces by bolls and dowels. Would not have a wrought iron truss. When the workmanship is good, does not consider the vibration and impact can affect the bolts and rivets. Believes that the internal structure of iron becomes altered hv being submitted to a succession of slight blows at a low temperature. E^is seen many axles broken which presented a coarse crystalline fracture. The continual succession of blows induces fracture, and changes the inter- nal structure of fibrous iron to crystalline, the crystals increasing in size as Ihe effect goes on. Crane chains made of fibrous iron break in a few years with a crystalline fracture. Considers the same effect takes place in cast iron. Shafts in mill-woik break. And there appears to be a limit as to time in the durability of wheels. The fractures in these cases exhibit an increased size of crystals. Considers that a stationary weight would deflect a beam more than a moving one. Never made large girders of wrought iron plates; the method is adopted for paddle beams of steam- vessels, vibration has not affected those made for steam vessels, nor did the rivets become loose. Considers that the strength of a wrought ii-on girder is diminished by riiets. William Henry Barlow, Esr/., Civil Engineer.— Is resident engineer tc the Midland Railway. Has found so much difficulty in obtaining the quality of iron specified that he now simply specifies the dimensions of the girders and the test to which the iron is to be submitted, leaving the mixture to the founder. Objects to the inferior qualities of cinder iron and hot blast iron generally ; though, at times, hot blast iron exhibits good rfesults. Some specimens of hot blast are as strong as cold blast. Hot blast iron seems more liable to abuse in manufacture than cold blast. Is not aware of any mode of telling hot blast iron from cold blast. Specifies that girders should bear a given weight wilh a given deflection. Would make a girder so that the breaking weight should be four time the greatest load. Considers that safe for weights moving at high velocilies. Proves a girder to half the breaking weight. It gives the girder a permanent set, but does not consider that it injures its strength. The proof is proportioned to what the girder has to bear. Tests them by dead pressure by the hydraulic press. Has not tried impact, during the test but thinks it might be desirable when the breaking weight of the girder is nearly approached ; but, practically, would give a large amount of surplus strength. Never allows the load to exceed one-fourth of the breaking weight; it is often one-fifth. The pressure being applied in the central plane of the girder. In actual structures the pressure is usually applied to one side of the bottom flange, but does not consider that when Ihe surplus strength is so great and the iron good that it is of importance to apply the test in the same way. A torsion is introduced; it is not, however, so perceptible iq short girders. The effect of a great permanent load on girders is not in operation in railways; but girders do not appear to be deteriorated by the frequent passage.ofa load. Theone-forliethof an inch to a foot is assumed as the amount of deflection that may be allowed in girders, but it is empirical. The short time which a load rests on a railway girder appa- rently renders the weight of less efl'ect than in warehouse girders which bear a large load for years. Observed once on a timber viaduct that a goods train produced a certain amount of deflection; an express train coming afterwards, though with a lighter engine, seemed to produce a wave through the bridge, and evideutly produced a worse effect than the goods train. The point of maximum efl'ect would not be when the load was in the centre of the bridge. And this is probably a reason for allowing girders to deflect less in railway bridges than when exposed to dead pres^ sure only. Has generally adopted iNlr. Hodgkinson's form of girder. In spans of 50 feet, whenever the headway allows, prefers and has adopted arched gilders, which are supported by abutments, and also act as girders. A skew bridge on thai principle is a series of square bridges. The arched girder for the bridge over the canal at Weelock is in two pieces, bolted together in the middle ; Ihe rise is one-tenth. There are cases where OE account of the headway reclangular openings are required, but they are rare; girders have been used to a greater extent than necessity required, from being in fashion. The length for cast iron girders will be limited by the power of casting them; has not used any lunger than 42 feet. The bowstring bridge is the best mode of construction where the spans are too large for simple girders, a cast iron arch with a wrought iron string. In a very large structure the rise of the arch might allow of a pair being tied together at the top. If in combinations of wrought and cast iron, the two inelals are bolted side by side, the different rates of expansion might pro- duce a bad result. Has not found that Ihe impact and vibration lo which railway bridges are subject has produced any bad effect on tlie bulls and rivets of bowslring girders. The girders in skew bridges might, if the deflection were excessive, suffer from the load coming on the centre of one girder before it comes on that of the other. Except at high velocilies the maximum effect will take place when the load is at the centre. To try the effect of impact of trains, whitewashed the rails for a mile on an incline of 1 in 31liiider, receives a shock 8 or 10 times a minute, equal to .55 tons ; has known them work far 20 years without the smallest perceptible change. On the Blackwall Railway, 120,000 trains, each of 12 carriages, have passed over girders of 48 or 50 feet span, and when examined four or Ave months ago, no percep- tible change had taken place. These girders were not made to carry locomotives, and they are doing as near their ultimate duly as girders carrying locomotives. With respect to the question of change in the internal structure of wrought iron, knows of no instance where some important link was not wanting to complete the reasoning; tliat hamnieiiug may produce britlleness iu iron is probable but not certain ; the couueciing rod of a steam engine vibrates at ordinary speeds eight times in a second ; one just come into the shop from the Norfolk line has run 50,000 miles ; the rod has vibrated 25,000,000 of times ; yet, apparently, no change can be detected. With respect to axles, has never been able to come to a con- clusion whether the axles that broke were fibrous to begin with. The connecting rod being so much smaller, is more likely to be fibrous ; a piece of iron rolled from 1 foot to 20 feet is almost necessarily fibrous ; but when rolled from 1 foot to 6 feet it is not necessarily so. Does not believe any change takes place in cast iron. Considers ^rj th of an inch to afoot may be allowed as the deflection for a girder. Considers the deflection from a moving train to be less than that from one at rest. There may be a lateral strain, but is satisfied that the vertical strain is less. Adopts Mr, Hodgkinson's firm of girder, with slight variations according to circum- stances. Usually puis two girders under one rail with a baulk of timber between for short spans ; in some cases it is desirable to have no top flange. With statical pressure adopts 3 to 5 as the proportion of the top to tlie bottom flange. The difficulties of casting prevent the theoretical proportion being always the best. In large girders has sometimes adopted Mr. Hodgkinson's proportion of five to one. In some cases has made the top and bottom flange equal; although some part of the metal may be thrown away as far as strengih is concerned, it is very useful for other purposes. Has made cast iron girders 50 feet long, but now limits them to 40 feet, and then uses wrought iron. Kor small spans almost invariably uses two girders, with a baulk of wood between, under each rail; it is a convenient way of disposing of the material and getting sound castings, and they are easily handled. They are being used at Penmaen Mawr, where there were 19 spans of 35 feet each. The timber forms a cushion for the rail. In bridges beyond the limits of cast iron girders considers that girders formed of separate castings, with a tension rod along the bottom is as good a form as any ; but considers that there is this advantage in having the tension rods at an angle, that you can bring the tension of the wrought iron into play so easily. When such a bridge is wanted on a large scale, the vertical elevation might be divided. When the joints are planed and fitted accu- rately, such a girder would be as secure as a solid one, as in a large mass the contraction from cooling is liable to be unequal. Has tested compound girders without auy bolts and depending on the tension bar, and also with- out the tension bar but depending on the bolts. The extension of tension bars with 10 tons per square inch is ^^^th of the length, and the iron comes back to its original state. The piston rods of Cornish engines go OQ without being lengthened. Tension rods will not permanently suffer as long as the strain is within the limits of elasticity. With respect to the tension rods in the Dee Bridge which acted at an angle, does not allow the objection that with deflection they might become slackened, but would undertake to break the tension bars by putting on a strain, and that the girders can be cambered by them. Would use wrought iron girders over spans where there was no limit as to expense or levels. Thinks that a bar of wrought iron cast into the bottom flange of a cast iron girder might be too intimate an union on account of the different rates of expansion of the metals; if, however, the proportion of cast iron to wrought was very large, it would not be of so much consequence. It is much the same as bolting a wrouglit iron bar to the boltom flange of a girder. Does not consider that the vibration and impact to which railway bridges are subject would injure the bolts and rivets. Has observed one or two instances when oscillation was produced on skew bridges wheu the road has not been in good order close to the bridge, and one wheel came on to a solid angle when the other was on soft ballast; generally now brings the two sides square by means of a wooden baulk, la skew bridges, when oscillation is prevented, both girders are subject to the same vibration. The deflec- tion of a girder would not throw the engine into oscillation; the engine moves at the rate of about 70 feet per second, and there is not time. The deflection of the girder is only a small objection. The approach to the bridge causes the danger. Considers experiments on impact and vibratioa advisable. An ordinary train weighs about five eighths of a ton per foot in lengtli. Engines are about a ton to a foot in length. Considers wrought iron girders preferable to cast iron for spans exceeding 40 feet, as being more elastic. Found a very marked eft'ect from introducing a cast iron top in the box girder in the Chalk Farm Bridge. Considers a collection of facts would be very valuable, but any legislative enactment, with refer- ence to the construction of bridges which would hamper engineers, would be very objectionable. Attaches very little importance to vibration, and considers it of little consequence for girders to be laid on ordinary walls without inlerposing medium. Considers suspension bridges very little applicable to railvvays ; indeed, with the prospect of increasing weights, to;ally inapplicaljle. Thinks Dredge's principle scarcely applicable with heavy weights. The more ties they have to the platform the better. Has been informed that a train passing over a suspension bridge at Stockton of 300 feet span caused a wave 2 feet high like a carpet. Understands that American engim-ers have given up lattice bridges entirely ; they soon rack themsi-lves to pieces; the timber is cut into slices instead of being in lumps. The thin bars of an iron lattice bridge make it impossible to convey com- pression through them ; it is " wabbly." Sir John M'Neill has remedied ihe want of power to resist compression by putting a cast iron top. Es- liibiti-d drawings of (he wrought iron girder for the Chalk Farm Bridge, with a CHSt iron top to resist compression. The method adopted to strengthen girders on the Dee Bridge plan, and girders with tension rods along the bottom flange for bridges over the Kiver Arno. Also an expert- 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 61 mental girder, similar to the Dee Bridge girder, from whicli it appeared that the tension rods when acting at an angle could camber the girder. Girders are made in separate pieces on account of the difficulty of cooling large masses, and the inconvenience of conveying them. Tliinks it would be imprudent to make larger castings than those recommended for girders. Has had failures. Although there is a considerable variation in the strength of iron, there is a remarkable approximation to an average stan- dard. Practically an engineer is not justified in going to any great expense to get a particular quality of iron. A difference of 20 per cent, in samples of iron is not of much consequence when the girders are made to bear six times the load that comes upon them. Does not consider tiiat any injury can arise to a girder from the bending of the joists supporting the platform ; in many cases has had the bearing secured close to the central web. I're- fers, instead of depending on one girder, having two bolted together, with a baulk of timber between. Prefers a n ooden platform to one resting on iron beams; does not apprehend danger from the vibration, but the noise is so unpleasant that some soft medium should always be interposed. Joseph Lode, Esq., M.P., Civil Engineer. — The strength of iron will de- pend upon mixtures. Prefers a mixture. The mixture of hot blast iron with cold blast considerably increases the strength. Understands that a mixture of wrought iron with cast adds to its strength. Considers it bet- ter to trust to the knowledge and experience of iron founders of high character than to specify for particular mixtures. Has generally made the breaking weight of girders from three to four times tlie greatest load ; but the load is supposed to be dead weight, whereas the shocks in railway bridges m«y increase it to within half the breaking weight. On railways from the levels the most convenient form of girder must sometimes be adopted in preference to the stillest. Would not prove a girder with more than double the greatest load. Thinks dead weight a more self evident mode of proving girders, but that the hydraulic press is a very convenient and good mode. Resting the weight on one of the bottom tlanges produces torsion to some extent. Thinks it might be desirable in some instances to test the girders with weights applied as in practice. Has known cases where the test was applied to one ilange as in railway practice. Never kne%v a flange break ort' a girder. To prevent the girders getting out of the perpendicular, makes the baulks supporting the rails fit tight between the girders, and connects the bottom flanges by the rods. Has never ob- served any injury arise to girders from being subjected to permanent "Weights for a length of time, or to changes of temperature. Would allow girders on railway bridges to deflect from the -jTjth of au inch to the :^th of an inch per foot linear. But the amount would depend on the form of the girder. Some forms admit of more deflections than others. Does not like too much deflection in a railway beam. For the forms of girders adopts the large bottom flange. According to his present experience, would limit cast iron girders in one piece to 45 feet long, but he may per- haps go further. Would always prefer an arch if possible. Dislikes cast iron in flat girders at all times and in all spans. Would never use it if he could avoid it. Does not object so much to wrought iron, but would not use that when it could be avoided. Is not favourable to girders com- bined of separate pieces. Would use the bowstring bridge for large spans. Does not approve of combining wrought and cast iron as done in girders of the Dee Bridge class. But does not wish it to be inferred that there is no combination of which he would approve. Objects chiefly on account of the difl'erent rates of expansion of wrought and cast iron. Does not think that in compound bridges well put together the vibration and impact irom trains would affect the joints and rivets ; but if badly put together, or the roadway were not in good order, the joints would sooner or later be affected. Does not consider that the deflection of one girder before that of the other in skew bridges would produce oscillation to any injurious ex- tent. When the roadway is good there is very little difference between the deflection due to weights at rest and that due to the weights moving ■with velocity. A bad joint is much more serious than an increase of Telocity. Has known the deflection to be less wiih velocity. Vt'hen there is any great diflerence, attributes it to bad joints. Conceives that per- petual concussions might change the texture of wrought iron. Does not think the same elTect would be produced in cast iron. A. cast iron beam which had been in use for a long time in the Blackwall Railway was taken out and broken ; it bore a very large weight with reference to its calculated breaking weight. Would observe that axles broke more frequently when crank axles were in use. The fractures he has seen appeared to be the work of time. He has seen nothing in the fractures to induce him to be- lieve they were the result of a change of structure. Considers one ton per foot in length as the greatest weight that comes on railways ; is opposed to increasing the weight of engines. Thinks the plan of having wrought iron box girders a very sound one. They have been long in use fur steam engines ; prefers them in moderate spans to cast iron. M'ould never em- ploy a flat girder unless compelled to do so. The effect of the vibration of trains, however slight, is ultimately to separate the parts, while in an arch the parts are always clinging faster together ; if a general rule is to be adopted, let it be in favour of the arch. Charles H. Wild, Esq., Civil Engineer. — In testing the compound girders for the bridge over the Ombrone, an initial strain of 5 tons per square inch of section was put upon the wrought iron ties; by the adjusting pieces, any amount of initial strain can be put on the ties. By that means the beam can be cambered ........ v«.. u.. ^.-,1 uii luc Ilea. By that means If, in compound girders, the ties are applied in a neutral state, they are of very little practical use. The lies have au initial strain put upon them, but does not believe that any change will take place in the ties to require re-adjustment. If the strain put upon them is far within the limits of elasticity, they will retain that strain. If an extension of the ties were likely to take place, this sort of bridge should be given up. The ties being strong enough to allow for extra weight to come upon them, will never require to be adjusted after being put up. The bridge over the Arno is of compound girders, with the ties lying horizontally along the bottom flange. The ties are in four pieces, and adjusted to the required initial strain by means of gibs and keys at the junctions. This bridge was tested by taking out the dowels connecting the castings, and allowing the whole strain to come on the tension rods. If the ties are put on in a neutral state, the elongation when the weight comes on is so small that the strain would only be about IJ ton per inch; the initial strain can be so adjusted that the tie can take the whole of the tensile strain of the girder, or half, or any proportion. The bridge is 96 feet span, and was tested with 40 tons in the centre, trusting entirely to the ties. Has experimented on compound girders with the tie, and when the tie was removed, and has found the stiffness increase with the amount of initial strain put upon the ties. In breaking compound gir- ders, never saw the bolts give way ; no strain can come upon them so long as the joints do not open. Looks upon the dowels and bolts as only useful during the course of erection. Would not like to test the Arno girder without the tie, but thinks the bolts and dowels might be taken away without interfering with the strength. In an experimental girder made for the tie to be adjusted, either horizontally or at an angle, like in the Dee Bridge, it was found to be almost equally efiicacious in three difl'erent positions — viz., when the ends were, 1st, higher than the top flange of the girder ; 2nd, level with the top flange ; 3rd, horizontal. The effect of the difference between the extreme cold of winter and the extreme heat of summer would be to add about half-a-ton per square inch to the existing strain upon the tie. The useful effect of the tie, when the girder is bearing a load, depends on its area, upon the strain upon it per square inch, and upon its depth below the centre of compression ; hence, if the ends of the girder came in so as exactly to counterbalance the extension of the lower part of the girder (a point never reached in practice), if there were an initial strain on the tie, it would still be doing useful work. It is a popular fallacy that there is a disadvantage in having the ends of the ties above the top flange ; the raised ties give greater facility for putting on the initial strain than the horizontal ones. The initial strain is mea- sured by means of an instrument called an extensometer, fixed on to the tie bar, which shows the actual amount the bar is extended ; and having found the rate at which similar iron extends with certain weights per square inch of section, the strain on the bars due to the extension is known. The higher the tie is put the less increase of strain comes on it from the passing load. Has never known the tie slacken. Does not con- sider that a wrought iron bar cast into the bottom flange of a girder is a good method, as no initial strain can be put on it. If, by means of the weight, the bar was extended the y^jVo"' of ''* length, there would be a strain on it of 10 tons per square inch, but has never known them extended beyond :nnni"^ J hence the strain would only be 2\ tons per square inch. The cast iron would break before the tie was doing much work. The above forms of trussed girder are the only ones that have been adopted. Would have the platform of a bridge firmly united to the girders, and sufficiently deep to prevent any twisting in the main girders. The bearers for the platform in the Arno bridge are Sandwich girders. Mr. Stephen- son is using strips of wrought iron, with timber between, for purlins for roofs. They are very stiff'. Thomas Cubitt, fsy.. Builder.— Has found variations in the same descrip- tion of iron; experiments by difftrent persons do not give corresponding results from similar makes of iron. Does not trust to experiments made on a small scale. The quality of iron is only affected by the hot or cold blast so far as materials unfavourable to the production of good pig iron are present. Care should be exercised in the selection of hot blast iron. Makes girders strong enough to bear three times the greatest load that could come upon them; these girders are for buildings. Proves girders by the hydraulic press; proves them to double ihe greatest load that could come upon them, or two-thirds the breaking weight. From the liability of girders to internal flaws, would rather prove a girder nearly to the extent that would break it than not prove it at all. In buildings, the weight is more frequently put on the botiom than on the top flange, but has never thought it of importance to apply the proof weight to the bottom flange. The deflection of a girder depends on the shape, section, and qualiiy of metal. In two girders, the length of one being double the lenglh of ihe other, but the section and depth being constant, the longest girder would deflect four times as much as the other. Considers the stiffest iron best for steady weight. Weighted a girder wiih a load equal to two-Uiirds ot its breaking weight, and left it on for 36 hours; tlie deflecljou did not increase, and the permanent set was not uiore than that which had been observed after the Hist application of the weight. Makes the area of the top flange to the bottom (me as 1 lo 3jor4. The bottom flange is equal ia width to about half the greatest depth of the girder ; diminishes the depth of the girder at the ends to about half the depth in tlie centre ; considers it of great importance not lo do anything which woufd lend to inaf^e the girder unsound when cast, or cause un.quaf strains in cooling. Shoes or sockets tend to create flaws, by allowing dirt and sand to accumulate, and 62 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Febri-ahy, prevent the equal flow of metal. It does not follow tliat the theoretical form of greatest strength is the best one to adopt. His attention has been principally coiilined to beams subjected to weights at rest. As weight in such castings is not of so niucli importance, he is guided in the selection of irons by the market price. Always mixes irons; is inclined to think that good will result from Rlr. Merries Stirling's endeavours to increase the strength of irun by an admixture of wrought iron. Thinks the manu- facture of iron below the olher mauufaclures of the country ; believes that in trance they roll out bars heavier than we do. Thinks that, if the plan adopted in Belgium of the manufactures exhibiting qualities of iron every year were followed it would improve the manufacture. Considers that the qualitj of iron depends, tirst, upon the raw material, then on the fuel and care in manufacture. Thinks investigation into the manufacture of iron desirable, and that it would be advantageous to ofl^er premiums for the best iron. Isambard Kinydon Brunei, Esq., Civil Engineer. — Has a preference for the AVelch and Staffordshire irons. Endeavours to obtain a small propor- tion of hot blast iron in mixtures. Does not like a large proportion of hot blast ; thinks one-fifth advantageous. Takes the greatest possible load that can by any accident come upon a girder, and assumes that as one- third or two-fifths of the breaking weight: but takes the breaking point lower than it is generally taken. As a general rule, would prove a girder with a load a little greater than the greatest that could come upon it, and examines its appearance under that load. Actual weight is the preferable mode of testing girders. Although, strictly speaking, the same load cannot be borne by a girder when resting on one flange as if applied at the top, on account of the torsion, yet, by endeavouring to bring it as near to the centre as possible, has not perceived any sensible difl'erence. If circum- stances made it desirable to construct a girder to carry a load on the flange, at some distance from the centre, it might then be desirable to cal- culate the strength of the girder ; would certainly test it in that manner. Such cases have not been suflicieutly frequent to require a special pro- vision. X)oes not believe that any appreciable difTereiice is caused in the power of resistance of the girder. Considers that, with his form of girder, and with a large dead load of ballast, &c.,the torsion is inappreciable. A soft substance between anything that produces vibration and cast iron is advantageous, but wooden sleepers to support the roadway should not be so elastic as to press on the edge of the flanges of the girders. Does not consider that a moderate weight left on a girder will ever injure it. Has not observed temperature produce any effect except expansion and con- traction. Considers that no weight, except that approaching the bieaking one, will permanentty aft'ect cast iron. The deflection of a girder does not merely depend on the length. In a girder 30 feet long, 15 inches deep, would allow ^(ijth of an inch to a foot. The deflectiou must depend on the form. About half the before-mentioned deflection would t.e allowed in a very stifl' girder. Wakes girders of the inverted T-eection with a very large bottom web, and swelling at the top of the vertical web. The length of cast iron girders is limited by what would insure a sound casting; at present considers it to be 30 or 35 feet. When girders are required for spans beyond the limits of simple cast iron girders, would prefer not using cast iron at all. Would prefer timber or wrought iron, or both combined. Would apply wrought iron to increase the tenacity of cast iron framing. Has adapted that method in machinery. In large spans, assuming there is no diliicully in obtaining an abuiment, would prefer cast iron in the shape of an arch. Does not think that in a work put together by a good mechanic, with ordinary judgment and proportionable strength, that any vibration would aflect the bolts. Considers that the introduction of wrought iron plates into the construction of bridges is the most important step that has lately taken place in engineering ; believes that with ordi- nary care and the improvements which have been introduced into riveting, that the joints may be equal to the other parts of the structure. Does not think that vibration can have any efl'ect on well-made riveting. Hivets should not act as pins or bolts, but like clamps, and hold the plates together by the friction of the one on the other ; in that manner the plates may be insured not to break in any part contiguous to the rivets. Coiisiders that the crjslalline fractures observed in bars broken by a succession of blows is not the consequence of any internal change in the metal, but that iron breaks with a crystalline or fibrous fracture according to the circumstances under which it is broken ; produced several pieces of iron broken, some with a crystalline fracture \>y a short sharp blow, others with a fibrous fracture by means of a slow heavy blow. The same efl'ects may be pro- duced by varying the temperature of the bar. Considers that when the rails are well laid the defler lion will be less from a moving weight than from that weight at rest. Some new engines weigh as much as 35 tons, and occupy a length of 20 feel or 1 \ ton to the foot run. Believes that cast as V ell as wrought iron vaiii s its strength with the temperature ; the colder it is the easier it will break. Thinks that suspension bridges might be applicable to railways. Has once proposed one under very peculiar circumstances. Considers the Indian tension bridge inferior to ordinary suspension bridges. Would only use a lattice bridge when lie could not get materials for the component parts exceeding a certain length: if he were obliged to make a bridge of great length with short slicks, it might be one mode of meeting the difficulty. Edwin Clarke, Esq., Civil Engineer. — Has superintended the Conway Bridge for filr. Stephenson. It is a wrought iron tube made of boiler plates riveted together as in iron ship building: the span is 400 feet, the extreme depth at the centre is 25 ft. G in., breadth 15 feet; the internal breadth and depth are 21 ft. b in. aud 14 ft. 3 in.; the depth at the ends is S feel less than at the centre. It was constructed on a limber platform on the beach of the river Conway, 200 yards from its permanent site, and was floated to its position on six pontoons of 350 tons each, and raised 17 feet to its position by hydraulic presses; its weight is nearly 1,300 Ions. It has a bearing at each end of 12 feet, and rests on bed plates and rollers to allow of ils expansion from change of temperature. It was commenced at the beginning of 1847 and finished in March 1846. The original idea arose from considering whether a beam could be made large enough to cross a sjian of 460 feet. Mr. Stephenson had formed beams of separate pieces united by bolts, and had also applied tension rods to some beams formed of separate castings. A cast iron arch was proposed but aban- doned, partly on account of interference with the navigation of the straits. Two beams side by side with an ordinary upper and lower flange would make a space, through which if large enough a railway caniage might pass. The first experiments were on round and oval tubes ; they changed their shapes when loaded ; rectangular tubes did not ; that form was there- fore adopted. Experiments were made to determine the resistance of wrought iron to compression, that the actual strength of a large tube might be calculated ; the power of wrought iron to resist compression increased as the cube of the thickness of the plates: the strength of the tube varied as the square of the linear dimensions. A model tube one- sixth the real siz;; was made at Mill Wall, anil broken five or six times, and strengthened at the part it had broken at after every time, till it was considered that the strength was everywhere proportioned to the strain. The thickness of the sides of the lubes appeared to produce very little comparative efl'ect. The difference of elasticity rendered it difficult to apply cast iron to the top of the tube. A bar of cast iron yields twice as much under Ihe same weight as a similar bar of wrought iron, though its ultimate resistance to compression is four or five times as great. If the top of the tube were made partly of wrought and partly of cast iron, the wrought iron would have to bear more than its share of pressure. Cast iron must also be castlhick, which increases its weight, and the places of junction require heavy flanges. The Mill Mall model it was assumed, if increased to six times ils linear dimensions, should he 30 times as strong and 210 as heavy. The bottom of the tube was considered as a chain, and the plates were lapped over to make the chain as strong as possible ; the rivets were proportioned so that the section of the rivet to be sheared through equalled Ihe section of the plate it connected. The shearing strain of a rivet is as it? tensile strain. Cells were put in the bottom of the tube as being the most convenient way of getting suflicient area of section of iron. The cells are kept stiff by angle irons. There are five rows of cells in the bottom of Ihe tube. The bottom has great strength to resist lateral pressure, as Ihe wind. The sectional area of Ihe bottom is to that of the lop as 5 to G. The area of the bottom is 508 square inches; the area of the lop 608 square inches. In the small experiments Ihe top had always failed by buckling, but the strength of plates to resist buckling varied as the cube of Iheir thickness, aud the lop might therefore in the large tube have been of Ihe same area as the bottom ; but as Ihe top had always been the part to fall, and Ihe data for calculating the resistance to compression were not so complete as those for the resistance to tension, a little was added to the top ; 12 tons to the square inch is as much com- pression as wrought iron can be safely subjected to. At 10 tons per square iuch most iron begins to be perceptibly altered in shape. The first experiments were made before February, 1840. The last Mill Wall expe- riment was made in April, 1847. The sides of the tube were considered a mass of trellice work so thickly interwoven as to become a solid plate ; at every 2 feet two pair of angle irons were placed face to face, aud running from top to bottom of the tube, one inside and the olher out, like vertical pillars, to keep the lop and bottom apart. The side plates are 2 feet broad. These pillars appear to give suflicient rigidity, as Ihe sides of the tube have never exhibited the least alteration of shape. For a distance of 60 feet from each end vertical plates have been added to strengthen the sides, where the strain was considered greatest. At the ends, to prevent any crushing of the sides, strong cast iron frames have been inserted. The side plates in the centre are half an inch thick, but towards the ends igths of an iuch thick ; the bottom plates are half an iuch thick in the middle, and a quarter inch thick at the ends : on the principle that the strain on the bottom varies at each point as the rectangle of the segments into which the tube is divided at that point. M'heu the side of the model tubes were thin near the ends, they invariably buckled there. The resist- ance of the top cells to compression was never exactly ascertained ; wrought iron will not bear above 12 tons compression per square inch. The first cells experimented on were oval ; the square and circular were then tried ; the iron when thin puckered, but a certain thickness of plate answered equally well to prevent the cells either oval, circular, or square from buckling, aud the iron crushed. The cells were made square not be- cause the square form is best to resist compression, but because there were many diflicullies in filling a circular cell in the lop of the tube, and lateral streuglh was wanted to resist the wind, and also all the parts could be more readily got at ; the cells are 1 fool 9 inches square, and the plates three-fourths of an inch thick. As regards tension, rivels weaken plates, but rivets increase the strength of plates to resist compression. Plates riveted together generally break at the rivet, though they derive some gl850. I THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 63 strength from the rivet acting like a clamp. The (op is a plan of pillars and cells ; the section is greater in the centre of the tube than at the ends on accoant of the greater strain. Found a dilFerence iu the wrought iron from different makers. Some irons stretch more than others, though the ultimate strengths are about the saEne. Tlie ultimate strength of the iron to resist tension averages 20 tons per square inch. A great deal depends on the manufacture of iron ; some of the iron is very brittle, but its ulti- . mate power to resist tensile strain is as great as more ductile metal. A twelve-ton press laid on the top of the tube produced no deflection of the iron, and a twelve-ton press fell on the top from a height of 25 feet, and produced no other efl'ect than indenting the place where it fell. The loco- motive does not run on the bottom cells, but the rails are on sleepers, sup- ported by transverse plates G feet apart; the bottom is very rigid. When the wedges were being taken out to let it lake its final bearing, the wedges over a large portion of the centre had been left in by mistake, and it was supported by the bottom being bulged up, which was a very severe test; it did not belly up above 1 inch. The tube weighs 1250 tons without the end caetings. When the tube was on its original platform, a straight line was set out along the instrument with a thirlj-inch telescope, and holes drilled through. The tube was constructed with a camber of 7 inches, that the deflection might not be unsightly. The deflection is sensibly aftected by changes of temperature. The motion caused by a cloud passing over the •sun, or a shower, was quite visible by the means of an index. The whole structure was a rectangular tube, 412 feet long, before it was moved to its position ; it was floated to its position. When raised, C feet at each end were added ; the bed for it to rest on was 3 inches of creosoted deal, a bed plate 3 inches thick of cast iron, then another layer of creosoted deal to prevent corrosion, a mass of red and white lead was spread over the tim- ber , one end is thus a fixture ; the other is on a bed of iron, which rests on 44 rollers of cast iron, 6 inches diaineter, to allow of expansion and con- traction. In addition to this, to prevent the sides being injured, the tube is partly suspended by suspension rods riveted to the tube at each end, which pass through girders bearing on metal balls, runuing in grooves ; it is cal- culated that one-third is suspended, and two-thirds on the rollers. The side of the tube is quite closed. The Conway and Britannia Bridges are on similar principles; the Britannia Bridge has GO feet more span. The Britannia Bridge is named after the Britaunia Rock in the Menai Straits. There is one tube for each line of railway. The calculated deflec- tion of the Conway Tube was about 7 inches, so the tube was cambered to that amount. It actually deflected 7 j inches by its own weight. When tested with 330 tons it deflected to lO^Jths inches below the original line ; on removing the weight it returned to rather more than 8 inches. Proba- bly some rivets had been disturbed. The effect of temperature was found to be very great. The deflections taken at night di/Fered from those lakeu iu the day time. The expansion of the cells at the top causes it to rise. It is painted of a light colour to iucrease the radialiou. The extremes of tempei-aturc cannot have an injurious effect, as the motion is only 2 inches over 400 feet span. Iu raising the tube the strokes of the hydraulic presses became isochronous, and the tube vibrated like a shrinking plank, so that the presses had to be stopped. A train of 100 tons causes three-fourths of an inch deflection, but no vibration. Persons in the carriages don't perceive that it is a tube. There is no increase of deflection since it has been opened for traffic. The deflection is mea- sured by an instrument attached to the side of the tube. There is tremor when a train passes, but no vibration. It interferes with the read- ing of a telescope. The tremor cannot be perceived by standing or lying on the tube, it is greatest when a cannon is fired from the top. /. D. Marries Stirling, Esq. — Has studied the chemical properties of iron. Ciist iron in this country consists of iron, carbon, silica, some phos- phates, and other admixtures which may be considered impurities. Cast iron from Sweden and magnetic ore is purer; it coutaius less carbon. The strongest cast iron contains 3 per cent, of carbon ; a mixture of hot blast No. 1 and cold blast No. 3 will give that proportion, but it would be better for irou with that proportion to be produced at once from the blast furnace. A small portion of arsenic increases the fluidity of iron. The higher uumbers of hot blast irons apparently contain more carbon than cold blast. Graphite is commonly to be seen on the surface of No. 1 hut blast, not so frequently in cold. Chemical analysis gives vei-y little ditler- ence between No. 1 hot blast and cold blast as regards the quantity of carbon. It appears to be combined in a different manner; generally, Scotch is the most, and Welch the least, carbonaceous iron; Staffordshire is intermediate. Phosphorus gives the hot short quality to wrought iron. Manganese closes the grain of iron ; apparently improves the quality ; gives it a more steely character; increases the property of being hardened by quenching. It does not give the elasticity of steel. Steel and cast iron are improved by manganese. Berlin iron owes its fluidity to arsenic. Dark iron is usually weak, grey usually strong, and white brittle ; black iron wiien chilled becomes white, although it must be supposed to contain the same quantity of carbon ; as a general rule, colour indicates treatment to which iron has been subjected, and, in some cases only, the quantity of carbou. Would employ colour as a test of strength, but uot of chemical constitution. To resist a transverse strain, grey iron (not approaching to mottled) would be best ; to resist a blow, grey iron, approaching to mot- tled, would be best. The East Indian irou has many properties of malle- able iron; its mixture with other pig-iron improves the quality of the latter; small quantities are used in the patent boiler tube manufactory to improve the iron purchased for making wrought-iron. The best mixture of iron for strength would be, for a large casting, a larger proportion of No. 3 Scotch, Staffordshire, or Welch; fir a smill casting, a larger pro- portion of Nos. 1 an 1 2, and a smaller of No. 3. Numbers of iron are, however, very arbitrary : mixing iron adds very much to the strength. Loudon founders improve their irons by the use of scrap iron. Ordnance and hydraulic presses are made chiefly of No. 3; for a girder, more fluid iron would be required. Iron cast iu large masses becomes soft from cool- ing slowly. Has proposed to improve cast iron by an admixture of wrought iron. There is a chemical combination between the two. The quantity of carbon is diminished. Th.i grain is much closer. A small quantity of wrought iron added to dark grey iron makes it light grey ; a large quantity makes it mottled, a larger still almost white. Scotch iron requires mo=t wrought iron, Staffordshire less, and Welch iron least. The proportion for Scotch hot blast is for No. 1 from 21 to 40 lb. per cvvt. ; No. 2 from 20 to 30 lb. ; for No. 3 it is not recommended, as the iron is uncei-- fain in itself. Staflordshire will not bear so much as Scotch ; 20 to 30 lb. would be a high proportion for Staffordshire No. 1. Welch No. I bears the same as Staffordshire ; No. 2 requires very much less. The increased strength of the iron is aa advantage mechanically. From an average of experiments tho waste in casting was 7 lb. per ton in favour of common cast iron. The iron planes like wrought iron and the castings are more difficult to trim than those of common iron. The first object in proposing the iron was to raise the inferior irons to a level with the best, but has ob- tuined a mixture stronger than the strongest. The improvement on strong irons is not proportionably so much as on weak ones. It seems to bring irons to an average. By adding wrought iron scrap to pig irou, and pud- dling it, tlie resulting wrought iron is much improved. Cast iron easily acquires magnetic power, and acquires extreme polarity without the power of attracting small bodies to the degree that steel does. Considers it an advantage that a beam of toughened cast iron need not be so heavy as that of common iron. Has observed instances of alteration in the structure of iron from repeated hammering, and shafts exposed to vibration also crys- tallise. Considers that, possibly, galvanic action causes the change. Cold hammering gun barrels too much makes them brittle. The mixture of wrought iron with cast is made originally in the pig. The specific gravity is from 7-2 to 7-3; the specific gravity of common iron from 69 to 7'3. The centre of a casting should be taken for the specific gravity. Thinks it would be useful to inquire into the generic ditl'erences of irons. Charles May, Esq, Ironfounder. — The difference in the strength of iron appears to consist mainly iu the proportion of carbon. A large dose of carbon makes a very tender iron ; the strength appears to be greatest when the carbon is iu the smallest proportion that produces fluidity. The greatest mixture of irons is preferred. One-third anthracite combined with Scotch is a good mixture for toughness and strength. For small cast- ings a more fluid iron is wanted than for large ones. On account of com- petition, the cheapest iron is often preferred to the strongest. M'ith the bulk of Scotch iron combines Welch and scrap iron ; the mixture is very much reducible to the quantity of carbou. An iron very hard for small castings would be soft from the slow cooling if run into a large mass. Cast iron does not depend solely upon its constituent parts, but upon the bulk into which it has to be run; these varying circumstances constitute the art of the ironfounder in producing the greatest strength without any very definite knowledge, either chemical or mechanical. By annealing, great toughness can be produced [produced a shaving taken from the edge of an, annealed cast iron wheel]. Hot blast iron ought to be as good as cold ; but, in some cases, advantage has been taken of it to work up an inferior ma- terial. Since the introduction of the hot blast the quantity of carbou com- biued with iron is greater. Has not the same confidence for strength in hot blast as iu cold blast iron. H.is met with hot blast iron as strong as the strongest irou. The public would have no security in cold blast versus hot blast irou. The fact of specifying for a particular quality of irou is almost nugatory ; the principle of testing the work when done should be adopted. Knows nocerlain mode of telling different kinds of iron; the manner in vyhich cast iron is modified by the quantity of carbou it contains is shown by chilling. The main feature as regards iron is a question of the proportion of carbon. Considers Mr. Morries Stirling's mixture very advantageous, particularly for irons too rich iu carbon. Would make tbe breaking weight of a girder three times the greatest load. Considers that railway girders are exposed to severe strains from the new foundations, the violent impact they are subjected to, and the load being laid on and removed suddenly. Would prove a girdei to once and a half or twice the greatest load ; beyond that there is a chance of damage. Considers that the side strain, from supporting the load on the bottom flange, would pre- vent the girder bearing as much as if applied on the top. Thinks tests should be applied as the weights are applied, in practice; but girders are bought at the lowest possible price per ton, and ten times the profit would not pay for experiments. Thinks the only limits to the length of simple cast irou girders are practical ones, of handling large masses, and pouring the metal equally to form good castings. If a large number of large girders were wanted, it might be worth while to erect a new foundry for the purpose. Is favourable to wrought iron girders. Considers that wrought and cast irou may be combined so as to produce an advantageous effect. When weight comes on the cast irou the wrought iron should take its share of the load. Considers that, if well made, the joints and rivets of railway bridges would not be injured by the vibration and impact to 64 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, fFEBRfABi', which they are exposed. C'iles the instance of the beam of a steam- engine vibrating continually wiiliout suflering any injury, as au inslanceof iron not being allected by continual vibration ; and mentions, in favour of its being so affected, the fact of a gun, employed to break pig iron across, dropping in two after a series of years. Considers the only security for good work is, to hold the makers responsible for it. Has found great va- riations in bars of similar metal. Thinks that the breaking Height of a gmall bar is no index to the breaking weight of a large casting. Joseph Cubilt, Esq., Civil Engineer. — Is at present constrncting the Great Northern Railway. Prefers a mixture of Scotch and Welch or Staffordshire and Scotch irons for large castings, as mixtures are stronger than single irons, lielieves cold blast iron to be stronger than hot blast iron. Would make tlie breaking weight of a girder six times the greatest load. Proves a girder nith three times the greatest load likely to come upon it, or half the breaking weight. Proves girders either with the hydraulic press or with dead weight ; strikes them while the weight is on with a large wooden mallet. Does not consider a girder would bear so much weight if applied on one of the flanges as if applied at the top; prefers loading the girder at the top if possible. Considers the proportions he adopts as sufficient to compensate for the torsion. Has often tested girders with the load on the bottom flange. Has two girders for each line of way, and supports the rails on wooden bearers. Considers any elastic substance between the rails and cast iron girders of advantage in preventing shocks. Does not con- sider it likely that girders would increase in deflection after a length of time. Would not like a girder of 40 feet span to deflect more than J inch ; those he is putting up will not deflect half that amount. Observes the deflections of girders \-vhen testing them. Adopts Mr. llodgkinson's form of girder, but makes the top flange rather larger, to give lateral stiff- ness. Would not like to go beyond 50 feet for the length of simple cast iron girders. Beyond that span would adopt timber, wrought iron, or the bowstring bridge. Has crossed spans of 100 feet by timber bridges and by wrought iron tubes. Considers a bowstring girder with a cast iron bow and wrought iron tie a very good combination of wrought and cast iron. Would prefer wrought iron or timber. Would use an arch of cast iron if not limited with respect to expense or levels. Does not consider the im- pact and vibration to which railway bridges are suljjected sufticient to injure the joints and rivets. In wrought iron hollow girders take the depth at ■jJj th of the span. Subjects them to the same proof that he does cast iron. Does not observe that they acquire any permanent set. Has put some up at Doncaster of 70 feet span. Has found no difference between the effect produced by a weight at rest on a girder and that due to the weight moving at a velocity over it. Considers the greatest weights run- ning on railways to be engines, they weigh 2j and 30 tons. Something more than half the weight of the engine is on the driving wheels. Has preferred for a viaduct near Welwyn, on the Great Northern Railway, brick arches to iron girders. Approves of the wrought iron girders used in the large spans on the Blackwall Railway. If kept painted they will last for a long time ; in some cases, to prevent torsion, a cross piece of cast iron be- tween the tops of two girders is advantageous. SUPPLY OF WATER TO THE .METROPOLIS. We promised to give an account of the different projects which are now before the public for the supply tif the metropolis with water, of a better quality and in larger qiiantities tlian the supply now given. There are five schemes — namely, 1st. The Henley; 2nd. The Mapledurham; 3rd. The \Vatford; 4th. The AVandle; and, oth. The Kingston. ^\'itll regard to the Henley and Mapledurham schemes, there has just been issued a very able report made by Mr. James AValker, the eminent engineer, and 'Slw Stephen M'illiam Leach, the en- gineer and surveyor to the Corporation of the City of London; and another valuable report on the ^Vatford sclieme has just been made by Mr. S. C. Homershani, the engineer to the Watford Com- pany. It is not our intention to go into the (juestion as to whether the supply ought to lie left to private enterprise or to commissioners; but we must now say that generally we are advocates for the for- mer, and have great aversion to public commissions — particularly if we are to have such a board as is proposed to be constituted by the Henley Bill, than which we cannot conceive one more objec- tionable could possibly be formed. The Commissioners are to consist of persons to be elected, yearly, by the ratepayers of the several Unions of the metropolis, one for each Union; and tliese Commissioners are to elect a Commission of seven persons, who are to take the entire management of the concern, and are to receive for their labours the sum of i! 7,700 per annum between them, out of the water rates. By this mode of election, we are to have the metropolis constantly agitated for all the rated inhabit- ants of the different Unions to muster together, and go through the farce of electing one Commisioner who is only to be a delegate to elect another representative; and to this irresponsible Commis- sion of seven persons, liable to vary every year, is to be entrusted the outlay of two millions sterling." With regard to the amount of the water rate, there appears to be no limit as to what it will be; — first, the Commissioners will have the power of chargino- three pounds per centum per annum on the annual rack rent of the premises; and, in addition to the said maximum rate, the Com- missioners are to have power to charge a proportionate part of whatever sum they may be yearly liable to pay, wliether for inte- rest or annuities upon moneys borrowed to pay for the purchasing of the undertakings of the e,xisting water companies. We have made these remarks on the proposed Henley Act just to show that the scheme can never be allowed to be carried out under such an iU-advised Act. The Act, or rather the Bill, ap- pears to have been drawn with a judgment very different to that shown in the getting-up of the engineering department, which we must say exhibits great labour, great talent, and great judgment. It appears to us that it will be far better for the House of Com- mons to appoint a select Committee of the House, first, to examine the different schemes that are proposed, without regard to the Bills to be brought in for the regulation of the supply, and to rejiort to the House which they consider is the best; and whether the supply for the whole of the metropolis shall be confined to one of the schemes, or whether it will not be advisable to have one for the North of the Thames Westward of the City, another for the City and Eastward, and another for tlie 'South of the River: by thus dividing the supply, there wiU not be tliat great diversion of the waters of the Thames from one portion of the river, as stated in Messrs. Walker and Leach's report. Looking at the whole of the case impartially, we cannot see why the enormous expenses of forming the New River cut, and all the works connected with that Company, should be lost to the public, a supply might be obtained from the New River head at Chadwell, and the river Lea above Tottenham, quite equal to the supply to be taken from the Thames at Henley or Mapledurham. To do this, it will be necessary to obtain powers to divert the drainage from the land and houses on each side of the cut, and prevent the river from being contaminated. By adopting this scheme, one- fourth of the supply of the metropolis might he confined to the City and the Eastern district; and this would be done without affecting the river Thames. — If this be granted, the consideration will next be which of tlie three schemes, the Henley, the Maple- durham, or the A\'atford, is the best for supplying the North- ^Vestern district of the metropolis. — For the supply of the South- ern side of the river Thames, we have the Kingston and Wandle schemes. The former is put forward with the view of taking the water from the Thames above Kingston, and beyond the influence of the tide; and the latter proposes to take its supply from the \Vandle just before the water is discharged into the river Thames; and as the discharge is within the inHuence of the tide, the with- drawal of the water from that [lart of the Thames (at \\'ands- worth) cannot much affect the river, particularly if the supply be confined to the Southern districts. Having said thus much, we shall now proceed to describe the works of the several schemes. Tor the Henley and the Mapledur- ham works, we cannot do better than give the valuable report ot Mr. James Walker and Mr. Leach. No. I.— The Henley Works. The first in point of date is the Henley si-heme, notices for wliich were given in the last session of parliament, but the bill was lost upon the second reading in tlie Commons, after a debate of some length. As some modifications have since been made we shall confine our description to the plan now proposed and deposited. It commences by an aqueduct which branches off from the river 1 haiiies near Mednunham Abbey, or about four miles below Henley. In its onirse to London it is first liy an open canal 40 leet wide and 10 feet de. p, as far as West Drayton ; thence 26 feet wide and 7 feet deep, to the river Brent; and thence by two brick culveris, each 10 feet diameter, to West-end, Hampstead. At Hambledon lock, which is about two miles below Henley, there is a lift or rise of three feet six inches in the navigation. This lock is to be re. moved, and one erected below Mednunham Abliey, the point of junction of the aqueduct; so that the part of the river between the new lock and the lock above Henley will form a nearly level pool or reservoir, five miles ia length, and 88 feet above high water.* From Mednunham the course of tlie aqueduct curves round the foot of the high ground, and approaches the Thames below Marlow, proceeds on to * By liigli water is always meant the high water of an average spring tide near Lou- den, or Trinity standard. 1850. THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 65 near Cookham, is carried over the Thames by an aqueduct bridge about a quarter of a mile above Maidenhead-bridge, keeps nearly close to the Great Western Railway as far as Bull's-bridge, a length of 13 miles, and for nearly 10 miles by the sides of the Grand Junction and Paddington canals, passes under the Grand Junction Canal at West Drayton, and tvTice under the Paddington Canal westward of the London and North-Westeru Railway ; the aqueduct then continues through Willesden, under the Edgeware-road, and on to West-end, Hampstead, where it terminates in a large basin. The ■whole length from Mednunham to Hampstead basin is 33i| miles. Three large collecting and seUling reservoirs, for cases of drought, or of the water being discoloured by land floods, are proposed in the line of the aqueduct: one near Cookham, another near West Drayton, and the third, of 77 acres, near Harrow. From the Hampstead basin, in which the water will stand 85 feet above high water, it is to be raised by steam power (3,500 borse) into an elevated reservoir, also at Hampstead, which is 250 feet above high water. From this last reservoir large iron mains, extending in various directions on the north side, and over Vauxhall-biidge to the south side of the river, will be connected with and supply the mains and pipes in all the districts of the present water companies, whose works are henceforth to belong to the com- missioners of the new works, the shareholders of the old companies being compensated by a fixed interest upon their capital. The inclination or fall in tlie surface of the water from Mednunham to the Hampstead ba;in is calculated by Messrs. M'Clean and Stileman and Mr. Blackwell, the projectors and engineers of the plan, to be sufficient for con- veying from the river 200,000,000 gallons in 24 hours as far as West Drayton, and 100,000,000 thence to Hampstead. This last being the quan- tity supposed to be required for giving " an ample daily supply for the me- tropolis," is stated to be at least double the present supply by all the com- panies. The object of the large aqueduct as far as Drayton is to pass a quantity, when there is surplus in the Thames, into the Grand Junction Canal, and thence into a reservoir at Paddington, 85 feet above high water, whence it will be conveyed into the sewers of London for the purpose of cleansing them. The large addition for the purposes of sewerage would lead to an increased expense if any of the schemes for pumping up the water after passing through the sewers be adopted. The engineer's estimate is : — Works for bringing water from Henley to London, including compensation to millowners . . . . £1,000,000 Cost of plant for distribution, in addition to the plant of existing companies 1,OCO,000 £2,000,000 And the annual expense as under: — Rentcharge, as compensation to proprietors of ex- isting companies £127,500 Cost of distribution, independently of interest of capita! for plant ' 100,000 No. II. — The Mapkdurham Scheme. The other, or Metropolitan Water Supply Company, which has been brought out during the last summer by Messrs. Gordon and Liddell, en- gineers, proposes to take its supply from the river above Mapledurham lock, which is five miles above the junction of the river Kennet, near Reading, or 17 miles (by water) above Mednunham (the Henley Company's point of abstraction), in which distance there are five locks, the united lift or rise 24 feet above the Mednunham proposed level. An open cut or aqueduct, four and a half miles long, is to convey the water from Mapledurham to Caver- sham, where four reservoirs, together 100 acres, and 98 feet above high water,* are to be formed for purifying the water upon Dr. Clarke's patent process. Powerful steam-engines are to raise the water from these reser- voirs through three iron pipes, each five feet diameter, carried across the liver, and then into three smaller reservoirs, at one mile distance from the Caversham reservoirs, and 35 miles from London, and at different levels, corresponding with the levels of the three districts into which the engineers suppose London to be divided — the northern or western district being taken at 120 feet ; the centre district, which comprehends the City, at 70 feet; and the south and east district at 10 feet above high water. The highest of the small reservoirs is 233^ feet above high water mark, and the lowest 178-J feet, the rnean lift being 100 feet, which will require 1,100 horse-power. The water is conveyed from the small reservoirs by a continuation of the three 5-feet pipes to the Great Western Railway, near Twyford, whence they are laid by the side of the railway, and pass over the Thames at Maidenhead, over the Grand Junction and under the Paddington Canals to near Worm- wood Scrubs; here the high level pipe diverges, and passes under, and then by the side of, the North- Western Railway to a reservoir at Primrose-hill of 3J acres, and 169 feet above high w'ater. The other two pipes, for the middle and eastern levels, continue from Wormwood Scrubs by the side Of the Great Western Railway at Paddington, and thence along Westbourne- terrace and Oxford-street into a reservoir in St. Giles's, of J acre area, * There is a want .of agrsement in the levels which have been obtained from the en- gineers and 114 feet above high water. The third or lowest pipe crosses the Thames at Waterloo-bridge into the southern district. The three great mains, or town reservoirs, communicate with the pipes of the present com- panies. The engineer's estimate for this scheme is — For works £1,200,000 Annual working expenses 20,000 We come now to consider the effects of the two plans upon the naviga- tion of the river, and in doing so we do not think it right to confine ourselves to what the parties profess as to the quantity they mean to abstract ; for if the whole of London is to be supplied from one source there will be no sa- tisfaction until the supply is ample and constant, whether the source be Mapledurham or Henley; and parliament will naturally take this into con- sideration, and give a preference, so far as quantity is concerned, to the plan which has the greatest certainty in the above respect. The present supply by the water companies is stated, in a recent publica- tion by Sir W. Clay, cliairman of the Grand Junction Company, to be 44,573,979 gallons per day ; so that the quantity has much increased since 1834. This has been caused partly by the increase of population, and partly also by the greater supply to each house. Is it not probable that both the above causes, and the demand for water for sewerage and other sanitary purposes, will continue to operate so as to render it prudent to allow for these in any great plan ; and to consider the effects which the greatest pro- bable abstraction would be likely to have upon the navigation ? It is, how- ever, to be noticed (and this was one of the objects in our describing the main features in the two plans), that the Henley party propose their works to be made at first for taking double the quantity calculated by the Maple- durham Company ; and also that the Henley aqueduct, being chiefly open can be enlarged — if ever this should be required — at less cost than the Mapledurham, who have to raise their water to a mean height of 100 feet and then pass it through 36 miles of close pipe. To increase the number of pipes would add materially to the cost, and to double the quantity through the same pipes would require an increase of power much beyond the increase of the quantity. To compare in detail the merits of the two plans would require us to sur- vey the lines, which your instructions would not warrant our doing ; but having said thus much on what may be considered a superiority in the Hen- ley scheme, it is but proper to add that the liability of an open canal to re- ceive impurities into it, whatever care may be taken to prevent this, and also to be partially impeded by ice, are objections to which the Mapledurham is not subject ; and if the salubrity of the water be presumed to depend upon its freedom from organic matter the Mapledurham source would appear to be preferable, as in the seventeen miles between the points of abstraction, Henley, Reading, Wargrave, and some villages drain into the river. On the other side of the question, it is to be noticed that the Loddon and Kennet join the Thames below Mapledurham and above Mednunham. We propose therefore to calculate on the abstraction of 100,000,000 gallons per twenty-four hours stated by the Henley project, which is exclu- sive of their taking an equal quantity (except in times of drought) for sewer- age, as has been stated. The termination of drought and commencement of surplus in the river, with the works for regulating the additional discharge, should be determined in a manner to be approved, and afterwards inspected and controlled by you. Now, the effect which thq abstraction will have upon the navigation both of the locked part above Teddington and the tidal part between Teddingtoii and London, being dependent on the proportion which the part abstracted bears to the whole of the river water, we have endeavoured by former mea- surements taken by the late and present Mr. Rennie, by Mr. Simpson, and now by Mr. Blackwell and ourselves, at dift'erent times, to ascertain the natural discharge of the Thames during such a drought as not unfrequently occurs. At Staines, the head of your district, we consider the quantity mav be taken at from 350,000,000 to 400,000,000 gallons per 24 hours ; and at Teddington (IS miles lower), in which space the Colne, Wev, Mole, and Hog's Mill rivers join the Thames, at from 500,000,000 to 550,000,000: so that, in round numbers, the abstraction near Staines will be one-fourth, and at Teddington one-fifth, of the whole natural discbarge of the river. In 1846, a very dry time, it was oiily 248,000,000 near Staines by Mr. Leach's measurements. As Mr. Blackwell made the river at Henley, during the shortest water of this year, 345,000,000, it may be fairly supposed that at Mapledurham, which is above the junction of the Kennet, it did not exceed 300,000,000; so that the abstraction of 100,000,000 would be one-third of the whole river during seasons of drought. This is more the business of the commis- sioners of the upper districts ; but if the navigation in their portion of the river be damaged, the effect upon the trade would he nearly the same as if the evil were done in your own district. To enable us to judge as to the effect of the abstraction, correct sections of the bed of the river, and of the depths and inclinations or slopes of the water in the lengths likely to be affected, were imlispensable. We again employed an engineer to complete the levels and sections from Staines to Teddington, which he began in the spring, and Mr. Smith to assist us in the 10 66 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrS JOURNAL: LFebbitaby, surveys for the sections below Teddington, These have occupied consider- able time, and have been made with great care. [Here the report enumerates the locks and weirs, and specifies the depths upon the sills, &c. It then proceeds to speak of the deposit.] Thf diminished water would have the tendency to increase the growth of weeds and the settlement of deposit in all the periods, but we think it would not exceed a tendcncv, as the water is clear during the times of short water ; at anv rate it is not a matter which we can reduce to quantity, and the sameobscrv'ations as to effect will apply to the reduction of depth in thf length of the periods, some of which arc, like the sills, barely sufhcient for the barges, the standard summer drought of which is 3 feet 10 inches, and they oiten exceed this. • , , The effect of the tideway below Teddington lock comes to be considered separatelv. This lock when built in 1810, had 6 feet upon its lower sill at low water in times of drought. The removal of London bridge and the deepening of shoals in the river near London have lowered the water so that there is now only 3 feet 9 inches upon the Teddington sill (a reduction of 2 feet 3 inches), and the reduction would he greater if the shoals between London and Teddineton were removed ; for although these shoals impede the passage of barges tliev assist in preventing the water over them and up to Teddington from falling lower, which is one of the causes of tlieir not hav- ing heen removed by vou. In this case, therefore, the river water, which follows tlie descent or ebb of the tide, is valuable, both as respects getting over the shoals and keeping up the water upon the Teddington lock sill. Mr. Leach has calculated that the effect of abstracting 100,000,000 gallons would be to lower the level of the water at the lock and for a distance downwards 7 inches, which would be a real and practical evil. It is proper to state that the above evil is not, in our opinion, without a remedy, for bv the removal of Teddington lock, and erecting a new lock near Kingston, or about a mile or a mile and a half above Teddington, with a sill of sufficient depth there, removing the shoals so as to enable the tide to flow more freely up to the proposed lock, and deepening the river up to it, the abstraction of water would be compensated for, and the navigation of the Thames improved by the greater quantity of tidal water •which would flow and ebb at every tide. By the removal of the Teddington lock to near Kingston, as above recom- mended, the drains of that and the low grounds near it would empty into the river below the lock, which would, it is considered, be an improvement to Kingston and the low ground near it. The suggestion for the removal of Teddington lock and of the shoals is not new ; all that is meant to be said is, that the proposed abstraction for waterworks will increase the necessity for it. It may lie observed l-.ere that the scour of the river between Teddington and London is very little afiected by the sluggish current in times of short water, but is chiefly duo to the influence of laud freshes, during which the discharge is from four to six limes greater. Mr. Leach made the quantity below Staines during the flood in 18-18, 1,600,000,000; the Henley abstrac- tion of 200,000,000 would therefore still form a considerable proportion (one-eighth) of the whole discharge even in limes of flood. If it be asked •whether, if the above improvements, by taking down Teddington lock, were made, and the whole of tl,e river water at the same time preserved, matters ■would lie still better, our answer would be in the affirmative ; but it is not to be lost sight of that the object of an ample supply of good water is a very important one, and that if it can be shown that London is not so supplied at present, but that it would be by either of the two plans under consideration, the damage which the navigation would suffer would be but small if the means for lessening it which we have leferred to^were adopted : and we can- not suppose that the parties who were promoting the water supply would be unwilling to carry into effect the measures that may appear reasonable for preventing injurv to the navigation through these operations. The engineers of the two plans agree that the season of drought will be prolonged by these works, and that the evil of such a drought will be in- creased. Messrs. Gordon and Liddell propose a remedy by means of move- able weirs. We think that a more simple one may he applied in your district; but as the evil is agreed, we do not apprehend there can be much differrnce of opinion as to the remedy. It must also be admitted that by the substitution of tidal for river water in a part of the river the quality of the water will be less pure than at present. Wc have not all referred to the numerous other new plans for supplying London from other rivers and sources, although we understand that notices have been given for some of them, which we were not, until very recently aware of, our instructions not having specified them. Our present impres- sion, however, is that none of them would furnish that abundant supply •which we are disposed to consider indispensable, if a general reform, or rather revolution, is to take place in the present system of water supply. As to the eft'ect of these plans upon the navigation, if the water he taken from the Colne or any other river that falls into the Thames, which is the great drain and recipient of all the springs in the strata that incline towards it, the effect is injurious in a greater cr less degree, according to the quantity and the distance up the river at which the abstraction n.ay take place. AVe beg to conclude by stating that the Grand Junction, the Chelsea, the West Middlesex, and the Lambeth Water Works, all take their water from the Thames, so that the new plans would be partly a substitution and partly an addition, but the present companies' supply is from places so low down the river as to be comparatively harmless. This character, however. would not apply so fully to the Lambeth Company, when their power to take 20,000,000 of gallons per day from Thames Ditton, which is above Teddington, shall be carried into operation ; and it is natural to suppose that although the pnseiit companies take water from the rivtr so low down as to be less injurious to navigation than either of the present schemes, the tendency will be to follow the example of Lambeth in going higli'.r in order to silence the complaints of their customers as to the quality ot the water now furnished. No. III.— r/(C Watford Project. Tliis prnject has for its object the taking of the supply of water direct from the bowels of the earth, witliout allowing the springs to overflow into the ri\ers to be contaminated, or to be discharged into the sea. From experiments made in the years 1810 and IStl, under the direction of -Mr. Robert Stephenson, it was ascertained that a well sunk in Bushev Hall IMeadows, only 3* feet deep, with four 5-iuch borings to the depth of 1.30 feet, ^'Jelded upwards of 1,800,000 gallons per day, which dearly proved, that by more extended works, an immense siipjily might be obtained. Mr. Stephenson proposed to sink wells to the depth of luO teet, and lift the water to about 50 feet above the surface of the Mea- dows; and tlien to convey tlie water, by means of a brick culvert, driven tlirougli the hills between Edgeware and Bushey, to a held on the north of Kdge«are. ^vllere a large reservoir w as to be formed to receive tlie water, whence it was to be conveyed by means ot large iron pipes, along the turnpike-road to a hill near A\ est-eud Lane, where distributing reservoirs were to be formed on three different levels (tlie Iiighest about 180 feet above Trinity high-water mark), and thence the water was to be conveyed, by means ol iron mains, to different i.arts of the metropolis. Tliese reservoirs w ere ot sufficient elevation to supply all parts of tlie metropolis, tor supplying tlie high ground about Ilampstead, an auxiliary eiigme was to lift the water from the most elevated reservoir, and torce it up to a higher reservoir. Bv this plan the whole of the water, excepting for Hampstead, was only to be liftsd 5^) feet above the level of Bushev HaU Meadows. The total length of the work, the culvert, and niain pipes from the wells at Busliey to H-dge- ware-road, corner of Oxford-street, was between U and !.:> miles. Tliis plan, in our estimation, was more economical than the one now proposed bv Air. Ilomersham. i\lr. Homersharn proposes to lift the water from tlie well to be sunk at Bushev Hall Meadows, and convey it by iron pipes to two reservoirs to be constructed at three miles distance, on Stanmore Heatli, at an elevation of 390 feet above Trinity high-water the water having to be lifted 200 feet above the Meadows. At btaii- more tlie two reservoirs were to contain coUectnely 70 millions of gallons. The water is to be tlien conveyed from these reser- voirs, by iron mains, along the turnpike-roads, to another reservoir (to hold 24- million gallons) to be formed at Child s-hill, near Hampstead, 302 feet above Trinity high-water, and from it a large main is to convey the water along the Finchley-road to Oxtord- street; and thence the water is to be distributed by branch mains to various parts of London. The reserx oir at Child s-hiU com- mands a district at least 110 feet above the reach of any existing company. Another high service reservoir is to be formed at btan- more, at an elevation of 4.90 feet above frinity high-w^ater, to supply Ilampstead, Elstree, Highwood-hiU, Totteridge, Harrow, Staniiore, &c. At three of these places other reservoirs are to be formed, making in all seven reservoirs. By distributing the reser- voirs they can be supplied from the mains at different times of the day and I'lisht. By these works it is proposed to supply the metro- polis with eiffht millions of gallons per day for 40,tl00 houses, at 170 gallons daily, and leave H million gallons for wholesale con- sumers. ,, , »■ », ,t The cost of forming these works Mr. Homershain estimate:, at 340,000/., and the annual expenses at 1.5,725/., which includes 0,900/. as the cost of pumping the water, and the wear and tear ot engines, which will make the expense of pumping 2*. Grf. per annum per house, supi.lied with 100 gallons per day, which is what we stated could be done. From our knowledge of the experiments that were made under the direction of Mr. Stephenson, we fully believe that a very large supply of water, of undoubted purity, maj- be obtained from weUs suiik'in Bushey HaU Meadows, which will be sufhcient for a very large district of the metropolis. If the works could be carried out as suggested by Mr. Stephen- son, and with some trivial improvements, we should have no hesi- tation in pronouncing the AVatford scheme as in ev'ery respect the best for the supply of the western division ot the metropo- lis ISiO.J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 67 We now come to the supply of water for the districts South of the Thames : — No. IV. — The Kingston Project, Whicli proposes to take its supply from the river Tliames, iibove Kingston, and above the influence of the tide, wliere settliug^ and filtering' reservoirs are to he formed and engines placed fur lifting- the water; and thence the water is to be conveyed by 30-inch mains to tlie reservoirs of the Lambeth Waterworks at Brixton. No. W.—The Waiulte Project Is to take the supply from the river Waadle, at the head ot the last mill, before the water is discharged into the ri^■er Tliames, and to lift the vvater to a reservoir to be formed on ^Vimbledon Common of sufficient elevation to supply the whole of the Southern districts; and thence the water is to be conveyed by 30' and 30-inch mains as far as the Elephant-and-Castle, and then branch mains are to radiate through the different parts of the district. For the purpose of preventing the Wandle being contaminated by drainage or any impurities, a sewer is to be constructed from Croydon to the Thames, with branch drains to intercept all the drainage from Croydon and other towns and houses that now drain into the river Wandle, and also to convey the impurities from the different mills: by this means the water of tlie river will not be contaminated by drainage. It is well known that the water of the Wandle is from the chalk formation, and is of remarkable purity, and was one of the sources proposed by Mr. Telford for supplying London. We believe that we liave gone through the several projects that are now before the public, and it is our sincere liope that Parlia- ment will thoroughly examine tlie whole, and not allow tlie supply of water to the metropolis to remain any longer a disgrace to the nation and to tlie legislature. It is needless for us to enter into the question as to how the present companies obtain their sup- ply, as it has been so ably exposed in the columns of the Times, and is unmercifully condemned by the public. WATER FROM THE CHALK FORMATION. Sib, — In the December number of your excellent Jonrnnl, I en- deavoured to show that the lowering of the water-level of the wells sunk under London through the blue clay to the chalk, must arise from the condensed and impervious chalk underlying the London clay, and communicating with the Upland chalk, and not from any deficiency of water in the chalk hills surrounding London to the north, west, and south. This is confirmed by the fact that the chalk under London com- municates vvitli an area of more than 4,000 square miles of UpL.4ND chalk, barely covered with a porous soil; and that i- inch of water in dejith per annum over only one-half of this area finding its way under London, would yield 19 niillioiis of gal- lons of water for crerij day in the year, — while the total amount of water lifted from tlie deep wells under London at the present time, there is reason to belie\e, does not exceed 10 millions of gallons per day. The amount of saline matter contained in tlie water yielded by different deep wells under London varies, according to Braude,* fi'oni 3R t" C9 grains per gallon. The base of this saline mutter is princiiially soda, which seems to prove that a large portion of the water beneatli the London clay is derived from salt water. As the chalk formation communicates with the bed of the Thames, from Woolwich to Gravesend, and also under the sea, this is easily accounted for by supposing that the water in the chalk un- derlying the London clay is fed to some extent from this source. At any rate, it is perfectly evident from the lowering of the level of the water pumped from the chalk below London, when so inconsiderable a quantity is raised, that a very partial communi- cation, if .any, exists between the upland water and that procured below the London clay. S. C. HO-tlEBSHAM. 19 Buckingliain-ntrcet, Adelphi, January '26tli, 1850. * See Quarterly Journal of the Chemical Society of London for January, 18.10. HIn. polyte Bailliere, -'11*. Regent-street. SOUTHAMPTON ARTESIAN WELL. Sir — As artesian wells are now become a subject of constant discussion, and as allusion is frequently made to the experiment on Soutliampton Common, it may not be without interest to your readers to state the progress and present state of that incon' 'ete undertaking. Southampton is situated in the centre of the great chalk basin, of which the rim may be traced along the downs of the Isle of Wight, thence under the channel to the Dorchester coast, — from Dorchester through Salisburj' to AVinchester, and thence to the coast of Sussex. Leaving geologists to determine — wliich they seem unable to do . — the probability of our obtaining an abundant supjdy of water, either from the chalk or the green-sand, I shall confine myself to a few figures and facts. The London clay was readied by penetrating 78 feet from the surface, through allu\-ial clay, gravel, and sand, the rusli of v.ater. and loose sand being kept back by an iron cylinder 14. feet in dia- meter at first, but narrowed, at difl'erent stages, to 8 inches, at 465 feet below the surface. The thickness of the London clay formation is 304 feet; it is of all degrees of consistency, from the loosest sand to the liardest stone, abounding throughout in the usual fossils, beautifully preserved. A thickness of 97 feet of plastic clay brings us, at 479 feet from the surface, to the chalk, and into this a 4-incli bore lias been carried to an additional depth of 781 feet, without any important increase of water: during the time of pumping, the water continues within 80 feet of tlie sur- face, rising to 40 or 50 feet when not interfered witli. By pumping from this depth, .'30,000 cubic feet daily may be obtained. Tlie present depth was attained in 1846, since which time the boring has been discontinued. Very lately, however, a ctnitract has been signed with Mr. Clark to continue the boring 300 feet. I apprehend, however, that progress will be stayed until the Report of Mr. Ranger has been printed and circulated. Tliat gentleman has lately instituted an inquiry, as Inspector under the Health of Towns Act, into the sanitary condition of Southampton, which he has conducted with admiralile judgment and laborious investiga- tion. His impartiality, moral weight, and scientific knowledge, have gained the confidence of all parties; and we anticipate that, acting under his advice, we shall avail ourselves to the utmost extent of the advantages which nature has abundantly conferred upon our localitj'. John Drew. Southampton, Jan. 26th, 1850. FARM DRAINING AND WATERING. We extract the following from a paper on " Watering of Farm Fields in Periods of Drought, and for the Distribution of Liquid Ma- nure by Pumping, and a System of Pipes," by Mr. Smith, of Deans- ton, which lately appeared in tlie JVorth British Agriculturist : — The farmer, although, no doubt, it must have frequently oc- curred to him tliat much benefit would arise from the command of moisture, yet, without possessing the knowledge necessary to enable him to ascertain the practicability of applying water, arti- ficially, over his vast fields, smothers his wish with a sigh, and makes no furtlier iiKpiiry on the subject. It is for those who have tlie knowledge of the whole subject to make the inquiry; and, from peculiar circumstances, I have been enabled, not only to make the inquiry, theoretically, but to have it put in practice; and I shall now enable you to lay before your readers an outline of this im- portant improvement. The pumping of w.ater and the conveyance of it in pipes costs a much smaller sum than most peojile have any idea of; and there is no limit, within fifty miles, to which it could not be transmitted. It has been ascertained, from many practical workings, on various scales, that the mere working of a steam-engine, to pump water where coals are about 10.?. a ton, will not cost more than Is. for 30,000 gallons, raising it 100 feet high; of course, every additional 100 feet it is raised will cost as much more. The cost of laying down the pennanent pipes, necessary for conveying and distri- buting the water upon the ground, will amount to about two pounds per acre, provided that pottery-ware pipes are used, which kind will be found quite sufficient, where the pressure does not exceed 200 feet of water. In districts where there is high land within a distance of ten miles, the water may be collected and stored in 68 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [Febedabt, reservoirs and conveyed to the farms by gravitation. Tlius, pumpinfT would be rendered unnecessary, and an abundant supply niav be had at small cost. The distribution will be most conveniently made upon each field hv using hose or other surface pipes, jetting- the water upon the land from convenient points, and it may be thrown in the shape of rain by any common labourer (with a little instruction.) In this way,' a labourer with a boy as his assistant may effectually water ten acres in a day, at a cost of about 3*. for wages: and, adding 2,v. for the cost of the fetching and removal of the surface pipes by a horse and cart, with a sum to cover the interest of the outlayed money, chargeable to each application, the whole will amount to ■'is., being at the rate of 6(1. per acre; and, adding 6il. per acre for pumping, the full cost will be 1*. per acre. This to a practical farmer will at once appear an insignificant charge for a soaking shower of rain in a dry period; and, if it is in summer weather, when there is heat, the growth of whatever plants are in the ground will be greatly promoted; and, what is verv important, the permanent injury, by stoppage of growth for a period, which takes place by excessive and continued drought, will be avoided; so that, when the natural moisture returns, the plants will proceed in their growth in a healthy condition, and the certainty of an early and abundant crop will be the result. In the flat countries, where water cannot be made available from re- servoirs in the upper country, the whole water required may be jjumped by the steam-engine usually employed for thrasliing the grain, and at an extremely small cost; and since it has been else- whei'e demonstrated that manure may be most efficiently applied in the liijuid form, the watering ]iipes and apparatus can be used with great advantage in distributing tlie manure, by which they would perform the double office of supplying abundance of water in dry seasons, and of distributing the manure at all seasons, when proper to apply it. In the application of liquid manure, much dilution is found to be absolutely necessary: and the farmer should always be provided with an abundant supjily of water, wherewith to mi.\ his liquid manure from the farm, or to dissohe and mix with such artificial manures as he may find it profitable to employ; in this way, the most minute shade of nourishing matter may be given at such times as the plants may require. It has been ascertaiired by the analysis of drainage water, that a considerable portion of the dung put upon land passes off with the superab uudant rain water. I, therefore, projiose that, upon every farm, there should be a pond or reser\'oir to catch and stt)re uj) the drainage water of the wet season, that it may be thrown upon the land in dry periods — thus saving, as far as it is possible, tlie enriching matter, which would otherwise be lost. This points to the lowest part of the farm as the most proper site for the homestead or farm-buildings, that the steam-engine may be contiguous, at the same time, to the farm- stead and to the reservoir. Such position for the farmstead would be most suitable in another important point of view. The system re- cently called high farming would seem to be imperatively called for in the present condition of the agriculturists of this country, when a greater jiroportion of rearing and feeding of cattle must be car- ried out on every farm, so that a larger amount of manure may be produced, with a more profitable application of the food raised. To this end the liquid manure and distril)ution by pipes will greatly contribute; whilst having the farmstead in a low position will assist in the carting home of the increased green crops for house- feeding, being chiefly down hill, and will be, to a certain e.\tent, advantageous for the carrying home of grain crops as well. The farmstead will generally thus be in a more sheltered position, which in all respects will be advantageous, except with the single exception of drying of grain in the stack, which process can be placed under the nujre immediate control of the farmer by cheap and efficient artificial means. All over the Lothians, and the other more advanced districts in Scotland, the steam-engine is a common appendage to every farm- stead of any extent, for the purpose of thrashing the grain, cut- ting the straw and roots, and bruising grain, &c.; and as such engines are employed but a i ery small portion of time, a forcing pump may be attached for tlie jiurpose of pumping water and liquid manure. The ajqilication of the common liquid manure of a farm has hitherto been an uphill work, and must always be so when a manure cart is employed as the means of con\'eyance and Iill, at West Springfield, Mass.; fig. 1, being an elevation or vertical section through the axis of the wheel; fig. '2, an elevation across the shaft, representing a section of the penstock and di'aft tubes, and a profile of the helical inlet The parts of the drawing have their true proportions according to the scale. yjjThe fall of water operating the wheel is 31 feet; its full power is estimated at 250-horse power, with an expenditure of (j396 cubic feet of water per minute. The wheel consists of a pair of reaction wheels or rims w, of a modified and improved form, arranged on a horizontal shaft, and a double helical sluice o, which conducts the water into the wheels with a lively annular motion in the direction in which the wheel moves. The wheel, with its helical sluice, is placed within the penstock, or reservoir supplying it, and is entirely surrounded with water, the extremities of the shaft only protruding from the sides; its axis is 20 feet high from the surface of the tail water. The water passes from the wheels or rims into two air-tight chambers or cases c, called " draft boxes," from which it passes into two air-tight iron tubes son, Esq. East India Haihvays. — Mr. J. C. Melvill, the secretary of the East India Company, has been appointed the ex officio director of the India Railway Companies, in pursuance of the Acts and the respectire contracts with these bodies, and three engineers have been chosen by the East India Peninsular Company to go out to Bombay, for the purpose of proceeding at once with these works. The gentlemen selected are Mr. J. Betkeley, formerly a pupil of Mr. R. Stephenson, and subsequently a sub-engineer on the North Staffordshire line ; Mr. C. Ker, resident engineer, under Mr. Locke, on the Aber- deen line; and Mr. Graham, a nephew of Sir James Graham, and a pupil of Mr. Stephenson- Monster Pontoon at New Ilothnd.— Another great step has been taken to bridge across the Huniber. A floating island, half an acre in extent, has been launched into the sea. This island is formed wholly of iron plates, in the form of a rectangular pontoon ; and floats at the end of the pier of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway station, opposite Hull. The pontoon is connected with the pier by means of two tubular platforms or bridges, which always afford an easy descent, and the passengers alight from the carriages and walk under cover to the boats, which convey them in ten minutes, at the rat-i of fifteen miles an hour, across the ferry. This pontoon is part of the great system of railway ferries designed by Mr. Fowler for the Hull station, the successful and complete carrying out of which is a principal condition of the success of the railway, which it connects with its most populous aastern terminus. The great mass was launched on the -!th ult., with perfect success— and on going into the water floated at the exact line marked out for it, thus proving the accuracy of the previous calculations of the engineer. It was constructed by Messrs. Wilson and Co., of Leeds, as contractors, under the imme- diate superintendence of Mr. Ikin, and it is an excellent piece of workmanship, as well as a most successful engineering design. New Peninsular Steam-Fleet. — ^^^e understand that, in anticipation of securing the contract for conveying the mails between India and Australia, and of per- forming the whole of 4he Mediterranean and Bombay service, the Peninsular and Oriental Company have determined on building seven new and powerful paddle-wheel steam ves- sels. Todd and Macgregor, of Scotland, are to build two of the number, they having succeeded so well with the Sultau, the ship last built. The vessels are to be built of Iron. Navigation of ihe Ganges. — An iron steam vessel is now being built by Mr. J. Laird, of Birkenhead, intended for the navigation of the Ganges. She is IJUO feet long, and 30 feet beam, and will only draw, when loaded, about two feet of water. The form is that of the canoe, shovel-shaped at both extremities, dnd the bottom, amidships, without keel, forming an inverted gentle segment of an arch; the centre portion, how- ever, or floor, being nearly flat. The rudder is applied at either end, as necessity requires. The vessel is divided longitudinally, into three parts, by tight bulkheads; and traversing these, there are other bulkheads, dividing the whole vessel into 30 water-tight compart- ments, and adding greatly to her strength. The vessel, which is for the East India Company, will, when finished, be taken to pieces, and sent in a ship to India, to be finally put together. Mineral Veins. — MM. Malaguti, Durocher, and Sarzeaud, announce that they have detected in the waters of the ocean the presence of copper, lead, and .silver. The water examined appears to have been taken some leagues off the coast uf St. Malo, and the fucuidai plants of that district are also found to contain silver. The F. serratus and the F. ceramoides yielded ashes containing l-100(J00th; while the water of the sea contained but vtry little more than 1-Uol. Thomas Lightfoot, of Broad Oak, within Accringtoo, Lancaster, chemist, for improve- ments in printing and dyeing fabrics of cotton and of other fibrous materials. — January 2. William Buckwell, of the Artificial Granite Works, Battersea, civil engineer, for i - proveruents in compressing or sohdifying fuel.— January 3. To extend to the Colonies only. Joe Sidebottom, of Pendltbury, Lancaster, manager, for certain improvements in steam engines.— January 3. Henry Doming, of Hearsley, near Bolton, Lancaster, brick and tile manufacturer, for certain improvements in machineiy or apparatus for manufacturing bricks, tiles and other similar articles from clay or other plastic materials. — January li. David Blair White, of Newcuslle-upon-Tyne; doctor of medicine, for an improve d mode of ballasting and stowing cargo in ships and other vessels. — January 8. Matthew Urlwin Sears, of Burton-crescent, St.Pancras, Middlesex, commission agent, for the improved construction of guns, and cannons, and manutacture of cartridges for the loading or charging thereof. — January 11. Samuel Newington, of Knole, Frant, Sussex, doctor of medicine, for improvements i sowing, manuring; and cultivating land, and of certain of the implements used therein, ^ January 11. Bennett Alfred Burton, of the firm ot Bennett, Burton, and Burton, of John's-place, Holland-street, Southwark, engineer, fur certain improvements in apparatus connected with sewers, drains, and ctsspools, also in suction and delivery pipes, and in connecting such pipes or hose; tha apparatus connected with sewers, drains, and cesspools being applicabl.- to other like purposes. — January 11. John Fayrer, of Surrey-street, Strand, commander in. Her Majessy's Navy, forim- provements in steering apparatus.— January 11. Alfred Cooper, of Romsey, Hants, grocer, for improvements in steam and other power engines, and in the application thereof to motive purposes; also in Che methods of, and miichinery for, arresting or checking ihe progress of locomotive engines and other car- riages.— January 1], James Macdonald, of Chester, coachmaker, for certain improvements in the method of applying oil or grease to wheels and axles, and to machinery ; and in connecting the springs of wheel carriages with the axles or axle-boxes.— January 11. John Glasgow, of Manchester, engineer, for certain improvements in machinery or ap- paratus for shearing, shaping, punching, and comnressing metals. — January 12. John Mtlwain, of Manchester, joiner, for certain improvements applicable to the closing of doors, windows, and shutters. — January 12. Andrew Barclay, of Kilmarnock, North Britain, engineer, for improvements in smelt- ing of iron and other ores, and iu the manufacture or working of iron and other metals, and in certain rotary engines and fans, machinery, or apparatus connected therewith. — January 15. Richard Smith, of Clitheroe, Lancaster, manufacturer, for certain improvements in looms for weaving. — January 17. Henry Cowing, of Stamford -street, Blackfriars, gentleman, for improvemenes in ob- taining motive power, and in steam and other ploughs, in land carriages, in tire-engines, iu raising water for draining and other agricultural purposes, and iu apparatus for evapo- rating saccharine and other liquors.— January 17. Joseph Nye, of Mill-pond Wharf, Piirk-road, Old Kent-road, engineer, for improve, ments in hydraulic machinery; parts of which machinery are applicable to steam-engines and machinery for driving piles. — January 17. William George Henry Taunton, of Liverpool, civil engineer, for certain improvements in obtaining motive power, and iu u means to ascertain the strength of chains and ships* cables.— January 17. Robert Barbor, of Chatham-place, Lock's-fields, Surrey, metal melter, for certaiu im- provements in artificial fuel, and in machinery used for manufacturing the same. — Janu- ary 17. Macgregor Laird, of Birkenhead, gentleman, for improvements in the construction of metallic ships or vessels, and in materials for coating the bottoms of iron ships or vessels, and in steering ships or vessels. — January U*. William Beadun, jun., of Taunton, Somerset, gentleman, for improvements in convey- ing away or decomposing smoke and products of combustion from stoves or grates, and iu ventilating rooms of residences. — January 19. George Simpson, of Buchanan-street, Glasgow, civil and mining engineer, for a certain improvement or improvements in the machinery, apparatus, or means of raising, lower- ing, supporting, moving, or transporting heavy bodies.— January 19. William Wood, of Over Darwen, Lancashire, carpet manufacturer, for improvements in the manufacture of carpels, and other fabrics.— January 23. Christopher Nickels, of York-road, Lambeth, Surrey, gentleman, for improvements in the manufacture of woollen and other fabrics. — January 23. \\'alter Westrup, of Wapping, Middlesex, miller and biscuit baker, for improvements in cleaning and grinding corn or grain, and in dressing meal or flour. — January 24. Auguste Reinhard, of Leicester-street, Leicester-square, Middlesex, chemist, for im- provements in preparing oils for lubricating purposes, and in apparatns for filtering oil and other liquids.— January 24. Joseph Long and James Long, of Little Tower-street, London, mathematical instru- ment makers, and Richard Patlenden, of Nelson-square, Surrey, engineer, for an im- provement in instruments and machinery for steeriug ships, which is also applicable to vices, and other instruments and machinery for obtaining power. — Januar 2 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 73 LECTURES ON ARCHITECTURE, By SajMuel Clegg, Jun., Esq. ; Delivered at the College for General Practical Science, Putney, Surrey. (president, his guace the duke of buccleugh, kg.) Lecture III. Chi.va. — Central America. — Celtic remains. We have hitherto been following the traces of the Agrioulturist: in approaching China, we come upon tlie footsteps of the Pastoral tribes, the dwellers in tents, — anionj;st wliom any great progress in the science of Architecture may be looked for in vain. As it will not be necessary again to refer to China in the course of these Lectures, I must be allowed, instead of confining myself to an historical period, to speak of the architecture of this singu- lar country as it exists at the present day; thus substituting dis- tance of place for distance of time. In China, the adlierence to the original type of the tent is everywhere apparent: their pagodas and towers resemble a num- ber of tents placed one over another, instead of side by side; the houses of the mandarins chiefly differ from those of the lower orders by covering a greater extent of ground; and the palace of Pekin is merely like a camp within an outer encampment, formed by the tent-like houses of the city. Owing to the frail- ness of material and peculiarly slight style of buihling, it is not likely that the Chinese edifices could long resist the devastating march of time; indeed, it is supposed that with the exception of the Great Wall, and perhaps a few pagodas, no building exists in that country more than 300 years old. Any description of the ancient architecture of China would, consequently, he merely conjectural. But from the religious and political thraldom to which the Chinese are subjected, from their natural repugnance to change, and from the simplicity of their present style of build- ing, there is no reason to suppose that it differs in any material respect from that of 3000 years ago. Elevation of Chinese House. Timber, crude and burnt brick are the materials most in use ; the bamboo, which in China grows to a remarkable height and size, is also employed. Stone and marble are rare, and are only partially used even in the public buildings and tombs. The cha- racteristics of Chinese architecture are extreme lightness and giiety of effect, the tent-like form, the coloured and varnished r ofs, and variously-tinted walls — giving, as Sir William Ciiambers observes, "a pretty and toy-like appearance" to their buildings. The height and size of each dwelling-house must be in exact accordance with the caste of tlie proprietor; and even the details are regulated by law. A mandarin, who had ventured to erect a mansion of superior elegance, was summoned before the emperor to answer for his presumption; and thought it wise to raze the ol noxious structure to the ground, in order to avert fine or other punishment. The roofs of the Chinese buildings are convex in their sides, spine, and ribs, presenting the appearance of a pliant material; '50.— Vol. XIII.— .March, 1S50. they are supported by wooden columns without capitals, having, instead, ornamental consoles projecting from the sides, which give additional support to the verandali. The roofs turn up at the eaves, and are finished with a si)ike, like the hook or fastening of a tent; and this part is frequently decorated with the figure of a dragon, which is the national emblem. The wooden columns being the main support of the roof, the side walls are very slight. The window frames are filled-in with open rectangular patterns, inter- secting each other; tlie railwork of the balconies and verandahs is formed in a similar manner. The interior walls are gaily orna- mented with variegated matting, and painted paper or silk. Some- times, in the upper stories, the partition walls are partly formed of cane trellis-work covered with painted gauze, admitting light and air. The aperture leading from one room to another, or from the corridor to the garden, is frequently a lunette; a circular opening, instead of a rectangular doorway, giving a picture-like effect to tlie vista beyond. As these round doors are considered lucky, the evil spirit not being supposed to be willing to enter by them, there is always one at least of this form in every Chinese building. The gardens are cultivated with great taste and skill. The houses of the lowest class are miserable and poverty- stricken, being nothing more than mud or crude brick huts, and covered with straw or rushes. The farm-houses are not much better, having generally a mud floor, and the apartments frequently being only separated by mats hung from the ceiling. The custom of plastering the inferior kind of houses with mud gives them a dingy appearance. Lime is a scarce commodity in the country, the only kind being prepared from shells and stones cast up by the sea. The cities of China are by no means imposing in effect, as the surrounding walls are higher than the buildings they inclose — the Taas or towers being the only lofty structures. These towers are formed of several tent-like 'stories, diminishing in size as they ascend; and they are gaudily decorated, and hung with little tinkling bells at each angle of the many roofs. The celebrated porcelain tower at Nan-king is of nine stories, forming a height of 216 feet; the roofs are covered with pale green glazed tiles, whence it derives its name. Tlie pagodas are surrounded by courts and vestibules, the cells of which serve as a residence for the priests or bonzes. The Chinese have a great taste for gay and fanciful decoration: the glazed tiles of the roof are frequently arranged in the form of fishes' scales, and the pa\e- ments occasionally formed of shells laid in a pattern like mosaic- work. The timbers of the roof, which are always left exposed, are, in the habitations of the higher castes, formed of costly woods, or inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl. As engineers, the Chinese were skilful in very early times; their bridges and canals bear as ancient a date as those of any of the great eastern nations, and th.at they were not ignorant of the art of building in its most solid and imperishable form, the Great Wall remains to testify. This stupendous undertaking separates China from Northern Tartary, and was completed about 21 1 B.C.; its length is computed at about 1500 miles; and a curious calculation has been made, that the materials of this wall, including the earth- work, would be sufficient to surround the world with two walls each six feet high and two feet thick. It is said that every third man in the kingdom was summoned to assist in its construction. It pursues a direct course over hill and valley, passing the rivers on arches; the only interruption is a ridge of lofty mountains in tlie province of Pe-tche-lee, and the broad river Iloang-ho. The foundation is formed of large stones laid in mortar; upon this ;s raised a mound of earth, cased in some places with brick, in others with stone. On the elevated ground it is only from 15 to 20 feet high, but along the valleys it is raised to the height of 30 feet. It is paved on the top with flat stones and is wide enough for six horsemen to ride abreast. In the valleys, and those places most open to attack, projecting towers are constructed witlyn bow-sliot of each other. Notwithstanding the enormous extent of this wall, it is said to have been finished in five years. — The Imperial or Grand Canal is a work of nearly equal magnitude, traversing a length of 900 miles. There is so very little really interesting or instructive in Chi- nese architecture, that I shall pass on without further notice of it. The countries of which mention has hitherto been made are contiguous, or nearly so, so that mutual intercourse and inter- change of ideas has aided the progress of civilisation : I have now to s]ieak of a far-off country, and to describe ruins tliat lie amidst the forest and jungle till lately unknown and uiithought of, unless in the dreams of the poet. 11 74 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AXU ARCHITECrS JOURNAL, [Mabch, "Man was In andpnt flays of grosser mould, An'l Hercules might blush to learn how far Beyon-I tlie limits he had vaiuly set, The dullest sea-hoat eooo shnli wing her (vay; Man shall descry another hemisphere. * « * * * * At our antipodes are cities, states, And thronged em]itres, ne'er derined of yore.** 'Morgonte Sfaggiore.* Thus snng- Piilci, while Columbus was either yet unborn or in his cliildlioiid, siiiling- toy boats on the bay of his native Genoa. Rumoiirs liad from time to time been afloat, of ruined cities in the midst of the trackless uoods of A^'estern and Central Ame- rica; hunters and travellers had found masses of masonry and sculijtured stones half hidden beneath the roots of the many- wintered {giants of the forest: but these reports were long treated as travellers' tales, or as the result of a vivid imagination mis- taking some curiously-shaped stone for the work of man's hand, where it was supposed man had never been. At last, exactly one hundred years ago, a party of Spaniards travelling in Central America, found unmistakeable ruins; and on examination, hewing their way through the dense forest, discovered the remains of a city, extending over 18 or 20 miles. ^An exploring party was then sent out by the King of Spain in 1786, but either through jealousy or indifference, their report re- mained unpublished until the papers fell into the liands of an English gentleman at Guatimala, during the revolution of 1822. Still, d(nil)ts were thrown upon the authenticity of this narrative, and little interest was excited, until a paper appeared in the Litemn/ Gazette in 1831, calling the attention of the public to the discoveries of Colonel Galindo; by this time, also, the celebrated Von Humboldt had travelled in Central America, and when his researches were published, scepticism was compelled to give way. Since then, many travellers have explored the country, and new discoveries have been made by Messrs. Stephens, Catherwood, M aldeck, and others; and already forty-four ruined cities have been brought to light in Yucatan alone. Naturally, where no certainty exists, each discoverer erects his own theory as to the date of this lost empire, and the race by which it was inhabited. At present, the most generally received opinion i.s, that these ruins are not so ancient as those of the East- ern world, and that they were living cities at the time of the Spanish conquest. The historian, Herrera, who accomjjanied Cortez in his expedition against Mexico, describes the natives as having a peculiar form of head, such as is represented on the sculptures, probably flattened back during infancy; and speaks of lofty terraces, ascended by fliglits of steps; of temples, magnifi- cent palaces, and carved ifUds, all of stone. It is to be presumed, however, that as in our own quarter of the globe, cities fall into decay, while others rise in their neighbourhood, so in America some of the remains may be of a date anterior to others: the architecture of Palenque, for instance, appears to belong to an earlier period than that of Uxmal; and at the time of the con- quest, though the Spaniards paused to erect a cross within two or three miles of Palenque, no mention is made of a populous city in the vicinity; most likely, therefore, it was already in ruins and hidden in the forest at the time they passed by. Winged Globe. The American Archa?ological Society have come to the conclu- sion that the first inhabitants were colonists from Tartary and JMalacca; and it is thought they did not cross the ocean, biit had wandered to the far north, and so overland to the new continent — successive races passing onwards, until they settled in the plains of Mexico and Yucatan. If this be the correct theory, it is sin- gular how they could have supported themselves during their northern transit, and that they should have left no distinct traces of their footsteps by the way. Evidences of an Eastern origin are, however, not wanting: the winged globe is found over the doorways of Palenque, and the resemhlance to the sacred symbol of Egypt is too exact to have been mere accident. Pyramids, too, and even mummies, have been found in Peru; and in the valley of the Ohio, tumuli have been found, containing conical domes of masonry, exactly the same as the ''tholi" of the Pelasgians. The rapid and rank growth of vegetation in that hot, damp climate may account for the state of utter ruin in which the most modern of these cities is found; but it is difficult to conceive (even allowing for the supineness of the Spanish Indians) how, in the course of a few generations, all record, all tradition of the past could so completely have disappeared: the hieroglyphics carved on the monuments are as utterly unintelligible to those whose great grandfathers must have spoken the same language, as are the Etruscan inscriptions after the lapse of nearly two thou- sand years. The only name the Indians have for the ruins, when even aware of their existence, is '■'Ctisas de Piedras," and the in- variable answer to any question concerning them, '■•Quien Sabe!" JLijik X \ JLz / Portion of Facade from Casa del Gobemndor. In general appearance, the cities of Central America must have greatly resembled those of Assyria: like the Assyrians, this mys- terious peojile built their temples and palaces upon high artificial platforms; those of America were of ]iyramidal form, ascended by wide flights of steps. At Uxmal, the platform upon which the principal building, called the Casa del Gobernador, is elevated is divided into three terraces, of the respective heights of 3, 20, and 19 feet; the lowest terrace is 600 feet in length, and the fa9ade of 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 75 the building on tlie highest terrace 320 feet in length. The steps do not always ascend in a direct line I'roni the ground to the prin- cipal entrance of tlie building, but sonietinies tlje first terrace is ascended by steps to the northern side, — wliile to arrive at the second the lower terrace has to be traversed lialf-way round, the next flight of stairs being found to the soutli: whetlier tliis plan was adopted for greater securitj', or from an idea of giving greater importance to the temple or palace by difficulty of access, it is hard to say. Occasionally, figures of great size, sculptured in bas-relief, have been found at each side of the steps. The princi- pal flight of steps at Zayi is 32 feet in width. The different cities would seem to have formed one great king- dom, from the similarity in architecture and the close resemblance of the sculptures and hieroglyphic inscriptions. The buildings are of stone, sometimes of one story, sometimes of two or tliree; when this latter is the case, each story recedes from the one below it, so as to give a pyramidal form to the structure. The facade is perfectly plain up to the moulding that runs along the top of the doorway; above this it is elaborately ornamented with carved work relieved on a painted ground. The style of decoration being bar- barous and fantastic, the drawing of a portion of the fajade of the Casa del Gobernador may serve to give an idea of the style: the grinning Gorgon's head in the centre calls to mind some of those on tlie antique Etruscan bronzes. Sometimes no general design has been adopted, but the facade covered with a kind of sculp- tured mosaic. In one instance, at Uxmal, the front of the build- ing is divided into compartments by a bas-relief representing huge serpents intertwined like a rope; the compartments are occupied by figures of idols and other devices. Traces of paint are always found, tlie colours used being the same as in Egypt and Assyria. The facade is pierced by a number of doorways — sometimes as many as fourteen along the front of the building. These door- ways are generality mere rectangular openings, without moulding or other ornament; but, occasionally, rows of small columns or pilasters, not exceeding 6 ft. 6 in. in height, form the piers sepa- rating them. These columns are usually plain, with a square abacus; but at Kewick, as shown in the accompanying engraving, the attached pillars are ornamented with a binding round the shaft — reminding us of the description of Assyrian palm-tree columns, bound round with coloured bulrushes. Doorway at Kewick. The doorways lead into a corridor with a high vaulted roof formed — in the same manner as among most ancient nations before the true principle of the arch was known — by horizontal courses of stones, projecting one over another till they nearly met, and then capped by a flat stone at the summit, the inverted steps being afterwards cut away: this method need not necessarily have been borrowed from the East, but would present itself naturally to all early builders in stone. — This corridor leads to an open court, sur- rounded by various apartments; in some of these courts an unhewn upright stone is found, which is supposed to have been a "kebla," or stone of observation, and to mark the site of a sacred edifice. At Chichen there is an apartment with a flat roof, divided by transverse beams and supported by massive square pillars, like the interior of an Etruscan tomb; but, generally speaking, the build- ings of ancient America differ more in the extent and number of the courts and corridors, than in style and arrangement. Tlie masonry is beautifully wrought, the stones frequently polished and accurately fitted, though in some instances a mortar of lime and sand has been used. Near Copan, a quarry has been discovered in the midst of the forest, where many hewn stones are lying as if just ready to be removed. The people of the Western world do not seem to have paid the same attention to the abodes of the dead as the inhabitants of the East: no sculptured tombs are found, nor are there any excava- tions, notwithstanding the proximity of rocks. A sepulchral pit was discovered at Copan, containing pots of red earthenware, many of which, according to Colonel Galindo, were full of human bones. Dishes and vessels of pottery have been found amongst the various ruins, and also images of terracotta. The images and idols are disproportionate, and hideous in the extreme, and appear calcu- lated to excite feelings of repugnance and horror in the minds of the worshippers, rather than any sentiment of reverence or ad- miration. There is a belief current in Yucatan, that amongst the moun- tains, in a region inaccessible to the white man, a city still exists, inhabited by the aboriginal race; and now and then a daring ad- venturer is said to have ascended a rocky peak, whence the gleam- ing walls and palaces of the mysterious town ate visible — but none who have ventured beyond have returned to tell the tale. As the Indians say, '■'Qtiieii Sube!" The subject is as yet in its infancy; a wide field is open for discovery! and notwithstanding the dread- ful climate, and fatigues and hardships to be endured in that « ild country, doubtless there are daring spirits w illing to follow in the footsteps of those who have led the way; and in a few years much may be brought to light, and perha|)s all present theories and con- jectures superseded by others founded on a surer ground of evi- dence. I now proceed to the examination of a class of monuments more immediately interesting to us, as many of the most perfect are found in our own country. I mean those known as Druidical or Celtic remains. Among all the memorials of the past which time has spared to us, none are more wonderful than these: they exist everywhere — not only where the Celtie tribes are known to have permanently settled, but in Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, China, Persia, India, Egypt, and even in America. These monu- ments also tend to confirm the supposition, that at some period a similarity of worship has prevailed over the known world. They may be divided into five classes — viz. 1st, The Cairn, or carnedd; 2nd, The Maen-hir, or upright stone; 3rd, The Cromlech and Dolmen; 4th, The Kist-vaen, or stone chest; and, 5th, The Circle of stones. The Cairn is simply a heap of stones, sometimes piled up in memory of any particular event, as in the covenant between Jacob and Laban, — sometimes as a sepulchral monument. When the cairn is unaccompanied by an upright stone, it is a sign that an infamous person lies beneath. To cast a stone upon a grave is an ancient mark of abhorrence — the sepulchre of Absalom is nearly choked up by the number of stones that have been thrown there in detestation of his memory. The tumulus, or barrow, on the con- trary, was the most honourable place of burial; the kings and great men lay within these mounds, with tlieir armour and weapons beside them. Frequently numerous skeletons are found in one barrow, which would seem to have been the cemetery for the sur- rounding population. In some places, several tumuli or barrows are grouped together. The word "tumulus" is from the Celtic root tumba — whence tombniu and tomb; "barrow" is from the Saxon beorg or byriff, and is applied indiscriminately to any mound of earth, whether intended as a fortification or a place of sepul- ture. The termination "bury" is taken from this word; and near any of our numerous towns ending in bur;/, some ancient eartli- work invariably is, or has lieen found. The custom of burying within these mounds or hea]is continued for many centuries after the Christian era, for we find a law of Charlemagne, in the ninth century, enacting that the bodies of all Cliristians shall be taken to the cemeteries, and not buried in the tumuli of the heathens. Heaps of stones are also piled as landmarks; they are placed on the hills in Scotland to guide the shepherds, and still receive tlie name of cairns. The Maen-liir, the stones of memorial or observation, were generally placed upright as pillars. Tliis setting-up of stones was the most ancient manner of commemorating any important fact; Jacob, after his memorable dream, set up the stone on which his head had rested, as a pillar (Genesis xxviii. IS); it is also recorded 11* THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [March, tli;it after tl.e di^oonifiture of tlie Philistines, the propliet Samuel '•took a stiiiie, anil set it hetweeii Mizpeli and Shen, and called the name of it Kben-e/.er" (Samuel, vii. ISj: indeed, frequent mention is made of such stones of menu)rial throuffhout the Old Testament. Jn many places, a superstitions regard is still paid to them. In lona there are several of these unliewn pillars, called "hlack stones," on account of the awful punishment supposed to follow the violation of an oath sworn upon them. These maen-liir were filso used to mark the restintr-place of the dead, though the Hebrews, like other eastern people, i>referred a cave or e-vcavation as a place of sepulture; when iu> rock was at hand, they made use of these stones of memorial: thus we read, that when "Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Eplirath," "Jacidi set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day " (Genesis, xxxv. 19,20). it was a custom anH)ngst the ancient Greeks to set an upright stone on the summit of a tumulus: it is, no doubt, in these stones of memorial that the head-stones in our modern cemeteries have originated. L']iright stones were also used as a "kebla," or point of observation, to which the attention of the wotshijipers should be directed. Broad flat stones were used as stones of inauguration: the stone under the coronation chair at Westminster Alibey is of this description. It is sujijjosed to he the same that stood upon the Hill of Tara, on which the kings of Ireland were inaugu- rated in ancient times. There was an old ])rophe(y to the effect, that the same race should reign wherever this stone sliould be; conseijuently, when an Irish colony settled in North Britain, this stone was sent witli them to confirm their dominion: it remained at Scone, where it formed the coronation chair of the Scottish kings, until the time of Edward I., who had it removed to U'est- niinster Alibey, in defiance of the prophecy. Toland observes of this stone, that it is "the ancientest respected monument in the wdrld, for although some others may be more ancient as to dura- tion, yet thus su])erstitiously regarded they are not." The Crotnlei-h (from ennn, "bowed or inclined," and //irA, "a broad flat stone") consists of a flat stone resting upon two or three Hjirights, with the up)ier stone generally inclining from the hori- zontal. The largest cromlech in England is that in the parish of Constantine, Cornwall: it is 36 feet in length, 19 ft. 8 in. in width, and 16 ft. 1- in. in thickness, its weight being abcuit 750 tons. One of great size is also found at I'las Newydd, in the island of Angle- sea. These cromlechs are generally sujpposed to have been altars, and are met with in every known country. It was a custom of the ]>atriarchs to offer up their sacrifices at an 0|>en altar; we learn from the Talmud also, that before the erection of the tabernacle, religious rites were performed at open altars and on high places. The first mention in the sacred writings of a place set apart for Morship was at Beersheba, where Isaac built an altar in the grove which his father Abraham had planted, and where he "called upon the name of the Lord" (Genesis, x.wi. 25.) It had been the cus- tom from time immemorial to dedicate a grove as a place of worship; the rude hut or tent were too closely associated with the avocations of daily life, to become impressive as temples: the sultry climate of the east gave the inhabitants a great love and veneration for trees, which they naturally considered as amongst the most beautiful of God's creations, and they gladly retired to the umbrageous recesses of the grove to meditate and pray. On account of tlie idolatrous rites practised, the Jews were afterwards forbidden by their law to plant gro\es for worship; hut in other countries, after the erection of temples, they were surrounded by a sacred inclosure, generally planted with trees, after the type of the altar in tlie grove. \\'e find tlie mention of unhewn stone altars in Exodus xx. 25: "And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou slialt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it." And again, in Dcuteroniuny xxvii. 5, 6: "And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift \i\t any iron tool uiion them. ..Thou shalt build the altar of tlie Lord thy (oid of whole stones." Among the Romans, these unhewn altars or cromlechs went by the name of Fanum .Mercurii. Strabo alludes to them in describing Egypt: he says that be saw on every band altars of unhewn stones, composed of two uprights with a horizontal block across, and calls them temjiles dedii'ated to Mercury. Arrian informs us that similar altars existed in Asia Minor; and they are frecpient in Italy: " Kar off, foiitoaleii by puitjlcd rt-eils, i'il (-tHiul, OrL-Ue beneath suuie altur, lu-ur at haiitl." Kcloe. Third. It is to be fciired that under tbe Druids, these cromlechs were too often stained with human blood: in many of them basins are scooped out of the upjier surface; and though these, as on the fire- altars of Persia, might he for a different purpose, the duct or chan- nel leading from the basin to the edge of the stone, would seem to have been intended to carry off the blood of the victim. Accord- ing to Mallet, 'Northern Antiquities,' in Sweden and Norway, they are still called "W(<(/" — that is, blood-stones. Tacitus, in his ac- count of the Isle of Mona (Anglesea), says that the Romans there cut down forests, in which the natives had been accustomed to practise the most cruel sujierstitions, making the altars smoke with the blood of their captives, and consulting the Divinity by inspection of the entrails of the victims; and Holinshed, speaking of places "compassed about with great stones round like a ring," adds, "But towards the south was one mightie stone, farre greater than all the rest, pitched up in manner of an altar, whereon their priests might offer sacrifices in honour of their gods." The Dolmm (from the Celtic /ao/ or rfdo/, "a table," and maeyi, "a stone,") are nearly the same as cromlechs on a larger scale, except- ing that the horizontal stone at the top is not inclined, hut level, like (as its name denotes) a stone table: these are supposed to have served both as altars of sacrifice and dwelling places for the priests. The Fairy grottoes, or Fairy rocks as they are sometimes called, are dolmens of great size; some of these have the appearance of a corridor, ending in an irregularly-formed chamber; otliers approach the circular form, and a few are diviiled into two or three apart- ments. One of the most perfect of these constructions stands a .^p- Fairy Uock of U:igneux. short distance from S;iumur on the Loire, and is called the Fairy Rock of Bagneux; the stones supporting the table are 7 feet in height; the outside width of the dolmen is lift. +in, and the sides each composed of four stones, 57 ft. 6 in. in length. A single u\ - right stone in the centre gives additiimal sup|iort to the roof or table. In this dolmen we see the original type of buildinirs in stone: the sides slope inwards to the roof, and the huge block of which this is formed gives the massive entablature; the builders would perceive that it was desirable to shelter the walls from the dripping of rain, and would place the horizontal block with its broadest side uppermost, so as to ftu-m an overhanging ledge; when thev began to hew their stones, they would chisel tliis out smooth, leaving a ridge below to conceal the joining of the horizontal and vertical stones, — thus producing the most ancient form of mtuild- ing, the bead and cavetto: the first rude idea of an Egyptian temple would then be complete. M. de Fremenville mentions the remains of a dolmen on the shores of the bay of Morbihan, on some of the stones of which hieroglyphics were carved; but these have unfortunately been destroyed. The Kixt-vaeti, or stone chest, is a sort of rectangular cell, formed by a flat stone resting upim three ujirights composing the three sides, the fourth side being left open. They are supposed to have been sepulchres, and also places of initiation. One of the best specimens is in Kent, and is now called Kit's Coty House: Camden supposes this monument to have been erected over the tomb of Catigern, an ancient British hero. In ^^'ales there is a circle composed of several kist-vaens, with a cromlech in the centre; under the kist-vaens human bones have been found. The Circlrs of stones were sacred inclosures and places of public meeting, either for civil or religious purposes. These -are aWo found in various countries: a circle of stones, with an upright stone in the centre, still exists near Darab, in Persia; and it is 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURl^AL. 77 said that three circles have been found in America. Cfesar in- forms us that the Druids in Gaul sat in a consecrated place at certain times of the year, when people flocked together from all parts of the country. Here judgment was passed upon criminals, rights of inheritance and boundaries of land established, and dis- putes, public and private, settled by a decree to which all submitted. In Iceland these circles are called " clotnr ringr" that is, " doom rings," or circles of judgment. In an ancient Welsh poem we find the following allusion to these consecrated inclosures : " Bards were constituted the judges of excellence, and bards will praise thee, even Druids of the circle;" and in another passage the poet says, " It is my right to be master of song, being in a direct line of the true tribe, a bard of the inclosure." Of these sacred circles, Stonehenge is the largest and most per- fect and has from time immemorial been considered one of the wonders of the world. The name is derived from the Saxon st(m, "stone," and henge, "hanging," or as some translate it, the "stone gibbet," in allusion, I suppose, to the huge trilithons forming so conspicuous a part of the ruins. This temple (for so it may be called) consisted originally of two circles and two ovals, which latter formed the sanctuary; the outer circle was about 300 feet in circumference, and was composed of lofty upright stones, with others placed across to form a kind of architrave. This circle consisted formerly of 30 stones, of which 17 remain standing. Within this is another circle, composed of small unhewn stones. The largest oval was formed by five pair of trilithons; the highest one now standing is 22 ft. 6 in.J but one that has fallen and broken measures 26 ft. 3 in. The horiiontal stones are attached to the uprights by joggles. According to Dr. Stiikeley, the inner oval was composed of )9 stones. The altar stone is 16 feet in length, but is almost covered by the fall of one of the great trilithons. The whole structure was surrounded by a "vallum," 369 yards in circumference; and here we find an instance of the distinction made in ancient earthwork between the military and civil or reli- gious structures— in the former the ditch is outside the rampart, and in the latter invariably within. There is many a tradition connected with Stonehenge, but no positive history. Hecatfeus of Abdera, an officer in the army of Alexander the Great, in his history of the Hyperborean nations, speaks of a "temple of the sun," 'in evident allusion to Stonehenge. It is also mentioned by the Welsh Bards: in one of their songs, the "stone cell of the sacred fire" is celebrated, and is considered as the great sanctuary of the dominion. It is curious to meet with these constant allu- sions to sun and fire worship— another proof of the prevalence of some primitive and universal faith. In Ireland, there is a rock with a basin scooped out of its upper surface, that goes by the name of Carig-Cmitli, the "rock of the sun." Sacred stones, such as those of Stonehenge, were distinguished by the ancients by the name of "amber," signifying anything solar or__divine: hence, Stonehenge was sometimes called "Maen-amber," and gave the name of Ambresbury, now Amesbury, to the nearest town. Giral- dus Cambrensis, who lived in the middle of the twelfth century, calls these stones "the Giants' Dance," and says they were brought by giants from Africa, and set up in Kildare; they were afterwards removed from Ireland to Salisbury Plain by the power of the en- chanter Merlin. Jeffrey of Monmouth, who wrote in the same century, also relates the'tradition, as follows:— "Aurelius, wishing to commemorate those who had fallen in battle [speaking of a battle between the British and Saxons], and who were buried la the convent of Ambresbury, thought fit to send tor Merlin the prophet, a man of the brightest genius, either in predicting future events or in mechanical contrivances, to consult him on the proper monument to be erected to the memory of the slain. On being interrogated, the prophet replied, 'If you are desirous to honour the burying-place of these men with an everlasting monument, send for the Giants' Dance, which is in Killaroeus [Kildare], a mountain in Ireland; for there is a structure of stones there, which none of this age could raise without a profound knowledge of the mechanical arts. They are stones of a vast magnitude and wonderful quality; and if they can be placed here, as they are there, quite round this spot of ground, they will stand for ever. At these words, Aurelius burst into laughter, and said, 'How is it possible to remove such vast stones from so distant a country? as if Britain was not furnished with stones fit for the work!' Merlin having replied that they were mystical stones, and of a medicinal virtue, the Britons resolved to setul for the stones, and to make war upon the people of Ireland if they should otter to detain them. Uther Pendragon, attended by fifteen thousand men, was made choice of as the leader, and the direction of the whole aff'air was to be managed by Merlin, On their lauding in Ireland, the re- moval of the stones was violently opposed by one Gillomanius, a youth of ivonderful valour, who, at the head of a vast army, cried, 'To arms, soldiers! and defend your country: while I have life, they shall not take from us the least stone of the Giants' Dance!' A battle ensued, and victory having decided in favour of the Britons, they proceeded to the mountain of Killaroeus, and arrived at the structure of stones, the sight of which filled them with both joy and and admiration. And while they were all standing round them, Merlin came up to them, and said, 'Now try your forces, young men, and see whether strength or art can do more towards the taking; down these stones.' At this word, they all set to their engines with one accord, and attempted the removing of the Giants' Dance. Some prepared cables, others small ropes, others ladders for the work,— but all to no purpose. Merlin laughed at their vain efi'orts, and then began his own contrivances. At last, when he had placed in order the engines that were necessary, he took down the stones with an incredible facility, and withal gave directions for carrying them to the ships, and placing them therein. This done, they with joy set sail again to return to Britain, where they arrived with a fair gale, and repaired to the burial-place with the stones. When Aurelius had notice of it, he sent out messen- gers to all the parts of Britain, to summon the clergy and the people together to the mount of Ambrius [Ambresbury], in order to celebrate with joy and honour the erecting of the monument. A great solemnity w'as held for three successive days; after which, Aurelius ordered Merlin to set up the stones brought over from Ireland, about the sepulchre, which he accordingly did, and placed them in the same manner as they had been in the mountain of Killaroeus; and thereby gave a manifest proof of the prevalence of art above strength." Aurelius Ambrosius succeeded Vortigern in the year 465 a.d. Aylett Sammes, who wrote in 1676, refers Stonehenge to a Phoeni- cian origin, thus explaining the legend of the African Giants; and it is singular that the stones of which Stonehenge is principally composed are called "sarsen-stones," sarsen being the Phoenician word for "rock:" it is a common saying amongst the Wiltshire peasantry, "As hard as a sarsen." Numerous stones of the same formatio'n are scattered over this part of the county, and on Marl- borough downs are strewed about so thickly, as to gain for the place the appellation of "Grey wethers," the stones in the dusk of the evening appearing like an immense flock of sheep. According to Dr. Stukeley, a tablet of tin was found at Stonehenge in the reign of Henry Vlll., inscribed with strange characters that none of the antiquarians of that age could decipher. James I., in 162U, employed tlie celebrated arciiitect, Inigo Jones, to collect informa- tion concerning Stonehenge; who came to the extraordinary con- clusion that it was of Roman origin, — but this singular opinion does not need refutation. From all these authorities, it will be seen how very little is known respecting this wonderful structure: in fact, all the information we possess respecting it amounts to this — that such a pile was erected near Amesbury, and that it was considered a marvellous work by our most ancient authors. Another extraordinary temple stood 19 miles distant, at Abury, of the form of a serpent transmitted through a circle— according to Dr. Stukeley, a hieroglyphic of the highest note and antiquity. The serpent was greatly venerated amongst the ancients, being considered a symbol of renovation or immortality, on account of its annually shedding its skin. When temples were built in this form, they were called Dracontia. Serpents were constantly in- troduced on antique altars and coins. The temple of Abury was constructed of huge unhewn stones; the great circle was inclosed within a vallum of 1400 feet in diameter. The two serpentine avenues of upright stones, called the Kennet and Beckhampton avenues, forming the neck and tail of the snake, were each a mile in length; the Kennet avenue ended in a small circle of stones on Overton-hill, formerly called Hackpen, from the Saxon words for snake-head. The whole construction is supposed originally to have consisted of 650 stones. Mr. Aubrey, who lived in the reign of Charles II. was enabled to make out 'the whole plan of the temple from existing remains; he has left a description of it in manu- script, which he refers to the following source : dated 1663 a.d. "King Charles II. discoursing one morning with my lord Broun- ker and Dr. Charlton concerning Stonehenge, they told his Majestie what they had heard me say concerning Aubrey (or Abury), for that it did as much excel Stonehenge as a cathedral does a parish church. His Majestie admired that none of our chorographers had taken notice of it, and commanded Dr. Charlton to bring me to him the next morning. I brought with me a draught of i^ "one by memorie only, but well enough resembling it, with which his :Majestie was pleased, gave me his hand to kisse, and commanded rs THfi CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. TMabch, me to waite on liim at Marleborough, when he went to Bath with his queen (wliicli was about a fortnight after), wliicli I did; and the next day, nlien the court were on their journey, his Alajestie left the (jueeii, and diverted to Aubrey; with the view wliereof, ho and his royal liiiihuesse the Duke of Vorke, were very well pleased. His Majestie then commanded me to write a descrijition of it, and present it to him; and the Duke of Yorke commanded me to give an account of the old camps and barrows in the plains." — Since the time of -Mr. Aubrey, the destruction of this fine memorial of past ages has been complete; the stones of which it was composed having been broken up to serve as building material for the modern village of Abury, situated within the ancient vallum. The snake-head remained till within a few years, when the farmer on whose land it stood had the stones removed and the ground ]/loughed over. — Numerous small circles of stones are met with in England and elsewhere, hut do not require any particular descrip- tion. I shall leave the mention of the camps and cities of our Celtic and British ancestors to a future period, and shall invite the student, in the next Lecture, to return with me eastward, to consider the Pelasgic remains of Greece and Italy, the architec- ture of the Jews, and the ancient lemains of Asia Minor. LIST OF AUTHORITIES. Hope's Hisiory of Architecture.— Sir W. Chambers. Arehlteeture of the Chinese. — His'ory of Chine, in Edinburgh Encyciopiedia. — Sleptieiis' Central America. — Stephens' Yucatan, — \Vi.td.-cic's Yucatan.— Kilto's History of Palestine. — Gailhabaud's Ancient and Mjdtfrn Architecture. — Maurice, Antiqidties of Indiu. — Sir Aichard Colt Uoare, Antiquities 01 Wiltshire.— Mallet's Northern AnUquities. ENGINEERING EMPLOYMENT. In our former article (p. 26) we made some remarks on engineer- ing em|)loyment, and the opening there is in agricultural operations. Since then, Mr. Cubitt, on taking the chair of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and making his presidential speech, has taken up the same subject {vide p. 41). We have latterly been under a dearth of work, from the slackening of railway undertakings: but it is to be hoped, with the awakening of trade throughout the world, we have a better time before us. Nevertheless, there is one great duty on every member of the profession, and that is, to uphold it. A\'hat the members of the Institution bind tliemselves to do, every menibor of the profession should likewise undertake. Let each do something to increase the field of knowledge, and let eacli do sometliing to increase the field of employment, for by keeping up the common interests, so is the interest of each best kejit up. The lawyer, being a trained man of business, has laid hold of a wide field of employment. Although litigation is very profitable, yet with the higher solicitors it forms but a small part of their emoluments; they are the chief counsellors of the landowner and the trader, in all money matters. They are agents for boroughs, stewards for manors, advisers as to lending and borrowing money, as to buying estates and selling them, marrying, settling, and will- ing away. The counsellor who has a bosom knowledge of a man's business, has a share in his well-being, and becomes his friend as well as his adviser; knit up in the same undertakings, and having the choice of every enterprise as well as the immediate rewai'd for professional exertions. Men of property want, however, other advisers. The man of law has no time for geology or chemistry, bricks and mortar, or earthwork; these are what the engineer can undertake, if he will but put himself in the way of doing so. The beginning of the connection, however, is everything, and the reward to be looked for is not immediate but permanent. It will often happen in our ])rofessional jtursuits, as with the lawyer, that what costs us most labour is of least worth to our client; and whatever we may set up as to the labourer being worthy of his hire, modern poli- tical economy is much fonder of another saw— that a man shall not be asked to give more for anything than it is worth to him. In one year the lawyer may do much work and get small pay; in the next he may do little, and yet have the means of making the highest charges. Nothing can be so valuable to a client aa a proceeding by which a costly litigation may be saved; and yet the attorney may not be able, by jiutting in all the conventional " six- and-eightpences" he can, to screw up his bill to more than a pound. So with the engineer, he may make half-a-dozen plans, and only one be adopted, though uniiucstionably the time for all six is spent in the work. On the other hand, the landowner cannot afford to pay for five plans which are not worth a farthing to him. The merchant, if he knew he could have the services of an engineer on moderate terms, would often refer to him — but the landon ner has still greater need of such help; and it is to be re- membered there are small landowuers as well as great one.=, as there are small traders as well as great ones. There is very little difference in the amount of talent and exertion required between a little plan and a great one, but there is very much difference between the means of remuneration; and this is what we want the engineers, and particularly the young ones, to hear in mind. Professional etiquette is a very fine thing; but what is called professional etiquette in most professions is, like trades' unions among mechanics, only a means of increasing the monopoly for the big men, and rewarding the lazy and stupid from the earnings of the hard-working. Here we will stop a while for a few words on "professional eti- quette," which may in most cases be put in the common tongue as "professional remuneration." Engineering is now acquiring a pro- fessional organisation, and the time is near when the questions of a professional test and professional etiquette will spring up, and be worked to the injury of the profession, unless the members take heed. Engineering is now an open profession, taking talent from every quarter — from the coal-heap, the mine-shaft, the quarry, and the work-bench, no less than from the desk and the college; and it is to be hoped no coxcombry w ill ever be allowed to alter this state of affairs, but that the field shall be free to all, and, above aH, to the working man; and be it remembered, that after all that is said, this is the only field of ambition open to the ingenious me- chanic. The architects are mooting this matter of professional test, and some of them want to have certificates; when, if they could see their true interest, they would throw open the field for admission, and invite more talent — whereas they actually propose to shut out some of what they have, and have a ridiculous regula- tion to cut off the surveyors from their body. As it is, the archi- tects are being driven out by the engineers, who have no restric- tions; and the struggle will be still less doubtful when it is the few articled pupils against the talent of all England enrolled among the engineers. Hitherto the architects have had the go- vernment ])atronage, certain official appointments, knighthoods, a share in the Royal Academy, and other good things. Notwith- standing this, the engineers have beaten the architects in public estimation; and notwithstanding the engineers have had the hos- tility of the government, who have defrauded them of the public appointments due to them, and put military officers and corporals in their places. Professional etiquette or professional remuneration means that there sliall be a certain scale — that a young man shall not charge lower than an older one, and consequently, that the older one, who is known, may be employed in preference to the younger one, though the latter may have the talents of a Watt or a Stephenson. As this doctrine is set u]) on a wrong economical groundwork, it always works ill. It looks to the interest of the professional man, and not to the means of his employer; and the class most injured is therefore that of the professional men. Take the case of a solicitor who has to deal with a uniform scale: many kinds of business he cannot undertake, and for many he can get no proper remuneration, because the scale has no reference to the benefit done to the employer, but only to the work done by the lawyer. Take the case of the medical men, who, by the results of professional etiquette, have pauperised the working classes of this country, keep up dispensaries for the benefit of "pure" physicians and sur- geons, and the demoralisation of the out-patients, and who lose, on the lowest estimate, a million a-year, whidi they might obtain by small fees from the labouring classes. In France, a young man can begin with a shilling fee, and he goes on increasing his scale as his practice enlarges, so that we believe at Paris the highest medical remuneration is higher than in London. So among artists, they may begin with a shilling or half-a-crown, until their lowest charge is two hundred guineas. There is many a man with three or four hundred acres, who would like to know what he can do with them for the best; for unless he keeps a sharp look out, his rents are likely to be much lessened — not by free trade, but by protection and agricultural ruin ; a war-cry which the farmers having been once taught by the landlords themselves, are not likely to give up without getting something by it. The farmers have already screwed down their workmen, and they are trying their hands with the landlords to get something off their rents. A landowner with a small holding, cannot afford to send for a great engineer, or an engineer who wants a great fee; but he would be very glad to have souud advice as to what can be done. If he has minerals underground, that 18S0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, 79 ought to be known, — if clay or lime aboveground, he will think about tile or lime kilns. A fair analysis of the soils is to be made, to know whether anything is wanting in them, and whence it is most readily to he got. The streams of water must be looked after, and it must be settled what is to be drained off, and what can be kept for catchwater meadows, or to feed the crops. It may be worth while thinking whether wells should not be sunk, to water the cattle where the land drainage is not wholesome. The roads settle the number of draught horses to be kept; and a few yards of quagmire filled up will perhaps get rid of half the horses. The hedges, trees, buildings, machinery, dung-pits, must be looked to, mapped out, and reckoning gone into as to what is to be done with them. A great landowner can send for Mr. Parkes, or Mr. Smith of Dennston to plan works, Mr. Bailey Denton to lay down a survey, Prof. Phillips to examine his minerals, and Prof. Johnston to ana- lyse the soils; but the small landowner wants this done by one man, at a small rate. The farmer, or the schoolmaster who is a land- surveyor, can plot out the ground — but there he ends. There are many farmers and land-valuers who can give very good advice as to draining or laying out the farm buildings; but still they cannot do the whole work. A young man who has been fairly brought up can do all that is wanted. He must be a surveyor, engineer, geo- logist, and chemist: know how to plan and estimate buildings; but, above all, he must be a good accountant — one of the first qualifica- tions of a man of business. The engineer is becoming the counsellor of his employers in many great undertakings, and his success will be much dependent on his knowledge of business. Now, so far as we know, in the engineering schools, book-keeping is not taught, and neither is political economy. We ought perhaps to go further, and say that logic and the training of the mental powers are not taught. The technical knowledge of accounts is needful to every engineer who would be more than a mechanic, for our's is a truly practical pro- fession; and without knowing what the outlay will be, and what the income, a man who lays down a plan is a mere bubble-blower, and may as well lay down a bridge from Dover to Calais, fur which the gold diggings of California would never pay, — or set up a patent cabbage-cutting machine, such as that which saved one cabbage in a hundred, but trampled down four. For want of a knowledge of higher political science, engineers are unable to grapple rightly with all the bearings of the plans which come before them. In common arithmetic, two and two make four; but in political arithmetic, they may make five, four, three, or even two. An engineer who is called in to look over land is not called in to spend money, but to save it. He must look to the means of his employer. If the latter is short of money, then only those works must be set about which are altogether needful: if, however, he has money to sj)are, then it is worth while to lay it out in every way which will bring a good return. Everything must be well reckoned up. The whole mileage of carts and horses throughout the year, must be worked out, — whether this can be shortened, whether lighter caj-ts can be run, or other kinds of ploughs be brought to bear. When buildings are to be set up, it does not follow they are to be built off-hand of brick or stone; but it must be worked in every kind of way, to make the most of the stone, brick, timber, and lime at hand. To liken great things with small, if railways had been so worked, they would now yield a much better income. A farm is a factory for bread and meat, and is to be set up in the same way as a cotton-mill. The engineer is the man to undertake the task, for neither landowner nor farmer can do it without him. One set pattern does for a windmill or a baker's oven, but no two farms are alike. One is high, another low; one wet, another dry; and so forth; and there must be a plan for each. This constitutes the protection of the engineer, for if a plan could be stereotyped and lent about from landowner to landowner, as a crotchet pattern by their wives, small would be the extent of engineering employment. It is on the degree of skill displayed in each design, in its peculiar and specific application to the cir- cumstances, that the engineer must depend fur his reputation. If he contents himself with copying from books, or with mixing up stock plans, either in this or any other branches of engineering employment, he is only undermining himself, for his employers can do the same thing, or others can start against him. ■We repeat, that protection is not to be sought in a code of con- ventional etiquette, but by the upright discharge of professional duties towards employers, looking not to selfish emolument, but to mutual advantage where a mutual service is rendered, and where a mutual interest is at stake. Those who hire themselves out for the day will be treated as hirelings: those who do unto others as they would others should do unto them, will be treated as fi'iends, and rewarded as such. ON THE LIFE AND GENIUS OF VIGNOLA. On the T'ife, the Genius; and the WorkK of Giacnmo Barozzi Da Vignnla. By Samukl Angell, Esq., Architect. — (Paper read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, Feb. 4th.) Of the great Italian architects of the sixteenth century, I doubt whether there is one to whose works and instruction we are more indebted than to him, who forms the subject of the present paper, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. We have all probably our diii'erent favourites among these great masters — one preferring the grandeur and solidity of the San Galli; another, the refined elegance of Peruzzi; a third, the harmoiry and simplicity of Palladio; but fur a happy combination of exquisite grace, with originality and purity of design, I consider Vignola as deserving the palm. In France the merits of Vignola have always been justly appre- ciated. Tlie architect is there taught from the commencement of his studies to revere him as his law-giver, and his name has given the title to several of the Frencii elementary works. They have their 'Vignoles des Architects,' 'Le Vignole des Ouvriers,' and 'Le Vignole des Proi)rietaires.' They have produced 'Le Vignole in fol.' and 'Le Vignole de poche;' in fact, for pure Italian architec- ture this great master is looked up to as their standard, and I believe I am correct in attributing the great excellence of modern French architects to the fortunate selection they have made of Vignola as their chief guide and instructor. Of our own countrymen. Sir ^Villiam Chambers has, perhaps, been the most forward in doing justice to the merits of Barozzi. In Sir William's admirable treatise he constantly refers to the writings and executed works of his great Italian prototype, and in his Five Orders he has drawn moi-e largely from ^'ignola than from either Scamozzi, Serlio, or Palladio. Our Honorary Foreign Secretary has also done justice to the genius of Vignola in the following passage, from his instructive work on Doorways: — "V\'e are not sufliciently acquainted in this country with the powers of Vignola's mind, which is more to he regretted, as all his works evince a profound knowledge of the resources of his art, and a taste of the most cultivated and refined nature. Grace is the predominating feature in all his buildings, not one of which but is sufficient to establish the reputation of any man. " Before I proceed to discuss the merits of Vignola as an architect, I will first slightly glance at tlie history of his life, and describe some of his principal works. Of the former I have little to add to what is contained in his memoir by Vincenzio Danti, as well as in Milizia's 'Memoire degli Architetti;' and also in the accounts prefixed to the editions of his works, well known, no doubt, to those present. And although I can offer no such amusing scenes, nor stirring events as are to be found in the life of a Benvenuto Cellini, still the career of Vignola was not without its shadows: occasionally basking in the sunshine of royal favour and pontifical patronage, there were times when he despaired of success, and when he found it necessary to change the intent and nature of his studies. Vignola was horn on the 1st of October, 1507; his father, Clemeute Barozzi, was of a noble family, and a native of Milan; his mother was a German lady. The civil wars of that period obliged Clemente to leave Milan, and he took refuge in the small town of Vignola, in the Modenese states, and Giacomo being born there, was, according to the custom of those days, surnamed after the place of his birth. Clemente Barozzi died during the infancy of Giacomo, who, as he grew up, evinced some talent and inclination for drawing, and was therefore advised to proceed to Bologna to study the art of Painting and Design. He does not, however, appear to have made the progress in his pursuits that he desired, he therefore took the resolution of changing them for Perspective and Architecture; and in these, his more congenial studies, he soon arrived at that proficiency which his natural genius and constant application enabled him to attain. Francesco Guicciardini, at that time governor of Bologna, took him under his patronage, but the youthful V' ignola, perceiving that a thorough knowledge of archi- tecture not merely consisted in making designs, or studying the works of Vitruvius, determined to proceed to Rome, and 80 THE CIVIL E>fGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [March, there to measure and stuily those plorious remnins of ancient iriaffiiiticeiice for which lie had so profound a venenition. He at first obtained employment by making' drawings for Alelighini of Ferrara, the same unfortunate wijrht, who, it is said, served liis holiness in capacity of jrrooni, and who, upon the occa- sion of the comjietition for the Cornirioiie of the Farnese Palace, was called by Antonio Sanpallo ''that mountebank of an architect." The necessity of jirocuring the means of subsistence ohli;;ed \'i)jrn(da occasionally to resort to painting small pictures for sale, hut this jirecarious mode of life was so distasteful to him, that upon the formation of an Academy of Architecture in Rome, by •Monsignore Marcello Cervini (afterwards elevated to the papal chair), he gave up painting- and devoted himself entiiely to the study of architecture, drawing and measuring nearly all the then existing remains for the use of the academy, arid to the entire satisfaction of its members. About the year 1537, Vignola left Rome in company with Prima- ticcio, the painter, who took him with him to France, and presented him to Francis the Fir^t, to whose service he became attached as l)rofessor of design. He made several drawings of ancient monu- ments for that great monarch, and various designs, the execution of which was prevented by the wars and troubles of that period. Some of his designs in perspective are said, however, to have been executed upon the walls of the palace at Fontainbleau. Vignola appears also to have assisted in casting in metal several statues from the antique for that palace, but Francis the First, having other occupations and demands upon his time and treasure, was obliged to withdraw his patronage from the fine arts, and our architect therefore returned to Bologna at the invitation of Count Filippo Pepoli, president of S. Pet'ronio, and he was engaged up to tlie year 1650, in making designs for that establishment. Competition designs in the sixteenth century do not appear to have been managed with more satisfaction to the i)arties engaffed, than in the nineteenth: and \'ignola is said to have been troubled with many dissatisfied rivals, when Giulio Romano and Christoforo Lombard! being called in to advise (much in the same way as in imr own times) upon the designs sent in for the restoration of S. Petronio, Vignola's was adjudged by those two great artists to he the most meritorious. This account^ however, does not quite agree with Giorgio \'assari's statement, in his life of Giulio Romano, from which it wcnild appear that Giulio Romano himself made a design for the fajade, which was much admired by the Bolognese. Palladio made four designs, and Baldassari Peruzz'i and Alessi were among the competitors. The affair appears to have created a great sensation in the architectural circles throughout Italy at that l)eriod. These designs are still preserved in the Reverenda Fabricn, at Bologna (adjoining S. Petronio); they were seen by Mr. Falkener and .Mr. Newman last year. Vignola's design is of a Gothic character, in accordance with the other parts of the build- ing; it does not appear so meritorious as Giulio Romano and Lomhardi adjudged it to have been. Me gather from .Milizia, that it was the custom at that time to consult the chief architects of the day upon any questionable point of design or ])ractice, for in a dispute between Bassi and Tihaldi upon some matter connected with the works in progress at Milan Cathedral, Bassi applied for the advice of Palladio, Vignola, Vassari, and Bertarii: and Milizia remarks that the answer of Vignola as respected the Baptistery was well worthy of being recorded. Tibaldi, in order to support his ill-proportioned interco- lumniations, proposed to introduce iron chains, Vignola remarked, "CAe lefubbrkhe mm si hanno da sosteitere co/k iftringhe" — "a golden sentence," as is well observed by the ingenious and learned author of the "Notitia." \ignola appears about this period to have been employed upon a palaceat Miuerbio, for the Conte Alemano Isohini, and upon a house for .Achille Bocchi, in Bohigna: upon the Facade dei Banchi in that city; and upon the Canal of Naviglio, a work of engineer- ing, which architects then undertook as a legitimate part of their profession. My friends, Mr. Edward Falkener, and Mr. Newman (both of whom have lately returned from Italy with rich stores of archi- tectural study) were induced, from finding the palace at Miuerbio described as a great work of \'ignola's, to make a detour of some twenty miles to see it, and we may judge of their disappointment upon finding the only work of \'ignola's now existing at Minerbio to consist of a Columbajo, of an octagon form, about 25 feet in diameter, and 70 feet in height. No traces of the palace could he iound; but if that building was in proportion in extent of accom- modation to the Columbajo, which would contain 13,000 pigeons, it must have been a building of nolittle magnitude. Upon a second visit to Rome, Vignola was introduced by Giorgio Vassari to the Pope Julius 111, who, when legate at Bologna, was acquainted with Barozzi. His holiness appointed him as architect, giving him the direction of conducting the Acqua di Trevi, and commanding him to make designs for his celebrated residence, the Villa Papa Giulio; he was also engaged upon the small neighbouring Church of S. Andrea a Ponte Molle. The Cardinal .\lessaudro Farnese was a most influential patron of Vignola'sv He employed him upon that portion of the Farnese Palace known as the Caracci Gallery, and his hand may be traced in other parts of this celebrated building. He was engaged at the Cancellaria; and he also designed for the Cardinal the exquisite gateway to the Orti Farnesiani in the Campo Vaccine. The greatest work, however, upon which this powerful prelate employed him, was that superb specimen of architecture, the palace of Caprarola. At the decease of Michael Angelo, in 1561, Vignola was ap- pointed architect to St. Peter's, and to his refined taste we are indebted for the two beautiful lateral cupolas of that building. The Church of the Gesu in Rome was also a commission from the Car- dinal Alessandro Farnese; the foundations were laid in 15(j8, but the works were only carried up to the height of the cornice bv \'ignola. The building was completed under the direction of Giacomo della Porta. The great Ducal Palace at Piacenza was designed by Vignola, hut completed by his son Giacinto. A chapel in the church of San Francesco in Perugia, the Capella Ricci in Santa Caterina de' Funari at Rome, the church of Santa Anna dei Palafrenieri, the Oratorio di San Marcello, and the tomb of the ('ardinal Ranuccio Farnese in San Giovanni Laterano, were among the works of ^'ignola about this period; and he was also employed upon several public and private edifices in various parts of Italy, among which were the Chiesa della Terra di Manzano, that of S. Oreste (Mount Soraete), and Santa Maria degli Angeli at Assisi. The foundations of the Palace of theEscurial were laid in 1563, when the Baron Martirano being at the court of Philip the Second, and being much esteemed by that monarch as of acknowledged taste in the arts, he was consulted in respect of this important building, and commissioned to return to Italy to advise with the ' most celebrated architects of the day, — Galeazzo Alessi at Genoa, Pelegrini Tibaldi at Milan, Palladio at Venice, and the Academy of Design at Florence. The grand duke Cosmo di Medici also ordered a design to he made by Vicenzio Danti. No less than twenty-twt) designs from different architects were collected on this occasion; but it is stated that none were so well received by the King of Spain and Martirano as that by Vignola, who, having had all the designs sent to him for his inspection and judgment, selected the best parts of each, and thus dressed up a description of olla podrida design for his most Catholic Majesty. This at first sight does not appear to have been a very creditable proceeding on the part of our architect, but at this distance of time it would hardly be just to venture a censure without having all the circumstances of the case before us; and as the character of Vignola for honour and integrity has never been impeached, it is only fair to presume that he did nothing unworthy of it in this transaction. Philip invited Vignola to proceed to Spain to superintend the execution of his design, but finding himself advancing in years, and being much occupied with his professional duties (more particularly with those pertaining to St. Peter's), he prudently declined the royal invitation, and determined ui)on continuing in his favourite Rome. The Escurial, according to Milizia, was afterwards erected by Giovanni Battista of Toledo, who commenced the work in 1563. In the year 1573, Vignola was invited by Pope Gregory the Thirteenth to proceed to the city of Castello to examine into a dis|>uted question of boundary between the Tuscan and Papal States; and although suffering greatly from indisposition at the time, he obeyed the pope's commands, and fulfilled his commission with care and great judgment. Upon recovering his health he immediately returned to Rome, and sought audience of the pope to 'render him an account of the successful performance of his commission; he remained an hour discoursing with his holiness upon the subject, and upon the state of the progress of several buildings from his designs, and received permission to proceed on the following day to Caprarola; but during the night he was attacked with fever, which terminated in his death after six days' continuance. Vignola died on the 7th July, 1573, at the age of 66; he had requested to be buried in a private manner, but his son Giacinto was obliged to concede to the wish of his friends and admirers, and be was interred with great pomp in the Pantheon, all the members loAO.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 81 of the Academy of St. Luke attending the ceremony, as a tribute of respect to his memory. Ignazio Danti (to whom we are indebted for a Memoir of the Life of Barozzi) makes most honourable mention of his noble and generous disposition. His constant desire was not to be burdened with the cares of superfluity, or the miseries of want: his numerous charities prevented the former, and his talents and the extensive patronage he enjoyed rendered him exempt from the latter. His life was most virtuous! his love of truth proverbial! his manner cheerful and engaging! his accomplishments refined! He died poor, leaving no other inheritance to his son Hyacinth (observes Quatremere de Quincy) "than the example of bis virtues and the reputation of his name!" Milizia states that Giacomo della Porta studied under Vignola, and Bonanni styles him as discipulus ejus; he succeeded him as architect to St. Peter's, and also designed and executed the several churches and other important works in Rome. I regret that I am unable to give the date when Vignola produced his celebrated Treatise upon Architecture. Daviler and Milizia both state that it was towards the latter end of his life, and this is in some measure confirmed by Vignola himself, who, in the fol- lowing passage from his modest and unpretending preface says, "that having for many years practised as an architect in various parts, having studied the writings of several authors upon archi- tecture, and having compared them together and with the works of antiquity then still remaining, he was desirous of establishing a rule upon which he might rely with security, and which might, upon the whole, or in part, please the judicious." Of a treatise so well known to architects it will be unnecessary for me to offer any description, it being sufficient to observe that its merits have now been tested for more than three centuries; that of the parallels, which have been made of the orders with those of such powerful rivals as Serlio, Scamozzi and Palladio, I think the balance will be found in Vignola's favour, notwithstanding the opinion of so great a critic as Milizia, who places the great architects of the sixteenth century in the following gradation: — "For knowledge and exquisite taste possessed by each in archi- tecture, it appears that the first place would belong to Palladio! on his right hand would be Vignola, Buonarotti, Sansovino, and Vasari, and on the other Peruzzi, San Michele, Giulio Romano, and Serlio." Vignola's Treatise upon Perspective was not published till after his death; his son Giacinto placed it in the hands of Ignazio Danti, a Dominican friar and mathematician of Bologna. Danti has well fulfilled his task of compilation, and has produced a work upon a subject, which was more carefully studied by the old Italian archi- tects than by their successors. Both Vitruvius and Peruzzi, as well as Vignola, recommended its study as one of the means towards arriving at perfection in the art. The words of Vignola are " La Scienza del/a prospettiva gli aveva ajierto I'ingegno per I'lirte difuhbri- care" and I would here venture a remark to the students of the Institute upon the great importance of a sound knowledge of per- spective for the proper study and practice of their profession. It would not be difficult to point out in several important buildings, instances of failure of architectural effect, arising from the designs having been merely studied geometrically. Upon the principle so well laid down by Milizia, " That the best method of praising able artists is by making known their works," I will now proceed with a few remarks upon the executed works of Vignola at Rome, commencing with the little church of San Andrea a Ponte MoUe, on the Via Flaminia. The building was erected by Julius III., in commemoration of his escape on St. Andrew's day^ 1527, from the German soldiery during the sack of Rome, and among the various inscriptions in the adjoining Villa Papa Giulio, Boissard gives the following as con- nected with this church. " In the neighbouring temple let thanks be given to God and St. Andrew, and let them (the visitors) pray for abundant health and eternal life to Julius III., Pontifex Maxi- mus, to Baldwin his brother, and to their whole family. This church is of a rectangular plan, of veiy moderate dimen- sions, and is chiefly remarkable for its resemblance in general exterior character to some of the small Roman temples. There is a great charm and beauty in the simplicity of the design, and the elegant details all bespeak the most careful study. Milizia, in his brusque way has some smart criticisms upon it, acknowledging at the same time that it was a work generally praised! In the immediate vicinity of the Church of S. Andrea is situate the Villa Papa Giulio, commenced in 1550, by order of Julius III. I will not occupy the time of this meeting by a description of this building, with which, probably, nearly all present are familiar, either with the building itself or the charming illustrations of it by Percier and Fontaine. I cannot, however, resist the observation, that for the harmonious arrangement of the plan, for its style and character, for the refinement and delicacy of the enrichments, it is a model of suburban architecture. Ammanati in his fountains and ninfeo, and Zucchero in his beautiful paintings of the porticoes, have contributed much to its effect, but it is to the master-hand of Vignola, which guided and directed the whole, that we must award the palm ! My friend, Mr. James Morant Lockyer, who has with great cre- dit given much attention to the study of numismatics, more parti- cularly in reference to architectural representations upon medals, has kindly lent me a medal of Julius III., engraved both in Stern's and Letarouilly's works, upon which the Villa Papa Giulio is shown with two small cupolas surmounting the circular staircase and cor- responding wing building. Tlie effect in the medal is so successful, that I am induced to %vish these lateral cupolas had been intro- duced in the building itself. Near to the Villa Papa Giulio is the Vigna Giulia, and from their close vicinity and the resemblance in the names, the one building has sometimes been taken for the other in the works of Vasari and other authors. I am inclined to think the hand of Vignola may be traced on this latter building; it is an extremely picturesque composition and quite worthy of him. Letarouilly has treated this subject in his usual perfect manner, and he ascribes the design to Sansovino and Peruzzi. Giorgio Vasari states, that he himself was the first who designed it, adding rather indignantly, " that he was not one of those who made designs to please the capricious fancy of the pope, and which were afterwards obliged to be corrected by Michael Angelo and Vignola." From this pas- sage it would almost appear, that Barozzi was really concerned in the design, but I have no doubt so careful an author as Leta- rouilly has good reasons for attributing the work to Sansovino and Peruzzi, and I am only doing justice to those two great architects in observing that the work in question is, at all events, worthy of Vignola. The Villa Lanti at Bagnaia, near to Viterbo, has also been ascribed to Vignola; it resembles his style, but it is not suffi- ciently refined and pure for that master. At the Palazzo Farnese, Vignola executed that magnificent apartment so well known as the Caracci Gallery, with a portion of the Cortile, together with the decorations of several doors and windows, the most satisfactory details of which will be found in Letarouilly, who has also given as the works of Vignola, the lateral porticoes or loggie on the Capitol, the small Palazzo Spada in the Via di Capo di ferro, the Palazzo Nari, and a small palace at the extremity of the Piazza Navona. ^Ve have also the celebrated doorway of San Lorenzo in Damaso. In reference to the entrance to the Farnese Gardens at Rome, I will again refer to the useful work on Doorways by Professor Donaldson, " It is useful, however, to consider whether this is an example to be entirely followed without reserve; certainly not; — but there are so few blemishes to remark, that it may appear almost unnecessary to notice them. It must be allowed, however, that the columns require being elevated above the level of the ground by a plinth. The rustications of the columns may be some- what objected to as not sffiuciently pure, but the harmony of the whole composition would have been destroyed had they been with- out; the attic is not sufficiently high, its proper proportions would have been to have equalled the entablature in height, this would have raised the plinth more above the cornice, and prevented its being intercepted by the projection of the latter. Some subsequent architect, with a taste as profane as it was daring, has introduced above this Capo d'Opera of Vignola, an attic, with caryatides, dete- riorating materially its effect, and causing the deformity to be attributed to our great architect." Now Milizia, who is genei-ally not very sparing in his censure, is not quite so indignant as the writer whom I have just quoted, with respect to this " profane addition;'' he merely says, " Ma I'attico coH quelle cariatidi e troppo graiide," and upon referring to my own rough notes, I find that 1 was innocent enough to treat it as one design. Many, however, I dare say, will consider that the author of the work on Doorways has, in this instance, proved himself the best critic of the three, and that the addition must conseqently be condemned as — *' A blot that will be still a blot, in spite or all that grave apolugists may write." At the death of Michael Angelo in 1564, Vignola, in conjunction with Pirro Ligorio, was elected as his successor as architect to St. Peter's, with the strictest injunctions from Pius IV. not in any way to alter the design made by Michael Angelo. Vignola's coadjutor, 12 82 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. LMabch, liowcveiv tlioufrlit proper to disobey tliese commands, in conse- ecause he was a modeller, ijcing a painter, be could aroaUamale things which had not hitherto been iucurporateii, and thus lie aehieveil a wonderful degree of progress in his arrbiiecltire. lie would reniaik casually as an instance of what he meant, that Vi,4Uiila was tlie first to elTect a comlunation between the arch and the coluuiii, and he united tlu-m io a manner yltogetber original, incorporating the keyslune of the arch with tl\e pilaster, so as to form one and the same sirUL-tuie. They all as eood architects took care that it was so in fact ; but they unlit admit the high merit of ibe man, who first made such a junction one of the beauties of architectural decoration. With regard to tlie great end of all proportion — magnitude — he apprehended Vignola attained that excellence by very extraordinary means. It was done simply by the small- ness of his apertures. Indeed, the real magnitude was not nearly so surprising as its apparent dimensions, and thus they had here revealed one of the great secrets of arthiteciuie, how by the contrivance of proportions great magnitude mialit he obtained. The ett'ecls of the study of Vignola upon l'>eiii-b architeciure was ap|)areot ; the French confessed him to be their architectural saint, ju>t as Palladio was our saint; and they had as great a number of beautiful translations of Vignola as we had of Palladio. 'I he vote of thanks was then pa.-sed by acclamation. METEOROLOGY. Silt — Your readers will agree with me that an importance, hardly to be estimated, attaches to the laws regulating the atmosphere which sup|)lies us with the means of existence, surrounds us at all times, permeates our frame, and which conveys on wings unseen disease and death. Yet how few direct attention to the study of the phenomena of meteorology. Through the energetic exertions of James Glaisher, Esq., F.Il.S., of the Royal Observatory, returns of observations, more or less elaborate, are obtained from between 30 and iO stations in Great Britain. Observers remark, for the most part tliree times in 2t- hours, the state of the barometer — tlie thermometer — the clouds and the wind, and register the quantity of rain daily. Mr. Glaisher receives by the electric telegraph the state of the atmosphere, and the direction of the wind, from various stations along the principal lines of railway at 9 a.m. daily ; and from thestr data I have no doubt but that, in time, some valuable laws will be deduced in addition to those which he has already established. I am anxious that scientific men should direct their attention to the subject of meteorology ; and that amateurs who have time at tlieir disposal should record observations in their own localities. If I thought it would interest your readers, I should be happy to describe such instruments as are adapted to the purpose ; for, un- less these are good and wortliy of reliance, the time of the observer will be wasted and his observations useless. 1 subjoin a table of certain meteorological results, from observa- tions taken in various parts of England : the comparison of these will not, I apprehend, be without interest. I am, &c. John Drew. Soulhamiituii, Feb. lltk, 1830. Si/DOjilical View of the Meleorology of various places in Enylandjfor 1849. (Deduced from tl;e UeRJstrar- General's Reports.) Mean Pressure Teinperuture Number Degree of ot »lrj' Ai'-, Hfean of the of Days on Amount HuiiiMity, reduf.d to ilie Tempe- L).^\v- on which Col- conipli-te Level ralure. Puiut. Rain Fell. lected. Saturatinn of Iha Si.a. beii.^ 1. Guernsey .. 2H 750 62-3 4.'r.5 167 3li-5 -Blli Kulniculli .. &1*;H — K-^-S .14 5 — ExeliT 20742 60-2 417 1.1 211-1 '808 Oreenwiih .. 2;i-«l2 4'.1« 4:('2 \jS 'iiS -802 Aylesbury . . 29-li22 40 2 42 3 l.i7 27- -/ni SoiiLhauiptim tjS 0 .lll-G 41i-7 1»9 33' -e.fi Derby 29 732 47 4 42-8 193 28 5 -037 Liverpool 29-(i7U 49 41-9 — 30 5 827 Slouynurst .. iWllHG 46-2 41-5 21G 49-2 •iOill Neivcustle .. 29-613 47-1 42-7 UH 3(i 4 8.f7 [We sliall feel obliged if Mr. Drew will favour us with a descrip- tion of siu-h instruments as are adapted for the purpose, and we shall be happy to make our .Journul the medium of such observa- tions ;.s Mr. Drew suggests.] REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO THE APPLICATION OF IRON TO RAILWAY STRUCTURES. The Commissioners of Railways showed a vigilant anxiety for public safety and for the advancement of science, and greatly promoted both, when in August, IKti, they obtained the appoint- ment of a Commission "for the purpose of inquiring into the conditions to be observed by Engineers in the ajqilication of Iron in Structures exposed to violent concussions and vibration." The rosult of the labours of this Commission are now before us; and it is not too much to affirm that the present Roport is almost, if not altogether, the most valuable public document extant relating to the science of engineering. For some time past the note of preparation for this work has been heard: we have had accounts of cabinet ministers being attracted by the magnitude and importance of the experiments, to e.xamine them. More recently. Professor ^nilis has delighted a learned audience at Cambridge by the fa- cility and simplicity with which he contrived to explain the most difficult subject on which he has been engaged as a member of the Commission; and the memoirs read by Professor Stidces, before the same academic body, have shown that the highest powers of mathe- matical analysis have been brought to operate upon and generalise results of experiments — to analyse and classify them — to group facts which were barren while isolated — to expand them, and gi^e them the vitality — so to speak — of general principles. The right method of pursuing investigations of this kind is this combination of theory and fact. The "practical man" is afraid of theory, and demands that all the rules for his guidance shall be deduced immediately from precedent alone. To this demand the simple reply is, that — desirable as it might be to comply with it — complianca is impossible. The requirements of actual railway construction are many and various — the means of experimenting few and restricted; so that, setting aside the question of exptvise, it would obviously be impracticable, in a reasonable duration of time, to furnish from observation a code of direct precedents for all the purposes of the engineer. On the other hand, where experiments are undertaken for the judicious purpose of aiding theory, they should be carried out on such a scale as to leave no suspicion that they are mere toy-expe- riments— amusing illustrations of science made easy; and with this reflection, we cannot but observe with regret, that in several places in the work before us apologies are made on account of the limited means at the disposal of the Commission. From the im- portance of the inquiry, and the gravity of the events in which it originated, the public had a right to demand that the researches should not be impeded by ill-timed parsimony. Compare the scale of experiments on Railway Bridges with those on Government Ship- building! or, to make a more direct comparison — contrast the scale of the government experiments on Girders with those relating to the Tubular Bridges! It would be curious to calculate how many times the weight of metal in the magnificent model-tube experi- mented upon by Mr. Fairbairn at Millwall exceeded that of all the iron together employed in the researches of the Commission. One advantage has, howe\cr, sprung from the restrictions com- plained of: they have served to show the immeasurable value of accurate scientific knowledge, and its power of extracting truth under difficult circumstances. The edict had gone forth: there must be no expenditure of public money on large castings of iron — Jiat crperiinentiim in corporc vili. But, notwithstanding, the Com- mission have succeeded in producing a body of sound invaluable information, as copious and accurate .as was expected at their hands by those who anticipated that every facility would be afforded to them in the prosecution of their task. Unlearned investigators are apt to deduce from restricted experiments rules which will not bear the test of extended observation. In the present case, the happy combination of science and experimental skill displayed by Professors ^\'illis and Stokes has averted this danger. However, it is important not only to deserve confidence, but to readily obtain it; and it is, therefore, much to be regretted that, if merely to satisfy the scruples of those who can only take facts just as they find them, more experiments on a large scale were not undertaken. The Report and accompanying documents are comprised in a thick folio volume, of the well known blue-book form: a second volume consists of plans and plates. The Report itself extends over comparatively i\.'v,- pages. The other papers are principally as follows: — Appendix A. Experiments on Imp-:ict upon Beams, and on the tensile, compressive and transverse strength of Iron; .-Vppeii- THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. ISiO.J dW AA. Inquiries to supply data for the erection of the Tubular Bridses; Appendix B. An Essay by Professor VV illis on the deflection of Beams by travelling loads, with researches by Pro- fessor Stokes; Experiments on the same suliject, by taptiiin James and Lieut. Galton; also on statical pressure and sUnvly- moving weights; Evidence by eminent engineers; Replies to circu- lars sent to Iron-masters and Iron-founders; &c. The plates in the second volume are illustrative of the several kinds of experiments, and include elevations and details of a very consideralde number of important railway bridges. . . . . The Report commences with a notice of the contrariety of opinions respecting the effects of tr.avelling weights on girders- some engineers thinking one-third, and some no more than one- tenth the statical breaking weight, the greatest _ load which the structures could safelv bear. It is stated that in the course of the inquirv, it appeared "that the eiiects ot heavy bodies moving with -reat velocity upon structures had never been made the sub- ject ol- direct scientific investigation." This may be true as regards p,il>lication before the conuneucewcnt of the inquiry by the Com- mission ■ but very shortly afterwards, and long before the publication of the present volumes, the paper (which is noticed in it at page 213 by Professors Willis and Stokes, with approbation) on tlie Dynamical Deflection and Strain of Railway Girders, appeared in' the number of this Journal for September, 18t8. ., , , In theexijerimentsof the Commission, velocity liad considerable eftect in increasing deflection. It is, however, important to know tliat the conclusion is not extended to practice. 1 he results ot the inquiry thoroushly confirm the conclusion stated in this Jounia/ that ill reiil railwaV girders tlie deflection is incOHsulenib!,/ increased bu the velodtij of the tnvusit of a train. The reason that the experi- ments appai-en'tly vitiate this conclusion is admirably elucidated by Professors Willis and Stokes. For tlie present, it is sufficient to observe that the increase of deflection in the experiments arose from the smallness of the mass of the beams compared with that of their loads. „ , » ri'i *• •).,, An apparent inaccuracy as to the history of the Laws of Elasticity occurs in Appendix A, given in another part of this Journal- .•— " Dr Hooke's law, e.vpressed by him in the jihrase '■at tensw sw vis: is not, perhaps, accurately true in any material. Its deviation from truth in cast-iron, under every degree of strain, even the smallest, was first shown by experiments made by tl>e author, and reported in the sixth volume of the Transactions of the BrtUsh Association for the Advancement of Science In his subsequent researches on the elasticity of various materials, it was shown that this defect was considerable in stone and other crystalline bodies tried, and existed in a less_ degree in wrought-iron, steel, timber, and laminated substances." , , „ , . * ,a^ „„,.= The inexactness of "Hooke's law" was shown about 100 yeais before any member of the Cmimission was born, and by no less a person than James Bernouilli. In the Acta Eraditoram of Leipsic, tor 1601 he gives investigations of the elastic curve— 1, generally when the elastic forces "follow any law whatever; 2, when they vary as any power of the extension; 3, when they are directly proportional to the extension. The latter investigation heprefaces by sayingt — ■ " The common hypothesis, as I have just said is that the e.vten- sions are proportional to the stretching forces, which was formerly adopted l.v the celebrated Leibnitz, in his most mgeniuus research resilecting the Resistance of Solids ; and by myself in the present subject, before that I arrived at the general construction o the uroblem 1 therefore consider it worth while to explain a little n.ore particularly the nature and properties of our Curve on this hynothesis; although I am very unwilling to contend for tl.e pre- cise truth of this "hypothesis, or of any other, being persuaded rather, that no constant law of tensions is observed in nature but that it differs according to the different texture of bodies. J his is seen to be abundantly confirmed, both by my own and other per- sons experiments, of which a great part are industriously collected by the author, whom I have already commended [I-ranciscus 1 er- tius de Lanis] in the above quoted treatise, Mayistera natarw et artis." ^_^_ t See Journal, page S6. « Vuli-aris f,.t modo tiixi) est hypothesis extensions viribus tendentib..s proporl.on- ales«\se qua et usus olim cenlebefrimus l)r. Leibnilius in acuti.s.nna sua luc.braoonede 1 "isfenl.a S.fl.dorum ; et ip semet ego in presents materia, prru. qoam generalem pro. blmA." eoustructijnem adveuissem. Qaapropter opera preuu.n eiisl.mo, naturam et „r, Driat'S curvie n-sirs in hoe hypothesi pernio speciaiius exponere: quaoquam pro FJsa"^ JpotheseoThnjus. sicut et pro cuju-ve'alterius. veritate nndtum m.l.tare nohm ««,uarm potL b, beis, nullarn conslantec, tensioniin, l.gem in natura observari sed ^am pro d vSL corporum texlura diversam existere, id quod expe.rmenta tun, tjostra, tn" ^a™,ram[ abunde confirmare vid.ntur, quorum plurima prffila»datuB Author iudua- tnU3 " Jlagistcril ualuia: cl attia " loto cit reteustt.-p. 2/0-1. There seems no reason to suppose that an e.xact mathematical law of elastic tension can exist, or that a law which expresses the extension by the first, or first and second, powers of the tension, can he otherwise than approximate. With respect to many forces existing in nature, there can be no such antecedent (dijeetion to an exact mathematical law. For central forces, such as the sun s attraction, we may readily supjiose « priori that the law may be that of the inverse square, because if the attraction be supposed to radiate into space, like light, the concentric spherical surfaces over which it is diffused vary in magnitude as the square of then- radii. But with regard to the cohesive force of particles in con- tact, there can be no such regularity of operation. 1 he tensile powers of a piece of stone or iron are afl^ected by its heterogeneity, crystallisation, lamination, porosity, chemical affinities, tempera- ture &c. Now, in discovering a law of tension from experiment, all these irregularities are " lumped" together, and we strike an average of their efi'ects. . ,-/r . If as in some of the experiments before us, twenty different weights be applied to stretch in diiferent degrees the same rod a theoretical law involving first and secund powers only, will slightly disaeree with each of the twenty experimental results. \t e niu:n, therefore, suppose either the law or the experiments, or both, tj. be inexact. If the experiments exhibited perfect accuracy (though this is never attainable), the law must not stop at the second power but he continued to the twentieth; for there will be twenty equations to determine twenty unknown quantities--namely, the co-efficients of the twenty powers. A formula involving the first four powers is given in a note, page 113. ^. , We observe with pleasure a notice of the efScient assistance which Mr. Tredgold, son of the late celebrated writer of the 1 re;-:- tiseonthe Steam-Engine,' rendered in the cmnse of this experi-- mental inquiry. In addition to a great amount of numerical computation and experimental observation, he pivpnred several excellent drawings illustrative of the experiments, and appearing with his name in the second volume. _ , . .v It will be remembered, that some surprise was occasioned by the rublication in the recent edition of Dr. Gregory s .Mechanics tor Practical Men,' of the results of some experiments giving hio-her values for the tensile strength of cast-iron than have been hitherto generally adopted. This subject has been again referred to careful observation; and an explanation, which seems correct, is .riven of the too high values of the tensile strength obtained by Mr Thomas Cubitt— namely, that he used a hydraulic jn-ess to test the iron, and that this machine is apt to give exaggerated results. Experiments have also been made, to determine whether the ten- sile strength be greater for cruciform than for circular or rect- angular sections of the rod. It appears that the strength per square indi of section is a little (but only a little) stronger for the cruci- form section, the excess of strength being attributed to the metal beinif harder in the thinner sections than others. We may here remark, that for a similar reason the strength per square "'ch, of circular sections for example, is probably somewhat aflected by the magnitude of the section. On account of irregularities of casting and cooling, it is probable that a circular rod 4 square inches iii area, would not be exactly twice as strong as a similar rod of 2 square inches area. . i „ i „„„ Only one beam exceeding IS feet in length appears to have been used- and this was supplied not by government, but by private persons. It was 48 feet long; and one of seveial girders in- tended for a bridge across the river Irwcll. Lieutenant Galton, the indefatigable secretary of the Commission, assisted at tb.s experiment. . , ., in order to notice all the statical experiments together, we pro- ceed to refer to experiments by trans%erse pressure on rectangular beams, made by Captain James at Portsmouth. The mt.st ■■emar.;- able of these experiments were on f-inch bars planed out of the centresof 2-inch square ami 3-inch square bars. fl„„f„,. These experiments, like the preceding, show that the deflection increases fi-'>m the commencement of each expcrraient somewhat more rapidly tlian in pro] etter tlian other forms, besides beino:, as bclievod, less liable to theoretical objections than others, experiments were made upon castinfrs with rectang^iilar and cir(-iilar sections. These experiments are in Table II., and tlie results from the cruciform section were in all the sound castings somewhat higher than those from tl;e otlier sections. In Table I. the specific gravities of 17 kinds of iron are i^vcn; they are obtained both from the thickest and the thinnest parts of the castings torn asunder. Description of the Iron. Tensile Strength per square Inch of Section. Crushing Strength per squar? Inch of Section. Ratio Powers -I'l-u and Com of the 0 Ile^lBt sion prcssioii. Low Moor (No. I) lb. tons. I'J694or 5-6i;7 In. Ih. tons. 645.-t4 or 38-809 66445 or 25- 198 1 : 5-084 1 ; 4-446 Mean. 1 : 4 765 Low Moor (No. 2) 15458 or 6 901 9 14 995-25 or 44-430 92322 or 41-219 1 : 6-4.38 I : 5-973 1 : 6-205 Clyde(No.l) 10125 or 7 198 5 14 92869or4l-4.W 88741 or 39-618 1 : 5-7.59 1 : 5-503 1 : 6 631 Clyde (No. 1,*J 17807 or 7-94U i 14 109992 or 49- 103 102030 or 45-549 I : 9-177 1 ; 6-729 1 ; 5 993 Clyde (No. 3) ■J34C8 or 10-477 4 107197 or 47-85."! 104881 or 46 821 1 : 4-568 1 : 4-469 1 : 4-518 Blaenavon(No. 1) 13938 or 8 222 s 14 90860 or 40-562 80561 or 35-964 1 : 6-519 1 : 6-780 1 : C-149 Blaenavon (No. 2, tirsfl sample) J 16724 or 7-46 003 4 3695 Broken.t 2 7.5J 1-27 Broken. 6113 % 474 Broken. 1 75J i 4000 Not broken. 4 ft. 6 in. i. 1 75J i 4000 Not broken. '■ 1 75J ■h 3700 Broken. + • The ultimate deflection was obtained from the Experiments on Transverse Pressure. t B.iri, slightly defective. Ten Bars of Low Moor Iron, and one of a mixture of Wrought and Cust Iron. These bars were cast to be 10 feet long and 2 inches square; they were placed on supports 9 feet asunder. The radius (r) of the pendulum was 17-208 feet when the weight of the striking ball was 60,3 11).; and 18-208 feet when the weight of the striking ball was 151;Llb. Assigned Side of ■Weight Dellectiou in Number of Square of Bar of terms of Blows given to Effect on Bar. nearly. striking Ball. the ultimate Defl.ction. the Bar. IiichtfS. lb. 603 i 4(M10 Not hroksn. o 603 i 4000 Not brokeu. 2 '■03 4 608 Broken.t 2 603 132 B'oken.2 •7 603 § 175 Bn.ken. 2 603 ^ 79 Broken. 3 2 I'll i 4"0 Not broken. 2 15U 4 400 Not broken. 2 15U 1 102 Broken.-* 2 151i i ■.\H Broken. 2 603 4 3720 Broken. 5 1 Slightly rtefective on one sitle " Rrtther defei-tive on the convex side. 3 Slight defect or discolou'-ation on the convex side, 4 The bar broke about Hj inches from the centre, where there was a defect o i fie con- vex side, i inch area. s ^Mixture of wrought and cast iron. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 89 «?? ^<§ >s S ■iJ i^«, .« s> OS ® a o» O ^« M> f=q . s3 •nH - « (» II a S II K' _c N fi ~5» 0) > ff£ bn ■=• s 00 ■*^ t^s. a S il <>^f^ (D m '*^ S O e = .a o u £ • J= ^ 09 s S ^1 (3 g Sq OJ Z =1) > "s i-> 'tl i" TJ a. •4J 1— 1 -^ 0) Is en -4-9 '^ |:r -2 5-* a. M 2i '5 « E ■i u 3 aBaa s° ^o o •^ s 3)Bui[)]n. Suipuodsaiioo i 3 ■ to 1 2 3 n ^1 is ■ o s CtT rp - - P3 CI a a i ■z ■i s ?l Q. 2 25 o d a- a. al B "a S g li^. •Xnonii.t3A M W^O o « JL . , "a" . . . . eo ^ _. 3 5 3 tr. S paqddB ajnssJij asjaA t- — 3 ' ' B a -6UBJX ^^ -"^9 JRlUUlB *" a ^P6 >,2 R . s a si . • . • O/ C a> B JO iqi^ia^w auintjajg 11 1 CO j3 i2 c !iE 1 i.2 I. 3 * §1 s'il '•^ " 1 ■a •a-itiBsaij IB) ^S • • " t lO 2 -lioziJO£j j^q uouospaa ,- a)Buiii|fi 3uipuodEdjJ03 lis ; « ; » • ^ m ^- to ^ 3 1 £ -2 £ ^ i Ns ^s 1- z B ■5i--l •XiiBioozuoH ^ , . .a . . . 52 6-2 ai a. . . ^^1 paitdds 9jnBs<)jj ssjdd OS (is * * * s * c c ij 3 B a* -suBJX -^q 'JiJa JFifuiis f,^ • • i-O tr,^ u ;o iqSl3ii\ 3uuicaja S ^' ft" i 3 ^. s p« ^ i^ 2 ^ a -3 i 31 C-JfM to §1 s n .2 •n^a 3qi - s M t£ 2^ t>.«^ "2| !S5 D ?3 g o Si s "S s iq aoop Jjjo^w aiBiniJin 'SS i> .■-3 Cl ,?S Ss !?3 S S § 3 i? g ^ C) '=s ?. l~k t-. t>. rt =o US *-^ Cl ■^ ■"■ "^ il JS "' '-I ^ §1 en •ii«g 3fn JO ■£ ** s o § to t>. — ' ■=5 2S •a s g -r i-O 3 g^ i § ^ ■^ to )D3Dsaa IBOiii^A ajHinnin f^^ C-1 ^* 00 3 :0 m ^ A- - • - s ,n ■^ "1 sl 1 li •33Edmi JO DJV JO pJoq3 ajBuiiiin 1 00 1^ 'X to Iff. CO CO tb^l CO-t 3 n 1 = ■:■= 13 a o lb J3 s CO Oi CO s g r^ I^ 3 31 § ..1 1 _>. ll 3 E o •a s _ ■^ •D ") ■uopodBsa 3l00J[iin 3 % e5 ,2 c-. ^-^ b •*! o ?5 M s c -i' X o O — tor-^ aa> »-* "-'■q--^ ji o c-t Fi a r-. -H — m"^ MTl f» CI i-O ^ CI ,rt ^ ■C133J Km 'snipBH) nog -« o; -^ u-1 -r CO IQ ^ -m o i-O -i-r ^ -rt SuiiiiJis aqi JO iq^iaM — -o to § o to s O to - - - •sijoddug 31(1 .CI o o s 00 M s -f CO o i.'S S§ to c» iffi i-O to ?^ g uaaAiiaq jeg Jo iqSiaiW s OJ cc o 2 2 s to CD ft '30 s Iff, s =: 1 ■)3Bdmi 0% jBinotpnad ?s £? s ^ S t? 00 !? g ^ P» o CD T' ^^ « -- :o to CO CO — C^l ^ CI CJ IM '^ '^ ■"* •jDBdiai JO uopaaj cc 31 ^. M a: S i ?? to s O g -ip UI JBQ JO SUOISUSlUia l« to :^ - o ^ C-1 « ^ — CI s^ -• ■"^ -l — r-« ct "^ 'suod i-i to to CJ c^ r, Ci O o o o to to o to to to O o o -dns 3qj n9dA\)aq aouoeiQ £2 ec iC to to ^ to cl o Cl ■^ -r r. ■V TT -T Ol 3J o s , ■paA[J3p 31V sjineaj aqi qoujM inojj M ?i (M ■tf Ol S'" •V CO CO io« ■V CO siuamiiadx^ jo jaqmuj^ 3 s 3 g. /— ^"-^ ^ ^^ A J — ~ . <- _ = t- o E 2 o .-y, — 2 ^ _; „• ^ _: « H X _; ^ m' > > ** ij -■£" = 22? xs a.-si- ''iq'JX JO jaqron^ > > > X X >< X X X X ■^5 - 11 dec* 13 90 THE CIVIL ENGIKEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [March, Remarks on some of the leading Resiills in the foregoing Abstract. 1st. The bars in Tables I., II., and III. were of the same sec- tidiial area, leiif^tli, and weiglit nearly, but differed in tlie form of their transverse section. They were jjlaced on supports at the same distance (l.'Ji| feet) asunder, and struck horizontally by the same ball, 60.3 lb. weight, suspended by a radius of 17 ft. 6 in. From the results given it appears that the beam, 3 in. scpiare, and the rectangular beams, G X I5 i". sections, struck on the broader and narrower sides respectively, had all very nearly the same strength to resist impact. The conclusions are drawn from a mean between two experiments in each case. In Table XV. si.\ bars, each 2 X I inch section, and 5 ft. long, were laid on supports 4.5 ft. asunder, and all struck by the same ball 75j lb. weight, with arcs of a radius 17 ft. C in. Three of them were struck on the broader and three on the narrower sides, and their mean chords of impact to produce fracture were 70 in. and 71 "07 in. respectively, or nearly the same, agreeing with the results of the experiments upon the former bars. 2nd. In Table IV. the bars were of the same dimensions in sec- tion as those in Table 1., or 3 in. .square, but the distance between the supports was reduced one-half. The resulting breaking deflec- tion, 1 '23 in., was somewhat greater than one-fourth of that in Table I., or 4'875 in. and the vertical descent to produce fracture was nearly one-half, but rather more, the depth fallen through in the two cases being -639 in. and 1'238 in. Comparing, in like manner, the half and whole bars in Tables V. and II., the depths are '5521 in. and 1"2071 in. respectively. This result, coupled with the former one, shows that the depth fallen through to break the half bar is nearly half of that required to break the whole one. ( 'om])aring the results in Tables VIII. and XII., and also Tables X. and XIII., it appears also that a bar of half the length of another resists with nearly half the energy, but somewhat more. 3rd. The experiments in Tables I., II., III., IV^, and V, afford illustrations of some of the conclusions in the large generalisation of Dr. Young, deduced from neglecting the inertia of the beam. CA'dt. Phi/., Lecture XIII. J "The resUience of a prismatic beam, resisting a transverse impulse, follows a law very different from that which determines its strength, for it is simply proportional to the bulk or weight of the beam, whether it be shorter or longer, narrower or wider, shallower or deeper, solid or hollow. Thus, a beam 10 ft. long will support but half as great a pressure without breaking as a beam of the same breadth and depth which is only o ft. in length; but it wiU bear the impulse of a double weight striking against it with a given velocity, and will require that a given body should fall from a double height in order to break it." 4th. The experiments in Table VI. were made to compare the effects of striking a bar midway between the centre and one sup- port with those of striking similar bars at the centre, as in Table IV. The great impacts, so near to the support in these cases, would necessarily cause it to yield slightly, and thus increase the resisting powers of the bars to sustain impact. In experiments made by the author several years ago, given in the Fifth Rejjort of the British Association, page 112, on bars 1 in. square — some sub- jected to impacts in the middle, and others at half the distance between the middle and one support — the chord of impact neces- sary to produce fracture was nearly equal in the two cases. The ratio of the deflections, from equal impacts at the middle and at one-fourth span, was nearly constant under different increasing degrees of impact; the deflections at the middle from equal im- pacts being to those at one-fourth span, as 10 : 7 nearly. The relative ultimate deflections of the beam in the middle, and at a point half way between the middle and one end, ought to be as 10 : 7"5 nearly. 5th. The bars in Tables VI 11., IX., and X. were all of the same iron and size, and the only difference was in the weights of the striking balls. The distances fallen through, and the work done by the balls to produce fracture, being respectively -3139 and 190-488 with the 603 lb. ball ; 1-2856 and 194-417 with 'the 151ilb. ball; and 3-0506 and 230-32 with the 75j lb. ball, affording a good illustration of the resistance from the weight of the bar. 6th. The bars in Table XI. were of the same iron, Blaenavon No. 2, as the others, but re-melted, to ascertain the effect of melt- ing this iron a second time without mixture upon its power to bear impact. The strength to resist blows was increased, but the iron was harder and much more unsound than before. The work done by the ball to break the beam in each case was increased in the ratio of 261 to 194. 7th. The deflections in cast-iron beams were always found to be greater than in proportion to the velocity of impact; whilst in wrought iron they were nearly constant with impacts of very dif- ferent velocities. This fact shows that there is a falling off in the elasticity of cast iron through impact, analogous to that through pressure. The difficulty of obtaining a satisfactory theory of the power of cast-iron beams to sustain impact is considerably increased by this falling off in elasticity; but it is hoped that the varied nature of these experiments will tend much to reduce it. Abstract No. IV. Abstract of Results on Vertical Impacts upon Loaded Bea.ms of Cast-Iron. All of the beams were of the same weight and strength nearly. They were placed on supports at a constant distance asunder, and struck in the middle by the same ball, falling through different heights. The object of the experiments was to obtain the effect of additional loads, spread uniformly over the beam, in increasing its power of bearing impacts from the same ball. The beams were of IJlaenavon Iron No. 2, cast to be 14 ft. 6 in. long and S inches square. The mean weight of beam, 410-7 lb. ; mean weight of beam between supports, 382 lb. nearly; distance between supports, 13 ft. 6 in.; weight of ball, 303 lb. Depth Deflections of Beam when loaded uniformly between the Supports, with Weight ! in addition to its own Weight, as below. lb. lb. lb. lb. fallen Velocity lb. lb. Weight of Weight of Weight of Weight of through of lb. lb. Weight of Weight of beam 387 B.»m. .385-8 Beam . . 387-2 Beam . . 378-8 Be,.m . 382-66 by Ball Impact. Weight of Weight of Beam . . 375-6 Additional 1. ad 166lAddi(ional Additional Additional Additional before Bfam . .376 765 Beam . . .382-1 Addilloiial : Load . . 389 25 Load . . 389-0 Load . . 391 2 Load. . 956-25 Impact, Uiiloaderi, Lead at centre 4 weight in Sum of the two 5:3 and ivitboutL^ad. centre . . 28 Lead at centre 4 Sum . . . 77505 Sum , , . 776-2 Sum . . . 770 0 Sum . . 1338-9 Lead at centre 4 No Lead. Lead at centre 4 Leadatcentrtt 4 Inches. Feet. Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches. Inches, Inches. Inches. Inches. 9 6-946 1-99 1-698 12 8 0208 2-29 2 ■'154 2-'l77 2-'l'03 1 942 1-946 2-03 1-483 15 8 967 2-.'i.'i5 2-496 2-23 18 9-8-.'3 2-79 2.185 2-6'-i9 2-775 ? 2-426 2 444 2-4.i5 1-883 21 10-610 3-05 2-926 29-119 2-761 ? 2-66 24 11-343 3 21 3-155 3-198 3-149 2-8-14 2 846 2-87 2-Y78 25i 11-692 3-33 27 12031 3-49 ..') 3.125 48 16042 Brol;e Broke. Broke. 4-128 3-'l'76 54 17 016 4-24 3-338 fiO 17-935 . , ,, . , 4-516 Broke. 66 18-810 •• •• •• Broke, j •• 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 91 From the preceding table, we see that beams loaded in different degrees, bore more than beams unloaded, as below: — Addilloiml Load on Beam in lbs. Additional Load on Beam in lbs. Height of Fall Velocity of Impact necessary to answering to breali the Beam. that Heigiit. None 281 in 12682 Lead, 41b. weight in centre.. .. 33 .... 13'301 23 lb. in centre; no lead .. .. 42 .... 15-005 166 lb. spread over beam + 4 lb. lead 48 .. .. 16042 The set from the impact on these loaded beams was very great, but it did not appear to injure their strengtli more than in ordi- nary cases. 389} lb. spread over beam j 4 lb. lead 38D II). spread over beam ; no lead.. 391-2 lb. spread over; 4 1b. lead 9o6i lb. spread over ; 4 lb. lead By comjiaring the imp.icts and deflections in the Abstract above, it will be seen that tlie deflections are nearly as the square root of the lieight fallen through by the ball, or as tlie velocity of impact. Height of Fall Velocity of Impact necessary to answering to break the Beam. that Height. d 48 16042 48 16 042 66 18-810 60 17-9,-55 Abstract No. V. — Synopsis of Experiments on the Extension and Compression of Cast-Iron. 1st. The direct Longitudinal Extension of Rod Rounds, or Bars, 50 feet long and 1 inch Area of Section nearly, of four kinds of Cast Iron, as mentioned below. Weights, per Square Inch, laid on with their corre- Number, of Number of Mean Area sponding Extensions and Sets; the last, in each case, bfing the largest, where all were observed Mean Breaking Welsh-, Mean Ultimate tlie Experiment is described. Name of Iron. Experiments. of Section. per Square Inch of Section. Extension. Weights. Extensions. Sets. Inch. lbs. Inch. Inch. Inch. I. Low Moor Iron, No. 2 .... 2 1-058 2117 •09500 •00345 ir,4081h. 1-085 6352 •3115 •0250 ~ 7-325 tons. or j^rd of 105S6 •5740 ■00425 the length. 14821 •9147 •12775 II. Blaenavon Iron, No. 2 2 1-0685 2096 •09422 •00268 146751b. •9325 6289 •3065 •01676 = 6-551 tons. ""■ sT^rd "f 10482 •5770 ■0575 the length. 13627 •8370 ■11475 III. Gartsherrie Iron, No. 3 .... 2 1062 2109 •09225 ■001 + 169511b. 1-167 6328 ■3117 ■01450 = 7-567 tons. or T^-jtli of 10547 •5862 •04 75 the length. 14766 •9452 •11325 15820 1^0487 •13812 IV. Mixture of Iron, composed of 3 1-063 2107 •0914 •00376 148121b. •8095 Leeswood, No. 3. and Glen- 6322 •2967 •01823 = 6-6125 tons. or y^st of garnock No. 3, in equal 10536 •5349 •04321 the length. proportions. 12643 ■6702 •06417 In two of the bars the length, exclusive of the couplings, was 48 ft. Sin. and the extensions and sets from them have been increased in the ratio of 50 to 48^25, to correspond to a length of 50 feet. 2nd. The E.rtensions of Rods 10 feet long and 1 inch square, deduced from the preceding Experiments, and Compared with observed Compres- sions of Bars of the same Irons and the same size, cast with them for comparison, together with Formulcefor computing the Weights from the Extensions and Compressions. Extension, Table IX. Compression, Table VI. 1 Weights laid on, with the corresponding Extensions Error in parts of Mean Weights laid on, with correspondin y Mean C-^m- Error in parts of and fets. the Weight, prcssions. Sets, and Ratios of Weights to Compres- the Weight, Number wht'n it is com- Number Bions. when ii is com- of Expeii- puted from the Formula of Experi- puted from the Formula 1 ments. Weights. Extensions. v «'= ncu" e ments. Weights Compres- (y w = 111776:) d 1 {w.) («•) Sets. e — 2nUtU5d'- {w.) sions Sets. d - 8631S <;-'. ; 1 1 9 1053 77 •0090 117086 -A 8 2064-745 -01875 •00047 110120 - aV 9 1580-65 •0137 •00022 115131 8 4129-49 -03878 •00226 1064S5 •"fi^ 9 2107-54 •0186 •000545 113309 -TT^ 8 6194 24 •05978 •00400 103617 + sW 9 3161-31 ■0287 •00107 110150 + -sio 8 8258-98 -07879 •00645 104823 + TgW 9 4215-08 ■0391 •00175 107803 8 10323-73 -09944 -00847 103819 ■*"rh! 9 526885 ■0500 •00265 105377 + Tfe 8 12388-48 •12030 •010875 102980 + ^s 9 6322-62 ■0613 •00372 103142 + Th 8 1445322 •14103 •01405 102049 •t-TT^ 9 7376-39 -0734 •00517 100496 + T^ 8 16517-97 •16338 ■01712 101102 + TSli 9 8430 16 ■0859 •00664 98139 + Tb 8 18582-71 •18505 •02051 100420 + TiT 9 918394 ■0995 •00844 95316 + TT7 8 20647-46 -20624 ■02484 100114 "*■ (T^ 9 105.57-71 •1136 •01062 92762 + »4t 8 24776-it5 -24 961 •03220 93263 -• rhj 9 11591-48 •1283 •01306 90347 -^r, 8 28900-45 •29699 •04300 99331 9 12645-25 •1448 •01609 87329 7 3303080 -35341 •06096 97463 + ih 6 13699-83 ■1668 •02097 82133 + ^WS 7 37159 65 •41149 •08421 4 14793-10 •1859 ■02410 79576 -iV •• •• •• •• •• •• Extension and Compression of Cast-Iron Bars. The experiments to determine the effects of various weights, to ext(>nd and compress bars of cast-iron longitudinally, were made upon four different Ivinds of that metal. From the mean results given, in the preceding abstract, of Table IX. on the extension of bars, and Table VI. on tlieir compression, the following formulae wei-e deduced for expressing the relations between the extensions and compressions of a bar 10 feet long and 1 inch square, and the weights producing them respectively: — Extension, «j= lltillTe — 201905e= Compression, w = 107763d — 3ti318d-, 92 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LMarch, Al'here w is the weight (in pounds) acting upon the bar, e t}ie ex- tension, and d the compression (in inches). To express the relation between w and the corresponding exten- sion and compression, when tlie length of the bar is reduced from 10 feet to 1 foot, we assume that tlie extension and compression are uniform throughout the length of the bar. Therefore the exten- sion or compression of one-tentli its length will be reduced in the ratio 1 : 10. t'onseiiuently, in order that the value of w may re- main unaltered in the formula?, the co-efficients of e and d must be increased in the ratio of 10 : 1, and the co-efficients of - wl- 2907432000 00000574215/= - •000000000343946/^to- •000000000343946w}, (D), :. e= I {-00239628— V00000'5'''l215 where w is in lbs. and e in parts of an inch, the negative sign being tliat alone which is api)licable in tlie quantity under the root. If / = 1, the extension is that produced by a length of bar = 1 in. lf/= 12, „ " " ZiJft If/ = 120, „ „ " -ion. Example 1. Suppose w = 11591'48, and /= 10 feet or 120 inches, then substituting for w and / their values in equation (D), we have e = /(•00239628 — V00000574215 — -00000398684} = /{-00239628 — -00132488} = 120 X -0010714 = -128568 inch. Comparing this with the result in Table IX., on extension of bars, from the same pressure 15491 -48 lb., we have a defect of :rfj;t'h, the real extension being -1283 inch. Example's. Suppose w = 2107-54 lb. and /= 10 feet; substituting for w and / in equation (D) we have c= /{ -00239628 — V00000574215 — -00000072488} = I (-00239628 — -00223993) = 120 X -00015635 = -01876 It should be -0186, .-. error = yi^. Compression of a bar / inches long and 1 in. square in terms of the H eight producing it : — The relation between the weight and the compression being ex- pressed by an equation of a similar form to that between the weight and the extension, or w = ad — bd-, we obtain in the same manner as before, — " = ^1-^ V^A=" substituting the values of a and b derived from the equation (B) 12931560 ^ , 522979200 . , , . .^ for cast-iron, or for a, and jr, for b, we obtain— d = 12931560 1045958400 _ / / 12931560 \ - wl- X ^ + \/ (l045958400/ '' 522179200 -00000000191212 w} = / {-012363359 — ^-000152853 — -00000000191212 w}. . (E) ■Where w is in pounds and d in inches, the quantity under the root is affected by the negative sign, which alone is applicable in this instance. Example 1. If «> = 8258-98 lb., and the length 10 feet = 120 inches, we obtain by substituting the value of w and I in equa- tion (E),— d — I {-012363359 —V 000152853 — -00001579216} = (-012363359 — -0117073) / = -07872 inch. Comparing this with the experimental result for this pressure in Table VI. on compression of bars, or -07879, we find the deviation or error equal -j-nv^ of the latter. Example 2. If «; = 6194-24 lb. and I = 120 inches as before, d=Z {-012363359 — v'-000152853 — -0000118441} = I (-0004S90) = -05868 inch. It should be -05978 .-. error = ^'^th . The first example is the case of least deviation of the formula from the results of experiments in Table VI.; and the second is that of greatest deviation for pressures between 2 and 14 tons per square inch, the range between which the results are most trust- worthy. Example 3. If w = 15711 lb.— the weight which would tear asun- der an inch bar of these irons— to find the compression of a bar 10 feet long and 1 inch square from the same weight. Substituting in equation (E) the values of w and /, d = I {-012363359 - V-000152853 - -00000000191212^} = / (-012363359 - -0110820) = / (-0012813) = -15376 inch. The decrement, as obtained from the results of experiment in Table VI., on compression of bars, was -15488 iuch. Extension, (Computed from Uie Formula obtaintd.) Computed Extension. Real Error in parts of Weight- Extension. Real Extension. 1053-77 •00922 •0090 -H A 2107-54 •01876 •0186 + tU 4215-08 -03893 . •0391 ~53TS 632262 •06090 •0613 — Tsrs 8430-16 •08523 •0859 -T*7 10537-71 •11293 •1136 -TTS 12045-25 •14593 •1448 ^-TW 1479310 ■19051 ■1859 + A 1850.] THE CIVIL EXGIXEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 93 C titip 'cssion. C t:ii; w fiS Heal K rnr in pnrts f-f I)f(T<'ni«nt. D:f'^ment. K al D'CiL^ment. •(11928 •01875 + Th ■0:iH63 •05!I78 - A •0!i9n9 •0?'.I4-1 ■ ■■ ^ ft 4 •14077 ■lllfi.i -T^ •iR:;r9 •18.MI5 •25114 •21901 '^rh-^ •34705 ■30341 ~ Zi! 2064-745 fil94-24 10323-73 14453-22 18582 71 2l77!'r'i5 33033 80 Tran/tverxe Flcrure. When a beam is bent in any deiri-ee tlie fibres or particles on the convex side are extended, and those on tlie cnncave side are com- pressed; and there is a line within the beam, intermediate between the two sides, in any transverse section where the particles are neither extended nor compressed. This is called the neutral line, and the particles on each side of it are stretched or compressed according to their distance from it; but the forre exerted by these particles is not in proportion to the distance, in cast iron, at least, which we are treatinj; of. It varies as a function composed of the first and second powers of the distance nearl)-. Thus, in the longitudinal extensions and compressions of a bar one inch area of section aiul / inches long-, we have from the mean results of experiments on four kinds of cast-iron, eijuations (A) and (B), «- = 13934040 — 2907132000 rf-. w = 12931560 - — 522979200 where w is the weight in pounds producing the extension e or com- pression d in inches. To apply this to transverse pressure, suppose the extension e and compression d of a small length of the material at a distance I from the neutral line t (.r) and ' (.r) n-ould be quantities respectively propor- tional to the forces of extension and compresssion of a particle at a distance x from the neutral line, and n, n', quantities supposed to be constant. From the experiments given in this inquiry, it appears that r, ii', are equal to 2; and in the equations (J) and (K) a is the same quantity as / in equations (F) and(G), a = /; and to adapt the formulas (F), (G), for cast-iron, found before, to the forms above, we liave — U'l 13934.040 m ' 2907432000 m 13934.0 to"" In like manner — _ »■"/ _ _ 522979200 m r2931560m " ' ~ 2907432000 mH X -_--_ — 7^ X X- 13924010 »h/- X -y, for extension (L) 12931560^ ^ y, for compression (M) M'hence we obtain the values of n. ).', in equations (J), (K), as behiw, — _ 13934040 , _ 12931560 " ~ 2U07432000m' " ~ ^22979200 ni By inserting these values in the formulie given in the work above referred to, the position of the neutral line and the strength of a cast-iron beam of the form considered may be found. Abstract No. VI. Abstract of Re.sultK on the Transverse Strength of Cast-iron Bars of different *■;'.;■(«, Init mntliemutically similar, or re/atiiK/y propor- tional in all their dimensions. The bars w-ere of Blaenavon iron, No. 2, and were respectively cast to be 3, 2, and 1 inches square, and 15, 10, and 5 feet long. They were placed on supports 135, 9, and 4J feet asunder, and the strength and ultimate deflections of tlie bars, when reduced to their exact size, were as below: — size of Bars, Ft. span. In. 8q. 4i 1 13i 6} Vertical Pressures. Strength. lbs. Mean 461 437 J. 4-10 423 Ultimate Deflection. Incii.-s. Mean. 1-7J0 1850 !■ 1-779 I1-C917 1249 1414 1121 1097 15520 ] 15944-' |.1338 12 996 13-180 2.527 2-!98 3-G20 2.984 2f.9S T 4'R63 ~ 2671 UgoiiJ-SOOS 3389c f-°"' 5-024 1-391 _ 1 I "-3 0035 1 J Horizontal Pr«ssurescomputed from the Vertical Pressures. Strength. tt)8. Mean. 468] 444 1 447 430 I 1303, 14C9 'U51M394 1610 1648 J 2686(iJ 6:'.41 5795 6215 .6ii; 1-3319- |1-190 11-353 . 4-067 1-2916 2877- ■2854 3573 2869 3043 0431] 5865 16207 6306 J Ultimate Deflection. Inches. 1-823 1-880 1-720 . Mean. 1 1-808 3032 3-622 2649 2-621 3-746 I 3-085-' !• 3-126 4 906 1-351] 1 208 U-311 1-373 J The results marked with the letters «, b, c, rf, are from the bars which had been previously subjected to 4000 impacts, each bending them through fjrd of their ultimate deflections. The sti-engtiis of similar bars 1, 2, 3 inches square, and 45, 9, and 135 feet between the supports are respectively 447, 1894, and 30431b. to resist an horizontal pressure. If the elasticity of the beams had been perfect, their strengths should have been as the square of their lineal dimensions, or as 1, ■t, 9. Dividing, therefore, the strengths as above by these squares, the quotients ought, on this supposition to be equal. We have, however, 447 From the smallest bars . . — — =: 447, From the next larger bars From the largest bars . 1394 = 349, 3043 = 33S. The quotients are unequal; but -ive see that the deviation from theory, on the sii|)position of perfect elasticity, is much greater in the smaller than in the larger bars, and that the strength of the smallest bar is greatly above that derived from others, partly, it is probable, arising from defect of elasticity, but principally from the superior hardness of the smaller castings. The ultimate deflections of similar elastic bars from horizontal pressure are as the lineal dimensions of the bars, nearly; and, therefore, similar bars, one, two, and tliree inches square, ought to deflect before fracture in those proportions. The ultimate deflec- tions from experiments, as above, are below. In bars, 1 inch square .... 1-808 „ 2 inches square . . . 3-126 „ 3 „ .... 4-966 The deviation in the ultimate deflection of the bars, from 1, 2, 3, the ratio of their size, is, therefore, larger in the smallest (hardest) bars than in the others. U 91 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Mabcu, In Tallies V. and IX., on thp transverse strenfrth of bars, of wrought and cast-iron mixed, ive find a similar I'allinf; off to that aliove, in the stren;;th of the larger hars l>elo«- that of the smaller ones, as is shown in the following extracts: — Size of Bir Ft. Spun, In. sq 9 2 Streuijth 'o bear U^rzuatal Pres&ure. •11 lb. 230 from 1 cxperiraonts on 1st sample fX|)-'i intents nil 2iHi bani[»Ie 630 frcni -I experinicnts on Isl sample 505 foni 4 experiments on 2nil sample r2230 fro •■ \ l.Mo fro ..{-■ Ultim.->te rii-aectl'n from HoilzontHi Pressure 2 -20 in. 2 258 1-4995 1 320 Gi'iicriil lieninrkx nit the Riijiidity cf Increase of Traiisvprse Strnujth oj' Square liursjhr Smat/ Inrrenients oj' their Sectional Dinieiiiioiii. The rapiility with which the transverse strength of square bars increases for small increments of their sectional dimensions does not appear to have been always adequately considered in experi- mental inquiries. For -square bars ofcunstant length between the sap- jiurts, the trunnverxe xtrciiyth varies as the cube of the side of the square, consequently, for bars not greatly e.xceeding 1 inch square, — such as have most frerpiently been subjected to series of experi- ments,— an error of -J^th of an inch (for example) in the sectional dimensions, will produce an error of nearly f^rd in estimating the transverse strength. It is, however, by no means unusual to assume bars, cast to be 1 inch square, to have exactly their nominal dimension; variations of the actual dimensions, sometimes approach- ing to, or even exceeding iiith of an inch, being neglected. This source of error has been avoided in the present series of experiments, — and in nearly all others by the author, — by measur- ing the transverse dimensions of each bar to thousands of an inch, and reducing the results by theory to those for the intended size of the casting. The nature and extent of the error will be easily seen by the following table, in which is exhibited the difference of strength of square bars, of which the transverse dimension increases by hundredths of an inch. The breaking weight of the bar 1 inch square is taken at 4tSlb. (from the mean of experiments on east iron). It w ill be observed from this table, that .an error of less than -nrth of an inch in the measure of the side of the square bar produces an error of ith of the strength. A similar error of y^th of an inch produces an error of ^rd the strength, and an error of less than ^th of an inch produces an error of i the strength. Comparative Transverse Stretiyth of Bars of Sections slightly differing from 1 square inch. Approximate Error Side of Sqtiare Strength, or from assuming of Bar. Cube of Side. Breaking Weigtit, the Bar as 1 iueh Square. 100 1000 443 , , 101 1-0303 4G2 A 1-02 1-0C12 475 ^ 103 1-0927 489 ^ 104 1-249 504 i 105 1-1576 519 k 106 1 1910 534 i 1-07 1-2250 549 A 1-08 1-2597 564 i 1-09 1-2950 580 ^ 110 1-3310 596 4 111 1-3676 613 ir 112 1-4049 629 % 113 1-4429 646 U 114 1-4815 664 i M5 1-5209 681 i« NEW WEST.MINSTER BRIDGE. Sir — Several designs have been given in for building a new bridge across the river Thames at Westminster. The designs have been lithographed, and are to be found in the " Third Report, AV'estminster Bridge and New Palace, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 5th August, 1S46." The design proposed by Mr. Walker, for a stone bridge, consists of five arches, segments of circles, ami the information regarding those arches, as stated in the design, is as follows: — " Span of centre arrh, 150 feet. Span of side arches, 140 and 120 feet. SufBt of centre arch above Trinity standard, 24 feet." The versed sine or heights of those five arches above the springing line liave not been figured in on the design, nor the radius of any of tlie arches. The figured dimensions of the piers are oniitteil, and also the radius of the curve which the soffits of the five arches should tangent; but by measuring on the design, the versed sines or heights of the first and last arches between the springing line and their soffits have been found to be each 15 feet, and the centre arch about 20 feet. The tliickness of the piers, measured on the plan, 18, 20, 20, and 18 feet, making a total of 76 feet. The dis- tance across the river, between the abutments, 7+6 feet, and the clear waterway 670 feet. Tlie horizontal distance, or length of the chord line between the versed sines of the first and last arches, is 626 feet. The spans of the arches of 150, 14-0, and 120 feet, have all dif- ferent radii. Have they been |)ut into the design at random? or have they been the result of calculation emanating from some rule of science? Has this been the reason of the engineer having omitted to figure in the versed sines of the five arches on the plan ? A design for an iron bridge is also given by Mr. Walker, with a short note, as follows: — "Span of centre arch, 150 feet. Span of side arches, 140 and 130 feet. Soffit of centre arch above Trinity standard, 21 feet." This makes a clear waterway of 690 feet, whereas Mr. Walker's design for a stone bridge gives only a waterway of 670 feet, being a difference of 20 feet of waterway between the two designs. This is the very limited and variable information contained in Mr. Walker's two designs for a bridge over the Thames at ^V'est- minster. Mr. George Rennie has given in a design for a stone bridge, con- sisting of seven elliptic arches; the spans of the arches and their heights have been figured in on the design. The waterway of the seven ellijitic arches is 760 feet, and the width between the abut- ments, 832 feet, which varies greatly from the dimensions given by Mr. Walker. Waterway. .Mr. Rennie's bridge of seven arches 760 Mr. V^'alker's stone bridge, five arches 670 Difference 90 Mr. Rennie's bridge of seven arches 760 Mr. Walker's iron bridge, five arches 690 Difference 70 Mr. ^Valker's iron bridge, five arches 690 Mr. M'alker's stone bridge, five arches 670 Width heiiveen Abutiieiii!!. 832 7+6 66 832 756 756 746 Difference 20 10 Mr. Barry's iron bridge of five arclies has a waterway of about 720 feet, but no figured dimensions have been given. As your Jnnrual is read by many intelligent persons w-ell ac- quainted witli calculations and the properties of the circle, perhaps some of them would be kindly pleased to give the solution of the following problem, and the formula; on which the solution and cal- culations have been based. Elements given. Pier Pier a' Pier Pier a' 18 feet. 18 feet. 18 feet. 18 lect. a' Distance between tlie abutments, C, C 746 Ordinates between .\, a 15 Ordinates between .\, a 20 Ordinates between A, a' 15 Horizontal distance between the ordinates 313 The width of each of the five segment arches by cal- cul.ation, all of the same radii, to span a waterway of 670 Four piers, two on each side of the centre arch to be 20 feet thick each, and two at the side arches 18 feet thick each; the breadth or thickness of the whole four piers 76 6, b, i>, h, line, from which the arches are to spring. «', «', «', three points through wliich a curve line shall pass, and tangent the soffits of the five segment arches. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 95 Required from the nhove Elements, 1. To determine the radius of the curve which shall pass throuc:h the three points a\ a, a', and wliicli shall tangent the soffits of tlio five segment arches. 2. To determine by calculation the span of each of the five seg- ment arches, which shall, when added together, give a waterway of ()70 feet in width; and, with the tliickness of tlie four piers, 76 feet broad, a space of 7+6 feet in widtli between the abutments or points c, c. 3. To determine by calculation the versed sines of each of tlie five arches. ■t. Tlie soffits of the five segment arches to tangent the curve line which shall pass thri)ugli the tliree points «', a', a. 5. The length of the radius whicli shall be common to the five segment arches contained between the springing line 6, b. A, 6, and tlie curve line passing throuj^h the three points a, a, a'. February, 1850. B. THE SMYRNA STEAM FLOUR-MILLS AND THE M^ATT AND AVOOLF STEAM-ENGINES. On Saturday, the 19th of January last, a private view of two power- ful steam-engines, on tlie Woolf principle, but with oscillating cylin- ders, took place at the works of the Messrs. Joyce, engineers, Greenwich : we would rather say, a public view, the admittance being by invitation and by c;ird. We were invited to be present, but could not attend, the pressing nature of our avocations having prevented us. Since then, accounts of those steam-engines have a]ipeared in the columns of several of our contemporaries ; and from one of them, the Mining Jnurnal, we shall take leave to extract tlie following: — '* Tlie engines which the Messrs. Joyce have constructed for this purpose, have been formed upon a principle entirely new in this country, which has heen found to work with unexampled advantage in several establishments ia which the same kind of engines has been adopted. In their general arrange- ment, they may he described as belonging to the class of steam-engines termed " oscillating," from the circumstance of their cylinders vibrating on axes or trunnions, in order that the piston-rods may constantly act upon the cranks without the intervention of what in stationary engines is termed a p;uallel motion, a contrivance, by which the vertical motion of the piston- rod is adapted to the circular motion of the cranks. The principle disco- vered by Woolf, of introducing steam of a high-pressure into a small cylinder, and allowing it to act expansively in a larger one at a pressure smaller than the original, in the proportion of the circular sections of the cylinders, and afterwards to add to its etfective force by condensation, is here applied in au extremely ingenious manner, and with a simplicity of arrangement having reference to the multiplicity of objects which are to be provided for simul- taneously in the machine. But what Woolf did hy the intervention of parts which rendered the action indirect, is here done without the aid of subsi- diary arrangements, and the action is direct. The oscillating cylinders are for this purpose inverted, and vibrate upon steam-ways at their upper extre- mities. The long horizontal shaft upon which the piston-rods act, ia fur- nislied with cranks, so that the riead point is always got over, and the motion traiisniitted hy cogged-wheel gearing, the large wheel being 16 feet ni diameter — the fourteen mills, each of which is furnished with a pair of millstones, grinding in the usual way. A report from Mr. Elijah Galloway. C.E., who was employed by Mr. T. Comer, to examine the machinery for him, is now before us, from which we gather, ttiat the capacity and dimensions of the engines and machinery are in all respects, more than ample both for power and strength — the engines, moreover, being equal to nearly double the power required. With reference to the four boilers employed to generate the requisite quantity of steam, Mr, Galloway expresses his ccnviction lliat one alone will be nearly capable of supplying both engines, thus atfording the command of full tliree times the power required, and which would, in his opinion, work safely at " double the proposed maximum pressure." The report concludes with expressing tlie great satisfaction on bis part of the economy attendant on the application of the machinery, and the nicety and perfection with which it has been constructed. In the course of conversation we were given to understand that an engine of 12-borse power, at the Greenwich Iron Works, upon the principle referred to, costs only 3ils. per week for 12 hours per day, while several establish ments at home and abroad, prove the consumption of fuel to be less than 31b. per hurse power per hour." Similar accounts to the preceding have appeared in the other publications to which we have had occasion to allude. Those accounts are of so extraordinary a nature, and so apt to impress the public mind, either with error or doubt — error with those who do not thoroughly comprehend the construction and p.rinciples of the steam-engine, and doubt with tliose who do — that we feel ourselves impelled, by a sense of public duty, to make some comments. This course appears to us to be tlie mure incumbent — the more imperative, as it shadows forth a matter of considerable interest at this present time — the comparative value of the Watt and the Woolf steam-engines. In the cotton-spinning districts of Glasgow and Manchester, many Woolf-engiiies have been erected recently ; and others, by the addition of another cylinder, and by working the steam at high pressure in the new cylinder, and expanding it in the old, have been changed into Woolf-engines. These introductions and adaptations have taken place since the Woolf-engine lias been re-patented liy Mr. MacNaught, of Glas- gow; and, as we have received letters from several gentlemen, interested in cotton-spinning, claiming our particular attention to the matter, which is of importance to them, we shall now enter upon the subject. In the foregoing accounts it is stated, that the Jlessrs. Joyce, the engineers of Greenwich, liave made a pair of magnificent and powerful steam-engines, with all the apjiurtenanees of a flour-mill, to work fourteen pair of stones ; that " the engines are on the douhle-cy/inder expansive plan, originally patented by ^V'oolf;" that " tlie Messrs. Joyce have succeeded in giving a direct action to that wliich Woolf and his followers gave indirectii/, by which, amongst other beneficial results, tlie consumption of fuel is less than 3 lb. per horse power, it being about 12 lb. under the old system;" and that " these results have lieen main!// cchiered by tlie introduetion of a system of inverted and cscillating cylinders, which cause the force of the piston-rods to act directly upon the crank-pin, without the interposition of any intermediate machinery, so that the friction of U* 96 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [March, t)ie whole enpiiie is reduced to its minimum, while its simplicity pro - portiuudhlfi ri'dncfs the. chaniex btained by the adoption of this principle of constrtiction, added to that of the double cylinder of Woolf, as is now stated to be; ami by which it is athrmed, that the quantity of coal consumed for each horse pov.er per hour, is less than three pounds. We cannot give credence to this statement; nor can we believe that it has been given to the public with the sanction of so respect- able a firm as the Messrs. Joyce. We cannot percei\e in what respect these engines can consume less coal, per horse power, than other kinds of engines, with beams or without beams, equally well 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 97 constructed. If we be in error, we shall be glad to be set rifflit; and shall be rejoiced to be become acquainted with the niiuutijp of BO important and so gratifying- a fact, that a rotatoi-y fly-wheel engine, for land purposes, can be made to do with tliree pounds of coal per each horse power per hour. We still doubt the fact: if we be in error, we respectfully invite the Messrs. Joyce to verify the statement, by making known to tlie public, tlirough our Journal, the following particulars to guide them : — Diameter of each steam-cylinder, and length of stroke? At what pressure the steam was worked in the small cylinder.'' The number of strokes made per minute.'' The diameter and weight of the mill-stones; and the number of revolutions made by them per minute? The quantity of wheat ground per hour, when the bolting and dressing machines were at work as well? The nominal power of the engines? And the quantity of coal consumed? yVe shall be glad also to learn, whether the consumption of coal per each horse power, per hour, were estimated on the full indicated power— inclusive of friction, the power consumed by the pumps, &c. ; or whetlier it were given to the world on tlie nominal horse power, as it ought to have been? If on the former, its tendency is, most unquestionably, to convey an erroneous impression. Vi' e shall be glad to hear from the Messrs. Joyce on this subject. THE HEALTH QUESTION— WATER SUPPLY ADiMI- NISTRATION. Although there have been successive agitations for better water, each of wliich has died away, yet the time now comes when the public is in earnest, and By the surface waters adjacent to London; secondly, he would enter into a geological explanation of the structure of the chalk stratum beneath and around London, and its cajiabilities of affording water to the inhabitants by means of Artesian wells, which he would illustrate by the several diagrams then before them; and, thirdly, expound tlie great benefits that will accrue to the public socially and fiscally, by consididating the whole water su|>ply of the me- tropolis, the drainage and sewerage, paving and lighting, and the regulations pertaining to the erection of metropolitan buildings, under one jiublic commission, directly responsible to the inhabi- tants and the government conjointly. The lecturer then pro- ceeded to say, that the surface waters available to London prin- cipally rose as springs from the chalk formation, by which the metropolis is surrounded, and e.\tending under the alluvial deposits U(ion which it is built. If we took the simth and east of London friirn the outsides of the inclinations of the chalk basin, we bad the rivers Kennet, Loddon, Auhorne, Wey, Mole, \Vandle, Ravens- bourne, and Cray; and on the west and north, the rivers Brent, Colne, Cade, Verulum, Lee, Stort, Ware, and Rodding — all of which took their rise as chalk springs, and grew into important streams and indirect tributaries of the river Thames: the latter taking its rise from several springs in Gloucestershire, and, as they were aware, grew into a navigable stream by the natural drainage of the country through which it wound its course to the metropolis. The quantity of wholesome water available from the above surface sources alone to the use of the London public, would amount to from 200 to 300 million gallons per diem. The schemes now before the public for improving the general water supply, viz., the Wandle, tlie proposed improvement of the Lambeth Company's works, by taking their future supply from Thames Dittun ; the .Maidenhead, the Henley-on-Thames, the Mapledurham, and Watford schemes, were severally explained by Mr. Tabberner, who, of the Thames schemes, gave the preference to the Henley-on-Thames, in consequence of the confluence of the rivers Kennet, Lodden, and Auborne, just above the source of supjily ; and also because it proposed to place the whole water ser- vice under the control of a public commission. As to whether the quality of the water would continue permanently good, and as to whether the navigation of the river would be damaged by the pro- posed abstraction of 100 million gallons of water every 2i hours, were points to be decided. These, he said, were difficulties to be overcome, which would at least require skill and mature consi- deration; and concluded the first part of his discourse by ex- plaining the late Mr. Telford's schemes, and the propositions made to improve the New River Company's and the East London Com- pany's su])plies, by taking the waters of the rivers Ware, Stort, and Rodding. Mr. Tadbebner then described the alluvial and chalk deposits upon which London was built, and proceeded to urge that the many statements which had gone forth to the public from Dr. Buckland, the Rev. Air. Clutterbuck, Mr. Braithwaite, and others, were wrong with respect to the alleged failures of many of the commonly-called Artesian wells sunk in and around London — especially the theories of Mr. Clutterbuck. It had been stated that the Messrs. Barclays and .Messrs. Calverts were now compelled to work alternate days on account of their interfering with each other's wells: there was not a particle of truth in such a state- ment. Originally, when both their wells were sunk only into the sand above the chalk, they undoubtedly did affect each other; but since Messrs. Barclay had sunk 153 feet into the chalk, tliey had had an uninterrujited supply of water. The quantity had, how- ever, somewhat diminished since 18+3, owing to a fact important to be known. \V'hen they first sunk the bore-pipe into the chalk, they at the same time continued to avail themselves of the water afforded in the sand, by perforating that ])ortion of the pipe which passed through it; the sand had consecpiently percolated tlirough those perforations with the water, and had precipitated down, and become consolidated in the pipe of the chalk to the extent of 73 feet, and had stopped the free passage of the water from the fis- sures of the chalk. A sh(U"t time since the pipes had been cleaned out, and the water had since gradually risen. He had no d(mbt that many similar unascertained casualties existed. Mr. Tab- berner then gave a description of the capabilities of the Trafal- gar-square works, showing that when they were quite completed they would be able to aft'ord from 1,000 to 1,200 gallons of water per minute, a sup])ly which would be sufficient to furnish the Ser- pentine River, the Barracks round the parks and at the back of the National Gallery, the Fountains in Trafalgar-square, the Queen's Palaces, the Houses of Parliament, the whole of the Government Offices, the Baths and AV'ash-houses in St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, &C., at an annual charge of from 1,200/. to 1,500/. less than such a supply would cost if taken from the Chelsea Water Comiiany. The whole outlay would be about 18,500/., and the annual working ex- penses 1,000/. He further adduced many facts, showing, by care- fully prepared di.igrams of the principal deep wells, and of the sand and chalk strata, at what depths beneath the London clay an uninterrupted supply of water might be obtained, and where and ISSO.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURxNAL. 99 how the elevations of the chnlk heneath the cl»y interposed diffi- culties in obtaining a supply of water; clearly di'miinstratinjr that it was the water in the sand-bed above tlie rlialk, and not the water in the depths of the chalk, that was limited in (niantity; and describing how, from the declivity of the chalk formation, tlie fissures thereof under the alluvial dejjosits discharged the water into the sand; and how the wells sunk only into tlie sand were more or less subservient to each other. A discussion liere arose between Mr. Bhaitiiw.mte ami the lecturer, the former endeavouring to jiruve tliat the increased qiiantity of water at Covent-ganlen market liad been obtained by improving and lowering the pumjjs of the well, and not altogether by sinking the bore-pipe into tlie chalk. — Mr. T.ibberner said he "as not contending for the mechanical superiority of one engineer over another, but for the demonstration of the fact that for many years Mr. Braithwaite had been endeavouring to obtain a sufficient quantity of water for the market out of the sand-bed above the chalk, and that he had not succeeded. Messrs. Easton and Amos had subsequently bored 90 feet into the chalk, and thence ob- tained a bountiful supply of water. This instance, and many others which Mr. Tabber'ner adduced, shov.ed that Mr. Braith- waite was wrong in his supposition that the principal body of water was to be found in the sand and not in the chalk. Mr. Clarke, who had bored a great number of wells in and around London, and who was then engaged in e.xtending the boring of the Southampton deep well, here rose to support .Mr. Tabberner s views. He had frequently bored considerable dejiths into the chalk without obtaining water; but by continuing to bore deeper he had always ultimately found an abundance of water. Mr. Tabberner then proceeded to describe the quality of the chalk water, showing that reports as to its liard and chalybeate qualities were not founded in truth. The carbonate of lime and magnesia, which were the hardening constituents, did not amount to 6 grains in the gallon, while the same constituents in the Thames water amounted to from 10 to 12 grains in the gallon. He further urged that the other properties contained in tlie chalk water were essentially wholesome, and necessary to the natural support of tlie human body. The rain as it fell on the exposed surface of the chalk was pure water; but as it percolated through the chalk fissures, it took up in its course, in a greater or less degree, the carbonate of lime, magnesia, the alkaline, and other constituents he had alluded to. He distinctly contradicted the groundless supposition that the sea water found its way into the deep wells of the chalk under London, and denounced the idea as a theory perfectly fallacious and untenable. Mr. Braithwaite here again denied Mr. Tabberner's last posi- tion to be correct, and gave Professor Brande as his authority. He said, all deep wells, the water of whicli did not rise to the level of Trinity low-water datum, were affected by the sea-water per- colating into them, and instanced the deep wells at the Mint and Trafalgar-square respectively, as producing water so affected. — Mr. Tabberner took Mr. Braithwaite's own authority. Professor Brande; and from a paper of the latter lately published, showed that the solid contents found in the water of "the well at the Mint, were 38 grains in the gallon; and that the solid contents found in the water at Trafalgar-square, were 68 grains in the gallon. He contended that Mr. Braithwaite was again in the wrong; the salt and alka- line properties of both wells differed in the same ratio, and there were no two wells alike. He, Mr. Tabberner, therefore sulimitted, whether, if both these wells— indeed all the deep wells— produced sea water, they would not be identical in their constituents: tlie fact of their not being so would not justify Professor Brande, Mr. Braithwaite, or any one else, in the supposition that the water in tlie deep wells, or what was commonly called Artesian wells, as sunk into the chalk formation under London, were impregnated with sea water. Mr. Clarke here said, that he had bored the well at the Mint, and that Professor Brande had told him that the water raised from it was very pure. Captain Moorsom asked Jlr. Tabberner, whether it was not true that many of the London brew ers had been in great difficulties with regard to their supply of water from the chalk; and if they had not been compelled to deepen their wells.'' Mr. Tabberner said they had, as he had already admitted; and it would be contrary to common-sense and the natural laws of hydraulics, to suppose that the level of the water of the chalk did not lower as the number of wells sunk into it increased. There w as but an average of 21 inches of rain fell ujion the chalk surface; and supposing only 10 inches of the whole quantity percolated through the fissures into the depths of the chalk, only that quan- tity could be found in it; and supposing that first 100 wells were sunk, then 200, tlien 500, and so on, it was very natural and a necessary deduction, that the original level of the water would be gradually lowered; but as the wells were deepened into the vale of the chalk formation, the water would be found in proportion to the deptlis in greater abundance, and the general level of the water contained in the fissures would vary according to the quantity of rain and snow falling on the exposed surface of the chalk; and in proportion to the quantity of rain so falling, repletion would be afforded to the wells — and' he had no doubt in his own mind, that from 400 to 500 million gallons of water might be raised from the depths of the chalk stratum per diem. He estimated the cost of an Artesian plant, consisting of 100 wells and engine power, 1,200 miles of 7-inch main piping, and the contingencies pertaining to an undertaking competent to supply from 30 to 50 million gallons of water every 24- hours, at 1,700,000/. The annual cost of a con- tinuous high and low service to every house, he estimated at about 70,000/., or about ifrf. per 1000 gallons. IMr. Tabberner concluded his lecture by a statistical exposition of the saving that might be effected to the public, by taking the water supply out of the hands of trading bodies, and hereafter placing it under the control and management of a public elective board,~as public property, subjected to the supervision of govern- ment. He would first urge upon the government the necessity of introducing a measure into Parliament, which should provide for such a board, with powers to raise money upon the future rates, to be equally levied according to the assessment upon every house throughout the metropolis, the ground landlords being made liable for the rate, which liability should enjoin compulsory powers to extend the water su])ply to every house, and to make such supply a part and parcel of the fee-simple; while every site applied to future erections of any denomination whatever, should be charge- able with the cost of extension of %vater-service mains and pipes to such property as it was used for building purposes. He would then raise sufficient means to purchase the jdants and interests of the existing companies, which he would turn to sanitary purposes, and provide an entire new continuous plant for domestic purposes, the whole cost of which he computed at about 4,500,000/., which he stated might be raised without asking government or the rate- payers for one shilling, while the average rates might immediately be' reduced very considerably. Thus would he restored to the inhabitants that indefeasible 'public right to this first necessity to man's subsistence, which was formerly enjoyed by the citizens of London prior to the corporation transferring that right to commer- cial speculators. Mr. Tabberner set forth his calculations in the following form:— The present population was 2,336,000; and divid- ing that number bv 7 (the mean number of inhabitants, according to the Registrar-General's Report, to every house), the number of houses comprising the metropolis, would be 333,000 houses, or say, for the sake of round numbers, 330,000, to each of which he would supply an average of 175 gallons of water, or 25 gallons to each individual of a population of 2,336,000, every day, at an average annual cost of 8,<(. per house, estimating the cost of water (in accordance with the prime cost to the existing companies, and also of the proposed new schemes), at Urf. per 1000 gallons. This average rate of 8s. upon 330,000 houses, would £ produce 133,000 I'o pay 4 per cent, on 4,500,000/., he would require an additional average rate of lis. 3d. on 330,000 houses, which would produce 180,000 To raise a liquidating fund to pay off the 4,500,000/. borrowed over a term of 30 years, he would require a further average rate of 6*. 3d. on 330,000 houses, producing 100,000 Or a total average rate of 25s. 6d. per house, produc- ing a gross annual revenue of i,413,000 This average rate of 25s. 6rf. per house would be gradually reduced as the progress of annual liquidation went on, till the whole debt was discharged, and the whole water sujiply becon e free to the inhabitants at the mere cost of conveyance, whic.'i result, under good and economical management, would be accom- plished in a much less term than 30 years. The average rate for every house supplied by the present companies was, in the year 1833, 30.?. lO^rf., 5«. 4^rf. milre than tlie total average required by Mr. Tabberner to accomplish all lie proposes; and presuming that the average rate now charged by the companies is not less than it was in 1833, it will appear that the loo THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [ Marcif, annual cost of tlie proaont water supply to only 2.59,608 houses (tlie number of viator tenants fiiven by Sir William Clay), is 391,121/. IK.*, (irf., or little under 22,0U()V. less tlian the annual revenue re(|uirc(l l)y the lecturer to supply .S:i(i,000 houses, and to pav off all the sum reijuired to afford an entire new service for domestic uses, and to purrliaso the plants of all the present com- jianies for sauitiiry jiurposes. Mr. Tai!11i:hni:ii pro])osed, that tlie public commission under which tliis beneficial sanitary institution should be establislied, and by which it should he workeil, should he composed of property- qualified ratepayers, four or six out of every electoral district, to lie periodically elected — say one-third to retire every three years, and to be elif(il)le to he re-elected; which commission should appoint an actin}; paid committee, not members of the commis- sion, but practically-()ualified men, as ))ublic servants, — which committee sliould be liouud constantly to attend, and to devote tlie whole of their time to the business of the c(mimis.sion, aided by not more than two ffovernment inspectors, throui;h whom the cimimission should be made I'esponsible to government thnuifjh the medium of the Hoard of Health: thus ])roducirif; a jiower of control directly responsible to the inhabitauts and to the {govern- ment. And in additi(m to the water supjilv, he would ]dace the control and manag-ement of the sewerage ami drainage, jiaving and lighting, and tlie erection of metropolitan buildings, under one and the same commission ; thereby secure efficiency, uniformity, and economy, and, he believed, in a very short space of time, an annual saving of the public funds of not less than .SOO.OOO/. He also sug- gested, that it would be well to make such a Bill as he proposed, fomj)ulsorily applicable to every town and city in the United Kingdom; each place to be divided into districts, and each com- mission to be elected in numbers according to the amount of popu- lation, and the whole also subjected to an ins])ection responsible to government through tlie medium of the general Board of Health. R E M A R K S ON THE PLAN PROPOSED BY THE METROPOLITAN COMMISSIONERS OF SEWERS FOB THE DRAINAGE OF THE SURREY SIDE OF THE METROPOLIS. " At present there is a prevailing approatti to agreement in the Sciences, founded on an observation of oritward nature. When controversies ari'.e in these Sciences, they are generally confined to lirnitetl questions, and to points upon which attenlion has been recently turned, and alter a time they are settled by invesligation and reasoning.'*— LEWIS. 'Essay on the Influence of Authority in matters of Opinion.* " It has been shown in matters of drainage, that the economy and efficiency of the works will be uccnrdintj to the qualifications, the powers, and the respnnibilit'es of the officers appointed to execute them, secured by legislative means: atid that new laljonr on the old condition, without sKili, will be executed in the old manner, extravagatitly and ineflBci- enUr."— EDWIN CHADVVICK. -Report from the Poor Law Commissioners on the Sanitary Coodition of the labouring population of Great Britain.' 1H4^. At a meeting of the Members of the Metropolitan Sewers Com- mission, held at the Chief Office, Greek-street, Soho, on the 25th of .faiiuary last, the following resolution was put from the chair by Sir Henry ])e la Beche, and carrietl: — "That it be recommended to the court that the engineer he instructed to jirepare estimates for the consideration of the Com- missioners, for a plan of the drainage of the Surrey side of the Thames, with reference to a covered channel for general outfall, between V'.iuxliall and Deptftu-d, to' thereabouts, by which the present distance liy the river will be shortened, and a better out- fall secured; to the contiiuitition of the channel to and beyond ^^'o(dwich, and to the removal of the whole sewage of such area from that part of the Thames, due attention having been had and being paid to those plans sent into this Commission which relate to the same area." W'e may therefore shortly expect a detailed communication on the subject from Mr. Frank Forster; and as, in the event of his estimates being deemed satisfactm-y, there is not merely a possi- bility, but a probability, of the proiiosed scheme being carried into effect, we take an early ojiiiortuuity of making a few brief obser- vations on the merits of Captain Vetch's ]ilan, which, we hope, will at least have the effect of directing the attention of the ))ublic to the necessity of mature consideration being given to so impor- tant a subject before any plan is finally adopted. All we are in jiossession of as yet respecting the proposed ]dan for the drainage of the Surrey side of the metro|)olis, is priucip.illy contained in the reported speech of Sir Henry De la Heche, deli- vered at the meeting of the Commissioners above alluded to. We shall therefore confine ourselves strictly to the statements made by Sir Henry, and consider how far such statements are likely to lead us to hope for such effet^tual drainage of tlie south side of the river as the public have a right to e.xpect from the Commissioners and their engineer. It was with no small degree of satisfaction, after the published opinions of Sir John Burgoyne and others of the Commissioners, that we saw the report in the T/mc.v, ' headed "Drainage of the Metropolis — I'nrijicatinn of tin- Thdme.s;" and the o|iiiiions of Sir Henry respecting the importance of the non-pollution of the Thames fully stated. He concludes this important part of his address with the following sentence: — "Under all these points of view, it seemed essentially desirable that they (the Commissioners) should be instrumental in removing the sewage from the Thames. This is most satisfactory: it settles the important ijuestion — "Is the Thames to he polluted, or not.'" — "No." In considering the manner of draining a district, the matter of consideration that deserves our first attention is, that of a sufficient outfall; and the (|uesti(m naturally arises, what natural outfall or outfalls does the district and its neighbourhood afford? Of outfalls there are three different kinds: first, there are natural outfalls immediately connected with the district under consideration, which again divide themselves into available outfalls and unavailable outfall.s, according to the conditions imposed on the engineer — -viz., according to the object or objects, whether direct, indirect, or both, for which the drainage is contemplated. Secondly, natural outfalls, not immediately connected w ith the district to be drained, requiring an artificial conduit of communication between the area to be drained and that possessing the necessary sufficient outfall. Thirdly, artificial outfalls. — Let us consider the case in question. We have, in the first place, a natural outfall in the river Thames, encircling:, as it does, nearly the whole of the western, northern, and eastern sides of the district. Is it an available outfall or not.'' That the Thames is not to be polluted by the admission of sewage matter into its .stream, is at length acknowledged by the Commis- sioners themselves. "They," says Sir Henry De la Beche, "should recidlect that the sewage, according as the population had increased, was more abundant in the Thames than formerly. Good as the 'flushing system' was in many points of view, it had added to this evil, inasmuch as the matter which was previously collected and removed by hand, was now thrown into the Thames. Another point to be consiilered was, that since the erection of London- bridge there was a difference of Sg feet in the height of the water above the bridge, and which had been a source of considerable annoyance to the population." Under "all these points of view," ailds Sir Henry, it seems "essentially desirable" that the Commis- sioners "should be instrumental in removing the sewage from the Thames." Under these considerations, the natural outfall of the district of Southwark becomes an unavailable outfall. But there are other reasons why the Thames should be rejected as a recep- tacle for the sewage of this portion of the metropolis. It is a tidal river, and portions of the district are below high-watermark; from which circumstance it follows, that whatever means be adopted for draining the said area, making use of the Thames for an outfall, the mode of operation must inevitably become inter- mittent instead of constant — the sewers and drains becoming cesspools during portions of each day. Moreover, the length of time during whicli, in such a case, the sewage woukl have to re- main confined within the drains, would be in an inverse ratio with the inclinations, and, consequently, "effectiveness," as regards discharge, of the whole system of drains; or, in other words, according to the height of the cill of the outfall-eml of the main sewer. It is true, that by proper trapping much of the evil attend- ing an intermittent plan of draining can be remedied; hut no system of sewerage can be deemed really good that is not constant. Well, then, the tiomiuissioners have agreed most judiciously — not to say of necessity — not to make use of the only natural outfall presented by the di.strict. Of neighbouring outfalls (the second class before alluded to) there ai"e none at all available along the line of coast: artificial means, therefore, become indispensable. Let us now examine the jilan priqiosed by Captain Vetch, for the thorough drainage of the Surrey side of the river. Sir Henry De la Beche began his observations to the Commis- sioners by calling to their recidlection, that when they first took office under the present Commission, it was intimated to them that the subject of the drainage of tlie Surrey and Kent side of the river had received very considerable attention. "During the existence of the previous Commission," continues Sir Henry, "there had been a committee, termed the 'Ordnance Survey Com- 1 " Times " of Saturday, January :26th. I8A0.J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 101 mittee,' four members belonping' to which were members of the present court. During; this time the Ordnance Survey Committee had been engaged in that part of the metropolis, and were con- structing the network of levels. It was thought to be extremely desirable that three or more points of the river should be con- nected with such levels, to ascertain the height of the tide. The result has been the production of a very valuable collection of facts and documents, from which it would appear that they should even think of constructing the lines and shortening the distance between Battersea and Deptford. The minimum difference in the tide between these places was 9i feet. It was obvious that by shortening the distance they would accomplish a better fall, if that were needed." Sir Henry might well have saved himself the trouble of going into these details, since from his own statement, fully given, a fall of any kind into the Thames cannot only not be needed, but is of necessity to be avoided. But let us continue. Sir Henry "thought be might mention what was, no douht, known to the Commissioners, that a valuable body of information was collected by Mr. Page, for the Metropolitan Improvement Com- mission, and which was printed in their reports. Part of it was original, and part contained in other documents, &c.; but he (Sir Henry) referred to it as embodying a mass of valuable matter." No doubt about it. "The attention of Captain Vetch had been especially directed to the formation of a scheme for the drainage of the Southwark side of the river Tliames. He wished it to be particularly noted, that all this occurred previous to the former Commission requesting plans to be sent in for the drainage of the metropolis. With respect to the scheme for taking the shorter line on the north and south side of the river, and so partially reversing the drainage, in this there was no great novelty. So far as ten or eleven years ago, he believed that Mr. Thomas Cubitt had proposed a scheme of that kind, which was quoted by Mr. Walker, in his evidence in 18 tO, on the state of the Thames. This was not the fii-gt scheme which included the stopping of the drainage by the river, because Mr. John Martin had previously completed the scheme for drainage on both sides of the Thames. Willi regard to the south side, their object had been to obtain a fall by shorten- ing the distance, and the opportunity of flushing the main channel and any branch channel, without, as now, discharging all the sewage into the Thames; and afterwards affording the oppoi'tunity of distributing the sewage manure by various lines of railway, as the wants of the public should demand, supposing the drainage should cut the lines of railway." What are we to understand from all this? Sir Henry, in one part of his speech, most emphatically expresses his opinion as to the necessity of no longer polluting the bed of the river with the filthy discharge of any portion of the sewage of the metropolis; and in the next, advocates an outfall into the said river, because an "advantageous" additional fall of 25 feet can be obtained by taking a shorter course. As to Sir Henry's statements respecting the evils attending the use of the Thames as an outfall for the sewage of London there can be but one opinion. The writer of a leading article in the Tinifs of the 2Sth January last, observes, "In the first and foremost place, it [the resolution passed at the meeting | contains the deliberate acknowledgment of the Com- missioners, that the river Thames should no longer be retained as the main sewer of the metropolis, but should be drained and cleansed like any other infected locality." And in order to effect this draining and cleansing of the bed of the river, it is now pro- posed to pour into its stream at Deptford, or may be Woolwich, at low water, all the refuse of the densely-populated district lying between Battersea and Deptford, that will not have been carried away by rail for agricultural purposes, "supposing the drainage should cut the lines of railway.' - Even admitting the extension of a conduit from Deptford to Woolwich, — and Sir Henry does not even allude to the subject in his speech, — and thereby the removal of the Southwark sewage beyond the boundary that divides Surrey from Kent, we need hardly add that the reasons for discontinuing the pollution of the Surrey and Middlesex banks of the river must surely apply equally powerfully to the Kent bank, bordering so densely populated a dis- trict as that lying between Deptford and Woolwich ; particularly when we take into consideration that a discharge of sewage, wherever made on the south side of the river, has to meet with the influence of an up-tide, consequent on such discharge taking place inevitably, on account of the lowness of the district, at low water. Sir Henry, who had occasion some years ago, he tells us, to con- sider the distribution of sewage into estuaries, and who agrees with Sir John Burgoyne, "that the Thames being an estuary, all the 2 Purely condilional on accidental ctrcmnstances. effects that take place in an estuary must occur in it also," will o course understand most readily the results which we are likely to anticipate from a removal of the refuse of Southwark into the bed of the Thames, whether at Deptford or Woolwich, at low water ;■' and from the action of an up-tide, immediately after its discharge. We cannot do better than borrow Sir Henry's own words. " The sewers discharged their contents into the Thames at low water; at that time the water being stagnant, the sewage was discliarged into the river according to its velocity, but on the first motion of the water, it (the sewage) had a tendency to go along both sides of the river, and two masses of filth were thus trailed along the banks. This was composed of matter in chy mical solution, and mechanical suspension. Now these two masses passed along both shores and went as far as the tide would carry them."' Tliis is precisely what takes place ; and in the case before us proposed by Sir Henry, the sewage of a large and populous district will be discharged into the Thames at Deptford, at low water, according to its velocity : the water in the river at the time being stagnant. On the first motion of the water, it (the sewage) will have a tendency to go along both sides of the river, and two masses of filth will thus be trailed along both banks. This will be composed of matter in chymical solution, and mechanical suspension. And these two masses will pass along both shores and will go as far up the river as the tide will carry them — and we may add, taking the more populated and important part of the metropolis on their way. In addition to this, we find that the Thames is not only to be polluled with the discliarge of tlie Southwark sewage, hut that at a meeting of the Commissioners on Friday, the 8th inst., a sewer through a considerable portion of ^V'estminster, discharging itself into tlie Thames, was determined upon, on the recommendation of Mr. Frank Forster, and is about to be carried into effect."' So much for the statements of Sir Henry De la Beche, as to the general wish of the Commissioners not to pollute the Thames with sewage matter. The writer in tlie Times, already quoted, hoped for better things when he wrote : — " Our very words are now almost snatched from our mouths by these eager converts. ' There is no reason,' says the Chairman, ' why artificial means sliould be adopted to add to the noxious qualities of the river mud.' None in the world, certainly. — ' It gets moistened with the sewage matter, aiul that adds to the disagreeableness of the filth.' Not a doubt about it. — ' Looking on shore, too, this deposit is sure to be discovered in situations most inconvenient to the inhabitants.' Of course it is. As the American engineer said, ' It sefms to take a pleasur' in gettin' there.' — All these are axioms, if of a somewhat elementary, yet of a most unquestionable character, and we are only too glad to see them at length formally recorded." Yes " recorded" — and that is all. " But," it might be argued, " it is not the intention of Captain Vetch and the Commissioners to make use of the proposed outfall exclusively for the purpose of a means of discharge into the Thames : they hope the demand for liquid manure will be such as to prevent almost entirely the pollution of the river." If so, we can see no necessity for the expense of a main sewer from Batter- sea to Deptford, with a continuation to ^\'oolMich — no small amount of work to execute. For the purpose of transport into the country, mechanical means of some kind must be employed for raising the diluted refuse from the low levels at which it will be confined, whether the principal outfall be at Deptford, Woolwich, or elsewhere ; and surely there can be no kind of a]iology for wasting the public money in constructing expensive works, from which no advantage can possibly result, that could not be obtained for a far less sum, without such a main sewer. If the Thames is really to be rejected as an outfall, an artificial outfall becomes 3 And if we talie into consideration tlie depth of some of the basement stories in some of the lowest parts of the district, in connection with the ([uestion o( sufficient fall for branch drains, we think Mr. Forster will not find low water mark at I>eptford much too low for the invert of his sewer. 4 " Nothing could be more beautifully expressive than this description. To be sure it was somewhat superfluous, and resembles a little th.it technical certilicate of Death's doings which the medical ivitne'solfers to a coroner's jury ; — Deceased having been found hanging, it is proved that the articulation of the cervix with the occiput has been dis- ordered, and that great extravasation is discoverable in the brain, — lacts, noubtless of great Importance, tiiut not adding much to the convictions of those who h;id cut the poor wretch down, stone dead. We citizens can see but too plainly how the sewage hue;3 our banks, and are perlectly willing to believe that the result is in accordance with the eternal laws of au estuary. All we ask is a verdict in our favour." — " Times, " of Monday, January 28th. 5 Let the rate-payers look to the new Westminstar sewer. It cannot be an inexpen- sive work, and it is sure to be either a superfluous or an inconvenient one. We admit that such accommodation cannot be delayed until tlie present problem is solved ; but all this expenditure for provisional convenience will become little more than a dead loss uhen the entire system of sewerage is remodelled. It is clear enough that we cannot cleanse the Thames in a day, but it is surely time to cease paying our thousands of pounds in order to vitiate it more thoroughly." — Conclusion of a leading article iu the '■ Times, " of Saturday, February 16tb, 15 102 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Maboh, indispensable ; and consequently there can he no possible use for a main sewer Hr.,-li as the one proposed. A great objection to what are called first-class sewers, too, is their great size, which renders them as inefficient as they are expensive. A well matured system of drainage should be properly graduated for the effectual removal of all refuse matters under well calculated, mean ordinary circum- stances; and for all other cases, such as those of extraordinary floods, other means of removal should be provided, since no same sewer can possibly be made to act with maximum efficacy under the very dissimilar cases of limited or ordinary, and extraordinary discharge. And surely of the two, we should give the preference to efficacy under usual conditions of supply. To wish therefore to build sewers large enough under any circumstances, not only shows a complete ignorance of the first laws of hydraulic science, but argues a want of common-sense on the part of tlie projector. What — if we were to object to the human organisation, on the ground that the digestive organs merely provide for the digestion of the ordinary amount of food necessary for the purposes of life, on the score of tlie inconvenience attending indigestion, caused by no provision having been made in cases of surfeit of food — of ex- traordinary " feeds" ? Our metropolitan sewers have been con- structed capacious enough for all possible cases of indigestion ; but, unfortunately, the gastric juice required — hydraulic pressure, — has been found to lessen with the increase of their sectional areas; deposits have taken place — accumulations of solid filth have blocked them up — tlie whole fabric has been found not only in- effective, but a public nuisance, alike dangerous to the health and morals of a large portion of the population. — What the remedy ? Scouring. — The consequence } A series of intermittent cesspools. And is such a system still to be carried on .'' The public money expended in creating a still greater number of longitudinal recep- tacles for filth ? We hope not. We would lay down as a rule that the minimum sufficient drain, for all ordinary purposes, whatever its class, is the one that should of necessity, on the mere prin- ciples of economy and common-sense, be adopted. We do not presume to settle the questions wliat the sizes of minimum suffi- cient drains should be under various circumstances, and for the different classes of house, street, court, and main drainage ; but this we wish to be understood clearly, that, until minimum suffi- cient drains are adopted, maximum hydraulic pressure cannot be obtained — and unless maximum hydraulic pressure be obtained, maximum scouring-power and efficacy cannot possibly be realised. Mr. Rendel, in his address to the Board, after seconding the motion made by Sir Henry Ue la Beche, said : " He had no doubt that when practical engineers were put upon the Board, something practical was intended should be done. He believed something practical would be done from the present time, and he thought that while acting so, they would have the public with them." We may be allowed to observe to Mr. llendel that the putting of practical engineers upon the board, was no kind of reason for at all con- cluding or believing that something effectual and satisfactory, as well as practical, would be done in the matter of the drainage of the metropolis. Something " practical" was done, when practical engineers were consulted and employed to construct the various sewers now existing, — something " practical" was done when some of the leading practical engineers of the day were asked to report on tlie efficacy of these existing sewers — when they perambulated them, where po.ssible — and expressed themselves fully satisfied ! But unfortunately the " practice" in matters of drainage, which has prevailed in England, up to tlie present time, is proved to have been most defective and unsatisfactory. The actual state of the drainage of London, after the enormous sums that have been ex- pended upon it, is a sufficient warranty of the ignorance of our practical engineers respecting the principles that ought to have guided them in the framing of plans for actual execution. The Sanitary Commissioners express themselves on this subject, in the following words :— "The more the investigation advances, the more it is apjiarent that the progressive improvements and proper exe- cution of this class of iiublic works, together with the appliances of hydraulic engineering, cannot be reasouably expected to be dealt with incidentally or collaterally to (u-diiiary occupation, or even to connected professional pursuits, Imt require a deyree of special study vjliich not only place them lieynnd the sphere of the discussion n/' popular administrative hodies, hut heijond that of ordi)iari/ professional engineer- ing and architectural praetiee. In justification of this coiicliisicin, and to show the evil of the perverted application of names of high general professional authority, we might adduce examples of the most defective works, which have received their sanction."" And further, " It will be evident to any one who has followed , i__ " IstKepuitot llie Mtt. San. Cumin., p. 5. the course of the inquiries relating to Public Health works, that the principles that have been established for future operations will render inapplicable much of the experience that has been formed in the execution of works of house, street, and land drainage, water supply, and general cleansing."' However precise and satisfactory the present state of hydrosta- tical engineering (and no better proof of the satisfactory state of this branch of science need be adduced than the success Mr. Ren- del himself has met with, in the construction of some of the most important dock-works connected with tliis country ; we may also instance the lifting of the tubes of the Britannia Bridge by hydros- tatic pressure), the branch to which draining essentially belongs— hydrodynamical engineering — is as yet completely in its infancy, and little help can be derived from the " experience" of past ages. Bulky and numerous as are the writers, both English and foreign, on hydraulics, little or nothing, as yet, is known of the principles which regulate the How of fluids. The great Newton himself failed * j to grapple with this truly intricate subject. He invented the method of Fluxions, which enabled him to establish a theory of lunar mo- tions; but he found himself reluctantly obliged to rest satisfied with a mere approximation, instead of a complete solution, respect- I ing the motion of three bodies mutually influencing one another; ■ and this convinced him how hopeless was the cliance of ever accu- ■ rately investigating the laws that regulate the motions of fluids j where innumerable atoms comprise their respective influences on ! each other. "Newton," says Professor Whewell, in his ' History of the Inductive Sciences,' "treated the subject theoretically in I the ' Principia;' but we must allow, as Lagrange says, that this ia I the least satisfactory passage of that great work." Formulae, to be depended upon for future works of drainage, must be deduced j from correct experiments. No data of value can possibly be obtained, but from thoroughly checked tables of correct trials ; I iind upon correct practical results only ought we to depend for the framing of formula! to work with." Experiments on the flow of water through tubes, have, we believe, been carried on by order of the Commissioners. This is a step in the right direction. The practice which will have to guide us must be founded on such e.xpe- ; riments, and we have little to expect from the mere past expe- rience of our practical men; indeed we should rather shun the prejudices which generally accompany the constant treading in the same beaten path. [ We have a new field open to us, with great difficulties to con- tend with, for as yet we have neither theory nor practice to guide us. Our theory has to be founded on correct experiments: our I practice on correct theory. Sir John Herschell expresses himself with his usual clearness and simplicity on the subject: " It is a j remarkable and happy fact, that the shortest and most direct of all inductions should be, that which has led at once, and almost by a single step, to the highest of all natui-al laws — we mean those of motion and force. Nothing can be more simple, precise, and gene- 1 ral than the enunciation of these laws; and their application to i particular facts in the descending or deductive method, is limited I by nothing but the limited extent of our mathematics. It would seem, then, that dynamical science were taken thenceforward out j of the pale of induction, and transformed into a matter of abso- lute « /)?7'oW reasoning, as much as geometry; and so it would be, were our mathematics perfect and all the data known. Unhappily, I the first is so far from being the case, that in many of the most I interesting branches of dynamical inquiry, they leave us com- \ ))letely at a loss. J)i what relates to the motions of fluids, for instance, this is severely felt. We can include our problems, it is true, in algebraical equations, and we can demonstrate that they contain the solutions; but the equations themselves are so intractable, and present such insuperable difficulties, that they often leave us quite as much in the dark as before. But even were these difficulties overcome, recourse to e.xperience must still be had to establish the data on whicli particular applications are to depend; and although mathematical analysis affords very powerful means of representing in general terms the data of any proposed case, and afterwards, by comparison of its results with fact, determining what those data must be to explain the observed phenomena, still, in any mode of considering the matters, an appeal to experience in every par- ticular instance of application is unavoidable, even when the gene- ral principles are regarded as sufficiently established without it. 2Vow, in all s^lch cases o/ difficulty, we must j-ecur to our inductive ' Circulnr Letter to Candidates fur Inspectorships, p. 2, 8 Pi-incipia. Book 2. Prop. 37. 1st Kdit., 16s7, and the 2nd Edition of 1714. which con- tains Neutun's alteied tieatinent ot tlie snbjict. O *■ The scien<'e of the motions of fluids, nnlilfe ail other jirirnnry departments of me- chRnics, is a siiliject on which we Ktili need experinieuts to point out the luadamental principles." — Whewell. 1850. J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 103 processes^ and regard the branches nf dynamical sciences, where this takes place, as purely experimental. By this we ffain an immense advan- tage,— viz., that in all those points of them where the abstract dynamical principles do afford distinct conclusions, we obtain veri- fications for our inductions of the highest and finest possible kind. When we work our way up inductively to one of these results, we cannot help feeling the strongest assurance of the validity of the induction. The necessity of this appeal to experiment, in everything relating to the motions of fluids on the large scale, has long been felt." We have thought proper to enter thus fully on the actual state of hydrodynaniical engineering in connection with its own parti- cular branch — the drainage of towns, and the little reliance to be placed, henceforth, in the experience and practice which has pro- duced the defects in, and evils of, the present existing works; and which it is the business of the Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers to remedy, because we find there is a leaning on the part of the " practical men" Mr. Rendel alludes to, to continue pursuing the old track. "For his (Mr. Rendel's) own part, he felt he could go with the opinion as to avoiding drainage into the Thames, a« Jar as it could be avoided, in reference to obvious and practical conclu- sions.''^'' He did not go one jot further; therefore while he went to the full e.xtent of desiring to purge the Thames from the sewage of London, be must be certain that when the plan was carried out, that result would be obtained. ^^ He believed, that the plan they had to-day before them, would go a great way in furthering this object; it would, at all events, be a step in the right direction." And yet it is an imperfect plan on the old intermittent principle, with a fall into that river, of whose purification we have heard so much stated by the Commissioners. Though unsatisfactory, our present knowledge and practice in matters of town drainage, we would still add, with the writer in the Times, already quoted: — " If the science and resources of the 19th century are incompe- tent to effect the drainage of the metropolis, otherwise than by its river, so it must be; but let us ascertain the necessity, before we put up with its consequences." In conclusion, the plan proposed appears to us defective, — Because the sewage of the whole portion of the metropolis, lying south of the Thames, is to be poured into the river, thereby pol- luting it, at one of two highly-peopled districts; and Because this discharge taking place at low water, involves the consequences attending the effects of an up-tide thereon; Because a provision being made for flushing the branch-drains, implies the possibility of periodical cesspools; Because the provision for flushing the main sewer, implies the intermittent instead of the constant system of draining; Because of the impropriety of "flushing" manure already suffi- ciently diluted with an ample supply of water; Because in the event of the sewage of the district being required for agricultural purposes, the main sewer from Battersea to Dept- ford, and its continuation to Woolwich, becomes a waste expen- diture; Because of the expense attending such a scheme. 10" We readily accept the condition, and consent to ask for nothing impossible."— Leading article of tlie " Times,'" IVIooday, January 28th. 11" Wlien we advLxate the purtficaiion of the 'ihames, it is with the same * sine qua non' as lliat alleged by Mr. Rendel, ' that the result,' namely, ' should be really ob- tained.' "— '■ Times," January l'8tb. WELL WATER. Analysis of the Well Wafer at the Royal Mint, with some Remarks on the Waters of the London Wells. By Professor Brande, f.r.s., v pes.. &c. (Extracted from a paper read before the Chemical Society of London.) In corisequence of tlie defective supply of water at the Mint, Professor Brande was consulted on tlie best mode of obtaining a necessary supply of pure water for that establishment, ile was aulhoristd by the master of the Mint to consult with Mr. 'Ihomas Clark, an experienced well-engineer, in reference to the subject ; and accordingly desired him to examine into the condition anil capabilities of all the v\eds, shafts, and tunnels, connected witb the supplies of water throughout the building. This exauiinatiun was carefully and effectually accomplished, and it appeared that the several wells were in a very dilapidated, and some of them in a very dangerous state : that few ot Ibeni were so situated or conditioned as to admit of being sufficiently or safely deepened, so as to yield an adequate supply of water ; and that, as respected the wells in the several engine-bouses, tliey were mere reservoirs connected with the tunnel-sbaft from the tower, and therefore almost exclusively supplied from the muddy source of the lower moat. Having personally convinced himself of the correctness of this report, and having had Mr. Clark's statement corroborated by Mr. George Rennie, he represented the matter in detail to the master of the Mi ;<, and suggested three plans for consideration, namely : — 1. To derive the requisite supplies of water from the water companies. — 2. To repair the present wells, and to deepen such of them as would admit of that operation. — 3. To sink an entirely new well. Professor Brande strongly urged the adoption of the latter alternative, which after due consideration, was agreed to. He therefore obtained proper plans and estimates from Mr. Clark, which after having been submitted to the Board of Works, and liy their direction to Major Jebb, were ultimately ordered to be carried into execution. It may be right to premise, that the total depth of this new well is about 426 feet; that the depth from the surface down to the chalk is about 221 feet, and the borings into the chalk about 202 feet ; the following being the well-sinker's account of the strata gone through, namely : — Feet. DTade earth 11 Gravel and sand (with water).. ,. .. .. ,, ..13 Blue clay, with a le»v sandy veins (no water) ,. .. .. 98 Coloured sand and pebbles (abundance ot water).. .. .. 14 Dark sand, with veins of clay (little water).. .. .. .. 4 Mottled clay (dry) .. .. ,. 6 Loamy sand and dark clay (little water) ., .. ,, ., 5 Blue clay, with shells .. .. .. ,. .. .. .. 6 White rock ((juite dry).. .. .. .. .. ., .. 3 Green sandy rock and pebbles (dry). . ■• .. ., .. 3 Loamy gieen sand and black pebbles (little water) .. ., 5 Green s.nd and pebbles (abundance of water) .. .. ..6 Dark sand, with shells. . 40 Flints 10 Chalk 202 426 The lining of the upper part of the well through the gravel and into the blue clay, is composed of stout cast-iron cylinders, IJincli thick, and eight feet clear diameter ; they are made in five feet lengths, with internal flanges three inches wide, packed and jointed with strong bolts and nuts; these prevent all access of the land springs from above, Tiie shaft is then steined to the depth of 88 feet (that is, nearly through the blue clay,) in 9-inch cemented brickwork ; after which, cast-iron cylinders are resumed of seven feet diameter, and these are continued down to the chalk ; but after passing through the stratum of mottled clay, they include a series of cylinders of six feet diameter, the space between the outer and inner cylinders being filled with gravel-pebbles; a bore-pipe, 20 inches diameter, and 45 feet long, is then driven to about ten feet into the chalk, and through Ibis the boring is continued by an 18-inch auger, to the entire depth of the well. This well, and all the works connected with it, were completed at Christmas, 1846; and on the 1st of January, 1847, the whole of the works of the Mint, and the dwelling houses, were supplied with the water, which is raised in a six- inch main to a height of 50 feet above the surface, or 130 feet above the average level of the water in the well, and is delivered at the rate of 240 gallons per minute, by means of three pumps of 9-inch diameter, and 8-inch stroke, into a tank supported upon a building of brickwork. This tank is 100 feet long, 30 wide, and 5 deep ; it contains, therefore, 13,000 cubic feet of water, or 93,750 imperial gallons. Two six-inch cast-iron mains, furnished with proper slide-valves, descend from this tank, one passing on either side of the Mint, so as conveniently to supply the whole of the establishment, the daily consumption of the water frequently exceeding 40,000 gallons ; besides which a daily supply of 6,000 gallons is delivered, by means of a main laid from the Mint, across Tower-hill to the Tower, for the use of the inhabitants and the garrison, there being at present no serviceable wells in that fortress, and the water derived from the adjacent river being objectionable in point of cleanliness. The average height which the water attains in the shaft of the Mint well is 80 feet from the sutface. After a day's pumping it is lowered, upon an average, 20 feet, but there it remains stationary, the flow of water from below maintaining the level, or in other words, delivering at the rate of about 240 gallons per minute. Before this well was completed, and before the boring into the chalk had been accom- plished, the water derived from it contained 44 grains of dry saline matter in the imperial gallon. At present, the machinery being complete, and the well in full and daily use, the mean of several experiments in reference to the solid matter contained in the imperial gallon of the water, amounts to 37'5 grains. The substances contained in each gallon of the water are as follows : — Sulphuric acid .. .. .. .. ** .. 7"-44 Chlorine .. .. .. .. .. .. 6-31 Carbonic acid (after boiling) . . . . . . . . 5"H4 Silica .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 0-58 Sodium (combined with chlorine) . . .. .. .. 4*22 Sjda (combiaed with sulphuric and carbonic acids).. .. 1(1 82 Lime .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1-96 Magnesia .. .. .. .. .. .. 0*71 Organic matter 1 Phosphoric acid V .. .. .. .. .. Traces. Iron J The water evaporated to one-fifth of its hulk, and filtered, had lost almost every trace of lime and of magnesia, so that it is probable that the greater part of these sulistances were held in the state of carbonates, by excess of carbonic acid. The carbonate of lime forms films during boiling, which subside, and appear under the microscope in the form of very minute acicular crystals. The crystalline deposit obtained by slowly evaporating the water after the precipitated carbonate of lime has been separated by filtra- 15* 104 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Mabch, tion, exhibits under the microscope, three distinct forms — namely, cubes (of chloride of sodium), prisms, whicli lie distinct upon the other salts, and are efflorescent, snlphate of soda); and small aggrejates of rhomboids inter- mixed with small spherical particles, like pin-heads (carbonate of soda). The residue of the evaporation of the water, after having been gradually raised to a dull red heat, acquired a grey tint, and exhaled a slight odour of burning azotized matter; and a piece of moistened turmeric paper held in the evolved vapour, was transitorily reddened. Professor Ilrande had rmt been able to detect any potassa in this water; and only a slight indication of the presence of a phosphate, in the preci- pitate deposited by the water during boiling. Upon the whole, he is inclined to regard the following as a tolerably cor- rect statement of the proximate saline components of this water : — Chloride of sndiiim Siilptmte of Brtda. . Curt)Oiiate of Boda Carbonate of lime Carbonate of magnesia Silica Organic matter Iron Fhosptioric matter T iric acid J Grains in the Imperial gallon. .. 10 53 .. 1:114 .. 8 63 . . 3-50 .. 1-50 . . 0-50 .. Traces. The specific gravity of the water at 55°i3 10007. Its gaseotis contents he has not ascertained. Mr. Grande concluded bis paper by giving a short comparative table, of the relative quantity of solid matter contained in river and spring waters as have been carefully analysed. The wells which are termed deep, derive their water from the strata below the blue clay, and some of them penetrate into the chalk ; those termed shallow, are supplied from the strata above the blue clay. This is the case with most of the common London wells, which, however, are often steined to a considerable depth in the clay, for the pur- pose of forming a reservoir. Solid matter in imp. gallon. Thames at Greenwich .. .. .. .. 2"'9 „ London .. .. .. .. 28*0 „ Westn'inster .. .. .. .. 24"6 „ Brentlord .. .. ,, .. 19'2 „ Twickenham .. .. . .. 224 ,, Teddington .. .. .. .. ]7'4 Average of the Tbaoi«s between Teddington and Greenwich 23-2 New River .. .. ,. .. 19-2 Colne.. .. .. .. .. 21-3 Lea .. .. .. .. . .. 23-7 Ravensboiirnc, at Deptford .. .. .. .. 200 Comb* and Uelalield's brewery. Long Acre; deep well .. 5H-8 Apothecaries* Hall, Blatkfriara .. ,, .. 45-0 Nottlng-hill .. .. .. „ .. CO-S Roval Mint . .. .. ,, .. zl'^ Hampstead Waterworks .. .. ,, .. 40-0 Berkeley-square.. .. .. ,, .. 60*0 Tilbury Fort .. .. .. ,, .. 75-0 Coding's brewery, Lambeth . . „ . . .'iO'O ,. >, ,, .. .. shallow well 110 0 More'B brewery. Old-street .. ,. deep well 389 ,, ,. ,, .. .. shallow well llOO Trafalgar-square fountains .. .. ., deep well 68 9 Well in St. Paul's Churchyard .. .. .. /."i-o „ Brt-am's-builriings .. .. .. .. 115-0 „ St. Giles, Holborn .. .. .. .. lo.'iM) ,, St. Martin's, Charing. cross .. .. .. 95-0 ,, Po3tern-row, Tower .. ., .. 88*0 Artesian well at Grenelle, Paris .. .. .. 9-86 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS- Jan. 21. — Earl De Grey, President, in the Chair. Earl De Grey informed the meeting that the Council, considering that much important information was contained in the Report and Evidence on Iron, rqually applicalilc to architectural as to engineering purposes, had referred those volumes to the Committee on scientific experiments and investigations, for the i)utpose of examining and reporting thereon. The President also communicated to the memliers, in reference to the Commission for the Exhibition of Works of Industry of all Nations, in 1851, that he had been officially applied to, doubtless with the sanction of her Majesty and Prince Albert, to be a member of that commission; but that he had liein obliged to decline the honour on account of his health not permitting him to devote that .".ttcntion, which would be required by the probalily arduous duties of that commission. His lordship had no doubt, that the profession would be adequately represented by Mr. Barry, a fellow of the Institute, who had been appointed on the commission. Mr. DKLLAAfY, V.P., called the attention to an invention by Mr. Thomas Melling, by which the sashes of a window, instead of being lowered and raised, as at present, by lines, weights, and pulleys, acted by means of a rack, so that one sash served as a counterpoise to the other. Some observations were made thereon by the President and Members, and Mr. Melling was advised to render his useful invention still more practically available, by enabling only one sash to be opened at a time, instead of both at once, as requisite according to his present method. A paper by Mr. Roberts, Fellow, was read, '^ On Ike Arrangements and Construction of the Dwellings of the Labouring Classes,** which will be given iu full next month. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. Jan. 29. — William Cdbitt, Esq., President, in the Chair. The discussion was renewed on the Rev. J. C. Cldtterbuck's paper " On the Alienations and Depressions in the Chalk Water Level under London." It was contended, that the water in the upper districts of the chalk accu- mulated in a proportion increasing with the distance from the river or vent, and fell off, in a corresponding ratio, during its periodical exhaustion, which usually took place between April and November of each year. This alter- nation of level, which in the upper districts exceeded fifty feet in perpendi- cular height, would be represented by a line from the lowest vent, rising at an angle to the highest point saturated with infiltrated water. This had been proved by constant observation on wells, at given periods, throughout a certain district; all the springs forming the river proceeded from that source. From these and other positions it was argued, that if water be discharged from a shaft in the chalk, by a power not capable of entirely exhausting it, the rapidity of the reduction of the level would gradually decrease, until it was exactly balanced by that of the supply. This would naturally produce a gradually-extending depression of the water in the strata for some distance around ; and it was shown to have been the effect pro- duced, by pumping from an experimental well in Bushey Meadows, in August and September, 1840. It was urged, that the real question to he determined was, whether a supply of water for Loudon could be obtained from the deep springs in the sand or chalk. Sections and diagrams were exhibited, to show, by the former, that the supposed basin under London, was not as had been shown by geologists; and by the latter, that from July, 1837, to December, 1849, there had been a gradual depression of full fifty feet in the water of the sand-springs under London; and iu consequence of this serious action, several of the wells had become tidal in some localities, and the water was rendered saline. The Railway Board. — The attention of the members was directed to a serious case of legislative interference, whereby the free exercise of the pro- fessional skill of the Institution was now unwarrantably trammelled, and the pulilic service mati'rially interfered with. The introduction of wrought iron instead of cast iron, into railway bridges, was a recent invention of great value, and of which the most celebrated examples were the Cf)nway and Britannia bridges. The same executive authority which had pronounced the erection of these two bridges to be impracticable, had recently declared, that a railway bridge constructed on a similar principle, and of identical mate- rials, was insufficient iu strength, although it was much stronger, in propor- tion to its possible load, tlian eillier the Conway or the Britannia, and infinitely stronger than any of the cast iron girder bridges which had for years .idequately performed the public service, and had been by the same authority pronounced to he perfectly safe. The public had thus already been for a month deprived of the use of an important line of railway, by the appli- cation of an antiquated formula to a modern invention. For these coL^ent reasons, it was considered that the members had a right to request the inter- ference of tlie Council, on the behalf of the profession at largi;; and they were urged to take such steps as appeared desirable for allowing the free developuient of engineering talent ; and in the words of the Report of a recent Royal Commission, removing from " a subject yet so novel and so rapidly progressive any legislative enactments, with respect to the forms and proportions of the iron structures" of railways, wbicli could not fail to be " highly inexpedient."— This proposition was received with acclarnalion. Mr. Evan Hopkins's great Geological Sections of the Three Kranches of the Andes were exhibited in the library. They showed about 260 miles from west to east, from Cboeo to the River Meta, iu the eastern flanks of the eastern branch of the Andes. Feb. 5. — James Simpson, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. The discussion was renewed on the Rev. Mr. Clutterbuck'r paper, and was continued throughout the meeting, so that no original communication could be read. It was contended, that the area of the chalk district, subject to infiltra- tion, for the supply of the springs and streams uniting in the basin of the Colne, could not possibly exceed the original published estimate of 113^ square miles, and that the proportion of water filtrating through, for that purpose, was much less than bad ever hitherto been estimated, inasmuch as records by Mr. Dickinson's gauge was to u much greater amount than those atfiirderl by the gauges kept by other experimenters. It was also contended, that the original position assumed in the paper, had not been weakened by the subsequent discussion; that the observations of the chemists bad tended to confirm the statement of the probability of 1850.1 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL 105 an infiitiatioi of water from the Thames. The practical conclusion to be drawn from the observations, recoided in the author's several papers were: — That tlie natural drainage and replenishment of the chalk stratum might be traced and accounted for, by observing the alternation of level, in various localities, and at different seasons. That any large quantity of water abstracted from the chalk stratum, at any given point, caused a depression of level around the point of such abstraction. That in the upper district any such abstraction of water would interfere with, and diminish the sup- ply of, the streams, by vthich the drainage of the district was regulated ; and lastly, that the depression of level under London, by pumping from Artesian wells, had proved that the rapidity of demand already exceeded that of the supply ; and that any attempt to draw a large additional quan- tity for public use, would be attended with disastrous consequences. It was suggested that, considering the great works of drainage and water supply which were in contemplation for the metropolis, and {looking to the essential importance of having accurate and authentic geological informa- tion, in order that those great works might be executed on a sound and certain basis, that the geological survey now being carried on by govern- ment, in a remote district of North Wales, where no urgent need existed for early geological information, and where no new works of paramount im- portance were in progress, or in contemplation, should be transferred at once to the metropolitan districts, with a view to throw light on the real structure, mechanical and chemical, of the deep water-bearing strata, on which opinions so varying and so conflicting had been advanced. An inquiry was made whether any steps had been taken by the council, in consequence of the statement submitted at the meetingof January 29th, urging the consideration of the manner in which the interests of the public at large, and of the profession were likely to be affected by the attitude recently assumed by the Railway Commission, in reference to the strength of the wrought-iron bridges used on railways. — It was stated that the council had not as yet taken any decided steps in the matter, hut that a course had been suggested which, being followed, would most probably lead to satisfactory results. After this assurance the members expressed their confidence of the interests of the profession being in safe hands, and that every step would be taken for insuring their position and professional reputation. The motion which had been prepared was therefore withdrawn ; and the Chairman requested any communications on the subject to be made in writing to the Secretary, who would lay them before the council. Feb. 12. — The first paper read was, "An Account of the Cast-Iron Light- hotise Tower on Gibb's Hill, in the Bermudas.'" By Mr. P. Paterson. The site chosen for this tower was in latitude 32° 14' N., and longitude 64° 50' \V., being the southern part of the Bermudas, at which point they are most safely approached. It was at first determined to construct the tower with the materials found in the islands; but, after some progress had been made in quarrying and dressing the stone, it was ascertained to be of too friable a nature for the purpose, so that the Home Government instructed Mr. Alexander Gordon, M. Inst. C. E., to prepare a design for a cast-iron tower, similar to that which had been erected from his designs at Morant Point, Jamaica, and which had proved very successful. The form of this tower was that of a strong conoidal figure, 105 feet 9 inches in height, ter- minated at the top by an inverted conoidal figure, 4 feet high, in lieu of a capital; its extreme outside diameter was 24 feet, at the narrowest part 14 feet, and at the top 20 feet. The external shell was constructed of one hun- dred and thirty-five concentric cast-iron plates, having inside flanges, and varying in thickness from one inch at the base to about three quarters of an inch at the top. In the centre of the tower there was a hollow cast-iron column, eighteen inches in diameter in the inside, and of three-quarter inch metal, for supporting Fresnel's dioptric apparatus, and in which the revolv- ing weight descended ; it was also used, in the daytime, for raising and lowering of stores, and likewise contained the waste water-pipe. The lower part of the tower was filled with concrete, leaving a well, faced with brick- work, about eight feet in diameter, and twenty feet in depth, in the centre. Above this were the seven floors, the two lower ones being lined with brickwork, and used as store rooms; and the upper ones, lined with sheet iron, were used as living rooms for the light-keeper. The details were then given of the mode of constructing the floors, the windows, the staircases, and of attaching the lantern and light-room to the main structure; it was Stated, that the light was visible from all points of the compass, excepting ■when obscured by the high land between Gibb's Hill and Castle Harbour, from the deck of a vessel at a distance of about twenty-seven miles, and possibly at a still greater distance. The structure occupic-d less than one year in its actual erection, the different parts having been landed about the end of November, 1844, the first plate being erected on Gilih's Hill on the 19th of Decemlier, 1844, and the last plate of the tower on the 9th of Octo- ber, 1845. The whole cost of the structure, including the lantern and light apparatus, was stated to have been about 7,690/., and the annual expense of maintaining it, about 450/. The next paper read was, "A Description of Sir George Cayley's Hot Air Engine.'' By Mr. \V. W. Poingdestre. After entering briefly into the theoretical considerations of the expansion of heated aeriform bodies, and detaUing the attempts made by Lieut. Ericc- son, for employing hot air instead of steam, as a prime mover, the auliior proceeded to state, that in 1837, Sir George Cayley, Bart., applied the pro- ducts of combustion from close furnaces, so that they should act at once upon a piston in a cylinder, similar in every respect to that of a single-acting steam-engine. The engine consisted of a generator of heat, a working cylinder, and an air pump or blower, the air pump being half the size of the cylinder, and blowing air into, and through, a fire perfectly inclosed within the generator; the doors of the furnace were made perfectly air-tight as soon as the fire vb.% well got up, the first impulse being given to the engine, hy thowing a few jets of water upon the fire, which caused the air-pump to w'ork immediately, and continued so for hours; the fire being replenished by stopping off the blast from the furnace, and opening the upper bonnet. After the air had passed through the fire, the gaseous products of combus- tion, generally at a temperature of 600° Fahrenheit, passed laterally through a chamber, used for separating them from any ashes or cinders, into the working cylinder before alluded to. The ditHculties attending this description of engine, were the liability of the working parts to be deranged, by the great sensible heat destroying the valves, pistons, and cylinders, and carbonising the lubricating oil. It was stated, that Mr. A. Gordon had made a successful experiment on the appli- cation of the heated products of combustion for propelling a boat, without the intervention of any machinery between the furnace and the water to be acted upon. Feb. 19. — "Description of the Iron Roof over the Railway Station, Lime Street, Liverpool." By Mr. Richard Turner. The area covered was described as being 374 feet in length, and 153 ft. 6 in. in breadth, which was roofed over in one span. The roof consisted of a series of segmental girders or principals, fixed at intervals of 21 ft. 6 in. from centre to centre; these were supported, on one side, upon the walls of the offices, as far as they extended, and on the other upon cast-iron columns. From the end of the offices to the Viaduct over Hotham-street, a distance of 60ft. 4 in., the principals were carried upon " box-beam" of wrought-iron. The principals were trussed vertically, hy a series of radiating struts, which were made to act upon them, hy straining the tie-rods and diagonal braces they were trussed laterally hy purlins and by diagonal bracing, extending from the' bottom of the radiating struts to the top of the corresponding strut in the adjoining girder; these braces were connected with linking-plates by a bar of the same scantling, and also with the purlins already referred to. The girders were thus firmly knitted together, and a rigid framework formed, upon which the covering of galvanised corrugated iron and glass was laid. The whole construction was minutely described, and the appendix con- tained an account of the experiments for testing the strength of the prin- cipals. These were made at the works of Messrs. Turner and Son, Dublin, under the direction of Mr. Locke, the engineer of the railway, when some great improvements in the construction were introduced at his suggestion. SOCIETY OF ARTS, LONDON. Jan. 16.— William Tooke, Esq., F.R.S. V.P., in the Chair. Mr. AVALLsread a paper " On California, its History, Products, Climate, and Prospects; being the result of a recent visit to thai place, by Alex- ander Cross, Esq." On the table were placed a few specimens of Californian gold, one of which was a large lump, weighing almost seven pounds, being the largest ever imported into England in a pure native state, and the property of Blr. Cross. A few specimens were also exhibited by Professor Tennant. Mr. Walls commenced by stating the extent of the country and its population, which, including the recent accessions, amounted at the present time to 90,000 people. The country along the sea-coast is healthy ; but fever is occasionally pre- valent in the interior. After describing the situation of some of the prin- cipal stations, he proceeded to describe the valley of San Joachim, its extent and boundaries, every spot in which is stated to have produced gold of twenty carats fine. Several extracts from various sources were briefly alluded to in the paper; and from these the following matters were collected. Two young men had discovered gold in a place 500 miles north of San Joachim, and described their operations as having been attended with con- siderable success, having made in their best day 400 dollars, in their worst 150 dollars. As to the moral coiidition of the people, many of them be- came rich very quickly ; but some expended their gains in profligacy and dissipation, so that the poorer class was fast increasing. The annual ex- ports of gold from this country, according to Mr. Bryant's work on Cali- fornia, amounted to between 100 and 2UO,UOO,000 dollars. In many places linen washing was so expensive, that it was considered more economical to thiow away old linen, and buy new. Emigrants, as they arrived, passed beyond into the country, and were doing well. The general health of the community was excellent. The disparity of the produce of laijour in va- rious parts sometimes occasioned considerable confusion. A new settler in about three weeks would succeed, by washing, to obtain an ounce of gold a-day; but the moment that he hears that at a distant place others were washing three, he immediately packs up his things, goes away, and is gene- rally disappointed. 106 THE CIVIL ENGINEER ASD ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. r March, Mr. Tennant stated the specimen of gnid exhibited by Mr. Walls was evidently a water ivor.n fragment. Tiie gold is usually found in small grains, which are obtained by washing the alluTial soil. He also exhibited a speci- men of gold which at the time he had purchased it (about two months be- fore) was the finest specimen of pure native gold he had seen ; it contained nineiy-two per cent, of pure metal, A reason he had for purchasing the specimen was, because it had some of the alluvial soil attached to it ; and io that soil he imagined that one or two small diamonds might be detected, and was most anxious to ascertain that fact, as he had stated to the Society last session, in a paper, that diamonds, and other precious stones, might be found in tlie gold districts of California; and that such gems are being thrown aside, although the refnse diamonds sold to the lapidary to be broken np are worth 50/. per ounce, while gold is not worth more than 3f. 15s. He had not, however, been able to discover any diamond ; but, on examining the soil ^^■ith the microscope, he had detected some small crystals of garnet, two grains of platinum, and several of quartz, &c. In looking over a quan- tity of other gold specimens, he had found quai tz in great abundance, and it had evidently formed the original matrix of the gold. He next called at. tention to tbe fact, that gold is not generally found in the position in which it was originally deposited. Mr. Tennant urged on the attention of persons about to visit the gold districts the necessity of making themselves ac- quainted with tbe few simple rules which should guide them in their search for gold, and other minerals, and which were published in the Society's Cir- cular last session. Mr. Hopkins stated that there was nothing unusual in the gold deposits of California. The gold was found precisely under similar circumstances at the deposits of the Ural in Russia, and some other places. When the west tributaries of the Sacramento and the 5an Joachim have been washed, Call- fornia will doubtless be brought to the ordinary level of large gold-producing countries. He was of opinion that metals were formed in the crystaUine rocks in flakes, masses, crystals, arborescent, &c., according to the degree of the electro-chemical action, and that this action in the moist crystalline rocks in situ was as constant as the growth of vegetation. Tbe surface pro- ducts and the veins, he said, were formed on the same principle. He per- fectly agreed with the remarks that were made, that those called geologists and others, who have been led to suppose that such products were the result of volcanic action, were totally wrong. In fact, true practical and useful geology was known only to a few persons who have studied amongst the great woiks of nature. Mr. Hopkins concluded by stating that gold is ge- nerally found in tbe debris of feruginous granites and porphyries, and that tbe quanuty of gold to be obtained depends on the elementary composition of the granitic rocks, the complete satnration to induce chemical action, so as to cause a kind of efflorescence of the metals into all joints, vacuities, &c., and the oxidation and disintegration of the superficies. In fact, be said that the superficial decomposition of the moist and friable auriferous rocks were more or less constant, the degree of action and the accumulations at tbe foot of tbe mountains being dependent solely on mineral and physi- cal conditions confined to no age of rocks nor to any particular zone ; and that this electro chemical agent was constantly providing inexhaustible stores of mineral wealth for successive generations. When the decomposed and frialjle surface is washed down to tbe ravines and plains, he said, the gold and other heavy ingri'dients, especially the black titaniferous iron (the usual companion of the precious metal), were deposited in pools and other places, presenting obstacles to their descent, and consequently those places have become enriched hy concentration, tbe lighter particles being constantly washed away ; and that this was the origin of the riches of the tributaries of the Sacramento. ROYAL SCOTTISH SOCIETY OF ARTS. Jan. 14. — Thomas Grainger, Esq., President, in the Chair. The following communications were made: — " Verbid Statement on the relative value of Chlorine, Nitric Acid, Sul- phurous j'icid, and Ozone, as disinfectants ; and on the best metliod of apply- ing ttiem to destruction of Contaijious Matters,^* By George Wilson, M.!>. The author dwelt at length upon tbe relative value and best mode of applying, as disinfectants, tbe difl'trent substances mentioned in the title of his paper. A chief object of tbe communication was to draw attention to tbe alleged virtues of ozone as a purifier of the atmosphere, and to notice that, in defect of any other disinfectant, ozone might be generated in apart- ments, the air of which was vitiated by animal exhalations. The simplest process for this purpose would Ije the exposure of moist phosphorus to air; but an electrical machine or voltaic battery might also be used. Tbe other point at which the author aimed was to show the unwise neglect of the sul- phurous acid as a disinfectant, or rather antiseptic, which had been practised. It appears, according to Dr. Wilson, that in the wine countries this gas is employeil to arrest the acidification of the weaker wines; that in the Man- chester Dye Works it is found more ethcacious than chlorine in destroying tbe otfensive odour which attends the employment of cochineal ; and that at paper nulls it is employed with great success to prevent the putrelaction of the scrolls or clippings of the sliin used in tbe manufacture of tbe paper size. The author acconliiigly strongly recomiuended sulphurous acid as a cheap and powerful deodoiiser and disinfectant. "Remarks on the Philosophy of the Beautiful; and an Analytis of the principle of Proportion, as applicable to Arcliiteclure." (Hart I.) By David Cousin, Esq., Architect. The author coiuhated the definition of the beautiful, as laid down by the late Mr. Alison and Lord Jeffrey, and held that beauty was recognised hy the mind in particularybrms, independently of any association connected with tbe object which it admires. This first part of the communication was entirely metaphysical, and cannot well be given in abstract. The author will read at next meeting, the second or practical part of his paper, showing how Mr. Hay's principles of proportion, determined by angles bearing har- monic ratios to each other, can be applied to architecture. Jan. 29. — A paper was read by Mr. Meik, C.E., of Sunderland, upon "A New Self Registering Tide Gauge, lately erected and now in operation at Sunderland Harbour^" which was followed by a paper read by Mr. Hi;nry Watson, of Newcastle, describing "The Application of Prepared Gauze, by which means the Gauge is observable by Night as well as Day" a very important desideratum, Tbe merits of Mr, Meik's paper consisted in directing particular attention to the necessity of all ports and docks having conspicuous gauges for the guidance of vessels inward or outward bound, and of those gauges being of the most simple and intelligible description. Mr. Meik had prepared, and showed in juxta position, the present signals used at Leitb, and those brought forward by liira. For the information of our readers we may mention, that tbe signals used at Leith consist of a series of balls and flags which have to indicate to seamen the depth of water. The new gauge, at a single glance, shows tbe height of the tide in feet by a number in figures corresponding to tbe depth of water on the bar of a harbour or entrance to a dock. The little attention we often find paid by seamen to the preservation of their own lives, shows the great advantage of having figures that can be at once easily understood, without consulting books, and thereby incurring a loss of time, which in many cases results in the loss of valuable life and property, Mr. Meik proceeded to show that a gauge having the property of being easily understood by all as " soon as seen," had been erected by himself, in con- junction with Mr. Watson, for the Commissioners of tbe River Wear at Sun- derland Harbour, He then read tbe following description, which was illus- trated by drawings : — A well, carefully boxed in, and of exactly similar depth to the water on the bar, is made below tbe building which contains tbe apparatus. Within this well, in an interior pipe or trunk, and rising and falling with the tide^ works a float suspended by a copper wire cord, which is carried over a spiral cone fixed in an upper story of the building. By the simple arrangement of a wheel and pinion at the opposite end of tlie axle to which the cone is fixed, a web of wire gauze works on two rollers fixed at the upper and lower ends of the web. The lower roller is regulated by the movement of this wheel and pinion, the upper one by a babince weight attached to a copper wire cord, which also passes over another spiral cone, having at tbe extremity of its axle a second wheel and pinion similar to the first. As the float rises and falls with the tide, tbe wheels and pinions connected with the cones, over which the cords of the float and balance weight respectively pass, move tbe rollers on which the gauze web travels. On this web are painted in large figures the various depths from high to low water; and as tlie web works, two points upon it indicate the number of feet and half-feet on the bar at any hour of the tide. The web and the figures on it can be made of any size, and to travel 4, 6, 8, 10, or any other proportion, to 1 of the float, by regulating the size of the wheels and pinions. 13y day tbe figures on the web are shown white on a black ground; by night they are brilliantly lighted up, tbe ground still remaining dark, A white transparent varnish is used for the figures, and an opaque black for tbe ground. The illumination by night is so steady and powerful, that the figures, if made large enough, and the apparatus fixed at a sufBeient elevation, will be visible at a considerable distance at sea, and thus afford vessels the means of knowing the exact depth of water, at the mouth of any harbour, before entering it. This simple piece of niecbanism is applicable to all places where the want of a correct and conspicuous gauge has been felt, not only in harbours and docks, but at railway stations for sig- nals, and such like purposes. The apparatus used occupies so liitle space, that it can all be contained and worked in a column or pillar without any other building, Mr. Watson read a paper describing more particularly the preparation o the wire gauze, and exhibited a neat specimen, which, although small, fully and clearly illustrated the novelty and utility of the application. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS OF IRELAND. Feb. 8— Lieut.-Col. Harry D. Joses, R.li,, President, in the Chair. The following papers were read :— " A Description of the Viaduct, near Quaker's Yard, Taff Vale Rail- ' way. South Wales," By Mr. S. Downing, Assistant Piolessor of Civil Engineering in Irinit) College. This viaduct was designed by Mr. Brunei, to carry the main line of the railway over the river TaB, at a point where, from the nature of the loca- 18S0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 107 lity, such crossing was unavoidable. The total length of the viaduct was 470 feet, and ihe greatest height 105 feet, consisting of six semicircular arches, each 50 feet in span, resting on pillars, whose horizontal section was a regular octagon, 5 ft. 9J in. in the side, giving 14 feet as their diameter. The whole structure was upon a curve of 1,320 feet radius, and at the point wliere it was determined to build, the axis of the river made an angle of 45° with the direction of the tangent to the curve. One of the chief merits of the design was the avoidance of the difficulties and expense of an oblique bridge with spiral courses in addition to ihose of curving ; this was effected by the adoption of that form of pier above- mentioned. These pillars were surmounted by a capital of seven feet in height, the base of which, resting on the pier, was, of course, identical in plan with it ; but in this height of seven leet was corbelled out on four of its faces to the extent of 1 ft. 3 in., changing the regular octagon into another, whose sides were 9 feet, and 3 ft. 7^- in. alternately. Two of the 9 feet sides were paralleled to the direction of the line of rails, and the other two formed the impost orspringing of the arch. The easiest way to have an idea of the form of the soffit of the arches, is by conceiving an ordinary semicircular arch of 50 ft. span and 14 ft. length, to have the arch quoins bevelled off to an extent of 2 ft. 6 in. ; and to turn this arch a corresponding centre had to be made, being the ordinary laggings for the cylindrical pari, and what were called by the workmen saddles for the conical faces. It will be evident to the practical engineer, that the proper bonding of all this work, and especially the arches, must be a matter of great care. A model, cut out of Caen stone, showing four courses of the aixh, was produced, which clearly showed the alternate arrangement of the course. The arches being turned, and the spandrils filled up, there was a clear width of 14 feet from out- side to outside of the up-stream and down stream faces of the bridge, giving ultimately 11 ft. G in. in the clear between the parapet walls for carrying a single line of rails over; nor, indeed, does it seem possible with any advantage to extend the designso as to carry a double way, for thus the pier would be necessarily extended in diameter, or otherwise the cham- fering of the soffit increased — bolh inadmissible, one from interfermg with the water-way, and the other from the practical difficulty of bonding the work. The quarries from whence the stone was obtained were in the imme- diate vicinity of the works. It was of the blue Pennant grit, called by Sir H. De la Beche, in the Government Geological Survey of this district, "The equivalent of the Pennant grit of Ihe British coal measures;" and very truly characterised by him as being admirably adapted for engineer- ing purposes. Its colour closely resembles that of the common building limestone of this neighbourhood. The lime used was the celebrated Aberthan hydraulic limestone, not only in the foundations, but in all pans of the structure. The foundations on ihe north side, including one of the river piers, were on rock or indurated gravel ; but on the south side the abutment, one land and one river pier, had to be sunk to a far greater depth than originally designed. From the loftiness and peculiar design of this bridge, it was, during its construction, an object of great interest; and most persons who visited it expressed strong opinions unfavourable to its ultimate stability, most of which objections were very futile. The real difficulty in the construction was found to be the management of thespandril walls on the concave side, so as to gain the true uniform curvature at the stringcourse under the parapets, as on the concave side we had to gather out the courses of the spandrils about four inches, which, from the excellent quality of the stone, we were enabled to do. It would seem necessary also to explain the reason for crossing the val- ley, and crossing it at such a height. Such structures seem rather to con- stitute the difficully and expense of obtaining good gradients on cross- country lines, which necessaiily intersect the rivers at elevations more or less considerable than that of a valley line, which, following the leading of one single stream, ought not, unless for cogent reasons, cross it at all. The consideration of the section of the river made it clear that no other alternative remained but this lofty and curved viaduct, intersecting the stream at the angle of 45°, The paper was accompanied by a model of the river piers and cutwaters, with the centering and its supports, at a scale of one twenty-fourth, con- structed under the author's direction by Mr, Keenan, and also by a diagram map, at two inches to the mile, showing the general features of the valley of the Taff — and another map, at six chains to the inch, showing the immediate locality of the viaduct, and the natural difficulties of the ground, with the added difficulty of carrying a line of rails through that district, from the great pre-occupation of the surface by the canal and its feeders, and the mineral tram-roads — and also a diagram section of the gradients of the line of railway, with a large isometrical drawing of two of the arches, showing by part section the arrangement of the spandril walls, the mode of clu.oing thein over as designed, and as carried out in the construction, with the form of the soffit, the capital, and pillar, "An Account of the Construction of t tie Midland Great-Western Rail- way of Ireland, over a Tract of Boys, in the Counties of Mealh and West- meat/t. By GiiORGE W. He.mans, Engineer-in-Chief, The railway from Dublin to Mullingar was projected, from motives of interest and policy, to follow the line, and occupy the banks, of the Royal Canal, The canal banks afforded some facilities for the construction of a railway, but it soon became evident that there were also disadvantages in following them too closely. The earthworks in constructing the canal had been very heavy in character, with some of the deep cuttings thiough rock ; and to relieve them »s much as possible, the canal h.id been laid out to follow every sinuosity of the ground which offertd a favourable level. 'Ihr railway, as far as Mullingar, was also laid out along nearly the whole of these siduusities; and there being great anxiety to open at least a portion of it at the earliest period, it was at ouce, on the passin"- of the bill, put into a contractor's hands for one-half the distance (as far as Enfield), and rapidly constructed on the canal banks. During the progress of these works, it was found to be desirable to avoid constructing the remainder of the line on a continued system of curves, which, although no longer, by well-inforaied engineers, considered a source of danger, are decidedly olijectionable, as offering a resistance to the trains, causing greater friction, wear and tear, consumption of fuel, and loss of time besides lengthening the distance. In considering the plans fur the second division of the line, between Enfield and Mullingar, the canal bank, wliicli is a continued series of curves, was clearly to he avoided ; but another difficulty presented itself on the straight line — the chord to these curves it would have to traverse a long line of bogs, which, on careful examina- tion with the boring-rod, proved to be from twenty five to as much as seventy feet deep. Some of them were swell bogs of the softest pulpy nature, having gradually risen to a higher level than the surrounding country, and holding much water in suspension. After an extended examination of the subject, particularly in reference to drainage, it was at length apparent that one of the causes of the excess of water, and conse- quent want of solidity in these bogs, was the position of the canal embankment, traversing the edges of them for a great distance, and completely intercepting all drainage from them along the general fall of the country towards the river Deal. The following general plan was then at ouce resolved upon : — First, immediately to open full and sufficient uev7 outlets for the escape of suspended water from ihe whole area; next, to form a system of drains all along and across the intended line ; and finally, as a fixed principle, not to attempt either to excavate or embank the line, but to lay the rails on the nalur.il level of the high bogs, trusting to drain- age only to reduce the parts that were too high. With toleralile confidence in this plan, a Deviation Bill was passed through Parliament, and the straight line, traversing about eight miles of deep bog, was immediately commenced. An old wooden shoot, nine indies square, which was the sole outlet for the drainage of a district of about 1,500 square acres of wet bog, was the most ineffective point of the existing drainage, and was, Iheiefoie, the first to demand improvement. The banks and bottom of the canal at the place consist of clay artificially superposed on the cut away bog, lying on fine gravel of a very loose, treacherous description, being of a mixed sandy and marly nature. Having lesolved on intro- ducing a tunnel culvert, three feet diameter, under tlie canal at this spot, and that its invert should be six feel lower than the existing shoot, it became a matter of anxious consideration how to do this, in such bad ground, without interfering with Ihe navigation of the canal, or running the risk of bursting a leak in the bottom. The canal level at this stage is twenty miles long, without a lock, and a breach would have been a serious affair. Mr. Hemans here described very minutely the details of the execution of this very difficult work, whicli was altogether very successful, which secured the command for drainage of nearly four miles of the line of rail- way. The description of this important operation was further illustrated by reference to several drawings prepared for the purpose. While the foregoing work was in progress, a sum of about 1,000/. was being expended in the sinking a length of some miles of a river, and under- pinning a culvert, ten feet wide, leading out of the next district of bogs. This underpinning and building a new invert, at a level four feet below the old one, was also a work requiring great caution. The weight of the embankment and the canal overhead was very great; and here also a breach would have caused extensive damages. As soon as these outlets were ready, the drains in the bog were opened. iMr, Hemans next proceeded to enter into a very clear explanation of the plan of operation pursued in the drainage of the surface of the bogs destined to receive the upper works of the railroad. He then described the nature of the soling finally decided upon and adopted, iMving given an account of the results of experiments OQ the several descripliuus of soling which had been tested. The construction of the upper works of the railroad were minutely detailed, and explanatory drawings were exhit)ited. The mode of operation adopted in conveying this line of railway over Ihe bogs of most unpromising aspect was eminently succi ssful ; and as the details of the works were so very different from the very expensive process generally adopted, and sometimes with but little success, the account was particular!) interesting to the engineering world. Mr. Hemans having made some observations on the cost of maintaining railways constructed through bogs, aad also on a paper of great interest by the Messrs. Mullens, published in the second volume of ihe Transac- tions of the Institute of Civil Engineers of Ireland, concluded by reading a detailed estimate of the cost of these works, which clearly showed Ihe possibility of constructing a double line of railway O'Cr deep bogs, when Healed as described by hiui, at a cost not exceeding 0,0UU/. per mile, including all expenses. lOS THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. LMabch, MOTES OF THE MONTH. na the Basement Bed of the London Clay.—M the Geological Society, on .. •. ! I I.„u^tn a Dnper was re.id on this subject by J. Prestwich, jun Esq. The pos.- the -•*' i"'X, Ic clavforntation, above the chalk and below the London clay, has been V°". «w» e«" she'?' It has, hc^wever, been recently held donbtlul how lar the d.stinc ?"« , ,ip^, ,1 e London ond plastic clay series can be malntained.-and some even """.rd the la te as merely subordinate beds of the former. The object of the paper ,s to S that Ihriower English tertiaries form several distinct subdivisions, each inarked bv different condions.iindicatlng anceint hydrographical and paheontological changes ^f imTinrlnnce For this purpose very numerous sections were descr.bed.-exh.bi ing ?h, n^o^Sn and characte? of ihe lower part of the London clay. This deposit is a !,«rlXnogenoU8mLs, several hundred feet thick, of tough clay, of a predommating Srown colour At its oitcrop it inevitably rests on a conglomerate bed of round flint Debb es m^xed with yellow, green, or ferruginous sands in variable proport,ons,-whch Fhe a utho" nimes the basement bed of the London clay. Except where denuded on the chalk downs t"ts bed extends uninterruptedly from the Isle of Wight to Woodbridge in Suffolk The materials composing it s^em to have been derived by denudation from the Sor tertiar^s rata. This bed contains 30 known and S or 10 still undescnbed species of te™BCea In the western part of the London district, the beds on which .t rests con- tain no fos lis ; but at WooUvich, where it reposes on the fluviatile beds, six species of the esUiary shells, found in the latter, also occur in the basement bed above and four of Sem likewise iu the freshwater series in the Isle of Wight. In the easlern dist.ict a few marTne spec es are also introduced from the inferior tertiary beds. After deducting these, rereS" known species not fouud j" the lower deposits and const. ut.nga^Js- tinct and well-marked group. Some of the species are very numerous and | ersistent - ■■ J- ^ '" •' ""* ■ whence hrough Ih^ who e'r^nleof ihe bed but othei^s die outwards towards the east, whenc, the author infers that the sea became shallower in that direction. In Essex and Suffolk also foss°s a e almost entirely wanting. From a table of the fossils it appeared that tlie^iecles were chiefly those of the London day. It was, therefore, concluded that this bed forms a well-marked geological horizon, dividing this formation from the older eocene deoosits. . , The "^crew Propeller.— On Monday, 11th Feliruary last, a question of con- siderable interest, in respect to steam navigation, was argued before the judicial com- riillee at the Pr vy Counrfl Office, Whitehall. Lords Brougham, Campbell and Lang- ^ale i)" Lushington, and Mr. Pemberton Leigh, being present. An application was made by Sir Fredlrick Thesiger, on behalf of the patentees of the screw propeller, for an Txtension of their patent, which expires in May next. The evidence went to prove, that "o less than .10,000/. had been expended in building the Archimedes, and in defraying other weighty charges, to establish the screw-propulsion principle; and it further appeared^hal although no less than 32 ahips-of-war, and 100 mercantile steam-vessels hKen constructed already upon this system, not more than two "'■hree had paid for the oatent license. These evasions had been occasioned by the conflicting claims of hve riiffeKnt patentees ; but, as these have now united in one association, it is expected that aU who have adopted the use of the screw propeller will have to pay for their hcenses A The Admiralty are interested, either directly or collaterally, in this question to the amount of about -.'.-..OOOi., Sir John Jervis, the Attoioey-General, assisted by Mr. Crow- dTQ.C opposed the application for an extension of Mr. Frank Petit Smih-spaterjt; iut after examining Capts. Chappell and Cris^n, R.N., and Messrs. Brunei ""<» C-aUo- way engineers, their lordships decided on granting an extension of five ye", to Mr. ~ ■ ■ • - It upon certain conuitions; and there is now, therefore, a fai: Smith's patent upo of five years to Mr. re, a fair prospect of that'gen'tleman and his supporters recovering a portion, if not the whole, of the licensing moneys to which they arc unquestionably entitled. Brass Rudder.— A Philailelpliia paper descrilies a large brass rudder, just completed in that oily for Ihe steam-ship Columbia, of New York, 16 feet long, 3 feet 3 inches wide in the blade, and weighing neurly SOUO lb. Bishop's Rock Lighthouse.— \Ve are sorry to have an unfavourable account of Mr Walker's new lighthouse, described in Mr. Cubitt's address (see '■ Journal,' D .?') as being built on the Bishop's Rock, near the Scilly Islands, with six hollow cast- Pron columns. The "West Briton" of February 15th says, "The massive pillars and apparatus erected during the last three summers at a vast expense, were entirely washed _?.•: .".. T...,j.,. „i„i,r fihe Kih\ A St. Agnes pilot-cutter had since been out to the The pillars are away on Tuesday night (the Bth;. - „ . rock and the pilots are of opinion, the rock IS quite safe and sound broken off some at the base, others at two, three, four, and hve feet from the touiidation, evidently proving that the pillars were not sufficiently strong ; the sea w.is breaking over the rock at the time the pilot-cutter passed. It was consequently impossible to land. Great Railroad Rope.— A rope for the Columbia Railroad, west of the Schuvlkill river. Pa, has been manufactured for the inclined plane, by Messrs. J. Whet- ham ind Son, Philadelphia. It required I-l tons of hemp for its construction, and it was 6000 feet long, 0 inches round, and weighed when completed, 2.'..000 lbs. This rope was made In less than 10 days, and the manufacturers have given a guarantee that the rope shouH transport 80,000 cars over the plane, which, we understand, is about the average service performed by two previous ropes furnished by their manufactory. Brett's Electric Telegraph.— The concession signed by Louis Napoleon and the Minister of the Interior, M. Dufauie, granting to Messrs. J. Brett, Toche, and Co the right to establish an electric telegraph line between France and England, by a submarine communication across the Channel, has been authorised. The Company pro. DOse to establish, by means of the electric telegraph, an instant communication between the two countries. The patentee guarantees tliat this telegraph shall, by the aid ot a single wire and of two persons only (the one stationed in France and the other in Eng- land) be capable of printing In clear Roman type (on paper), 100 messages of 16 words each, including addresses and signatures, all ready for delivery in one hundred conseeu- tive minutes. Manufacture rf Ice.— Sir J. F. \V. Herschell, in reference to the system of making Ice by the expansion of highly compressed air (previously reduced to the ordiuaiy temperature), in a letter to the ' Alhenieum', says;— An old steam-boiler buried some 20 or ;iO feet underground inivell rammed earlh, and furnished with a condensing pump (worked iibovearouniH, and one eduction pipe opening by a stop cock through a rose into Water, would In all probability supply ice. ' ad libitum', for the use of a family in the country— the condensation being performed over night. LIST OF NEW PATENTS. GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM JANUARY 24, TO FEBRUARY 23, 1850. Sir Months allowed for Enrolment, unless otherwise expressed. John Dalton, of Hollingworth, Chester, calico-printer, for certain Improvements in ond a]ipllcable to, machinery or apparatus for bleaching, dyeing, printing, and fiuiBhing textile and other fabrics; and in the engraving of copper rollers, bodies. — January 26. and other metallic Edwin Heycock, of Leeds, York, merchant, for certain improvements in the finishing, and dressing of woollen cloths.— January 26. Thomas Richardson, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, chemist, for improvements in the ma- nufacture of Epsoji aud other magnesian salts ; also alum, and sulphateof ammonia. — January 26. Wincelas le Baron de Traux de Wardin, ot Liege, Belgium, for certain improvements in looms for weaving linen, woollen, and cotton cloths ; and In machines for preparing the yarns for such cloths, before entering the loom ; and in a machine for finishing grey and bleached linen cloths.— January 26. Thomas Schofleld, of Combrook, Hulme, near Manchester, fustian dyer and finisher, and Henry Horabin, of Royton, near Oldham, fustian cutler, for improvements in ma. chinery for cutting fustians and certain other fabrics, to produce a piled surlace.— Janu- ary 26. . Thomas Berger, of Hackney, gentleman, for improvements in the roanufacturs o t starch.- January 26. Richard Roberts, of Manchester, engineer, for improvements in the manufacture of certain textile fabrics, in machinery for weaving plain, figured, and terry or looped fabrics, and inmachlnery or apparatus for cutting velvets and other fabrics. -January ij. Donald Beatson, of Green-street, Stepney, Middlesex, mariner, for certain improve- ments in instruments for taking, measuring, and computing angles.— January iV. Ewald Riepe, of Finsbury-square, Middlesex, merchant, for improvements In the ma- nufacture of steel,— January 2'J. Joel Spiller, of Battersea, Surrey, engineer, for improvements in cleaning and grinding wheat. — January 29. John Mason, of Rochdale, and Mark Smith, of Heyivood, Lancaster, machine makers, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for preparing, spinning, and weaving cotton and other textile materials j and also improvements in the method of preparing yarns or threads, and in the machinery or apparatus employed for such purposes.— January 29. Francis Edward Colegrave, ofBrighton, gentleman, for improvements in saddles: parts of which improvements are also applicable to the standing rigging and other furniture of ships or vessels, and to the connecting links or chains of railway carriages, and other pur- poses, where tension combined with a certain degree of elasticity are required. — January 2y. James Templeton of Glasgow, manufacturer, for certain improvements in manufactar. ing figured fabrics, principally designed lor the production of carpeting.— January '29. William Edward Newlon, of Chancery.lane, civil-engineer, for improvements in machi. nery or apparatus for making hat bodies, and other similar articles. (A communication./ — January 29. Thomas Berry, of Salford. Lancaster, silk, worsted, and piece dyer and finisher, and Nathan Ramsden, of Salford, in the said county, calendarman and finisher, for certain improvements in the construction of machines for glazing, embossing, and finishing woven fabrics and paper.— January 31. Albert Dummler, of Mark. lane, London, for improvements in obtaining fibres from textile plants. — January 31. Etienne Joseph Hanon Valck, Belgium, miUer, for improvements in grinding. — January 31. Edward Highton, of Clarence-villa, Regent's park, Middlesex, engineer, for improve- ments in electric telegraphs, and in making telegraphic communications.- February /. Charles Atherton, member of the Institution of Civil Engineers of London, for an improved apparatus or machinery for regulating the admission of steam to the cylinders of steam-engines. — February 7. Thomas Auchterlonie, of Glasgow, North Britain, manufacturer and ca'.ico printer, for improvements in the production of ornamental fabrics.— February 7. Edward Ormerod, of Manchester, mechanical engineer, and Joseph Shepherd, of Charlton-upon. Medlock, in the same county, mechanical engineer, for improvements in, or applicable to, apparatus for changing the position of carnages on radways. — February 7. Louis Jean Jacques, Viscount de Serionne, of Paris, gentleman, for certain improve- ments in the manufactureof buttons, and in the apparatus and machinery used therem . — February 9. Bryan Uonkin, the younger, of Bermondsey, Surrey, civil engineer, and Barnard Wil- liam Farey.of Old Kent-road, Surrey, civil engineer, for improvements in steam-engines; and an improved fluid meter. — February 9. Read HoUiday, of Huddersfield, for improvements in lamps.— Feb. 11. William Blinkliorn, of Sutton, Lancaster, glass manufacturer, for certain improve- ments in machinery, to be used in the manufactureof glass.- February U. James Webster, of Leicester, engineer, for improvements in the production of gas for the purposes of light.— February 12. John Mackintosh, of Betners-street, Oxford-street, civil engineer, for improvements in obtaining power in the floating of bodies; and in conveying flmds.-Feb. 12. Thomas Whiffen, of Pig's.quay, Bridewell Precinct, accountant, for improvements in machinery for registering the delivery of goods.— February 21, John Steven Woolrich, of Wednesbury, Stafford, chemist, John James Russell, of Handsworth, in the same county, and Thomas Henry Russell, of W ednesbury aforesaid patent lube manufacturers, lor improvements in obtaining cadmium and other metalsand products from ores or matters containing them.— February 21. Alfred Vircent Newton, of Chancery-lane, Middlesex, mechanical draughtsman, for improvements in separating and asserting solid materials or substances of different spe- cific gravities. (A communication.)— February 21. John Slack, of Manchester, Lancaster, manager, for certain improvements in the manu- facture of textile goods or fabrics, and in certain machinery or apparatus connected there- with.-February 21. Alexand r Hediard, of Paris, France, gentleman, for certain Improvements in propel- ling.— February 21. George Holworthy Palmer, of Westbourne-villas, Harrow-road, Middlesex, civil engi. neer and Joshua Horton, of the ,5:ina steam-engine boiler and gasometer manufactory, SmethwiGk, near Birmingham, Slafford, tor improvements in the arrangement and con- struction oi gas-holders. — Februaiy 21. William Corraack, of King street, Dunstan road, Haggerston, Middlesex, chemist, for improvements in purifying gas; also applicable in obtaining or separating certain pro- ducts or materials from gas- water, and other simil .- Uuids.— February -). William Mayo, of the firm of Mayo and WarminKton,Silver.street. Wood-street, Cheap- side, manufucliirers of mineral aerated waters, for improvements in co inecling tubes and pipe's, and other surfaces of glass and earthenware.— February 21. John Scoffern, of Essex-street, Middlesex, It. B., for improvements in the manufac. ture and refining of sugar, and In ihe tre.. nent and use of matters obtained m such manufacture, and in the construction of valves used In such and other maoulaclures.— February 21. 18J0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 109 LECTURES ON ARCHITECTURE, By Samuel Clego, Jun., Esq. ; Delivered at the College for General Practical Science, Putney, Surrey. (president, his grace the DDES OP BUCCLEUGH, KG.) « Lecture IV. — Pel.\soic remains in Greece, Italy, Asia Minor. Architecture of the Jews. It is sing^ul.ir, that in those countrips where Art advanced the most rapidly towards perfection, we should be able to ascertain the least respecting its orio^in and proirress. The history of the earliest races inhabiting these favoured regions is so enveloped in myth and mystery, tliat even the fact of their having really existed might be doubted, did not so many giant ruins remain to attest the work of their hands. These remains, whether found in Asia Minor, Greece, or Italy, are generally known by the name of "Cyclopean" or "Pelasgic." It is not necessary to our purpose, to enter upon the complicated question as to the what, or whence, of these great builders of the olden time. This is not the place to determine whether the Cyclopes (believed to be one-eyed, from the circumstance of their wearing helmets with one aperture) were a tribe of Celtae from Asia, or from Sicily, or whether their name was applied indiscriminately to any unknown race of great strength. It is enough to know, that among the ancients the name "Cyclo- pean" was given to any work requiring more than ordinary power. As for the Pelasgians, the learned Niebulir deckires their very name cannot be pronounced by the historian, without a feeling of distrust, on account of the want of evidence as to their origin and the derivation of tlieir n.anie, and the many conflicting opinions concerning them. ^V'herever their native country may have been, they certainly soon spread themselves over a wide extent of terri- tory; for we find these mysterious wanderers preceding the Hel- lenists in the Peloponnesus, and, together with the Etruscans, Umbrians, and jEnotrians, sharing the Tyrrhenian name in Italy. For the sake of classification, it is convenient to call the walls formed by rough blocks of unhewn stone, piled ratlier than fitted on to each other, by the name of "Cyclopean;" while the walls constructed with accurately-fitted, uneemented polygonal or quad- rangular blocks may be distinguished as "Pelasgian." The first kind, or Cyclopean masonry, which may have been adopted by any race of builders in a rude age, was composed of blocks of great size, irregularly shaped, and rough as they were taken from the quarry, the interstices being filled-in with small stones. The second kind, or Pelasgian, belongs to a more advanced state of society. The use of polygonal blocks, no doubt, originated in the natural cleavage of the stone. The blocks were carefully dressed, and frequently even polished, to insure their being accurately fitted. Quadrangular stones were, of course, substituted when the cleav- age assumed that form; but tliey were not hewn to a size, nor laid in regular courses — a style of masonry belonging to a still more civilised age, and no doubt originating with a brick-making people. Remains of polygonal masonry, of he.autiful workmanship, are to be found at Pterium or Tavium, in Asia Minor, at Cosa in Italy, and in various other places in both countries. Mr. Dennis speaks of the pcdygonal blocks forming the walls of Cosa as being so exquisitely fitted, "that the joints are mere lines," and says that not even "a penknife" could be inserted between them, the outside surface being as smooth as a "billiard-table." According to Strabo, the position of cities may he cited as an accurate test of civilisation and social security: judging by tliis rule, the Pelasgians must liave been a wild race, for they chose the steep rocks rising abruptly from tlie plain, on which to found their eyrie; and here they built those huge walls, " Pilerl hy tlie hiinris of giants, Fill gorMike kings of old," —walls which have defied the power of time, as once they defied human adversaries. In most of these ancient fortifications, the walls were guarded by square towers at intervals, where sentinels were posted to give notice of impending danger. Alarm was given by means of fire; hence they were called torch or beacon towers. The gates were in all cases defended by towers, even where the walls were plain. Gates seem to have been considered as necessary evils, or were as few in number as possible; many of these old cities only possessing two. The multiplication of gateways was considered as the great- est proof of the strength .and valour of the community; and thus cities were celebrated by the number of their gates, I'ike Thebes. No. 151.— Vol. XUI.— April, 1850. The gates were small in size, and were at first made of wood, and secured by wooden bars; as the arts progressed, tlie wooden doors were strengthened by plates of brass or iron, and liad bars ot metal. No city, defended by these Pelasgian fortifications, could be overcome by the engines' then in use, and were never taken e.xcept hy stratagem or treachery: thus Troy owed its fall to the wooden horse, and the Boeotian Thebes was voluntarily abandoned by its citizens, under a warning from the gods. It is well for human progress that the first settlers hail rendered their rocky fortresses thus impregnable, that those who had begun to acquire the arts of civilised life should be able to protect their strongholds against the ruder and poorer; and should retain their position until political organisation and discipline was sufticiently matured in rival states to allow them, in their turn, to achieve and maintain the superiority. In cour^^e of time, as the population became too dense to occupy the summit of the hill, tliey spre:id thems dves over the plain below; the original city was then dis- tinguished by the name of "Acropolis," or upper town, and not only formed the citadel, but was considered as consecrated ground — wliere the shrine of the tutelary deity was erected, and the trea- sures and archives deposited. At first, probably, the lower town consisted only of wooden huts, which are supposed to have fur- nished the model for future erections in stone; such huts as form the dwellings of the peasantry of Asia Minor at the present day. The Homeric poems present us with a picture of some degree of civilisation, as having existed in Greece at that early time — walled towns, fixed abodes, individual and hereditary landed property, carefully-cultivated vineyards, altars to the gods, and palaces for the chiefs. In the earliest ages we have no mention of temples, or statues of the divinities; but the sacrifices appear to have been offered on an altar in the court of the i)alace, where the king or chief officiated. In the time of Homer, the shrine at Delphi was merely a small wooden structure, covered in with laurel branches. The little we know of the palaces of tlie ancient Greek kings is derived from the pages of Homer. The following description of the house of Alcinoiis gives an idea of splendour and luxury, though displayed in somewhat barbaric taste. "The walls wltp mas^y br;i35: thf cornice high Bine mel.Tls crowned, iu colour of the sky ; Rich plates of gold, the f<»ldintr doors iucaae ; The pilliirs silvei, on a hrazen base; Sil?er the lintels deep projecting o'sr, And gold, the ringlets that surronnd the door. 'J'vvo rows of stately dogs, on either hand, In sculptured gold, and iibourM silver stanti. These Vulcan lormed with art divine, to wait Immortal guardians at AlcinijUs' t;Hte. ****** Fair thrones within from sp.ice to space were rais'd. Where various carpets with embioideiy blazed. The work of matrons." Od : Fope*s Homer. We are reminded by the rows of guardian dogs, at the door of the house of Alcinoiis, of the dromos of sphinxes leading to tlie palace of the Egyptian kings. From the Homeric poems we may also obtain a glimpse of the interior arrangement of these ancient dwellings, as the bard no doubt described the palace of Ulysses after the general plan of houses of tliat age. They appear to have been built in three divisions: first, tlie aula, or open court, sur- rounded by apartments. This court had a peristyle, or colonnade, round it, covered with a jient, or roof; beneath this was spread the couches fin- the men. Telemachus and Pisistratus are described as sleeping beneath this colonnade, in the palace of Nestor. In the centre of the aula, stood the altar: in the palace of Ulysses it was dedicated to Jupiter. ' With timorous awe. From the dire scene th' exempted two withdraw; Scarce sure of li^e, look round, and trembling move To the bright altar of protecting Jove." Odyssey. The aula was entered by g;ites from the street; and opposite the entrance was a portico or vestibule, leading to the secontl division, which included the great banqueting-hall; this appears to have been a splendid ami spacious apartment, the roof supported by columns, and the walls hung with tapestry. When Minerva visits Telemachus, the suitors are sitting on hides or skins, in the vesti- bule, feasting and playing at chess. Telemachus leads Minerva into the great hall, and receiving the spear from her hand, places it against a column. We are not acquainted with the third divi- sion, the gynfficeuin, or women's apartments; it is evident th.at they inhabited an upper story, for the females are invariably described as descending when they make their appearance in the other part of the house. The gynipceum seems to have cttmmunicated with 16 no THE ( IVIL EXGINEEII AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. ^Apbil, tlie banqueting-Iiall Iiy fuIJing doors: thus, speiikiiig; of Penelope — "Touth'rl at the dreit'If'jl story, she desceruia; Her ha.tly steps a il.itnsel tr.iiii attends. Full where the tlf>mu Its shining valves expnnds* Sudden before tbe rival powers she statids." Odyssey. The aula was paved with mnvMe; but the floors of the inner a|iartiru"Mts were of piilislicil wood, as were also the im])osts of the f.'ateway. Tlie chaiiiher where tlie treasures were kept is ilescrilied as having' a floor of |polislie(l oak, anil tlie roof supported hy coliiniiis, from one of wliicli I'eiiclopi' took down the how of l.'lysses. Attached to the house was a hase court, whicli contained the stahles, fjranaries, and otlier farm huihliiifjs; in tliis court was a circular structure, with a conical dome, called a tliolus; it had a wooden jiillar in the centre, hut for what use this hiiilding' was desiiTMcd is uiu-ertaiii — it may have been a store-room, or perhaps a threshinj^-floor. Ejjyptian influence has been suggested by the tapering form of the dtiors anil windows in Greek architecture; but it must be remembered, that while the e.xterior wall of Ef;yptian buildinj^s assumed a pyramidal form, the apertures were always vertical; in the (ireek, on the contrary, the doors and windows only sloped inwards, the exterior wall being' invariably vertical. According to I'ausanias, Lycosura in Arcadia was the most ancient city in Greece; a few Cyclopean walls only remain. — 'I'iryns in Argos follows next in date, and is said to have been founded 1710 ii.c, upwards of 900 years before the first recorded Olympiad. Both Himier and Hesiod mention the well-built walls of Tiryns: those of the Acropolis are formed of enormous blocks of unhewn stones; the external wall varies in thickness from 19 ft. 9 in. to '2,5 ft. 3 in.; many of the blocks of which it is con- structed are 10 feet in lengtli, and s(mie as much as 13 feet in length by 4, ft. tin. in thickness; their breadth is from 3 feet to 7 ft. 6 in. The g.illery of Tiryns is the most ancient vault in Greece; the doorways are formed by stones placed obliquely, and meeting at the summit, thus forming a kind of piiinted arch: this form is met with wherever Cyclojieau remains exist. We know nothing of the inhabitants of this city, except from an anecdote Athena^us has left us. It seems they were a wonderfully frivolous and light-headed people, making a jest of the most seri- ous matters, and always ready for a laugh; at last this propensity became beyond a joke, and they applied to the oracle at Del|dji for some means by which to get ipiit of their superabuiulaiit hilarity. The answer vouchsafed was, that they were gravely to sacrifice a bull to the god Poseidon, and with etpial gravity to cast it into the sea. On an appointed day, the inhabitants of Tiryns assembled to witness the much to be desired consummation, and behaved with becoming decorum; till an unlucky youth, repelled in his endea- vour to force his way through the crowd, exclaimed, "What! are you afraid I should swallow your Imll.?" This idea so tickled the fancy of the giddy-patcd multitude, that they burst into a loud laugh, the sacrifice was interrupted, and tliey thenceforward re- signed themselves to an inevitable destiny. The most perfect and interesting Pelasgic ruin in Greece is the ancient Mycena;, in Argolis, the capital city of the unfortunate race of Atrevis. Its early kings were so wealthy, as to gain for it the title of the "Golden ]Mycena?." The citadel is an oblong, nearly 1000 feet in lengtli, and is entered by two gates, on oppo- site sides. There were towers on each side the gates, but none round the walls. The custom of consecrating gates, by placing over or upon them sacred images, has existed in every |ieriod of history: the (iate of the Lions (so called), at .Myceiue, is an ex- ample of this time-honoured usage. As tlie citadel was conse- crated ground, the principal entrance-gate was likewise hidy; the image placed above was the symbol of the tutelary deity, the liieron before which the jieople worshipped: as in Ezekiel xlvi. 3., "Likewise the people of the land sh.iU worship at the door of this gate, before the Lurd, in the Sabbaths and in the new moons;" and again, in Psalms, Ixxxvii. '2, "'J'he Lord lo\etli the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of .Tacob." The people of Mycenaj and Argos were worshippers of Apollo, as the Suu-god, the same divinity as the Indian IJacchus, ' 'i'lie animals sculptured above the gateway are evidently intended for panthers, not lions: the panther was consecrated to the Indian IJacchus; the orb and pillar, placed between the panthers, were also dedicated to Apollo, or sun worship. Not only were religious ceremonies performed, but markets, and courts of judicature, were held before the holy gate; for this pur- pose, a paved court or open space was necessary, where the kings * Here agaiu we meet with a renniulit ut the old Alithratic worsbi)). or judges could hold their sitting.s on solemn occasions. This custom is alluiled to in many passages of holy writ, as in Deutero- nomy xvi, 28: "Judges and oflScers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with just judgment." In 1st Kings, xxii. 10: "And the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, sat each on his throne, having ]nit on their robes in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them." In the Book of Proverbs, i. 21: "She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates;" and in Prov. xxxi. 23: "Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land." At Myce- na;, the walls of the citadel project in parallel lines, so as to form an area, or oblong court, before the gateway. The Litms' Gate is now nearly filled up with earth and rubbish, so that its height cannot be ascertained; it is 9i feet in breadth; the stone fornung the lintel is 15 feet in lengtli, 6 ft. 8 in. in breadth, and !• feet in height. The panthers, with the orb and pillar, are sculptured on a piece of green basalt, of triangular form, which is let in above the lintel: the opposite gateway is constructed in a similar manner, but the triangular stone above the lintel is jilain, not sculptured. In some instances there would seem to have been an outer gate, as David is described as sitting hetwuen the gates, waiting to hear the result of the battle between Joab and Absalom. Ancient Gateway, Asia Minor, There is a very curious gateway in .^sia Minor, near the Turk- ish village of Euytik, equally illustrative of the custom to which I have just alluded. The imjiosts are nearly 12 feet in height: on the outside of each is sculptured a sphinx-like figure in high relief • — monstrous creatures, with human heads, birds' bodies, and lion's claws; these were, no doubt, the sacred liiera, perhaps symbolical of regal government. The walls, which are Cyclopean, here ad- vance about It feet on each side the gateway; the stones forming the lower course round the t:ourt are squared, and rudely sculp- tured with figures in low relief. Within the gateway there is an avenue of large stones, which must have led into the city. This ruin is perhaps one of the most curious relics of the heroic age now in existence. These gateways with upright imposts and a flat lintel across, may be called Cyclopean, as they are always found in connection with rude unhewn masonry; when the span was too great for a block of stone, a wooden beam was placed across as a lintel. — ■ Pelasgic gateways are generally rude arches, formed by the courses of stones projecting one over another, capped by a flat stone at the summit: the accompanying drawing is an illustration of this style of coustnictioii — the (iateway of .\ncient Ejihesus, which, it will be observed, approaches very closely to the perfect arch in out- line. Immediately without the walls of JNIycena?, rises a mound or tumulus, and within this is the tholus or vaulted chamber, some- times called the Treasury of Atreus, but now generally known as the Tomb of Agamemnon. The treasury of Atreus is mentioned as a brazen chamber; but this vault could scarcely have been so described, even if the walls had been lined with metal ])lates, as has been conjectured from the nails in the wall. Nor is it pro- bable that a treasury, containing the wealth of the state, would be situated witlumt the walls of the citadel; besides, the very form of the tumulus seems to announce a sepulchre; and the comparison 18o0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. Ill l'L"Hp!J!"f' 'r"^"'f'' f' ''i""''"",' *? *'"' *"■"'• "f Agamemnon, in the Electi-a ol t^oplu-oles, leaves little doubt of its identity. The Gitcway of Aiieii'nt Kplii-iu^. entrance to the vault is a doorway of elaborate desi-n, scnlntured in (,.reen basalt; a restoration fron, the fraj.nients%'emaininff is pub , shed m the supplementary vidume of Stuart and Revett's Antuiu.ties of Athens. 1 he doorn-ay was orig-inally approached by steps, hu the earth luis now accumulated above the threshold. It differs widely m design and detail from the Greek of after ages- the door or jjate was brazen; the columns are decidedly Asiatic in character; tlie capitals closely resemble the £ffvptian,'thou(?h the bases approach the Greek in graceful outline; 'the peculiar^scroU toinnng the princijial decoration is quite distinct from the Greek meander, but is met with in some of the Effvi-tian tombs; the van- dyke may have been suggested by a section 'of the palm. On the "relief" T.''''u''rV''''V"'''*'''-^ '"'^ ''""^ I"""'- «« '^"- <^'l n relief. The vaulted chamber is circular, 48 feet in diameter- the present height ,s i'J feet, but it must originallv have been much higher, as the ground has been raised by the earth and stones fa ling m. This vault is formed in the usual Pelas..ic man- ner, by the projecting courses of st.uies, afterwards hollowed out and indicates no knowledge of the principle of the arch. The stone used IS the hard breccia, found upon the spot: 36 re-nilar courses are e.xposed to view; they are uncemented, but united'with the greatest precision The wall of the building is is feet n thickness; consequently, there is a passage 18 feet in length be- tween the outer and inner door. The stones forming the roof of this passage are of enormous size: the lintel of the inner door- way IS composed of two blocks, the largest 27 feet in length 17 in ton'; ^bl"'^,'^•"':• '" '^''^"'''^ ""^ "•^'ff'^* '^^'"'-' about Ls tons-, block only interior in size to those of Karnac and Baalbec A small square chamber opens from the larger apartment '""^'• A sepulchre of somewhat similar construction has been dis- covered on the site of the ancient Ca^re, formerly the still m n-e aiicient Agy la, one of the earliest Pelasgic settlements in Italy This tomb (known by the name of its two discoverers, Regulin - Galassi) IS entered by a Pelasgic archway: the chambers are ' oblong, instead of circular, but vaulted in the manner already I described. 1 his sepu chre was opened for the first time only a few years ago: the funeral beds stood in their original places, with the , armour and jewels upon them, though their" occupants had long crumbled into dust; shields, spears, and other weapons, as well af vases and patera- of various forms, were suspended from the walls : by nails. As we know that the traditional rites of burial were na.lsinthe wall of Agamemnon's tomb were for the purpose of ' attaching sepulchral furniture, rather than brazen plates -Mv- cenai was destroyed by the Argnes, 500 B c ' • AtOrchomenes,in Ba;otia,-are other interesting Pelasffic re- ' mains amongst which may be mentioned the Treasury of !U invas I l^;niemnon""ir "' '''" '"'^'' P™!-'"-- tlian tL Tomli of ! Agamem ion. It was once covered by a dome, but the upper part has now fa len in. This building was cuisidered by theTnciei s F^vvt a I) """,1"^"^..*'"^ --Irf^ equally with the pyram d?of Egypt and the wails of '1 n-yns, and is said to have bee. the woidv of the celebrated Agamedes and Trophonius In Bceotia are the remains of the greatest" as well as the most ancient engineering work achieved by the Greeks Betvvee"the ' Kopaic lake and the sea, is a mountain of calcareouf Sone called .Mount Ptoon : the river Kpsephus is formed by the over- fioiving writers of the lake finding or forcing their w'ay through the hssi.res of the nKumtain. These did not, however, afford a sufficient channel, and frequent inundations were the consequence, lo remedy this evil, artificial tunnels were cut through the whole breadth of Mount Ptoon. The north-eastern tunnel is rather more than .Si miles in length, with about twenty vertical shafts let down into it along the whole distance. The shafts are now choked up, but the aj.ertures are yet visible, and are about 4 feet sipiare- the deepest is supposed by Forchhammer to be about 150 feet, iliese shafts are thought to have been for the purpose of allowing a greater number of workmen to be emjiloyed at the same time, so as to carry on the work more quickly— just for the same reason that we sink shafts at present. It is said that these tunnels were cleared out and repaired by Crates of Chalcis, who, according to btrabo, presented a report to liis employer, Alexander the Great stating that the remains of several ancient cities had been brought to^light, formerly submerged by the overflowing of the Kopaic There are many more Cyclopean and Pelasgic remains in Greece and tlie neighbouring islands, but they merely consist of huge walls, with here and there a gateway more or less perfect. Asia Minor, that beautiful peninsula thrown (as Laborde ob- serves) like a bridge between Asia and Eurojie, notwithstanding the genius of its people, never formed a great kingdom: its des- tiny was to become a battle-field, where a succession of heroes struggled for the dominion of the world. The names of Cra>sus Cyrus, Xerxes, Xenophon, Alexander the Great, Mithradate< hal- low every spot of ground with a thousand historical associations even before the foundation of the Christian churches gave a still more vivid interest to the land. It was anciently divided into several small kingdoms, that sometimes successfully struggled against and sometimes succumbed, before the power of Persia After the check given to the Persian dominion by the defeat of Aerxes, the numerous cities on the coast of Ionia, yl-^tolia, and L.aria. founded by emigrants or exiles from Greece, increased in power and iiuportance, and rivalled the mother country in art in science, and in literature. After the battles of the G/anicus and ls^sus won by the great Alexander. Asia Minor was united to the Macedonian kingdom, but again dissevered at his death, when his successors, Antigonus, Eumeues, and Lysimachus, obtained posses- sion of different provinces. In the year 133 b.c, Attalus Piiilo- pater, Icing of Pergamus, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome; but the peninsula was not completely subjected to this mighty empire till after the defeat of Mithradates, the great king of Pontus (05 B.C.) In each of the small kingdoms of Asia Minor, a distinct style of architecture seems to have prevailed; though of this variety, the tombs alone remain to bear witness. Truly, as Shelley says ' ' lU'iid men , i'(.viu II. en H..ii|; Ihcir mute thmij.|Us nil the mute wills ar.m d i" and the abodes of the dead frequently bear record of a race whos living habitations have long disappeared. In each little kingdom the ancient mode of sepulture seems to have been religi.uisly ad- hered to, whether under Greeks or Romans, to as late\a date as the Christian era. From the innumerable excavations in the rocky districts of Asia ]\Iinor, it has been supposed that they were not only used for sepulchral purposes, but had in still moi-e ancient times been the retreat of some Troglodytic or cave-dwellinif tribe like the ancient Edom. It is possible that the rocks may originally have afforded shelter to such a race, and their caves have been con- verted into sepulchres by subsequent inhabitants: but this is ail conjecture. In Cappadocia, Phrygia, and other provinces, many chains of rocks are completely honeycombed with excavations-^ perforated with thousands of chambers, niches, and passages Ihrygia, being an inland kingdom, was further removed from the influence of the Greek colonies, and approaches more nearly to the 1 ersian in architectural style. The characteristic of Phry- gian tombs IS the sculptured fa; ade chiselled on tlie surface of th» ^ru k^ '"'""' /i't i-ude and simple, others elaborately decorated. 1 he tomb of Midas is one of the most richly ornamented This sepulchre takes us back to the fabulous ages: we at once remember Aliilas, king of Phrygia, son of Gorgias, that miser of the olden time, who prayed that whatever he touched niisht be turned into gold; and when his prayer was granted, would have starved to death in the midst of his riches (every morsel being transmuted as Untouched las hungry lips), had it not been for the tender mercy of Bacchus, who ordered him to bathe in the river Pactoliis when Its sands were changed into gold, and Mi-las was relieved from his fatal gift. Thus cleansed and purified from his golden fever, he 16* 112 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. LApkji,, jnifi^lit have been a happy man, had lie not rommitted the folly po'il surveys; Where all from age to age. who p ss ttie const. May point Achilles' tomb, and haii the mighty Ghost." Odyssey. It would be neither interesting nor instructive, to enter further into the antiquities of .Vsia Minor, rich as it is in remains of the rarest architectural wtu-ks. The beautiful ruins of Ionia, jiCtolia, &c., will be iiKiluded in the history of (Jreek architecture; and any further notice of those existiiig previous to the rise of the Hellenic colonies, would but be a tedious list of Cyclopean and 1950.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. m Pelasgic walls and ffatewnys, in no essential point differing from those already described. Deeply interostinj; as is the liistory of the Jews in other respects, as far as regards architecture it is almost a blank. The Jews, having been a ])astoral people, never became great builders, and acquired no style of their own. Though Jerusalem is a city of great antii|uity, having been fouiuled (according to Manetho) by the Hycsos after tlieir expulsion from Egypt, we have no descrip- tion of any of its buildings previous to the erection of Solomon's 'I'emple. The first Jewish structure i>n record is the Tabernacle, which Jospphus describes as "a moveable and audnilatory temj)le." It was o'i feet in length by 21 feet in breadth and hcieht, and liad twenty quadrangular pillars on each side, and six at the end or post- icus. The front was placed so as to have an eastern aspect, that it might catch the first rays of the sun. The pillars were of wood, covered with thin plates of gold; and as the structure was to be moveable, the pillars were titted into their bases, and the gold or gilt bars forming the architi-ave into each other, by a tenon and mortice, so that they could easily be taken down, and set u]i in a new place. The interior of the Tabernacle was divided into three parts, as it might be the vestibule, pronaos, and adytum; the latter being the most holy ]dace, where the ark was deposited. The Tabernacle was ]daced in the midst of a court, or sacred inclosure, formed by slender brazen pillars or staves, with cords from one to another, on which curtains were hung; tliese staves terminated in a sharp end, like a spea.r-hcad, which was stuck firmly in the ground. ^\'ithin the court was the brazen laver or vessel for purifica- tion. We learn from the sacred writings, that when David built his house, he sent for an architect from Phoenicia; and king Solomon followed the example of his father, wljen preparing to build his temple and palace at Jerusalem. Hiram, king of Tyre, not only sent an architect, but also provided other wurkmen, and much of the necessar)' materials. It is very difficult to obtain any clear conception of the Temi)le of S(domon; the description in the 1st Kings, and 2nd t^ironicles, dazzling the imagination with a vague idea of gorgeousness, but not giving suflicient data for an accurate plan. Many different opinions prevail on the subject: Mr. Bardwell, says, "the temple of Solomon had not in its pro- portions and details any thing in common with the temples of Greece;" and presumes it to have been altogether copied from those of Egypt; while Mr. W'ilkins, in his valuable work on Magna Griecia, supposes tlie Temple of Solomon to have been tlie model after which the Greek temples were constructed. Objections may be made to both these opinions. The Temple, which was to be a stationary Tabernacle, closely resembled it in proportion and distribution of parts; and so far, the first idea of the building may have been borrowed from what they had seen in Egypt; but it is scarcely likely that tlie Hebrews would liave been desirous of building a temple to the Most High, constructed exactly alter the model of the idolatrous temples of the abhorred land of Egy])t, every recollection of which was so associated with slavery and degradation, that even brick-making became as great an abomi- nation in tlieir siglit, as the Shepherd life was to the Egyptians. On the other hand, it is unlikely that the Greeks should have copied from Solomon's Temple; they had no religious motive for so doing, and had but little intercourse with Judea Jose|dius, in his letter against Apion, says, "there was no occasion ofl'ered us in ancient ages for intermixing among the Greeks;" and afterwards obser\ed, that being an inland people, the Hebrews were com- paratively unknown to them. The most probable conclusion is, that as a Phoenician architect was employed, he would construct the Temple of Sidomon as nearly as possible after the plan of those of his own country; and as there is little doubt that Greek archi- tecture also originated in Phoenicia, there would naturally be a great similarity between the Jewish and Greek temples, though the plan would be adapted to the requii-ements of the people, and their peculiar mode of worship. Three years were occupied in preparing materials and hewing stones for the temple of Jerusalem, and seven years more in its erection ; the walls were constructed of stone covered with cedar, and the roof entirely of cedar wood. Josephus says, speaking of the skill displayed in the masonry, that the polished stones were "laid together so very harmoniously and smoothly, that there appeared to the spectators no sign of any hammer or'other instru- ment of architecture; but as if, without any use of them, the entire materials had naturally united themselves together, that tb.s agreement of one part with another seemed rather to have been natural than to have arisen from the force of tools upon them." The interior of the temple was divided into two parts, the oracle and the sanctuary ; there was also a porch or vestibule before the front of the temple towards the east. The proportions of the building (taking the cubit at 21 inches,) were, including the porch, 140 feet in length, by 35 feet in breadth; the oracle was a cube of 35 feet, the sanctuary 70 feet in length, the remainder being given to the porch. Instead of a peristyle, the Temple of Scdomon was surrounded on three sides by a num- ber of small cells or chambers three stories high, each chamber 8 ft. 9 in. square, thus giving a total width to the building of 43 ft. 9 in. This arrangement was not unique: there are the ruins of a temple in Lydia which has a set of small cells extending the whole length of the flank. Access was gained to the upper stories by a staircase in the thickness of the wall, and light admitted into the sanctuary by a row of narrow windows or loop-holes above the chambers. The wlude of the interior of the temple, including floor and ceiling, was overlaid with gold. The oracle was divided from the sanctuary by a pair of folding doors of carved cedar wood rbbly gilt, and also by coloured and embroidered veils of fine linen : the sanctuary had similar doors leading to the porch. la the porch were the two great pillars, called Jachim andBoaz; these were massive brazen columns, with vase-shaped capitals, enriched with net-work and foliage. Round the temple were three courts, each one elevated a few feet above the next. The highest, nearest the temple, was called the Priest's court, because the priests only were permitted to enter ; here stood the great brazen altar, and the molten sea, and other lavatories ; this sacred inclosure was surrounded by a wall between 5 and 6 feet in height. Tlie next, the court of Israel, was quadrangular, contained clois- ters, and was entered by a great gate on each of the four sides ; into this, says Josephus, " all the people entered that were distin- guished from the rest by being pure and observant of the laws." The outer division was called the court of the Gentiles; this was surrounded by a diuible row of cloisters, supported by stone columns, and roofed over with polished cedar; here only the public were freely admitted. This magnificent edifice was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, 586 B.C. The tenijile was rebuilt on the return of the Jews from captivity, but not in its original splendour, for we are told that wjien tiie festi\al of its completion was celebrated, the old men and priests, remembering the superiority of the original building, broke out into tears and lamentations, so that "their wailing over- came the sounds of the trumpets and the rejoicing of the people." This second temple, after sustaining various injuries, such as having been plundered by Antiochus Epiphanes, and desecrated by Pompey, was consumed by fire during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, A.D. 70. The Palace of Solomon was situated near the temple, and must have vied with it in splendour ; it appears to have been arranged on a similar plan to the Eastern palaces of our own day, in large open courts, surrounded by different apartments. Solomon's palace consisted of three divisions, the centre one containing the great hall of judgment and other public offices ; the rest of the building formed the residences of Solomon and his Egyptian queen. The principal apartments are described as having floors of cedar; the walls were inlaid part of their height with polished marble. Above this was a row of sculptured slabs representing foliage, and between these slabs and the ceiling the wall was plastered and richly painted; thus closely resembling the interior of the palaces of Nineveh. There were also cloisters for exercise, and, according to Josephus, "a most glorious dining-room." He continues: "Now it is very hard to reckon up the magnitude and the variety of the royal apartments; how many rooms there were of the largest sort, how many of a size inferior to those, and how many that were sub- terraneous and invisible, the curiosity of those that enjoyed the fresh air, and the groves for the most delightful prospect, for the avoiding the heat and covering of their bodies ; and to say all in brief, Solomon made the whole building entirely of white stone and cedar wood, and gold and silver. He also adorned the roof's and walls with stones set in gold, and beautified them in the same manner as he had beautified the Temple of God with the like stones." Of the private houses of the ancient Jews we know little, except that they were flat-roofed, and of two or more stories, as frequent mention is made of " the upper chamber." The flat roofs were used, as in the East at the present day, both for exercise and repose, and it was commanded by law that each house should have the roof protected by a parapet. Most of the buildings now existing in Palestine are Saracenic; the most ancient do not date beyond the time of Herod, with the exception of the tombs of the Patriarchs. The celebrated Sepnl- Ill THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARGHITECT'S JOURNAL. [ApRlI., clire of the Kin"';, ne;ir Jerusalem, is uiidoulitedly Roman in (ie.si"-ii • it is liv some supposed to be tlie woik of Herod, and by others to be the tomb of Helena, (|iieen of Adiabene, who Iiail become a convert to the .'ewisli faitli: there are still the remains of a beautifully sculptured facade; a low doorway conducts into a larjre chamber^ hewn out of the solid rock; from this branch off several small crypts, with Icdnes on whicli to deposit bodies or coffins; a flif^ht of steps leads to a louer set of chambers, similar in form and arranjrement to those above: here some beautiful white marble sarcophajji «ere found. The I'ondis of the Patriarchs are siHiated in the valley of Jeho- shaphat, on the eastern i-iilo of the IJrook Kedron; the names . . . . . 'lacliariah, - „ M. do Cliateaubriand S])eaks of these tombs as displayinir a manifest assi;rneil to tliem are the Tombs of Jehosbaphat, James, Z and .Vbsoliim; the two latter are tiie nuist elaborate Cliateaubriand S])eaks of these tombs as displayinir a maiiiiesi, alliance of the Esyptian and Grecian taste; "from this alliance," he savs, "resulted a heterofreneous kind of monvimeut, formint^, as it were, the link between the jiyramids and the Parthenon." The Tomb of Zachariah is shown in the enffravin^; it is mono- l:»l.:.. I ...^....r-t.^ ,,1- ■. c^.io.ii.il ii-!fli t'liiif arx.r-iimA Tiiliii. I>i>1iiniii^- columns 1 lit; 1 OIUU t'l zj It end 11 (111 1? :mivii>ii hi iiit; ^ii^iiiviii^, IL lithic, and consists of a square, with four engaged Ionic and two pilasters on each side. The Ionic are of the rudest kind, and bear the stamp of irreat antiquity. The entablature is finished with the ancient bead-aud-cavetto moulding, and the whole sur- mounted by a pyramid. Tuinb of Zachnriah. The Tomb of Absalom consists of a mass of rock, 21 feet square, standing in a recess of the hill which surrounds it on three sides. It has two engaged Ionic columns and two pilasters on each side; the frieze is ornamented with triglyplis; on this squai-e stands a dome, and above this again a spire, the summit of which expands like a bell-shajied flower. This is supposed to he the building referred to in 2 Samuel, xxviii. 18: " Now Absalom in his life- time had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the King's Dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remem- brance, and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called unto this day, Absalom's Place." — The tombs of Jehosbaphat and James are simple excavations. The art of fortitication was always encoui-aged by the Jewish kings. Jerusalem, and especially its citadel, Mount Zion, was well defended by strong walls and towers; tliese have now given place to more modern fortifications. \V'ell may the Jews keep the Day of Desolation in gazing upon Jerusalem, when of all the magnificent and stately buildings that once adorned it, not a ruin remains: hut, instead, Roman walls and Saracenic mosipies, telling of a suc- cession of conquenu-s. Palestine has still much to engage the attention of the antiipiary, but little, as has been seen, to attract the architect in his in(|uiry into tlie architecture of the Jews. In the next lecture I shall speak of Etruria, stone buildings after the wooden model, and the foundation of Home. LIST OK Aurnounuis, Ardent «nd IModern ArL-Uitecture, Gailliabami. — Tiavels in Greece, Dodwell,— Travels in Greece, Dr. Clarke. — Tour in Greece, IJr. Woniswurlh. — Cyclopeiin and I'td-istiic lie- mains, Ditdwtll.— Antiquities of Allien*, Stuart and Revett. — Desirizione (ii Cere Antiia. Caniiia. — Magna Grieii'i, Wilkins. — Nntea on Vitruvius, W'iikina. — Hislory of Greece, Grote.-- Cities iind Seitulclirea of Etruria. G. Ueiiiiis.— I' Italia a%-aiui il dnminio dei Roniani, Micali.— Asia ftlinnr and I.ycia, Sir C. Fellows. — Travels in Asia Minor, Haniiltou — Vuyagi's en 1' Asie Mineure, Lnliorde. — Viiya(,'eB en 1' Asie iMineure. Texier-- nmiii r. Pope's Iranalation.— Bible History of Pjlcstiiie, Kilto.— History uf the Jews, Joseplnis. PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN. Riii/imciifiirii Tmitise on the Priiiriples nf Design in .Ircliiterlnre, as Dediii-ihlr frinn Xiiture, and E.remplifierl in the Works of the Greek (iiid Gothie AreUitectii. Ry EnwAiiD Lacy Gaiiiiktt, Architect. Parts 1. and II. London: W'eale, 1850. Wk have a well-known line of Homer, that "life is a mingled skein of good and ill:" and this is what we must say of this book, to give anything like a knowledge of it. There is ill enoii;;h in it to condemn any book ; and yet there is as miicVi good as would make a book. If it were a work on strict science, the failings would be fati'l; but as it is on a debateable and unwrought subject, |ierliaps we owe much to the writer for what is new, true, and good, insteail of h:iving any right to blame him for what is otherwise. It was a token of health when the outcry began about the want of taste and originality in building — this set men thinking; but had this gone on, we should have been brought to a more sickly mood than we were before. It is ea.sy to blame; any one can do that — it costs nothing; even the youthful critic is sharp enough in findin;^ out a blot, a blunder, or a want: and the world, always ready enough at it, was set grumbling. Grumbling is good, if we have not too much of it; but we wanted something more — we wanted to know what was to be done, as well as what was not to be done. That is the step to which we have now come, and it is a further token of health. So long as humdrum swayed, woe betide the unlucky wight who strove for anything new; the herd of dullness' sons soon brought him to the gnninii. The way, however, is now opened; men may think and do, if they know what to do; the chains of mock elas- sicality are snap|)ed asunder, and skill is free. Slowly has a school of criticism risen, such as we have never yet had: and if the laws of knowledge are not yet settled, if the whole field is not beaten, and every nook searched out. yet, we have ho])e before us, which we have never had before. The works of Leeds, Pugin. Jopling, Alison, A\^hewell, Willis, Hay, Fergusson, Ruskin, and we shall have to say, of Air. G irbett, have each laid open somethinu new. If, however, anyone thinks all is now right, and watchfulness at an end, he will reckon without his host. The cant of classicism we have got rid of; but the cant of criticism threatens us. Quackery is not so soon laid; it is a ghost which takes many shapes — and when driven from one, grins at us in another. There is little need of warning as to the 'Seven Lamps' of JNlr. Ruskin; quackery is written on the forehead — the mysticism of the Seven Lamps wears throughout: but there is likewise some of it elsewhere. To review Mr, Garbett's book, we should need to write another at least as long, for at every leaf there is something to be said; but as we do not feel the call upon us to undertake stich a task, we must lighten our work by again telling the reader, that it is a book from which he may learn a great deal, but must not believe everything tliat is set down fin- him. The end Mr. Garbett has in sight is, to lay down the laws of desiirn as drawn from nature; and this is a great thing to be done. \\'hy he has so often missed, and why so many others have missed, is from having gone about it in the wrong way. The groundwork of all lawmaking is a thorough knowledge of things. We hardly need Racon to teach us this; and yet all this is to be done for the work Mr. Alison and Mr. liarbett have under- taken. It was the want of this, which, under the Aristotelian school, brought every kind of knowledge so low; and in nothing ]ierhaps was this so striking at the new birth of learning, than in the knowledge of beasts. Othello's gleanings of natural history, "of men wiiose heads beneath their shoulders grow," were got from the field of learning. The Hortus Sanitatis, or any other black- letter book of the kind, will sliow what were the laws of nature believed in in Shakspearian times: and so far as design goes, we are not much better otf now, and on the very saioe grouml, inas- much as no one has unilergone the toil of setting down evtjry shape to be seen in nature, and "drawing the laws from them. The laws have been drawn up first; such things as help them, brought for- ward ; the things against them lett out of sight, or twisted in some wrong way. The want of a sound groundwork has made much of Mr. Gar- bett's buibliiiir rotten ; but we are bound to acknowledge that he has done the bf-t he could. He has an earno>tness in his work, an enlightened feeling, good knowledge of his business, and is thiirouglily well read in the leiirning of art. He neither blindly fidlows any man, nor stubbnrnly sets himself against him; what bethinks right in any one, he takes with fair at^knowledgment : and if he or any of the others had, indeed, settled the laws of uiiture or of design, his would be a good hand-book on the subject. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 115 AVhat Mr. Garbctt has fldiie, sliovvs moreover what may bo done; that art is not without laws, though we do not know tliem all. When the reader has gone through this hook, he has still to read Fergusson and the others, to make up his mind what he will believe and follow out. Nevertheless, we may fairly say Mr. Garbett s book is a step forward. Having shown what is the root of the evil, we shall not put tlie book away without a few words as to some of its teachings. Mr. Garbett lays it down, that no building has a right to Ue selfish; but he rides this hobby too far the wrong road, being afraid, as he says, of going on tliat to communism. This is some of the cant ot the day; and is giving a wortli to a name which does not belong to it. If a thing is right, we may stick to it without fear of its name; and we need not wander from the field of building, for a stalking horse on the field of politics. If man is not made to be selfish and live alone, tlien it is his liouiulen duty in a building, as in everything else, to show some feeling for his fc41ows. As he can have no right of himself, but only by the law of the laud, to run up a building, so he can have no riglit to run up a building which is unsiglitly. The least he can do, if only as a reward for the leave given to him, is to l)uild right. We may say, by-the-bye, that Mr. Garbett gives his meaning to the word sestbetic — a word wliich is a stumbling-block laid in the way of art by our High Dutch neighbours ; and which the sooner it is got rid of the better, for wliat it means no one knows. ^Ve are sent back to (li.sti'ietilms, and thence to /li.sthaiiomai; then we are brought forward from tlie Greek and (ireek-English to Latin- English; and told that aesthetic means seiisunus, or relating to the sensex, which in English are the feelinirs. Esthetics seems to have been meant by the High Dutch for the knowledge of the laws by which beauty impresses the feelings; but esthetic may mean a number of things, as it is understood in its several Greek, Latin, English, or High Dutch relations. REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO THE APPLICATION OF IRON TO RAILWAY STRUCTURES. The last notice of the Report of the "Iron Commission' referred to the manner in which empirical formula; had been obtained for connecting the longitudinal compression and exten- sion of cast-iron with tlie corresponding el.astic forces. "Tiie law of elasticity," it is said in Appendi.v A, "constitutes the very basis of all s(iund knowledge of the statical and dynamical properties of girders." The "revision of that law" is undertaken as one of the subjects of this Appendi.v. The investigation was conducted by one member only of the Coniniission — Mr. Hodgkinson — whose e.vpe- rience and persevering research as an experimenter, render empi- rical deductions obtained by him worthy of the most careful consideration. In the preceding number of this Jo tii-n a I (page 92), was given one of his tables for Extension of Cast-iron, showing the relation between different suspended weights, and the extensions produced by them. The results of computing the extensions from a certain empi- rical formula are also given, and the errors or deviations from the observed results. These errors, in five cases out of fifteen, deviate from the real result by about one-fiftieth part; tlie smallest of the remaining errors is the two-hundred-and-eighty-fourth part. Now, although these errors may seem small in themselves, they cease to appear so when it is reflected, 1st, that the empirical law assumes the character of "the very basis of all sound know- ledge of the statical and dynamical properties of girders;" 2nd, that the formula is not deduced fi-om abstract theory, but from the experiments themselves, and is in fact no more than a synopsis of their results. Under the first head, we observe that any error in the empirical law becomes enormously multiplied when it is ajiplied to the theory of girders. The'result of integration and other analytical processes involved in that theory, is that the magnitude of the original error is not at all commensurate with the magnitude of those it induces. We are to remember that the old law of elas- ticity (that of direct proportion of the longitudinal forces to the extension or compression) led to the inference, that in a girder the central deflection and transverse pressure were in direct pro- portion also. This result, however, was not guite true. A small increase of deflection above that due to the proportional increase of jiressure was observed; and the former increase was due to a 6))«(// error in the assumed law of elasticity. It may easily be sup- posed that this "small increase" and "small error ' (though small considered separately with reference to the results from which they were respectively derived) are not small with respeel to each other. This is the best way in which we can put the argument, without aid of mathematical language: that would show that the "defect of elasticitv" of the deflected girder is a quantity of the same order as the "defect of elasticity" of the longitudinally compressed or extended rod. In tlie table above referred to, the "enors" or deviations of the formula from experiment, are given "in parts of the real weight stretching the rod: but if the errors had been given in parts of the much smaller quantity — "the defect of elasticity" — they would have appeared much larger. The second head of our remarks is this, that the formula is essentially empirical. It depends on no abstruse investigation; and all that is required is a method of representing observed results in the short-hand of mathematics. The way in which this has been done, appears unscientiric in its principle as well as unsatisfactory in its results. Two empirical coelhcients a and 6 were to be obtained in a formula w::::^ae — be'', where «• is the tensile force and e the extension. If the formula were absolutely exact, and experiments could be made which were absolutely exact also, two experiments would sulfice to determine a and i. But, because that accuracy is prac- tically unattainable, it was of course the case that any pair of experiments would give values of a and b differing from those of another pair of experiments: we have a remarkable instance of this at page 58, where it is stated that by one pair of experiments, the value of b obtained was 177290-03, and by another pair, the value of i was2211fi;M7. Now, in selecting the pairs of experiments for this computation, no sort of system or scientific method appears to have been adopted — the selection was made entirely at random. This process mhjht have produced satisfactory results, but the chances were immeasurably against its success. At all events, the accuracy of the final formula so obtained could not but rest on a much lower kind of evidence than that in favour of a formula formed in accor- dance with the mathematical laws "in that case made and pro- vided." The mathematical laws of combination of observations are definite and exact. Practical astronomy is almost made up of such combinations, in which several results are to be represented by a formula which shall give the closest possible approximations. The importance of the subject in physical science long ago led matliematicians to perceive tliat they must combine tlieir results by fixed principles, and not by taking averages indiscriminately. Gauss, the author of the Theoria Combinatiorns Obsereatiunam, proposed the celebrated rule of Least Squares, which has been independently discussed by Legendre, Laplace, Poisson, Ivory, and others. 'I'o the kindness of 'Sir. Adams, Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, we have been jirivately indebted for copious examples of tlie application of the method to the case before us; he has also pointed out a very simple method of extending the formula, to include the nibe of the extension. The agreement of the theo- retical and computed results then becomes extremely close and accurate: when two terms only are taken by the method referred to, though the formula is considerably improved, it still falls short of the required degree of accuracy. This systematic method of comjiutation has the advantages not only of superior accuracy but of superior facility — the labour which it involves is far less than that required by taking averages without regularity of order. AV'e may quote the same high authoj-ity for the opinion that the experiments on Co.mpression, given in the Report, cannot be represented accurately by a formula involving even the third power, still less by one extended only to the second power. A very careful consideration has led us to the conviction that the irregularities arise in the experiments thenuelues, and that the errors of observation are probably much greater than in the experiments on tension. The experiments on compression were made in this way: — a bar, 10 feet long by 1 inch square, was inclosed in a strong iron frame, open at both ends, to permit the free compression of the bar lon- gitudinally, but to pre\ent, as far as possible, its lateral flexure. no Tin: CIVIL KNGIXEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. fApBir,, Tlip framp w:is m.ulc in t'fo pnr.illol pieces, which were screwed tofretlier, .iml tlms adjusted, as nearly as possilile, to tlie si/e of the bar; so that it "had thepower of lieinfj moved by tlie hand, but no power of deviatioji from tlie rif^ht line of its position." In other words, tliorc was a pood fit. hut not a tij^ht one. Unfortunately, however, thoui,'li the bars were intended to have no power of deviation from the rifjlit line, they assumed it for themselves. \\ liether that tlie frame was not screwed up suHi- ciently sit first, or that it was not strong' enoufjh, or that the screws yielded, certain it is, that this bending of the bars, which it was ail-important to avoid, actually took place. At page 64 we find the following: — "Remark. — The great difficulty of obtaining accurately the decrements and sets from the small Heights in tlie comnienceraent of tlie experiments, ren- dered those decrerueiits and sets, particularly the latter, very anomalous ; it was found, too. that some of the bars which had been strained by 16 or 18 tons had become very perceptibly undulated. It has not been thouicht pru- dent, therefore, to draw any conclusions from bars which have been loaded with more than 14 to IG tons ; and it may be mentioned that the results from 2 to 1 1 tons are those only which ought to be used in seeking for general conclusions." Now, if the bar '■'■very perceptihh/ undulated" in some cases, it is reasonable to suppose that it undulated in less dejrree in others. A flexure (|uite inappreciable by the naked eye would altogether vitiate any inferences from the experiments as to the law of el.is- tieity. The contraction of the rod after it has been bent, is no longer measured solely by compression in the direction of its length, hut partially by the diminution of the chords of certain curves — the curves of flexure. .\nd it is to be remarked, that the diminution of these chords affects more especially those very terms in the formula which are principally sought for — the terms after the first, which exjiress the defect of elasticity. .Moreover, leaving the geometrical consideration, in a mechanical point of view the c.ise jiresents great difficulties. The external compressing force is no longer resisted by direct compression alone, but by compression aiul transverse pressure compounded. Again, if the bar closely fitted the interior of the frame originally, it must have bulged the sides of the frame when it got bent. Con- sei|iiently, at tliose points where the bar most deviated from the right line, it must have pressed strongly against the frame. Now, the effects of the pressure in question may be illustrated as follows: — Let a thin, flat rod of wood, whalebone, or steel, be placed on a table, and abut at its two etuis against fixed points, so a- to curve slightly upwards from the t;ible. It will be seen that a very slight pressure on the summit of this c\irve will produce a very greatly multiplied pressnie on the points of abutment; also tlie multijilicntion will be greater as the rod is less bent. It is oIi\ious from this, that the bent cast-iron rod, by pressing against the sides of the inclosing frame, must have derived great suiiport to resist the e.xternal force to which the ex]ierimenter subjected them. Obviously, serious errors would arise from sup- posing the only external forces acting upon the bar to be those ajiplied at its ends. These considerations lead to the anticijiHtion that the experi- ments would present anomalies: and this certainly appears to be the case. M'ithout minute reference to the actual figures of the tables, the whole of the anomalies could not be specified: their general nature may, however, be briefly indicated. 1st. The ratio of the compressing weight to the compression (^ in the tables), instead of regularly decreasing in each set of experiments, alternately increases and decreases in an irregular manner. There are four kinds of iron — Low Moor, Blaenavon, (iartslierrie, and a mixture of Leeswood and (Hengarnock — for which the ratio is given (pp. Ci and (ifi). The first three sets of exjieriments consist of thirteen results each, and the last set of twelve results. Let us suppose the results numbered in their numerical order, 1, 2, ."J, &c., and let -f or — indicate that the ratio for one result is greater or less, respectively, than that which follows it. Then, for the results on each iron, the fluctuation of the ratio will be expressed as follows : 1. H. X 4. ,1. B. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Low UToor — + — — + + + — ~ + +■ + Blncniivon + — + + — + + + + — + + GnrtBheirlB + + - + + + + + - + + + Leegwood & Glengarnock . + + — 4- — — + + + + + The plus sign occurs 34 times, and the minus sign 13 times, in the above synopsis; consequently, as the plus sign indicates a descend- ing ratio, the number of ascending ratios is more than one-third the number of descending ratios. Now, in the formula of the Report, it is assumed that the ratio constantly descends; accord- ingly, the abnormal are more than one-third of the normal results. It may be shown, by simple analytical reasoning, that if the for- mula include only two terms, the ratio of the weight to the C(mi- pression must be either always ascending or always descending; that if the formula extend to three terms, the ratio may be asceniling to a certain point, and then descending, or conversely; and tliat if the ratio be ascending and descending several times alternately, there must be more terms in the formula. 2nd. The experiments for different sorts of cast-iron indicate widely-different physical properties in them. The ratio of the weight to the coni]iressioii diflers greatly for corresponding expe- riments in tlie four difl'erent sorts of iron: and not only is the ratio difl^erent absolutely, but its fluctuations are different also. This is shown in the foregoing synopsis, and a remarkable instance occurs in the tiibles on the two last kinds of iron, of which the fir.-t is represented as much less easily compressible than the latter ;.t the beginning of the two sets of experiments, and more easily com- pressible at the end of those experiments. This may be possible, but it is not ])r(d)able. At all events it renders invalid all general inferences taken from collecting (as at page 07) the means of the results for materials exhiliitingsuch different properties; just for the reason tliat it winild he improper to collect in one table the experiments on marble and ivory, and deduce a single formula for the elasticity of both, liut tliis is precisely the way in which the formula for compression of cast-iron has been obtained. It is to be observed, however, that in the table in which the mean results of compression of all Jhur sorts of iron are given, the ratio of the weight to the compression is generally a descending one. This circumstance removes the impossibility of expressing the elasticity by a formula of two terms. It is barely possible also, that in thus collecting the means, the errors of the original ex- periments might destroy each other. But when the errors inse- parable from the methods of those experiments, and the discre- jiancies among them, are considered, such a compensation appears extremely improbable. The formula is obtained only from the mean results of all the irons — no formyila> are given for each iron separately. The fore- going considerations explain this circumstance. In the experiments of tension^ however, where the results are much more trustworthy, and the ratio is a deacendiiuj one in evert/ case vith a si»fj!e exception — formnlje are given for each iron. The omission of formula; for each iron compressed cannot, therefore, be considered accidental: if attempts to sujiply such formulie have been made and omitted from the Report as unsuccessful, the failure must le attributed to the analytical principles which we have above enunciated. Doubtless, experiments on compression of long bars present great difficulties; liut we can conceive of no metbod of insuring their accuracy while the inclosing frame is retained. The fact of such a frame being reipiired manifests that the experiments are not what they profess to be — experiments on direct compression — but experiments on compression and flexure combined. If the subject be taken up anew, some means must be devised of compressing the bars without the chance of lateral support inter- fering with the accuracy of the results. But to compress the bars in this way, they must have such a section- — the cruciform, for instance — -as of itself has great power to resist flexure. If the compressing force be applied by a lever, the angle through which it moves in the course of the compression might be read off by the microscope. We offer these suggestions by no means confidently, but in the hope that they may stimulate endeavours to solve a most important practical ])roblem. In the case of tension, the experiments seem comparatively free from difliculty. It might perhaps h:ive been worth while to have given a correction for the effect of the weight of the rods them- selves, and the couplings, which were heavy masses of metal: and this correction might have been applied without much difficulty. In other resjiects, the results of experiments on tension appear exempt from general causes of error. We have somewhat minutely examined the subject, because of its gi-eat practical importance, and because we have questioned the validity of the formula; for compression and extension pro- posed as the basis of theory of girders. But as tliese formulie are given on the authority of an able experimenter, who has the highest claims to respect, we shall be glail to hud that the views here expressed have been reviewed, and if need be, revised, by investigators of higli scientific repute. RAILWAY SPRINGS 1950.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 11- RAIL^VAY CARRIAGE AND WAGON SPRINGS. {With Engravings. Plate IV.) Oil Railway Carriage and Wagon Springs. By -Mr. J. AV". Adams. — (Paper read iit the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.) The object of this paper is to discuss and analyse the various fiirnis and descriptions of springs now in use in Railway Carriages and Wagons; pointing out, to the best of the writer's knowledge and experience, their advantages and defects, and suggesting such imjirovements in the details" as will lead to better effect and eco- nomy in their use and manufacture. Huffing and bearing springs are applied to carriages and wagons in order to al)sorb and neutralise as far as possible the force and moiuentumof tlie shocks to wliich tlie vehicles are exposed in tlieir ordinary work. A perfect hearing or buffing s))ring would be that wliich would absorl) the entire power aiul space of the blow with- out disturbing the inertia of the vehicle. This in practice is w b(»lly inipossilile, from the varying loads on bearing springs and varying force on buffing springs. In bearing springs tlie nearest approach to perfection is in the modern first-class carriage, wlieie the disproportion of total weight between loaded and unloaded is less than in any otiier vehicle. At the present time, as far as the writer is aware, there is no rule or fm-mula by wliich engineers or manufacturers can ascertain the true form, weiglit, or cpiality of material to be used for effec- tually springing a railway veliicle, and conrecpiently the goods and luiner.il traffic iif tlie country, averaging fn. in 35 to 40 cwt. per spring, is now carried on springs which vary in weight from 35 to 110 lb. each. The primary object being in all cases to discriminate between good and bad material, the writer has endeavoured to test the relative ipiality of spring steel converted from Swedish and from Kii:;lish iron. For this purpose bars of ordinary spring steel were iirocured from various makers, some being English and the others Swedish ; the bars were all 3 inches wide and /^-inch thick. These bars were cut to e(|u.al lengths, marked, and then made into springs and tem|>ered in the ordinary manner; each of the sjirings con- sisting of a single iilate turned over into an eye at each end, and 18 inches long between the centres of the eyes. These springs were then proved in the jiresence of Mr. W. P. Marshall, by means of pressure applied at the centre of each spring, the spring being sup|iorted by a pin passed through the eye at each end, which rested on rollers to allow the ends to be drawn together freely when the spring deflected. The results were as follows — No. Weigtit. ■ 1. \'* cwt. •-'U „ English. Deflection. .. 1 inch . B'Okell Suedish. Pennanciii Sel. No. Weight. Uetlection no Pet . i lULh i. I'l civt. ... \i tni'h ... 3i iiKh . ., iniii-h set Permaiunt Se'. , , g incit .. 24 inch 2. li „ 20 „ 2.1 ., .. . Um.H, .. .... 21 in.h .. Hn.keli .. . no set . . 1 hiell 6. 20 „ .... 23 inch .. .... Bri.kea .. .. 2Jliith 3. 15 ,. 20 „ 2;) .. .... H iiico .. .... 3J ii.ch .. .... nuicU set .. .. i inch .. 21 inch 7 l-' .. 20 „ 2.) ,, 2J inch . . .... 4i inch .. .... much set .. .. Idi.ch . . .!}| inch 4. 15 „ 20 ,. 2.1 „ .... 1| In.h .. .... VJ Imh .. .... miicli set . .. 1 inch .. li iiicii s. 15 „ UO „ 25 „ .... 21 inch .. 64 inch .. ni'ich set .. 1 inch .. 41 inch 9. ri)7 15 „ 20 „ 25 „ 15 „ 20 „ 2 Inch «J inch .. Broken .. .... 31 inch .. .... HrjSien .. 3 inch .. 24 inch . . 2 inch From the foregoing experiments it ajipears that the elasticity sustaining power, and toughness of the Knglish steel was much greater than that manufactured from the Swedish iron. The I.aniiiiitted Spring is the most common form for the springs of railway vehicles, ((insisting of a number of plates, the taper being given by reducing the plates successively in length. The ])riuciple for regulating the taper of the spring is to obtain an e(]ual amount of strain or deflection from each paiticle of ma- terial. If some parts of the spring are deflected less than others, the amount of m,;terial might lie reduced in those parts witiiuut impairing the sustaiiuiig power of the sjiring. A laminated s|;ring may be tajiered either in breadth or thick- ness, but if parallel in thi.-kness and all the |)lates the same length, each (date should be uniforniiy tapered in breadth, so that ea('h half of every plate would be a triangle. In jiractice the plates of laminated s|iriiigs are made parallel in breadtli and thickness, inas- much as the jiarallel bar is the most economical form, and the taper is obtained, as before expressed, by the different lengths of plates. If a spring consisted of only one plate, parallel in breadth but tapered in thickness, such taper should be in the form of a para- bola, as the strength is in proportion to the square of the thick- ness. This form is shown in fig. 2, Plate IV, by the part AA. Fig. 1 represents one-half of an ordinary wagon bearing spring. Fig. 2 is the same spring pressed flat, but supposing the plates not to elide over one another. If the spring consisted of a number of very thin parallel plates, the correct form would be a uniform taper in thickness from the centre towards the ends, as shown by the jiortion BB in fig. 2, because the strength of each part of the spring would depend upon the number of plates at that part. In practice the most correct form of spring is between the two forms of the triangle and the parabola, but is nearer the triangle, as the thickness of the plates bears only a small proportion to the average length. The spring shown in fig. 1 is 3 ft. 3 in. long, 3 in. wide, and 4'fi} inches thick in the centre, and consists of 15 plates j^-inch thick, excepting only the outside plates, which are |-inch, according to the usual ]iractice, to allow for the plate not being supported by plates on both sides. If this Sjiring were a single plate of the same total strength it would be only 14 inch thick at the centre, and in the form of the parabola -A.A in fig. 2; but as it consists of a number of plates, the outline must be a line lieyoml that curve. The straight line BB in fig. 2 is drawn outside the curve, giving a uniform taper from tlie centre of the spring to the end of the second plate, leaving the top plate its full thickness to the end. This line BB appears suitable to be adapted for the practical out- line of the spring, as the deviation from correctness is only very small and gives a slight diminution in strength at the (juarter I length D, which is advisable in practice, because tlie centre C is usually weakened bya^-inch rivet hole, reducing the strength one- eighth at that point. j The line BIJ is transferred from fig. 2 to the curved spring in ' fig. 1 by dividing the length of the top plate into Ki e, viz., from C to H. This is the form universally adopted, but it is clearly incorrect, as the centre is made proportionately weaker than the remainder of the spring, as well as being further weakened by the rivet hole thi'ough the centre. The true and correct form of spring would be, that the centre of the spring should be at H, and the plates connected not by a rivet but with a narrow hoop. In practice the spring is clipped to and bears on the axle-box at H, and conse(iuently the mass of steel II to C is entirely wasted. In two plates of steel of the same length and breadth but of different thickness, the amount of deflection caused by the same weights is in proportion to the cube of the thickness, although the breaking strength is in proportion to the square of the thickness; consequently if one spring were made with plates double the thick- ness of those of another s)iring, the first would require only one-eighth the number of plates, viz., one-eighth the weight of material to support the load with the same amount of deflection ; but in that case the extent of the displacement of the particles of the steel in the thick plates would be double of that in the thin plate.s, and in the practical application of thick plates to springs it is nei^essary to limit the deflection within the above extent, as the double amount of deflection would break or strain the particles, presuming that in the thin plates the particles were being strained to a reasonable e.vtent. The Wagnn Bearing Spring in ordinary use on the Midlam', London and N(nth Western, and other railways is shown in fig. 1, and is 3 ft. 3 in. long, 64 in. camber, 4^ii in. thick, and 3 in. wide, consisting of 15 plates of which 2 are 3-inch and th rest -jji-inch thick, and the spring averages in weight about 93 lb. 17 118 THE €IVIL E^fGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [April, This sprinsr is ui^ed to sustain loads not exceeding C tons on the four spriiif^s exclusive of the wapon body ; the wagon body weighs barely 2 tons, making the total load about 8 tons, or 2 tons per spring. By actual experiments this spring deflects with 1 ton 2 tons 3 tons J-inch 2 inches Scinches and will prove flat witliont setting or breaking. It is to be noted that in originally proving this spring flat it had set about f-inch, but that with the same extent of ])roof it will not again perma- nently set, having this property in common with other materials. This spring would well sustain a load of 3 tons in actual work, as the concussions received upon the rails would probably not at any time increase the deflection ^-inch. consequently the load of 2 tons is being sustained on a spring far too rigid, to the detriment of t!ie road and the wagon, and the original first cost is considerably more than it need have been. Formerly, various plans were ado])ted to lessen the friction at the ends of the springs by the use of rollers, but these plans are now obsolete, the amount of friction not being found practically detrimental. The points of the plates of laminated springs were formerly tapered in tliickness, but now the usual plan is to form the taper in the breadth by cutting the plates at the ends in a triangular form. This method is found much more certain in its effect, is neater in appeai-ance, and cheaper in manufacture. The cutting is generally performed either with the shearing machine or hetween dies in a punching machine, the scraps being used in the melting-pot for cast-steel. Fig. 3 represents the Wagon Bi'/trinij Spriny, or more correctly speaicing, pi-np. in extensive use on the North Branch of the London and Nortli-U'estern, the South St.-iffordshire, Caledonian, and othf r Railways, which may well be designated by the term cheiip. This spring is 2 ft. H in. Ions, 4 in. wide, 2 in. thick, camber t in. consisting of 4 plates 4-in. thick, and weighs about 40 lb. Actual experiment furnishes the following deflections — 1 ton 2 tons 3 tons f-inch J-inch Ig inch The cause of the immense sustaining power of this spring has been exi>lained before in the observations on thick and thin plates. The writer has already endeavoured to explain that the ordinary spring (fig. 1 ) is too rigid; what therefore must be the wear and tear of rails, wheel tyres, vibration to the axles, and general wear and tear to the wagon and load causeil by this rigid spring.'' Com- ]iared with fig. 1, tills spring affords less relief in the proportion of (i to Ifi, and is the furthest removed from the object required to he attained. The Wagon Bearing Spring in extensive use on the Midland. Great AFestern, and other Irish Railways, and on the London and North AVestern Railwaj', is the ordinary spring as in fig. 1, but with eyes rolled at the ends and hung on scroll-irons. The advan- tages of this form of spring are the great space passed through and quickness of adaptation to the inequalities of the road, in conse- quence of the deflection of the end shackles caused by the deflection of the spring, and consequent elongation between the centres of eyes of shackles; also the rubbing friction at ends is almost entirely obviated. The disadvantages are, first, that to carry a given loail a much greater quantity of material is required, as from the circumstance of a great portion of the space between the solo-bar and the axle-box being taken up by tlie sci-oll-irons and shackles, the radius of the curve of the spring is much reduced, and a thicker spring consequently required. Secondly, the tension on the sole-bars tending to hog the wagon frame, being the re\erse of the action of the ordinary spring. Thirdly, in consequence of the great space jjassed through by the deflection of this spring, the variations of the load will considerably vary tlie height of the bufiers from the rails. Fig. 4 represents the now nni\ersal Carriage Bearing Spring originally introduced by Mr. Wharton on the London and North- \\'estern Railway, as the result of repeated pi-actical trials and im- ])rovements: theory would probably have never attained a similar result. Tliis spring is .5 ft. 3 in. long, 3 in. wide, 2f J in. tliick and consists of !) ]ilates J,- in. thick; the ends of the plates are what is technically termed long spear-pointed. Fig. 4 represents the spring when loaded, and the peculiar camber before fixing is made by setting the jilates entirely at the centre, instead of the plates being set into a curve throughout their whole length as in other springs. In fixing this spring the tension-brace is adjusted between scroll-irons, with intervening c,om]iensating shackles. The tension-lraee is 3 in. by -J-in. and thickened at the ends to g-in. The spring is then compressed between the axle-box and the brace. The action of the spring and brace is that of a lever spring combined with a tension-brace, but the spring is so thoroughly over|>owered by the leverage of the brace and the weight of the load, as to have little or no power of reaction or displacing the inertia of the load, beyond that of recovering its original position; thus affording the well-known smoothness and steadiness of action of this construction of carriage S))ring. The brace is acted upon principally at the point A, but ne\ ertheless when the blow from the road strikes the point B, and the si)ring and brace straighten at that point, the curving and straightening of the brace at A is compensated l)y the straigtening and lengthening at C, the amount of tension at D being thus at all times about the same. The ten- sion brace steadies and counteracts the power of the spring, and the spring partly relieves the brace by sustaining it at A. This combination also aft'ords the means of firmly attaching the axle-box to the spring and brace, and thus holding it independent of the axle-guards, which in this case are wholly ^i(«)-rf.?, not guide.s\ the guards neither touching the axle-bo.x on the edge or side. Thus the efl^ects of the inequalities of the road, laterally and hori- zontally, are only transmitted to the body through the elastic medium of the spring. Springs of the same construction, but shorter and lighter, are now generallyjused for horse-boxes, carriage-trucks, and break-vans Buchanan's Bearing Spring consists of four fiat horizontal plates 4 ft. long, 4 in. wide, and tapered in thickness from ;^-in. at the centre to |-in. at the ends, and fastened in the centre and impinging at the ends only. See fig. 5. it does not seem to posess any advantage over the ordinary laminated spring, excepting that the friction between the plates is entirely avoided except at the ends; but at the same time it must be borne in mind that in ordinary laminated springs the steel is rolled concave, therefore the plates bear at the edges only, which very considerably reduces the friction. The disadvantages of this spring appear to be, firstly, that the extreme points of support are when tlie spring is weighted con- siderably below the centre bearing, necessitating the use of deep scroll-irons in carriages and bearing-blocks in wagons. Secondly, the manufacture is costly and uncertain, from the fact of the plates being tapered in thickness, and the difl[iculty of hardening and tempering plates that taper in thickness. Thirdly, when fixed with scroll-irons the sustaining power is partly derived from its effect as a tension brace. Adams's Bow-Spring, of the size used for passenger vehicles, is 6 ft. long from centre to centre of spring eyes, and the versed sine about 14 in. when weiglited; the plates are 8 in. broad in centre and tapered in widtli to 5 in. at the eyes, and the thickness is /j-inch. The advantages of this spring are, firstly, it holds the axle-boxes without the intervention of the guards in the same manner as pre- viously described with refei'ence to the carriage bearing spring-. Secondly, that the top links permit the wheels, axles, and axle- boxes to traverse laterally in passing curves and other impediments. Thirdly, that the quick adaptation of tliis spring to lateral ami perpendicular blows preserves the inertia of the body almost wholly from displacement at moderate speeds. The disadvantages are, that at high speeds and on a bad road the reaction of this spring is so great as to cause a rebound, and the gradually increasing momentum from each successive blow occasions very considerable oscillation. This jiroperty has completely negatived its use for 4-wheeled carriages; but it is now used successfully under the 8-wheeled carriages on the North AVoolwich branch, and there works to con- siderable advantage, permitting the wheels to adapt themselves freely to the curves of tlie road. The oscillation is there almost obviated, from the fact tliat tlie blows are received upon eiirht points, and that the reactive power of a blow on one of the eight points is not sufficient to disturb the inertia of the load. This spring has been and is now used to a very considerable extent on (j-wheeled carriages in Germany; but it is to be observed that tlie speed on the Continent is generally slower than in England. A Spiral Hearing Spring is represented in fig. 8, I'late IV. The dimensions of these springs as used under the tenders of the Mid- land Railway were 9 in. height and ti in. diameter, and they ivere made of g-in. round steel. Within this coil was fixed a second spiral of smaller diameter, coiled the reverse way to prevent the coils interfering. The action of a spiral spring is principally torsion of the steel bar through the angle A C B, and partly lateral deflection from the increase of diameter when the spring is com- 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 119 pressed. Practically the writer is not well acquainted witli the use of these sjirings, hut presumes that the ftdlowing uhjectioiis have been found in practice: the spring hears upon the sole-liar at one point, viz. over the centre of the a.\le-hox, instead of at two points some 3 ft. apart. There is a much greater uncertainty in the decree of elasticity and supporting povver than in Hat springs com- posed of many plates, partly from the greater thickness of steel causing uncertainty in the tempering, and from the greater angular strain on tlie particles of the steel; the sudden hlows experienced bv railway springs requiring the thickness of the steel to be within a'certain limit, say of |-in. or ^-in. linfffr (inil Draw Spriihyx. — The ordinary Laminated Buffer and Draw Spring is 5 ft. 4|-in. long, 5/5 in. thick, and 3 in. broad, consisting of 17 plates, the outside plates f-in. thick and the re- mainder J.-in.; the camber when at rest being 13 in. The same principles of construction apply to this spring as to the laminated bearing spring in fig. 1. These springs are generally fixed in the centre of the carriage, sliding between four bars of iron, ordinarily termed the " buffer spring cradle." The ends are acted u])on by the four buifer rods, ;md the draw bar is cottered to tlie centre of the spring. The same methods Ijave lieen tried to obviate friction at the ends as have been already mentioned with respect to bearing springs, but these plans are now obsolete In fixing tlie springs on carriages they are generally compressed one inch, and in wagons to the extent of aliout one-third of the stroke. The stroke of the buffer rod is limited to such an extent as will not deflect the spring beyond a straight line. The sustaining power of this spring is etpial to about 2 tons 11 cwt., or equal in all including both ends of carriage to about 2| tons, developed through a stroke of 2 ft. As yet this method of buffing has not been surpassed or equalled, as none of the modern substitutes will give this moderate amount of resisting power developed through so great a space as 2 ft.; also the weight of the buffer springs being in the centre of the carriage, and the springs acted upon by long buffer rods, cause the action to be very steady. The Double Draw Spi-iiigx, with a check bar to limit the action within the straining point, make probably the only truly effective metliod yet adopted. It is to he observed that the springs when drawn liome are limited in their action by the check bar A A, thus forming a continuous rigid draw bar (see fig. 7, Plate IV). The springs are each 2 ft. long, S-pj^ in. thick, and 3 in. wide, consisting of II plates, of which 2 are f-in. thick and the remainder Y^-inch; the camber is 3| in. before fixing; the springs are each compressed 5-in. in fixing. The method of fixing is the same as already described for the laminated buffer spring. E.i'teninl Buffers. "Within the last few years a considerable numher of external buffers have been introduced, consisting of a cylinder and piston packed with nearly every available elastic substance, and practically varying only in the material of the packing. De Bergiie's Buffer Spring is packed with rings of vulcanised india-rubber; there are 4 rings 52 in. diameter, and l| in. thick- ness each. In the opinion of the writer this is the least effective of any yet produced, as the stroke is very short, and then only moderately developed under enormous pressure. It is questionable whether in the event of a collision, the train would not collapse and leave the rails, before the immense sustaining power of these springs was fully developed. This buffer has an apparent stroke of about 3 in.; l)ut it appears that to drive up the pair of huffei's lA in. would require a force of 3 tons. By reference to the description of the ordinary laminated spring it will be observed that the sti-oke is 12 in. with a force of 2| tons; being 8 times the length of stroke, with a rather less force. It is also questionable whether the vul- canised india-rublier is of that imperishable nature originally supposed. The writer has had in his possession a considerable quantity of vulcanised elastic bands for papers, that have become completely rotten. Todtl s Coric Buffer is as nearly as possible the same as De Ber- gue's, excepting that the packing is cork; there are 5 plates of cork 7^ in. diameter and f-in. thick each. This spring appears to be superior to De Bergue's inasmuch as the cork is more compres- sible than the vulcanised india-rubber, but it is questionable wliether the cork is not liable to a permanent set. Adams's Disc Bvffer has the packing, consisting of 16 disc springs, made from flat circular plates of steel 8 in. diameter and i-in. thick, with a radiating i)iece AA, cut out to enable the plates to be press^'d to a conical form (see fig. 8, Plate IV.) This buffer spring is superior to the foregoing inasmuch as the total amount of stroke is wholly developed, and the power can he properly adjusted by tlie thickness of the plates; the total length of stroke is 5i in. Webster's Air Buffer exhibits considerable ingenuity, but is more complicated than the other plans. The air jiiston is 6 in. diameter, and the leather packing is distended by a vulcanised india-rubber ring; the length of stroke is 1 in. In' the event of leakage during the stroke, the piston would not return to its original position, and to effect this a small spiral spring is employed which drives back the piston. A small valve admits air at the time that the piston is recovering its position to compensate for leakage during the stroke. Spiral Buff'er and Draw Springs are used to some extent, but they are liable to the same objections already described with refer- ence to the spiral bearing springs. Brown's Conical Spiral Spring Buffer appears to be the least objectionable of these (see the annexed woodcut). The resisting power is that of a spiral spring made in the form of a cone 73 in. diameter at the base, and the spring has the advantage of rotating at the point of the cone, thereby considerably eas- ing the tendency to fracture or strain the particles of the steel; the steel is 1 in. wide and g-in. thick at the base of the conical spiral, and is tapered for the last three coils to ^-in. diameter at the ]ioint of the cone. AVlien driven home the spring forms a complete flat volute. The sus- taining power of the spring is about eipial for the space ])assed through to that of the ordinary laminated buffer spring, but with a shorter stroke, the length of stroke being only 3g inches, instead of 12 in. From its compactness and comparatively mode- rate price, it is in the writer's opinion, should the springs be found to stand their work, the most eligible of the external buffers; but yet far from equalling the result obtained by the use of the lami- nated buffer spring and buffer rods. The whole of the cylinder and piston buffers are liable to the defect of the piston being guided through only a short length, and consequently they cannot work with the smoothness of the long buffer rod guided in several places. Tliis more particularly applies in the event of an oblique blow upon the buffer. In conclusion, it is suggested that it would be desirable for a correct table to be formed of the sizes, weight, sustaining power, and deflection of laminated bearing and buffing springs, as a uni- form guide in their practical application. Mr. MiDDLETON remarked, that the conical spiral-spring buffer bad liecn mentioned in the paper as the most advantageous of the external bufTers in respect of the length of stroke, but that a still greater length of stroke was required ; and he wished to mention one that be had introduced, consisting of a double-coned spiral spring, which bad the advantage of giving n greater length of stroke, and he thought would form a very satisfactory bulftr- They had been applied for the purpose of making a long buffer of 7 feet stroke, by using 6 of these springs, 4 in the middle aud 1 at each end of the buffer rod. Mr. Adams observed, that an objection to the double-coned spring would be that it was not free to revolve on its axis like the single-coned spring whilst it was being compressed, because it rested on the large base of the cone at each end, and the friction would be too great to allow of its revolv- ing, but the single-coned spring bad so little friction at the small end tliat it was capable of revolving when compressed. The strain on the steel was mufh increased if a spiral spring was prevented from revolving when com- pressed, and it was consequently more liable to break. Mr. Fuller wished to state (for Mr. De Cergue in his absence), with respect to the vulcanised india-rubber in buffer springs, that upwards of 100,000 of the rings had been sent out, and many of tliem had been in use for tvpo or three years; and as far as he had ascertained, the cases of failure had been very few indeed. In some cases where the material had been used for bearing springs, it h.ad failed in consequence of not having a sufticicnt aniouut of bearing surface, but in the application to butVer springs he was not aware of any instance of failure excepting in a few cases where the rings had been over vulcanised. Mr. Adams n-plied, that he had not had any experience of the durability of the vulcanised india-rubber applied to buffers, and he had therefore only stated the circumstance he was acquainted with of the bands for papers. 17* 120 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [A.. DETERIORATION OF RAILU^VY AXLES. (inth Engravings, Plate IV.) On the Deteriorntion of lidilvai/ A.r/e.^, S;p. By Mr. .7. E. McCon- NKi.L. — (Paper read at the Institution of Mechanical Kniriiieeis.) Having been re<|npsted at the last meetinf^ to furnish further proofs of the ciian^e from tiie fibrous to the crystalline character produced in railway axles, and feelinj^ convinced that a strict and careful examination of this important subject is a necexxity in this age of railway practice, the iiujuiry has been resumed in the hope that the further infornuiticm and experience gained may tend to a more perfect knowled^ie of the subject. Before stating the results of the different experiments which have been made with the view of ascertaining the cause and extent of the change from the fibrous to the crystalline appearance in railway axle iron, it must be observed tliat in this, as in some other matters of controversy, it is most difficult to produce full and con- clusive proof that tlie iron which is i>roduced of a crystalline cha- racter was once fibrous, as we cannot by any experiment show the change visibly taking place; but surely it is fair and reasonable to admit the fiict of a change, when we find railway axles when new, fi'om the particular mode of manufacture, present through every )iart of their substance a tough, strong, fibrous ajipearance, yet, after several years' use, we find axles of the same description, owing to tlie various deteriorating causes in action, break short at tIiL» back of the wlieel, and then present an appearance totally difterent from the original structure of the iron, as described abo\e. It has so happened, in stromr confirmation of the views stated by the writer at the former meeting, that a very remarkalile instance of this change was brought under his notice shortly after the dis- cussion; and he thought the evidence wliich this case furnishes so important and conclusive (althon this centre part of the axle towards effecting a fract>ire, although it was a frosty day, which would of course ren- der the iron miu-e brittle. Finding'ail efforts to break it bv blows fruitless, the axle was then, in order to test its fibrous character, taken to the hydraulic press, and it has l>eeu bent to the form of the letter U, until the two ends met, witliout showing more than the slightest appearance of the skin of its surface breaking, as will be seen, proving still to be of a strong fibrous iron in tlie centre of the axle. See fig. 9, Plate IV. Following up his proposition, the writer wishes to lay consider- able stress on the view he previously stated, respecting the effect of the blows or vibrating- action given tlirough the wheels to the axle; he attributes the crystallisation of the axle at that point close behind the wheel, to the sudden stoppage or reaction of the vibratory wave at that place, owing' to the check which it meets from the mass of matter consisting of the wheel, &c., presenting a break of surface, and acting more as an anvil, causing tlie vibra- tion to react like a blow on the neck of the axle (the nearest weakest point), thereby destroying its fibrous character. Cast-iron wheels, therefore, are objectionable from their rigidity and non-absorption of the lateral and vertical concussion with other strains formerly enumerated, received in course of working, and transmitted to be w holly expended on the axle; and the writer endeavoured to illustrate this by a comparative e.xperiment witii two different axles of the same description and age, one being fixed in cast-iron, and the other in wooden wheels, those known as the Pimlico make. 1st Experiment was made on the axle with wooden wheels placed horizontally resting upon the rails : a weight of 1 7 cwt. was allowed to fall through a distance of 13 ft. Sin. upon the axle, immediately within the wheel, by which the axle was slightly bent at the point where the blow came, and a portion of the tyre resting on the rail was broken clear out. This experiment was repeated four times on the other end of the axle, which was bent but vei-y slightly, and the wheel was rendered completely useless. 2nd Experiment was made upcm the axle with cast-iron wheals, placed as in the former case, and the same weiglit was allowed to fall the same distance at the back of the wheel, when the effect of the first blow was to break the axle at the other end, at the back of the wheel; thus proving that in the former case the axle was saved from fracture by the woi>den wheel absorbing its full share of the effect of the b.low, and the tyre of the wheel breaking proved tliat in course of working it would receive a portion of the deteriorating forces tending to crystallise, the wheel acting like a cushion to soften the blows before they reached the axle; in the latter case the rail supporting the cast-iron wheel was fractured in three places. A 3rd Experiment was tried with another a.xle with cast-iron wheels placed as before, and received four blows on each end of the axle within the wheels, which caused it to bend, but produced no fractui'e. This axle had not been much used, and was of a stronger fibrous character. In order to ascertain the relative appearances of axles which had been in use, and determine the position of the crystalline change, both at the centre and outer surface of the :ixle, the writer caused four axles which had been condemned as too small from wear in the bearings, to have a groove cut in two cases on each side, to within an inch of the centie, and in the other two, grooved through to within an inch of the outer surface; these were sj lit asunder with wedges, and their appearances will show that a certain change has been going on, and this is more observable in one end of the axle than the other, attributable, he believes, to the break being applied to the wheel wliich was on the end where the greatest crystalline change is visible. He has made a number of other experiments in the presence of several of the members of the Institution, with the view of deter- mining the effect produced on the fibre of iron by the cold ham- mering process. The following are the principal results: — No. 1. A piece of ordinary bar-iron 2i inches wide and l| inch thick, received 20 blows to nick it across, and was broken with 21 blows of a 1 + lb. hammer, showing a fracture part fibrous and part crystalline. No. 2. The same bar received 52 blows on one side, and 65 on the other, from the 1 lib. hammer, with 20 to nick it as before, and it broke with H blows, showing different layers of fibre and crystal. No. 3. The same bar received 50 similar blows on each side as No. 2, but each blow on alternate sides successively, and 20 in nicking, and 9 l)lows broke it. No. 4. The same bar was not cold-hammered, but received 20 blows in nicking, and required 28 blows to break it, showing a good fracture. No. 5. Was a |-inch square bar, received 50 blows on each of two opposite sides, and 25 on each of the other sides, with + blows in nicking, and 5 broke it. No. 6. AV'ithout any cold-hammering and the same bar, after receiving + blows to nick, required 6 to break it. No. 7. The same as in the case of No. (>, had no cold-hammering, with 4 blows to nick it, and required 30 blows to break; in this case it was broken the flat way of the pile of the iron, but in No. 6 it was broken the edge way of the pile. No. 8 Exjieriment was made on a shaft 3| inches diameter. 18J0 ] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 121 which was colJ-hammereil at one end, havinjj received 20+ blo-vs on all sides frtini a 3j ton tilt hammer; 110 blows with a sledije hammer were jjiven to nick this end all round which had been cold- hammered, and it required only 5 blows from a 3j ton hammer to break it; the other end which had not been cold-hammered, alter receiving the same number of blows in nicking-, required 78 blows under the 3j ton hammer to break it, thus proving the enormous amount of deterioration of the strength of the iron caused by the cold-hammering process. No. 9. A piece of round iron 2| inches diameter which had two bearings turned (one at each end) l| inch diameter by 2i inches long, was allowed to run at a considerable velocity for about an hour, with one end oiled and the other dry, the dry end being cooled with water repeatedly when it became hot; the iron was then experimented upon in order to determine by the different force requii-ed to break the end whicli had been injured by want of lubrication, the relative strength of each bearing, but such was tlie remarkably tough quality of this iron, that although it received 520 blows of a heavy sledge hammer in every possible way to break it in one direction (without being nicked), no fracture could be effected, but the iron seemed to be drawing out at the back of the journal on end, as will be seen by tlie meeting. This last case is noticed in particular, as the following experi- ment of a similar character with an old axle of larger dimensions, shows in strong contrast the altered nature of similar iron from use on a railway, owing to the jar or vibrating action it has suffered. In the 9tli experiment a piece of new iron intended for part of an axle, although run dry and cooled with water, yet was so fibrous, having received no jar, that it resisted all effort to break it. No. 10. Another experiment of a similar character was tried on an old axle which had been a long time in use, of the same kind of iron and manufacture as the bar in No. 9 experiment. This axle with the wheels on was run in its own bearings in a lathe at a velocity equal to 10 miles per hour for 5 hours; one journal was kept run- ning dry, and when heated by the friction cooled with water, while the other journal was kept well lubricated with oil. When taken out, the journal which had been heated was broken with 12 blows of a hammer 22 lb. in weight, while the lubricated journal required 91 blows with the same hammer to break it, in both cases without being nicked; this appears satisfactorily to prove the injury to the axle which results from the practice of throwing cold water on the journal to cool it when it has become nearly red hot from want of proper lubrication. In addition to various other experiments with the view of deter- mining the change which is gradually going on in railway axles, and Oilier iron liable to a jarring, vibrating motion, the writer would refer the meeting to a few samples of broken axles sent to him from various quarters, which, if proof were wanting, completely substantiate, in his opinion, the certainty of the crystalline change. Before reading some of the communications received from other gentlemen containing their experience on the subject, he would first call attention to the two experiments which were tried in rela- tion to the proportion and form of axle, in order to meet the objec- tion raised at the I'ormer meeting, " that the slow pressure on the flanches of the wheel to discover where the axles were most exposed to the bending strain was not a faithful representation of what takes places in practice." The axle was fixed upright, so that the wheels were i)laced in such a position that the violent blow when the wheels of the carriage jarred upon the rail was fairly repre- sented by the blow caused by the descent of a weight of 17 cwt. which «<«s allowed to fall upon the edge of the wheel at A, from a height of 9,4 feet. It is most satisfactory to find that the curve into which the axle was bent, is quite in accordance with the for- mer results, which were obtained by slow pressure applied at the same points, and establishes the rule of proportion of the axle therein stated. See figs. 10 and 11, Plate IV. The following are some instances of tough fibrous wrought -iron being rendered brittle and breaking off quite square with a close- grained fracture from the effect of the concussion of very small blows rapidly repeated for a long period; the blows being very small in force compared to the strength of the iron. These speci- mens are from the machines for making button shanks, in JMr. Heaton's .Mills, Birmingham. The hammer in these machines is about 2g lb. weight, and is lifted by a rod i|-inch square, which has a pull upon it of about 12 lb. from the difference of leverage; the hammer strikes 120 blows per minute, but the cam that drives it acts only during one-fourth of its revolution, so that the velocity of the hammer is equal to four times the number of blows, or nearly 1000 changes of motion per minute. The lifting-rods always break with a close-grained short fracture, although made of the toughest and most fibrous ircju that can be obtained, and they sometimes last (uily a few months; the rods break near to the end, which is fixed witli a coupling, and the deterioration of the iron appears to be confined within a small portion, tlie iron remaining quite tough and fibrous within an inch of the fracture, as shown by the specimen, which has been bent doulde at that part. The ham- mer is snatched suddenly by the lifling-rod, and is ])ulled against a strong spring for the purpose of getting a quick recoil and a sharp blow of the hannner, much quicker than it would fall by gravity. Another specimen from the same machines is the lever for push- ing oft' the work from the machine when stamped; the lever is about ^-inch square, made of the toughest wrought-iron, it is 9 inches long, and falls back against a stop at one-third of its length from the centre of motion at the bottom, being thrown back sharply by a spring, the total strain upon the lever varying from about lib. to about 12 lb., according to the accidental circum- stances in the working of the machine. These levers all break off' quite short and close-grained within an inch of the p irt that strikes against the stop, but the iron continues quite fibrous and unchanged to within an inch of the point of fracture, as shown in the speci- men. They were driven at the same speed as menticuied above, amounting to nearly the velocity of 1000 changes of motion per minute; but they broke so freciuently, lasting sometimes only a few weeks, that it was determined at last to reduce the speed of the machines from 120 to about 100 blows per minute, and in conse- quence of this reduction in speed the levers are much less fre- quently broken, and last on the average about four times as luog as before. Communication from Mr. John Kekwick: — "The Holmes, Rot/:er/iam, it/t December, 1S49. " I have l)een reading in the Mechanics' Magazine for last monch a report of your ahN paper on railway axles, and 1 notice Mr. Robert Sie- pliensiin said tliat Mr. McConnell had ex|)ressed a strung opinion that a change tnok place from a ^fi»ou4' htruciure lo a crystalline one during the time of its heinii in use, and it wuuld be satisfactory if an instance could lie pointed out where this change had occurred owing to vibration or other treatment, &c, &c. 1 think I can furni=h an instance in proof of ynur opinion on this point : — In one of our forges we are daily in the haljii of using a metal helve or hammer weii^hing abuut -t tons, for the purpose of drawing large sizes of steel, and tiie sliaft nf this helve is 17 inches by 9 inches. Folding great inconvenience and danger from the breakage of cast iron helves, we were induced tu try a wrought-'non one 16 inches by S inch's. After using this for several months, the shaft broke in two about the middle, and the fracture presented a crystalline appearance of 'short' cast-iron: we repaired the shaft, and in the course of a few months it again broke about tlie same place, and it again presented a similar granulated, cast-iron like, crystalline appear- ance throunliout the face of the fracture. 1 attributed this change solely lo the vibration and jar occasioned in the process of hammering steel, more parlnularly cns<-steel." Communication from Mr. Benjamin Gibbons: — "Shut End House, near Dad ley, Ibth January, 1850. *' When the hea\y cast-iruu helves were used for drawing out bars, and the art of chilling iron was little understood, tlie nose or that part of the iron helve struck by the cam to lift it was protected by a wrought-iron plate well fitted, and this was secured by a large pin countersunk into it, and extended tbrnugb a hole cast through the nose of the helve, and screwed as fast as possible on the upper side. The very best and most jibrous iron (itscertained to he so hy previous breaking) was always selected, and yt when the pin broke by the repealed shocks it had to sustain (about 90 ti-nes per rainutf), it always broke with a large bright grain, H'i/;^o«^ ^//e lea-^i trace of fibre. This was so regularly the ease that I never knew a pin la>t for many months. Another instance was in a fly-wheel where wrought-iron arms were used instead of cast iron, for the purpose of throwing the weight to the outer circumference, and this wheel was applied to a forge-hammer engine. It woiked well for a time till the arms got loose in the cast iron rim, and then a violent shock was received every time the cam struck the lielve ; after soiiid time, the arms began to break one after the other, and though the iron was of the toughest description originally, it was found that any part broken was of a bright crystalline grain. The pins of shears for culling down large cold bars sustain violent shocks ; they perpetually break with the same bright grain, though made of t)ie toughest iron. Also the iron arms of common carts always break wiin that grain from the same apparent cause. 1 have taken iron of this bright crystalline character which I had [jre- viously known to he fibrous, and by drawing it down a little at a proper heut have never failed to restore the fibrous texture of the iron." The practiciil suggestions derivable from the foregoing experi- 1-2-2 TIIK CIVIL EXGIKEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. f Apsii., iiients and inquiries, wliiih are confirmed by all the writer's pre- vious experience and information, are — 1st. 'i'hat tlie axles of all railway en'jines, carriapes, and vehicles should be inaile of the best ascertained (|uality of iron for the ])urpose, both tough and strong, and of uniform clean fil)rous texture. 2nd. The proportion of an a\le in all parts to be determined from sound experience and calculation; the load it has to carry, the speed at which it is run, and the description of wheel in which it is ]daced, and strains to which it is liable in working from curves or ineciualities of the road, or other deteriorating causes, being fully considered. 3rd. That previous to any axle being allowed to run on any line, the maker's name should be legibly marked thereon and the date of manufacture, and also when it was first put to work. It is of course manifestly im]iracticable to record the number of miles run; but as all railway stock in a general way is worked nearly uniform, the above particulars w ould afford the necessai-y data to guide the opinion which may be formed of the age beyond which limit the iron becomes comparatively unsafe. 4-th. That it be part of the duty of the proper officer to see that fill a.xles are working in good condition and receiving careful treatment. .5th. The next point the writer would press is, that all in whose power is the opportunity for registering facts in connection with railway axles, should by this, or some recognised scientific Insti- tution, be requested to note and carefully collect their information on all ]toints, in order that a certain average result for tlie guidance and benefit of all interested may be arrived at. 0th. That attention should be given to ascertain the description and working condition of wheels which in all points cause the least deteriorating effects on the axle ; and for this he proposes to ])roduce some further experiments and also results from practice. 7tli. That the quality of lubrication and description of bearings used should also be considered; and for this he also proposes to give a paper to the Institution, with the results of experiments and experience. It is obviously of most material advantage to all who are con- nected with or have the management of machinery, whether for railway, manufacturing, or mining jiurposes, to have their atten- tion directed to tlie jihenoniena bearing u])un the nature, use, stability, and durability of the iron or other material of which that macliinery is constructed; as it must be manifest that we must first obtain a clear knowledge of the best quality, the best form, and the best treatment necessary to select and prepare it for use, and to pi-eserve it from any deteriorating causes as far as pos- sible, in order to obtain the greatest safety, efficiency, and economy in working the macliinery for the purpose it is intended to effect. With the above views kept prominently before them in all their inquiries in this as well as in other branches of practical research in developing improvements of commercial utility, the members of this Institution, from their different positions, with large and varied opportunities, will be enabled to effect great good; they will assist the progress of useful mechanical inventions, and entitle themselves to the respect and gratitude of all classes, as being the means of producing and encouraging lasting and substantial ad- vantages to the commercial and manufacturing interests of the country. Rpmarks made at the Meeting after the Reading of the foregoing Paper, The Chairman (Mr. McConnell) remarked, that it was much to be rcgrutteil that tfioir President, who took a gre.it interest in the suliject, was a'jsent, and perhaps it wuiiUi be well not to conchule the investigation tliat evening, in order to ofTord him an opportunity of being present. Mr. CowPER inquired with reference to the hrnken axle exhihiled, wl.elher it had been niiked to a square shoulder and broken to test tlie qiiility of the iron, or whetiicr it liad only been bent by pressure? The Chairiian replied, that the axle was broken at one end whilst mailing on the railv\ay, and was broken off short at the other end hy falling to the ground; and then in order to see whether the crystallisation was local or otherwise, it was afterwards bent in the centre by three or four blows from a weight of 17 cnt., falling npnn it, without the axle being nicked, and it was then donhled up liy the hydr.iulic press, hut it did not show any aiiprarance of breaking. Mr. Wright oliserved, that the fractnre was at a very deep square sbnilder, and a great deal of the appearance round the fracture might be the result of the shoulder. The Chairman replied, that this to a certain extent might be the case, but even without the shoulder there seemed to be an annular crystalline ^p.;ce going on fuiming. ^ Mr. Valtbr Williams expresstyl bis full eoneurren'-e in the views stated by Mr. Gibbons in his coiumunication, which were founded on very 1 ing experience. He could also speak from the experience of many yeais, that he had invariably found that iron much used as axles broke in the manner described hy the Chairman. He was therefore quite satisfied tnat a change takes place in tlie strurture of iron, and was rather surprised that a different opinion was entertained, because he had observed hundreds of instances where after having produced a good tough finrous iron, yet after hanunering it had broken crystalline. But to show how well it was known that iron was affected in structure, be would mention that in making iron tor particular purposes it was desirable to have it of very close fihre, and it wa8 customary to throw the hot iron into a water bosh in th.e state in wbieh it came from the rolls, and that injured its fibre. The ohject in thus dealing with the iron was to clean it, and when next put through the rolls ii8- li'irons character was restored; hence he was of opinion that in the case- of axles deteriorated hy wear their fibrous character might he restored hy drawing down hot, for there was no doubt it was the a.tion of the wliseln which made the change. Mr. Hodge considered the subject as one of great importance, and sug- g'^sted that the discussion should he deferred until after the members had been furnished with a copy of the paper and the experiments, with such diagrams as were necessary for their illustration. So important was the question which presented itself with reference to changes in the structure of iron, that it bad occujiied the attention of the American Institute for twf) sessions, and be thought that this Institution should not allow the subject to pass without a long and careful consideration, because it was necessary to have regard to the various circumstances under which the iron was manu- factured, and the particular character of the iron itself. Mr. Henry Smith, in reference to his promise at the last meeting to furnish some results at the present meeting, observed that the experiments on cold-hammered iron, which v\ere described in Mr. McConnell's paper, bad been tried at his works, and he fully concurred in all that Mr. .McCunuell had said with reference to them. Mr. P. R. Jackson inquired wliich class of iron the chairman considered best for railway axles — malleable iron or steel.' For his own part, when he required great strength he employed good steel, and found that answer the best. The Chairman, in reply, repeated tlie first practical deduction contained in his paper — viz., "that the axles of all railway engines, carriages, and vehicles, should be made of the best ascertained quality of iron for the purpose, both tough ami strong, and of uniform clean fibrous texture."' That was his opinion with reference to the quality of iron to be employed ; and he thought the Institution would be departing from its province were ii to consider any particular district or manufacture. They were now treating of the deterioration of railway a.rles, and the question to be decided by proofs adduced to the members was whether they underwent such a change as from fibrous to crystalline iron ; that question being determined, they might then not only consider the quality of iron, but the form of railway axles most advantageous to be adopted. Mr. Hodge observed, that when steel was employed it was in order to produce stiffness and not to resist torsion ; he did not think that the mere imparting of carbon to iron would give it the properties required for the present purpose. Mr. Slate doubted whether the term fibrous, as applied to iron, properly described the state or condition of the material to which it referred. He could understand a fibre of cotton or wool, or other such material, hut in the case of fibrous iron, as it was termed, they found a series of small crys- tals united longitudinally, giving the appearance of fibre ; and when that changed to larger crystals the peculiar cohesion seemed to be destroyed, and the whole became a conglomerate mass without an\' appearance of fibre. Mr. CowPER said, it appeared to him that fibre in iron was composed of the separate particles of iron existing in the puddling furnace of different sizes, and that these were afterwards elongated in the process of forging and rolling, so that a number of long particles were obtained lying near to each other, though there was not perfect contact, ow ing to the interlying cinder. Crystalline iron w.is that in which the particles assumcil any other form than the elongated form. .\ll iron contained a portion of cinder or silicate of iron, which was more or less squeezed out in the process of forging and rolling. Mr. HoDGK remarked, that to arrive at any true results as to the struc- ture of iron it would be necessary to call in the aid of the microscope, to examine the fibrous and crystalline structure. Mr. W'alter Williams adverted to the well-known fact that the con- tinued working of macliinery, such for instance as the crank pins of engines, destroyed the fibrous structure of the iron and made them crystalline. Mr. Cowper remai kcd, that it was bis opinion that iron could not become crystallised unless it was hammered or so strained hy force as to alter its form and produce a permanent set or ch.inge of form; he did not think however that an iron railway axle became crystallised from llie action of the concussions of the wheels; because be did nnt think that the effect produced was equivalent to cold-hammering; he thought a fair experiment would be to turn a square shoulder in the centre part of the broken axle which had been ISiO.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 123 lient up hy pressure, and then to break it with a nick at the shoulder, and see if it broke with a fibrous or crystalline fraciure, for it was well known that by nicking iron it would break more crystalline. Mr. Hodge illustrated the subject by reference to the etfect produced upon the journal of a picker shaft in a cotton mill, at Lowell in America, where in order to produce stiffness a shaft of cast steel was introduced, hut it frpqnently broke off at the journal, particularly when there was a very ti^ht belt nn the drum. A collar of cast-iron 1| inch tliiok was then shrunk on the j'lurnal working in a brass bearing, and it then worked well. He merely adduced this fact to show that the friction caused by high velocity produces a change in the molecular structure of iron. Mr. HoBY did not think that from the mere appearance of the sectional fracture they could exactly determine the molecular change. They would reinllect that Mr. Stephenson adverted to some experiments by Mr. Brunei, where from the mode of producing the fracture the same bar of iron gave out different results; these experiments were perhaps conducted on too small a scale to furnish undeniable results, but he thought it quite possible that the same bar of iron should exhibit different results when twisted slowly in a vice or struck by a smart blow; iu the one case the fracture might be crystalline, but fibrous in the other. A Member said that he had tried an experiment with very tough charcoal iron; he merely attached it to the head of a tilt hammer, which went about 300 strokes per minute, and after a few weeks it broke off brittle without ar y blow, althrugh the iron was at first as tough as it could be made; and this was attributed only to the jarring. Mr. IIoDGE observed, that this was quite analogous to the results given in the report of the Commissioners on the experiments with reference to the duration of wire bridges in France, that the effect was produced by the constant vibration or jarring between the particles of the iron. Mr. William Smith said, that he produced two specimens of ordinary puddled-har iron IJ in. square, on which he had tried the effect of hammer- ing; the first piece was broken off from the bar by 22 blows of a 14 lb. hammer, the bar having been nicked, and the fracture was very fil)rous; the second piece was 7 in. leu^th cut off from the same bar next to the first piece, and he set it on an anvil and struck it 20 blows on the end, and it was then nicked in the middle and broke off with a single light blow, and showed a square crystalline fracture; another piece was then broken oft' the same end of the bar as the first piece, to ascertain if the quality of iron in the bar was the same, and it required 21 blows to break it, and was similar in the fracture to the first piece. Mr. MiDDLETON remarked, that in taking off the tyres from the driving whrels of an engine he observed that the bolts were quite crystalline; he was quite satisfied there was a change. And with regard to the hammering which took place on the rails, in his opinion, it was quite sufficient to cause the ciiange observed in railway axles. Mr. Heaton said, he fully concurred in all that had been said in favour of a change being affected in the structure of iron. He considered the chance was generally confined to some particular part, and the rest of the iron was not injured; in his machine for flattening button shanks, which gave a tdow of about 12 lb. (mentioned in Mr. McConnell's paper), the constant action had the effect of breaking the levers, which showed a crystalline fracture, although within half-an-inch from the part so broken the iron continued unchanged and quite fibrous. The same was observable in the cross pins of corn-spindles which frequently broke in a few weeks* wear; and he did not know which lasted the longest, steel or iron, but he thought good scrap iron would last as long as a piece of steel, but it would not last half the time if subjected to cold swaging. In the example he pro- duced of broken cross piu'^, the fracture showed a vertical division, because the strain was only at each side; but in the case of a railway axle the fracture showed a circular space in the centre, because the strain was all round the axle on all sides in succession. The further consideration of the subject was then adjourned to the next meeting, and the Chairman said, he hoped the members would come forward with all the information they could collect which bore upon a question of such importance; and for his own part he would take every opportunity of trying further experiments and collecting facts with reference to it. Caalmff Ships' Bottoms. — A patent has recently been granted to Messrs, A. Yule and J. Chanter, for improvements in coating ships' bottoms with one or other of the following compositions: — First, 8 to 10 parts of bullock's- gall, 301b. of carbonate of iron or plumbago reduced to a fine powder, and Bdxtd together to form a paste, to which 4 gallons of salt water are to he added to bring the whole to a proper consistence. [What relation is there between parts and pounds .'] — Second, 3011:. of carbonate of iron or plum- bago in powder, 3 lb. of white arsenic, 2\ gallons of coal tar, naphtha, or spirits of turpentine, and from 12 to 14 lb. of Stockholm tar.— Third, 10 lb. of carbonate of iron or plumbago in powder, and 1 lb. of white arsenic, to which Russian tallow is added, with the assistance of heat to incorporate the whole. This composition is to be applied hot, and rubbed over with the dry powder. DWELLINGS OF THE LABOURING CLASSES.* On the DweUings of the Labouring Classes. By Henry Roberts, E:sfj. — (Paper rend at the Royal Institute of British Architects, Earl de Grey, K.G., President, in the Chair). The subject to he now submitted to the consideration of the Institute of British Architects is one to which their special atten- tion has not been previously invited, although it was incidentally alluded to by my friend, Nir. Smirke, iu the course of the last session. Much has lately been said and written on the dwellings of the lahnuriny classes; our illustrious patron, the Prince Consort, has emphatically sliown that he feels deeply interested in this subject, and lias publicly announced tliat "these feelings are entirely and warmly shared by her JIajesty the Queen," our most gracious patroness. Still it is probable that but few members of the Insti- tute have given any special attention to those details which will be brought under your notice; and certainly a yet more limited num- ber h-A\ e been professionally engaged in a field of labour, which apparently offers little scope for ecientific skill, and but few at- tractive points to an artist's eye. Such was my own case when, between five and six years since, I undertook the duties of Hono- rary Architect to the Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring- Classes, to whose operations in this department your attention will be hereafter invited. There appear to he many reason.s which, in an especial manner, commend this subject to the consideration of the architect, besides those whicli give it so strong a claim on the serious attention of the philanthropist and political economist. A moment's reflection must show that the liigiiest achievements of architecture are ac- complished through the instrumentality of the working classes, whose skill and persevering industry conduce as much to the fame of the Architect as the steady valour of the soldier does to weave the crown of victory around the brow of his triumphant General. We sliall not enter into a lengthened detail of the present state of the dwellings in which a very numerous body of the labouring classes are lodged. Perstioiis of dwellings sepa- rately. 'I'lie most hnmble abodes, whether In a town or in the country, in oriler to he healthy, must he dry and well ventilated; to sei-iire the former, it is essential tliat due attention he triven to the situation feet to 150 feet superficial, and the jiarents' bed-room should measure at least about 100 feet super- <:<-ial; in the latter it is of imiuirtance, as a jirovision for sickness, that there should be a fireplace. In every roimi an opening for the pscane of vitiated air ought to he maile near tlie ceiling, especially ill tlie smaller lied-rooms for children, where tliere is no fiieplace. An entirely satisfactory system of ventilation, apjilicalile to small [■partments — bv means of'which the vitiated air shall he removed, and an adecpiate supply of fresh air he introduced, without causing any perceptilile current, — appears to be still a desideratum. My exi'erience is certainly unfavourable to the inrlisorinnnnte use of chimney valves fixed in the ordinary manner. In some cases, they answer 'perfectly; in others, it is almost imiiracticable to prevent the ingress of 'smoke through the aperture; on this account I )irefer, where practicable, carrying up for some height an inde- jiendent ventilating flue, which 'may be 9 inches liy A. inches or even smaller, and ultimately open into the chimney flue, or into the external air if there he no chimney flue from the ajiartment. The most sim]de and economical ventilator for the admission of externa! air which I have tried is fixing in an aperture behind an air brick ;in iron frame fitted with a sheet of jierforated zinc, and liavingan iron plate hung to close it with a rack. Perforated ventilating glass and Bailie's slidins ventilators are both valuable inventions. For tlie comfort and health of the inmates of every tenement, the protection afforded by an internal lobby or close porch is of importance, as well as the relative position of the doors and fire- places to the living room, which should be so arranged that there may be at least one snug corner free from dransht. A\niere case- ment windows are used, the irreat difficulty which is found in the lower class of buildinL'-s of rendering them weather-tight, renders it desiral le that thev should invariably he made to open outwards, and he jiroperlv secured by stay-bar fastenings. Zinc I have found the most satisfactory material for casements, and if the quarries are well pro])ortione'd and not too large, tlieir effect differs very little from that of lead. In illustrating the general principles to he advocated as aji- )dicable, particularly to town buildings, it will be convenient to re^'er to the dwellings erected by the Society for Improving the Condition of the Lahourincr week. 2. The remaining fourteen families are distributed in seven liuLiscs, each lun.ily occuj'j ing a floor of two rooms, with all rciiuisite conveniences; and as the apartments on the upper floor are a]i- proached through an outer door distinct from tliat belanging to the lower floor, their respective occupants are thus kept entirely separate, and each floor is virtu illy a distinct dwelling. The rent [paid by each family is three shillings and six|)eni-e per week. A u-ti.th-liouKP, with drying ground, is provided for the occasional use of the tenants of these houses, at a small charge. 3. The centre building on the east side will accommodate thirty widows or females of an advanced age, each having a room, with the use of a wash-house common to them all. The rent paid for each room is one shilling and sixjience per week. Subseipiently it has been thmiffht bv the Committee that this rent siiould have been fixed at two shillings per week. Where space will admit of it, some modification in the arrange- ment of houses built after this general model would be desirable. The Society has published a plan in which these alterations are embraced. Knc(Mirasred by the immediate occupation of their first set of buildings, and the approval of the public manifested by liberal con- tributions to their funds, the Society next proceeded to exiiibit a model of an improved lodging-house for working men. To show the practicability of effecting a great improvement in the existing lod.:ing-h(Mises,' the Society began by taking three lodging-houses in one of the worst neighbourhoods in L(nidon — viz., Charles-street, Drury-lane. These they completely renovated and converted into one house, which has been fitted up with clean and wholesome beds, and all other appurtenances requisite for the health and comfort of eighty-two working men, who pay .at the same rate as is charged for the wretched accommodation afforded in ordinary lodging-houses — viz., fourpence per night, or two shil- lings ]ier week, and cheerfully conform to the regulations of th ! establishment. In a financial point of view, this experiment is aniplv remunerative to the Society. But, however valuable as an experiment, and calculated as a stimulant to proiluce highly beneScial results, the house in Charles- street cannot he considered as the model of what a lodging-bouse ought to he. The Committee therefore jmrchased a piece of free- hold ground in George-street, St. Giles's, surrounded by other lodging-houses, and have built on it a model lodging-house for 10+ working men. The Plans fully describe the arrangement of the several floors; and the fitting-up' of the jiriiicipal apartments may be thus briefl / stated: — The kitchen ami wash-house are furnisliod with every re<|uisite and appropriate convenience; the bath is supplied with hot and cold water; the pantry-hatch jn-ovides a secure and separate well-ventilated safe fin- the food of each inmate. In tliepay-ofnce, under care of the superintendent, is a small, well-selected library, for the use of the lodgers. The coffee, or common room, 33 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 10 ft. 9 in. high, is paved witli white tiles, laid on brick arches, and on each side are two rows of elm tables, with seats; at the fire-place is a constant supply of hot water, and above it are the rules of the establishment. The staircase, which occupies the centre of the building, is of stone. The dormitories, eiiilit in number, 10 feet hiiib, are subdivided with moveable wo^d ))artitions 6 ft. 9 in. high; each compartment, enclosed by its owa door, is fitted up with a bed, chair, and clothes-box. In addition to the ventilation secured liy means of a thorough draught, a shaft is carried up at the end of every room, the ventilation through it being assisted by the introduction of gas which liglits the apart- ment. A ventilating shaft is also carried up the staircase for the sup]ily of fresh air to the dormitories, with a provision for warming it if required. The wasliing closets on each floor are fitted up with slate, having japanned iron basins, and water laid on. The Society has recently fitted up in Hatton-garden a lodging- house for fifty-seven won'ien, which may be referred to as the completest example of the adaptation and arrangement of an old house with all the conveniences desirable in such an establishment. The question of lodging a large number of families in one lofty pile of buildiiiff has been the subject of much discussion, and in reference to it the most contradictory opinions were stated before the Health-of-Towns' Commission. Some thimght it the best adapted and most economical jdan to provide in one house, with a conimon staircase and internal passages, suflicient rooms for lodg- iu^"- a considerable number of families, giving them the use of a kitchen, wash-house, and other necessary conveniences, in common; others objected that such an arrangement would lead to endless contentions, and he attended with much evil in cases of contagious disease. It must be obvious that in many localities where labour- ers' dwellings are indisiiensahle, it is inipossil>le to i.ro\ ide them uiUi isolated and allo^'ether independent tenements; and therefore, 18iO.J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 125 though modified by local and other circumstances, it will be found the geiieral practice in Great Britain, as well as in the large con- tinental towns, for several families of the working classes to reside in one liouse. The important point, then, for consideration, is, in what manner can the advantages of this economical arrangement be retained, witliout the serious practical evils which have been referred to? In providing for the accommodation of a large number of families in one pile of building, a leading feature of the plan should he the preservation of the domestic privacy and independence of each distinct family, and the disconnection of their apartments, so as effectually to prevent the communication of contagious diseases. This is accomplished in the model houses built in Streatham-street, Bloomsbury, by dispensing altogether with separate staircases, and other internal communications between the different stories, and by adopting one common open staircase leading into galleries or corridors, open on one side to a spacious quadrangle, and on the other side having the outer doors of the several tenements, the rooms of whicli are protected from draught by a small entrance lobby. The galleries are supported next the quadrangle by a series of arcades, each embracing two stories in height; and the slate floors of the intermediate galleries rest on iron beams, which also carry the inclosure railing. The tenements being tlius rendered separate dwellings, and having fewer than seven windows in each, it is confidently submitted are not liable to the window- tax — which, in a financial point of view, is a consideration of much importance — a saving of at least between seventy and eighty pounds per annum being thus effected on the entire range of build- ings. Open Gallery. \'.nt' Vont' PLAN OK ONE OF THE TENEMENTS. 0 10 ■-L^ The plan at a large scale exhibits one tenement or set of apart- ments with their appropriate fittings, which comprise all the con- veniences requisite for a well-ordered family, and include, in addition to the bed-rooms, a provision for an inclosed turn-up bed in a closet out of the living-room. The nature of the foundation rendering excavation to a con- siderable depth indispensable, a basement story has been formed, with a range of well-lighted and ventilated workshops. The floors and roofs of these buildings are rendered fire-proof by arching with hollow tiles or bricks slightly wedge-shaped. They are 6 inches deep, 4 inches wide on the top part, 9 inches long. gths to 1 inch tliick; the rise of the arches is from f-inch to 1 inch per foot on the span, and they are set in Portland cement in the proportion of one part cement to two parts sharp sand, the tiles being well wetted before being used. The arrangement of the building is such as to render the floor and roof arches a continual series of abutments to each other, ex- cepting at the extremities, where tliey are tied in with g-inch iron rods, secured to stone or cast-iron springei-s. The roof is levelled with concrete, and asphalted. The floors of the bed-rooms are boarded on joists 2 inch square, cut out 1 inch on the back of the arch, and secured to two sleepers; the remainder of the floors are in Portland cement, excepting the basement, which is of metallic lava. The extra cost of rendering tliis l)uilding fire-proof, as well as preventing the communication of sound, and all percolation of water between the several floors, by means of tlie tile arches, beyond the cost of construction with the ordinary combustible floors and roof, as ascertained by comparative tenders, do not exceed about 12.?. per cent, on the contract for the entire pile of building, which is 7370/.; and, in all probability, when a regular demand arises for roof and floor arch-tiles, they will be supplied at such a price as to allow of their use without any extra cost. The Metropolitan Association for Improving the Dwellings of the Industrious Classes was incorporated by royal charter in October, 1845, and their first range of dwellings, built in the Old Pancras-road, for the accommodation of 110 families, was opened for reception of the tenants early in 184.8. These buildings, from the designs of Mr. Moff'et, present an extended and imposing front of about 296 feet, with advancing wings, and are five stories high. The subdivision into distinct double-houses, with a central stone staircase to each, is similar to that of the Birkenhead buildings. They are not fire-proof, but have the advantage of larger-sized apartments, and unob.structed light and air. The internal stair- case arrangement involves them equally in the heavy charge of window-tax, which, on the whole pile of buildings, amounts to about 150/. per annum. These buildings have been constantly occupied since their completion, and tlie most gratifying evidence has been given of the change produced in the health and comfort of the tenants, by tlieir improved and salubrious dwellings. The second undertaking of the Metropolitan Society has been the building in Spitalfields of a lodging-house for 234 single men, with dormitories arranged on a similar plan to those in the George- street, Bloomsbury, lodging-houses, opened in 1847. The living- room accommodation is more extensive and costly, as it comprises a coffee-room 45 feet by 35 feet, a kitchen 46 feet by 21 ft. 9 in., a lecture-room 35 feet by 21 ft. 9 in., and a reading-room 25 feet by 21 ft. 9 in. This building is just completed from the designs of Mr. W. Beck. The charge for each lodger has been fixed at 3.9. per week, whilst that in George-street, Bloomsbury, is only 2s. id. per week; it remains to be seen whether the extra ])ayment beyond id. per night, the usual charge for lodging for single men, will be paid for such increased accommodation. It may also be question- able how far the class of men for whom lodgings in such a neigli- bourhood are chiefly needed, will be really benefited by the luxuries here provided, and which but few men in full employment can have much time for enjoying. It should, however, be observed, that the proximity of this establishment to the spacious range of dwellings for families, building by the same Association, affords the oppor- tunity of appropriating to tlie use of the occupants of those dwell- ings, during certain portions of tlie day, some of the accommodation afiVirded in this building, and thus turning to good account what might otherwise be surplus accommodation. The internal plan of these dwellings for families is similar in general disposition to those in the Old Pancras-road, the relative position of the door and fire-places in the living-rooms is better than in the latter buildings, but the position of the entrance under the centre of the staircase, from apparent w ant of height, is unsatisfactory. Besides the new buildings to which reference has been made, the spirit of improvement has in several places been manifested by the re-modelling of old buildings, and fitting them up as near as cir- cumstances will admit on an improved and sanitary plan, so as to render them healtliy and comfortable abodes. That improvements of this description might be effected to a very great extent, with immense advantage to the working classes, and a handsome remunerative return to those who undertake tliem with judgment, and who do not slirink from the trouble wliich they in\olve, the experience of the Society for Improving tlie Condition of tlie Labouring Classes has clearly demonstrated. In adapting and fitting up old buildings, as well as in erecting 18 126 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [April, new ones, experience lias taught the importance of a judicious selection of tlie locality, which should not lie too far removed from the daily occu]>ation of the expected tenants, nor should they he in close contact with the residences of a much hif^her class in society. In reference to new buildings for the labouring classes, the most rigid economy of arrangement, consistent with accommodation sufficiently spacious to be convenient and healthy, and the utmost attention to cheapness of construction, consistent with durability and comfort, are essential elements of a really good and suital)le plan. The architect should bear in mind that the rents which the working classes usually pay, though exorbitantly high for the wretched accommodation afforded them, will only j"st yield a fair return for the outlay on buildings constructed for their express use, and fitted up with all the conveniences which it is desiral>le they should possess. Any expenditure on unnecessary accommodation, which involves an increase of rent beyond that usually paid by the occupants of such a class of dwellings, appears to be at least hazardous, and may jeopardise the whole or a portion of the interest to be fairly expected from the investment. The remaining branch of my subject, on which I have now to speak more particularly, is that of labourers' dwellings in agri- cultural or country districts. The attention of landed proprietors has often been directed to the necessity for the improvement of labourers' cottages, and in not a tew instances the entire aspect of a village and neighbour- hood has in this respect been completely changed by tlie well- directed efforts of a single landlord. Illustrations might be drawn from the example set by many noble and wealthy proprietors: in the first instance I will cite a case which shows how, with compa- ratively limited means, much good may in this way be effected. In the recently published memoir of John Howard, it is recorded that when he first went to reside at Cardington. in Bedfordshire, about 1756, he found it one of the most miserable villages which could have been pointed out on the map of England. Its peasant in- habitants were wretchedly poor, ignorant, vicious, turbulent, dirty. With his characteristic energy and earnestness, Howard set himself, within the sphere of his own competence and influence, to ameliorate their condition both in a worldly and spiritual sense. Beginning with his own estate, he saw that the huts in which his tenantry, like all others of their class, were huddled together, were dirty, ill-built, ill-drained, imperfectly lighted and watered, and altogether so badly conditioned and unhealthy, as to be totally unfit for the residence of human beings. He resolved to begin his work at the true starting point, by first aiming to improve their physical condition — to supply them with the means of comfort; attaching them thus to their own fireside, the great centre of all )iure feelings and sound morals — to foster and develope in them a relish for simple domestic enjoyments. The first step which he took in furtherance of these objects was obviously a wise one, that of rendering the homex of the poor dwellings fit for self-respecting men. This must indeed be the starting point of every true social and industrial reformation. Your attention must now be directed to the very important com- munication on the dwellings for agricultural labourers made by his grace the Duke of Bedford through the Royal Agricultural Society, in a letter addressed to the Earl of Chichester, President es, conducting to its extreme end all the water it receives at its origin. 1. Straiout Co.nduits of Uniform Diameter. Manner nf expressing the Resistance. 2. For greater simplicity, let us unite in one the two forces which tend tti produce the velocity of flow — the pressure AC at the head of the conduit, and that of FD which arises from the slope: for this purpose, let us imagine that the given conduit CD is placed horizontally at HI, at the bottom of a reservoir, of which the depth AII = AC'+ FD = ED. Nothing will be changed in the data of the problem: we shall have the same force and the same resistance, the latter being independent of the position of the conduit. The force of pressure by reason of which the water tends to run out, or more immediately, the vertical height ED, which is the difference of level between the orifice of discharge and the surface of the fluid in the reservoir, is called the head {charge de la con- duite). We shall designate it by H. If the conduit offered no resistance to the motion, setting aside the effect of contraction at the entry, the water would run out with a velocity due to this total height, as we have just seen. But it is not so: the resistance of the sides opposing an obstacle, diminishes this velocity; it consequently absorbs a portion of the motive head H. The flow takes place only by virtue of the remaining portion; which portion is simply the height due to the velocity of discharge, or indeed to the velocity at any point of the conduit, since the motion therein is uniform, and the section everywhere the same. Let V be this velocity, _ - will be the height due to the velocity V' or the effective portion of the head; H will then be the por- tion absorbed by the resistance. 3. We have thus expressed, by the height H, the effort or the force of pressure which drives the water in the conduit; by the height -, the force which produces the discharge; and by another I'- lineal quantity II — — , the resistance or negative force: although it is a principle in mechanics that forces of pressure, or efforts equivalent to weights, ought also to be expressed by weights. I will explain myself on this subject. We have, in a former chapter, seen that the absolute pressure on a fluid horizontal plane, or portion of that plane, designated by .?, waspiH'bs-, p being the specific gravity of the pressing liquid. Since, according to the laws of hydrostatics, the pressure is equal on every part of this plane, it will be sufficient, and at the same time convenient, to consider but one part only; this will be an infinitely small one, which we may suppose always of the same area; then s being constant, the pressure will vary only with the specific gravity or the nature of the liquid, and the height of its column: it is in this sense that we say that the height of the column of mercury in the barometer expresses the pressure of the atmosphere. If the pressing liquid remain the same (as will be always the case with water in this chapter), we may also pass over its weight p, which is constant; and the pressure will be expressed simply by H, and will be exclusively proportional to it. If we were rigorously to adhere to the principle, we should regard H as the weight of the fluid filament which presses and drives on in the conduit the molecule which is immediately beneath it; and we should represent it by a line, as in elemen- tary statics we represent by lines, forces which are also weights. Amount of the Resistanee — Fundamental Equation. i. Since the resistance arises from the effect of the sides, it will be proportional to their superficies— that is to say, to the length of the conduit, and to the circumference of its section, which IS here the wet perimeter; for we are supposing that the flow is made in a full pipe, otherwise we should have the case of a simple canal. In other words, the more the section is enlarged. the more also will the resistance of the sides be distributed among a greater number of mcdecules; consequently, it will less affect each of them and the total mass; it will be in inverse ratio to their number, and consequently to the magnitude of the section. In short, here, as in canals, it will be proportional to the square of the velocity plus a fraction of the simple velocity. Then, if L be the length of the conduit, S its section, C the wet contour or perimeter, a and 6 two constant coefficients, the expres- sion of the resistance will be and we shall have CL H- - = a^~{v' + bv) (1.) 5. It remains to determine the coefficients a and b. M. Prony, who was tlie first to undertake this task in an adequate manner, makes use, for the purpose, of fifty-one experiments made by our most able hydraulicians, and which Du Buat had before employed in the establishment of his formula?. He has deduced therefrom, a = -OOOS+SS; b = -0498; or, in tlie value of English feet, a =: -0001062; b = •'i6339. Of these fifty-one experiments, eighteen had been made by Du Buat him- self, upon a tin pipe, of 1063 inches diameter and 65 6 feet long; twenty, six had been made by Uossut, on tubes also of tin, 1-06 inches, 1-42 inches, and 213 inches diameter, and whose lengths varied from 31'95 feet to 192 feet ; lastly, seven had been made on the large conduits in the park at Ver- sailles, one was 53 inches diameter and 7478 feet long, and another 19'3 inclies diameter and 3834 feet long. Twelve years afterwards, Eytelwein treated anew the question of the motion of running waters; he has thought it right to take into consideration the contraction of the vein at the entrance of the conduit, and m being the coefficient for this contraction, he determined (the measures being in metres). Or in English feet, H V- CL , H — , = -0002803 -=- (v- + Qgxm- S ^ •081 v)" CL .(II.) ^gXni- — -0000854 -— («f +-275G v) But VI, whose effect, besides being imperceptible in large con- duits, is included in the value of «, given by the experiments. Consequently, and paying regard only to the most exact observa- tions, and especially to those of Couplet, I shall adopt the equa- tion. [In metres] H II- [In Eng. feet] H = For canals, the equation is, -0003425 - - {v- + CL , , -0001044 -K- (u- -f-18045 5 1') 3 ..(III.) [In metres] H - 25 -066 )') CL , „ -0003655 — - {v- + CL •OOOllU — {v~ -\--21654^ V >i .(IV.) [In Eng. feetj H - ^^ = These two equations are similar and very nearly the same, as should be the case. The slight differences in the numerical coefficients probably arise from errors in the observations. If this be so, as the observations are capa- ble of being made with much greater exactness upon conduits than upon canals or rivers, it may he presumed that the coefficients of the equations for conduits are the more correct. 6. The section of pipes being a circle, if D represent the dia- meter, we shall have S = n'D', and C — irD; and by putting for IT, w', and g, their numerical values,* the fundamental equation for the motion of water in conduit pipes will become. [In metres] II [In feet] H - -051 V- = -00137 Yj («^ + •055 v) .0155 11= =-0004176 — {v' -f--18045 v) ' .(V.) The velocity is very rarely among the quantities given or required in the problems to be resolved; the discharge is the * Tr = 3-1416j ii'=7SS4. •J- =-061 (in me res). — =-0165 {in English feet). 132 THE CIVIL EKGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LApiilL, or v= 1-273 Let Q be the volume dis- Q D- (VI.) This value of r, put in the equation above, transforms it to [Inmetr.] II— -0820* y^^ =-002221 —(Q-+ -0432^0-)) , >... (VII.) [In feet] II--025I9^-i =-000677j^^(Q-+-U173QD-)^ Such is the formula which we shall liave to employ for the solu- tiiMi of questions relative to the motion of water in conduit pipes; atteiulirip always, in its practical application, to tiie observations iihich will hereafter follow. Of the four quantities Q, U, H, and L, three being given, the fourth may be found by this formula. 7. When the velocity is great, so as to exceed 2 feet per second, the resistance is sensibly proportional to the square of the velocity; the term in which it is but the first power disappears, and we have, according to the experiments of Couplet, [In metres] H — -051 ?;= = -001435 "' ^ [In feet] H —-0155 i^ = -0004373 Or, in terms of Q, [In metres] II — -08264 §, = -002320 " 1) hv" D ...(VIII.) [In feet] H - D' D' 02519 >-, = -000709 — ^ D' D^ D' f (IX.) It will be borne in mind that the second member of the above equations is the value of the resistance arising from the sides of the conduit. b. Disengaging the value of Q from the general equation, it becomes ^\n KX.) -0216 LD- / 4MI-2 HD^ / -0216 LD-\- [I.. metr.] Q= — L:r3r-2l3+ V L + 3/2U + \LT37TuJ r, c .-, rv -0709LD- /li7;0GlID- / -2325 LD-\-' [ ['"f-<] Q--L.3;-2D^V L.372D^(L^3yTn) J In long conduits, where 37 D is very little compared with L, we may neglect it; and again neglecting the second term under the root, we shall have for ordinary cases of practice. VHD- — J— [In feet] Q = 38- 1-305 t/ ■ '^HD^ •021 G D= — -0709 D- f ...(XI.) or, Q = 20-3 .(XII.) 9. In great velocities, it is I1IJ = [In feet] Q = 37-034a/ ''"!.>' If the velocity is required, we obtain its value by dividing the (juantity Q by the section tt'D-. Expression fur tlie Diameter. 10. The diameter of conduits is very often the quantity we have to determine. The best method of obtaining it is by putting the „ „,.. /hd or, Q = 3C-77a/ — fundamental equation under the following form tin metrts] D 3 -{ -00009594 -g- D2 + -0826 -g- D + -tm'J2 ~ , I.Q Q" LQ2 , I fill feet] DS- {•00003594 -Jj- D2 + -02:iHjj- D + -OOOG77-^- I =0 We may pass over, for a first approximation, the first two terms in the brackets, and we have. =o1 !>.(xiii. fin metres] D = a / [In feet] D =/// •> 00222 LQ- H •295 0006769 LQ- H •2323 '^iL HXIV.) IS /LQ^ V H This value will be rather small; and we must successively make slight augmentations to it, until the first member of the equation is reduced to, or equals. 0. The quantity which shall have led to this result will be the diameter required. For velocities above 2 feet per second, we may take directly and simply [In metres] [In feet] ..(XV.) I need say nothing on the determination of H and L; the equa- tion (VII.) gives them by a simple transposition. 11. Let us take some examples of the determiDation of discbarges and diameters : — Ex. 1.— We have a conduit of (25 metr.) •820225 feet diameter, and (1450 Dietr.) 4757-3 feet l{ing: required the volume of water it will dis- cbarge per second, with a head of (5-32 metr.) 17-454 feet ? We have here D = -820225 feet ; H=. 17-454 feet ; I. = 4757-3 feet ; and L + 37-2D = 4787-8l6 feet. Consequently (X.), •0/09 X (•8'20225;2 X 4757-3 Q=- 47«7-H18 v- i; -154 X (■S20225;i /••2.i2S x 4r67-,1 x -WM-ilWi 47S7-S16 ^ 47»7-»l« = -•04737G + ^/iy98y + -024155 = -047376 + 1-423 = 1-37924 cubic feet per second, the quantity required (all the measures being in English feet). The simpli- tied formula (XI.) would have given Q=l-4185--047G7 = l-3708 cubic feet. That for great velocities (XII.), and applicable to this ca-te, in which the velocity is 2-6 feet per second, would have given 1-357 cubic feet. Ex. 2. — Required the diameter of a conduit, 2483-64 feet (757 metr.) long, and whiih shall convey 3-14317 cubic feet (-089 metr. cub.) per second, with a head of 3-2809 feet (1 metr.)? Putting these numerical quantities in the equation (XIII.), it becomes, all reductions made, D= -(-22827 D^ + -07581 1 D + 5-0G04) = 0. Neglecting the first and second terms, we have D = v'5-0604 = 1-383 feet. Tliis value of D, put in equation (XIII.), will be found too small; by gradually increasing it, we shall find, by a few trials, that the value 1-4127 feet for D, will reduce the first member of the equation to 0, and will be the diameter sought. The formula for great velocities (XV.), and in this case v exceeds 2 feet per second, would have given D=-233^ 2483 64 X (3-143)2 3-2809 1-383 feet. [\Ve shall next month proceed to the author's consideration of conduits terminated by adjutages.] REVOLVING ELLIPTICAL WHEELS. Sir — Having had occasion to seek for some simple means of producing a variable motion of rotation round one fi.xed axis from a unifoi-m motion round another, I have been led to observe a property of the ellipse, which as it was new to me, may perhaps prove so likewise to some, at least, of your readers. It is, that if two equal and similar cogged wheels of elliptical form, be geared together as represented in the annexed figure (which is a drawing of the pitch lines of such wheels, without the cogs), the teeth will continue to act upon one another during an entire revolution, with perfect regularity; and the motion of the one axis will be transferred to the other — not uniformly, hut sub- ject to a variation in velocity, the nature and amount of which may be easily calculated. By such an arrangement, therefore, a variable motion may be produced from a uniform one, in a manner comparatively simple and easilj' available, — capable of transmit- ting a force of any amount with certainty and precision. There are, probably, many cases in which some such arrangement would be found convenient; and I am inclined to believe that it is not possible to find any more simple means of attaining the object. The conditions which must be fulfilled in order that any two curves — supposed to act in the manner represented, from fixed r ISoO.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 133 centres of rotation — O anil F, slioulcl continue in contact without any other than a rolling; motion one on another, appear to be, tliat if we assume any two points, B and C, such that the arcs AB, AC, measured from the original point of contact A along the periphery of each curve, be equal in length: 1st. Tlie sum of the vectors FC, OB, must be equal to FO; and, 2nd. That the sum of the angles FCII, OBK, made by the vec- tors with tangents at the points B and C, must be equal to x, or 180°. For unless the first of these conditions be fulfilled, it appears plain, that when, by the motion of the axis at O, the one curve shall have assumed the position represented by the dotted periphery, the point B having been brought to the position B', the point C would not be, as it should be, in contact; and if the second were not fulfilled, the curves would intersect at some other point, instead of having a common tangent at B'. I need not take up your valuable space by entering into any detailed proof that these conditions are fulfilled by equal and similar ellipses working on foci, as a very slight acquaintance with the properties of the ellipse is suflicient to show tliat such is the case. That they may not possibly be fulfilled by some other more complex curves, I do not venture to assert, as the problem would be one of such extreme intricacy witli regard to any other than equal, similar, and symmetrical forms; but I do not regard it as probable that any such curves can be found. This principle would enable us to obtain motions of rotation of different degrees of variatiuii, but of the same character — viz. with one maximum and one minimum velocity in the course of eacli revolution, according to the excentricity of the ellipses made use of. The revolution of the one wheel is necessarily conterminous with that of the other, but is described at a variable rate; the nature and amount of wliich variation may be readily ascertained, either analytically by means of the formula subjoined, or by the merely mechanical process of drawing an ellipse of the assumed excentricity, and drawing riglit lines from any point on the peri- phery to each of the foci; since it will appear plain, on con- sideration, tliat, for any a-sumed point C, CFA represents the angular motion at F due to the angular motion CGA, or BOA, at O. To deduce an analytical formula applicable to the calculation of these angles, we take the polar equation of the ellipse with regard to focus G and origin GA, viz. , a- — therwise by no means destitute of forinen-sinn and Eesthetic sen- sibility— or else affect to despise all such matters as partaking of frivolity and effeminacy; and we may very safely leave them to enjoy their philosophical contempt, there being no danger whatever of it's becoming an epidemic. ^Ve ourselves adopt Mr. Fergusson's philosophy: "At present," says that able writer and original thinker, "the art (viz. of furniture) is entirely in the hands of shopkeepers, and, of course, has no right to the rank wliich I have assigned it. Yet there are instances even in this country, and at the present day, where one pi-esiding mind, under the guidance of good taste, has taken the requisite trouble to elaborate the whole design, and nliere the carpets, curtains, and furniture have been grouped into a whole of no small beauty and elegance. It is not a high art, but it is one capable of a very considerable degree of refinement; and from the circumstance of its being an absolutely necessary one, and its objects always present, it is capable of exercising no small degree of influence on the tone of the mind, according as refinement or vulgarity may predominate,"— which doctrine, we may observe, has been successfully carried out practically by the vvriter himself in his own tastefully fitted-up and embellished residence. After all, it will perha])s be said, all objects of the kind soon grow familiar to the eye, and cease to afford any positive enjoy- ment. Tlie charm of novelty, of course, wears away, the first emotions of vivid delight gradually sober down; but so is it with a prospect, however beautiful, wliich is daily viewed from one's windows. In the one case as in the other, the charm of novelty is succeeded by the more quiet and silent gratification of habit. An atmosphere of taste and artistic beauty is produced, whose cheering influence is permanently felt, although it is what is unnoticed, and also what hardly admits of being explained. All, indeed, that recommends itself by the mere vogue of fashion, or by glare, glitter, and showiness alone, soon palls upon the eye, — we become cloyed with it, and wish for change. Really good taste, on the contrary, carries with it a permanent charm, and a nameless fasci- nation. Such taste, too, is, cmteris paribus, the cheapest and most economical of any — albeit, not very cheap in one sense, since it is not to be bought; there is no mart where it is sold ready-made. Still, it is in itself the most economical, because capable of pro- ducing effect with the minimum of means — never wasting any of the means at its command; and also because it never stales, but possesses an endurable power of charming. Independent of mere fashion from the first, it never becomes "old-fashioned," like that which, destitute of intrinsic artistic merit, recommends itself only by being in the passing mode of the day, admired for a brief whUe, and then not only discarded, but perhaps held up to derision and ridicule. Time settles a good many questions of taste; notwith- standing which, there is just now a most unfortunate disposition to revert to much false and even depraved taste which, whether oa that account, or merely owing to the changes of fashion, had very deservedly been exploded, yet is now again brought into vogue by the prestige of names— Renaissance, Elizabethan, Louis Quatorze, &c. — and in consequence of the demand for novelty, while our designers and manufacturers, unable to produce it— incapable of extracting what is good in former styles of decorative art from their mere dross and rubbish — merely serve them up again, with less of invention and skill than a cook shows by converting the remains of a cold joint into a savoury hash. Good taste, again, is the most economical, because it works accord- ing to the means and resources at its command; making the most of the means afforded it; never attempting more tlian can be carried out consistently by them. It knows precisely how far it can go without breaking down; it never errs on the side of too much; still less does it jumble the "too much" and the "too little" together, as is frequently done; and if but little can be accomplished, it will make that little appear to be the "quite enough." Wasting nothing, it allows nothing to appear wanting; but working with well-understood purpose, and putting everything in its proper place, it makes every stroke tell. To all that it does we may apply Pope's well linowuline: — " And not .a vanUy 13 giveu in vain :" taking vanity in the sense of ornament, which is more than can be generally said of the taste of "decorators'and their employers; for theu-s is apt to remind us too forcibly of the "all is vanity." With them, elaboration and ornament are everything— at once their fo>-te and their foible — their strength and their weakness; while of character and expression, artistic effect and ensemble, they take no account. They are in decoration what Denner was in painting— we marvel at the pains-taking hand, but we miss the artist-mind Such minikin taste seems to be just now gaining vogue; for although decorative art and ornamental design are much talked about, they seem to be very imperfectly understood, and to be taken up on wrong principles, if upon any principles at ail. Now, in our opinion, ornamental design means a very great deal more than the merely designing ornament, details, and patterns, which are afterwards applied at random to anything and every- thing indiscriminately. Our designers and artisans seem to en- deavour to conceal their poverty of invention, crudeness of taste, and inability to produce gi-acoful and fresh combinations, by a profusion of unmeaning, fantastic ornament, which rather encuni- bers and disguises tlian embellishes, tliough it very seldom conceals the insipidity or else the positive ugliness of the article to which it is applied. Most of the designs for furniture and manufactures 20 188 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [April, which have appeared in the Art Joiii-nal, aio open to surli cen- sure; and even the hest of them show very (pieHtionable and so- so-isli taste, and liorrowed ideas — borrowed, moreover, from the worst school, that of the so-called Rococo; wild and capricious, yet imbecile and dull. Instead of grace, or any a])proach to it, we have only grotesqueness and grimace — incoherent shapes tortured into such deformity that only the intrinsic beauty of material and cohmr, together with the fictitious value of cost — which is often in direct inverse ratio to festhetic value — can render them endurable to the eye. No doubt very serviceable lessons may be derived from corru|)t modes and fashions of design, because from them we may learn what are the faults and errors which are studiously to be shunned. In all those modes which, however they may be distinguished from each other, come under the general denomination of Rococo, the taste shown is so very coarse, and the faults so gross, that it might be thought t!ie slightest degi-ee of esthetic feeling would deter from re-adopting them at the present day, itfter we have be- come acquainted with specimens of both classic and medijeval design, which are infinitely superior. Such strange perversity is to be accounted for only as verifying the remark, that *'L*enmu dn beau .im^ne le goutdu laid." The perversity becomes all the greater because accompanied by inconsistency: with us the preposterous taste which there is now an unfortunate disposition to revive, is no longer costume, but mere masquerade, put on at the bidding of fashion. So long as it was costume, it extended to everything alike — not only to furniture and interior decoration, but to architecture itself; to equi|iages and carriages, to dress, and to gardening. The human form was dis- figured by the most extravagant and absurd attire; and nature itself metamorphosed, as far as it could be, by the operation of the shears, and the applicati(m of the line and compasses. In all things alike, the unnatural was mistaken for the artistic; the only difference being, that while the natural was made to imitate the artificial, the artificial was made to imitate the natural. Execrable as such false taste must be pronounced, there were excuses for it in its own day, which no longer exist; because then, instead of being taken up for the nonce, ready made, it gi-ew up conformably to cir- cumstances. Clumsy and barbarous as it was, it was not a relapse into what had been discarded; which kind of falling back upon what once had vogue, merely on account, j)erhai)s, of the name it bears, and the reminiscences attached to it, is a totally diil'erent matter from reverting to it for the purpose of studying and appropriating to ourselves its better qualities. To adopt by-gone tastes and fashions by taking them just as we find them, is like transplanting dead trees. Our own ideas being exhausted, we are fain, for the sake of a little temjiorary novelty, to resort to such as had been worn out previously, and into which we are incapable of infusing the vitality and spontaneousness requisite for reviving more than merely nominally any past style. Had weanyfundamentaland rational principles of taste, thesudden changes of fashion, now so frequent, from one extreme of taste to an- other, could not occur. Change there still would be, but it would be gradual, natural, progressive — the result of improvement, and regu- lated by motive. At present, those w ho are artists do not attempt to guide or regulate the taste of the public in those matters which, however influential upon a correct feeling for art generally, are not immediately connected with their own pursuits and practice. Architects themselves do not bestow any study upon furniture and fittings-up, or on other internal decoration than what actually belongs to construction. They do not qualify themselves even for superintending such matters, but turn them over entirely to those who, however clever they may be in their way, are rather artisans than artists — very capable of executing, but seldom capable of designing more than piecemeal ornament and detail. No wonder, therefore, that we so seldom find completeness of ensemble and due artistic keeping in even the most sumptuously furnished apart- ments. Every separate article or ornament may he irreproachable in itself, yet the reproach of unequal and careless, if not actually bad taste, may be deserved by the discordant assemblage of them. An upholsterer's show-room, or a furniture bazaar, or a curiosity shop is one thing, and a tastefully furnislu'd room quite another. Fashion, however, can sam-tion the most jialpaMo absurdities and extravagances; and at Paris, it was f(u- a wliilc, in the time of the Consulate, the fashion to assemble in the same room a congress of chairs and other pieces of furniture, all differing from each other; a whim so outrageous, as to be excusable only as a satirical sym- holisation of political chaos and conflict. In his highly interesting comparative view of the materkil state of society in England, and its progress since 1685, Mr. Macaulay has omitted to touch upon the subject to wliich we are rather call- ing attention than jiretending to treat of it formally. Yet it is what was surely not wholly undeserving of a iaw touches of his gra- phic pen, more especially as there is now a hankeriu"- after what smacks of the perruque, or e\en of Queen Bess's ruff or farthingale in ameullemcnt, — which is, in our opinion, of evil augurv to sound taste. In a bona fide old English mansion, contemporarv furniture that has been a heir-loom for successive generations, is i'n its place, and in keeping with all the rest. It possesses there an historic value which reconciles us to its want of elegance. Its cumbrous stateliness, and even its clumsiness, is quaint, and carries with it an air of the formal aristocratic dignity affected in by-gone times. There it is genuine costume, and impresses us like' the graphic descriptions of similar interiors and their accessories in Scott's novels. In Butch pictures again, and in Hogarth's plates, the fur- niture and fashion respectively exhibited in" them are the charac- teristic stage-properties of the scene; but to imitate things of that kind now-a-days, amounts to a confession that we have learnt nothing whatever from all that we ha\e become acquainted with, have studied, or pretended to study, in the interim; but arejust as far off as ever from having any settled and rational standard of taste. Nay, after having cheated ourselves into the belief that we were beginning to appreciate and arrive at a degree of refined elegance previously unknown to modern times, we are fain to relapse, by way of change, into the fulsome tawdriness and gewgaw fancies of the Louis-Quatorze and Louis-Quinze periods, which, if they can lay claim to the name of style at all, may be classed with that of the pastrycook and confectioner. Such mode of decoration takes cog- nisance of adscititious ornament alone, and makes that consist of nothing more than mere scallopings, crimpings, and zig-zags; so that in spite of its seeming variety, it is essentially monotonous, and even its very freaks betray barrenness of invention. It is capable of but one expression, that of arrogant, purse-proud pomposity. Instead of turning to such radically vicious and tasteless man- ner, we should do better to go back to the days of Adam at once — of Rohert Adam we mean — who, jjrosaic and feeble as was his taste in architecture, did something to improve the general style of fur- niture. Praiseworthy it certainly was in him to endeavour to place that subordinate branch of design upon a much more artistic foot- ing than he found it. It is one, however, that requires talent of a peculiar kind; nor is it every architect who could descend to it with- out falling also, even if he would condeseemi to make the attempt. Heideloft', for instance, has done much for the illustration of Ger- man mediaexal architecture, yet has failed most signally in his designs for Gothic furniture, most of which violate every prin- ciple of convenience as well as of beauty. The taste which he has shown is so truly detestable as to be harmless, since it can hardly fail to disgust at first sight; and yet we ought to have our doubts as to that, when we find such portentous monsti'osities paraded as " admirable designs in furniture," in an English publication which professes to watch diligently over the interests of eveiy depart- ment of art. REMARKS ON THE SANITARY LABOURS CONNECTED WITH THE DRAINAGE OF THE METROPOLIS. " When ive inquire what facts are to be niado tlie materials of Science, perhaps the answer which we sliould most commonly receive would be, 'TRUE FACTS,* as distin- guished fiom any mere interences or opinions of our own.'* — WHEWELL: 'Philoso- phy of the Inductive Sciences.' Vol II., B. 11, p. lya. Thiktv years have now elapsed since the inquiry, instituted in 1819, respecting the supply of water to the metropolis, led Mr. John Martin the artist, to the consideration of our water supply — the relieving the River Thames from its impurities — and the pre- serving the sewage for agricultural purposes' — the three most important points connected with the present metropolitan drainage question. While it is to be deeply deplored that more successful means have not been found or adopted for the nuire speedy alleviation of the evils afflicting the public health of the metropolis generally, but more particularly of that ])ortion of the labouring population which, for want of time and means, are unable to avail themselves of such private remedial measures as are within the reach of the compar.itively richer part of the community, we cannot conceal 1 See Second Report of Select Committee on BletropoIl» Improrements. Quest. 18S7, p. HS. 1»S8. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 139 from ourselves, after a due examination of the merits of the labours whidi haie put us in possession of the conflicting oi)ini(ins, and, in tlie majority of cases, valuable evidence embodied in the Reports of the several Commissions, instituted at different times with a view to ameliorating our sanitary condition, that tliough the progress of improvement has been slow, it has been .sunt — though not marked by many of the results we had a right to anticipate. That so great a delay has occui-red, is not, therefore, to be attri- buted to the want of talent and exertion on the part of the public bodies appointed to examine the special means requisite ; or of ability — so far as the resources of the present existing state of cer- tain branches of science admit of — of our professional men, a large portion of whose contributions embody, perhaps, the most valuable additions that have been made of late years to engineer- ing science generally; but in some measure to the want of such data as cannot be obtained from the testimony of former experience or former practice, and concerning which the Commissioners have only been able to elicit conflicting opinions, the more difficult to decide upon, there being at least a somewhat general agreement among the witnesses, as to tlie inappliancy of received formula? as guides for the framing of future plans — thus setting aside not only the practice, but also the received theory of former years. The summary of the questions to be settled before any proposed system can be generally deemed ad\isable, includes, on account of this disagreement of opinions, a great number of heads, respecting which furtlier investigation becomes consequently necessary; and in order to obtain indisputable conclusions on the majority of these points, such investigations ought to be founded on trials, when possible, of the respective merits of the diff'erent proposals made for effecting the same objects, where so proposed, or deduced from cori-ect experiments when tlie same practical means are advocated; but a diversity of opinions exist respecting the theoretical means of application of such pi-actice, whether in the shape of formulae or otherwise, to varying circumstances, simply dependent on mere local circumstances. For instance — Mr. W. Hosking^, Professor of Architecture in King's College, and Mr. John Phillips', C.E., Surveyor of Sewers, advocate tlie oviform sewer with the small end downwards; on the other hand, Mr. Joseph Gwilt -, Architect, Surveyor of the Lambeth District of Sewers, and author of varioiis works, one on the strength of arches, which "has passed through three editions;" and another, a complete encyclopaedia of architecture — of construc- tion in all its branches, prefers turning the oviform drain of the abovenanied gentlemen upside down; and argues the advantages of the big end over the little end for the lower side of the sec- tion, but favours more particularly tlie vertical-sided form with semicircular top and bottom; while the late Mr. Butler Wil- liams'', C.E., and Mr. Henry Austin", Secretary of the Board of Health, expi-ess their opinions in favour of circular drains. Each of these advocacies is duly backed by mathematical reasons of some kind or other (we say of some kind or other, since they can- not possibly all be correct); and as the matter to which they relate belongs to the 7)iitc2 tons, whilst the greatest total load, including the weight of the girders, Sic, was only 372 tons; this gave a strength, greater than the heaviest rolling load that could be brought on the bridge, in the proportion of nearly five to one. Although, therefore, the proportion of the girders was not exactly that which the author recommended, he considered that "they were, nevertheless, sufficient to render the bridge perfectly secure." This conclusion was arrived at without taking into consideration, the amount of additional strength derived from the continuity of the girders, across the central pier. The exact proportions recommended were given in two tables extending respectively to spans of 150 feet, and of 300 feet. The depths of the girders of the first class were taken at one-thirteenth of the span, and those of the second class at one-fifteenth of the span. The author then investigated the effects of impact at different velocities. It did not appear that experiment established the fact of increased deflection at high velocities for in several experiments on a large scale, he had found the deflection as nearly as possible the same at all velocities. He concluded by recommending that the tests to be applied should never exceed the greatest'load the bridge, was intended to bear. Remarks. — In the opening of the discussion by Mr. Fowler, Mr. Bidder and Mr. Eaton llodgkinson, it was remarked, that satisfactory as it was to have the confirmation of Mr. Fairbairn's authority, for the perfect safety of the bridge for all purposes of traffic, it would have been desirable, that he should have extended his calculations a little further, into the question of the increased strength derived from the continuity of the girder, across the central pier, which augmented the total strength fully one-fourth. It was also argued, that the excessive proportion of the bottom of the girder, although not an economical disposition of material, was in itself an im- portant addition to the strength of the girder. The definite i)roportions assigned in the paper for girders were disputed, and the attempt to assign empirical rules for the practice of engineers, in structures of this novel character, was earnestly deprecated. It was important also to remember, that the large proportion of the hottom of the beam brought into action a corresponding quantity cf the upper part of the side plates, in aid of the top. Thus it appeared, that if the subject had been pursued further, the proportion of five to one bv which the proportional strength of the beam, over the rolling load, was represented, would have been, from various causes, materiallv increased. March 19. — The subject of Mr. Fairbairn's paper was resumed. Messrs. M'ild, Pole, Ilennie, Scott Russell, Eaton Hodgkinson, Walker, GIvnn Bidder, Professor Willis, General Pasley, and Captain Simmons, K.E.' examined the question at great length, and under all views, illustrating their position by diagrams and models, used in the experiments and in the mathe- matical investigation. It was stated, that after the remarks made at the last meeting, it was merely requisite to describe the experiments alluded to, and before doing so, to briefly describe their object. In the Report of the Government Inspector, the limiting strain required for the public safety was defined, and the Torksey bridge had been con- demned for not complying with those conditions. A calculation, therefore, had been made to ascertain the actual strain on the bridge. It appeared, however, that it was really less than the limit prescribed by the Government Inspector. The experiments instituted were for the purpose of testing these contrary results. It was also stated, that in the paper there were manv objectionable points, but particularly one that was positively dangerous. The author bad not only omitted the effect of the continuity of the Torksey girders, but stated, that it was sa/er to do so. Now all writers upon the subject, and all who had considered the matter, agree that in a continuous beam the effect of continuity was most important, and that in a perfectly continuous beam, the strain over the supports was even greater than elsewhere. It was therefore submitted that this was not the part, the consideration of which it could be "safer to omit." The form taken by a continuous beam, when uniformly loaded, was convex over the supports, and concave between the points at which the con- vexity ended; at these points of contrary flexure, the horizontal strains were null, and the beam might then be severed, without altering its condition. The virtual length of the beam, in the Torksey bridge, was determined by the distance between the exterior support and the point of contrary flexure; and it was to determine this point practically that the experiments were instituted. It was shown that this point was 21| feet from the centre support, and that lience the length of the beam was reduced from 130 feet to 108J- feet. The compressive strain upon a girder of this length, loaded as prescribed, was 4| tons per inch, being less than the limit defined. Consequently, it was asserted, that the Railway Company to whom this bridge belonged, had been deprived of its use, not in consequence of any omission on the part of their engineer, but in consequence of the inability of the Government autho- rities to appreciate the strength that had been provided. In reference to the application of formulE to the calculation of the strength of the girders, it was considered desirable, in such an important case, not merely to form a general approximate notion of the strength of the bridge, but to ascertain, with all possible exactness, the nature and amount of the strains to which the structure was exposed; and this could only be done, by using a comprehensive process of calculation, which should embrace all the elements affecting the strength of the bridge. The effect of the continuity of the girders over the two openings, was carefully considered, and the nature of its effect upon the strain was explained, as deduced from the application of the most modern mathe- matical investigations, and it was demonstrated that the strength of the beam was thereby augmented above one third. It was then shown, how the rules for estimating the strength of elastic beams, were rendered applicable to the case of the Torksey bridge, and the results proved, that when the bridge was weighted with the load prescribed by the Government authorities as a test for its strength, the strains of com- pression and extension were only one half of what competent authorities had stated might be safely applied. The diagrams exhibited, shewed the results of mathematical calculation, as applied to the Torksey bridge girders, and the remarkable coincidence of these, with experimental results obtained by other investigators in an entirely different manner, was insisted on, as a proof of the correctness of the conclusions arrived at. It was stated, in reply to a remark upou the increased deflection due to velocity, that the result of the experiments tried by the "Cast-Iron Bridge Commission," proved, that "this increase was wholly insignificant in beams of the length and stifl'ness of those of the Torksey bridge." The discussion was summed up by its being stated, that, with one exception, all those who had spoken during both evenings, agree that the formula given in the paper was empirical and not trustworthy; that the effects of percussion and increased velocity were practically only shadowy visions; and as it was admitted, that in the calculations of the Government Inspector, the effect of continuity was neglected, and as it had been proved that the strain was less on the bridge than that assigned as requisite for the public safety, and that it was, in fact, amply strong, it was evident, that the public had been wrongfully deprived of the use of the bridge, and the Com- pany had been prohibited from gaining the just return for the capital invested, in consequence of an incomplete investigation, and the assumption of untenable formula;. 18S0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 143 ON ARTIFICIAL BREAKWATERS. On Artificml Bi-eaUwaters, and the Principles- which govern their Construction. By Mi: A. G. Findlay.— (Paper read at the Society of Arts, Lomlon.) Mr. FiNDLAv's paper commenced by stating, that it was not wished to pronounce upon the feasibility or inipraetibility of any of tlie numerous plans which have, from time to time, been proposed for the construction of breakwaters, but to submit some facts, drawn from natural effects, sbowine the forces to which such structures must be subjected. The paper, therefore, was naturally divided into two parts. The first which related to the action of the waves, and its collateral subjects ; and the second, which was postponed for a future evening, will relate to the va- rious forms which have been given to sea-barriers, and the history of the progress of those now in existence. The principal difficulty in establishing a fixed breakwater was shown to be the enormous force of the waves. The form and nature of sea-waves ecne- rally were alluded to, and Mr. Scott Russell's svstem described. Of the dynamic force exerted by sea-waves, it was stated that their greatest force was at the crest of the wave before it breaks ; and its power in raising itself was measured by a number of facts. At Warberg, in Norway, it rose 400 feet, January 21, 1820: on the coast of Cornwall it rose 300 feet in 1843 Other examples, as the singular " Souffleur" at the Mauritius, &c. were cited, showing that the waves have raised a column of water equivalent to a pressure of three to five tons per square foot; a result in accordance with Mr. T. Sevenson s observations with the Marine Dynamometer, which was described. It was shown by a fable that the velocity of waves was dependent on their ength; that waves of 300 to 400 feet in length from crest to crest travelled with a velocity of 20 to 27* miles an hour, and this whether thev were 5 or 54 feet in total height ; this velocity alone, should they become primary waves of translation, would give them a great percussive force, tliat waves travel very great distances was instanced by several facts That they are raised by distant hurricanes and gales was noticed, by their beimr lelt simultaneously at St. Helena and Ascension, though 600 miles apart ■ and opinions quoted, that these rollers, or ground-swell, at times originated near Cape Horn, 3,000 miles distant; rendering it more than probable that tropical hurricanes will send storm-waves to our own shores That it was not only at their surface that waves exerted great power, but that they reach in their action to the depth of eight fathoms and upwards was shown by the operations for the lecoverv of the treasure of H M S 7%e/«, which was wrecked and sunk at Cape Frio, Brazil, in 1831 "The diying-bell was swung four or five feet laterally in calm weather in these one- rauous, much increasing their danger. Besides this, the guns and treasure were found covered by masses of rock of from thirty to fiftv tons weieht moTed by the action of the water, and weighed or turned over in the second operations by Captain De Roos. From these facts, it was considered that floating breakwaters generally were not adapted to combat with the waves. Admiral Taylor's plan of timber frame-work sections ; Captain Grove's iron cylinders with an attached grating ; Captain Pringle's frame, moored by its lower edge ; Captain A. Sleigh s floating sea-barrier; Mr. Smith's plan, as submitted to the Society were mentioned; and it was considered that the calculations of their resist' Euce were understated; that Admiral Taylor's section, instead of twentv-five tons strain, might, if the waves exerted only one-third of their for'ce as known, have to withstand upwards of 1,000 tons ; this piobablv caused the failure of Admiral Taylor's experiment at Brighton, and Captain Groves's at Dover. Major Parlby's principle of the trumpet-mouth sea-weed was com- pared with the fucus giganteiis of Dr. Solander, abundant on the Patagoniai arid Fueg.an coasts, and 360 feet in length, which is carried under water in currents, and torn up, and chokes all the bays during storms fhe motion of shingle, an important consideration in establishing break- waters was shown to be governed by the direction in which the surf strikes the shore, and this is dependent on the direction of the wind. This from fifteen j^ears observations by M. Nell de Breaute, at Dieppe, was shown to be in the ratio of 229 days from western quarters to 132 davs from eastern quarters, giving that preponderance to its eastward progress.' The mode in which It was arranged on the sloping beach, in the form of a paraboloidal curve, was explaiued. corsT'wa,T»t!?ri''^'!! '^"•' '."'f ''''"^'^ "' '''^^"g'"e the character of a part 'oT the Fnl.r?''""f'^ ''I ""'""''' "'"^ "''^'""S t^e eastern western nortinn^TK^n'"^'^""'^ ""<= embarrassed by them than the Txten of'^accn "nb. "^'""d^'" S^-d^ were exhibited as examples of the T.T.^l trlTffT' ""'• ""^ changeable character of sand deposits. The fcerhans t'h'e otr^'Ii.'''' P'"«"" "''''''' ''""^«°-' and'were drawn Jrom, perhaps he only authentic history we possess of the changeable cha- n 70^/ "l^'f ^?,"^; .Th^ different periods,' from Graeme Spence's su vey ^1/95 down to Captain Bullock's in 1850, showed that they had sliifled ?r^ iole whLrtTlH ''"^"^^■.".i'iently refuting the practicabilitv o any mo?e 0 rflt V fo?h Ir'' f '" ^'""^ '^'"'' '""^ '""^'""S them 'available K! !:tX:^ Commisrn,^18^4r' '' "^' "^"P-^ "^ ^^P»- ^«'='" Mr. FiNLAY commenced the second part of his paper by recapitulating some of the forces and circumstances to which breakwaters are subjected, as cited in the former abstract. The application of these was the subject of the present portion. „J,^''/?7[9"''"'/?5,"''f ' Cherbourg diyue were noticed; the pro- posals of 1712, and 1777 or a line of sunken ships filled with masonry, as at he siege of La Rochelle ,n 1573, and the first operations by Mde Cessart, in 1/82-4, were described. This latter plan was to sink trunca- ted conical caissons, strongly framed of timber, 150 feet diameter, and 64 h'.ts ° Th^fi f ^ ?''"' "^Z ''""'^'^ "'■" "f '"™^"^'= «'-'^ks around their .»t.;.ir/. -i',"''-.?™'"' ""' successfully launched; but before the m .r ; ! "^ '", ^ ?■■'"' '^"""Se in the plan ; instead 'of 90 of TJLZ '?',l^V^'V'^"''^'y "'^'■^ t° be placed at considerable we e In H f ,;,'"'"■'? '/° ^^ «"^'' ™'"^ pierre perdu; 18 of them were laid, but they were all destroyed but one before 1789,-some of them lesorted to, and con inued with until it was modified by an upright parapet from low-water level by M. Dupare, 1832 ; the work is still in progress. The series of four ditTerent slopes, in which the waves have distributed the one of the d,p,e was described ; and the absence of the lowest slope in u on t^ielatter'""' "''' ""^"""'"^ ^°' ^^ *''^ increased force of the waves The commencement in 1811, by Mr. Rennie, and subsequent proceedings under Its present superintendent, Mr. Stuart, of the Plymouth Breakwater, were then alluded to, and the increased length of foreshore which had beea found necessary from the original design, and the greater effect of the sea at Its west end described. In 1S33, from the great effects of a storm, a species of buttress was designed by Mr. James Walker, C.E., for the pro- tection of the base of the lighthouse. This involved a new principle in hydraulic architecture, afterwards alluded to. This structure resembles in some degree the system of dovetailing and grooves adopted by Smeaton in the Eddystone; but differs in its application. Ihe Delaware breakwater in the United States was then briefly alluded to. The principle of the presenting a concave face to the waves was then adverted to In 1/34, such a section was proposed, but not acted on, by M. Touros for S Jean de Luz. In 1787-95, Don Tornas Munos constructed the sea-walls of Cadiz thus: a straight foreshore of timber planking, and a curved masonry termination. This was destroyed by the blocks of stone p aced at its foot for protection, rolling up the incline against the masonry. .,' i°.^7^ endeavoured to establish the existence of what he denominates the flut-du.fond, proposed a cylindrical, or other curvilinear face, for this purpose, m 1818, and in 1820 repaired the works of the fortification of St. aiartin, lie de Re, in the Bay of Biscay, on his plan, which was so far successful, though not very greatly exposed. Various forms of the concave rmatement were noticed, and the natural form assumed by the shingle beach vvas cited as an instance of the effect of beach surf. This form has been adopted m the Dymchurch wall, constructed by Mr. Walker The moae of action of the waves against a cliff was also explained, as producing a similar action. ° Mr. Scott Russell's deduction from the wave system, leading also to similar conclusions, were then alluded to, and the sectional form he has pro- posed described. He preferred a paraboloidal curve for the foreshore- and an overhanging coping, so as to turn the wave on itself, was described. Mr Russell, for deep water structures, preferred the method h. pierre perdii, forming a straight foreshore. One objection to this system of concave face "^^' tne varying level to which such structures are exposed by tidal influences, and the differences of curve presented at different periods of tide. From these systems, the vertical, or nearly vertical wall, was then des- cribed; and the great national work at Dover, the Refuge Harbour, was stated to be on the principle established by the experience of the buttress at the west end of Plymouth breakwater. This mode of construction, found effective at that place, counteracts some of the difficulty met with in securing the masonry facing it. In a previous part of the paper it was stated that the stones were blown out of the facing, or towards the sea wave. This action IS attributed to the percussive force entering the joints, and thus the water or air contained within the body of the masonry being most forcibly driven upwards and outwards, carried single stones out of their beds. The new mode consists of stepping one course of stones into the upper surface of that beneath it, so as to form a ledge to prevent its outward tendency, and also to divert the direct action of the wave on the joint. In addition to this, each stone is so dovetailed on its horizontal plane, that each course forms virtually one stone; and alternate stones in each course are locked into the course beneath it; so that, throughout the fabric, some portion of each course belongs to the one on either side of it, making the whole into one mass. These stones are found at the quarries, and fixed in their places by the diviDg-bell. The situation of Dover Harbour, as being free from the chances of silting up, was considered in reference to the tides, and the im- probability that any great amount of shingle would for the future embarass the work. 144- THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [ Ai»R|L, NOTES OF THS NONTK. Professionai Jurisdiction. '-^\n the inquiry before Mr. Ciibitt, as AdmiraUy Inspeclnr. on the Lea Navigation Bill, the East London Water Works Compnny daimed to be heard hy counsfl ; nnd on the L''»tll, on the opening of the court, Mr. Mrreuether appeared lo support their application on the threat of withdrawinp altogether from the ioquiry. flir. Cubitt adhered to the determination he had expressed by letter, of hearing only engineers or solicitors; and this lefusal having been recorded in his minutes, Mr. Merewelher left the room. We hope Mr. Cubitt, and other enfiineerfl, acting in the like official capacity, will be equally firm, for there can be no reason, before such a tribunal, for the emp!oynii-nt of barristers, who have to be instructed by engineers. Solicitors, are persons practically acquainted with the business of their clients. There cnn be no hard- ship on the Waterworks Company, for ihey could have adequate engineering assistance. The Board of Ordnance, who opposed, were represented by their solicitor and two govern- ment engineers; and most of the other opponents by engineers or surveyors. Asa start- iingr example of the mischiefs of employing non-praeticai men, we may refer to the celebrated Heading case, where many days were lost by the several batches of counsel. Opening for Traffic of the Britannia Bridge. — On Friday and Saturday, the 15th and l»!th ult. Captain SimmonH, the Government Inspector for the Railway Commissioners, made his oftijial inspection of this great structure, accompanied by Mr. Edwin Clarke, the resident engineer, ami Mr. lleduorth Lee, the engineering manager of the Chester and Holyhead line, when a series of important experiments took place to ascertain the law of deflection, and the absolute structural strength of the fabric. The experiments consisted in observing the deflections under a series of successive toads ; the passing of three locomotives, with a train sufficient to cover each of the tubes, through the bridge, at various speeds, and the running of locomotives and tenders through, without trains, at variable rates of progress. The first experimental Government train was a heavily laden one of coai wagons, weighing 2-10 tons, with three locomotive engines. This was run through the tube at the ordinary rate at which such trains travel, from 10 to 12 miles an hour, nnd the deflection, as takc?n by deflectometer, fixed in the centre tower, was scarcely perceptible. This train was then drawn completely over one of the tubes, and there left as a dead weight, while Captain Simmons descended and made a minute inspectiou of the masonry, the rivetting, plate-work, cellular top and bottom of the tubes, and other srraagements, which occupied a considerable time. On returning to the tube, the deflection caused by the load was found to be about three- fourths of an inch. Similar e,\perinients made in the other tubes exemplified the perfect success that has attended the continuity of the beam— the most remarkable feature in the structure, caused by the junction of each of the before isolated tubes, for as the engines entered upon the small land tube tlie motion due to their progressive weight was ascer- tainable in every tube, even over to tlie further extremity of l.'idO feet in length. Loco- motives in steam were then passed through as fast as practicable, but only at 20 miles an hour, owing to the curves at either end. The deflection was tlie fraction of an inch, and the vibration scarcely perceptible, the tonnage weight of the tube itself acting in reality as a counterpoise or preventive to vibration. On the Monday following, the up express from Hohhead, carrying the mails and passengers from Ireland, came by the tube at a saving of a fiUl hour over the usual transit. The subsequent trains to and fro also went through both ways. All the arrangements for this purpose are now permanently com- plete, and the floating of the twin tubes for the parallel line is occupying the attention of the engineers. Improved Covering for Railway Wagons, to supersede the cumbersome and loose tarpaulin, h.is been patented by Rlr. Rowland Brotherhood, of Chippenham. It allows of a sm^ll or larj^e portion, or the whole area ot the truck, to be exposed ; one porter can uncover two trucks in the space of a minute, and two can re-cover them in the some time. It consists of a fan of seven ribs, placed at each end of the truck, connected in pairs by a hcrizontal bar to each over the top of the truck ; this fan is covered with prepared water- proof canvas, and is opened and inclosed with as much facility as the head of a cabriolet or landau, on which principle it is constructed. It afl'ords great faci- lity for loading and unloading goods ; cnn be secured by locks and keys. It has been in use all the winter on the Great Western line with much satisfaction. Improved Mainfactare of Peat Charcoal. — Although numerous have been the attempts to produce a charcoal from peat, fit for all, even the most delicate metal- lurgical purposes, and although several patents have been obtained within the past few years for particular methods of manipulation, success has not yet appeared to have crowned our efiorts ia this country. While these attempts have been made in vain in England ard Ireland during the past ten years, DIr. Vignolcs, the well-known roilway engineer, d'lrini,' his professional dutits on the continent, discovered that a process for converting peat into charcoal or coke, had been most successfully carried out in Germany for some years past. He accordingly availed himself of the opportunity, and bavin? made himself master of ail the details of the process, has taken out a patent for Irelanu, from the specification of which we extract the following particulars: — The peat is sub- jected to a certain high temperature, in such manner as to deprive it of the whole, or a principal portion, of the water which it naturally contains. This heat is then continued under (leiuliar circumstances until the peat is converted into charcoal or coke. One of the most important properties of the process is, that by the mode adopted of applying the heat the substance is not burned to ashes and wasted. In the first part of the process, the peat or turf extracted from the bog by any of the usual methods, Is dried in pieces of any convenient size, either by exposure to sun and air, or to artificial heat, and afterwards placed in an iron vessel of large capacity, called the "carbonising vessel.*' Steam, generated in any form of boiler, with a pressure of from 45 lb. to (iO lb. pi r square inch or upwards iibovo the atmospheric pressure, is passsd through a number of tubes of iron, heated to a bright red heat, by being placed in a suitable furnace, so that without losing its pressure it acquires additional temperature up to J.'iOO or 460 Fahr., or abcut the melting point of tin or lead. This pail of the apparatus is called the "coil," the surface of which should be nicely proportioned to the generating power of the boiler. The steam thus highly lieated is permitted to pass into the "carbonising vessel" con- taining the partially dried peat, and the etfcct is rapidly to withdraw any moisture which may remain, in the state of steam, from the peat; the whole of the steam from this vessel is allowed to escape, and may be advantageously used as a motive-power, for preparatory desiccation of the turf, or for any other purpose. After this drying process has gone on until the peat or turf has parted with nearly all its moi.'^ture, it begins to be charred or carbonised by the high-pressure steam, and in proportion as the dehydration o* the peat advances, so does the temperature of the carbonising vessel increase, until it approaches closely to that of the steam in the coil, which must be sufficiently high for the perfect decarbonisation of the peat. The process is continued until the turf is found reduced to a black substance, retaining the forms nearly of the original masses, but now almost a perfect vegetable charcoal or coke. Br, Potfs. — Dr. Lawrence Ilolker Potis died on tbe 23d of March, at the age of ()[>. He was the patentee of the system of hydraulic pilcdriving, which la applied on the Chester and Holyhead, Windsor, Great Northern, and other railways. He was likewise the inventor ot a process for preserving animal ^ui;slances. His mechanical genius showed itself even when a boy at Westminster school, in constructing an elec- trical apparatus from n quart bottle, and like rude materials; and as it afterwards infln- enced his professional pursuits, having distinguished himself very much in the applica- tion of uieclirtnical contrivances to the treatment of spinal diseases. Dr. Potts was a native of Lunrion, but practised long at Bodmin ; and was the founder of the Royal Corn- wall Polytechnic Society.^ IiIST OF NB^V PATENTS. GRANTCD IX ENGLAND FROM FeURLARY 23, TO MaRCU 20, 1850. Six Months alloiredfor Enrolmenty unless otherwise expressed. Charles Andrew, of Compstall-bridge, Chester, manufacturer, and Richard Ma'-klaud of the same idace, mannger, for certain improvements in the method of, and la the ma- chinery or aiiparatus for, pieparing wiirps for weaving. — Seiled February 21. James Hall, of Geecross, near Stockport, Chester, machine maker, for certain improre- nients in looms for weaving. — February 25. Brereton Todd, of the Bank, Falmouth, gentleman, for improvements in. the manufac- ture of arsenic, sulphuric acid, and the oxide of antimony, from copper and other ores, in which they are contained, and also the oxide of zinc— February 27. George Gwynne, of Sussex-square, Middlesex, esq-ure, for improvements in the manu- facture of sugar. — February 27. Matthew Cochran, of High-street, Paisley, Renfrew, North Britain, manufacturer, for improvements i[i machinery for the production and ornamenting of fabrics and tissues generally, parts of which are applicable to the regulation of other machinery, and to pur- poses of a similar nature. — February 27. Julius Jeffreys, of Biicklersbury, City of London, gentleman, for improvements i pre venting or removing affections of the chest. — February '28. Geori-e Tosco Peppe, of Great Marylebone-street, Middlesex, civil eogiaeer, for im provements in time-keepers. — l-'ebruary 2Hih. George William Lenox, of Billiter-square, City of London, chain cable manufacturer^ and William Roberts, foreman to I^Iessrs. Brown, Lenox, and Co., of Millwall, for im- provements in working windlasses and other barrels — February 23. Thomas Richards, William Taylor, and James Wylde, the younger, all of Falcon Works, Walworth, Surrey; ci)tton manufacturers, for improved rollers to be used in tbe manufacture of silk, cotton, woollen, and other fabrics. — March 2. William Edwards Staite, of Throgmorton-street, City of London, gentleman, for iin> provements in pipes for smoking, and in the apparatus connected therewith. — March 4. William Mac Naught, of Rochdale, Lancaster, engineer, for c^rt.iin improvements in steam-engines; and also in apparatus for ascertaining and registering the power of the same.— March 7. Jnhn Fowler, jun., of flielkjham, Wilts, engineer, for improvements Jn draining land. —March 7. William Benson Stones, of Golden-square, Middlesex, TManchester warehouseman, for improvements in treating peat, and other carbonaceous and liqueous matters, so as to obtain products therefrom. (A communication.)— March 7. Henry James Tarling, of Bayswater, Middlesex, commission agent, for improvements in the manufacture of fuel and manure, and deodorising and disinfecting materials.— March 7. William Brown, of Airdrie. Lanarkshire, electrician, and William Williams, the younger, of St. Dennis, Cornwall, gentleman, for improvements in electric and magnetic apparatus for indicating and communicating intelligence. — March 7. Ebenezer G. Pomeroy, of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, chemist, for a new and useful process of coating iron, and other metals, with copper and other metallic sub- stances.— March 7. William Church, of Birmingham, engineer, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus to be employed in manufacturing cards, and other articles, composed wholly or in part of paper or pasteboard ; part or parts of the said machinery being applicable to printing the same; and other purposes where pressure is required. — March 7. Richard Archibald Brooraan, of the firm of Messrs. J. C, Robertson and Co., of Fleet- street, for improvements in types, stereotype plates, and other figured surfaces for print- ing from. (A communication.) — March 7. Richard Carte, of Southampton-street, Strand, Middlesex, professor of music, for cer- tain improvements in the musical instrumcuts designated flutes, clarionets, hautboys, and bassoons.— March 7. John Taylor, of Manchester, mechanical designer, and Richard Hurst, of Rochdale, cotton spinner, for certain improvements in, and applicable to, looms for weaving, and in machinery or apparatus for preparing, balling, and winding warps or yarns. — March 7. Gerard John de Witte, of Brook-street, Westminster, Middlesex, gentleman, for im- provements in machinery, apparatus, metallic, and other substances, for the purposes of letter-press and other printing, (A communication.) — March 7. John Tebay, of Hackney, Rliddlesox, civil engineer, for an improved meter, for registeiiog the flow of water and other fluids.— March 7. Frederick Rosenberg, of Albemarle-street, Middlesex, esquire, and Conrad Montgomery, of the Army Jaud Navy Club, Saint James's. square, io the same county, esquire, for im- provements in sawing, cutting, boring, and shaping wood. — March 7. Thomas Irvine Hill, of Clapham, Surrey, gentleman, for certain improvements in the treatment of copper and other ores, and obtaining products therefrom. — March 9. Richard Holdsworth, of the firm of Holdsworth and Co., cotton spinner, and William Holgate, engineer, for improvements in apparatus and machinery for warping worsted, cotton, and other fibrous materials. — March 1 1 . William Crane Wilkins, of Long Acre, Middlesex, engineer, for certain improvements in ventilating, lighting, and heating in lamps and candlesticks; in the manulacture of candles; and in the apparatus to be used for such purposes. — March II. James Nasmyth, of Lille, France, engineer, for improvements in the method of obtaining and applying lieat. — March 12. Robert Miiligan, of Harden, near Bingley, York, manufacturer, for an improved mode of treating certain floated warp or weft, or both, for the purpose of producing ornamental fabrics.— March 18. George Jenkins, of Nassan-street, Soho, Middlesex, gentleman, for certain improve- ments in the means of producing motive power. — March 18. Thomas Edmondson, of Salford, Lancaster, printer, for improvements in the manu- fucture of railway and other tickets; and In machinery or apparatus for marking railway and other tickets.— March 19. William Joseph Horsfall, and Thomas James, both of the Mersey Steel and Iron Works, Tcxteth Park, Liverpool, Lancaster, for improvements in the rolling of iron, and other metals.— March 19. Samuel Cunliffe Lister, of Manningham, near Bradford, York, and George Edmund Donisthorpe, of Leeds, in the same county, niaoufacturer, for improvements in preparing nnd combing wool and other fibrous materials. -^March 20. O X CO 03 o o o >- _, -J §■• ■3 a -2 EC Y D UK r D r :»' T ^' J3 o s p i r .\ l . .IB & VV. ATIUNSON .ViiCH'"' MALE SIDE CHAMBER PLAN FEMALE SIDE F E M A L E Air in^ Ground ■'v.^^s^^^^^^^^^^v\■m^^^^ss^^^^^^^^^.^^v.^^^^^^■.^^^^vAVA^^-.^v^^^^^ .m',m^^'^JM,'n,^v.^^■,vl.^^^'^w^^^v.'^s\^^■^^'^^■^v. .'^^k^^^^^^^w^^■.^^wv^',^^^^^"':■■:!,^^^^^^v■v■TO^^^^'^^■^^^^^^^ Scale of u s e y ASEMENT FLAN M ^ TO ^ ^ jyt/Feet K .iuUmis ISJO.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 145 YORK COUNTY HOSPITAL. Messrs. J. B. and W. Atkinson, of York, Arcliitects. {With Two Engravings, Plates V. and VI.) We give herewith designs of the York County Hospital, now in progress, by Messrs. J. B. and W. Atkinson, of York, wlio are tlie architects of several public buildings in tlie county. York is now the seat of a medical school which, under the modern regulations, can give a complete medical education; and the County Hospital is recognised by the medical universities as an institution for practice, having accommodation for the required number of one hundred patients. Tlie building is faced with the best pressed red bricks, and has a stone basement, stone dressings to the windows, and stone (|uoins. The total cost will be about 9000/.; and it is expected the hospital will be ready for occupation in the autumn of this year. The works have been pressed on. as the building is much wanted, and there was great delay in deciding upon the site. The hospital is to be heated and ventilated throughout on Dr. Arnott's plan, and we presume lighted with gas. The ventilation of such buildings is of the greatest imjiortance for the recovery of patients after operations, for when once hospital gangrene sets in it attacks many patients, and is got rid of with difficulty. In a well ventilated hospital fever cases can be treated in the ordinary wards without danger. AVe are glad therefore to see the attention given by Messrs. Atkinson to the sanitary arrangements. The bath accommodation is shown on the plans, and we presume that hot and cold water are supplied to each ward. The washing establishment, it will be seen, occupies some space, including a washhouse, laundry, and drying closet. The import- ance of this is not seen at first; but the truth is, the expenditure for washing forms a considerable item of the whole yearly expenditure, as there is such extensive use of linen for bedding, patients' wear, and for dressings, besides the private washing of the officers and servants. The usual appurtenances of a medical school are provided, and include a library, laboratory, museum, deadhouse, and post mortem room. We presume that the establishment is so arranged that it can he yearly whitewashed, an operation which is found most beneficial in such institutions; and though entailing an expense, adding much to the sanitary security. This is now done by yearly con- tract in most of the best conducted hospitals. By the introduction of lifts, great trouble is saved to the nurses, much of whose time is otherwise taken up in the supply of provi- sions from the kitchens for the patients' meals, while there is less temptations to idleness. Altogether, the arrangements are such as are suitable for such an institution, and reflect great credit upon the architects. The following particulars describe the accommodation on each floor. Basement Plan. — 11 feet clear, and arched over. 1 Washhouse 47 2 Laundry . , . , , ^ , . 23 3 Dryini; closet ....... 23 4 Maids' hall . 23 5 Larders and stores 6 Kitchen .....,., 30 7 Sculleries . . . . . . . . 30 12 21 21 8 Heating and ventilating apparatus, &e. 9 Air chamber 10 Lifts 11 Sti>ne staircases 12 Laliiiratory 13 Museum 14 Porter's bedrooni 15 Wine cellar 16 Dead house 17 Post mortem 22 23 31 19 H 16 11 23 Ground Plan.— U ft. 6in. clear height. Entrance hall Yestihule ...... 40 t^ispensary ' 19 Waiting patients . • . . . ! 22 Physieans' room ' i 22 22 16 Surgeons' room Dressing surgery 8 Pupils' room . . , , , ' * 16 9 House surgeon . . . , . . ' 20 10 Ditto bedroom . . . ' . ' '. 16 13J 16 9i 16 16 11 lOi 16 12 Ground Plan CContiiiueilJ. 11 Matron's parlour 12 Male staircase 13 Female do. ..... It Male accident ward ..... 15 Female do 16 Private separation ward .... 17 Nurses 18 Sculleries, cS:c. 19 Boardroom and library ..... 20 Secretary Chamdilu Plan. — 15 fett clear heiiiht. 1 Chapel .... 2 Wards 3 Day-rooms ••..... 4 Private wards . 5 Sculleries 6 Baths 7 Nurses 8 Stores 9 Lifts 10 Stone staircases Attic Plan. — 15 feet clear height. [We have not space in our Engraving to show the Attic plan, is 15 feet high, and contains the following accommodation.] 16 X 11 11 \M le 23 X 34 23 X 23 18 X 12 42 X 23 16 X 12 21 X 19 42 X 23 22 X 16 16 X 12 It 21 21 22 Operation room Wards after operations Foul wards Wards Private wards Nurses Siulleries and baths Matron's bedroom Lifts Stone staircases N.B. — There are servants' rooms partly in the roof. 19 H 16 .No. 152.— Vol. XIIL— May, 1850, LECTURES ON THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE: By Samuel Clegg, Jun., m.i.c.e., f,g.s. Delivered at the College for General Practical Science, Putney, Surrey. (president, his grace the duke of buccleuch, k.g.) Lecture V. — Etruria. — Foundation of Rome. Though the architecture of the Greeks has never been excelled, nor perhaps even equalled, by any other people, it was limited to one style, and only existed in its highest perfection for a few cen- turies. In Italy, on the contrary, we may trace the history of art by its monuments, through every successive style and period, from the rude unhewn altar to the completion of St. Peter's at Rome. It is, however, to the ancient architecture of Italy I would at present direct your attention. When the Umbrians, Pelasgians, and afterwards the Etruscans, settled in Italy, they found the country inhabited by a wild race, called the Siculi or Sikeli. These never amalgamated with their more civilised conquerors, hut gradually retreated before them, until at last they passed over to the neighbouring island, to which they gave the name of Sicily. Here and there, rude Cyclopean walls may be seen, generally forming the foundation of other and more advanced styles of masonry, which are conjectured to have been the work of the Sikeli. On the Alban mount, and in its immediate neighbourhood, singular urns of pottery have been found, buried under a stratum of peperino, eighteen inches in depth. These urns are moulded into the form of rude huts, as if made of skins stretched on poles, no doubt imitations of the huts inhabited by some early race. They are cinerary urns, and con- tained ashes when discovered. Small rude pots and lamps were found with them. AVhen we think that these urns were lying imbedded under a stratum formed by some now extinct volcano, it carries the mind back to a remote antiquity indeed. Next in order follow the Pelasgic remains already noticed. The Pelasgians and Umbrians appear to have been contemporary, nor can their remains be distinguished. Then succeed a more inte- resting jpeople, the Etruscans, who have left so many beautiful works of art to bear witness to their domiaiou. 21 146 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [May, The name by which the Etruscans always called themselves wa. Rasena That by which thev were known anionerst the (creeks was Tyrseni, or f urrheni ; bn't as the Cmbrians and Pelasgians in Italy were also called Tyrrhenian, it has given rise to some contu- ^'^Authors differ g^reatlv as to whence the Etruscans came, or how far their dominion actuallv extended. In fact, we only know enough of them to excite our curiosity, without much hope of ever having it satisfied. Notices of the Etruscans are only scattered here and there in the Latin writings, nor can these cursory remarks always be relied upon. . . , Micali says, "It is easy to understand how, during a period when the passion for war wks all-absorbing, the proud and barbarous indifference of the Romans despised the knowledge of a rival people, with whom thev had so long disputed pre-eminence and the empire of Italy." But there is little doubt that the Romans not only despised, but wantonly falsified and destroyed the records and monuments of Etruria ; and this has hitherto been an irre- parable evil, as the Etruscan language entirely differs from any now known, so that the inscriptions on the tombs are but a dumb treasure. /• i • e But who shall place a limit to the discoveries of this age ol energy and enlightenment ? And when we remember how short a time it is since Ur. William Young first discovered the key to the hieroglyphics, and that within the last few months some light has been thrown on the cuneiform character of Assyria, we need not despair of being enabled at some future time to decyplier the few remaining records of Etruria. Though some authors anly applied .t to great public wcirks, and in other places still made ii, and far enough distant to admit of another in the interval. The two other columns in front were placed in the line of the walls separating the cellfe. The following are the proportions of the Tuscan column, as given by Vitruvius. " The columns are to be seven diameters high, their height one-third the width of the temple ; the diminution of the shaft one-fourth of the lower diameter ; the bases half the lower diameter ; and divided in height into two parts, the lower for the circular plinth, and the upper for the torus and apophyge. The height of the capital to be also half the lower diameter ; the greatest extent to be equal to twice the height. The plinth, cor- responding to the abacus in other orders, is to be one-third the height of the capital, the echinus one-third, and the hypotrache- lium with its apophyge one-third." The intercolumniation was areostyle ; the architrave was formed of beams of wood, placed one upon another, the height being according to the magnitude of the temple; the beams were joined together by cramps and dovetails ; the mutules projected one-fourth of the height of the column, both beyond the architrave and the lateral walls of the temple. The tyinpanum was constructed either of masonry or timber, and was ornamented with figures in terra-cotta, or gilt bronze. The ancient Etruscan column probably differed from the Tuscan order as laid down by Vitruvius, and was most likely merely a modification of the ancient Doric derived from Phoenicia. The Greek Doric had no base, because the columns having to support a heavy stone entablature, the intercohimniations were necessarily narrow, and a base would have been inconvenient : but a base was not an' unnatural addition. In wooden structures it would be a slab placed below the pillar, to preserve it from the damp of the ground; and was introduced into the Tuscan order, where the intercolumniations were wide, the columns only having to support a wooden epistvlium. The Tuscan temple is the simplest and most primitive,' the wooden building being as yet only partly exchanged for stone; the mutules are exact imitations of projecting beam ends, without even an attempt at ornament. There was no frieze in the Tuscan order, and the shafts of the columns were never fluted. The whole structure is low and imposing. At All)ano, there are some few fragments of the Tuscan temple of Jupiter Latialis, built by Tarquin the Proud. They were found when the Convent dei Passionanti was built upon its site, and nearly correspond with Vitruvius's description of the order. The sacred architecture of Etruria was more under religious constraint than that of Greece ; but if thev had one undeviating plan and order for their temples, they, like the Egyptians, allowed their fancy full scope in decorati'ng their tombs and other structures. Capitals have been found in various parts of Etruria, bearing some resemblance to the early Norman, with heads intermixed with volutes and foliage. These are not supposed to be very ancient, and may probably be dated near the fall of Etruria. Eiruscan Cjpilai, touiid at TusLun-ila. The amphitheatre, with its gladiatorial games, originated with the Etruscans. The Romans iiiiitated these sports, and rendered them still more ferocious by an infusion of their own warlike spirit. It was thought beneath the dignity of a lucumo to join in any public trial of strength or skill ; so instead of the refined contests of the Greeks in music, poetry, and athletic exercises, the Etruscans obliged their slaves to combat in the arena, for the amusement of 21* 148 THE CIVIL ENGIfsEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Mav, their indolent and liixurimis masters. Tlie word ampliittieatre is derived from the Greek, and sifrnifies a ])lace formed of two thea- tres (ampliit/imtroi), or the parts of two circh's united, the usual form beinjj an elli|)se. Tlie seats were arranired entirely round the arena, so that the spectators (:o\iId see eijually well from all parts of the building. It was appropriated to gladiatorial games, wild beast fights, and similar s|)ectacles. An Etruscan amphitheatre was discovered at Sutri, by the Mar- quis of Savorelli, only twelve years ago. The ground is now cleared of rubbish, and the trees removed by which it was over- grown. The plan is somewhat irregular, being carved out of the rock, and the seats and p.-issages formed according to the natural surface. The arena is 16+ feet in length, and 132 feet in its greatest breadth. A vaulted corridor surrounds it, into which access is gained by doors in the podium. The seats rise from the podium, or low wall surrounding the arena. To continue the description in the words of Mr. Dennis: "At the interval of every four or five (speaking of the rows of seats), is a proecincto, or encircling j)assage, for the convenience of the spectators in rebelling ther seats. There are several of these pra'cinctiones, and also a broad corridor above the whole, running round the upper edge of the structure. On one side, above tlie u|iper corridor, rises a wall of rock, with slender half-columns carved in relief on its face, and a cornice above. In the same wall or cliff are several upright niches, jjcrhaps for statues of presiding gods. Another peculiarity in this amphitheatre is a number of recesses, about half-way up the slope of seats. There are twelve in all, but three are vomitories, and the rest are alcoves, slightly arched over, and containing each a seat of rock, wide enough for two or three persons, probably intended for the magnates of the town. At the southern end is a vomitory on either side of the principal entrance ; at the northern on one side only of the gateway. The vomitories have grooves or channels along their walls, to carry off the water that might perco- late through the porous tufa. This feature is frecpiently observed in the rock-hewn sepulchres and roads of Etruria. The vomito- ries contain flights of steps, separated by landing places. The entrance passage is hewn into the form of a regular vault, sixteen or seventeen feet high, and about the same in width : its length is sixty-eight feet." This is an interesting ruin, showing us the model from which the Romans copied. Of Etruscan domestic architecture we know little, except from the imitation of dwelling- hcuises in the tombs. Servio, in speaking of Adria, says that the houses had large open vestibules, which were afterwards imitated by the Romans, and by them called atrii. The atrium seems to have been a kind of entrance court, with a pent or roof round it, and a tank in the centre to receive the rain. The roofs of the houses were covered with coloured tiles, and fancifully decorated with masks and other devices. The same taste for tomb decoration prevailed in Etruria, as amongst the nations of the East. The necropolis was usually on the opposite side of a ravine, or stream of water, which separated the city of the living from that of the dead. Each Etruscan city had some peculiarity in its mode of sepulture, depending in a great measure on the nature of the ground. Castel d' .\sso, Norchia, Bieda, and Sovana, are, literally speaking, " cities of the dead ;" the low cliffs on either side the roadway being sculptured into the resemblance of the exterior of temples and houses. The i-ock is cliiselled smooth, and the ornaments left in relief ; the doorways taper inwards like the I'elasgian, and the whole front has an inclination backwards, as may be seen from the jirofiles of mould- ings in the drawing: the mouldings are freipiently carried round the sides of the sepulchre ; where this is not the case, one tomb is separated from another by a flight of steps leading to the top of the cliff. In the interior, the sepulchres are generally excavated in imitation of constructed dwellings ; the ceilings are carved to resemble low iiitched roofs, formed with rafters placed at the angle that would be necessary in a climate like Italy, where snow rarely lies. In some of the rock-chaml)ers, the ceilings are divided by heavy beams into square compartments or lacunariii, which are decorated with painted devices. When the chamber is large, the roof is supported by massive square pill irs ; at Bomazzo, there is a pillar with a semicircular side facing the cntraiu^e ; the capital is a square block bevelled oft' towards the shaft. The sarcophagi, on which the dead recline as if at a bamiuet, are ranged along the wall : when benches of rock are left to leceive the bodies, they are carved into the exact resemblance of couches, with cushions and legs in relief. Like the tombs of i'hrygia, numy of the d.iors are fictitious, the real openings being below : like these tombs also, there are instances of perpendicular chimney-like shafts, leading into the diambers. At Bieda, the sepulchres are arranged in terraces, communicating by flights of steps ; here detached masses of rock are carved in imitation of houses, with sloping roofs and over- hanging eaves. .At Norchia, are two very singular temjile-like fa<,ades ; cohnnns have been attached, but they are now broken away ; these facades have a frieze with a triglypli-like ornament ; the cornice of the (lediment terminates on each side, in a volute, within whidi is a gorgon's head, a favourite sepulchral device; figures are carved in bold relief in the tvmpanum. It is singular that in a country like Italy, abounding in artists and learned societies, and traversed year after year by tourists of all nations, such relics of antiquity as these cemeteries could have remained undiscovered until the last half-century, though within a few miles of the high road between Florence and Rome. The necropolis of Sovana. no less rich in excavated tombs than those of Castel d' Asso, and Norchia, was first explored by Mr. Ainsley in 1S43. -Most of the sejiulchres bear inscriptions in the mysterious Etruscan language. I I I 1 I II I, I I 1,11. iimi II III I'MP' 11 i i ..^ii:hiiffl!iiiii; JBiByaiMi Tumulus at Tarquinii, restored. In other parts of P^truria, the form of sepulchre was that of a cone or tumulus ; these were formed by a low circular wall of masonry, in which were the entrance doors, and surmounted by a cone of earth ; the apex was occupied by a figure of a sphinx, and similar figures were ranged along the coping of the wall. The tumulus inclosed several tombs, that of the lucumo, or chief person, being in the central and highest part ofthe cone. This form of sepulchre prevailed at Tarquinii : the necropolis of this city occupied an extent of sixteen miles; 2000 tombs have already been opened, and a rich store of vases, bronze, and gold H ork, and other curiosities brought to light. In the palmy days of Etruria, the corpse was laid in a carved sarcophagus. Numa Pompilius left directions, " that his body should not be burnt, but should be laid in a stone coflin, after the manner of the Etruscans." In still more ancient times it was tlie custom to lay the dead on a bier, or funeral bed, clad in arnuuir or robes of state. Mrs. Hamilton Gray, the accomplished authoress of the 'Tour to the Sepulchres of Etruria,' gives the following account of the opening of a Tarquinian tomb: — "In the year 1826, Carlo .'Vvolto, of Corneto, had a most unexpected glimpse of a Tarquinian lucumo. On removing a few stones from the upper part of a sepulchre, he looked thnuigh the aperture to discover the contents, and behold, extended in state, before him lay one of the mighty men of old. He saw him crowned with gold, and cliithed in arnuuir; his shield, spear, and arrows were by his side, and the warrior's sleep'seemed rattier to be of yesterday, than to have endured well nigh thirty centuries. But a sudden change came over the scene, and startled Avolta from his astonished contemplation: a slight tremor, like that of sand in an hour-glass, seemed to agitate the figure, and in a few minutes it vanished into air, and disappeared. When he entered the tomb, the golden crown, some fragments of arms, and a few handsful of dust, w ere all that marked the last resting-place of this Tarquinian chief." According to Mr. Dennis, the painted Etruscan tombs only aver- age about one in five hundred ; a sufficient number, however, exist to enable us to trace the progress of Etruscan art, from the stiff and ludicrously disproportionate figures of the early ages, to the exquisite grace' and sentiment ofthe most cultivated period. It is a question much discussed, whether the Etruscans copied their art 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, 14!) from the Greeks, or whether the Greeks were indebted to tlie Etruscans. Notwithstanding the tradition of Demaratus of Corinth settling at Tarquinii, with the artists Eiicheir and Eiigramnuis, " cunning hand," and " cunning carver," I am inclined to believe that the love of the arts sprang up amongst eacli jieople indepen- dently, and, perhaps, simultaneously ; and that owing to mutual intercourse, mutual improvement may have taken place. The early, or archaic style, both in Etruria and in (ireece, was stiff and rude ; but as the arts progressed, the tireek and Etruscan schools (if I may so express it) became more distinct. The Etruscans never attained to that perfection in drawing ami matchless grandeur of design, that renders Greek art pre-eminent even at the present day ; but they delineated the scenes and feelings they wished to perpetuate, with a grace and tenderness that has only been sur- passed by the after-dwellers in the same land — the mediaeval artists of Italy. Etruscan Early Style, from Antique Vase. Etruscan Later Style, from Tomb at Tarquinii. The paintings in the sepulchres of Etruria do not represent the avocations of daily life, as in those of Egypt, but generally funeral feasts or processions ; or frequently allegorical subjects, such as the contest between the good and evil spirits for the soul of the departed, or the last sad parting scene, where the inexorable angel of death, with uplifted hammer, is about to strike his de- stined victim, while weeping friends gather round. The Etruscans appear to have used colours conventionally, giving their paintings a somewhat absurd effect to our uninitiated eyes; thus, the coun- tenances of the male figures glow with a brilliant red, emblema- tical of their state of beatitude, and the horses rejoice in black hoofs and blue tails. They, however, made use of the secondary colours, such as greys and violets — so rarely found in ancient art, and their ornamental borders show an advance of taste beyond the stiff and crude patterns of the Egyptians. The Etruscans never excelled in sculpture, probably owing to the w ant of material, (Limo, or Carrara marble, not being then quarried); but in mould- ing in terra-cotta, which Varro calls the mother of statuary, or in metal work, they were unrivalled. We are assured that Etruscan vases of gilt bronze were considered by the Greeks as amongst the most valuable household goods; and the statue of Minerva, the masterpiece of Phidias, was adorned with Tyrrhenian (or Etrus- can) sandals. I have mentioned before that the Etruscan government was founded on an exclusive aristocracy; thus the population was divided into the two classes of nobles and serfs; the latter were employed by their masters in task-work, who were thus enabled to carry out those vast undertakings for which they were so cele- brated. We must, however, do the Etruscan lucumones justice, or their clients were not burdened to produce monuments to the selfishness and vain glory of their lords, as in the East, but vvere occupied in great public works, for the benefit of the whole com- munity. Etruscan roads extended from one end of Italy to the other, and even across the Alps ; and noble arches of stone were thrown over rivers and ravines ; the Ponte Labadia, and others, still show foundations of Etruscan masonry beneath the Roman repairs. According to Dr. Meyer, the roads were constructed in the following manner : — the ground was dug to the depth of two feet, and beams of charred wood laid as a foundation ; upon this was placed silaria, or a comj)osition of earth and stone ground to paste, and then a layer of basalt over all. Another method was to lay terra-cotta or broken stones first, and then to pave with hewn stones upon this foundation. But the most magnificent achieve- ments of the Pkruscans were the extensive tunnels and draining, by which the country of Italy was changed from an unhealthy swamp to the garden of Europe. Formerly the heights only were habitable, on account of the malaria : the site of Florence was a lake ; and the beautiful Val d'Arno nothing but an unwholesome marsh. A tunnel was cut through Monte Gonfalina, which drained the valley, and enabled it to be brought into cultivation. Tunnels were also excavated at Fiesole, from lakes Meoni and Galano, and other places too numerous to mention : even at the present day, Etruscan emissarii are constantly being discovered. The learned Niebuhr himself first examined the subterranean conduits at Fie- sole, in 1820. They also deepened the channels of the rivers, and straightened their course. Land was gained by draining off lakes that had formed in the craters of extinct volcanoes ; several such craters exist about Perugia, and though the tunnels have never been cleared out, they still continue to act. In speaking of the foundation and building of Rome, we have Etruria still under consideration, as far as the arts are coiu'erned ; for, howe\er much historians may differ as to the extent of Etruscan political influence at Rome (Miiller believing Rome under the Tar- quins to have been an integral part of Etruria, and Dr. Ariudd supposing the Tarquins to have been indejiendent kings, though of Etruscan lineage), all agree that Rome looked to Etruria for her architects and artists: nor must this Etruscan influence be forgotten, as subsequently it gave the architecture of the Romans its distinctive character from that of the Greeks. This is not the place in which to repeat the well-known legends of Ronnilus, Numa Pompilius, and the other early kings of Rome, but they cannot be passed by without a regret that so little is known with any certainty about the first few centuries of the once mistress of the world, and that the writings of Numa Pompilius, the thirty books of the Emperor Claudius on the Etruscans, and other works which might have revealed so much, should be lost to the world. The hills of Rome are low, but steep and rocky; small villages were already scattered over them, and a colony was established on the Palatine wlien Romulus and Remus arrived to take possession with their shepherd band. They proceeded to mark out the first boundary of the future Rome, about the year 753, B.C. Romulus marked out the pomoerium round the Palatine, according to the Etruscan ceremonial; and it was for contemptuously leaping over the sacred furrow that Remus lost his life. The pomoerium was a space left both within and without the walls of Etruscan cities; — the word is variously derived from 7)o«< murem, or pone niuros, ov procvimum niuro: it was never built upon, nor applied to agricul- tural purposes, but was used by the augurs in taking the city auspices. The pomoerium was carried further out as the city was enlarged, and its boundaries marked by cippi, or termini. When the foundation of a new city was to be laid, a favourable day was ap))ointed by the augurs for marking out the boundary; a line was first drawn with white earth or sand; a copper share was then fixed to a plough, to which were yoked a bullock and a heifer; the plough was guided along the line by the chief or king. Both the animals were to be white, to denote the simplicity and purity in which the citizens ought to live. The bullock was placed on the outside, or next the country, to show that it depended upon the men to cultivate the land and guard the public safety, by watch- ing over what might take place without the walls; the heifer was turned towards tlie city, significant of the household and domestic cares devolving on the female. The plough was guided so that all the clods should fall inwards, another person following to see that none remained outside: this was to teach the people to gather together within tlie city all that could contribute to its increase and pros|ierity, and to leave nothing beyond its limits that could be hurtful to' it, or advantageous to its enemies. The sacred plough was lifted over the place where the gates were to be, other- wise no dead body or unclean thing might have been carried out. The new city was then placed under the protection of some 150 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrS JOURNAl. LMav, divinity, by a secret name, tliat its enemies mif,'lit not be able to divert the divine favour: it is said the secret name of Rome was ^ aleiitia. At the founding of Rome a subterranean vault was con- structed under the place called the Coniitium; tliis vault was filled witli the firstlings of all the natural productions used as food, and with earth broujfht from the native place of each of the mixed jieojile that were to form the future population of Rome. The vault was called Mundus, and was believed to he the entrance-gate to the world of spirits; the door was oi)ened three days in the course of the year, to allow tlie souls of the dead to enter. Lu- cerum, on the Ctelian, supposed toliave been an Etruscan settlement, was first united with the I'alatine; tlien the hill of the Sabines, in early times called the Ai^onian, but afterwards the Quirinal, of which the (apitoline was the citadel. After the rape of the Sa- bines aiul its consequences, when these two cities of Rome and Qiii- rinum had united on equal terms, the temple of tlie Double Jainis was built on the road between the two hills, with a door facing each city; these doors were open during war, that succour might pass between the allies, but closed in time of peace, to denote their being distinct though united. By degrees, as union was cemented, and friendship fostei-ed by intermarriage and a common religion, tlie two cities agreed to have but one king, and one senate, and thus became incorporated. Ancus Alartius built the first bridge over the Tiber, and a fort on the Janiculum. The bridge was a kind of wooden draw-bridge, the Tiber being the great division between Jitruria and the kingdoms of the south: it was not until several centuries after the establishment of the Com- monwealth, when the Roman dominion bad become enlarged and consolidated, that a permanent stone bridge was built. The prison, the most ancient building now existing in Rome, is also said to be of the time of Ancus Martins. The splendour of Rome began "■itli Taripon the subject I have now finished, for I should be sure in that case to end with a sermon. I will only remark, that however our curiosity may be excited by the stu- 22* 156 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Mav, pendous works of antiquity, and however our taste may be grati- fied by tlie enchanting- powers of art, notbinjr really interests, either in history or description, but that whioh was founded for the benefit of mankind, and carried on through ages by the virtue of benevolence. Time is said by our poet to be a beautitier of the dead; but he has not traced a line of loveliness upon the ashes of the selfish emperor, who reared this tomb for his own vanity. 'I'ime is said to be tlie adorner of the ruin; but time has but added deformity to the splendid mausoleum. It is some consolation to know that "glory, built on selfish principles, is shame and guilt;" and it may be a moral lesson not unworthy of the artist and of him who builds for ]iosterity, to learn that whatever in the way of monumental grandeur is not associated w ith virtuous sentiments, or, as I should say, with morality and religion, will hand down no name to posterity « ith the reverence and respect, which the archi- tect and the artist, not less than the statesman and philosopher, may lawfully seek to deserve. The Chairman (Mr. Sydney Smirke, V.P.) said, we have been so often charmed, instructed, and elevated by our reverend friend's eloquence, that I really am at a loss to sljape into a new form the expression of our thanks. Our heartiest gratitude is indeed due to him for the great treat he has given us this evening. It is quite clear that Mr. Burgess's treasures of rcsearcli, as well as of memory, are inexhaustible; for I had hoped that he had not heard of the illustration which the bronze door of St. Peter's offers of this monument. That, however, has not es««ped him. I am happy in being able to show a slisht memorandum of that has relief, a copy of a hasty sketch which I made when I was in Rome. 1 do not remember whether the date Mr. Uurgess mentioned is perfectly authenticated ; I should have thought, from the very barbarous character of this relief, that it was of an earlier date. I dare say, however that he is right; but one would have thought, that in Home a work upon an imperishable material, on the principal door of the greatest building in Christendom, would have been better drawn. rnTnTf The very hasly sketch I made will verify nearly all my reverend fiiend's attempts to realise this remaikable edifice. The great peristyle culuuiiis, however, look more like Corinthian than Ionic; and there seems to be an attic over the peristyle, which does not appear in our friend's drawings, ap- parently enriched with a second hand of hull's heads and festoons. The las relief exhibits at the top, not a pine apple but a figure, which looks like a cupid rather than an emperor. It no where indicates the peacocks and bulls to which our reverend friend has alluded. Mr. TiTE seconded the motion for the vote of thanks, which after some observations hy Mr. Donaldson, secretary, and Mr. Roberts, fellow, as also by Mr. Lloyd, visitor, was carried by acclamation. Mr. Burgess returned thanks and promised to communicate a paper nest session, if spared another year, upon the Via; Romanoe, as conjpared with modern railroads, and with reference to the vastness and magnificence of each. Stoney Stratford. — A Roman villa has been discovered in the parish of Peuler's Pury, near Stoney Stratford, on the property of the Duke of (iraf- ton, and near the course of the Roman road, Stratford being the Lacto- dorum of the Romans. Already a fine tesselated pavement has been brought to light. SCULPTURES AND ARCHITECTURE OF ASSYRIA. Sinne Remarks on the Sltjk of Ornumeiitiition prevalent in the As- xi/riiin Seitlptures reeently (Uncovered by Dr. Lavard, and on some Peculiarities of Assyrian Architecture, as exhibited thereon. Bv SvnNKY Smihke, Esq., V.P. — (Pa])er read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, March isth.) In submitting for the examination of the meeting some casts which 1 liave, through the kindness of the Trustees of the British Museum, been permitted to have made of some small portions of the Assyrian sculpture recently deposited in the British Museum, I beg to detain you, for a few minutes only, with some remarks upon the st)le of ornamentation which appears to prevail in these very curious works of ancient art. The love of ornament which distinguishes all eastern nations at the present day seems to have equally prevailed among the ancient people of whcmi representations are now, for the first time, brought before us in these interesting remains. Very few female figures occur, but scarcely a male figure is represented, whether priest or warrior, without large ear-rings, and most of them have necklaces, bracelets, and armlets. It is to be remarked, however, that not a single case occurs, amidst all this display of personal jewellery, of a finger-ring; the entire absence of this ornament in sculpture, wherein details of this nature are so elaborately and carefully at- tended to, leads to the unavoidable conclusion that the finger-ring was an ornament unknown to the Assyrians. I am not about to digress into any question of the antiquity of finger-rings, an en- quiry for which I am not competent and which would be here inappropriate I will only take occasion to say, that much of learned disquisition as there has been on this subject, the question remains to be answered. I think there has been much confusion produced by the vague use of the word ring, and the too ready assumption that when rings are named, finyer-Tings are intended. Signet-rings may have been, and were, worn suspended from the neck, or attached to a chain. There are in the Book of Esther, and in Jeremiah, very clear allusions to finger-rings, but the earliest classical authority that I am at present aware of (and for this I am indebted to my friend. Mr. Birch), is Pausanias, who says that he saw on the walls of a temple at Delphi a painting by Polygnotus of Phocis, represented with a ring on his left band. Polygnotus flourished about ■I'^i years before Christ. It is, how- ever, very remarkable, if it be true, that there is no example known of a Greek statue with a ring on the hand. Reverting to the sculpture under consideration, I find their ap- parel almost always richly fringed; with wide borders ornamented with figures of men, animals, and foliage. The caparison of their horses is most gorgeous; every strap of their head and body hous- ings is enriched; to the chariot horses there is usually seen at- tached, apparently either to the extremity of the pole, or to the trappings of the neck, and to the front of the chariot itself, a long fish-shaped piece of drapery, fringed and embroidered. Dr. Layard is at a loss to designate this object. Perhaps, "the ])recious clothes for chariots," alluded to by Ezekiel as being ob- tained by the people of Tyre from Dedan, may have reference to this singular piece of horse-furniture. The same love of ornament above alluded to is apparent in their pavilions, of which there are specimens in this sculpture; also in the fashion of their armour; the hilts, handles, and sheath-ends of the swords; their knife handles, their slings, and their quivers. There are in the British Museum some lions' feet of bronze, ap- parently belonging to furniture, which formed part of Dr. Layard's collection at Nimrood, and are equal to Greek workmanship in execution. The style of art which characterises all these ornaments offers us a subject of curious enquiry. What relation does it bear to other styles.'' To what extent is it original? And to what extent does it appear to have influenced other succeeding styles known to us? Major Rawlinson, who has fortunately succeeded in mastering to a great extent the difficulties that have hitherto hidden from us the knowledge handed don n in the strange characters that cover these and other remains, entertains no doubt that the earlier ruins from whence these sculptures have been derived, bear the extra- ordinary date of twelve or thirteen centuries before the Christian era. This sculpture, therefore, is probably as old as most of the Egyptian antiquities we possess; yet the style of the ornaments, although certainly partaking somewhat of Egyptian character, is in many respects widely different from it. 'i'he borders of the linen wrouglit in successive stripes, and those stripes subdivided into a succession of squares, is certainly an Egyptian peculiarity, prevalent in this Assyrian costume. Indeed the people of the two 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. countries, altlioufrh widely separated from each other, may most probably have interchanged commodities, and poods of so portable a kind as bales of linen may well have found their way from Egypt to Assyria. We have the incontestible and contemporary evidence of Ezekiel, that Egypt furnished "tine linen with embroidered work" to the merchants «f Tyre, who it may he presumed supplied tlie markets of Nineveh. There seems therefore no reason to be surprised at finding Egyptian patterns worked on the dresses of tlie personages so carefully rejiresented on the walls of the Ninevite palaces, nor can any conclusion be safely drawn from that circum- stance that there was any identity of design between the works of the artists of those two countries. It may however be here ob- served that in the trappings of their horses there is a somewiiat strong resemblance between these examples and those afforded by the Egyptian paintings in the British Museum."' The Honeysuckle ornament so abundantly used in the sculpture before us is, I believe, nowhere seen in early Egyptian work. Nor are there any traces of resemblance between Assyrian and Egyptian design in the beautifully and freely drawn figures of animals so profusely introduced into their work by Assyrian artists. VVe seek in vain here for those stiff and formal and very peculiar ornaments round the neck, consisting of a continued repetition of strokes of the pencil which we see constantly recurring in Egyptian work, especially on the mummy cases. The Assyrian artist seems to have completely relieved himself from the rigid conventional manner of the Egyptian, and to have acquired considerable facility and freedom of execution: examine the slightly-etclied figures of winged bulls and other animals ])ervading the dresses of almost all the larger figures on this sculpture, and we find them drawn, or rather sketched, in a style that would do credit to the best artists of the present day; and when we consider the enormous extent to which this mode of decorating the walls of their buildings prevailed, not only at Nineveh, but at other buried cities which have been recently explored in the same country, it seems fair to presume that the trilling and very subordinate details to which I have been adverting must have been the work of common and ordinary artizans. Let us now compare the ornaments under review with the more familiar forms of Greek art: and here I think we find so strong an analogy, and in some cases such a striking resemblance, as to force upon us the comlusion, that tlie artists of Greece derived far more of their art from the banks of tlie Tigris and Euphrates than from the banks of the Nile; and Egypt must, I think, relinquish a large portion of the honour that has been so long accorded to her of having been the mother of Greek art. The honeysuckle ornament, already alluded to as occurring abundantly in this sculpture, is both in form and treatment almost purely Greek. The Guilloche scroll, so characteristic a Greek ornament, occurs very accurately chased on the scabbard of one of the swords of the Assyrian warriors. An ornament much resembling (although not identical with) the labyrinth fret, also appears etched as an orna- ment on a dress. The classical enrichment, commonly called tlie bead-and-reel, is here of very common occurrence. The running ornament of animals and foliage grouped together, constantly oc- curring in this costume, is a perfectly classical feature. I purposely confine myself to the style of ornamentation visible in these works, and forbear to enter into any similar comparison between Assyrian and Greek sculpture in its higher qualities, for such an enquiry properly falls within the province of the sculptor; but were I to do so, I apprehend we should arrive at the same re- sult. It needs not the professional eye of a sculptor to see in the attitudes and drapery of the figures a regular and progressive, although perhaps a slow, development of art, from these marbles through those of Asia Minor and Sicily down to the works of Phidias. Whilst inviting attention to the germ and gradual growth of that beautiful system of decoration which has been handed do«n to us by the Greek artists, and has been the object of imitation during succeeding ages, not excluding even the mediaeval age, I am tempted to suggest whether much of it, perhaps almost the whole of it, may not have had its origin in the use of sacred emblems or in the representation of sacred objects. The Bull was deified in the earliest ages, and we see it carved in pi-ofuse variety as an ornament on these marbles. It occurs abundantly in the sculpture of Asia Minor, and in classic art became a favourite ornament. The Lion, also, furnishes us with another very familiar instance of an animal deified by the Egyp- * All architect from Vienna informs ttie auttiorof this paper that tiie caparisons of these Assyrian horses strongly remind him ef those now useii in the touthcrn provinces of the Austrian empire, aad the adjacent parts of Turkey. tians, and introduced by the artist in every variety of form as an ornament. The honeysuckle which, under the wonderful influence of Greek taste, became so beautiful and so universal an ornament, is here found many centuries before the birth of Greek art as re- presenting the sacred tree before which the Assyrian priest is per- forming his religious rites. The fir cone, which plays so prominent a part in classical decorative sculpture, is in these marbles almost always held as an oft'ering in the hand of the ]iriest. The lotus is another familiar instance. We find it first the object of worship in Egypt, but afterwards converted into one of the most beautiful of all the forms of antique ornament. The Rosette, or Patera, is perhaps one of the most universal ornaments in the whole range of art. It occurs in the paintings of the Egyptians, and is carved on Hindoo sculpture; it was em- broidered on the garments of the Assyrians, and ornamented their armlets, bracelets, and even their whip-handles. Nor on the sculp- tured remains of Persepolis is it wanting. The rosette is painted on the fictile vases of all ages, from the earliest to the latest, and has ever been one of the most common of all the ornaments of architecture. May I not venture to claim for tliis form, also, a sacred origin.'' The winged circle was the emblem of the deity in Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia. It occurs frequently in the mar- bles before us, and is usually filled in with what has the appearance of a rosette; but when the circle is large, we find the inserted figure to have a star-like form, or a radiation of tapering flames: may this not be supposed to typify the sun, the great and earliest object of idolatry.' Is it not at least a plausible hypothesis that this figure, whether it be a conventional representation of the sun, or a star, may in the course of time have assumed in the hands of the artificer, the varied and beautiful ornament with which we are so familiar? I may here take occasion to advert to that mystical figure of which Dr. Layard gives us a representation in his work, and of which we have examples in the marbles before us, as well as in those of Persepolis. It consists of a circular figure like a wheel, with rays emanating from the centre; and fnim tliis wheel issues the upper part of a man, terminating from the loins downwards in flames; and flames issue from the sides of the wheel, loft and riglit, assuming the general appearance of wings. Tlie general cor- respondence of this figure with those of the cherubim and the wheels, as described in the visions of Ezekiel (chap. i. and viii.), is too striking to escape observation. It is unquestionably a sacred and supernatural form, occurring, as Dr. Layard ohser\ es, usually over the head of a victorious monarch, and may represent a tutelary divinity or an angel. I have already stated that I con- fine my I'einarks, on the present occasion to the ornamental details, but the wliole sculptures w ell deserve far more attention than tliey h:.ve even yet attracted, although I am not insensible of the gro^it value of the learned disquisitions published by Dr. Layard. Tlie glimpses which these interesting monuments aflTord of a primeval architecture are to us especially interesting. Dr. Layard has remarked with truth on the I'ery wide difference existing between the style of Assyrian architecture developed in these remains, and the architecture of Egypt. There appears here to have been an almost total absence of columns. Dr. Layard gives us a representation of one instance occurring in a has relief found in the ruins of Khorsabad, w hich he presumes to be of later date than those of Nimrood; and in the slabs in the British Museiiiii one examjile occurs, wherein three pillars are introduced, hut of proportions so slender as to lead to the presumption that tliey were of wood; a supposition the more probable, as they appear to support, not a horizontal entaldature, but the frame-work of a kind of tent; it is worthy of remark, that these pillars have as their capital the horns of the goat so arranged as to suggest at once the Ionic capital, and the Khorsabad examjile is also ot this tyjie. The absence of columns may p;issibly be due, in great measuiv, to the flat, alluxial character of the district between the Tigris and Euphi'ates, which furnished the soft alabaster of which these slabs are formed, but no hard building stone suitable for columnar architecture. Rooms, however, 3o feet and 10 feet wide, such as occur in the palaces explored by Dr. Layard, would not have been roofed over without a greater degree of constructive skill in car- pentry than we have any reason to suppose was jiossessed in these early ages. Perhaps, therefore, the horizontal beams of which tlie roof was formed may have been supported by wooden pillars which are now perished, or which may have been burnt when these temples were sacked, a fate which most of them have probably undergone. Tliat pillars were used to support the roof-timbers is the more probable, as it appears that the apartments were lighted from above by apertures in the roof, which would interrupt tin 158 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [Mav, continuity of the timbers, and render intermediate supports abso- lutely necessary. It niny be asked, why assume tliat the Assyrians Here ifrnorant of framed trusses, by w'hieli the widest spans iniffht be^ ronfed over without the assistance of intermediate supports? We cannot jiruve t)ie non-existence of trusses, hut we certainly have nil evidence that such artificial contrivances are of this re- mote date. We see no indication whatever of pitched roofs in any of the sculptures before us, nor, 1 believe, at all in Egyptian architecture. Even in the Lvcian examples we do not find', until we come down to the Greek jieriod of art, any exanijile of a pedi- ment, which is but the gable end of a intclled roof. These As- svrian palaces, then had, 1 jiresume, flat terraced roofs, as we know the ]'Ve may notice that tubular drain tiles were used in i-emoving the rain-water that fell through the openings in the roofs, on to the pavements of the several apartments. That so obvious and simple a contrivance should have been resorted to by a peojile pos- sessing great dexterity in the f.abrication of fictile ware, and living in a district wliere the common soil of the country furnislied tlie materials to their hand, seems so natural as scarcely to justify more than a passing remark; yet, is it not curious, that now, in the nineteenth century, and in England, a tubular draining tile is one of tlie most recent of novelties.'' A thin stratum of bitumen is mentioned by Dr. Layard as oc- curring under all the floors, and passing, as 'he observed, under these sculptured slabs of alabaster with which the inner face of the walls was lined. He was unable to account for this, but the architect will at once perceive tliat this was a precaution taken to prevent the dani]) from arising from the earth under tlie pavement, and destroying the paintings, and endangering eventually the alabaster itself. Reverting again to the representations of Assyrian Castles on the slabs before us, I must not omit to call your iittention to the crenellated parapets having battlements generally pointed or notched, as if to facilitate the use of tlie bow and 'arrow. Here also we find an analagous case in the friezes of the Lvcian temple, discovered by Sir Charles Fellowes, and now deposited in our Museum. Castles are there represented with embattled parapets \ery similar to these in Assyria, and not unlike examples still sub- sisting in the East. It has long been a subject of speculation what style of architecture characterised the first temple of Jerusalem. I think that it may be not unreasonably presumed, that the magnificent ruins now brought to light, after an interment of two or three thousand years, attbrd us a far better clue than any we have ever yet possessed ; a mudi more intimate connexion existed, both geograpliically and jiolitically, between the inhabitants of Palestine and the people of Assyria and Babylonia, than with the Egyptians, from whom they were se|>arated by the Arabian desert. Perhaps, too, the marbles under discussion will be admitted as evidence of an earlier civilisa- tion of art among the former peojile, and therefore of their greater influence in matters of taste. Me have indeed the evidence of the Surintures that Solomon sought his artists — his " cunning work- men'— in the region north of Judea; Hiram of Tyre was his worker in metals, and his best carpenters were Sidonians. ^^'ith how deep an interest, then, these considerations seem to invest the sculptures from Nimrood ! When, to use the eloquent words of Dr. Layard, we reflect that " Before these wonderful forms, Ezekiel, Jonah, and others of the Prophets stood, and Senacherib bowed ; that even the Patriarch Abraham himself may possibly have looked upon them :" that works of such extraordinary interest and value sliould, after the lapse of thousands of years, have found their place in our National Repository, is indeed a matter of just pride and congratulation, and I cannot forbear to express a confident hope that no e.xertion may be wanting on the part of our rulers, and of the nation generally, to second the in- defatigable zeal of our countryman in securing for us a still farther accession to this most important collection. In conclusion, Mr. Sniirke referred to the recent accounts from Nineveh, as being provokiugly vague and meagre. There had been found, it would appear, a most miscellaneous collection of rich armour, antique vessels, costly apparel, and other treasures, put together in a manner perfectly perplexing. An ingenious pupil of his, Mr. Cates, had, however, drawn his attention to a passage in Diodorus Siculus, which would perhaps help to explain so otherwise unaccountable a circumstance. Sardanapalus, as they all knew, when his danger was imminent, and the Median enemy in possesion of his city, owing to a sudden irruption of the river breaking down twenty stadia of the walls, collected together all his vestments and treasures, and formed of them a grand funereal jiile. On the top he placed his concubines, his eunuchs, and him- self; and, ajiplying the torch, the whole were burnt together. Dio- dorus relates that one of the eunuchs made his escape, and gave information to Belesys, a Babylonian priest, that under the ruins of the king's palace might be found enormous treasures. The priest went straight to Arbaces, who, in the midst of his triumph, was distributing rewards to his satraps, and reminding the monarch that he had predicted the fall of Nineveh, said that in the midst of the battle he had vowed a vow to Belus, that if the Babylonians were victorious, he would convey the ruins of the royal palace to Babylon, and erect there a temple to that god, which should at once serve as a landmark to those who navigated the river that ran by that great city, and be a monument of the destruction of Nineveh. The Median king, who was described by Diodorus as possessing a noble and generous disposition, granted to Belesys all the ruins of the royal palace for this puriiose. The priest then, with the help of the eunuch, removed a greater part of the trea- sure; but the fraud was discovered, and he was condemned to death. The operations of the priest, so far as the treasures were concerned, were surreptitious, and of course the investigation of the ruins could not have been so complete as if it had been con- ducted openly and deliberately, and that would seem to account for the incongruous heap of valuables discovered by Dr. Layard. Thus, if the eunuch had not had so natural a distaste to be one of the party in the royal o»;u-rf«-/c. Dr. Layard might have been by this time in possession of all the treasuies of Sardanapalus. Remarks made at the Meeting after tlie Keadimj of the foregoing Paper. Mr. Bellamy (the Ch.iirman.) — Our best ticaiiks are due to Mr. Smirke for his interesting pa|)er on this highly interestin« subject. I may mention, as an addition to the paper, that I have noliced in these sculptures the apparent existence of folding doors. I cannot help expressing a wish that these excellent sculptures may be speedily reraoied from the cellar which they at present occupy, to a better position, where they may be seen to gr. aler advantage. Mr. Do.vALDSON. — There cannot be a doubt but that Dr. Layard has at Niinrnod brought to light a class of architecture or style of art, which pre- vailed not only on the banks of the Tigris, but also obtained through the 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 159 extensive region of country called Assyria, whicli included Media and Persia. I have here a volume of the ' Universal History,' piihlished in 1747, which contains copies of Le Brun's representations of Persepolis. These engravings show a great number of columns, and a perfect identity, not only of style, but of the objects represented in the bas-reliefs — winged hulls and lions, crowned with a sort of cap, divinities, &c. — drawn more than one liundred years ago. There are also bas-reliefs with long lines of personages in procession, exactly in the same style of costume as those to which Mr. Sruirke has drawn our attention. The figure, which he supposes to he a tutelary divinity, is likewise here represented as being common on the tombs in the neighbr.urhond of Persepolis, exactly in the same way that they are represented in Egyptian antiquities. The kings of Persia used to reside alternately, according to the season of the year, at Babylon, at Susa, at Echatana, and at Persepolis; at all of which places the same character of style and art would prevail. I am therefore inclined to the supposition, that the architectural remains now brought under our notice form hut one of a class, which was spread over the whole country; a fact which I think would he more obvious, if we had equally excellent illustrations of the ruins of Persepolis, as of those now before us. The winged lions frona Nineveh, now in the British Museum, are crowned with a sort of cap com- monly found upon the spliinxes in Egyptian remains; and it is remarkable that the bulls from Nineveh agree exactly in size with those at Persepolis, both being about 22 feet long and 14 feet high. That is another sign of identity, and I conceive the material will furnish another. These remains are said to he of alabaster, and that was a material frequently used in Egypt, as witness the sarcophagus in Sir John Soane's Museum; and, indeed, throughout our own Gothic period. For architectural ornament, or sculptural devices and figures, the use of alabaster has been extensive in all periods of art. J cannot agree with our friend, that Israel had more to do with Assyria than with Egypt; as the latter is mentioned much more fre- quently than the former in Iloly Scripture; and, it will he remembered, the aid of the Egyptians was called in to resist the Assyrians, who in the end actually carried the Israelites away captives. At an earlier period, too, Solomon married the daughter of Pharoah. There was, besides, a greater affinity in the art of Israel to that of Egypt, rather than to that of Assyria. There must, too, have been a great enmity between the Persians and the Egyptians, for Cambyses invaded the latter, destroyed the temples of Thebes, slew the god Apis, and dishonoured the tomb of Aniasis, king of Egypt; and, therefore, the Israelites could not very well have been friendly with both. Dr. Layard says it is probable that Abraham saw these sculptures, but I doubt that the Holy Scriptures justify this supposition. We know that there were pyramids in Egypt one hundred years before the death of Noah; and it has always been the practice to assign a higher antiquity to Egyptian architecture than to Assyrian. lam myself of opinion, that there is in these sculptures signs of a depreciation from the simple principles of an incipient and rising art; and that it is rather a degraded phase of Egyp- tian art, than a new and original class. In conclusion, Mr. Donaldson proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Smirke, and also to Mr. Murray, for the illustrations with which he had favoured the Institute. Mr. Smirke remarked that the representations of the Persepolitan sculp- ture were very imperfect. The best were those of Sir Robert Porter; but even he was not a very careful draughtsman. He hoped the time would soon come when they may he a» well known as those of Assyria. With regard to the connection of Israel with the countries of Egypt and Assyria, it must not be forgotten, that although Solomon married Pharoah's daughter, he sought his "cunning workmen" and the materials for his great archi- tectural works in the opposite direction. He begged to repeat his decided conviction that the Assyrian marbles bear a much more marked affinity with the succeeding Greek style of art than that of Egypt. The Ch.mrman thought he could detect a knowledge of perspective in Assyrian architecture; and in some instances there were indications which would lead to a supposition that they had also a knowledge of the principle of the arch. Mr. C. H. Smith said these marbles were said to be alabaster, but that conveyed a wrong impression, as he believed they were not alabaster proper or sulphate of lime. He had slightly examined the Assyrian marbles, and believed them to he carbonate of lime. Dr. Buckland bad, he knew, said they were alabaster, but the Doctor bad told him that he had not examined them closely. The Chairman said that he believed one was a conglomerate or freestone. Mr. Ferguson said that the members did not seem to be aware that the French had sent to Persepolis, and had copied all the sculptures discovered there to a very large scale and with great accuracy. The drawings were much better, be should say, than those now exhibited of Nimrcod, and that they gave more details, and were more complete in every way. The last letters from Dr. Layard announced that he had discovered the throne of the King, upon which there was not the slightest trace of fire. It was composed principally of ivory with gold ornaments. There were traces of cloth trappings; and the gold thread with which it was sewn and embroi- dered still remained. This throne had been found in the same ruin as that which contained the miscellaneous collection of valuables already alluded to, but not in the same chamber. The condition of the articles discovered proved indisputably that that palace had never been destroyed by fire. Major Ranlinson had, however, satisfactorily determined that Nimrood was not Nineveh; that city had not yet been excavated. The name of Jonah having been found at the onset on the ruins, no further excavations were allowed by the Mabommedans on that spot. The attachment of the horses to the cars in these sculptures, which seemed to occasion some difficulty, was easily explainable, inasmuch as it was in common use in India to this day. The pole comes from the axle, and a sort of platform is carried on till it meets the yoke. That is always covered in India with red cloth, ornamented in the same way as appears in the sculptures. The upper part is a platform on which the driver can sit. In answer to the remarks made upon the honeysuckle ornament, it appeared to him quite clear, that the Ionic was derived by the Greeks from Asia, and the Doric from Egypt. Thus in these marbles there was no trace of Doric, but everywhere traces of Ionic, for in Egypt the Doric was found all the way from Nubia down to the caves of Memphis. His opinion was confirmed by that of all the greatest authorities. Mr. ScoLES remembered during the whole course of the Nile, from the second cataract downwards, but two instances of anything like Doric columns, and they were simply fluted cylindrical shafts without proper capitals. Mr. Ferguson. — Yes, tbey have the square abacus. Mr. ScoLEs wished to ask his friend Mr. Smirke, whether he considered this an architecture mi generis, and if not, whence derived ? Mr. Smirke. — If not indigenous, it is impossible to say whence it was derived, for we are unacquainted with any earlier style of architecture. Mr. Fowler said that the bull taken in the Burmese war was engraved with ornaments, just as might have been supposed to have been executedin the best days of Greek art. There was upon that the honeysuckle orna- ment found on these Assyrian remains. Mr. H. B. Garling asked why Mr. Smirke supposed these details were not executed by skilled artists ? Mr. Smirke. — Because they are so numerous that a master hand could not have been engagelies the buildings of the medijeval age frijni those of tlie Pagan world, tiian tlie Tower, Steeple, and Spire. This marked feature of a churchwas invented by the earliest Christian ardiitects, wlio in the first jjlace designed and raised a plain, simple, and rude pile, small in size, and devoid of of all ornamentation. In every succeeding age and era they produced changes ami imjirovements in this architectural member; and it is e(pially evident, that every architect invented something new in form, jiroporlion, and detail, in each and every new tower that was progressively erected. I believe, it may be safely said, that there are not two of these buildings in England precisely alike. It has been erroneously supposed by writers on medlle^•al archi- tecture, that the employment of spires, or pyramidal terminations of towers, was a consequence of the introduction of tlie pointed arch; and that the towers of churciies, erected before that im- ])ortant era in the history of architecture, were designed to be ]ierfectly flat at the top. This mistake has arisen from the circum- stance, that tlie most ancient towers have lost their original finish; some being now covered with flat roofs; others having spires, pinnacles, and certain appendages of much later date; scarcely any, indeed, remaining unaltered at the present time. But if we examine the representations of churches in ancient drawings, and on seals, — a species of evidence of the greatest possible value, — we find that spires were very common in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; aiul even among the Anglo-Saxons lung before. Tlie engravings from ancient Saxon MSS., in the works of Strutl, comprise many spires, finished with crosses and weathercocks; and tlie well-known drawing of Canterbury Cathedral, made by Kadwin the monk before the destruction of the church by fire, in 117 t, displays no less than five spires on the church itself, besides some on the out-buildings. Compared with those of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries these primitive spires were very clumsy; they were square in plan, and either covered with lead, tiles, or shin- gles; and the loftiest were not more in height than twice the diameter of their base. Two ancient spires of this form remained till the beginning of the present century, on the western towers of the collegiate church of Southwell; and there are still two small ones at the angles of the west front of Bishop's Cleeve church, (iloucestersbire. ^V great improvement was effected in the form of s])ires, by reducing them to an octangular shape; though the earlier examples of that kind had still a square base, the angles being sbqied upwards to the spire. By this alteration, though their height was not actually increased, t ley had an appearance, when viewed at an angle, of mucli greater loftiness. There are many stone spires of this kind in Lincolnshire and in the adjacent coun- ties. Though the builders of stone spires appear to have been cau- tious of increasing their height, those of timber soon assumed a great altitude with jn-oportionate elegance of form; and were at length made of much less breadth than the towers on which they were built, and with a degree of slenderncss never attained in stone. There is a fine timber spire at Long Sutton, Lincolnshire; and one of the earliest stone spires is at Sleaford Church, in the same county. Stone sjiires, as well as those of timber, were gradually reduced to a more slender proptjrtiim. In Die fmirteenth century their angles were decorated with crockets; and the jiinnacles at tlie angles of the tower below were frequently connected witli the s]nre by arch or flying buttresses. The forms, proportions, and details of Towers and Sjiires were infinitely varied and di\ersilied. They were most usually placed at the western end of churches; and some of the larger and more elaborate edifices, — as Vmk, Lichfield, Canterbury, Linccdn and AVells Cathedrals, have each two towers at the west end, and a third at the centre, or intersection of the nave and traiisiqits. In Lichlield Cathedral each of the three toivers is crouned by a lofty and elaborate spire. Exeter Cathedral presents the uuiipie ex- ample of a tower at the extremity of each transept. The Towers of churches are either s<|uare, round, or octagonal; the first being tiie most frequent. Large doorways and windows, buttresses, stringcourses, and other decorations diversify them. In some examples (as at St. Mary's, Cheltenham; Almondbiiry Church, (iloucestersbire; the church at Ileculvers, Kent; and many others), the bases of the spires cover the whole upper surface of the tower. Occasionally, indeed, they form projecting eaves; but at a latertime the tower was se|)arated from the spire in a marked manner, by a ))arapet, either plain, embattled, or perforated. The buttresses forming the angles of the tower were terminated by elaborate turrets, or pinnacles, the whole forming a richly ornamented group. There are numerous towers of all ages without spires; and some (as at Ely C'atbedral, and the churciies of Fotheringay, Northamp- tonshire, and Boston, Lincidnsbire), are terminated with octagonal turrets, or lanterns. At Sutton Benger Church, ^V'iltsbire, is a plain square tower, with a rii'b embattled parapet. From each angle of the parapet rises a small pinnacle, whilst the centre of the face of the tower sustains another, somewhat larger, and of florid decoration, but more diminutive than the ordinary npire. The towers of the Somersetshire churches present many beauti- ful and interesting characteristics, worthy of the ages of Henries VI. and VII. It would be irrelevant to the present purpose to advert to the fine and elaborate towers and spires of Continental churches and cathedrals; — those of Antwerp, Strasbiirg, Freiburg, St. Stephen's, A'ienna, and Malines, will readily occur to the memory of the architectural student. In more remote connection with the subject, the Round Towers of India, of Ireland, and of the eastern counties of England, the Keep, and Bastion Towers of ancient fortresses, as well as the Tower Gate-houses ot old English cities, claim a passing allusion; as at a more favourable opportunity they would well repay atten- tive consideration and lengthened comment. It cannot fail to be a subject well worthy investigation and illus- tration, for an architect to inquire into the history, peculiarities, construction, design, and endlessly-varied features of towers and spires, and also to prepare such a series of drawings as would clearly and amply illustrate the progressive improvements made in this department of the architect's professional career. Actuated by a laudable desire to accomplish a publication of this kind, Mr. W'ickes, of Leicester, has visited several of the cathe- dral, collegiate, and parish churches of England, and made draw- ings of their interesting towers and spires, which he proposes to have lithographed and published. In a prospectus which that gentleman has issued, he mentions his intended work as "a de- sideratum in the history of our national architecture." He adds, with equal truth, that "among the many beautiful and striking relics of mediseval art scattered throughout the land, the spires and towers of our churches stand pre-eminent for richness, variety, and elegance, and hence deservedly claim the tribute of our praise and admiration. Reared by the hand of genius, and dedicated by the spirit of piety, these stupendous fabrics, — " i'uint as with aileul tinker to tlie sky and stars;" and after the lapse of centuries remain to bear indisputable evi- dence to the taste and skill of our ancestral architects. The grandeur of their composition, and the fineness of their outline, their exquisite proportion, richly sculptured ornament, and yet chaste detail, display the astonishing invention and aesthetic ability of their designers; no less than the boldness of con- struction and scientific arrangement of thrust and counterpoise attest their wonderful skill, and the proficiency to which they had attained in the study of architectural dynamics." Some of Mr. W'ickes's drawings are now exhibited; and should the profession and the public be disposed to patronise his under- taking, he will be enabled to publisli a series of illustrations, suf- ficiently numerous to characterise all the leading varieties of tower architecture in England. In order to direct the attention of the present meeting more particularly to the subject, I have ventured to otfer these few remarks on the leading peculiarities of ancient ecclesiastical towers and spires. Remarks made at the Meethif/ after the lieadinij of the foregoing Paper. Mr. Godwin thnuebt tlie drawincs now exhibited beyond all praise. If .iny proofs were required to relute the assertion of a recent writer, thai all parish churches displaved |ia 1 architecture, the series of drawings now be- I'nre the meeting wouhi do ihiit most triumphantly. The towers and spires of England, comioeucing "itlithe Norman and ending with the early Engliiih 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 161 period, exhibited invariably a wonderful beauty and exactness of proportion, and a marvellous grace of outline. The spires of the latter peiiod he had mentioned, presented a variety of character which was most extraordinary, considerinfi; how few were the elements at the command of the architects. They had only the square, the sexagon, and the octagon, and yet there were not two steeples to be found at that period precisely alike; while their out- lines had a power and beauty, which completely disproved the assertion, that all the old parish churches of England were bad Gothic. While on this sub. ject. he wished to draw attention to the miserable condition of many towers and spires throughout England. X remarkable instance was the tower of St. Mary's, Taunton. The interior of that edifice was fitted up at a large cost a few years ago by .Mr. Ferrey, fellow, but the tower was left untouched, and it was now in a wretched state of dilapidation and decay from top to bottom. St. Stephen's, Bristol, which had a curious arrangement of open work, similar to that at Taunton, was also in a decayed state; but dilapida- tion itself was even better than some modes of repair. He had been on the day previous at Dundry, a village in Somersetshire, four or five miles from Bristol, and the church tower there had open work at the top, something like that at St. Stephen's, Bristol but yet possessing interesting peculiarities of its own. The upper part of the tower falling into decay, an architect was consulted, who recommended the rebuilding of the decayed portions, at a cost, which he estimated would be about 300/. The parish blacksmith, however, who, being one of the vestry, was all powerful, said he could mend it for 40/.; and accordingly he had encased it with the most amusing elabor- ation of iron net-work ever beheld. Cross bars of iron traversed the tower in every direction, and this mode of repair would in a few years hasten the whole pile to destruction. The tower, which was a beautiful specimen of the style common in the sixteenth century, was in a good state, except the top; and he repeated, that the means used for its repair must inevitably in a few years destroy the whole. It was, indeed, most important that parish authorities should listen to that which was repeated almost every day, namely that they ought in such cases always to call in proper professional advice, and not merely call it in, he would add, but take it. Mr. TiTE. — I am glad, and I am sure all here present are delighted, to see our old friend Mr. Britton, again amongst us. Let us hope it is a pleasure which will again gladden us. Our friend states that Mr. Wickes is anxious to publish the series of drawings, in outline here exhibiied. Every artist would desire to see them published in outline; to the profession that would certainly be the most useful and acceptable form. As a group of buildings they are honourable to the country and to our native architecture. I do not think that any other country in the world could furnish the originals for such an admirable series of drawings as those now exi-.ibited. There are few countries that could match, or at least excel, any cf them in he.iuty. In all Normandy, I only remember one church which I could describe as worthy to be ranked with these; that was at Lillebonne, a town famous for Roman remains; and I was delighted to find, on inquiring after its architect, that it was attributed to an Englishman, who had settled permanently in that part of the country. I mention the circumtance as a proof that English church architecture has a distinctness of character, which would almost of itself constitute a separate school of the art. Mr. Fowler alluded to the peculiar characteristics which prevailed in the towers of churches in different parts of England. This point had, no doubt, struck other gentlemen, and he should like to hear a dissertation upon it from some one, if not from Mr. Britton. In Devonshire, Somerset, and Wilts, there were general peculiarities clearly traceable, which had no con- nection whatever with any feature of the country round about. Mr. Godwin had referred to the church at Taunton. He had long resided in that town, and was well acquainted with that splendid specimen of architectural taste, the tower of St. Mary's, although he confessed it was not until he had dili- gently compared it with others, that he became convinced that it was the most beautiful tower of that class in all England, and it presented as curious a net- work of iron bars as he saw at Dundry. He quite agreed with Mr. Godwin, that the introduction of iron into masonry could not fail to be attended with injurious effect-. He trusted the attention of the public would be called to the subject, and steps would be taken to restore and preserve St. Mary's, Taunton, to the condition in which its excellence entitled it to be maintained. Ruins of an Ancient Califomian City. — Antiquaries will feel deeply interested in the discovery of vast regions of ancient ruins near San Diego, and within a day's march of the Pacific Ocean, at the head of the Gulf of California. Portions of temples, dwellings, lofty stone pyramids (seven of these within a mile square), and massive granite rings or circular walls, round venerable trees, columns and blocks of hieroglyphics — all speak of some ancient race of men now for ever gone, their histoiy actually unknown to any of the existing families of mankind. In some points, these ruins resemble the recently discovered cities of Palenque, &e., near the Atlantic or Mexican Gulf coast; in others, the ruins of ancient Egypt ; in others, again, the monuments of Phcenicia, and yet in many features they differ from all that I have referred to. I observe that the discoverers deem them to be ante- diluvian, whilst the present Indians have a tradition of a great civilised nation, which their ferocious forefathers utterly destroyed. The region of the ruins is called by the Indians " the Valley of Mystery." — American Corre- spondent, THE ENTASIS OF A COLUMN. Description of a method invented by 3tr. J opting for describing the Entasis of a Column, or Spire, and some other Curves adapted to Architectural Lines. By F. C. Penrose, Esq. — (Paper read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, March 18th.) There are few gentlemen here, who will not allow, that a curre of strictly v.-irying curvature is more heautiful and appropriate than one, like the false ellipse to which I point, which is made of several circles, each mutilated segment of which suggests its own completion, and interferes with the general line composed of the several arcs. And no one wiU deny, that, if it can be shown that varying curves can be constructed easily, we ought to apply them whenever possible, instead of the broken lines so often used. 1 was led in following out an examination of the curves used by the Greeks, to endeavour to invent an instrument for drawing by con- tinued motion the hyperbola, a curve frequently used by them in the profiles of their mouldings, and the entasis of their columns ; and I succeeded in arriving at an instrument, which, by a very slight modification of the metliod of drawing the conchoid of Nicomedes, of which I produce some e.xamples, draws the hyper- bola with the greatest exactness. I had not gone far in this study, before I found that Mr. Joseph Jopling had made many valuable discoveries in various methods of drawing curves by ma- chinery, the principles of some of which he has recently published in a small pamphlet, named the ' Imjmlse to Art.' In this he de- scribes a method for drawing the Ionic volute by a particular and simple arrangement of three cranks, or a crank and two strings, like the instrument I lay before you; and by another arrangement of the same instrument, he produces a very beautiful ogee, called by him the line of beauty, of both of which he has lent me speci- mens of a larjre size, drawn by him to lay before you this evening. I was enabled by applying his method deduced from the 'Impulse to Art,' without any assistance from him, to arrive at so near an appro.vimation to the volute of the Ionic column of the Propylaea, of which Mr. Willson and I obtained exact measurements at Athens, tliat I can hardly resist the con- clusion that Mr. Jopling has discovered the method used by the Greeks in drawing their volutes. He assures me that he has found equally, if not more, satisfactory comparisons from the volutes of the Erechtheum and other buildings. What I have chiefly undertaken to bring before you this even- ing, is a method for drawing the entasis of a column, or a spire. We suppose it to be granted (which perhaps is not absolutely cer- tain) that a spire ought to ha\e an entasis. It probably depends upon the effect we wish to give to the spire, whether it should be straight-sided, or have the usual convex entasis, or concave entasis, as the latter may be called where the sides are hollowed. Mr. Jopling's instrument, which is very simple, is equally adapted to either case. It consists of two principal parts: a fiat straightedge, the sides of which, instead of being parallel to one another, di- minish at a small angle; the one for instance which I produce, is 3 feet 6 inches long, at one end 3^ inches, and at the other l^ incli broad. The other part is a bar with one fixed peg at the end, and two moveable sockets, one of which carries a peg, the other a pencil tube. Nothing more or less than the bar of an ordinary trammel and the tapering straightedge: it is the same in principle as the trammel, only much more convenient for the drawing of very ihit ellipses than tliat instrument in its ordinary construction. This might be applied full size to the column or spire, with great ease, though it may be questioned whether that be really so good a way as that of obtaining the curves more at ease, and setting them off from straight directing lines. In drawing the entasis however on paper, to any attainable size, its action is most simple. To pro- duce a very flat ellipse, we have only to set the tw o pegs at some convenient distance, rather greater than the broader part of the straightedge, and the pencil at some convenient distance along the bar. By sliding the bar along the straightedge, keeping the two pegs in contact, and the pencil on the paper, which is, after a little handling, very easy to tlo, with proper elbow room and other convenience of standing room, we produce a portion, nearly the half, of an exceedingly flat ellipse; the part nearest the vertex having very sharp curvature, and the parts removed from it being almost straight: so tliat by a proper selection of a portion of this arc, we may" obtain a curve of whatever variety we please, con- stantly varying also its curvature according to a regular law, al- together superior to anything that can be put together by parts of circles and straight lines, for those purposes at least to which it can be applied. There are numerous other forms of curves, that could be advan- 23 1C2 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [May, tapeously applied to architectural purposes, several of which Mr. .'opliiiff has prciduced. One, which I liere point out, is descrihed Ipy an instrument devised by myself, and which draws very com- plicated forms, available for some ]iurposes in their entire state, and for others by a proper selection of ])arts, so as to be made ap- plicable for the curves of vases and other lines, and these always suggest beautiful motives for lines of varied curvature. On the jiresent occasion, however, time does not allow me to enlarjie ui)on them, and I must conclude by again calling to your notice the extreme simplicity of the instrument, which Mr. Jojding's kind- ness has allowed me to lay before you, and which is most readily adaptable for drawing what is often required in Architecture, a long line departing very little from a straight line, and yet with an almost unlimited variety in its curvature. MOTION OF WATER IN PIPES. On the Motion of Water in Conduit Pipes; on Friction and Prcs- utire in Pipes; and on Jets d'Eau. By M. D'AumrssoN de Voisins, Ingenieur en chef Directeur au Corps Royal des Mines, &c. &c. — (Translated by T. Howabd, for the Civil Engineer and Archi- tert's Journal.) {Continued from page 132.) Equation where Conduits are terminated by Adjutages. 12. We have hitherto considered conduits as entirely open at their further extremity; whereas, they are generally terminated by nozzles or cocks, or have some kind of adjutage wliich contracts the opening, and makes the water issue forth with a velocity dif- ferent from the uniform motion of the fluid in the pipe: conse- (piently, the ecpiations (I. to XII.) based upon the supposition of identity of velocity, do not apply e.\cept under that condition. Tlie first member of these e(puitions, II — •15.5ii-', gives the portion of the head destroyed by the resistance of the conduit; which portion is the entire head II, minus that which remains to produce the velocity of discharge (2): if this velocity is called V, the first member of the equation will, in general, he H — -155 V-'. The second member is the expression of the resistance of the sides (7), which is a function of the velocity in the conduit, or of f; V ought then to remain as it is in this member, which will not change in value. 13. In conduit ])i])es, even more, if possible, than in other cases of fluids with unbroken continuity of motion, the velocities, at particular points, are in inverse ratio to their sections: so that if d lie the diameter of an adjutage at its discharging orifice, m the coeflicient for its particular contraction, D being invariably the diameter of the conduit, we have V : u :: ir'D- : ir'ynd'-; or, D= Q D- O V = r —-.. = 1-273 >•, X —:, = 1-273 ^ . ma- U- md' md- TUe equation for the movement then becomes Q- L (Q^ + -01.-52 QD-') ,.(XV1.) [!n iiietr.] H--08264 -",- = -002221 m'-d* D ° f[.i feet.] H--02J19 -' =-000677 — {Q- + -14173 QD-') ! m-d^ U^ J Of the five quantities which this equation contains, four being given, we may by it obtain the value of the fifth. It is required, for example, to rietermine the diameter necessary to f;ive to a circular orifice in a thin plate, fated to the end of a conduit of -08 feet diameter, and 532 feet long, the quantity of water to be discharged per second being -02 feet, and the head 4-5 feet. The above equation will give '=\/ ■02519 Q^D = m2{HD6--000677L(QS + -1417QD')}' G2, and reducing anil extracting the Puttttng in the numerical values m fourth root, we have (/ = -04 77 feet. 14. For velocities above 2 feet per second, we have (all being in feet), Q- H--02ol9 m^d" Q = 37 031 \ /- ■000711 ^-^' ; L + 35'47 D° m'd* and (XVll.) (XVllI.) VLQ= 11-02519 ^ ni^d* (XIX.) Ex. 1. — To a conduit of the dimensions given below, we will adapt a COJiical adjutage -03 feet diameter: we require to know the quantity it "ill then discharge ? Here 0=.-25 feet; L = 1450feet; 11 = 5-32 feet; and for the coifficient for the convergence of the adjutage we take -90. Cons( quently, m=d' = -0000006561 ; and 35-47— ;. = 52795. m'd* Then Q = 37-034 V- 5-32 (-25)^ - = -01146 cuh. feet. 1450 + 52795 The complete equation (XVI.) would also give -0114G cub. feet. We would here remark, that if instead of an adjutage of -03 feet diame- ter, we put one of -125 feet diameter (half the diameter of the comiuii), the discharge will be .. .. ,, .. ,, -06551 cuh. feet. With a diameter of -1875 feet (| diameter) . .. -06881 cub. feet. Without any adjutage, we should have .. .. -00917 cub. feet. These results show, that when the diameter of an adjutage is great com- pared with that of the comluit (so as to he more than half thereof), the dis- charge differs very little from that which we obtaur by leaving the conduit entirely open. In several of my experiments on tlie conduits of Toulouse, this faft was particularly observed ; the difference in some cases was even much less than theory would give- — it was imperceptible. For example, having at the end of a conduit of -164 feet diameter, and 1391 (eet long, succes- sively fitted plates pierced with cir- cular orifices, gradually decreasing in diameter, and under a constant head of 53-5 feet, we had the discharges here given. The diameter of the conduit being "164 feet, the first is the result ohtained wiihiiut any adju- tage. We observe that the results of calculation approach so much the nearer those of experiment, as the velocity of the water in the conduit becomes less. Esc. 2. — Required the diameter of a conduit 2736 feet long, and from which, with a head of 213 feet, we wish to ohtuin -4 cuh. feet of water per second, hy several orifices placed near each other, and which taken together are equal in area to one circular orifice -13 feet diameter; the cotffi.ieiit of contraction in this case beuig taken as -85 ? Q2 We have m2d< -=-000206346; -02519 -==— = 19-547; and, consequently Diameter Discharge accordiof; tu | of Orilice. Calculation. Experiment. Feet. Cubic Feet. Cubic Feet. -164 •07558 •06074 •115 •07417 •06074 -098 ■07311 •06074 •066 •064 63 •05080 -049 ■05192 •04697 •033 •02967 •02896 m'd* D = ^235 ^/ _'■'•'" K^r =.641 feet. A/ 2^3-19-547 _2736(^4)-^ _ Art, II. — CoNDviTs with Bends and Contractions. Three kinds of Resistance in Conduit Pipes. 15. We have been hitherto considering conduits as rectilinear, and of equal section throughout tlieir whole length; but they are generally formed with angles or bends, and occasionally have parts of a diminished section, either over a very small extent (forming, as it were, an annular ciuitraction), or else through a considerable length. Water, moving in such conduits, on arriving at the bends, is compelled to change its direction. In so doing, it loses part of its velocity: the resistance which causes the loss is as a force opposed to the motive power, or the original head; it destroys a part thereof. At contractions, again, the fluid experiences another resistance: having there to pass through a narrower section, it requires to have a greater velocity; to obtain this, a new effort is necessary — and the consequence is, another diminution of the total head. Thus, water, in its motion in pipes, meets, or may meet, with three kinds of resistance — that due to the effect of the sides, and which is by far the most considerable; that which arises from bends; and that from contractions. The forces or ])ortions of the head employed to overcome these, lessen the total head; and it is only by reason of the remaining part, that the efllux takes place: this portion is the height due to the velocity of discharge. M'e have treated in detail the resistance of the sides (1 — 8) ; we shall now examine the other two. 1850 ] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 103 The Rexlslance of Brnds and Angles. 16. Every moving boily, which after having followed a certain direction suddenly changes therefrom, loses a portion of its velo- ritv, represented by the versed sine of the angle formed by the two directions. If it moves in a curved line, it is continually changing its direction; Iiut tlie loss of velocity at each change is onlv an infinitely small one of tlie second order; and consequently, although the number of losses be infinite, the total loss will be only an infinitely small one of the first order, or as nothing: in other words, every moving body which arrives tangentially at a curve and follows it for some length, possesses on quitting it the same velocity it had on its arrival. It follows, that if a bend in a conduit be well formed, and the fluid therein should exactly follow the curve, it would suffer no resistance or loss of velocity. But this is not the case: the molecules composing the fluid cur- rent being independent of each other, while those which are in contact with the sides would follow the curvature, the others, beino' directed against the sides, will be reflected by them, or by the intervening particles, at an angle which is sometimes very considerable. For example, the central fillet aC has a tendency to strike the side ACB at C, and from thence to be re- flected in the direction Ci. Tlie mutual action of the particles on one another, will produce, in the whole, a loss of velocity; it will be, generally, less than that of the central stream taken alone, but always greater than that of the current bordering on the sides. This diminution of velocity, and consequently of discharge, although certain, will yet be very slight. Thus, Bossut, with a pipe of I'OU inch diameter, and oiij feet long, laid horizontally in H straight line, and with a head of 1'07 feet, ol)taiiied a discharge of •7360 cubic feet per minute: then having bent it in a serpentine form, so as to have six well rounded curves, all else remaining tlie same, he obtained '7205 cubic feet per minute. We may, however, by multiplying and increasing the acuteness of the bends, render the diminution of discharge very consider- able. Rennie, with a lead pipe, 15 feet long, and j-inch diame- ter, fitted horizontally to a reservoir under a head of 4 feet, obtained a discharge of "419 cubic feet per minute; then having given the same Jiipe fifteen semicircular bends, of 3^ in. radius, and again fitted it to ttie reservoir, the discharge was not moi-e tlian •370 cubic feet: so that the fifteen bends reduced the discharge in the ratio of 100 to 89; with a quadruple head, the reduction was in the ratio of 100 to 88. 17. 'With regard to the laws regulating the resistance of bends, and to its amount, we are indebted to Dubuat for the first well- observed facts. He has taken various pipes, at first rectilinear, and measured the head necessary to obtain from them a certain volume of water in a certain time: he has then bent them in dif- ferent forms, and in such a manner that the central current had a tendency to be reflected at angles of determined number and acuteness, and again examined the head with which they dis- charged an equal volume of water in an equal time. The differ- ence between the two heads, for the same pipe, at one time recti- linear and at another bent, was evidently the head due to the bends, and consequently the measure of their resistance. The principal of twenty-five experiments, which he has thus made, are given in the following table: — Dimeter. length. Nun,be''rt'v Inches. 1-07 ro/ 1-07 107 1^07 1-07 107 107 2-13 213 213 Feet. 10-39 10-39 10-39 10-39 10-39 1240 12-40 6546 22-66 22-66 22-66 1 of 36° 2 of 36 3 of 36 4 of 24-57 10 of 36 4 of 36 4 of 36 4 of 36 4 of 36 4 of 36 f 6 of 24-57] { 5 of 36 1 of 56-23 Velocity Resistance per due to Second, the Bends. Feet. 7^55 7-55 7-55 7-55 6-36 5-16 2-60 2-54 7-66 5-22 7-66 Feet. •067 •133 •221 •133 •524 •146 •036 ■035 •257 •118 •767 Coefficient Ueduted. •0034 •0034 •0037 •0034 •0037 •0039 ■0039 •0039 ■0030 ■0031 •0038 Dubuat concludes from his experiments, that the resistance arising from bends is proportional to the square of the velocity of the fluid, to the number of angles of reflection, and to the square of their sines. In this hypothesis the coefficient varies but little, and its mean value is -0037. So that if v be the velocity; n, n, &c. the number of angles of reflection of equal measure; ?, i', &c. the respective measures of the angles, the resistance will be \ -0037 ?!-(« sin- j + n siri' i' + ); or in function of Q, and taking s for the sum of the squares of all Q-' the sines, •0061 ^, X s-. 18. In the application of this formula to any given conduit, we must determine the number and value of tlie angles of reflection for each bend. Now, a simple diagram shows, 1st, that in a pipe bent to an arc of a circle (and no other curves need he admitted in practice), half the diameter of the pipe divided by the radius of the are, will give the versed sine of the angle of reflection, and we may consequently cet its cosine and value in degrees; 2ndly, that the number of degrees in the arc (i. e. the supplement of the angle of the curve), divided hy twice the angle of reflec- tion, will indicate the numher of angles. Let us, for ex.imple, take a conduit pipe, -82 feet diameter, conveying T/O cuhic feet of water per second, and which presents a bend of 95°, the radius of the curve being 6-89 feet: what will be the re- sistance occasioned by this bend .* According to the rule laid down, the versed sine of the angle of reflection will be ■0595 {= i^y'^), and its cosine ^9405 ( = 1 — -0595), the cosine of an angle of 19° 52'; this is the angle of reflec- tion. The arc of curvature 85° ( = 180°-95°) divided by 39 73° (twice the angle of reflection), will give their number; this we shall take as 3, the quo- tient being 2-14. The sine of 19° 52' is •3398, and its square ^1155 : the resistance sought will therefore be •00608 — — ^x3x^ll55 = ^0144feet; (-82)^ a quantity extremely small, although the curve was tolerably acute and the velocity consideiable. For the pipe with fifteen bends, in Rennie's experi- ment, the above method of calculation would give a resistance of 633 feet : the experiment itself, as we shall shortly see, gave MGfeet, which would raise the coefficient of Dubuat from -00608 to ■01113. But such a case as this seldom occurs in practice; nor does the value of the resistance, even if we double the coefficient, often amount to an inch loss of head. We may neglect account of the value of this resistance in curves of great radius; tlie angles of reflection, it is true, will he greater, hut not so strong; and the sum of the squares of the sines, and consequently the resistance, will be less. 19. If the effect of well curved bends is imperceptible, it is not so with angles, properly so called. An experiment of Venturi shows their influence: this savan had three tubes made, r25 feet in length, and 13 inch diameter; one was rectilinear, the second had a bend of 9U° well curved, and the third had an acute angle, also of 90°: under a head of 2-88 feet, they filled a vessel containing 4-84 cuhic feet, respectively in 45", 50", and 70". The bad effect of aniiles is shown still more plainly in the experiments of Rennie : with his pipe 15 feet lung, J-inch diameter, and with a bead of 4 feet, he obtained, per minute, a discharge With the rectilinear pipe ^4 19 cubic feet. With the fifteen semicircular bends .. ^370 „ With 1 right angle ^333 „ With 24 right angles ^152 „ so that one angle of 90° reduced the discharge more than 15 considerable bends. This fact alone shows with what care all angles should be avoided in the establishment of conduit pipes. In seeking the heads which made the three pipes with bends or angles give a discharge (•419 cubic feet) equal to that which was obtained when there was neither angle nor bend, we find them respectively 5-15, 6-33, and 30-52 feet. Deducting 4 feet, there remains for the resistance arising from the bends and angles (17) 1.15, 2-33, and 26-54 feet. From which we con- clude that the resistance from a single angle of 90°, was more than double that of fifteen bends; and that of twenty-four angles was only 11-4 times greater than that of a single one. This last result also shows that the resistance of angles and bends is not proportional to their number, as Dubuat had remarked. 1 had also observed a like want of proportion in m-j Experi- ments an the motion of Air in Conduit Pipes ('Annales des Mines,' 1828, p. 453). Resistance arising from Contractions. 20. Contractions, of which we are about to treat, are occasioned by a diminution of the section of the couduit for a very short length. 23* 161 THE CIVIL EXGINEEU AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [M^ That we may f,nve an exact idea of the resistance they offer to the motion, let us suppose a conduit in which, perpendicular to its axis, we have phiced a diaphragm ov thin partition pierced with an orifice. The stream, on arriving at tliis point, will contract and reduce itself to the size of the a|perture, taking a greater velocity in proportion as the section is smaller; and this velocity will always lie greater than it would have heen in this part of the conduit without the jiartition. The force necessary to produce the extra velocity, the direction of the motion remaining the same, will evi- dently be due to the resistance offered hy the contraction. Let B be the diameter of the orifice, yn its coefficient for contrac- tion. The velocity through this point requiring to he greater than in the conduit, and following the inverse ratio of the sections, will D' be then expressed by ■0155r- — „v- ihe excesses of force, or loss III- Iv of head arising from the contraction, will therefore he ■01J5r(-:rT7:— l) = ■!,..„, ^, ^ III- li^ I \in-li' In terms of the discharge, this resistance will be expressed by •02519 Q=('_L__L). M. Navier, considering that the stream, on passinz out of the contraction, ifuinedialely resumes the velocity proper to the conduit, instead of ttie dif- 1 1 ference between the squares of tlie two terms, \|lr\^' D'l of their difTerence, ImU- D-l - and — . takes the square But as this opinion is contrary to fact, as the experiments given in the next section will show, we must be careful in adopiinjr a result founded on false premises. It is hut seldom, however, that we shall have to make use of the above flates were placed at the distance of ro3 feet from each other, the discharge was not more than -0331. 22. The observations we have made resj)ecting contractions caused by thin plates pierced with orifices, apply equally to those which would be produced hy very short tubes of a diameter smaller than that of the conduit. I cite the 24th Experiment of Venturi. This eminent philosopher, with great judgment, arranged his appa- ratus to consist of two sorts of tubes alternately; the one B, B, were -HS feet long, and ^-inch diameter; the other C, (J, were I '9 inches diameter, and their length sometimes '289 feet, and Distance. DiSfharpe. Feet. •023 •626 •043 •622 •085 •614 •171 •568 •260 •509 •430 •487 ^030 •481 2-060 ■478 sometimes ^564 feet. He at first made use of a single tube C; then of two, of three, of four, and lastly of five: he successively ap])lied these various combinations to a reservoir, using a constant Fig. 4. Iiead of 2^89 feet, and the following are some of the discharges obtained: — With a single tube, B -0444 cub. feet. With a tube, C, added -0329 „ With three tubes, C ■0252 „ With five tubes, C ^0202 „ I have attempted to compare these results with those by the methods of calculation I have given: the differences have been sometimes great, sometimes inconsiderable; thus, for the last case I have had ■0185 cubic feet. 23. Notwithstanding the great irregularities which these results present, they are well worthy attention, and principally on account of the very striking manner in which they show the effect produced hy enlargements in a pipe; an effect, carried above a certain limit, altogether as prejudicial as that of contractions. Venturi's entire apparatus, which was 3^2 feet long, may be con- sidered as a pipe ^inch diameter, having the five enlargements C. It furnished, as we have seen, a discharge of ^0202 cub. feet. He afterwards, with a tube of the same length, but of the uniform diameter of 4-inch, obtained ^0327 cub. feet. The enlargements thus diminishing the discharge in the ratio of 100 to 62. 24. There is yet one other contraction that ought to be con S'dered — that experienced by the fluid stream on its entry into a pipe of less diameter than that which immediately precedes it. The resistance arising from this contraction will evidently be the same as if, at the entry of the pi]ie, we had placed a plate pierced with an orifice of which the section should be to that of the pipe as 111 to 1 {in being the coefficient belonging to the contraction); and its expression will then be •02519 ^-7 _L-l); DA m-2 J' This is a special case of the general formula (20), where B = D. The value of in can only be approximatively. For a very short pipe, as for cylindrical adjutages, it will be '82. But in pijies, jiroperly so called, it approaches nearer to 1; and more so in pro- jiortion to the length of the pipe, and even, according to M. Prony, as the diameter is greater; so that in large conduits, the effect of this contraction is very small. It is still further reduced by con- necting pipes of two diameters by a conical length, gradually dimi- nishing from one to the other. Lastly, as we have remarked (5), the effect of the contraction at the head of a pipe is itnplicitly comprised in the values of the coefficients of the fundamental equation; and its effect at the entry of a pipe which branches from a larger conduit, will he com- prised in the determination of the head of such branch, so that we need not in any case make calculation of it. Observations on the Practical a)ii>licutitm of the Formutce. 25. The coetBcienls of the formulae which we have given, especially those concerning the principal resistance — that due to the friction against the inte- rior of the pipe — have been determined by experiments made chiefly on pipes of small diameter and of no gieat length (5); they have been gene- rally well-bored pipes, well joined, and free from incrustations. But can such formula; be safely applied, without modification, to conduits of a differ- ent description — namely, to those used in large distributions of water? This is a question which we must now examine. The pipes of which conduits are formed are almost always more or less imperfect, from the effect of the mould, or in casting; their section is no longer exactly circular, and consequently, cateris paribus, it is smaller than it ought to he. Their interior surface presents inequalities which retard the motion. When joineil, the axis of the whole is not always a line without rehatement; the interior is not a perfectly cylindrical surface; the edges of some of the pipes project, and the currents reaching these points, are arrested, divided, and sometimes reflected back again: thus arise eddies in the movement, loss of motive force, and consequently a diminution of the discbarge. Even when the pipes are well cast, so that the channel is very 1850.J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 165 regular, there will he nevertheless, at each joint, a little annular hollow, or a break of continuity, which will produce, to a certain extent, the effect of projections; and which, repeated at every joint in a long conduit, cannot hut give rise to a perceptilile reduction in the discharge. M. Gueymird, ingenieur den mines, has rightly insisted on this cause of reduction, and has endeavoured successfully to obviate its effects in the establishment of the fountains at Grenoble. Moreover, when the conduits are sinuous in their vertical planes (as is generally the case), if there are no vents at the summits of the highest parts the air which the water carries with it, and which is disengaged in a greater or less quantity, rises into these elevated parts, and being there col- lected, produces the effect of contractions, the bad effects of which we have already seen. The cleanest waters, in appearance, always carry with them foreign bodies, and especially extremely fine earthy particles, which are depo- sited in parts of the pipe; and in time contracting the section, again dimi- nish the discharge. I do not here speak of calcareous and siliceous matter, which, although held in solution in the water, become precipitated on the interior of the pipes, lining them with a stony crust, and, gradually increasing in thickness, would end by stopping them altogether, if not removed in time: this evil is peculiar only to certain localities. It is the same with regard to ferruginous deposits, which are made in a tubercular form in the conduits of Grenoble, and which continually increasing in number and size, diminish the discharge to such a degree that, in eight years, it has been reduced more than one-half. The aerated water, running in pipes, likewise attacks the material, and forms a hydrate of iron, which is deposited in long nipples parallel to the direction of the current, and in greatest quantity on the lower part; underneath these, the iron is as it were corroded, nearly to Jjth of an inch. ('Annales des Mines,' 1834, p. 203, et. seq.) Setting aside these local circumstances, it often happens that in experi- ments made on conduits apparently in a sound state, the discharge has been found to be less by a quarter or a third than that indicated by the forraulaj: it is scarcely ever equal to it. I have quoted many of these experiments in my ' History of the Formation of the Fountains at Toulouse.' In consequence of these ascertained facts, the hydraulic engineers of Paris, when making Dse of the formula; of discharge, diminish by one-third the value of the numeric coefficients. I have adopted an analogous method, by augmenting by one-half the quantity of water which should determine the size of the conduit. It is, in my opinion, with such latitude that an engineer charged with the establishment of a plan for a large distribution of water, ought to employ the formula: which we have set forth: he wdl then avoid the dis- appointments which would often occur if he uniformly adhered to results given by conduits made with a precision which can seldom belong to his own. CTo lie continued J cross the Atlantic with certainty and despatch, did we not extend the beacon lig-ht to welcome their approach to our coasts, and pro- vide the means of their witlidrawirif; from the ocean billows into sheltered havens, wliere their lading might be discharged, and car- goes of our country's produce shipped for foreign lands? — for it must be remembered that it was only when a mariner approached his destined port that the many dangers caused by rocks, shoals, sand-hanks, tides, and currents, beset his course; and hence the necessity of employing artificial means to secure that shelter and protection which his vessel required. It would at once occur to the Society that works of various kinds were employed for this pur- pose: one class of these works consisted in the projection of piers and breakwaters at suitable situations on the coast, so as to form sheltered havens and harbours of refuge; to another department belonged ship canals, by means of which exposed coasting voyages wei-e avoided, and vessels were brought by sheltered and direct routes to their destination; while closely connected with this might be mentioned the system of inland navigation, as effected by the means of canals and the upper compartments of rivers; and last of all, there was that v.aried class of works by which inlets of the sea, and tidal compartmettts of rivers, extending from the coast into the country, were opened up and rendered navigable ; and he observed in passing, that these various works, connected with the improvement of navigation, formed by far the most extensive and intricate department of hydraulic engineering. On the subject of harbours formed by the projection of piers and breakwaters, he did not intend to enter at present, and only requested the attention of the Society while he endeavoured to ON THE ART OF NAVIGATION. An Exposition of the Art of A'ariffation, as ajjpUcnh/e to Inland Tramit, and of the Works hij means of which our Communication with the Ocean is improved and maintained . By David Stevenson, Esq., F.R.S.E. — (Paper read before the Royal Scottish Society of Arts.) Mr. Stevenson believed he was perfectly safe in affirming, that nothing had occupied a more prominent part in the work of civil- ising the world than the art of navigation, which had slowly but steadily progressed since the commencement of the 14th century, at which early period the introduction of the mariner's compass opened up a new era in the history of maritime discovery, and gave an entirely new character to commercial enterprise. In its more extended sense, the subject of navigation had, for the last 400 years, formed the grand object on which the labours of Columbus, and of all subsequent explorers of the world, had been expended, while the researches of the philosopher, ths astronomer, the geo- grapher, the mechanician, and the engineer, had all been instru- mental in bringing to their present maturity and perfection the varieus branches of which the vast system of navigation, as it now existed, was made up. It is not, however, to the subject in that compreliensive sense that he had the honour, at the request of the Council, to direct the attention of the Society. Such an exposition would embrace too wide a field, aud lead to the discussion of topics which would not fall within the scope of civil engineering; and he would therefore confine his observations to th,at branch of navigation which he de- fined as the department which intervened between the ocean and the land — a connecting link, the true importance of which could be correctly estimated only when viewed in connection with the vast importance of the whole system of which it formed an indi- spensable part. For how, he asked, could we be benefited by those mighty results of science and of art by which sailing vessels of all classes were now enabled to transport their cargoes from shore to shore with comparative ease and safety, aud gigantic steamers to to convey an outline of what he conceived to be the extent of our knowledge with reference to the subjects of inland and tidal navi- gation. Mr. Stevenson said, that the antiquity of navigable canals— their wide-spread introduction for the transport of goods, and the important place which they had so long occupied in the commercial history of every country— rendered their origin and subsequent progress worth)' of attentive investigation; but that only a very brief notice of that class of works could be given. And on that subject he remarked, that from the writings of Herodotus, Aris- totle, Pliny, and other ancient historians, we leanted that canals existed in Egypt before the Christian era; and at the same early period there was reason to believe that artificial inland navigation also existed in China. Almost nothing, however, save their exist- ence, had been recorded with reference to these very early works; but soon after the commencement of the Christian era, canals were introduced, and gradually extended, throughout Europe, particu- larly in ancient Greece, Rome, modern Italy, Spain, Russia, Swe- den, Holland, and France.' In speaking, however, of the earliest of these works, Mr. Stevenson said that it was not to be supposed that they resembled the present system of inland navigation as practised and known in this country. Early as canal navigation was introduced, it was not until tlie invention of canal-locks, by which boats could be transferred from one le^■el to another, that the system was rendered generally applicable and useful; and a writer in the Quarterli) lieciew remarked, " that to us living in an age of steam-engines and daguerreotypes, it might appear strange that an invention so simple "in itself as the canal-lock, and founded on properties of fluids little recondite, should have escaped the acuteness of Egypt, Greece, and Rome.'"- But not only had the invention escaped the notice of the ancients, but the se'veral gradations made towards the attainment of that simple but valuable improvement, appeared to have been so gradual, that, like many discoveries of importance, great doubts existed, not only as to the person, but even as to the nation by whom canal-locks were first introduced. Otte class of writers attributed the discovery to the Dutch, and Messrs. Telford and Nimmo, from whose pen the article on Inland Navigation in Brewster's ' Edinburgh Encyclo|)iT>dia,' was understood to have emanated, adopted the conclusion that locks were used in Holland nearly a century before their ajjplication in Italy; while, on the other'hand, the'invention hiid been strongly, and not unreasonably claimed by engineers of the modern Italian school, and in particular for Leonardo" da Vinci, the celebrated engineer and painter. Without, however, entering into a discussion on this subject, he would simply remark, that during the Uth century the introduction of locks, whether of Dutch or Italian origin, gave a new character to inland navigation, and laid the basis of its rapid and successful extension. And here he said that it might be proper to remark^ 1 Fulton on Canal Navigation. London. l/'JS.—Vallancey's Treatise on Inlaml Navi- gation. Dublin, iriiS.— Tuthara's Polilical Economy of Inland Navigalioc. Louoou, 17U9.— Inland Navigation, Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopedia. 2 Quarterly Revien, No. UC; p.'.'tfl. 166 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [May, that the early canals of China ami Eiryp'- a'thoufrh not possessed of locks, were iiot on that account unadapted to difference of level. It was very douhtfiil, indeed, if the use of locks had even yet been introduced into Cliina. thouirh intersecteil hy many canals of great extent, the Imi)erial Canal beiiifj nearly loUO miles in length; and it accordingly appeared that in order to |)ass boats from one level to another, a rude system of stop-gates and inclined planes had been in use from very early times in that country. Nevertheless the introduction of locks might be held as an important step in the history of inland navigation, and they might he said in Europe and in .Vmerica to be almost universally used. It was true that inclined j)lanes ; ad been adopted even in this country — in particular on the Shrewsbury and Shropshire canals — and Messrs. Leslie and Bate- nian had lately recommended this system to the directors of the Forth and Clyde Canal — but the instances of its application were confessedly rare; and, indeed, the only ])lace where he had seen inclined planes e.xtensively used, was at the Morris Canal, in the United States, constructed by Mr. Douglas, of New York, where several planes were in use, having gradients of about one in ten, by which boats weighing, when loaded, about thirty tons, after being ymiinded on a carriage, were raised by water power through a space of fifty perpendicular feet with great success. ]5ut in proceeding to illustrate the progress of inland navigation, he might without tracing its gradual introduction from country to country, remark at once that we found the French at the end of the 17th century, in the reign of Louis the XIV., forming the Languedoc Canal between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean — a gigantic work which was finished in 1681. It was 14y miles in length, and the summit level was GOO feet above the sea, while the works on its line embraced upwards of 100 locks and about 50 aqueducts, the whole forming an undertaking which was a lasting monument to the skill and enterprise of its projectors ; and with this work as a model, it did seem strange that Britain should not till nearly a century after its execution, have been engaged in vigorously following this notable example: and this seemed the more extraordinary, as the Romans in early times had executed %vorks in this country which, whatever might have been their original use, whether for the purposes of navigation or drainage, were ultimately, and that even at an early period converted into navigable canals. Of these works he particularly specified the Caer Dike and Foss Dike cuts in Lincolnshire, which were by general consent admitted to have been of Roman origin. The former extended from Peterborough to the river Withani, near the city of Ijiucoln, a distance of about forty miles: and the latter extended from Lincoln to the river Trent, near Torksey, a distance of eleven miles. The Caer Dike existed now only in name, but the Foss Dike was at this moment an efficient and flourishing navigation : and having been lately professionally engaged in its improvement, .Mr. Stevenson stated that he had occasion to inquire somewhat minutely into its past history and condition, and that a very few particulars regarding that, the oldext British canal might not be uninteresting. Among other notices of this early work, Camden, in his Britannia., stated that the Foss Dike was a cut originally made by the Romans, and that it was deepened by Henry I., who reigned in the eleventh century, but to what extent it was so deepened did not appear. In 176'i it was reported on by Smeaton and Grundy, who found the navigable depth at that time to be 2 ft. 8 in., and recommended several wurks for its improvement, which appeared, however, not to have been executed. In 178<;, Smeaton was again employed, and deepened the navigation to 3 ft. G in.; but it did not appear that its width was increased;' and from that period it remained in a very imperfect state till ISiO, when the lessee of the navigation einjiloyed the firm of which he was a member to design works for assimilating the Foss Dike, both as regarded the breadth and depth of the navigable channel to the rivers Witham and Trent, with w hich it communicated. A\'hen called on to examine the navigation, Mr. Stevenson found its depth to be 3 ft. 10 in., and its breadth ill many places was insuflicient for the passage of boats, for the convenience of which occasional passing places had been provided; and it was resolved to increase its dimensions and otherwise repair the wh(de work. Accordingly, the canal was widened to the minimum breadth of -t.i feet, and deepened to the extent of 6 feet throughout (alterations wliich were accom])lisbeil without stopping the traffic); the entrance lock was removed, and a pumping engine was erected for supplying water from the river Trent during dry seasons; and that ancient caTial, wliich was quoted by Telford and Nimmo, "as the oldest artificial canal in Britain," was now in a 3 Snieaton's KeportB, vol. I. p. 55. Loudon, 17SG. state of perfect efficiency, forming an important connecting link between the Trent and Witham navigations. Notwithstanding the existence of this early work, however, and of some others in the country, particularly the Sankey Brook navigation, opened in 1760, .Mr. Stevenson said that it was generally admitted that the formation of the Bridgewater Canal in Lanca- shire, the act for which was obtained in 1755, was the commencement of the system of British canal navigation, and that Francis, Duke of Bridgewater, and Brindley, the engineer, who were its projectors, were the first to give a practical impulse to a class of works which now ]iervaded every corner of the empire, and had been of vast im|)ortance in promoting its commercial prosperity.^ That the railway system, from the introduction of which we have of late years derived such inestimable advantages, had now, in a very great measure, superseded, and certainly, for the future, must prevent the extension of canals as the means of internal commu- nication, Mr. Stevenson said, was undeniable; and hence at first sight it might appear to some that he was consuming the time of the Society with the details of a subject which, in the present day, might be pronounced to be obsolete. But he reminded the Society, that although this remark might perhaps be considered applicable to such canal works as were intended for the purpose of efl^ecting purely inland communication from town to town, it did not in any degree apply to that more extended class of works called ship canals, which, like the improvement of tidal navigations, were executed for the purpose of enabling sea-borne vessels, by taking an inland course, to avoid the dangers of lengthened coasting voyages — an object of the highest importance to navigation, and which, it was obvious, could not be superseded by the railway system. He presumed, therefore, that he need offer no apology for describing very briefly the characteristics of such canals by reference to works actually executed; and foi this purpose he referred to the Great North Hnlland Canal, the largest of the kind in the world. That canal, which extended from Amsterdam to the Helder, a distance of 45 miles, was finished in 1825. It had a cross sectional area, measuring 125 feet in breadth at the surface, 36 feet at the bottom, and no less than 22 feet in depth of water; and what was most worthy of notice, and was, indeed, a charac- teristic of all the Dutch engineering works, the whole was protected from the German Ocean by embankments, faced with wicker work, the surface of the water in the canal being below the level of the sea. At the time he inspected it the sea was 5 feet higher than the surface of tlie water in the canal, and the vessels were actually locking down, from the ocean into the fertile plains of Holland. Its construction was intended to enable vessels trading with Amsterdam to avoid the islands and sandbanks of the dangerous Zuider Zee, the passage through which, in former times, often occupied as many weeks as the transit through the canal now occupied hours. But our own country furnished us with a similar work of great magnitude and boldness; he alluded to the Caledonian Canal, which formed an inland navigation composed partly of natural lakes and partly of artificial canal, extending from Inverness to Fort Wil- liam, a distance of GO miles, and afforded a depth of 18 feet of water. By means of this inland communication vessels were enabled to avoid the dangers of the Pentland Firth, and also the intricate navigation of the Western Islands: and while the Dutch, in their great canal, had to encounter the difficulties occasioned by the proverbial lowness of their country, Telford, in constructing the Caledonian Canal, had to deal with the ruggedness of a suc- cession of Highland glens, and to overcome the summit level of Loch Oich, which was about 100 feet above the level of the sea; and accordingly, in addition to many heavy works which occurred in its course, there was at one point on the Caledonian Canal a succession of eight locks, by means of which a vessel of the largest class of merchantmen could be raised or lowered through a height of 60 perpendicular feet. The locks, which were in close succes- sion, rose one above another, like a series of gigantic steps, and this unique and extensive marine ladder had not inappropriately been termed "Neptune's Staircase." But without alluding farther to other important ship-canals, he went on to consider the improvement and maintenance of tidal navigations, which formed the sea accesses to the chief ports of this country; and without entering on other arguments in order to prove the importance of tfiat branch of the subject, he had only to remind the Society that the trade of London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, Dundee, and by far the greater proportion of the second- class ports, was solely dependent on the maintenance of the tidal ■• History of Inland Navigation, particulary those of the Duke of Bridgewater. Lon- don, 1/tili— Hughe's illenioir oi iJriuUiey, VVeale's Quarterly Papers. London, 1843. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. IG7 na\ igations, which, if he might use the expression, formed their only highways of communication with the ocean. In introducing this subject, lie would endeavour to explain what ■was implied in the word " tidal," as used in particular with reference to British ports, as he apprehended there was much more importance to he attached to the term than thosewho had not studied the subject were aware of; and he believed he would best explain this by drawing a comparison between Britain and some large tract of Con- tinental country, such, for example, as North America. We there found capacious rivers extending for hundreds, he might say thou- sands, of miles into the interior of the country, and discharging an enormous amount of fresh vrater into sheltered and deeply in- dented bays — these indentations in the line of coast bearing, in fact, some'proportion to the sizes of the rivers which flowed into them ; and such a physical formation afforded facilities of no ordi- nary kind, not only for the establishment of safe harbours on the sea "coast, without the expenditure of capital in their protection, but also for the extension of inland navigation to an almost unlimited degree, by means of the rivers themselves. To give a practical idea of this, he stated that when he visited America, twelve years ago, he came to the conclusion, after examining the principal harbours on the sea coast which afforded most perfect shelter and a great amount of accommodation, that the formation of the smallest of our I'ost-Office packet stations in the Irish Channel had consumed a much larger expenditure of capital than the Americans have found it necessary to invest in the formation of harbour accommodation for trading vessels along a line of coast of no less than 4000 miles, extending from the Ciulf of St.- Lawrence to the Mississippi. With reference to the rivers which discharged into these bays, it was impossible in words to convey an adequate idea, or to describe the feelings which the traveller experienced, when, for instance, after crossing the Alleghany Mountains, and completing a fatiguing land journey from the eastern coast of several hundred miles into the interior of the country, he first came in sight of the river t)hio at Pittsburg. There, in the very heart of the continent of North America, he found a large shipping port, containing a lleet cf between thirty or forty steamers, varying from 300 to 700 or bOO tons burthen, moored in the river ; and his astonishment was still nuire increased if he chanced to witness the arrival of one of those steamers, and was told she had come direct from New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico, and that fifteen days and nights had been occupied in making her inland voyage of no less than 2000 miles among the meanderings of the Mississippi and Ohio ! = But Mr. Stevenson stated that with us the case was altogether diffei-ent— the isolated and comparatively contracted limits of our country did not afford area for the collection of such bodies of fresh water. In proof of this, he referred to the comparative areas of the basins and the discharges of the different rivers, viz. : — Area square miles. Discharge Thames 3,500 SO 220 lay 2.2S3 273,117 Civde 1,270 !M,000 Wississippi . 982,400 . 24,600,(00 Our streams could therefore, he said, be advantageously navigated only when their waters were deepened by the influx of the tide, and they were consequently closed to all vessels, excepting to those of the smaller classes, during the absence of tidal influence ; and therefore our rivers, when compared to those of our Trans- atlantic or even Continental brethren, could only be regarded as narrow creeks or inlets, kept open by the joint action of the fresh- water stream and the tide; and as the action of the fresh water varied in its extent, and was at best but feeble, that our greatest stronghold in keeping open and deepening our navigations, must be sought for in the action of the tide, which rot only scoured and maintained in a navigable state the sea channels of our rivers and estuaries, but also by its presence increased their depth of water. It was likewise, he said, to be noticed, that the fall or inclination of these large continental rivers has been found to be exceedingly small; — for example, the inclination of the Mississippi had been estimated to average, from its source,* ... per mile Sin. The Amazon ... ... ... ... 5 The Ganges ... ... ... ... 4 While the Thames was ... ... ... 21 The lower part of the Dee ... ... U The Lune ... ... ... 23 The Forth ... ... ... 13 5 Stevenson's Sketch of Civil Engineering in North America London, 1838. e Traill's Physical Geography. Edinburgh, 1838.— Johnston's Physical Alias. Edin- burgh, l»4a. The currents of the larger continental rivers were, therefore more languid and more easily navigated, whereas the currents o^ our rivers were more powerful and less easily overcome. Bii here, again, an important advantage was derived from the tida influence, which ]iroduced an upward current, by which vessel were enabled, without the aid of steam or wind, to reach their port; and he thought that was a view of the subject which could not fail to have struck the most superficial observer, when he saw on any of our navigable rivers or estuaries (such as the Thames or Mersey) a vast fleet of all sizes and from all countries, hurried on by the silent but powerful energy of the flowing tide. ^Vhat an amount of latent power lay there! And how invaluable was that agency to the commerce of this country! If, indeed, the natural power latent in the tides of the Thames and Mersey were suspended, it might truly be said of the stmm power employed on the net work of railways connected with London and Liverpool, that its occupation would be gone. Whatever, therefore, had for its object the improvement or maintenance of tidal navigations was, he submitted, of vast importance to the commerce, and en- titled to the attention of our country.' Mr. Stevenson then proceeded to explain that the chief obstruc- tions to the propagation of the tides wei-e the circuitous routes of river.s — the slopes of their beds — the projection of obstacles into their streams; and that the works by which these obstructions could be best overcome consisted in the deepening, straightening, and widening of the channels — the formation of new cuts — the erection of low rubble walls for the guidance of the currents of the first of flood and the last of ebb tide — the shutting up of sub- sidiary channels— and the removal of projecting groins. That the more rigidly that class of works was adhered to, the more gene- rally beneficial would be the effect produced; for not only did they improve the part of the navigation where they were executed, but that their tendency was to increase the back water by which the sea channels were kept open. He then proceeded to illustrate these views by referring to the Tay, Forth, Kilible, Lune, and other rivers, where the duration of the tidal influence had been prolonged from 30 minutes to an hour, and the range of tide in- creased from 9 to 5 feet, while the navigation in all cases had been proportionally improved. Time did not admit of Mr. Stevenson's alluding to many other examples of importance, but tlie Cljdc might be cited as a proof of the length to which such improve- ments had been carried. In 1755, Smeaton proposed to improve that river by erecting a dam across it with locks in the lower part of the river. In 1775, Golburn surveyed the river, and reported that, as far down as Kilpatrick, there were only 2 feet of water in it, but conceived that the river itself might be improved. In 1(S31 vessels drawing 13 ft. 6 in. came up to Glasgow, and now large vessels, three or four deep, are to be seen ranged along each side of the harbour. During 1834, 27,000 vessels passed Renfrew ferry, at some periods from 20 to 30 of them in an hour.'* He next stated that, as an engineer could not form a design for such im- provements without accurate data, it was of the highest import- ance to obtain correct information as to the tides, currents, and discharge of rivers, as well as the nature of their beds, and other particulars, and proceeded to explain how these data were ob- tained, and showed the different instruments for ascertaining the velocities of surface and under currents, and for procuring speci- mens of water from different depths; but for details on all these points referred to his treatise on marine surveying.'-' He further referred to the plans of the Tay, the Ribble, Mer- sey, Dee, Lune, &c., to show that in each of these rivers there existed a large basin, or estuary, into which the tide flowed, and from which it was discharged twice in twenty-four hours, and stated that it was the flux aiul reflux of the large ^■olume of tidal water from these natural basins which scoured the seaward channels, kept down the tracts of sand-banks by wliich their entrances were encumbered, and maintained a navigable depth of water over their bars. The instances to which he referred were all what were termed bar-rivers, or harbours, in contradistinction to such rivers as the Forth or Clyde, which had not similar obstructions. The fact of the existence of a strong tidal under-current was adduced to prove the effect of the flood-tide as a scouring agent, and it was stated, that while the fresh water, being specifically lighter, floated on the surface, the tidal current flowed in a stronger current be- low. He instanced, in proof of thi.s, various examples, particularly the observations of Professor Traill and Captain Sabine on the Ori- 7 Stevenson on the Improvement of Tidal Rivers. London, 184i>. 8 Cleland's Statistical Documents— Transactions of British Association. 18:^6. 8 Stevenson ■ n the Application of Marine Surveying and Uydiouictr) to tbe pruelive 01 Civil Euginveriug. LUiuburgh, U42. 168 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [May, iioco and Ainnznii'" (tlie frosli water from these rivers being traced at a distaiii-c of 2()i) and '.MO miles from tlie lajid), and also observations bv Mr. A. Stevenson on tbe Cromarty Firtb, where the velocity of the under current, at the dejjth of 50 feet, was ascertaineil to be at least double the velocity at the surface. The de]>tbs of water on tbe bars of tbe .Mersey anil Dee, Mr. Stevenson stated, were only about 11 feet at low water of spring tides — on the Kibble about 7 — the Lune about 6 — and the Tayal)outl6; and in naviijatin^ such estuaries, ve.ssels must wait for the proper time of tide, either to leave ov enter them. It would readily oc- cur, therefore, that tlie maintenance of the depth of water over the bar was of vital imjiortance to all ports situated within tidal estua- ries. Kroni a careful investif;;ation of such localities, he thought it might fairly be stated, that, so long as tbe ca])acity of the re- reiving basins remained entire, no fear need be apprehended of a decrease of water on the bar; and this view he was the more in- clined to believe to be correct, from tbe circumstance that, in seve- ral cases where be had occasion to compare the present state of some navigations with their condition as represented in tbe early charts of Mackenzie, the celebrated marine-surveyor, made upwards of half-a-century ago, he had found, that although the forms of the sand-banks and the direction of the navigable channel might have slightly changed, still there was no appreciable alteration in the depth of water on the bars; while, on the other hand, it had been ]iretty well established, particularly in the cases of Rye in Susse.v, Soiithwold in Suffolk, and of Chester on the river Dee, and other places, that much injury had been caused by the embanking of land.'i The interests of proprietors of land along our rivers and estua- ries, were often at variance with those of the conservators of navi- gation; and the endeavours made in many instances to protect and reclaim land were calculated, from being injudiciously and too ex- tensively carried out, to be highly prejudicial, and hence arose the obvious necessity for some board of appeal between the interests of proprietors and those of the public — a power which was vested in the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, to whom, as c jnserva- tors of navigation, we were indebted for the preservation of many of our harbours auil tidal rivers. So important indeed was this subject considered, that, on the motion of Mr. Hume, the govern- ment, in 1811, appointed a Tidal llarbciur Ciuumission, to inquire into the state and condition of the harbours, shores, and navigable rivers of the L'nited Kingdom, and to report wliat injury might have been done by encroachments or other interference with tidal waters; and, without detaining the Society longer, he thought he would best illustrate what is generally acknowledged to be the cor- rect theory on this subject, by quoting the conclusion stated in the first report of that commission, whicb is as follows: — That " as a general, although not a universal principle, no cause has operated more extensively to injure the entrances of harbours throughout the United Kingdom than excluding the tidal waters from lands below the level of high water, which served as natural reservoirs for the flood tide, and were the means of affording a valuable scouring power during the ebb. Nor does any subject more deserve the vigilant attention of your Majesty's Government, or of those entrusted with the conservancy of our harbours, than such en- croachments, which are usu.iUy made (juietly and gradually, and when once completed, are difficult afterwards to remove." lo Kl Maratiam y Aniivzi>na9. Madrid, IfiS-l.— Sabine's Account of Experiments to di'turinine the lignre or" tlie Karth. Ltnduo, 1825, j). 44-'). 1 1 Reports of Tidal Harbour Commission. —Kennie's Reports on Hydraulics to the DriLish Association. small cylinder, having at its lower end a projecting-]iiece, which is bolted to the side i, of the boiler; through this projecting-piece two passages c, i>, are formed, leading into the pipes c', 0 deduction of one-eighth must be made on that account, from the^V,' which will bring the density to —; or if the temperature is lowered to 180°, an addition of two-eighths must be made, which will make the corrected density "-f,- 1850. J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 169 The patentee does not strictly confine himself to the above details, so long as the peculiar character of his invention be re- tained. He malces no claim to the application of eitlier the hydro- meter or the thermometer to ascertaining the density or saltiiess of the water of marine steam-engine boilers; but that wliicli he claims is. the peculiar arrangement, combination, and adaptation of means (each by itself well known) embodied in tlie single instrument above described, wlierel>y the marine steam engineer is enabled, by the mere inspection of the said instrument, to ascer- tain, at all times and under all circumstances, the density of the water in the boiler, independently of the pressure within the boiler. PLANING AND GROOVING MACHINERY. William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, "./oj- improve- ments in machinery fnr planing^ timguing, and grooving boards and planks." — Granted October j, 1819; Enrolled April 5, 1S50. [Re- ported in the Patent Joitniul.] The planing, tonguing, and grooving of planks or boards, as performed according to this invention, is effected by means of a separate series of tools, acting in a somewhat similar manner to the ordinary hand tools used by carpenters, their construction being also of a like character. These tools are fixed in a frame- work, while the board or plank to be operated upon is moved up by machinery to tlie work. Tlie machine, as arranged according to this invention, consists of an endless belt or chain of plates, which form a table for the support and advance of the wood; this chain is formed of a series of narrow plates, linked together, the length of which form tlie breadth of the chain, and is sufficient to afford room for the greatest width of plank to be 0|>erated ui)on; these are linked together in the manner of an endless chain, and pass over two drums, one situate at tlie feeding-end of tlie ma- chine, and the other at or about tlie middle of its length. The respective parts are sujiported by two principal side-frames, which carry the bearings of the before-mentioned drums. The a,\is of the central drum is driven by a train of sjiur gearing from the driving shaft, which is communicated to the chain by means of recesses in the periphery of the drum, into which tlie knuckle joints of the chain are received. These drums are placed, with their axes, in a horizontal position; the chain, while traversingthe upper portion of its course, forming the table for the support of the wood; the jilates of the table during this time rest at each end on the side frame, and are thereby kept in the same hori- zontal plane. A like endless chain is also provided, whicli is placed immediately above tlie other, and at the under line rests on the wood under operation. This chain is, however, considerably shorter than the other, the end-carrying drum of which is imme- diately over the lower end drum, and the other is disposed at about one-third the length of the frame from that end. The wood to be planed will thus be pressed between the two chains, the under chain however continues the support of the wood beyond the Iiold of the upper chain, and at which point the planing tools take effect. These tools are fixed to two cheek plates or frames, fitted on the two main wood frames, and form also the immediate support of the chain, as before mentioned. The drum of the upper chain bears in a separate frame, which is free to rise and fall, for the purpose of admitting the different thicknesses of wood to be planed This moveable frame is connected by two links, one on eitlier side of the machine, placed in an inclined position, which, according to their incline, give a greater or less bite on the wood. The upper chain being also driven, the tendency is to run off the wood, which is prevented by these links. The wood is fed in at the end of the machine, between these two endless chains, and as it emerges below the upper chain, at the opposite end, it passes below the planing cutters, whicli are a set of eight (more or less) double and single plane irons, similar to the ordinai-y plane iron, but of the full width of tlie machine. These planing cutters are set one behind the other, in such manner that each succeeding iron wiU cut a little deeper than the jn-eceding one, and set at such angles that the rough outside may at one and the same time be operated upon with the smooth or finishing cut. On pass- ing from under the planing tools, the wood is received on a station- ary bed, on which it is held down bv transverse rollers. The operation of tonguing and grooving then takes effect at the oppo- site end of the machine, for which purpose the wood, after being planed, is introduced between two sets of ploughing or tonguing irons, one set so as to take effect on either edge of the board The board is at the same time held down, or pressed by edge rollers; one set, together with one set of the cutting tools, are adjustable to suit the width of the board under operation. The rollers are fitted two on each transverse spindle, one roller at either end; the one being fixed, and the other moveable ; while the cutters are held in a frame, sliding transversely, and moved by set screws, for that purpose. The cutting tools are similar to those ordinarily used for tlie inu-jiose by carpenters, and placed at angles to the wood best suited for tlie purpose. Inclined or bevelled edges may also be jirepared in like manner. Instead of the upper endless chain, to feed the machine, a set of weighted rollers may be em- ployed, supported in a swinging frame, connected, as before ex- plained, by the side links, in order to obtain tlie rise and fall, and to admit the different thicknesses of wood, together with the ne- cessary bite on the wood, for the purpose of feeding it. The patentee claims : First — Tiie general aiTangement of the machinery described. Secondly — The employment of stationary cutting tools, combined with yielding-bar mouth-pieces, set forth. Thirdly — Causing the top chain plate, or rollers substituted in lieu thereof, to press on the plank under operation, with a force varying with the resistance opposed by the cutting instruments, by altering the inclination of the connecting side-links described, for the ])uri)0se of forcing the plank under operation up to the cutting tools; and Lastly — The use of adjustable edge rollers, to suit the different widths of wood, in combination with the tonguing and grooving, or other stationary cutters, as described. IMPROVEMENTS IN VENEERING Mr. John .Meadows, of Princes-street, ('oventry-street, has obtained a patent J'or improvements in veneering, which consist in effecting the union of the ordinary veneer in such manner, that it may be applied to irregular surfaces in one piece, instead of joining- it at the angles and forming it in several pieces, as usual, which not only gives a great deal of trouble, but requires to be done to a nicety, and when complete, is unsightly, so far as regards the joints being always perceptible; and further, is very liable to get chipped or become detached from the article to which it is applied. In illustration of this mode of applying veneers, a number of ogod mouldings joined with several curved and flat surfaces, meeting at sharp or right angles, are shown in the drawings. A description of one of these will suffice for the whole. The frame or other piece of work to be veneered is prepared of the form required, which, supposing it to be first of an ogee form, the veneer is laid on a bed of that form, placed in a machine somewhat like an ordinary screw press. This bed is hollow, for the purpose of heating it by steam or other medium; pressure is then exerted by the screw on the frame, which is thereby pressed down on the veneer, and into the form required, between the heated bed and the frame or piece of wood to be veneered: so far, the process is very similar to that ordinarily adopted. The next surface presented, or that adjoining the ogee, is a hollow cur\'e, meeting in a right angle the edge of the ogee; the veneer is of sufficient widtli to cover this, as well as any other portion of the frame service required. t)n the edge of the ogee bed a hollow bolster is hinged, having a hand lever, by which it is raised, so that the side presented to the veneer, which is of the curved form required, forces the veneer into the hollow, so as to effect complete contact with the whole of that surface; a suitable curved ratchet is provided, which sustains the bolster in its elevated position, the lever being such as to give sufficient pres- sure for the purpose; the veneer is thus bent over the angle and pressed into the curve. The next is a flat service, united by a right angle to the hollow. Another pad or bolster is hinged by a lever to the bed of the press, which is now raised and sustained by a click taking into a curved rack; the veneer is thereby bent over the succeeding angle, and on to the flat service, when the pad, to give the final pinch, is forced up by a screw; the pressure on the whole of the parts is allowed to remain until the adiiesive material is sufficiently set for the purpose. The bolster and ])ad before mentioned have the le\ers and screws repeated at intervals, accord- ing to the length of the frame or surface to be acted ujion. It will be obvious that other arrangements and forms of the parts will be required, according to the particular form to be veneered. Instead of employing ordinary glue for the purposes of veneering, according to this invention, the patentee employs parchment cuttings boiled down and mixed with whiting, to the consistency of paste, which is applied uniformly on the back surface of the veneer, the bed being 24 1^0 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [May, at the same time wetted with a brusli. Tlie object of employing a white cement is, that the veneer, if thin, is not sufficiently opaque to hide the glue. An extremely tljiii sheet of brass is interposed between the veneer and the beds, and also a thickness of paper between that and the veneer; the angles are thereby better pro- tected, and rendered sharper. Variations are produced in the forms of the beds, to suit other subjects to be veneered, by the application of paddings or filling pieces, to make up any or all of the parts to the figure required, by which one set of beds may suit a variety of designs of a nearly equal size. — I'atuut Journal. number of engines lighted, then — jj^ will express the average REVIEAV S. ' Railway Ecoiin/ni/. a Treatise on the JVew Art of Tran.iporl. By UioNYsius Lahdnkr, D.C.L. London: Tavlor, Walton, and Maberly, 1850. Dr. Lardner is commonly so happy in popularising any subject which he takes uji, that he is the last man one would think of blaming for writing a book; but liere we have book-making with a vengeance. To those who know nothing ])ractically about railways, the book will ])ass muster; and of those who do, many will be deterred from objecting to it, because they are imposed upon by its appearance of mathematical and statistical labour. The mathematics put us very nnich in mind of the acquirements of the redoubted Iludibras : " For he coulfl tell the lime o' the day, The clock did strike, by algebra ;'* to sucli a degree is the foppery of symbols carried ; and tliere is a formula for exerything. Thus at page fi5 : " To determine the average number of miles run by each engine after such cleaning and lighting, it is only necessary to divide the total mileage of the locomotive stock, or of each class of it, by the total number of engines lighted ; the quotient will give the distance run by each engine lighted. In general, if K" express the e -\- e' distance run by each engine lighted. "As examples of the application of this, we take, from the official reports of the Belgian railways, the number of engines lighted during 1H4.6 and 184-7. The number was 27,452 for 1H4.6. Divid- ing this into the total mileage, 2,027,011., already given, the quo- tient is 7.3'8, which is therefore the average number of miles run by each engine cleaned and lighted. "In 1847 the inimber of engines lighted was .30,676. We have already seen that the total mileage was 2,366,885. Dividing this by the number of engines lighted, we find 77'G miles as the dis- tance run by each engine lighted, being an improvement on the performance of the previous year." The practical benefit of this in book-making is, first, the ignorant reader is led to imagine he gets sometliing very good for his money; and, next, by making an algebraic formula — first, for the common operation of division, and by working it out arithmetically after- wards, so much nuire text is made in an easy manner. The statis- tics are of the same (juality, and of the same value. Althougli Dr. Lardner was employed some years ago in mathe- matical investigations connected with railways, he shows himself very ill-qualified for writing upon railway management. He seems to have stopped so long abroad as to have become Frenchified and un-Knglislied; and as he is without the practical experience, so he wants the documentary evidence as to railway management. His materials are tlie Knglish blue-books — worth nothing; tlie two pamphlets of ('aptain Iluish, the Belgian blue-books, and some J-'rench reports; and many French books: and he complains of the want of Englisli statistics, whereas there is a whole body of English railway literature, and, above all, an extensive railway press. All the jioints Dr. Lardner opens, as lie tliinks, have been already discussed and settled, so far as they admit of settlement, by many able and ])racti(tal men; and tlie railway papers afford invaluable data for the inquiries he has undertaken. Tlie reports of the (y'onimittees of Investigation, in particular, afford most valuable information, of which our .lutlior lias taken no advantage. Our own Jonninl has given information on these subjects to India and the United States; but it does not seem to have been of use to Dr. Lardner. Even the title of Railway Economy has been more successfully used by a Professm- (iordon. Inasmuch as the statistical results of English railway manage- ment are more favourable than those of French or Belgian, who are our pupils, it might have suggested itself to Dr. Lardner that our railway administrators are not so much in the dark as he intimates. ^VIlile tlie main body of the work is so unattractive, there is a very interesting chapter on American steam navigation, which, although much of it is trite, nevertheless contains some good matter; but altogether we wish the author had, for his own sake, been otherwise emiiloyed. The title of the book is the best part of it, and that is 'Railway Economy,' which is very much sought after now: but no railway manager can learn anything from the book; nor do we think any shareludder can. ^Vherever a principle is sought to be established, that principle is limited in its application; and where a discovery is set forth, it is of something already known, and is working or tried, and found inapplicable. The writer has, indeed, -missed the whole gist of the subject, or he might, with his ])opularity as a writer, have taken a very prominent and very useful jiart in the discussion of railway economy. The history of railways has been one of progress; and to see it in its true point, and in its future bearing, it must be looked upon as of the same character. All is still new, and all will be inno- vation. The locomotive begun as a rude engine. Trevithick set it going with one cylinder : Stephenson strengthened it with two. it was still only a beast of burden, when ^Ir. Booth en- dowed it nith the speed of a race-horse. The contests between the companies have called for an increase of speed; and this has been attained chiefly by an increase of bulk in the engine, and therefore of weight. It must not, however, be assumed that the increase of speed has been attained wholly by increase of weight; for it has been chiefly attained by improved mechanical arrange- ments, so that an engine of the old prize weight would still have increased speed and power of traction. With a speed beyond all expectation and all calculation, the whole economy of railways has been altered; and a system has been gradually developed, which, by its development, has ]>ointed out the successful means for superseding it. How we stand now is this: we have heavy engines, heavy rails, and, in continuation, heavy trains, unfreipicnt trains, great and distant stations, and great establishments. Originally, it was considered railway traffic would, in its con- ditions, be like coach traffic — that there would be a succession of coaches, as it were, and station accommodation, was not contem- plated. A train arrives, and a large establishment is requisite to attend to it, which establishment is empty-handed until the next train. A passenger comes to a bye country station, and, as he may have to wait some time, station accommodation must be pro- vided for him. Dr. Lardner's great doctrine is, to get rid of the "empties,' and he might have extended it to empty hands; but although railway managers are (juite alive to this, they cannot, under the existing system, carry it out; but rather, under the pressure of the times, they are aggravating the present state of affairs by lessening the number of trains — an economy which is attended by an injury to the traffic. The station expenses are now the most untractable items in the budget, and have been a heavy burden, particularly on new branches with a thin traffic. In virtue of the progress of improvement, light engines and iarht trains, with a good speed, are now feasible, and we believe nothing stands in their way but tlie prejudices of tlie (dd locomotive manufacturers. We have now long advocated the adoption of the light system; and we are glad to see that its value is now more generally acknowledged, though we do not believe its full operatiion is adecpiately appreciated. In truth, the obstinate advo- cacy of fewer trains, in the teeth of all past experience as to traffic, is a proof of the carelessness even of those who are sup- porters of the new system. Notwithstanding, this system has now the assent of the whole body of the press devoted to railway polemics, of many engineers, and of many administrators; and, as it is already in practice, so must it go on to success. While heavy engines were essential, large trains were likewise essential; and as these entailed a heavy permanent way, greater expense in the locomotive department, enormous stations, and large establishments, besides crippling and neutralising the expansion of the traffic by reducing the number of stations and departures, so do light engines allow of light trains, cheap perma- nent way, economy in the locomotive and carrying departments, a better distribution of plant and staff, cheaper stations, and more of them. By more frequent trains the plant will be closer worked — there will be fewer emjities, and the establishment of the electric telegraph allows of a development of traffic which, ten years ago, was impossible. IS 50.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 171 From Stations being now so far from eacli other, miicli local traffic is lost, lor many a man iinds it better to ride or dri\e, than go some miles to a station, and afterwards have a furtlier journey to make from the arrival station to tlie place of his des- tination. We may confidently assert that, throughout, much rail- way traffic is at present lost, and that railway traffic is still in its infancy. .Vlthough there are traffic managers and goods managers, there is not one line which has a statistical department; whereas a com])etent statician should be engaged by each company to see what traffic there is in the district, how it is carried, what goes on the railway, what does not, and why not. The occasional exertion of a chairman or superintendent of traffic can never keep up with all the minutiae of the many items constituting the carrying trade; for it is quite as much as such officials can do to attend to the daily working of the traffic under their control, which is their legitimate business. Nothing but the light-engine system will diminish the margin of waste now constituting the expenditure of railways under the head of way and works, locomotive power, carrying, and stations ; and the sooner the able men engaged in railway administration direct their attention to this, the sooner shall we have a diminished expenditure and increased traffic, and be able to do witlu)ut those impolitic and pernicious expedients of raising fares and limiting the accommodation of travellers. Railway directors, who have generalh' risen from the ranks, nevertheless forget the circum- stances of those classes who are not blessed with a superfluity of wealth. Every tradesman knows better than a railway director, and proceeds upon the principle of getting as much as he can from his customers by suiting his charges to their means in articles of daily necessity. The business of a railway director is to make as large a profit as he can, to carry on as large a trade as lie can, and if he has not got trade to make it: but it is seldom he finds this out. The Metropolitan and Dublin Railways without suburban residences, Southampton without packets, Fleetwood without a harbour, the Midland Railway without coal and lime-pits, would fare but badly; and yet, in the teetli of this, how is railway de- velopment neglected! The Brighton steamboats have been burked, Suiulerland Docks starved, tlie southern coal traffic kept back, the fish trade left to shift for itself, no attention paid to the carriage of building-stone and lime, and manure generally ne- glected. Horse traffic flourishes, the canals are in fu'l vigour, and if railways have a large traffic, it is thanks to themseh'es, and not to their managers, who leave the trade to look after itself. A Practical Treatise on the Construction of Oblique Bridges, with Spiral and Equilibrated Courses. By Francis Bashporth, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. London: Bell. 1850. Although works on oblique bridges are numerous, still one from the pen of Mr. Basliforth is welcome, as that gentleman is well known for liis high mathematical attainments. The nature of the work, and the principles on wliich it is founded, are sufficiently described by the author. He says the metliods in his first part are substantially the same as those of Messrs. Nicholson and Buck, but he has introduced numerous variations in the details. He prefers spiral courses for oblique bridges, because altliough grave objections may be urged, yet the accuracy of form which can be given to the archstones renders it advisable, under proper limita- tions, to adopt them in preference to a better arrangement of the courses, which does not admit of like exactness in the execution of the work. In Part II. Mr. Bashforth has endeavoured to give information on equilibrated courses in oblique arches, suited to tlie practical man; but we doubt if it be possible or desirable to initiate those concerned in carrying out the details in the elaborate analysis exhibited by the author. Mr. Adie, it will be remembered, was the first to construct oblique bridges of tliis kind, and Dr. WheweLl and Mr. Sang have likewise written upon it. The work is accompanied by numerous diagrams. Railways in Ireland. — A return is just printed of all the moneys lent to railway ompanies in Ireland by the Exchequer Bill Loan Commissioners, and the amounts repaid. It appears that, from 1832 to 1842, the amount advanced to Irish railways was 157,200/., and that tlie interest on such advance has been duly paid. Of the priocipal, 99,595/ has been repaid, and the remainder is in regular course of payment. From 1842 to 1849, there has been advanced to Irish rail- ways, 834 000/, chiefly withiu the last three years. There is no in- stance in which any arrears of interest are due. Of the principal, 51,179/. being the whole amount which has faliea due. METHOD OF SQUARING A CIRCLE. Sir — I send, subject to your approbation, the following descrip- tion of a novel and ready geometrical method of squaring a circle^ at once easy of application, and more approximate to the truth than any method yet proposed. The resulting square is only in excess of the true area TfTjAimth part; and the side of the square is in excess of the true side only ,.,„', g,|th part; therefore being, for practical purposes, as accurate as the ordinary rule; side of square =V-7854'X square of diameter of circle. The process is as follows. ^ / c "^^ -•^-~^^ ^^.^ 1 y • \ / \ \ / \ / \ JC ;/ •Hf \l) p ^^-y \ I 1 ~G z:zz^^^\ \.^ I It 1 / \ / / \ / ,^ \ / y N^ _y.^^^ (on AB) FG = ,^ , produced in H, and I. Let ADBE be the given circle. Find DE, the side of a penta- gon inscribed in this circle, and produce DE both ways to H and I. Let C be the centre of the circle, and AB be a diameter perpen- dicular to DE From F (the intersection of AB, and DE,) set ofl; ; and with centre G, and radius GC, cut DE Then HI is the side of the square GEF. I have assumed that the side of the pentagon can be readily found, either by angles, or by geometry. In the first case, make the arcs DB, BE, eacli equal to 36°; in the second case, I have employed a geometrical method wliich I have not met in any trea- tise or mathematical work, and which I find very useful. At B erect BL perpendicular and equal to the radius BC. Bisect the radius BC at K ; and with centre K, and radius KL, cut AB pro- duced in M; then, with centre B, and radius BM, cut the circle ADBE in D, and E. Join DE, which is the side of the pentagon required. Demonstration.— "Hat to enter tinnecessarily into a long explana- tion, it will suffice to state that if the diameter of the gi\en circle be considered=l, then CF: a/5+1 and HI — 0-8862337014.45a ; in th But the true side is = 0-886226925452 g; .•. the resulting side is 6775992 parts in excess in 886226925452; more concisely represented by the fraction, TTirr^^th part. It may also be shown that the excess of area is nearly double that of the side, for HP = 0-785410196624.a ; But the true area is = 0-7853 98163397 a ; .-. the resulting area is 12033227 parts in e.xcess 785398163397 ; more concisely represented by the fraction, ,j^^ part. I think that I have succeeded in showing that this new and simple method is quite as ]iractically accurate as the ordinary numerical rule, with which it also agi-ees to four decimal places. Numerical calculations are always troublesome to working-men, and a good geometrical method of reducing squares and circles has been long desired. As the method I now propose is easier, and more accurate than any previous ones, I shall be happy, through the medium of your Journal, to make it known. J. B. HUNTIMGTON. 24* 172 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Mat, ELLIPTICAL ECCENTRIC COG WHEELS. Sib — Your Southampton corrpspoiident, •' William Davison," is perfectly correct in stating that Elliptical Cog Wheels may be applied with advantage to a variety of purposes, as I have jiracti- cally proved such to be the case, having made and used them in the year 1S40; being considered the first wheels of that shape ever brought under the notice of the publii-. I jtatented their applica- tion to the working of pump rods : the specification of which, is contained in the February number of the Repertury of Patent Invenliotu-, for 184-1 ; published by J. S. Hodson, 1 12, Fleet -street. But their principle of action is more fully treated on, in a publica- tion that ap))eared the same year, intituled ' The Principles of Mechanism.' by Robert AV^illi's, M..A., F.R.S., &c., Jacksonian Professor of Natural ami Experimental Pliilosophy in the Univer- sity of Cambridge; published by .L W. Parker, AV'est Strand, London. If .Mr. Davison takes the trouble of referring to the above work last mentioned, he will find the diagram similar to his own, at page 240. Ryde, Is/e of Wight, John Ci. Dashwood. April 19, 1850. PROGRESS OF THE BIRKENHEAD DOCK WORKS. Thk dock works as viewed from the river seem unfinished and ruinous; but ])roceed inland to the western end of the Egerton and Morpeth Docks, and a scene of activity l>ursts upon the view, which it is not easy to parallel. From this point a dam has been carried across to the opposite side of the pool to pen up the waters of the upper portion of the proposed ^xreat float; and here, under the spirited contractor, Mr. M'Cormack, twelve hundred men are working niglit and day, exca\ ating the mud and earth to form a dock which, as at present determined, will e.xtend to the coi)per works on the Seacnnibe side of the pool, and give a water area of fifty acres. A further extension, however, is contemplated, which will carry the dock, or float, as far as Poulton bridge; and tlie con- tracts for this exteusion have been advertised for. The depth of this dock adjoining tlie (piays will be eight feet below the level of the old dock sill of Liverpool, or six feet lower than the bed of any of the docks of our ])ort. The centre will not be excavated ([uito so deep. A portion of the walling at the Victoria ^\'llarf, which runs at an angle from the dock ware- houses, is already completed, and is of excellent and solid work- manship. Another portitni. fronting the warehouses, is rapidly advancing. The excavations in the centre of the dock are pro- gressing at a speed which, considering the immense area over which the labour employed is spread, is surprising. Every a])pliance of mechanical skill, and of steam, is, of course, provided by Mr. M'Cormack in aid of the human labour employed. Two steam engines of thirty hoi-se power each lift the wagons of earth from the bed of the dock to the jilace of deposit; and more ai-e being jirovided as the w'orks progress. The entranio to the float from the Flgerton Dock is nearly com- pleted, reiiuirini; now only to be smoothed to fit the gates. Those for the inner end of tlie gut are to be seen in the carpenters' shed adjoining the work, and are of immense strength, and splendid workmanshiij. They are, nuireo\er, the largest in the ivorltl, being 70 feet wide, and show that the Birkenhead Dock Conimissicuiers have had their eyes open to the fact that we may, in all probability, ha\'e shortly to acconnuodate in the Mersey vessels of much larger tonnage and l)readth of beam than heretofore. The gate next to the float is to be constructed as a caisson, to be moved altogether. and rest, when open, in a recess made in the dock-wall. Tlie main timbers for this work are also prepared, and are formed of pieces of oak, dovetailed and morticed in, so as to increase their strength, and at the same time prevent deflection The gut leading to the tunnel, by wbidi the outer entrance to the dock is to be scoured, is also completed, with the exception of a little smoothing of the sill to ensure the fitting of the sluice- gate. The tunnel is fifty feet wide, and alMuit thirty in height, and through it will pass, when the sluice is opened, a large body of the water in the upi)er float, which will be refilled to its proper level by the drainage brought down from Hidston marslies. When it is borne in mind that this is spread over the large area of oO acres, its effect, when compressed, ami flowing through an arch of only JO feet in width, must be to give a most tremendous scouring power. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. March 26. — William Chbitt, Esq., President, in the Chair. The first paper read was a " Description of the Chappie Viaduct, upon the Colchester and Sloiir Valley Extension of the Eastern Counties RaiUcay." By Mr. P. Uruff, Assoc. Inst. C. E. This viaduct was thrown across the valley of the Colne, at Chappie; it consisted of tliinytwo semicircular arches, each of the span of .to feet, the total length being II SG feet, and the extreme hfighl from the founda- tions lo the rail level being 80 feel. The average height of the piers from the foundation to the springing was 4o feet; they were 27 ft. Sin. wide by 4 fi. 101 in. thick, at the under side of the impost, and tapered downwards to the plinth, with a batter of 1 in 36; twenty-three of the piers only had plinths, which, consisted of a set-off of 2J- inches, making the dimensions of the base of the piers 29 ft. 0 in. wide, by 7 ft. 1 in. thick. The piers were solid below the plinth, but above that level there was a centre opening 6 feet in width, arched at the top and the bottom, 'i'he whole of this viaduft was constructed of bricks made in the district, bi-ing chiefly set in mortar, but the arches for a distance of 4 ft. 6 in. above the springing were set in cement. The viaduct occu- pied about twenty months in construction, and cost about 55i. per lineal yard. The next paper read was " On the Manufacture of Malleable Iron, with the results of Experiments on the Strength of Railway Axles. By Mr. G. B. THORNF.VCROFT, Assoc. Inst. C E. It was stated that malleable iron might be divided into two distinct classes, "red short," and "cold short;" the former being generally pro- duced from the rich ores, and the latter from the poorer, or leaner ores. The pig iron made from liie rich ores (under the cold blast process only) was not so fluid as that from the lean ores, but when converted into malle- able ii'on it became tough and tibrous, though it was troublesome to work at less than a while heat, which had caused it to be denominated " red short.'* On the other hand, the pig iron produced from ihe lean ores pos- sessed greater tluidity. but when malleable it was untitled lo support sudden shocks, or continuous strains, and was hence termed "cold short." It was further stated, that in the manufacture of malleable iron very much depended on the quality of the fuel used in the smelting furnace, and ia the subsequent processes; also that iron became crystalline from two causes; first, in consequence of being made from naturally cold short pig iron, and secondly, from a peculiar manipulation during the process of "puddling." The introduction of hoi blast for smelting iron, rendered necessary a careful investigation of the coraparalire use of bot and cold blast pig iron, in the manufacture of bars, from which it appeared, that if the same quality of materials was used in both cases, equally good bar iron would be produced, though it was more diSicuIl to convert bot blast pig iron into " No. 1" bars, and the waste was greater. It was certain, thai whilst good grey pig iron could only he produced, by cold blast, from the best materials, iron of apparently excellent quality could be made, by hot blast, from the most sulphurous ores and fuel ; indeed, lo this alone must be attributed the bad reputation of hot blast iron, for certain purposes. As it bad been asserted that the peculiar characteristics of malleable iron were lo be attributed to the ore from which it was produced, and not from the different nature of the processes used in its conversion, which the author had always believed to be the true cause, he had, at his works near Wolverliainpton, made bars of the finest crystalline and of the strongest fibrous texture from the same Yorkshire pig iron, .\nother cause which induced great changes in the texture of iron, when cold, was compression, or impact, whiub would completely alter its texture from a fibrous 10 a crystalluie character, as was well exemplified by the "gag*' and the puddling tools used by forgemen, and in several parts of different kinds of machinery the same effect was observed. The author Iben proceeded to draw attention to the best shape for rail- way axles, so as to combine tlie greatest strength with the least material, illustrating his views by the details of a series of experiments made for determining the question. It would appear that railway axles should be made parallel, from journal to journal, without any shoulder, and with just sufficient strength to jirevcnt any vibration in rotating. The csperinieats showed, that an axle without a shcmlder was better able to resist impact than one with a shoulder, in the ratio of 155 to 55, and by leaving the axle parallel, its stieuglh, compared wilh the same sized axle reduced in the middle, was 5 to 1^. April 2. — In the renewed discussion upon Mr. Thorneycrofts paper, it appeared to be admitted, that the shoulder on axles was only useful as a gauge, and that it should be curved from, and not square to, the main body; — that between the journals the axle should be parallel, for if reduced in the centre it was sure to bend, and eventually to break. Since the last meeting Mr. Tborneycroft had made many other experiments, which proved his former opinion relative to the progressive changes in iron, from compres- sion, which alone caused the destruction of the fibre, and, in fact, that jarring would not do it. Experiments were suggested to ascertain whether 1840,] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAC. 178 a pressure on the periphery of a wheel, fixed on an axle and kept 'rotating, would produce the same results which were admitted to exist in practice. The paper read was a " Descrijition of a Lift Bridge, erected over the Grand Surrey Canal, on the line of the Thames Junction Bratwh of the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway." By Mr. R. J. Hood, M. Inst. C. E. The act fnrthe construction of this hranch, which was a single line, one mile in length, provided that the crossing of the Grand Surrey Canal should be by a swing hridge; but as there were many obstacles in the way of this clause being carried out, and as it was not thought to be the most conve- nient form of construction, it was determined, after due consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of each particular kind of moveable bridge, to erect one on a principle which might he designated a " lift bridge." This consisted, simply, of a rectangular platform, 23J- feet in width, and 35 feet in length, carrying on one side a line of rails, and on the other side a road- way for carts; it was formed of four beams of oak timber, undertrussed with wrought-iron rods and cast-iron saddles, those for carrying the rails (which were bridge-shaped), being stronger than the others, and having a flooring of S-inch planking ; the platform rested, when down, upon piles driven into a bed of hard gravel, met with at a depth of about 20 feet below the water line. The platform, which was abont 12J tons in weight, was suspended at the four corners by galvanised wire ropes, four inches in cir- cumference, attached to the end of each oak transome, by means of strong bow springs, and passing over pulleys fixed on four pairs of cast-iron standards, also supported on piles, and fastened at the other end to drums, 3 feet in diameter, each pair of which were keyed on to the same hori- zontal shaft, situated a few inches under the rail and road level. Upon the same sliafts there were also fixed six other drums, of a like diameter with the former, carrying, upon coils of wire rope, 2| inches in circumference, balance weights, of a total weight of 125 Wis, but not equally distributed, intended to assist in raising the platform, and which descended in cast-iron cylinders, or wells. Motion was given to one end of each shaft, by means of simple hand-gearing, consisting of a train of wheelsand pinions, by which the power was multiplied twenty-six times. The level of the rails, above the water-line, was 4.V feet, and as the plat- form was capable of being raised 9J feet, sufficient room was atforded for the passage of the barges, the greatest number of which ever passing through in the twenty-four hours being fifteen, and since the erection of the bridge, not one in a hundred had been detained one minute; though on this point, as well as on many others, the Canal Company had raised factious objections, owing to which, and to the design having to be submitted for approval to the Railway Board, great delay arose in the commencement, and also in the execution of the work, augmenling the actual cost to 1,300/., which was beyond what, it was presumed, a similar work could, under more favourable circumstances, and when the construction was not novel, be executed for. The bridge was stated to have proved very successful, and in situations where only a given headway was required for a limited span, this kind of construction was recommended. April 9. — The paper read was " On the Construction of Locks and Keys.'' By Mr. J. Chubb, Assoc. Inst. C. E. The author commenced by stating, that the most ancient lock, of whose form and construction there was any certain knowledge, was the Egyptian, which had been in use for upwards of four thousand years. The construc- tion of this lock was minutely described, also that of the ancient "warded" and "letter" locks, and considerable antiquarian research was displayed in tracing their origin and introduction. These three kinds of locks were, in principle, the foundation of all modern locks, which might be thus enume- rated, reversed, for obvious reasons, in their order of antiquity: — First, — The letter locks; mostly used for padlocks, and were so far con- venient, as a key was not required for opening them. A modification of this lock had been proposed, called the "scutcheon" lock, for securing doors and iron safes, but it was too expensive and complicated to come into general use. Second, — Locks having fixed wards, in which no real improvement had been made in modern times. These locks were bad in principle, as they conld be easily picked; and owing to many thousands of them being yearly made, that could be passed by the same key, little or no security was afforded by them; in fact, it might be safely asserted, that twenty skeleton keys would open all the locks, of a given size, made upon this prmciple. Third, — The Egyptian lock; the essential principle of which was, that of moveable pins, or studs dropping into, and securing the bolt, all of which must be raised to the proper height, by corresponding pins in the end of the key, before the bolt could be unfastened. This lock was the foundation upon which most of the ingenious inventions of late years had been based, ditFering only in the forms of the moveable obstructions to the bolt — some of which acted vertically, others horizontally, some with a rotatory motion, and many others in an endless variety of ways; but of all these it was thought sutEcient to describe only those best known and appreciated — namely, Barron's, Bramah's, and Chubb's. In Barron's lock, patented in 1774, a great improvement was made upon the ancient Egyptian, by the introduction of the over-lift, wards being also used; but, from the fact of there being only two tumblers, it was evident that no great change or permutation could be made in the combinations. In Bramah's lock, patented in the year 1784, there was a compound of both direct and rotatory motion given to the key, instead of simply the latter, as in Barron's lock. It consisted of a number of sliders, having notches of various depths cut on one edge, so that the motion of ihe bolt was totally prevented, until each slider was pressed down to its exact depth, which was effected by the key having six cuts in it of different lengths. In Chubb's lock, first patented in 1818, and since modified and improved bv various subsequent patents, there were six separate and distinct tumblers, placed over each other, and capable of being elevated to different heights, but all moving on the centre pin. This lock differed from the others, in having a " detector," by which any attempt to pick, or open the lock with a false key, was immediately notified on the nest application of its own key. Calculations were then gone into, to show the number of different com- binations which might be made in this lock; and it appeared, that with an average-sized key, having six steps, each capable of being reduced in height twenty times, the number of changes would be 86,400; that if the seventh step, which threw the bolt, was taken into account, the reduction of it only ten times would increase the number to 864,000. Further, that as the drill-pins of the locks, and the pipes of the keys, might be made of three different sizes, the total number of changes would he 2,592,000. In keys of the smallest size, the total number would be 648,000, whilst in those of the largest size it would be increased to 7,776,000 changes. In conclusion, it was stated, that the manufacture of locks and keys was principally carried on at Wolverhampton and the adjacent towns, Birming- ham, and London, and that the fundamental principle upon which all locks should be made, were perfect security — strength, so as to resist attempts to force them, or of opening by picklocks and false keys — simplicity in the arrangement, so that any stranger, having the proper key, might be able to open the lock — and durability. The paper was illustrated by a series of diagrams, and a variety of speci- mens of the locks and keys noticed in the paper; and also by a number of Gothic locks and keys of very elaborate workmanship, suitable for eccle- siastical buildings, &c., from Mr. Chubb's works, in London. In the discussion which ensued many additions were made to the histori- cal part of the subject, and various ingenious contrivances were described, which had been successfully applied, to give increased security to locks of ordinary construction. The combinations in the locks of Summerford, and McKinnon (of New York), were also fully described; an advantage being claimed for the former, in making one tumbler to lift and the other to fall, in order to open it; and, for the latter, that, by the addition of a curtain, of case-hardened iron, three-quarters of an inch in thickness, radiating from the centre of the pin, and a radiating key, there were no means of reaching the tumblers, for the purpose of taking an impression, or otherwise, except by cutting through that curtain. On the other hand, it was positively asserted, that no impression could be taken of, or means invented for picking, a lock which had six tumblers, although it could be easily done with locks having fixed wards; further, that Chubb's lock was a decided improvement on all others of the same character, inasmuch as it possessed a " detector," which formed really the peculiar feature of that lock; the excellence of the workmanship tended also to the facility of action and consequent durability, for which it was so celebrated. April 16. — The discussion upon Mr. Chubb's paper, "On ihe Construction of Locks and Keys," was renewed, and extended to such a length as to preclude the reading of any paper. Several locks which had not been previously mentioned, were exhibited, and their peculiarities of construction were described. These bore the names of their inventors — Davis, Parsons, Williams, and Nettlefold. It was urged, that the curtain which had been mentioned might be essen- tial for Snmraerford's lock, but could not be, in any degree, useful in Chubb's lock; in fact, that its only effect would be to induce complication, and aug- ment the cost, without increasing the security. Among numerous instances of ingenious devices for opening locks, that stated to have been tried in America excited much attention. The process was described to be, that the operator, after inserting two pieces of India rubber, to limit the sphere of action, injected from a force-pump a com- position of glue and molasses, in a heated state, which chilled quickly, and, although extremely elastic, had the property of retaining the form and position of the loner side, or bellies of the tumblers, and that after being cut out of the lock, by a thin-bladed instrument, a key could be made from the impression. In explanation of this, however, it was shown, that in Chubb's lock there existed no similarity between the position of the beUies of the tumblers, when at rest, and the figure of the bit of the key; and, therefore, that even supposing it to be possible to obtain an accurate impression of the position of the bellies of the tumblers, when at rest, no indication would be afforded of the combination, or any assistance be given for making a false key. In further confirmation of this, a lock by Chubb was shown, in which, when at rest, the bellies of the tumblers were perfectly uniform, and in the same plane, so that an impression of the inside of such a lock must be utterly useless for any purpose. Although it had been asserted that Chubb's locks had been picked, it was admitted that it had never been proved that those locks had really been made by the inventor; but, on the other hand, it had frequently been shown that purious imitations of the first expired patent had been sold in large quan- 171 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. May, titles, and liad been marked " Chubb's Patent," until the makers were stopped by legal process, when it was ruled, both at law and equity, that, although after the expiration of a patent, any person might manufacture the article, he had no riglit to pirate a peculiar trade mark, or to use a dis- tinctive stamp, which was irrespective of any patent right. The locks used at Pentonvillc Prison were instanced as uniting goodness and safety with extreme cheapness; but it was admitted that the workman- ship was very inferior to that of Cbubb's locks. It was also asserted that Uavis's locks, invariably used on the Cabinet Dispatch-boxes, which frequently contained important secret papers, were never found to be out of order, or to be susceptible of being picked. To this it was replied, that Mr. Chubb was prepared to produce a work- man, who, without having ever previously seen the locks on the Cabinet Dispatch-boxes, would open any number, on being allowed half an hour for each; ami that the same might be done more easily with the Pentonville Prison locks. In summing up the discussion, it was stated to be the duty of the Insti- tution to express the conviction, of a veritable Chubb's lock never having been picked cither in Great Britain or on the other side of the Atlantic ; that it did, in fact, combine that strength, simplicity, and security, without which the most ingenious locks were utterly useless ; that it possessed the merit, in the production, of never, through fear of competition, having reduced the quality of the workmanship to meet a reduced price, and thus, by a due consideration of the workmen employed in the manufacture, the men had been taught to he as jealous of their master's reputation for good work as he could be of himself, and that thus the merited reputation of the work had been, and was still, maintained. April 2Z. — The paper read was a "Description of the Insistent Pontoon Bridge, at the Dublin Terminus of the Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland." By Mr. R. Mallet M. Inst. C.E. This bridge was stated to be situated on the line of approach from the city to the terminus, and formed a passage over one branch of the Royal Canal, where it crossed the Phibsborough-road, upon the Foster Aqueduct. By the act it was provided, that the navigation of the canal should be as free and unimpeded as possible; and from the circumstance of there being only a height of 16 inches between the intended surface of the road and that of the water of the canal, it necessarily involved the placing of some kind of moveable bridge, of rather peculiar construction. After due con- sideration, the one described in the paper was designed and adopted, as being more suitable to the peculiarities of the situation than any other, owing to the water.channel being oidy 17 ft. 4 in. in width, and that the passage to be made across it required to be at least 50 feet in breadth. The general idea of this form of moveable bridge was that of a pontoon, or flat-bottomed boat, constructed of iron; the breadth being nearly equal to that of the water space to be crossed, and the length about equal to the width of roadway required. The deck beams of this pontoon projected over the sides, and rested while in situ, upon a rabbate, or continuous re- cess, formed along the top course of each quay-wall, but while the pontoon ■was floating light, the projecting deck-beam's were 2 inches clear of this rabbate, and the roadway platfoim, constituting the deck of tlie pontoon, was elevated to an equal height above the level of the top of the quav-walls, or land on each side; in this state the pontoon could he freely and' readily pushed along the canal, for a distance of rather more than its own length, until it was brought opposite to a lyc-by, provided by increasing the width of the canal at this point, and being put therein, the navigation was per- fectly free. As a pontoon afloat would form a very unstable roadwnv for carriages, means were provided for allowing it to settle down in the 'water, and rest firmly upon tlie rabbates; and also for again raising it rapidly, so as to float clear of tlie rabbates, and enable it to he moved away into tlie lye-by. I'or this purpose two large valves were jilaced in the bottom of the pontoon, one near eacli end, by which water was allowed to enter, and sink the pontoon, until It hung upon the projecting deck-beams. For removing this water, when it was required to float the pontoon, a large syphon, of a particular construction, was provided, which was capable of being brought instantiv into use, and of being as quickly detached, when a suftiL-iency of water had been withdrawn to enable the pontoon to be moved. These operations were stated to he performed very readily by one man, the navigation being cleared in four minutes, and the roadway restored in less than three minutes. The details of the construction of the pontoon, of the svphon, and all other parts of the work were then minutely given; also the total cost of the structure, which, exclusive of the masonry,' was 1125/., that of the masonrv being about 150/.; and it was stated to have continued in use, with perfect satisfaction, since its completion in February, 1847. This form of construction was considered lo be applicable in situations where a comparatively narrow water channel had to be crossed by a very wide roadway; but as the particular circumstances of other localities might diS'er from the one in question, the author suggested various alterations in the details, so as to meet these exigencies. The next paper read was a "Description of a wronght-iron Lattice Bridge, constructed over the line of tlie Rughg and Leamington Raihoay." Bv Mr. W. T. DoYNE, Assoc. Inst. C.E. This bridge, which was 150 feet span, carried a public road over the Ilon- inghara cutting. It consisted of two girders 156 feet in length, and 10 feet G inches in depth, placed at a distance of 20 feet apart, and connected together by means of wronght-iron transverse girders, and by a system of horizontal diagonal bracing. The bottom of the main girders were formed of two angle irons, and wrought-iron plates, eight in number at the centre, but diminishing to three at the ends, and of such dimensions as to make the efl'ective sectional area at the centre, after deducting the loss by rivet holes, equal to 26 square inches ; that of the top, which was somewhat diflerently constructed, so as the better to resist compression, being equal to 40 square inches. The lattices were formed of a series of bars of spoke-iron, inter- secting each other at an angle of 60°, being crossed at those points, by longitudinal bars, for the purpose of giving additional rigidity, and of making a closer parapet. The transverse girders, 7 feet 6 inches apart, were each formed of a plate of wrought iron, with two angle irons at the top and the bottom ; these were covered with corrugated galvanised iron, one-tenth of an inch thick, upon which concrete, and then a layer of gravel and loam metalling, G inches thick, were laid. This bridge was erected by Messrs. Smith, Smith, and .lames, of Leamington, upon a platform which gave to the girders a camber of 7 inches in the centre, which was reduced to ,Tf inches upon removing the platform. The total cost of the bridge was about .■$,500/. During the progress of the works, the author made some experiments upon the strength of rivets of diff'erent sizes, from which it appeared, that the average breaking weight, per square inch of sectional area, was 35-10 tons for a chain joint, and 18-82 tons for a lap joint. ROYAL SCOTTISH SOCIETY OF ARTS. The following communications were made : — Remarks on the Positions laid down by Mr. Cousin, in a Communication lately read by him, " On the Philosophy of the Beautiful, and an Analysis of the Principle of Proportion, as applicable to Arcliitecture,^' By Mr. Thomas Purdie, Edinburgh. Mr. Purdie stated the principle on which Mr. Cousin seemed to found his doctrines, viz. — that the mind receives a pleasure from certain proportions, whether in the relations existing between the various parts of a building, or in the relations which the notes of a musical chord bear to each other in the number of vibrations required to produce them. That harmony is, therefore, "the perception of these relations," conveyed to the mind in the one case by the eye, and in the other by the ear. Mr. Purdie contended that this definition of harmony was only a con- founding of names. That the word harmony is applied to architecture only in a conventional or metaphorical sense, and may therefore be used to convey any meaning which fashion or fancy may happen to dictate. But, whatever harmony in architecture may be, the mind which perceives nothing and knows nothing of the relations of musical notes or of vibrations may receive a pleasure from harmony of the most intense and elevated kind. While the secondary lieauty of harmony is, doubtless, due to its connection with man's deepest feelings and most interesting emotions, its primary beauty can be attributed only to sensation as an ultimate fact in man's mental constitution, and has no more connection with perception of relation than have the prick of a pin or the perfume of a rose. If there were any beauty at all in ratios, the ratio existing between the diameter and circumference of the circle seemed to possess quite as much of that desirable quality as the ratio of one to two, or three to four. If harmony, he contended, were the perception of relation, and if those relations only were beautiful which are simple and definite, what would have become of the mathematician engaged in the higher calculus where many of the calculations refer to irrational and even imaginary quantities. A single page of it would evolve an amount of dis- cord sufiieient to drive altogether mad any mathematical devotee who might happen to be cursed with a musical temperament. But granting that Mr. Cousin bad established the premises — that har- mony is the perception of relation, and tliat beauty results only from the perception of definite relation — he bad only placed his doctrines in a posi- tion which rendered their complete fallacy the more obvious and apparent. Take any number of rectangular forms such as those to which it is pro- posed to apply this system of pro|)ortioning — say two windows of a building with the space between them. Adopt some of those ratios which Mr. Cousin asserts to be beautiful, and apply them to the diagonal lines of these rect- angles. Let the diagonal line of the windows form with the base an angle of 60 degrees, and that of the space between them 67^. These numbers, if the angles be taken as the standard, bear a simple or harmonic ratio to each other, and to a right angle. But it is impossible to suppose that the relations of angles, formed by unseen diagonal lines, which are supposed to be drawn within certain rectangular figures, can serve as the foundation for a system of proportion, or that they can produce so powerful an efl'ect as the relation between the sides, which are visible to the eye; and, unfortunately for this theory, it happens that the sides must of necessity be at variance with Mr. Cousin's proportions in every ease, when the angles are in accord- ance with them. In the designs exhibited to the Society, Mr. Cousin, for the most part, adopted the angles as the basis of his harmony ; but he sometimes admitted the proportion of the sides, and at other times he admitted of both in the 18iO.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 175 same elevation. Granting, tlien, his definition of harmony to be correct, BO building could possibly be beautiful ; for (he eye, which was gratified by the simple ratio existing between the angles, must also perceive and be offended by the want of these so-called harmonic proportions in the sides. Mr. Purdie farther objected to this theory on the broad ground that it involved the setting aside of taste altogether; that it was calculated to erect within the dominion of taste a tribunal to overrule and supersede its judgments. If any one were to object to a building of l\tr. Cousin's, or of any other architect, designed on the principles brought before the Society as being ill-proportioned, it could be no answer to tell him that this was an angle of thirty degrees, that of forty-five, and so on. Unless the jurisdiction of this theory were to be supreme, the architectural critic would have a full title to hold to his opinion, notwithstanding these so- called mathematical demonstrations. But as the explanations which the discussion on Mr. Cousin's paper called forth, at a late meeting of the Society, had placed the matter on a very narrow ground, Mr. P. preferred to leave it there, rather than enter upon matters which could only lead to endless and perhaps altogether unprofitable discussion. Observations on what is 7'equired to be done, in order to improve the Dwellings of the Working- Classes ; with a brief notice of some Model Houses recently erected in this neighbourhood, and some account of those which have been built in London, Glasgow, Sfc. By Patkick Wilso.n, Esq., Architect. Mr. Wilson observed, that in looking at the large tenements in the centre of Edinburgh, occupied by a prodigious number of families, some of ihera elevated sis or eight stories from the street, it must appear almost an im- possibility fur such families to have anything like cleanly dwellings; the common stair of such tenements is, in general, in such a state of filth, that there is no inducement to the housewife of cleanly habits to attempt keep- ing a clean house. He, therefore, contended the working-classes must be placed in self-contained houses. Such an idea might at first sight appear Utopian, but so far from this being the case, it had actually been realised, and that at a rent not exceeding what is paid for the same accommodation in other situations. Mr. Wilson then took a rapid glance at what had been doing in other towns. He gave some brief account of the houses recently erected in London; but in general remarked that they could not be taken as a guide for us in Edinburgh, the rents paid for them being far beyond what could be afforded by Edinburgh operatives. Mr. M'ilson laid before the Society the plan which had occured to him- self sometime ago for improving the dwellings in question, which he had since had opportunity of carrying into practice. To effect this on the most economical plan, he proposed having houses of two stories high, the houses on the first floor to have their entrances on the one side, and those on the second floor on the other side; and further, that rows of such houses should be placed at right angles to the road or street. There are six rows i>f houses, each row cuntalniug eight houses, four on the ground-floor and four on tlie second floor. The spaces of ground be- tween the rows are devoted for bleaching-greens, willi the exception of a footpath on each side leading to the houses. The Model houses recently erected at Industry-lane, North Leith, under the superintendence of Mr. Wilson, are built on this plan. The piece of ground at Industry-lane only admitted of two rows: one is built, and the houses are at present being finished, the other is in contemplation to be built. The houses are of various sizes. The average size contain, one large living room or kitchen, one bed-room, a scullery sufticiently large for the mistress of the family ■washing in, well lighted, and furnished with sink and water-pipe, and a pantry. The sculleries are placed two and two togeiher, not only so, but those on the lower floor being immediately under those on the upper iioor; there are four sculleries all in a cluster, which arrangements, besides the economy, possessed other advantages which Mr. W. pointed out. With the exception of the water-closet, each house possesses every convenience within itself. The water-closets are placed out of view at the farther end of the row, and under lock and key. The apparatus for these closets are of the most simple construction; one cistern supplies the whole cluster with water. The largest size of houses at ludustry-lane contains a large kitchen, two bed rooms, and the other conveniences already described. These were commodious houses, and what in Mr. \Vilson's opinion, every house should be, provided those for whom they are intended could pay a propor- tionate rent. The parents and younger branches would be accommodated in the large apartment, the boys in one room, and the girls in the other. The houses at Industry-lane are all let at the following rents : — Two bouses at ot.bs ; two houses at 6/. 6s.; two houses, each with two bed- rooms, at 71. 15s. Total receipt, 511. is. Cost of the eight houses, 700i., 5 per cent on which is 35/.; feu-duty, or ground-rent, il. 5s. (id.; making a total outlay of 38/. 5s. dd.; and leaving for taxes, repairs, 6^c., a margin of 12(. ISs. Cd. A considerable portion of ground has been feued at a very moderate rate, through the kindness of Mr. Balfour, of Pilrig, and on which it is intended to erect houses somewhat similar to those at Leith. Description and Drawings of a new Patent Air-Spring for Shutting Doors and Gates, opening one or both ways: with a narrative of the Patentee's Experiments in arriving at the bist arrangement. By Mr. CiEOBGi; Beattie. Mr. Beattie stated that in this new Patent Spring Hinge the pressure of the atmosphere is employed for the motive power to close the door. That it is not a spring properly so called, but simply a counterbalance, by means of the pressure of the atmosphere made to act towards a vacuum, the re- sistance being uniform throughout the travel of the door, which combines comfort, safety, and durability. The air spring consists of an iron box and cover let into the floor, which contains a verticle axle supported at battom in a hollow cup, and furnished at the top end, which projects above the floor, with a shoulder and lever hinge for carrying the door on this shaft, and within the box is fastened a horizontal wheel, which is toothed upon a portion of its circumference. On each side of this wheel is a rack attached to a piston, which is made to fit lightly into a cylinder by a cap leather. la the under side of the cylinder is a valve communicating with the outside; in the bottom of the cylinder is another valve communicating with an ex- hausted chamber, and on each side of the racks are guides for the piston. The teeth of the wheel are made to take in either of the toothed racks, ac- cording as the door or gate is opened one way or other, so that the piston will be drawn along the cylinder, leaving a vacuum behind, at a uniform and regular degree of resistance, until the door is released, when the unbalanced pressure of air upon the face of the piston will cause the door to resume its original position. The use of the valve communicating with the outside of the cylinder is that, in case of a leakage of air behind the piston, it shall be driven by the return of the piston through it to the outside. The use of the exhausted chamber and valve communicating with it is, that a portion of the leakage air or oil which cannot be discharged by the valve leading out- wards, escapes into the exhausted chamber, which allows the piston to get to the bottom, and to bring the teeth of the rack in hard contact with the teeth of the wheel, and thereby keep the door steady and in its proper place when shut- The box requires to be filled with lard or sperm oil to seal the piston, and keep the whole lubricated. Description of an Improved Method of Constructing Wire Fences. By Mr. James Smith. It was stated that the object of this plan is to increese the simplicity and facility of the construction of wire fences, and to afford easy means of cor- recting the occasional defects of over tightness or over slackness of the wire lines, whether arising from faults in the construction, or from the vicissi- tudes of temperature: that this is effected by mounting the straining posts with rollers and ratchet wheels for the wires, by which, with tools of the most simple kind, an ordinary labourer can erect the fence and stretch the wires in the most perfect manner; and the wires, when becoming too slack or too tight, can be easily corrected, so as to keep them always in a perfect state: and that the expense of obtaining these advantages very little exceeds that of constructing the fence on the common method. NOTES OF THE MONTH. Important Application of Hydraulic Pressure. — A powerful hydraulic engine has been placed at Murton colliery, belonging to the South Hetton Company, by Messrs. .\rrastrong and Co., for the purpose of drawing the trains of waggons underground without the aid of a steam-engine (so dan- gerous in such a situation), or of horses, where a large number would not be so efticient as this new machine. The engine consists of four small cylin- ders and pistons, each being three inches in diameter, with a 12-in-stroke; the water whii h supplies the power is that pumped from the shaft, collected in a reservoir 606 feet above the level of the water engine, and, of course, applying an enormous force to the pistons; the pipes conveying the water down the shaft are i\ inches in diameter; the distance from the shaft from whence the trains are propelled is 880 yards, with gradients from 1 in 30 to 1 in 18; the number of tubs in each train is at present 20 or 21; the time travelling the distance is -tj to 6 minutes, or 6 miles an hour; the quantity of water pressing on the pistons is 1,500 gallons, and the average speed is 100 strokes per minute, although 130 have been obtained without any jarring motion; the power of the engine is about 30 horses, and the reservoir and column of water collects as ranch as will draw 20 trains per day; but although it is contemplated to increase that number to 50, that extra number will only involve the pumping of an additional 30 gallons per minute through the 24 hours. New Brick-Making Machine — .Mr. Hart, engineer, of Seymour-place, Bryanstone-square, is now exhibiting a machine for making bricks, which, besides producing them with greater rapidity than by any previous machine, and at a less cost, possesses the advantage of turning them out in an exceed- ingly dense and homogeneous form, requiring no great length of time after pressure before they are fit for the kiln. The machine is very powerful, but compact. The clay is placed in a hopper, in a rough state, from whence it passes, in a well-kneaded condition, into the brick moulds, which are placed upon an endless chain ; here it passes beneath the presser, which reduces the bricks to the proper size, and after this part of the process they are stacked for drying. It is stated that one horse, two men, and four boys, at a cost of about 1/., can turn out 26,000 perfect bricks, stacked, in 12 hours. The machine is also admirably adapted for pressing into cakes oil dregs, and other similar substances. 176 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Mav, EsTABLWiiMBST OP A Metborologicai. Societv.— A meeting of gCTiUemcn devotej to ahiroriomiral and meirorolncicil pursuits was held at the baronial and hospitable scut of Dr. I.er, nl Harlwell, rear Aylesbury, last month, which led, durinf: three days dis- cussion, tit .1 ROod deal of inttrestinc detail on various matters connected witli science, and enrifd in the formation of tlie Hriiish Meteorological Society, to which Mr. Glaisher, the accoinphslied oh»;erver and superintendent of the Metf^orolocical Department at Greenwitli, consented to become secretary; S. C. Whitbroad, Esq., F.R.A.S , was nominated prfsident; Dr. Lee, LL D., F.R.S., Ireasui-er; and a Council of several other gentlemen, most of whom are members of tlie Astronomical Society, was formed. It nas arranpt'd that a meetinfr of the officers should take place on the "tli of May, and that gmthnien desirous of promotinc the science miKht be admitted mpmbers on signi- fying thejr wishes to Mr. GJatshpr, of Blackheath, before that day, after which members will be admitted by ballot. Mtrteorotogicul B«ports are already made from lorty different stations in the kingdom, and arranged, condensed, and priiueil in the Quarterly Report of the Registrar-General, by Mr. Glaisher. It is desirable to increase the number of thf? stations, and that accurate and regular observations of standard barometers, thermome- ters, and Iiycromelers. should be nmlliplipd, with a view to establish some general ])rin- ciples of atmospheric variation, in relation to storms, weather, and diseases. Among the subjects discussed at the meeting was that of meteoric stones, one of which, in the possession of Dr. Lee, had fallen at I^aunton, Oxon, in 18S0, and wliich had been exa- mined and recorded in ' Loudon's Magazine of Natural History,' by Mr. Stowc, of Buckinghan), in March, 1831. Mr. Glaisher had received accounts of the descent of the late meteor from many observers, who estimated its altitude and course, from the Bristol Channel acioss Wales, and immediately «ver Northampton, till it burst at the height of 20 miles over Riegleswade, where fragments have been sought for, but at present without success, though its bulk roust have been enormous. The interval whicli occurred between the appearance of the light and the noise of the explosion was measured accurately by the Rev. Joseph Read, of Stone, near Aylesbury, who had a chronometer in his hand at the moment, and was found to be 53 seconds; and another gentleman, 15 miles south of Stone, esiiniiited it at 57 seconds Dr. Lee had sent a model of his Aerolite to the Museum at the India House, ami the curator, in return, sent him a model of one that fell in India, which, though of larger dimensions, had very much the shape and character of the Oxfordshire stone, which weighed, at its descent, 21bs 5oz. SotJTH Wales Raflwav. — A wrought-iron bridge of very large dimensions is now in course of construction by the extensive ironfounders, Messrs, Finch and Willey, of Wind- sor Foundry, Liverpool, who have erected substantial temporary premises for the purpose. The bridge has been designed by Mr. Brunei, the civil engineer of the line, and is to be thrown across the river Wye. Its extreme length will be 600 feet, there being four arches or spans, one of 300 feet, and three of 100 feet each. As the navigation of the river can- not be interfered with, the immense span of 300 feet is rendered necessary, in order to prevent the erection of piers or other works, as a foundation on which to rest the mass of iron-work which will be brought into requisition. The principle adopted is that of sus- i pension from a tube by diagonal chains, which carry the girders on which the line of rails is laid, and besides many other improvements being introduced to adapt the bridge to the peculiarities of the situation in which it will be required. The contraction and expansion of tlie iron-work is provided for with the greatest exactness ; oscillation and undulation from any of those causes by which they are usually produced on railway bridges will he effectually prevented. The roadway will be nearly 150 feet above the level of low-water mark. Large ejUndrical pillars are to be driven into the giound near the margin of the river, and from these and the piers, which form the extreme points of suspension, the main support for the structure will be derived. Tlie iron likely to be used in the bridge and cylindrical pillars will amount to 2,000 tons. To expedite the work, a large and very powerful en;;ine has been erected, and extensive machinery brought into working order. Metropolitan Commission op Sewebs. — An account of the receipt and esjien- diture of the M'^ti-opolitan Commission ot Sewers for 1849 has just been published. The receipts amoimted to 71,623^ 13s. lOd., the items composing this total being 55,105/. As. from rates, 13,518/. 10s, lOd. from coniributions, Sec, and 3,000/. from Joans. The paymenis were as follow:— For works, 50,309/. 4s. Id. ; surveys. Sec. S,S^9l. 19s. IPd.; management, 22,4fi0/. 17s. 5d.; loans, 4,0M/. l£s. 8d.; contingencies, 2t0/. 9s. 6d.; making a total of 85,345/. ."is fid. The cash in hand at the commencement of the year 1849 was 22,056/. 3s. 7d. ; at the end of the year it was 9,234/. !3s lid. The total amount paid for contracts commenced and completed for general works during the year was 40,606. 5s. 4d., being I0,57S/. lis. 5d. for sewers, 5,577/. ^s. 6d. for openings (side en- trances, air shafts, gullies, private drains and flaps), H,9r.Gl. lis. Sd. for repairs to sewers, gullies, Sec, 18,595/. 18s. lOd., for cleansing, including, flushing, casting, and lifting, I,4£0/, 2s. 96. for incidental works, and 4.^2/. lis. Bd. for paving and gravelling relaid. An additional sum Of 2,318/. Hs. Ud. was expended under contracts for special works, being 100/. for incidental works, and 2,218/. 14s. lid. for sewers. The total amount of monies owing to the Commissioners on account of uncollected rates is 56,171/. 12s. lid. The debts owing by the Conimissioners amount to 100,7^8/. Is. Id., viz. 65,787/. for loans, 4ii5/. I4s. for special contracts, and 34,485/. 7s. Id, for tradesmen's bills and other obligations not under special contracts. X.ZST OP ME'W PATENTS. GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM MaRCH 20, TO APRIL 23, 1850. Sir Months allowed/or Enrolment^ todess otherwise expressed. William .Joseph Curtis, of Port of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies, civil engineer, for im- proved machinery and apparatus adapted for the manufacture of sugar. — March 23. Horatio Carter, of Thirza-place, Old Kent- road. Surrey, gentleman, for certain im- provements in the production of light from ordinary cnal gas, by the use of burners, consisting of more than one ring or sheet of tlnme, combined with a suitable chimney or chimnevs, and supplied with atmospheric air, particularly adapted to ventilation.— March 23. Joshua Siddoley, jun., brassfounder, of Liverpool, for certain improvements in ships' fittings.— March '23. Alfred Wilson, of Mydldeton-street, Clerkenwell, clock-case maker, for an improved Tentilator.— March 23. John Stephenson, of I{oan mills, Dungannon, Tyrone, flax spinner, for certain im- provements in machinery for spinning tlux and other substances.— March 23. William Sykes, of York-street. Middlesex, tallnw chandler, for certain improvements in the manulactnre of candles and wicks.— March at. John Varley and Joseph Hacking, of Bury, Lancaster, engineers, for certain improve- ments in steam-engines and apparatus connected therewith.- March 23. Henry Robert Ramsbolham, of Bradford, Yorkshire, manufacturer, and William Brown, of the same place, mechanic, for improvements in preparing and combing wool. — March fl 8. John Gedge, of Wellington-street, Strand, Middlesex, for an improvement in lamps and candlesticks. (A communication.)— March 23. Nathaniel Matthew, of Wern Tremadoe, Carnarvon, quarry proprietor, for an appara- tus for cuttinc or dressing slates into various shapes and sizes. — March 2.3. Alfred Ciuillaume, Roseleur, of Paris, France, but now of 4, Soutlislreet, Finsbury, Mid"lle«;PK, chemist, for certain improvements in coating or covering metals with tin. — March 23. Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents, 66, Cliancery-Iane. Middlesex, me- chanical draughtsman, for improvements in the preparation of materials for ihe produc- tion of a composition or compositions applicable to the manufacture of buttons, knife and razor- handles, ink-stands, door-knobs, and other articles where hardness, strength and durability are required. (A communication.)— March 23. ' ' Edward Welch, of St. John's Wood, London, architect, for improvements in fire-places and flues, and in apparatus connected therpwiih.— March 23. Evan Leigh, of Miles Platting, near Manchester, Lancaster, cotton-spinner, for his in- vention of certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for preparing and spinniog cotton and other fibrous substances. — March 29. Joseph Theodore Clenchard, of Paris, France, manufacturing chemist, for certain im- dprovements in the application of archi! to tlie orocess of dyeing and printing in colours, and also an improved apparatus to be employed in the operation of dyeing.— March 26. James Preece, of Hereford, shoemaker, for certain improvements in mills and ma- chinery applicable to the tlirashing and grinding of corn, the manufacture of cider, and other similar purposes, — March 26, Alfred Vincent Xewton, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery- lane, Middlesex, me- chanical draughtsman, for improvements in coupling-joints forpipea, (AcommunicatioD.) —March 20. Thomas Dickason Rotch, of Drumlamford-house, Ayr, North Britain, Esq , for im- provements in separating various matters usually found combined in certain saccharine, saline, and ligneous substances. (A communicatian.) — March 26. Thomas Walker, of Wednesbury, Stafi"ord, iron-master, for improvements in the manu- facture of sheets or plates of iron for certain purposes. — March 28. James Sannicl. of Willoughby-house, Middlesex, civil engineer, for certain improve- ments in the construction of railways and steam-engines, and in steam-engine machinery. —April 5. Joseph Findlay, of Paisley, Renfrew, North Britain, manufacturer, for an improvement or improvements in machinery or apparatus for turning, cutting, shaping, or reduciog wood or other substances. — April 5. George Henry Phipps, of Park-road, Stockweli, Surrey, engineer, for improvements in propelluig vessels. — April 5. Jonathan Charles Goodall, of Great College-street, Camden Town, Middlesex, card- maker, for improvements in machinei-y for cutting paper. — April 5. Charles Seeley, of Heighington, Lincoln, merchant, for improvements in grinding wheat and other grain. — April 5, John Piatt, of Oldham, Lancaster, engineer, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for spinning, doubling, and weaving cotton, flax, and other fibrous substances. —April 11. Richard Prosser, of Birmingham, civil engineer, for certain improvements in machinery and apparatus for manufacturing metal tubes, which improvements in machinery are in part applicable for otlier purposes where pressure is required; also for improvements in the mode of applying metal tubeb in steam boiler.';, or other vessels requiring metal to be applied within them. — April 11. Amedee Francis Redmond, of Birmingham, for improvements in the manufacture of envelopes. — April 15. Edme Augustus Chameroy, of Paris, for improvements in the manufacture of boilers and of pipes of mailable substances, as well as of elastic matter. — April I.'S. Robert Reid, of Glasgow, manufacturer, for certain improvements in propelling. — April 15. Cutbbert Dinsdale, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, dentist, for improvements in the manu- facture of artificial palates and gums, and in the mode of setting or fixing natural and artificial teeth.— April 16. .Jolin Turner, of Birmingham, engineer, and Joseph Hard wick, of the same place, for a certain improvement or certain improvements in the construction and setting of steam boilers. — April 15. George Attwood, of Birmingham, copper roller manufacturer, for a new or improved method of making tubing of copper or alloys of copper. — April 15, Charles de Bergue, of Arthur-street, Lonrlon, engineer, for certain improvements in locomotive and other steam engines, alsoin buff"ers for railway purposes. — April 15. John Dove Harris, of Leicester, manufacturer, for improvements in the manufacture of looped fabrics. — April 18. William Buckwell, of the Artificial Granite Works, Battersea, civil engineer, andGeo^e Fisher, of the Taffball Railway, Carditf, civil engineer, for improvements in the con- struction and means of applying carriage and certain other springs. — April 18. William Henry Ashurst. of Uie Old Jewry, gentleman, for improvements in the manu- facturing of varnishes. — Apiil 18. Thomas Ross, of Coleman-street, London, gentleman, for improvements in machinery for raising a pile upon woven and felted fabrics. — April 18, Abraham Moses Marbe, of Birmingham, chemist, for an improved manufacture Of vegetable fluid to be used in the production of artificial light, and in lamps or burners for consuming the same; which vegetable fluid is also applicable to the manufacture of lacker or varnish. — April 18. William llargreaves the younger of Bradford, York, iron founder,for certain improve- ments in the means of consuming smoke, parts of whicli improvements are also applicable to the generating ofsteam.- April 18. Peter Arkell, of Chapel-street, Stockweli, Surrey, engineer, for improvements in the manufacture of candle wicks. — April 20. Alfred George Anderson, of Great Suftblk- street, Southwark, Surr^-y, soap manufac- turer, for improvements in the treatment of a substance produced in soap-making, and its application to useful purposes. — April 20. John Timothy Chapman, of Wapping, Middlesex, for improvmeents in apparatus for setting up ships' rigging and raising weights —April 20. Richard Archibald Brooman, of the firm ol J. C. Kobirtson and Co., of Fleet-street, London, patent agents, for improvements in ihcmauufacture of zinc, and in the apparatus emploved therein. — April 20. Henry Ritchie, of Brixton, Surrey, for improvements in the manufacture of copper, brass, and other tubes or pipes. — April 23. William Macalpine, of Spring-vale, Hammersmith, general dresser, and Thomas Macalpinc, of the same place, manager, for improvements in machinery for washing cot- ton, linen, and other fabrics. — April 23. Charles Humfrey, of Downing College, Cambridge, M.A., for improvements in the manufacture of candles and oils, and in treating tatty and oily matters, and in the appli- cation of certain products of fatty and oily matters.— April 23. Antoine Pauwels, of Paris, France, merchant, and Vincent Dub^chet, also of Paris, France, merchant, for certain improvements in the production of coke, and of gas for illuminating, and also in regulating the circulation of such gas.— April 28. Richard Laming, of the New Chemical Works, Isle of Dogs, Middlesex, chemist, and Frederick John Evans, of the Horseferry-road, Westminster, gas engineer, tor improve- ments in the manufacture of gas for illumination, and other purposes to which coal gas is applicable, in preparing materials to be employed in such manufacture, and in apparatus for manufacturing and using gas; also improvements in treating certain products result- ing from the distillation of coal, parts of which above-mentioned improvements are ap- plicable to other similar purposes, — April 23. Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, Middlesex, civil engineer, for improvements in castii g type. CA communication.) — April 21. PierrcArmand Lecomte de Fonlainenioreau, of South-street, Finsbury, for certain im- provements in the manufacture of wafers, and in the machinery or apparatus connected therewith. (A communicati»n.)— April 23. No. 153.— Vol. XIII.— June, 1S50. 25 J^^ 1950.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 177 BRIDGEWATER HOUSE. Charles B.\RnY, Esq., R.A., Arcliitect. {JTith an Engraving^ Plate VII.) ELEVATION OF THE WEST OB GARDEN FRONT. Little remains to be added to what was said of this work of Mr. Barry's, in No. 156 of our Journal (Vol. XII. p. 1), when we gave an elevation of the south front. One thing which we may here do, is to correct an error that may mislead some of our distant readers as to the precise locality of the mansion, the engraver having put " St. James's Park" on the plate instead of the Green Park. That the first-mentioned is not the actual situation is perhaps to be regretted, for where it now stands Bridgewater House is not seen to full advantage, the site being far more favourable as regards the view /rom its windows, than for affording that satisfactory view of it, and that close inspection which so finished a piece of architecture is intitled to. Could this palatial town residence and Apsley House be made to change places, the entrance to Piccadilly would be really imposing, though its im- posingness would partake also of imposition, by leading strangers to expect to find many other noble and aristocratic mansions of a similar class, in whicli we need not say they would be grievously disappointed; whereas the insipid, humdrum style, or no-style, of Apsley House promises so very little for anything else of similar kind that even the mesqnuwrie of Buckingham Palace excites less astonishment than would else be the case. The two elevations which we have now given of Bridgewater House render description superfluous, since it would be only re- iterating what may be far better understood from the engravings. And, in way of remark, we have merely to call attention to the study of detail, and the solicitous finish exemplified in this edifice, and which contrasts so strongly with the carelessness and ineiiuality of design, that detract considerably from the general merit of even some of our best buildings. Of the interior of the Earl of EUes- mere's mansion we are at present unable to speak, but hope that it will be in our power to do so on some other opportunity. The sole information relative to it we can here give is, that since the house was begun the plan has been considerably altered— in one respect at least — as there will now be, a spacious central hall the entire height of the building, with colonnades around it, on the level of the principal floor, instead of two small inner courts with the first flight of the grand staircase carrried up between them; according to which arrangement what will now be open colonnades would have been closed gallery-like corridors, lighted from their ceilings. LECTURES ON THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE; By Samuel Clegg, Jun., m.i.c.e., f.g.s. Delivered at the College for General Practical Science, Putney, Surrey. (president, his grace the nUKH OF BUCCLEOCH, K.G.) Lecture VI. Origin op Greek Architecture. — The Three Orders. • There is no country whose early history is more involved in obscurity and fable than that of Greece. As Josephus remarks, speaking of the Greeks: "As for their care about the writing down of their histories, it is very near the last thing they set about." The Greeks were an ardent and imaginative people, proud of their country, and regarding as barbarians all those who had no claim to the Hellenic name. Their early historians were bards, or rhapsodists, whose recitations, describing the deeds and events that led to the glory of Greece, were listened to with eager interest. Thus, every action and circumstance was painted in the glowing hues of poetry. They disdained an earthly parentage for their heroes, whose descent they traced from nymphs and divinities, and believed that the gods themselves came down from Olympus to take part in their conflicts, or to contest the privilege of presiding over the rising states and cities of their favoured land. The return of the Heraclidae, and the founding of the kingdom of Lacedspmon, took place about llul b.c. Before this, colonies had settled in iEtolia, and the Beeotian Thebes was a flourishing city. In 104-4, fresh colonies went out to Ionia; and a band of Greeks had established themselves on the southern shore of Italy, the germ of Magna Graecia, Apollonia, and other cities No. 153.— Vol. XIII.— June, 1S50. along the western coast of Greece, were founded by the Corinthi- ans, who carried witli them the sacred fire that, if extinguished, might only be rekindled at the holy altar of the mother state. Then follo'wed the foundation of Syracuse, Gela, and other Sicilian cities. Thus, the Hellenic race spread themselves not only oyer Greece, but in Asia Minor, the south of Italy, and Sicily; shedding over all these countries the light of that genius that seemed their birthright. A kind of rude Doric and Ionic already existed in Phojnicia, though not formed into those express ccmibinations that could claim the name of "Order." It is probable that the Greeks received their first ideas upon the art of building from that country; but, in the true artistic spirit, they so harmonised and fitted it to their peculiar habits, institutions, climate, and materials, as to have made it so completely their own that it is not worth while to wander in search of its birthplace: it may therefore be accepted, in its early forms as in its fullest development, as de facto Greek architecture. Nature seemed to have combined in that one spot of earth everything that could tend to the advancement of art, that man- kind might for once behold perfection. In no age or country has the training of youth so fully called forth the united physical and intellectual powers: the body was strengthened and invi- gorated by athletic exercises, and the mind enlarged and elevated by the sense of freedom, and a certain responsibility in the state. Equally removed from the severity of the north and the enervating tendencies of the tropics, the frame received elasticity and force, combined with softness and grace. The spirit of rivalry amongst the small states into which Greece was divided, leading to con- tests of skill in the Olympic and other games, and frequently to struggles of a less peaceful nature, kept their energies awake, and "forbade them to sink into the feebleness of repose. The influence of a serene and sunny climate, and a constant familiarity with the grand and beautiful scenes of nature, raised the imagina- tive faculty to the highest pitch. The Greek saw around him majestic mountains, sinking in picturesque declivities to the culti- vated plain below; the island-studded sea, reflecting in its pure depths the azure of the heavens; what wonder that he was haunted by beauty as with a spell, and strove to reproduce in art the ideas of sublimity and loveliness witli which he was inspired.^ Italy, from the same cause, has been the land of painting and of song: but the inexhaustible stores of marble inclosed within her moun- tains, seemed to denote that nature intended Greece to produce those transcendent works of architecture, and sculpture also, that have been a lesson to all successive ages. Tliere can be no doubt that construction in wood was the original type of Greek arcliitecture. From such an origin alone could that proper balance of thrust and resistance, that nice adjust- ment of parts, and accurate knowledge of strength and weight have arisen, that made building first a science and then an art. Though magnificent and gigantic edifices were erected in Egypt, India, and Assyria, it is undoubtedly the fact, that the wooden hut first led to those combinations that'produced "The Orders;" and Greece therefore pre-eminently claims our attention as our first mistress in the art, and Greek architecture as the parent of all succeeding styles. Though the wooden hut was the original type, we cannot imagine the log cabin of an indigent peasant to have been the imniediate precursor of a splendid stone edifice, fit to adorn a city; nor can the bringing to perfection the wooden model, nor the imitating it in stone, nor the establishment of the orders, be referred to any one individual, or single point of time. No art can be said to be invented, much less one so complicated as archi- tecture: its forms and proportions could only take their rise slowly from the bosom of time and experience. \Ve must sup- pose that the builders of the first cabin only raised such a struc- ture as would be necessary to shelter them from the inclemency of the weather, and were determined in the form by the nature of the materials at hand. The arid plains of the south and east were left behind with their scanty growth of palm and poplar; and dense forests were spread on all sides, offering a new and plentiful material to the ingenuity of the first settlers. They therefore hewed trees, and jdaced their trunks upright in the ground to support the roof, filling-in the intervals with intertwining branches made weather-proof with turf or mud; other trunks would then be laid horizontally upon the uprights, and covered over with boughs and rushes, or turf— and the primitive hut would be com- pleted. As the damp penetrated to their dwellings, they would find the necessity of laying a flooring of timber, and raising the roof by rafters meeting at an angle to throw off the ^jet. A hut so constructed would suffice for all the material wants of its occu- 23 178 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [June, pants. But as man becomes civilised, the love of the beautiful arises — his eye requires to be pleased, as well as his mere physical necessities provided for; and from this faculty of our nature the fine arts result. First, the bark would be stripped from the tree, and the trunks that were to serve as uprifrhts, rounded smooth. 'I'he beams would be squared, and a more efficient support given to them by square slabs placed upon the pillars. Amongst a rich and agricultural people, other improvements would gradually take place; and decoration would follow, until the wooden structure was perfected, with its stylobate, columns, entablature, and pedi- ment, adjusted to the nicest proportions tliat experience and taste could dictate. The poems of Homer inform us that the first temple at Delphi was of wood; and it is su))posed that the old Temple of .\eptune at Mantinea was constructed of the same material. After a time, as wealth and luxury increased, and more elaborate edifices were required, brick and stone began to replace the jirimitive materials; but, at first, only partially. We have seen that in the Etruscan temple, both stone and wood were used; and it is highly probable that this was the case, also, in the older Greek temples, as we read of so many being destroyed by fire. The second temple at Delphi, built by Agamedes and Trophonius, the Hecatompedon at Athens, and several others, shared this fate; a catastrophe which could scarcely have happened had they been, like the Parthenon, entirely of marble. Remains of construction in brick are also met with; though these, in a country abounding in stone, like Cireece, are rare. The walls of Mantinea are of crude brick. At Argos are vestiges of a temple of terra-cotta; and another example existed in a portico at Epidaurus. Even in building in wood, certain maxims must have impressed themselves on the minds of the first architects, such as that the heavy .should support the light, and the strong the feeble; that solidity should not only be real, but apparent; that nothing should be introduced, even in the way of ornament, without its seeming to arise from some necessity in the construction, as nothing can be beautiful that is not appropriate; and that all the parts and details should be subordinate to the whole. In course of time, as build- ings for different purposes were required, three orders, or distinct combinations, were formed, each differing from the others, and taking their rise from different ideas. The Doric, expressive of grandeur, strength, and solidity; the Ionic, of dignity combined with elegance and grace; and the Corinthian, of lightness and festive sumptuousness: and these ideas, notwithstanding the infi- nite modifications of which the orders are susceptible, were always kept distinct. As the original type of the wooden structure "is more closely adhered to in the Doric than in the other orders, it has been generally considered as the earliest; though there is no foundation for such a supposition. According to Vitruvius, the l>oric order was invented by Dorus, the son of Helen and the nymph Opticus, who governed the whole of the Peloponnesus, and dedicated a temple to Juno, in the city of Argos; and that this order of architecture was adopted by the cities of Achaia, and from its inventor received the name of Doric. But such a fabu- lous origin proves nothing beyond its antiquity; nor is a name any better guide— for instance, no vestige of the order called Corin- thian is found in Corinth, nor does the acanthus grow plentifully in its neighbourhood. A name is often given to a style long after its introduction, and arises sometimes from the country where it was most generally in use, sometimes from some artist by whom it was emljellished, or other fortuitous circumstance. Tlxe principal features of the Doric order are, the massive column springing direct from the stylobate, without base, and tapering considerably towards the capital; the bold ovolo, or echinus, and i)rojecting abacus with which the column is crowned; thesolid architrave,andenriched frieze, callingto mind the primitive forms from whicli it took its rise; and the cornice composed of tew but varied lines, — altogether forming a combination of un- equalled simplicity and grandeur. Vitruvius tells us that the first architects, in the absence of fixed proportions, bethought themselves of measuring the human figure: and, finding the length of the foot one-sixth tlie height of a full-grown man, they adopted this as the proportion, making the column six diameters high. This rule, however, is j)roved to be fallacious, by actual admeasurement of tlu! Cireek Doric, in the best examples of which the columns are not as much as six diame- ters in height. .Moreover, architecture di>es not imitate nature, but proceeds on the same principles as nature herself. In an organic structure there are certain proportions which are never overstejjped — certain adaptations of parts to a whole, which are always preserved; though, within these limits, there is perfect free- dom. Thus in a skeleton, if we see one bone, we can at once decide to what species it belongs; and yet the individuals of that species are so infinitely varied that no two are exactly alike. Thus worked the architects of Greece, in the secondary forms and proportions, adhering to no positive rule, but varying them according to the dictates of taste and judgment. Nor should this e.xcite our sur- prise; rules never produced a work of genius; they are the result — the effect, not the cause of such works. A great artist arises- his productions transcend all that has gone before, and at once command the suffrage of the public: they become an example — a rule. But let the student beware of imagining that, by exactly following such rules, he will achieve like results. As well might a painter take a chef d'aiuvre of Raflfaelle's, and say, by following such and such lines, and imitating such and such masses of light and shade, and combinations of colour, I shall produce a picture like this; or a musician fancy he could compose a symphony like one of Beethoven's by studying thorough base. The most that could result from such a course of study would be a cold correctness, that might not offend, but would utterly fail in commanding admi- ration. It was a saying of Michael Angelo's, "that the man who follows another is always behind; but he who boldly strikes into a different path, may climb as high as his competitor." Rules are valuable to repress exaggeration and extravagance — they serve to mark the limits beyond which grandeur and energy would be lost in clumsiness, or elegance and grace degenerate into poverty and weakness; but within these extremes the imagination may stray at will. Those who would make architecture nothing but a system of rules, would render it no longer an art, but a mere mechanical trade. In architecture, the constituent parts of ever)' structure, however vast and complicated, are composed of a few elementary forms; thus, the buildings of the Greeks may be divided into four principal parts — the platform, or stylobate; the columns, serving as supports; the entablature, connecting and resting upon these; and the pediment and roof, crowning the whole. The character of the order is not confined to one part, but is spread over all; but the column is the indicator and regulator: thus the names of the different orders are given to the supports, according to their style. Hence they are called Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian columns. It is impossible to assign any chronological order to the ancient edifices of Greece. Generally speaking, in the earlier examples, the column is more massive, with fewer flutings, and supporting a heavier entablature; hut this is by no means an infallible rule. Nor can we trace the rise of Greek architecture from progress to progress, as in other styles, for the temples of the remotest antiquity are as beautiful and complete as those of a later date. The hj'paethral Temple of Piestum is scarcely, if at all, inferior to the Parthenon itself. Indeed, Signor Lusieri (a great authority in matters of taste) con- sidered the Temple of Paestum as an example of a more correct and pure style; and thought that the Doric order there attained an excellence beyond which it never passed. He observed, "Not a stone has been placed there without some evident and important design; every part of the structure bespeaks its own essential utility." His opinion wasthe samewith respect to the ancient Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius, in .fligina: "Of such a nature," said he, "were works in architecture, when the whole aim of the architect was to unite grandeur with utility, the former being founded on the latter: all then was truth, strength and sublimity." It was not until the year 1743 that attention was drawn to the ruins of PiBstum. Though in the year 1675, Athens was visited by the Marquis de Nointel, Dr. Spon, Sir George AV'heler, and Mr. Ver- non, who all published the result of their researches, the architects of that day knew so little of the pure Greek Doric, that the tem- ples at Pajstum were for some years considered as unique; and in France this style was called the order of Pastum, and it was not until Messrs. Stuart and Revett went to Athens in 1751, that the beautiful remains of Greek architecture were made known to the public. When the ruins of Paestum were first examined, in the total absence of history or inscriptions, many speculations were afloat respecting their origin. Signor Paoli imagined them to be Etrus- can, because Pffistum, then called Phistu, was in existence before the Greek orders were known, Jason having offered libations there; but the Chevalier Boni very truly remarks, that such a tradition "only proves the antiquity of the place itself, not of everything it contains." Psestum was one of the earliest Greek set- tlements in Italy; and by them called Poseidonia. Mr. A^'ilkins, speaking of the hypa?thral temple (supposed to have been dedi- cated to the tutelary deity of the city, Poseidon, or Neptune), says, "The Grecian character is too strongly marked to admit of any argument, and must have been cot'val with the very earliest period 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 179 of the Grecian migration to the south of Italy. Low columns, with a great (liminution of the shaft, bold projecting capitals, a massive entablature, and triglyphs placed at the angles of the zophorus, are strong presumptive proofs of its antiquity." The pseudo-dipteral temple does not belong to a period of such correct taste; indeed, it has been supposed to be of Roman rather than Greek workmanship. The columns have a pecular capital — a row of small leaves encircle the neck, and turn over, as if supporting the lower fillet. These temples are built of a kind of stalactite, of the same nature as the travertine, formed by a calcareous deposit. The Temple of .^gesta, or Segesta, in Sicily, is another ancient example of the Doric; it is, I believe, the only instance in which the columns were unfluted. In several ruins, the columns would appear at first sight to be plain; but the Greeks did not work the flutings till after the column was raised, the channels under the capital, and at the base, being previously marked to serve as a guide to the workmen. In some instances the columns were left unfinished; though the above-mentioned marks may still be de- tected. In the ruins of the Temple of Apollo Didyma?us, near Miletus, there are two fluted columns yet standing, and one plain; but with the channels marked above and below. There is a wide interval of time between the building of the hypcethral temple at Paestum, and that of Jupiter at Agrigentum, which was left unfinished at the time of the destruction of the city by the Car- thaginians, 405 B.C. Nevertheless, no great difference is apparent in the style, only that diversity of proportion and detail which is always seen in Greek architecture. It was said of the Agrigen- tines, that they pursued pleasure as if they had only a day to live; and built as if they were never to die. The gigantic proportions of the Temple of Jupiter brings this saying to mind, the lower diameter of the columns being 12ft. ll-7in., and their height 63 ft. 4'6 in. According to Diodorus, a man could stand in each fluting. There were three other considerable temples at Agrigen- tum, and several at Selinunte, another ancient Greek town in Sicily. All these temples were of the Doric order, and yet not two precisely similar; showing that the same design was never repeated even in one city. In the Temple of Neptune at Pa?stuni, the columns are only four diameters in height; those of the old temple at Corinth bear the same proportion. The columns of the Temple of Theseus in Athens, were rather more than 5 diameters high; of the Parthenon, nearly 5^; of Jupiter at Agrigentum, 5 diameters; in the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Basss, the columns are rather more than 5^ diameters high; and as we ap- proach a later and less correct age, the proportions are still moi-e slender. In the Portico of Philip at Delos, the columns ai-e Oj diameters in height. It does not appear that the entasis was used in the more ancient examples; indeed, it would naturally be one of the last refine- ments of art. The columns of the Temple of Neptune at Paestum, have been proved to be without entasis, though not always so represented. Paestum, since its desertion, has become a perfect marsh; and the damp eating away the stone at the lower part of the column, has given them the effect of swelling in the middle. The column, in the ancient Doric, appearing to diminish too rapidly, would cause some architects to endeavour to remedy this defect. This was done by slightly increasing the diameter to- wards the middle of the column, though always keeping it within the lower diameter. This swelling out, called by the Greeks "entasis," should not be visible, being only intended to give the effect of a gradual diminution. JMr. Cockerell was the first to discover the entasis in the columns of the Pai-thenon. In a de- generate age, this refinement was exaggerated, as in the pseudo- dipteral temple at Paestum; and thus became a defect instead of an additional beauty. The number and manner of the flutings in the Doric shaft varied considerably. There is a ruin of a Temple of Apollo Thearius at Troezen, in Argolis, the columns of which have eight plain sides. In the Portico of Philip at Delos, the upper part of the shaft is fluted; while the faces are plain towards the lower dia- meter. In a Doric temple at Orchomenus, in Arcadia, the columns have 18 flutings; in the ancient temple at Corinth, 20; and in the Temple of Neptune, Paestum, 24. The flutings in this order are shallow and meet at an edge, without intervening fillet. The custom of fluting the shaft has never been satisfactorily traced to an origin, some supposing it to have arisen from the grooves formed in wooden pillars by the water trickling down; other from the stalks of plants; and others, again, from observing the fluted shell common on the coast of Greece. Probably, the columns were in the first instance polygonal, the channelling being a subsequent improvement. The simple abacus of the Doric order is a representation of the primitive square block, placed on the pillar for the better security of the beam. The echinus or ovolo would result from bevelling off the abacus to meet the shaft; such a capital was found in an Etruscan tomb at Bomazzo. The ovolo afterwards became a separate member, and was quirked under the abacus, and moulded into a more elegant form, by increasing taste. The profile of the Doric capital varies in each building, the form of the ovolo depending upon its depth and the projection of the abacus, the general proportion of the latter being to the lower diameter, as 1'25 to 1. The ovolo is united to the hypotrachelium, or neck, by several fillets, varying in number from three to five. In some examples they are omitted; but these are rare. The same variety is seen in the number of annulets encircling the neck of the shaft. In the Temple of Neptune there are three; in the Par- thenon one; and in other instances the flutings are continued up to the fillets, without interruption. The intercolumniations in the Doric order are narrow, adding to the general character of grandeur and solidity. One diameter is the general proportion, but in some examples they are 1^; and in an ancient temple in Sicily, less than one diameter. The Doric entablature is massive and simple, and divided into few parts, the proportion being nearly two diameters in height. The architrave or epistylium is plain, with the exception of the guttfe. In most of the Greek buildings, the architrave, instead of being even with the upper diameter of the shaft, projects so as to be nearly on a line with the lower diameter; but to prevent this superincumbent weight from crushing the projecting part of the abacus, there is a slight space left at the outer edge, which throws the weight on the centre of the capital, and at the same time gives greater distinctness of outline. The frieze is the only part en- riched, though the decoration strictly recalls the primitive type. The woid "frieze" is derived from the Italian /(•«;iV>, ornament, which is taken from the Latin phrygius, embroidery. The Greeks and Romans gave this member the name of zophorus, or figure- bearing. The triglyphs represent the ends of the joists resting upon the beam. It was the custom, anciently, to lay these joists upon the tie-beam, of such a length as to project considerably beyond the external face of the wall, as may be seen in the Etrus- can temples. In later times, to improve the appearance, the ends were cut away even with the beams. It is supposed that the three glyphs or grooves are traditional, and that such notches were cut in the ends of the joists to allow the water to run off; the drops hanging below being represented by the guttae. Others think the triglyph was originally a mere ornament: to conceal the ends of the joists in wooden buildings, we are told the ancients used to cover them with blue wax, by way of decoration. In some examples the triglyphs are not carved on the block of the frieze, but on a separate slab of stone fastened on. The Greeks always placed triglyphs at the angles of the frieze; this was probably done, to present the subjects carved on the metopae in an uninter- rupted series. To obviate the difficulty of the end metope being thrown out of pro]>ortion, the end triglyphs were slightly enlarged, or the inter- columniation at the angle naiTowed; an example of this last method is seen the Temple of Theseus at Athens. The guttaj were either rectangular or conical; or, as is univer- sally the case in Sicily, cylindrical. They were always six in number. In ancient times the metopse were open spaces between the triglyphs. This is mentioned in a passage of Euripides, ivhere Orestes and Pylades are concerting a plan for carrying off the image from the Temple of Diana. Pylades recommends his friend to creep through the opening between the triglyphs, and so gain access to the interior of the temple. The spaces were afterwards filled-in with slabs; and lastly, the metop;e were enriched with bas-reliefs, the subject being always appropriate to the service of the temple. The cornice of the Doric order is bold and simple : its charac- teristic is the mutule, representing the ends of the rafters com- posing the roof. The mutule was decorated with three rows of gutta?, six in each row. The mutules were never repeated along the cornice of the pediment, as in some modern examples: the Greeks had too much taste to represent in sculjiture what could not have existed in reality. In the Temple of Neptune at Paestum, and that of Jupiter Panhellenius in JEgina, the upper member of the cornice is a cavetto. In many other temples it is an ovolo. The cyma was not an integral portion of the early Doric; indeed, it is not sup- posed to have become an established part of the order until after 25* 180 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [June, the ape of Alexander the Great; where tlie cyma is introduced, as in the Teniple of Apollo Kpicurius, it is (renerally enriched. The Doric pediment was slightly less elevated than in the other orders, giving it a graver cliaracter; the tympanum was sufficiently deep to allow of statues being placed within. Thus every part of the Doric order was calculated to impress the idea of strength, sub- limity, and energ'y; not only by the massiveness of its propoi-tions and the simplicity of its details, but by the boldness of relief given to all its mouldings and ornaments — adding, by deep masses of light and shade, to force and grandeur of outline. It is quite as impossible to trace the history of the Ionic as of the Doric order; but we have no reason to sup]>ose it of a less ancient date. As before mentioned, ^'itruvius informs us that the proportions of the human figure were adopted, the Doric repre- senting the manly stature, and being employeil in erecting temples to the gods. But, he adds, the lonians now wished to dedicate a temjile to Diana, and sought to invetit a new order in her honour. This they did by giving the column the proportion of the female figure, that it might be emblematical of feminine delicacy; so the columns were made eight diameters high, and had bases given to them in imitation of sandals. The volutes represented the ringlets on either side the face, and the llutings the folds of the garment falling to the feet; they thus presented the likeness of a woman richly adorned. This account is evidently more fanciful than correct. Other authors think the Tonic order may have been borrowed from India or Persia; and other more imaginative writers have fancied a resemblance to the volute in the curling bark of the first rude wooden pillar. The idea of the volutes being imitated from the horns of goats or rams appears much the most probable. Altars were erected to the gods long before temples were thought of. These altais were usually decorated with, and sometimes wholly composed of, the skulls and horns of the animals slain in sacrifice; and as far back as history leads us, the ancients built their altars with horns at the corners. ''The horns of the altar" is an expression frequently met with in the sacred writings; thus, in Exodus xxxviii. 1, 5. "And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood;" "and he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it:" and in the 1st Kings, ii. 28: '"And Joab fled into the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold on the horns of the altar." The use of these horns is explained in I'salms, cxviii. 27, where the psalmist exclaims, "Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar." When temples were erected, these horns might very jirobably have been represented as ornaments on the capitals of the columns. Hermogenes of Alabanda, and his colleagues, who were em- ployed in the restoration of the temples of Asia Minor after the Persian invasion, brought the Ionic order to great perfection. They maintained that the Doric was unfit for temples; and from this time the Ionic order prevailed as exclusively in Asia .Minor as the Doric in Magna Grtecia. In the latter country the Doric may have become sacred from association, recalling the mode of con- struction of the mother country; but in Asia Minor, where the wooden dwellings were still in use, and where they have con- tinued even to the present day (the huts of the peasantry still showing the primitive type), this order may have become too familiar to be associated with the service of the temple; and the volutes having a religious origin, the Ionic would consequently be ])referred. Though the Ionic always retains its distinctive characteristics, it varies in detail quite as much as the Doric. In this order, expressive of grace and elegance, the parts are multiplied — a base is given to the column; the shaft is made more slender; the dimi- nution from base to capital less; the number of flutings is increased (the best e.\-amples having twenty- four), tliey are also divided by a fillet, and channelled to a greater depth ; the architrave is composed of three bands or fascia?; the ornaments on the frieze, recalling the wooden structure, are suppressed; the denticulus replaces the Doric mutule; and each member and moulding is made more delicate in outline, as well as more elaljorate in decoration. 'J'he Ionic does not apjiear at first to have been so distinct an order: several instances exist, especially in Sicily, of Ionic columns with a Doric frieze; these are supposed to be very ancient. The earliest mention of the Ionic order, is met with in I'ausanias, where he describes the Treasury at Olympia, erected liy Myron the Tyrant of Sicyoii, about 650 B.C., as having two chambers, one Doric, the other Ionic. Next follow the Temple of Diana at J>])hesus, and the lleraion or Temple of Juno at Sanios: of the first, we have nothing left but vague description; Herodotus mentions the latter as being one of the most stupendous edifices built by the Greeks, and was completed about 5i<) b.c. The small Ionic Temple on the Ilissus is one of the most ancient the ruins of which still exist; the columns are only eiirht diameters in height, the upper torus of the base is fluted, and like that of Juno at Samos, the lower torus rests upon the stylobate without intervening plinth. T he capital is simjjle hut elegant, the lower band has a gr.iceful curve between the volutes, and the channels have a double border. The entablature is two dh'mtters in height; the arhitrave is plain without the usual fascis; the denticulus is also omitted. The frieze is supposed to have been originally decorated with bas-reliefs. ^\'e learn from Pausanias, that on the opposite side of the Ilissus stood an Ionic temple dedicated to Eucleia, or illustrious Fame. On the very sjiot described, a singular Ionic capital has been fouud built into the wall of a modern edifice: no doubt this capital belonged to the "naos of Eucleia." The upper diameter of the shaft is 1 ft. 1'65 in.; a star-like flower occupies the centre of each volute: the lower band instead of forming a continuous curve between the volutes, turns up again, each side terminating in a flower and two tendrails. Another flower is carved in the centre of the capital. As far as we know it is unique, and probably of very early date. In the celebrated Temple of Bacchus at Teos, built by Hermogenes, the columns are S^ diameters high, and of the two porticoes of the Erechtheion, tlxise of the northern or Minerva Polias are 9, and those of the eastern portico 9A diameters in height. In another often-cited example, the Temple of Minerva Polias, at Priene, not one column remains entire; it is therefore impossible to ascertain the e.xact elevation. The bases and capitals vary in each example. In the Temple of Bacchus, the Athenian base is seen ; in that of .Minerva at Priene, the Ionian: both these are proper to the order. The Athenian consists of two tori, with a scotia between, separated by small fillets. The Ionian of two scotiae, with two astragals both above and belo%v, as well as between them; over all is a large overhanging torus. This produces the unpleasant effect of being weak, and liable to snap below the heavy torus. According to Pliny, the Ionian base was first introduced in the Temple of ^Minerva at Priene, and as this temple was completed and dedicated by .\lexander the Great, it belongs to a period when Greek art had already begun to decline, when a minute attention to detail had taken the place of general boldness of design. In the capit;ils of the Temple of Bacchus the channel connecting the two volutes has no border on the lower edge, but terminates in a horizontal line tangent to the commencement of the second revolution of each volute. The Ionic order is found in its most elaborate aad beautiful form in the double temple called the Erechtheion at Athens; but as this buildinj,'- will be described at length in another place, it is not necessary to give it further mention here. In the Greek Ionic, the volutes present a flat face on the two opposite sides of the capital, the flanks or balusters being generally formed like two cones, united in the centre by an ornamented band or fillet. In tlie angular columns the volutes are contrived to present the same face in flank as in front, and the returns are likewise placed at right angles instead of on opposite sides. The third and most sumptuous order, the Corinthian, is more slender in its proportions tlian either the Doric or Ionic, "with an intention," according to Vitruvius, "to make the form of the column accord with the more delicate pro)iortions of the maiden figure." The invention of this order has been given to C'alli- machus, and the following pretty story is related by Vitruvius, as giving rise to the idea: — A Corinthian virgin, who was of marriageable age, fell a victim to a viident disorder; after her interment, her nurse, collecting in a basket those articles to which she had shown a partiality when alive, carried them to her tomb, and placed a tile in the basket for the longer preservation of its contents. The basket was accidentally placed on the root of an acanthus plant, wliich, pressed by the weight, shot forth towards spring its stems and large foliage, and in the course of its growth reached the angles of the tile, and thus formed the volutes at the extremities. Callimachus, happening at this time to pass by the tomb, observed the basket and the delicacy of the foliage which surrounded it. Pleased with the form and novelty of the combina- tion he took the hint for inventing these columns, using them in the country about Corinth." The merit to which Callimaclius can really lay claim is to have fixed and determined the proportions of the Corinthian order more leso. THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHTIECTS JOURNAL. 181 accurately than it had been done before. The distinguishing feature of this order is the bell-shaped capital, ornamented with foliage, a form repeated in endless diversity amongst the Egyptians more than 1000 years before the time of Callimachus; and Josephus tells us that the roof of the Hall of Justice in Solomon's Palace was supported by pillars of the Corinthian order. The bell-shaped capital from its height, and its capability of being highly ornamented, is particularly suitable to an order intended to surpass .all others in richness and lightness of effect, and the difference between the Egyptian lotus flower capital and the Greek Corinthian, is no more than would result from its adapta- tion by a people of taste and genius. The following proportions are laid down by Vitruvius for the Corinthian capital: — "The height including the abacus is equal to the lower diameter of the columns, and the diagonal line, drawn from the opposite angles of the abacus, is twice the height of the capital. All the fronts of the abacus are of ecjual extent, and are made concave, the central point in each front receding ^th part of the extent comprehended between the angles. The diameter of the capital at its base is the same as that of the columns below the astragal and apothesis. The depth of the abacus is |th part of the whole height of the capital, the remainder is equally divided into three parts, one of which is occupied by the lower leaf, the second is given to the middle leaf, and an equal space remains for the cauliculi, whence those leaves shoot which projecting forwards appear to support the volutes. The volutes spring from the leaves of the cauliculi, and extend to the angles of the abacus: the lesser helices are carved in the middle of the capital below the flowers in the abacus, and are made as large as the height of it wiU admit." How little these rules are applicable to the generality of Greek Corinthian capitals may be seen by referring to the two most perfect examples now remaining — the capital of the Choragic monument of Lysicrates, and that of the Tower of the Winds, both in Athens.* If the rule always held good that the simple precedes the elaborate, we should ascribe to the latter the earliest date; but that is not the fact. The most ancient known example of Greek Corinthian is a column in the interior of the Temple of Apollo Didymaeus, built by Pfeonius, 479 B.C. The Choragic monument of Lysicrates was not erected till the year 355 b.c. In this capital the lowest row consists of plain water leaves; then follows a row of acanthus, with flowers between the leaves; above these are the cauliculi with large bold volutes, supporting the abacus. One great singularity in these columns is that the flutings of the shafts terminate above in leaves. It has been supposed that the vacancy left between the shafts and the capital was originally occupied by a metal astragal. The Tower of the Winds at Athens, dates 139 B.C., but the beautiful curve of the bending water leaves, and the exquisite forms of the acanthus, mark this capital as a work of pure Greek art. A similar capital was found among the ruins of the Boeotian Thebes, and another in the island of Milo has two rows of acanthus below the water leaves. The Temple of Jupiter Olympius at Athens is generally cited as an example of the Greek Corinthian in its most perfect form, difl^ering but slightly from the rules of Vitruvius; but it is doubtful whether either this temple, or that of Jackly, near Alylasa, can be said to be purely Greek. The Greeks never applied the Corinthian order to the exterior of sacred buildings, but confined it strictly to structures of a light and ornamental character, and to interior decoration. There are instances where the Ionic order has been employed in the interior of Doric temples, of one Corinthian column being placed at the end of the cella, as if to continue the gradation: this was the case in the Temple of Apollo Didymjsus, and in that of Apollo Epicurius at Bassje. Though the Temple of Jupiter Olympius was originally com- menced by Pisistratus, and for a time continued by his sons, it was left a mere foundation until the time of .\ntiochus Epiphanes, 4-00 years afterwards. We have no proof that it was originally intended by Pisistratus to be of the Corinthian order, nor is it likely that he should in that age have so far violated the feelings and customs of the Greeks, as to have dedicated that light and festive order to the supreme divinity; besides, Pisistratus died in the year 527 b.c, and Callimachus, who at any rate is allow ed to have perfected the Corinthian, and given it those proportions so justly admired, lived at the end of the Peloponnesian war, which terminated 404 b.c: so that it is difficult to believe that tlie capitals of these columns were designed more than a century previous to its existence, particularly when we compare them with * See Stuart aod Berell. those of the C:horagic monument. ^Vhen Antiochus Epiphanes undertook the construction of this magnificent edifice, he employed a Roman of the name of Cossutius, the first Italian architect on record: it was still however left unfinished, and was partly destroyed by Scylla, and at last restored and completed by the Emperor Hadrian, 700 years after its first foundation. The Temple at Jackly is open to the same objection, being also of the time of Roman domination, when Roman taste had already begun to prevail over the pure and severe style of the Greeks. The Corinthian order is suscejitibleof great diversity — the shaft may either be plain or fluted; the .\tticbase is usually employed. The upper torus is sometimes doubled, as in several examples in Asia .Minor; the tori are generally enriched with the guilloche or other ornament. The Corinthian entablature has nearly the same pro- portions as the Ionic, and, like this order, the frieze may either he jilain or elaborately adorned. The distinguishing feature of the Corinthian cornice is the modillion; but from the before-mentioned scarcity of examples of this order in Greece, it will be described more at length in treating of the architecture of Rome. I have now endeavoured to sketch the portraits of the "Three Orders," as they were practised in Greece; in my next lecture I propose to take a survey of Athens, as a type of an ancient Greek city, and as the principal school of art. I shall then proceed to describe the temples, theatres, and other principal edifices of Greece, showing the manner in which the orders were applied. LIST OF AUTHORITIES. Vitruvius.— Antiquities of Athens, Sluart and Revstt. — Antiquities of Ionia, Dilettanti Society.— Anticjiiities of M.igiia Giaicia. Willtins.— An Inquiry into llie Piincijilcs of Beaulv.LoM Aberdeen.— Ku'^vclopEeilia Methodiqtie, G, deQuincy. — Arthitettura Ant ca, Canina.— Tour in Greece. Dr. Wordsnortli.— Travels in Greece, Clarke,— Travils m Greece, Chandler.- Hialory ol Greece, Grote. REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO THE APPLICATION OF IRON TO RAILWAY STRUCTURES. (Continued from page 116.) We owe some apology to our readers for delay in noticing the admirable series of experiments instituted by the " Iron Commis- sion," to illustrate the effects of loads travelling along girders. The experiments may be divided into two classes— those performed at Portsmouth by Captain Jamks and Lieutenant Galton, and those performed subsequently and independently by Professor Willis at Cambridge. In both sets of experiments the principal characteristics were the rapid transit of loaded carriages over horizontal bars, and the method of producing the velocity of transit by causing the carriages previously to descend an inclined plane by the accelerating force of gravity. The loaded carriages ran on a railway on the inclined plane, and the oblique descending motion was converted gradually into a horizontal one by connecting the inclined and borizoiittil portions of the railway by curved rails, which avoided the abrtipt- ness of transition from oiie straight line of rail to another. The motion of the carriage, then, previously to its reaching the beam to be deflected, is horizontal, and therefore comes on the beam under circumstances precisely analogous to those under which a railway train in practice passes over a bridge. And yet the absurd speculations which have been hazarded (m this point ! ^V'e have heard— but sincerely trust that our information is incorrect— of quasi-philosophers undertaking to gravely, even publicly, criticise the method of exjierimciit on this ground — that previously to coming on the beam the experimental carriage had acquireil, by its motion on the incline, a downward tendency or momentum, uhirli might have been the real cause of the increase of defection of the girder .' .' ■ , i There is something almost ludicrous, if it were not very pitiable, in the fact that Professor AVillis has had to defend himself against such cavillers as these — men, too, possessing some name and autho- rity. What can be said to clear up such a hopeless confusion of ideas ? It would be idle to answer, that after the motion ot the carriage has become horizontal, it is perfectly unaffeetetl by aiiy motion which it had a minute or a twelvemonth previously. \\ e had, on commencing this paper, some idea of endeavouring to arn-ue the point seriousl)-, but further reflection shows the hope- lessness of the attempt. All that can lie done is to lament the prevalent ignorance of sound dynamical principles uhich such i 182 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, [June, melancholy exhibition indicates. Engineers incur most serious responsibilities in providinf; for the security of railway travellinf^, which are faithfully discharged by those only who possess sound and scientific knowledge of mechanics— not by those who content themselves with the inaccurate undigested notions which they call practicul knowledge. Until such discussions as that above referred to, have ceased, there will be always a well-grounded apprehension that the assumption of scientific rank is a mere cloak of quackery, enijjincsrn, and presumptuous incompetence. Of the two series of experiments upon the dynamical deflection ot girders, those conducted at Cambridge by Professor Willis must be considered the most effectual for the discovery of the mechanical laws of this subject. It is not always the most direct experiments which are the most conclusive. Indeed, the great art 1 .^■'fI'""'>efiti'iS consists in abstracting various incidental causes which have no real bearing on the question at issue, but tend merely to comiilicate the results from which laws are to be in- terred. Of course tliis abstraction of incidental circumstances, which are ot real occurrence in practice, must be made cautiously and on scientific principles. Unless it be conclusively shown that the causes abstracted are immaterial, an essential link is wanting in the chain of argument deduced from the experimental results. In the experiments at Portsmouth the carriage travelled over two trial bars at once; in the Cambridge experiments over only one bar at a time. In the former series, the load during its transit always pressed on two points of each bar at once; in the latter series only on one point. Now, the simultaneous employment of two bars introduces this difficulty— that, because it is impossible to have both exactly of the same rigidity, one will be deflected in a thtterent way to the other; consequently there will be, durincr the transit, a rucking or lateral oscillation of the carriage, which unduly affects the observed deflections. Again, if two wheels of a tour-wheeled carriage press at once on one bar— the bar being 9 feet long, and the axles of the wheels nearly 3 feet apart— tlierS IS an inevitable complexity. For at the commencement of the experiment only the fore wheels, at the end of the experiment only the hind wheels, press on the bars— part of the load being at those tjmes borne by the permanent railway beyond the bars: also the theoretical computation of the curves of deflection, on the suppo- sition of a simultaneous pressure on two points of the trial, would be of the most embarrassing nature. Consequently, it ivould be a J but hopeless to attempt an exact comparison betw'een the results of the Portsmouth e.xperiments and the corresponding results of Nevertheless, the series of experiments carried on by Captain James and Lieutenant Galto.v were very valuable in themselves— tor they exhibited distinctly the effect of the inertia of the beam in resisting its dynamical deflection. It was shown in the number of ihis. . Journal iw September 1848, in the paper on The D,/,iamical Defleetim and Strain of Rnilway Girders, by Mr. Homersham Cox that wnen the inertia of the load and bridge respectively bear anything like the proportions observed in practice, the increase of deflection due to the ordinary velocities of the load is inconsider- fthle. iiut in the experiments at Portsmouth the dynamical deflec- tions greatly exceeded the statical. The results were, indeed of a nature to surprise those who had not maturely considered the whole question; but this apparent contradiction of the daily experience Of railway travelling ceased when it was reflected that the trial bars were purposely made very light, so that their deflections might be large and easily observed. The relation between the sustainTn.^ and moving masses entirely differed from practical proportions- jind the beam possessed so little resistance of inertia (to adopt loose jihraseology) as to be susceptible, in an e.xcessive degree, of dynamical influence. o "="=? In the experiments conducted by Professor Willis, several efnements were introduced, and a beautiful mechanical con- he Xtf-"''/'^'^'' 'T '"";' -"'"."^ *'"^«'l' ^*''t'' g'-e^'t precision, the effects of inertia, and explained " the great and startl ng incre- ments of the deflection" above referred to. The contrivaniehi question was termed by the Professor the In.rtial BaZce Themechanism of the Inertial Balance consisted of a loaded lever neued by other multiplying levers with the centre of the trial bar- so that for a slight deflection of the bar the loaded lever must neces' sarily turn through a considerable angle. Now, it is apparent tlrU by this contrivance the inertia of the beam was increased but not its elastic strength. For as the balance was poised, it could have no s atical effect, except that due to friction of pivots; and acceptin.^ tlie friction as inconsiderable, a weight at rest on the trial ba? would produce the same deflection whether the balance were applied or not. But though the statical strength of the trial bar remained unaffected, its dynamical strength might be increased ad lihtum; the moment of inertia of the loaded balance was easily comparable by known theorems of mechanics, with the effect o'f the simple addition of increased mass at the centre of the bar such mass acting by its inertia only, and not by its gravity. The balance was provided with two shifting " bobs,"' of equal weight which, as they were always placed at equal distances from tiie fulcrum, counteracted each other's weight, but increased at pleasure the moment of inertia. It would require too much space to describe all the other refined and ingenious contrivances which were applied by Professor Willis to secure the correct registration of the results. We must refer to the Report itself for an account of his methods of determining precisely the velocity of transit, and of applying tracing pencUs at different points of the trial bar, so as to show the simultaneous deflections at those points during the whole transit. We have no little gi-atification in finding that the practical results, deduced by the combination of his labours with the beautiful investigations of Professor Stokes, agree identically with those predicted in this Journal two years and a half ago, in' the paper on The Dynamical Deflection of Girders. In the ' Cambridge Transac- tions for the year 184.9, Professor Stokes, after giving an analytical series for expressing the relation of the dynamical to the statical deflection, in terms of a quantity 0, expressing the effect of centri- fugal force, adds, "In practical cases this series is reduced to 1 +"6 • The latter term is the same as would be got by taking into account the centrifugal force, and substituting in the small term involving that force the radius of curvature of the equilibrium trajectory for the radius of curvature of the actual trajectory. The problem has been already considered in this manner by others by whom it has been attacked." The method here explained is pre- cisely that which was given in this Journal, which contained the only other investigation of the problem published. Professor Willis also gives numerical results for comparing the two kinds of deflection, which agree exactly with our own, except that he has given the ratios in decimals which we gave as vuVar fractions. " Both Professors M^illis and Stokes object, however, to one conclusion in the "able paper by ilr. Cox." In the 'Cambridge Transactions,' Mr. Stokes s liberality of feeling towards other labourers in the fields of science, induces him to speak of the paper as one in which "the subject is treated in a very striking and original manner;" but he adds, that "among the sources of labour- ing force which can be employed in deflecting the bridge, Mr. Cox has omitted to consider the vis viea arising from the horizontal motion of the body:" and proceeds to show that taking the horizontal acceleration into account, it is theoretically possible that the deflection may be under certain circumstances more than double that which could be maintained statically. Of this theoretical truth there can be no dispute, nor of the accuracy of the argument alleged in its support. A single observa- tion however will be sufficient to remove the apparent discrepancy between the two independent investigations. That of Professor Stokes treated the subject in all its theoretical generality with the aid of all his analytical powers, and was addressed to a mathematical audience. The investigation of Mr. Cox was intended for practical engineers, and therefore regarded the subject with those limita- tions respecting the inertia of the beam which practice imposes. When these limitations are introduced, the results of both papers are identical. The opinion of Professor AV'illis is conclusive on this point: speaking of the paper in this Journal, he says:— "The author has employed methods of approximation which, although they have not apparently vitiated his results as far as real bridges are concerned, would cause tliem to fail utterly if applied to the interpretation of experiments such as those contained in the present volume."— That is, experiments in which the ratios of the mass of the beam and load altogether differ from those ordinarily adopted. Moreover, it is to be observed that the object of the paper in this Journal was the discussion of the deflection of the girder at the centre; and for that point the conclusions of the paper still holds, even when the additional consideration of horizontal ac- celeration is introduced. The observations are made not merely from personal feeling — for tliat would be amply gratified by the acknowledgment made of our labours — but also to show how materially the whole question is affected by the relation of the moving and' sustaining masses. 1850.J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 183 Among the experiments in Portsmoutli Dockyard we find a series for determining the deflection of bars, subjected to the "sudden application of weight without impact;" and another series for deter- mining "the effects of a camber or upward convexity of the beam." Both these series, though tlie fact is not alluded to in the Report, were suggested in this Journal, by the paper above referred to, in the sections discussing the effects of instantaneous loading and the effects of centrifugal force: the experimental results amply confirm the conclusions arrived at in the paper. The whole question of the dynamical deflection of girders must now be considered as set at rest. It is quite obvious that a thousand circumstances occur in practice which would vitiate all theoretical conclusions as to the very minute quantity which the excess of dynamical over statical deflection is shown to be. A very slight original curvature of the beam, its imperfect elasticity, a bad joint of the rails, the pulse of the engine even, would set all mathematics at defiance. However, a great service has been rendered by the investigation; the value of the result is in nowise diminished because it "shows the eftects of velocity to be incon- siderable. Next to security, the most important requirement of raihvay travelling is a conviction of security. It is the reasonable- ness of such a conviction, long ago demonstrated in these pages, which the admirable labours of I'rofessors Stokes and Willis, Captain James and Lieutenant Galton, have elucidated by means of experimental induction. SUPPLY OF WATER TO THE METROPOLIS. On the means of Supplying the Metropolis with Pure Water and in am])le quantity. By Mr. Joun Pvm. — (Paper read at the Society of Arts.) The author commenced by stating that the water supply of the metropolis is derived from three sources: — the New River, the Thames, and the Lea; wells sunk to different depths in the London clay, sand, and gravel; and Artesian wells. Of the water thus obtained, that from the Thames is impure, that of the New River almost as bad for a great part of the year, whilst many of the wells, being impregnated by drainage from burial-grounds or sewers, yield water of a decidedly pernicious quality. Artesian wells, that is, wells sunk through the London clay into the chalk, produce excellent water; but only of limited quantity, the supply failing in dry w eather, and being seriously affected if a deeper well be sunk in the neighbourhood: indeed, it appears certain, that if all the water lying in the chalk of the London basin could be brought to the surface, it would fall short in quantity of that required. The question which the author proposes is, how to obtain a suffi- cient supply through the medium of these wells; and his plan is as follows: — At a given distance from the Thames, on each side thereof, to sink down to the chalk a series of shafts, and form a short canal from the mouth of each shaft to the bank of the river, at such a level that when the tide is at a given height, the water will flow into the shafts; whereby an immense supply would, twice a day, be given to the chalk basin. Other shafts are to be sunk at small distances from the former ones, up which the filtered water would rise, as into inverted syphons, till near the level of the Thames; and from these ascending-shafts it should be dis- tributed by steam-power. By this plan, the chalk stratum of the London Basin, extending from Highgate to Forest Hill, would be converted into a large filter. A shaft of the diameter of those of the Thames Tunnel would probably filter a quantity of water equal to that supplied by the New River. The shafts might be con- verted into preparatory filter-beds by filling them with sand and gravel. The author considers that the water being thus quickly filtered through the chalk, would not become so impregnated with lime as the water usually got from Artesian wells, which has lain in it for a length of time. This plan would allow of the existing mains, pipes, &c., of the water companies being used as before. The author stated, as an example of the absorbing properties of the chalk, that farmers, on or near the outcrop of the chalk, frequently sunk shallow wells, which served as drains and removed a large portion of useless surface water. It was stated that the water from the Artesian wells contains three times the amount of chemical impurities of any of the waters from the streams around London: the water of the Lea contains twelve grains of lime to the gallon; but the water from Artesian wells, in addition to lime, contains sulphate and muriate of soda, &c. THE BARROW MONUMENT, ULVERSTON. This interesting testimonial to the late Sib John Barrow has just been commenced in the immediate neighbourhood of his birth- place— Dragley Beck, near Ulverston. A public subscription was raised for the purpose, amounting to upwards of 1000/., and the whole is erected under the auspices of the Board of Admiralty. The type of the memorial, as will be seen in the elevation and sec- tion given in our next page, is to be found in the well-known Eddy- stone Lighthouse, and, like that stately beacon, it will be a highly serviceable sea-mark in the difficult and dangerous navigation of Morecambe Bay. The i)lan of the building i« circular, about 4-5 ft. diameter at the base, and tapering gracefully to a lantern, 12 feet diameter, and finished by a dome. The extreme height is 100 feet. For the substantial walling the material used is known as "Trap" stone; the facings, &c. of Birkrigg limestone. A seat will encircle the foot of the tower at the exterior, and the various levels of the interior will be reached by a geometrical staircase. The highest room is intended for an observatory, and will be so constructed that it may at anv time be easily converted into a lighthouse. The first stone was'laid on the 15th inst. by Sir George Barrow (of the Admiralty), assisted by his brother, Mr. John Barrow, in the presence of a vast concourse of spectators. The design and super- intendence are committed to Mr. Andrew Trimen, architect, of the Adelphi; and the contractors are Messrs. Smith and Appleford, also of London. Plan A. From the elevated position of the monument it will be con- spicuous on all sides for a considerable distance. It has been ascertained that an unobstructed view of one of the finest bays in Europe, the Bay of Morecambe, from Green Odd round to the entrance of the Duddon, will be gained from the observatory of the Tower, with the exception of only about 1200 yards, which will be obscured by the highest point of Birkrigg. It also over- looks the Isle of Man, and the coast of Wales from Liverpool to Anglesea. The ceremony was attended by every token of rejoicing; and a sumptuous dinner closed the festivities of the occasion. 184 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. LJUNE, ELEVATION. SECTION. THE BARROW MONUMENT, ULV^ERSTON, LANCASHIRE. JIR. ANDHEVV TRIMEN, ARCHITECT, LONDON. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 185 PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF GYPSUM. On the Peculiar and Distinctive Character of the Gypsum fourul near Paris, and its Preparation and ippliciition as a Plaster. By Geokge R. Bur.vell, C.E. — (Paper read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, April 8th.) Amongst tl»e local advantag^es enjoyed hy our professional brethren of the French capital, that afforded hy the unlimited supply of a very superior description of plaster may he ranked as one of the most important. The facilities afforded hy the railway, and steamboat, transit having at length put us (to a certain extent) upon a footing of equality in this matter with them, it becomes important to examine the nature of the ma- terial thus offered for our use. Regarding plaster mechanically, it may be considered as a species of lime, which is susceptible of being- employed without admixture with any other ingredient than water; and of attaining with singular rapidity, a moderate degree of hardness. These qualities would render its employment in all cases very desirable, were it of a nature to resist the influences of the atmosphere. But unfortunately it is utterly incapable of resisting the effects of humidity, when used alone. ^ Chemically, plaster may be defined, in a manner able to include all its varieties, as being a dehydrised sulphate of lime, or that salt from which the water of crystallisation has been driven off by heat. The sulphate of lime is very plentifully distributed through nature, in numerous positions, and in very large quantities. " It is found either crystallised, fibrous, massive, or earthy: the varie- ties which assume a definite crystallisation are distinguished by the name of selenite; those which are amorphous, or earthy, are known hy that of gypsum : the names are, however, frequently confounded. Wlien crystallised it assumes the form of a straiglit prism of a rhomboidal base, whose angles vary from 113° 5' and 60° 3', to 113° 3', and 66° 52', terminated by oblique angled prisms. The natural joints are very visible; the crystals are generally trans- parent with a shining pearly lustre; and are of various shades of white, yellow, grey, brown, red, or violet colour. Sulphate of lime ismuch softer than the carbonate, and it yields easily to the nail. Its specific gravity is about 2'31. When pure it con- tains 32"7 per cent, of lime; 46'3 of sulphuric acid; and 21 of water. The crystallised selenite is found at Alston, in Cumberland, and in great al)undance at Shotover-hill, in Oxfordshire. It also occurs in considerable quantities in all argillaceous deposits, in detached crystals, but hardly ever in veins. It is said occasionally to tra- verse fissures in the primary rocks accompanied by mineral veins. In Derbyshire, and some of the mines of the Hartz and Hungary, it is found in remarkably long slender fibres, which are generally associated and curved. At Matlock, a variety with straight fibres is met with, which is of remarkable brilliance and beauty. The massive sulphate of lime is termed alabaster, on account of its resemblance to the material properly so called, although this is in fact a stalactical carbonate of lime. The real, or oriential, ala- baster was much used by the ancients for the purpose of statuary, and was extracted in large ijuantities from the mountains of Upper Egypt. The variety of the sulphate of lime, which is at present used under that name, is principally obtained at Mount Cenis. Granular massive gypsum is found ovei'lying the most recent of the primitive rocks, and sometimes it is said, enclosed by them. It is found in Siberia mingled with mica, felspar, and serpentine; it occurs between two beds of gneiss near St. Gothard, and also at Bellinziua in the Alps, and also near the Mount Cenis; and at Moutier, near Mont Blanc. It generally accompanies the car- bonate of lime formations; and is largely found in connection with the saliferous system. In Scotland, it covers the transition rocks; in Derbyshire and in the midland counties, the gypsum is also found in connection with, or contiguous to the salt rocks; in the nortli of Spain, and in Tuscany, the same co-relation is to be observed. The gypseous and saliferous formations of the Pyrenees are, equally with the analagous formations in England, of the secondary series; those of Tuscany are of the older pliocene era; whilst tlie most important deposits as the sulphate of lime, namely, those near Paris, are of the eocene formations, according to Sir C. Lyell's classification. It is, however, to he observed that the secondary strata, with which the gypseous rocks are' connected in England, are of the early secondary divisions; whilst in Spain they are only found associated with the chalk, or occasionally with a formation similar to the tertiary sub-Appenine rocks. The intimate connection which exists in the great majority of cases between the gypseous and the saliferous rocks, is a subject which appears to merit a more elaborate investigation than it has hitherto received. Whenever rock salt is met with, in either the secondary or the tertiary deposits, the gypsum always accompanies it. in an infinite variety of forms. It is true that in some cases the gypsum is met with unaccompanied by the salt; but then the absence of the latter would appear to be accidental, excepting in the Paris basin. The gypsum is found in the same positions; the rocks pre- sent the same appearance; and the strata have the same structure. For instance, at St. Leger sur Dhune, in the department of the Soane and Loire, the gypsum is found alone in the marnes iris'es, or the upper new red sandstone and red marl of our technicology ; they are also found near Aix, in Provence, in tertiary strata. But in both these cases they assume the forms, and all the litho- logical characteristics of the saliferous system; so much so in fact as almost to warrant the term of salt rocks without savour. The structure of the saliferous gypsums is undulated and manimillated ; their texture is fine, compact, often crystalline, and they differ from what are considered as sedimentary deposits of gypsum, such as those of the environs of Paris, by a degree of whiteness, and purity from extraneous ingredients, which fully warrants the sepa- rate classification of the gypsums into those connected with the salt deposits, and those which are purely and simply sedimentary. One very remarkable appearance is presented hy the saliferous variety which never occurs in tlie sedimentary; namely, we often find in it masses, the centre of which is composed of the anhy- drous gypsum, whilst the exterior only has hydratcd; as though the total mass had been formed in the anhydrous state, and the ex- terior had combined with the water at a subsequent period. We have an excellent opportunity of tracing on a small scale the class of geological phenomena which accompanied the forma- tion of the saliferous gypsum in the duchy of Tuscany. Near Volterra and Castellana, are found some of the purest of the false alabasters, which are principally worked at the latter district. It is found in glandular masses, enclosed in three beds of a greyish crystalline gypsum, which somewhat resembles the beds of the same nature near Paris. The masses found near Castellana are the purest, and present in the highest degree the whiteness and translucence which are sought for in the modern use of alabaster. At Volterra they are less pure, and are found dispersed in the grey and blueish marls, known under the name of "mattajone." These marls are very much contorted; and at Volterra itself they are in- clined, and upraised. They belong to the sub-Appenine formations of the tertiary period; and occasionally they give rise to brine springs, which have led to the formation of large salt works. The most remarkable feature of the saliferous formation of Tuscany is the purity and the mass of the gypsum. The whole formation is evidently stratified; whether we find the gypsum in detached rounded masses, with mamillary faces, enclosed in the beds of marl, and succeeding one another at irregular distances, in the diiection of the stratification, like the nodules of septaria in the London clay; or whether it constitute thick beds intercallated be- tween the marls, and exposed to all the accidents of stratification which affect them. In no cases are the marls affected by purtuiba- tions, or alternations, which might lead us to suppose that the gyj)- sum had been introduced subsequently to their deposition. The gypsum is evidently stratified, and contemporaneous vvith the mattajone; the amygdalordal character of the nodules can then only be attributed to the affinity of the molecules, brought into action by specific causes which affected the waters in which they were in suspension. The rock salt appears to be disposed like the gypsum, according to the lines of stratification of the whole formation. It is worked from wells; one of which, executed near the factory called "Move," presents the following beds: — ft in, 1. Blue marl, containing nodules of alabaster, which is about (io thichness) 144 4 2. Rocltsalt 15 7 a. Marl, witli gypsum 19 7i 4. Saliteroui marl, about (in thickness) 14 I 5. Bine marl „ S7 ^» fi. Saliferous marl ,, 29 *> 7. Gypseous marl „ 26 IJ 8. Rocksall,(greatcstdeposit) „ 41 0 9. Blue marls „ IG6 S Now the nature of the causes which led to this intercallation of the salt and gypsum between the strata of this formation (one of the most recent of the saliferous deposits), appears to be inti- mately connected with the existence of tlie lagoni of Tuscany, which are the last traces of a series of phenomena acting, in all probability, with much greater energy at the epoch of the deposi- tion of the tertiary strata. These lagoui are eruptions of aqueous 26 186 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [June, vapour at a temperature of 105 to 120 ceutriirrade. Tliey burst forth with violence from fissures ia the ground, and rise in white columns from 30 to C6 feet from the earth. Tljey are accompanied hy a strong odour of sulpliuretted hydrogen; they alter the rocks they approach, and deposit in them crystalline or concreted g)'p- suni, occasionally mixed with sulphur and horacic acid. The lagoni are found in groups of from ten to thirty, nearly in a straight line extending from the Mount Cerholi, Castel Nuovo, and .Monte Rotondo; as though they followed the direction of a fault, or dyke whose length is from 20 to 25 miles. The horacic acid they contain is extracted by means of the heat of the lagoni themselves, which are made to evaporate the waters drawn into basins for that purpose. But the most interesting geological fact connected with them is the influence their vapours appear to have in the formation of the sulphate of lime; which accumulates in small crystals, or in crystalline masses in the marls, and the cal- carcerous strata they traverse. If such lagoni had acted upon the gulfs or the lakes of salt water, of the tertiary period, it is easy to account for the alterna- tions of the gypsum and the rock salt in the sedimentary deposits of that period. The gypsum, whether crystalline, in small beds, in mamillary, or botryoidal nodules, which are disseminated in the marl beds, would naturally result from the phenomena of affinity of which we find instances in almost every foimation. The gyp- seous strata we may consider as representing the epochs of activity of the vapours, and of the disturbance of the waters; the saliferou's strata would correspond with the epochs of tranquility, during which the evaporating powers of the jets exercised alone their in- fluence. The presence of the borates of magnesia (which are sufficiently common in gypsums) may be explained also by the nature of the lagoni in actiivity at the present day. The gypseous formation of Paris difl^ers from all those we have hitherto considered on many accounts. Geologically a very marked distinction is to be made, inasmuch as from the manner of its for- mation, its stratification, and the shells it contains, we are led to believe that it was produced hy mechanical deposition rather than by chemical separation, like the other formations. Tlie rocks now to be examined form a portion of the immense tertiarj' deposits which fill a depression in the chalk, called, from the fact of Paris occupying its centre, the Paris basin. An adventitious interest is communicated to this formation from the fact of its having led M. M. Cuvier and Brogniart to propound the doctrine of the superior importance of the study of organic remains, to that of the litho- logical character of a deposit; a doctrine, it is true, previously propounded by our countryman Smith, but the superior knowledge of the French geologists in comparative anatomy, and conchology, ])laced the question beyond doubt. The Paris basin was the first wliich was distinctly classed as a tertiary formation, and the an- nouncement of this clasification gave rise to the researches which led to the discovery of similar deposits in many other parts of Europe. There is also a chemical difterence between the Paris gypsum and any of the saliferous gypsums hitherto noticed, viz. — that it contains as much as 12 per cent, of carbonate of lime in combination. This appears to communicate to it the much superior jjower it possesses of resisting atmospheric change. Another differ- ence lies in the mechanical structure, for the Paris gypsum is the hardest known, except perhaps that found near CJirgenti, in Sicily, which, according to Rondelet, a most conscientious autliority, is still harder. We do not, however, possess any details on this subject. The gypseous deposits near Paris form a very distinct and easily identified group, or subdivision, which comprehends (at the same time as the gypsum) alternating beds of marl, either calcareous or argillaceous. These beds follow an order precisely identical throughout the whole district, from the neighbourliood of Meaux to Meulan. Some beds are absent in particular cantons ; but those which are still to he met with occupy the same relative positions. The gyi)sum immediately overlies the calcareous beds Cuvier designated as the "calcaire marin;" and their appearance in the landscape in the neighbourhood of Paris is very remarkable, even in a pictures<|ue point of view. They cap tlie hills of the older and harder formations; and appear to have suffered more severely from the denuding effects of the cataclasms which gave rise to the existing valleys, than the subjacent rocks. They thus form, as it were, a second range of hills (sometimes conical, as at iMontraartre, Les Buttes Dorgeniont ; or elongated, as at Chaumont and Belle- ville, Triel, Ike.) superposed on a first series of hills, bearing all the characteristic marks of the calcareous ranges. ,VV'e find at Montmartre and at Belleville, where the formation exists iu the most perfect development, that there are three masses of gypsum of various thicknesses. The lowest mass, situated imme- diately upon the "calcaire marin" is composed of beds of gypsum of feeble thickness, containing a large proportion of selenitous', or crys- tallised gypsum, and alternating with beds of calcareous marl, of a very solid character, or with argillaceous marls in very thin flakes. Sometimes a deep bed of white fresh-water marl is interposed be- tween the gypsum and the upper courses of the " calcaire marin." The number of the beds of gypsum in the lowest mass is five; their total thickness is not more than 7 ft. 7 in. This mass is seldom worked; for the douhle reason, that its extraction is very difficult, and the quality of the plaster it yields is decidedly infe- rior to that of the upper masses. But it is to be borne in mind, that the thickness and the number of the beds in the lowest mass are very variable. Those quoted above are obtained from the quarries called " L'Amerique," at Belleville; at Montmartre the total thickness of the beds of gypsum and the marls is from thirty- three to thirty-six feet, measuring from the upper bed of gypsum to the bed of white calcareous marl. There is, however, some- thing exceptional in the nature of this third mass at .Montmartre, inasmuch as it has never been observed to pass under the others, and it occurs in a detached hillock, rather towards the east. Its beds are not horizontal, but decidedly inclined towards the south- west. The second and third masses are separated by a set of beds of marl, whose thickness is about five feet. Like the third mass, it is composed of a series of beds of gypsum, intercallated with marl in variable thicknesses, and without definite order; that is to say, that the marl beds are wanting in some localities, whilst they are very numerous and powerful in others. The greatest thickness which the second mass exhibits is met with in the quarries at Montmartre, where it sometimes attains as much as 33 feet. At Belleville, the height is, however, rarely more than 19ft. 6in.; and it affords eight workable and useful beds: the irregularities in the thickness appear to be, however, more owing to the beds of marl than to those of gypsum, which present a very striking uni- formity. The second mass yields a stone which makes excellent plaster. One bed in particular, found at Belleville, and called by the quarrymen "le gros banc," three feet in thickness, is often set aside for the purpose of making plaster for the exclusive use of statuaries or artists. The first mass is the most important, and also the most widely distributed. The lower masses are wanting in many localities, as at Triel, where the first mass rests immediately upon the marls and clays interposed between the first and second masses in Mont- martre and Belleville. At Montmorency there are two masses; but in all cases the relative superiority of the first mass, both in quantity and freedom from mixture of the marl beds, is very remarkable. In some cases, as at Dammartin and Montmorency, this formation occurs immediately under the vegetable soil. At others, as at Belleville and at Montmartre, it is covered by a series of beds of sands, clays, argillaceous and calcareous marls, which attain as much as from 110 to 120 feet in thickness. A somewhat similar set of beds of marls and clays forms the floor, separating the first from the second masses of gi'psum; its thickness is variable, but may be taken as being about 10 feet on the average. The upper beds of the first mass are strongly impregnated with marl, and this latter substance even intercallates with the gypsum with sufficient regularity to enable us to follow the respective strata over great distances. They are soft; the workmen group them under the name of "les chiens;" and they yield a very infe- rior plaster if burnt alone. Their united thickness is about 5ft. 6 in.; and they are six in number, in some of the quarries at least, never being fewer than five. The intermediate beds whose number and thickness is the most exposed to variations, are divided natu- rally into large many-sided prisms, which have jirocured for them the name of "les hauts piliers" among the quai-rymen. Their united thickness is about 35 feet; the quality of the stone they yield differs somewhat, and care is requisite in the burning to secure a plaster of uniform quality. The bed called "la corraie," about 2 ft. 9 in. thick, is very hard, and it requires to be mixed with the softer beds to make a saleable article. Two others, "les battaillon" and "les rousses," are reserved for the special use of statuaries. The lowest beds of this mass contain much sile.v, which even at times seems to shade off as it were into the gypsum, without our being enabled to say precisely where the one begins or the other ends. The plaster made from them is of ratlier an inferior quality compared with that obtained from the interme- diate beds. The lowest mass contains at times, especially in the associated marls, marine fossils, and large crystals of selenitic gypsum. The 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. i87 second mass contains fossil remains of fish, without any other traces of animal life; the marls also contain at times kidney-shaped nodules of the sulpliate of strontian. In the first mass are found the numerous remains of extinct birds, animals, plants, and shells, iiliich render these formations 90 celebrated in a geological point of view. On the nortli of Paris they are preserved in the gypsum itself, and they retain a considerable degree of consistence, being only surrounded by a thin coat of marl. On the south of Paris, however, they are often found in the marl beds, and are then veiy friable. The fossils of mammalia are exclusively confined to the first mass, and in no instance are they met with in any of the lower divisions. In the lowest, fossil tress have been found, and fresh-water shells in remarkable abundance. Cuvier gives a list of fourteen extinct species of mammalia, three or four birds, three reptiles, and three or four species of fish: Lyell gives a much greater number. Now, the immense development of these gypseous formations, and the total absence of any traces of salt throughout the whole extent, as well as the nature of tlie fossils they enclose, lead us to believe that they must have been deposited under different circum- stances from those which gave rise to the saliferous gypsums. An examination of the phenomena connected with their probable geological history would lead us into discussions which might be considered out of place here. Those who may be desirous of studying the question more thoroughly are referred to Sir C. Lyell's ' Principles of Geology.' In the chapter upon the eocene formations of the Paris basin the question is fully treated, with the elegance, eloquence, the power of grouping facts, of adorning details, which in Sir C. Lyell's case gives to science all the charm of romance. Suffice it to say, that the present theory of geologists leads them to regard the great mass of gypsum, in this district, " as a purely fresh water deposit, produced by a river whose waters were highly charged with the sulphate of lime, somewhat like La Frume Salso, in Sicily." The method of raising the plaster stone differs, of course, with the circumstances under wliich it is found; that is to say, it is sometimes got by means of open cuttings, or by galleries, worked either from the hill side or by wells. The peculiarly abrupt man- ner in which the spurs of gypsum terminate upon the heights round Paris, renders the mode of working from galleries driven into the hill face the most usual. At Montmartre, Triel, and Belleville, the quarries are all worked in that manner. Tlie regulation of the quarries is, like everything else in France, subject to a very scien- tific and inquisitorial supervision on the part of the government. The service of the mines is under the control of a special body of engineers, called "Les Ingenieurs des Mines," who are charged to insure the public safety and the lives of the workmen, which might otherwise be compromised by the mining operations; to defend the rights of the state to the discovery of the precious metals; and subsidiarily to ascertain all geological facta which might influence the national wealth. The consequence of this organisation is, that the statistics of French geology, if such a term be allowed, are classified in the most wonderful manner; an instance of which, by the way, is to be found in the geological map and explanation published under the direction of M. Elie de Beaumont. How- ever, quarries in open cutting are worked by the proprietors of the land, without any control on the part of the engineers of the mines; and they are simply under the control of the police. When they are under ground, the quarries are under the special control of the engineers, and the principles which regulate their working are those laid down by a decree of Napoleon's, dated March 2nd, 1813. Rigorously, the stone or gypsum quarries ought to be worked with something like the regularity of a chessboard; the galleries being 15 metres, or about 50 feet wide, with piers at equal distances of 10 metres, or 33 feet square. In practice this mathematical precision is neglected; but it may be considered as the average manner of working. The quarr\'-cap of the gypsum does not admit of being left with so wide a bearing as 50 feet, as might naturally be supposed. A small heading is then driven in the bed, called the "souchet," by a man lying flat on liis back, for tlie bed is only 1 ft. 8 in. deep, who leaves the upper bed, "le banc be grand abattage," unsupported in this manner, for a width of 8 feet. For this very painful work the miner, called in this case the "caveur," is paid at about the rate of Is. per foot forward; he find- ing his own picks, the proprietor the candles. The other beds are then raised by wedges, bars, or gunpowder, as may be required. A good quarryman can raise about 9 yards cube per day, of the first mass, and about 53 yards of the two lower masses, when the work- ings are in galler)'. \Ve have before seen that the quality of the gypsum is not the same through the whole thickness of the different masses. Great care is then required in mixing the different sorts of stone, so as to secure an uniformity in the plaster obtained by the burning. Some of the beds are reserved for special uses; the hard beds, in tlie remaining portions, require to be mixed with the softer ones. As might naturally be expected this variety introduces a compli- cation in the manufacture, which frequently gives rise to improper fabrication, and opens the door to much fraud. Indeed, the fabri- cation of plaster near Paris, still more in the departments, is liable to all the reproaches we so unsparingly address to our own cement manufactures. Such must always be the result of unlimited compe- tition, and as long as price is made of more importance than quality such they will remain. The mode of burning usually adopted is very rude. It consists simply in building, within three walls, covered with a rough fixed roof, a series of arches 1 ft. 8 in. wide by 2 ft. 4. in. high, with piers formed of gypseous stones, as are also the arches. These are then fiUed up to a height of 13 feet with stones, so arranged that the largest are at the bottom, the smallest at the top. The arches are filled in with fire-wood, wliich is set light to, and the fire kept up so as to maintain the baking for twenty-four hours. The dimen- sions of these kilns are such as to enable them to hold from seventy to seventy-five tons. In some of the quarries a more rational style of burning is adopted, which consists in passing the already pul- verised stone through cylinders, which revolve in an open fire. I have, also, in one of Mr. Weale's Treatises, mentioned an applica- tion of over-heated steam to the same purpose; but the inquiries I made in Paris, about a month since, lead me to believe that it has not yet been fairly tried. Indeed, there is always a difficulty in introducing any new pro- cess in the ordinary arts of life, such, for instance, as the one which meets us on the threshold in the use of the French plaster. Near Paris, the workmen have always been accustomed to employ plaster burnt in immediate contact with the wood. In that process the brees become necessarily mingled with it, and we find now that the men have come to consider the grey colour they communicate as an indication of a superior quality. The Paris workmen, in fact, do precisely the reverse to what our workmen do; upon the same principle, nevertheless, viz. — from an irreflective habit. They dislike a white plaster; we attach far too much importance to it. Truth, as in most cases, lies in the mean. The absence of the brees certainly does not diminish the value of the plaster; the extreme whiteness we contend for in London is for the most part obtained by the use of a softer description of stone, or by the admixture of some extraneous ingredient. The operation of burning the plaster stone, is, after all, only effected for the purpose of dehydrising, or driving off the water of crystallisation from the gypsum. Before this is done, the stone is hard; afterwards, it becomes pulverulent and floury. The ra- tionale of its use is, simply to present such a quantity of water as is necessary to restore it to the original .state, when it resumes its natural hardness, with a commencement of a confused crystalli- sation. Now this action may be, and is, carried on irrespective of colour; that is to say, at least, the presence of the wood ashes, which gives rise to the grey tint the Paris workmen require, does not affect the combination with the water. Our own very white plasters owe their beautiful colour to the absence of the carbonates of lime, or the marls, which, in fact, communicate the very supe- rior qualities to the stones yielding plaster less purely white. To secure a good quality of plaster it is advisable to apply a moderate heat in the beginning, which is to be augmented gradually ^V^hen the plaster is not sufficiently burned, it becomes dry and sandy; in this state it does not set with any degree of hardness. AV^hen it is overburnt, it also loses its adhesive properties; it ceases to have what the workmen call "de I'amour;" it will not cling to the fingers, nor has it the rich unctuous quality which characterises the well-burnt plaster. As soon as it is burnt, it should be ground, and employed as soon as possible after the manipulation is completed. Fourcroy believetl that the carbonate of lime contained in the Paris gypsum, became converted into quick lime during the burn- ing; and that the superiority of that plaster was to be attributed to that change. Guy Lussac, however, held that the carbonate could not be aft'ected by the moderate heat called into action (it is only absolutely required to be about 2T0 Fah.) He attributes the superiority rather to the great hardness of the stone; and really there does not appear to be any other explanation. We are aware that, cceteiis parilmx, the law exists, that the limestones yield limes producing mortars whose degree of hardness, when set, is in the ratio of the hardness of the stone. Nor does there appear to 26* 188 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [JvNE, be any reason why the gj'psums should differ from the carbonate of lime in this respect. Indeed, we find that the law holds good with the English pypsums, for the Derby stone makes a stronger plaster than that of Newark, just as it is harder than the latter. Dumas a^ees witli Guy Lussac, in supposing that no other chemical action takes place with the gypsum, than the evolution of its water of crystallisation. In Paris, the mode of using plaster is to employ it pure and free from mixture. The very low price at which it is sold, and the comparatively high price of sand, dispense with the motives of economy which render mixtures almost indispensable in our case. The town of Paris pays for its municipal works, at the rate of 12s. 9gd. per ton of plaster, whereas it cannot yet be had in London for less than about iOs. per ton. Whilst the practice in France is to use plaster pure, I am disposed to think that the mixture of sand, so far from being prejudicial, is even desirable, if confined within reasonable limits. We find that in reassuming the state of liydrated sulphate of lime, the plaster goes through an imperfect crystallisation; and this action is accompanied by a singular re- arrangement of the molecules. This causes the plaster to swell when used alone, and to such an extent, that it is impossible even to finish a ceiling close up to a wall at once. Now the introduc- tion of a body so full of inequalities as the coarse, sharp sands, must afl'ord room for the free action of this expansion; and, at the same time, the facettes of the sand must offer, as is were, nuclei, which cannot but be favourable to the crystallisation. It is, doubt- lessly, on these principles that we can explain the superiority of the plaster containing the wood brees, which does become harder than the purer plasters, if used alone. Too large a proportion of sand should be avoided; but very fair work can be executed even with a mixture in the proportions of two of sand and one of plaster. Under any circumstances, the finishing coat should be pure. Sub- sequent experience will decide, whether the use of two materials of this kind does not expose the work to unequal contractions, likely to cause fissures, or cracks. The plaster made near Paris sets with a rapidity very much greater than any material we are accustomed to for plastering purposes; and, for very large uniform surfaces, perhaps this is a difficulty. The workmen have not the time to work the floating coats with the mathematical correctness we usually exact in our country. But, to a certain extent, this objection may be obviated, by slight differences in the mode of preparing the plaster, or by altering the quantity of water in proportion to the positions in which the material is required to be used. Thus, if all the strength of the plaster is needed, the smallest quantity of water is introduced; about as much in bulk as the plaster itself occupied. This is called by the workmen, "gacher serre" (stiff guaged). AV^hen it is necessary to work and re-work the face, as in setting coats, more water is added, or the plaster is said to be "gache clair" (guaged thin). Habit alone can fix the precise proportions, for it is impossible to arrive constantly at the same results in the burning. For the very finest works, the workmen make what they call a "coulis;" this is run in, in a semi-fluid state. Plaster which has been thus treated, with an excess of water, does not acquire the t3nacity, nor the hardness of that treated in such a way as only to present to it the water of crystallisation. The extraordinary forces of adherence, &e., of the Paris plaster, enables the work on ceilings or partitions to be executed with far less expense of lathing than similar works executed with our lime and hair. Rondelet made experiments to ascertain the limits of these forces, and he obtained the following resiilts: — A parallelo- pipedon of plaster, ivith a base measuring 1 in each way, supported a weight of VUlb., acting so as to tear it asunder; this he called the force of adhesion. Similar figures resisted a crushing weight of 722lb.; so that the ratio of the resistance of plaster to an effort of traction, compared to one of extension, is as 1-9^. Rondelet found that there was a sensible difference in the manner in which plaster adhered to lirick or stone, from the action of mortar under similar circumstances. For, when cubes, joined by the respective materials, were subjected to forces tending to tear them asunder, the mortar liroke through the centre of the joint, leaving particles attached to the upper and under surfaces; the plaster, on the contrary, left the surfaces perfectly clean. In new works, the plaster adheres to other materials, with about half the force necessary to tear it asunder; mortar, for several years at least, only attains one-third of the same force. This ratio does not continue; for, after ten or twelve years, the plaster loses its strength, whilst, at the same epoch, we find the adhesion of the mortar toother substances to be equal to the force of adhesion of the cubes themselves. The »ubsequent ratios are in inverse progression; mortar always hardens by time— plaster loses strength. As these remarks only apply to its use as a mortar externally, it should never be employed per- manently for such positions; internally the loss of strength is not so rapid, for it depends upon the absorption of moisture from the atmosphere. For temporary works; for internal works, requiring great rapidity of execution, however, the use of Paris plaste is invaluable. The usual practice in Paris (as I had the honour of observing in a paper I read last year), is to execute the work intended to be plastered with rubble stone, set in plaster mortar. If possible, the principal elevations are executed in ashlar; externally, plaster is never used if it can be avoided, for its use requires care and numerous precautions. Firstly, the plaster coat must be entirely out of the ground; it must be removed from all weatherings, where the capillary action would allow the absorption of water; the upper surfaces must be covered with zinc, or other metal; and, if it be expected to stand for many years, the whole must be painted. When, however, plaster is to be applied on walls, exter- nally or internally, the course followed is to clear out the joints of the masonry, and to wet the surface. Plaster, gauged stiff, is laid on with a broom, or in any similar expeditious manner, and it is brought to a tolerably uniform face by use of the trowel. This is called 'faire le crepi,' a term equivalent to our "rendering." The floating coat, or 4 enduit,' is applied by the trowel, and dressed off with a rule, in somewhat a similar manner to the system fol- lowed by our own workmen; but it is in the execution of this work that the greatest ditficulty arises, from the rapidity with which the plaster sets. The stuff' is gauged thin, but not sufficiently so to allow much manipulation. \Vhen the face is floated, as described, the plasterer passes over the surface with a sort of toothed trowel, called 'la truelle bretelee;' using, firstly, the toothed side, to remove any asperities, and finishing with the knife edge on the other. A thin setting coat is lastly added, to stop up all the pores or inequalities. The time required to complete such plastering on wall is very short compared with what we are accustomed to. The floating coat may be applied within four days of the rendering, under favourable conditions; and the whole work easily completed in a week. Partitions are usually executed in a manner essentially different from our own. A sort of wood frame-work is made, without much complication of carpentry, by the way, for the French, very wisely, prefer a wall where we too often place large trussed partitions. The French partitions rarely consist of more than upright posts, with stouter ones for doorways, and a few discharging braces, or horizontal ties. The upright posts, 'les poteaux,'are spaced about 1 ft. 4 in. apart ; the door-posts are usually planed so as to form the architraves of the doors; they are called 'les poteaux d'huisserie.' Upon the common quarters laths are nailed (mostly of poplar, or fir), which are from 3 to t inches wide, and spaced about i^ inches apart. The interior is filled in with old plaster rubble, or light stone, and the outer surfaces rendered, as for walling. Such par- titions answer admirably for the purposes of keeping out sound, and are tolerably light. From the immense quantities of plaster rubble to be met with in Paris, they are also, comparatively speaking, economical. Close lathing is very rarely executed; nor, in fact, do the oak laths used in France allow such work to be well done. Some masons in Paris use a sort of tile, cast beforehand purposely for this use, and made of plaster. This system is not so solid as the usual one of only employing rubble, for the plaster does not adhere so well to the smooth faces of the tiles; but it avoids a very considerable amount of humidity. ( 1 ) Ilourde Plein. Ceilings are executed in several manners. — (1.) The space between the joists is filled in solid, with plaster, or stone, rubble carried on rather wide laths underneath; the lower surface is then rendered like a wall wonld be, and a bed is formed on the top to receive the tiles, or sleeper joists and flooring are added. This is said to be 'hourde pleiu.' 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 18» (2.) With close lathing, as in England, 'a lattis jointif.' (2) A Lattis Jointif. (3.) The third manner, and the one most usually adopted, because it binds the joists together the most effectually, without loading them unnecessarily, consists in lathing the underside of the joists at distances of about 3^ inches from centre to centre. A species of flat centering is then placed under them, and a coat of plaster of about Ij to l| inch is laid over the laths so as to stop against the boards on either side, and between them. The plaster is brought up the sides of the joists, and worked so as to leave a hollow channel. The ceiling itself is then applied below this coat, called an 'auget.' (3) Aveo Augets, en Cannivaiuc. (4.)In the country, again, another manner is used, namely, the joists are left apparent, and only the intermediate spaces are ceiled. If the third manner could be adopted under the requisite conditions of economy, it would be very desirable, for it unites the great advantages of solidity and of impermeability to sound, in which respect our newly-built houses leave so much to be desired. (4) A Solives Apparentes. Note. — The parts shaded with parallel lines represent the laths; the blank parts a a represent the plaster; those marked b b represent the floor boards or tiles, as the case may be. No. 1 counts for the value of 1 J times No. 2. No. 2 constitutes the unity of price for common plastering — it is called " leger." Thus, No. 1 is said to be " IJ leger," and paid for at that rate. No. 3 counts for " 1 J leger." No. 4 counts also for " \\ leger." Now, the proprietors of the French quarries have lately made arrangements by which the real plaster of, and from, Paris may be obtained in London at prices below those of our English plaster. Its use will, I am personally convinced, very soon supersede the barbarous mixtures of lime and hair, and all such trumpery, we have been forced to employ hitherto in its absence. A new apjili- cation of any material is, however, always exposed to many rislcs and failures ; from ignorance of its qualities, from unskilfulness in the handling, and even from the prejudices of those employed to execute the works. It may therefore be necessary to endeavour to point out the conditions requisite to ensure the successful essay of the one we are now considering. Firstly. It is not advisable in the commonest sorts of work to allow more than two parts of sand to be mixed with one of plaster; for better works, one and one should be used. Tlie setting coat should be of pure plaster; my own opinion is that large quantities of putty, or other preparation of the carbonate of lime, should not be used, though there does not appear to be any objection to the plaster being guaged with lime-water, which not only retards the setting, but also diminishes the expansion. Secondly. My own experience with French workmen would lead me to say that we must not expect to be able to maintain, with a material which sets so rapidly as the plaster of Paris, surfaces so mathematically true as we do obtain in the usual system followed by our builders. In Paris, for several reasons, this exactness is not required; the rooms are smaller, it is not the fashion to have large unpannelled walls, or to use even, flat, tints. Small ine- qualities of surface are not, under such circumstances, of so much moment as they are to ourselves. Indeed we may form a tolerably corect idea of the comparative slovenliness with which plasterers' work is done there, from the fact that some of the workmen execute both it and the masonry on which it is applied. In all the build- ings in Paris I have visited, the plastering has been executed with a carelessness which would disgust any London architect. The angles are never square, or true; the upright faces hardly ever " out of winding," or " plomb." Yet when our own more skilful workmen have overcome their prejudices, and learnt the proper use of this material, we have every reason to believe that they will make as perfectly "true" work with it as with the others. At the same time it attains in an incredibly sliort space of time a degree of hardness we are totally unused to, and it is accompanied by the immense advantage of only giving rise to about |ths of the evapo- ration arising from ordinary plastering. A series of very carefnl experiments has been made under the directions of Messrs. Piper, which proves that the cost of ordinary works need not exceed in any sensible proportion, if at all, those we call usually " render, set :" that they are strictly the same as the render, float, and set ; presenting a very superior article in every respect. Mr. Piper's experiments go to show that the evaporation from the French plaster is only about in the proportions just cited. In the Spicer Street Model Lodging Houses, Messrs. Piper executed, during tlie last week, a room which was begun and finished in thirty hours, whilst a common lime and hair rendering coat would have required a week at least ere it would have been fit to receive the floating coat, and the whole operation would have required, properly speaking, about a month. Mr. Beck, the architect, to whom all praise is due for the merit of the buildings in the first place, and for the sagacity which led him to try the new material, can vouch for the quality of the work, and explain the means adopted to obtain so very remarkable results. Subsecpient experiments must, however, be made to ascertain the best mode of finishing superior work upon plaster rendering, either by the use of Keene's Parian, or Martin's cements; for it is my own perfect conviction that the use of lime and hair will very shortly be abandoned. Thirdly. The French plaster must never be used in any position where moisture is likely to affect it for any length of time. It is very hygrometric, and soon decays if kept moist. The pi-evalence of warm moisture, as for instance in cellars, also gives rise to the formation of much saltpetre; its use in such places should then be avoided. The same faculty of forming tlie saltpetre should, also, make us very cautious as to the nature of the sand to be mixed with the plaster. Fourthly. If the plaster be used as a mortar, for the purpose of carrying up bricknogged partitions to be covered over immediately, for which purpose, as said before, it would be invaluable, care must ba taken to prevent the expansion of the plaster from affecting the other work. It is usual, in France, to leave a small space between the wall and the partitions, in carrying them up, which is subse- quently filled-in by the plastering coat. The same observation applies to floors with plaster pugging, and even to cornices with a large body of that material. In the case of the latter, it is usual to run the straight mouldings, and to execute the mitres, or returns, subsequently. 'I'he projections of tlie cornices, by the way, are carried out solid, with very little, if any bracketing. But we must observe, that the French architects, very wisely, do not execute such terribly heavy internal decorations as we do, and that conse- quently their projections are less. In the above remarks, I have studiously avoided the questions connected with the use of plaster in iron and pottery. They would have swelled this paper, already too long, to limits far beyond jour patience. It is my intention to request your conside- ration of them upon some subsequent evening. In the mean time, we may be allowed to congratulate ourselves upon the fact, that the abolition of the excise upon bricks and tiles will enable us to make much more complete experiments. I mav add that the parties who have made arrangements for the sale of the French plaster in London, are Messrs. Piper of Bisbops- gate-street, and Messrs. J. B. \Vhite and Sons, of Millbank-street. The price at which it can now be sold, is about 2/. per ton at the wharves. 190 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [|Jl'XE, WATER SUPPLY FOR LIVERPOOL. Refobt of RoBEHT Stepiienson, C.E., on the Supply of Water to the Town of lAverpoul. The question which has been entrusted to me for my considera- tion and opinion, and on which I have now to report, is the best plan to he adopted for securing an adequate supply of water to the town of Liverpool; and in opening the sul)ject, it will probably be most convenient and intelligible to introduce a coi)y of the In- structions conveyed in the Minute of the ^\'ate^ Committee of the Town Council, which is as follows: — "At B meeting of the Water Committee, held on Monday, the 14th of January, 1850: — Present: — James Procter, Esq., Chairman, &c., &c., &c. "Read a letter from Mr. Stephenson, dated the 12th init., and addressed to the Town Clerk. "Resolved: — That the followinj^ instructions be communicated to Mr. Stephenson, and that he he respectfully requested to meet the Committee to-morrow morning at half-past nine o'clock. "Mr. Stephenson having been unanimously appointed the Engineer for the purposes of the resolution of the Council of the 9th of November, the desire of the Committee is, that he should inform himself upon the subject in all its bearings, by evidence, reports, or otherwise, so as to ensure that the views of all parties may he elicited before him to their satisfaction, and report his opinion to the committee fully: — "1st. Whether a supply sufficient as regards quantity and quality for the present and prospective wants of the town and neighbourhood, including domestic, trading, and manufacturing purposes, and shipping; and for public p.irposes, viz. — watering and cleansing streets, Hushing sewers, extinguishing fires, and supplying public baths and wash-houses — can he obtained by additional borings and tunnels, or otherwise, at the present stations, viz. — those purchased from the companies respectively, aT.d from the Green Lane Works, now vested in the Corporation; and the cost of obtaining such suf- ficient supply. " 2ndly. Whether a sufficient addition to the present supply can be ob- tained in the locality or neighbourhood of Liverpool, as recommended by Messrs. Simpson and Newlands, or by borings, or by any other course; and the cost of obtaining and distributing the same. "3dly. Wiietber such supply can be obtained by means of the Rivington \\ orks ; and the cost of obtaining and distributing the same as recommended by Mr. Hawksley. "4lhly. Under all the present circumstances of the case, what course is recommended to be pursued.' " Extracted from the Proceedings. "William Shuttlewobth. " Town Clerk." In entering on the matter of the above resolutions, I feel it a jdeasure to acknowledge the facilities which have been aiforded by Mr. Newlands, the Borough Engineer, and those acting under him, both by supplying the necessary plans and by giving every means in their power for the examination and experiments at the pumping stations: and I also gladly avail myself of the opportunity to thank all who have assisted in the inquiry, either by offering their opinions and information in the public court, or in verbal or written communications. There can be but one opinion respecting the great Importance of rin abundant supply of good water to such a town as Liverpool, for whether regarded in a sanitary or commercial point of view, there is, probably, notliing more conducive to the welfare and enjoyment of a large community. In a sanitary point of view, the necessity of a large supply of water, in combination with a good system of sewerage, is now ad- mitted on all hands; — the disposition evinced everywhere to place at the disposal of the poorer classes much larger quantities of water, and more convenient arrangements for their constant domestic supply, and to promote the general establishment of baths and wash-houses, sufficiently exhibit the strong prevailing feeling in this respect. In a commercial point of view, both the quantity and the quality of the water supplied are also very important; in manufactures wherein water is used for the piirjiose of extracting vegetable or other principles from any substance; in the preparation of tea and coffee, in the saving of soap and labour in all detersive operations, in steam-engine hollers, and in economic processes generally, pure water has long been appreciated, and would no doubt be universally used where the expense of obtaining it is not too great. And wlie'n the influence of some small superiority of situation, or of the materials found or the facilities given on any spot, and tlie great extent to which competition now affects the profits of manu- facturers are considered, the necessity is evident for taking especial care to secure every advantage that may present itself. To Liverpool, in particular, witli its high commercial position, its large and rapidly increasing population, and its immense con- structions for the purposes of trade, science, and habitation, the advantage of a copious and permanent supply of good water can scarcely be over-rated. These prominent considerations, with many others easy to me:i- tion, have led me to approach the subject with anxiety, and to devote to it my best energies. I trust the result may prove of advantage to the town and its community. Supply from Wells. In my inquiry, it was clearly necessary in the first instance to ascertain correctly the quantity of water yielded by the existing wells, the influence which they exert upon each other, and the mode by which the water contained in the mass of sandstone is transmitted from one place to another. On this last and most important point the evidence adduced before me in Court was very conflicting, some of the witnesses maintaining, that however large a quantity might be pumped from one well, little or no effect was found to be produced upon those in the vicinity; and of this several well authenticated instances were certainly adduced, but a careful consideration of the whole mass of facts leads me to believe that these cases form rather the ex- ception than the rule; and that they are occasioned by local geo- logical faults, partially or wholly water tight, which are known to be interspersed throughout the new red sandstone formation in the neighbourhood of Liverpool. It appears to me, also, that the purport of the evidence offered on this part of the subject was entirely misconceived by the parties who adduced it; for, it is evident that if the sandstone was so impermeable as to prevent one well influencing another at a moderate distance, it would be exceedingly diflScult, if not abso- lutely impossible, to obtain a very large supply of water from any one well. As regards, indeed, the main question of obtaining from the sandstone an adequate supply of water, it is of the utmost con- sequence to establish indisputably that the sandstone is extremely permeable. All the witnesses who have studied the structure of the forma- tion on which Liverpool stands, concur in stating that it consists of a series of strata varying in permeability, and that large sheets of water may be conceived as spread out one above the other, being retained in their positions by intermediate beds more or less porous. Hence in sinking wells under ordinary circumstances, a gradual accession of water takes place as each succeeding stratum contain- ing the sheets of water alluded to is intersected. If this description of the structure represented truly the cha- racter of the sandstone, it is evident that wells would only affect each other when drawing water from the same series of strata; but there is a most important deviation from simple stratification in almost every part of the rock, from the existence of an infinite series of fissures, intersecting each other in every direction; a cir- cumstance which obviously destroys the insulation between the sheets of water. These fissures are, by some, supposed to be filled with clay, and thiis rendered impervious to water, which may be to some extent true; and it seems to be indicated by the circum- stances already mentioned that wells in some cases are not found to act upon each other. Dr. Buckland believes that some of these fissures are so ex- tensive and so completely charged with clayey matters, as to divide the formation into a series of boxes. Mr. Rowlandson in his evidence dissents in a great measure from this view, and while admitting that fissures exist, he denies that they are quite impermeable, and to establish this, refers to the influence which one well exerts upon another. On this point he says, "I believe that those fractures are general, and in fact, that the water is diffused throughout the whole district through those cracks, and that therefore they are not filled with the impermeable clay." In this opinion I concur. Different degrees of porosity unquestionably exist, satisfactorily accounting in my mind for the different degrees of influence which wells are found to exert on each other The facility with which the water will pass from one part of the sandstone to the other, depends principally on the size of the fissures, their character and their direction; and hence it is quite consistent with the existence of a very large number of fissures, that two wells at a great dis- tance may aflect each other while two that are near may show little or no connection. The most extensive and the best established series of facts bear- ing on this part of the question are those surrounding Green Lane, 18*0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 191 which were laid before me by Mr. Bold. I think no one can ex- amine the instances he records, of wells at great distances heina; immediately drained by pumping at Green Lane, without being struck by the remarkable facility with which the influence of the pumping is transmitted. If the cases adduced had been tew and partial, one might have hesitated in admitting such easy permea- bility as I believe to exist; but the sympathy here evinced is at once so extensive, and the evidence so authentic, as to free my mind from all doubt. It was urged, that the instances alluded to by Mr. Bold were only from shallow wells, and that the effect would not have been produced if they had been deep ones; but these wells cannot be truly stated as all shallow, nearly one half of them being from twenty to thirty-nine yards deep. This, however, does not strike me as of much importance, for if in both cases the easy diffusion, or the migration of water from one part of the formation to the otlier be equally well established, it matters not whether the wells be shallow or deep. My opinion is that, in considering the question of the supply of water, the rock may be looked upon as almost equally permeable in every direction, and the whole mass regarded as a reservoir up to a certain level, to which, whenever wells are sunk, water will always be obtained, more or less abundantly; and a very careful consideration of the facts that have come to my knowledge in the present investigation leads me to consider this view as the simplest and the only one capable of general application. Quantity of Water to be got from Wells. By thus recognising the permeability of the sandstone to a great extent, the question is relieved from many technical difficulties, which have caused much discussion without leading to any practi- cal result. I shall, therefore, now assume that wells are sunk into that portion of the rock which is charged with water, and en- deavour to ascertain what amount of water can be drawn from in- dividual wells so circumstanced. The effect of pumping from a well under such conditions will be to drain the adjacent rock, producing a comparative dryness on all sides, in such a manner as would be represented by an in- verted cone; the bottom of the well being the apex of that cone, the sloping sides would represent the inclined surface of the water, Sowing towards the well in all directions; and, as the pumping is continued, the sides of the cone will become more and more ob- tuse, or, in other words, more nearly horizontal, until an inclina- tion is established where the friction of the water, in moving through the pores and fissures of the rock, is in equilibrium with the gravity upon the plane. And this condition of equilibrium once established, any further pumping power would be useless, as the water must gradually lower in the well until it is exhausted; and no additional power of pumping could then avail in increasing the quantity of water drawn from it. The natural alternative under these circumstances is, to deepen the well by sinking a bore-hole, or to extend the filtering surface at its bottom by means of tunnels; and which of these methods is preferable has given rise to much difference of opinion. Where the pumping is periodical, the advantage of the tunnel or lodgment is unquestionably considerable, for it admits of the collection of a large body of water into these tunnels, as reservoirs, without causing much difference of level in the well itself; thus storing a quantity of water, in addition to what percolates gradually through the rocic, which may be pumped out of the reservoirs, and with any rapidity. Taking the view to be correct that the pumping from a well drains a conical mass of sandstone, until an equilibrium is estab- lished between the supply into the well and the draught from it, it would appear that the advantage of tunnelling is almost confined to its operation as a reservoir, for as the tunnel is extended it can only increase the drainage power of the well to the extent of a narrow band on each side of it, the slopes still corresponding with those of the side of the cone. Hence it is, I believe, demonstrable, that every attempt at increasing the yield of a well by tunnelling in the immediate vicinity of the well, can produce but limited permanent advantages. In illustration of this, let us suppose that in the adjoining figure, a well is sunk at a, and that it drains an area represented by the circle b c d e, and that a tunnel is driven from a towards d, say one mile in length, and that another well is sunk at d upon the extremity or upon the terminus of this tunnel. The only effect of this would be to increase the drainage area of the well a by the area / g h, together with the small triangular spaces shown on the figure; whereas instead of the tunnel being driven from a to rf, if the well at d had been sunk at h, the area drained would have been double that which was originally drained by a. This method of looking upon the area drained by a well as re- presented on the surface by a circle is not strictly correct, because its form will be of course modified by the relative sizes, characters, and directions of the fissures through which the water finds its way to the well. The area represented by the circle in the figure will, therefore, most probably be very irregular in outline, but the way described by which the supply of water is transmitted to the weU remains unchanged, and the conclusions to be derived from this reasoning may practically be depended on. There is another defect in the system of tunnelling for the pur- pose of enlarging the supply of water at any great depth. Experi- ence in Liverpool has clearly pointed out the necessity of, from time to time, deepening the wells in consequence of the increased demand upon them, and, with a system of tunnelling, the result would be similar, involving very great expense, and a most incon- venient operation. This inconvenience and expense has not hitherto operated with the public wells to any injurious e.\tent, because the increase that has been made in them has not been con- siderable, but where we have to look forward to the utmost efforts being used to obtain the greatest possible supply of water from the sandstone at the fewest points, arrangements certainly ought to be contemplated for augmenting from time to time the supply at those points. This view of the subject leads me to the opinion, that increasing the number of wells is likely to be a more permanent source of supply than extensive tunnelling, although the latter certainly admits of an easy mode of connecting the various sources of supply, and consequently of concentrating the whole of the pumping estab- lishments. Increase of Snpply by Boring. The other alternative for increasing the supply, namely, that of deepening the well, or of boring under it, has invariably been at- tended by an addition to the quantity of water yielded for at least some length of time; all the evidence which was given before me testifies that this may be safely reckoned upon. Let us now ex- amine what would be the effect upon a well so deepened, with its increased amount of pumping. It is clear that the space drained by the well before being deep- ened will now be increased in extent, and that an additional area will contribute water to the supply of the well; and this extension and consequent increase of the supply of water will proceed until the plane down which the water flows towards the weU shall have attained nearly the same angle as was originally maintained by the shallower well — that is, the angle of equilibrium between the force of gravity and the friction in passing through the fissures. But tlie increase of supply to a well by deepening it, is by no means in proportion to the depth gained, as the supply is in all cases limiteil by the resistance which the water experiences in flowing towards the well through the fissures. It is, however, probable that a more permanent increase will be produced by deepening the wells than by constructing tunnels; a suggestion of course chiefly applicable to wells situated at a considerable distance from the River Mersey. But all the public wells have already been sunk to the level of low-water mark, and from their proximity to the river it would, in my opinion, be inexpedient to increase the depth, either by sinkmg or boring, for if the sandstone be as pervious as I lliink it has been proved fo be, a considerable amount of the supply to them would be derived from the river itself, and consequently the quality of the water much impaired. There are numerous instances of wells having become brackish in the vicinity of the river; and, even at the distance of twelve 192 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [June, liundred yards, Mr. McGregor's well, from long continued pump- ing below low water, has thus become charged in a remarkable manner » ith sea salt, and there are many other well-known in- stances all tciuling to establish the fact, that when wells, especially if near the river, are pumped below the level of low-water mark, tlie permeability of the sandstone is such as to admit of impure water flowing iiito them. And this result is in perfect accordance with the views I have explained, and corroborates the statement of the mode in w hich the sandstone is drained by the pumping in individual wells. Tlie Booth Works. All these circumstances point out the impropriety of relying much, or even to any extent, upon an increase from deepening the existing public wells. To this remark Bootle may perhaps be made an exception, as the level of the water at the works there is so much aliove high-water mark, and cannot for some time be reduced to it ; hut their proximity to tlie river is such that any considerable deepening, accompanied by the abstraction of much larger quantities than at present, would even in them be likely to be attended by an influx of water from the river. The Bootle \Vorks furnish a very p-ood example of the free com- munication through the sandstone by fissures or otherwise, from the circumstance of the water in a quarry at a distance of about half a mile being much influenced in level by the rate of pumping at the Water 'Works. The foreman (John Prescott) states distinctly tliat the Bootle Quarry maintained the level of water at about 54 feet from the surface from the time of its being opened until the engines at Bootle commenced working night and day, when the level of the water sank to 60 feet from the surface; and that when this rate of pumping ceased and the water was allowed to accumu- late in the reservoir at Bootle, a corresponding rise took place in tlie level of the water in the quarry, and prevented the works pro- ceeding in the manner deemed most eligible. The Bootle Works also afford a very interesting and instructive lesson as to the efl"ect of bore-holes, and clearly demonstrate that the increase of their number with very varying depths does not regulate the quantity of water to be ohtained by their means. In the reservoirs at these works there are 16 bore-holes, each of them having been made for the purpose of supplying an additional quantity of water. Their efficiency was thus tested. The reser- voirs having been pumjied dry and all the bore-holes tightly plugged, the supply to the reservoirs when in this condition was small, consisting only of some leakage through the bottom, and what came from the engine well. The plug was then removed from a bore-hide 308 feet deep, and the yield was ascertained to be at the rate of 921,192 gallons per 21 hours. A second bore-hole .599 feet deep was next unplugged and the yield increased to 949,461 gallons; and so in succession each of the remaining bore- holes was unplugged until the whole were opened. By referring to Table No. 7 in the Appendix the result of each step of the ex- periment will be found recorded, and it will be observed that the total increase by opening 15 bore-holes amounted only to about 112,792 gallons per 24 hours, being little more than an addition of one-tentli to the yield when only the first was unplugged. But the first experiment, showing a yield of 921,192 gallons, although important, is not entirely free from objection, arising out of the circumstance of the passage of water from the plugged bore-holes through fissures in the rock between them and the lodgment or the engine well. It may be inferred from the evidence of Thomas German the engine-man at Bootle, that as each successive bore-hole was put flow n an increa'-e of water was at first obtained, and the circum- stances attending one or two of them would lead to the snpjiosition of the supply being derived from independent fissures; they are now, however, all more nearly in a state of equilibrium, and in effect deriving their supply from one common source. If a pump were applied to the first of the bore-holes which was unplugged and the vvater drawn from it as quickly as it flowed, the yield of the neighliouring bore-hole-; would immediately almost cease, their ( ontents being absorbed by the pump; or if the arrangement be I h:iiiged, the same anKuint of pumping pow I'r distriliuted amongst the entire number of bore-ludes, each would yield a quantity similar to that which flows into the lodgments under the ordinary course of working. Every .-iddition to the pumping power would equally lower the level of the w.ater in each bore-hole, and these results could only be modified by the lateral communications between the bore-holes not being uniformly ]>crmeable, but it is evident from the above experiment, where the flow was interfei-ed with so little by the majority of the bore-holes being plugged, that great uniformity exists in these channels of communication. This group of bore-holes at Bootle presents a complete epitome of what is actually going on upon a large scale throughout the tow n of Liverpool. The dift'erence is only one of degree, consisting in the intervention of a large mass of rock between the wells, which ofl^ers more difficulty to the free passage of water from one to the other. Source of Supply. But, before referring more particularly to the wells in the town, or their influence upon each other, I may state my idea generally as to the source of the supply, and the mode of its distribution in the sandstone. I conceive that the source from which all the strata and fissures in the sandstone become charged, is the rain falling upon the sur- face of the surrounding country; that so soon as they are fully charged the surplus overflows and is discharged into the adjoining brooks and rivers; and that the rain which falls upon the surface and finds its way into the fissures, passes through apertures or channels of limited area, and wiU consequently form an inclined plane towards the easiest outfall, the angle of this plane with the horizon varying slightly, according to the wetness of the sea.son. This view is illustrated by the outfall along the margin of the River iVIersey, of a number of springs deriving their supply from the in- clined plane of water which rises towards the high ground of Ever- ton and Edge Hill; and such is generally the state of things when wells are first sunk. In order that a well should yield a supply of water at all seasons, it must be carried below the extreme fluctua- tions of the angles described; and the effect produced upon the plane by sinking a number of wells below it, and extracting water from them, would be to form a series of indentations, varying in depth and extent, according to the intensity of the draught and the permeability of the strata. These views are somewhat similar to those expressed by Mr. Newlands and Mr. Rowlandson, and are corroborated by the elaborate sections of wells furnished by the former gentleman re- presenting their depths with the usual level of the water in them. Periodic Influences. It is now necessary to advert to the theory of Mr. Gage respect- ing certain periodic influences to which he ascribes the rise and fall of the level of the water in the wells. For the purpose of illustration, he has favoured me with a section which shows the highest and lowest levels of the water during each week, from January 1846, to June 1847, which are prepared with care, and exhibit well the facts they represent. I cannot, however, arrive at the same conclusions with him. The first section, referring to the Soho station, shows, from January to March 1816, a gradual elevation of the level of the water, and from March to June, a gradual depression. Following the section, we find that from June to August, there is a consider- able rise, which is no doubt attributable to the bore-hole made about that period, and probably to the fact stated by Mr. M'Donald, that the pumping at this station was not then so continuous as before, owing to the Windsm* engine being worked for more hours. From August 1846, to Januai-y 1847, this elevation is very steadily maintained, but then declines to the follow ing May and June, indicating, perhaps, to some extent, the falling off of the first accession of water from the bore-hole, which is stated to have been in progress between August 1846, and May 1847. The general contour of the section, after the boring, certainly affords no proof of the periodic rise in March, broached by Mr. (iage; and as he does not give the weekly quantities pumped from the well, there are no data to show that the undulation in the levels did luit arise simply from the abstraction of varying quan- tities of water during the periods to which reference is made. If there be any such influence, it appears to me that it would operate entirely against his opinion of the chief supply of water to the sandstone being derived from beneath. But this subject, although of considerable interest in a philosophical point of view has not really any important practical bearing upon the question before us. In oi'der, however, to ascertain the fluctuation which the level of the water does undergo in the different wells, I have prepared and given in the Appendix, sections for the year 1849, exhibiting the greatest and least heights, with the important addition of the ([uantities pumped out each week; thus affording an opportunity of judging whether the variations at dift'erent seasons are not truly ascribable to this cause. The examination of these sections has perfectly convinced me that the levels of the water in the several 18S0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 193 wells follow always an inverse ratio to the quantities of water ab- stracted. Takinj; the Soho station at the end of February, when the level was at the hifjhest, it will be seen that the average weekly number of hours worked, for nine weeks equally distant from the end of February, amounted to 70i, and the average quantity to 2,300,510 gallons, whereas in the following month of June, when the level was lowest, the average number of hours jier week for nine weeks amounted to ISflJ, and tlie average quantity to 4,160,881 gallons, a cause quite sufficient in itself to account for the level of the water in the well subsiding without having recourse to any more abstruse reasoning. At the ^Vater-street station the average work for thirteen weeks, extending over March, April, and May, was 65 hours per week, and the average quantity pumped 2,552,095 gallons, while the average often weeks over part of July, August, and September, was 8t hours per week, and the average quantity pumped 3,084,129 gallons. These sections are, in my opinion, very informing when thus accompanied by the weekly quantities pumped from the wells. They show that, when the' draught is equal to tlie supply, the general contour remains horizontal; that when tlie drauglit is increased this line declines, and again becomes horizontal when the equilibrium has re-established itself; and that the lower level begins to ascend immediately the quantity abstracted becomes reduced. It is therefore evident that the cause of the alterations in level is chiefly to be ascribed to the abstraction of different quantities of water by pumping. A careful study of the facts which have now been referred to and explained has led me to the following conclusions: — That an abundance of water is stored up in the new red sand- stone, and may be obtained by sinking shafts and driving tunnels about the level of low water. That tlie sandstone is very pervious, admitting of deep wells drawing their supply from distances exceeding one mile. That the permeability of the sandstone is occasionally interfered with by faults or fissures filled with argillaceous matter, some- times rendering them pai-tially or wholly water-tight. That neither by sinking, tunnelling or boring can the yield of any well be very materially and permanently increased, except so fur as the contributing area may be tliereby enlarged. That the contributing area to any given well is limited by the amount of friction experienced by the movement of the water through the fissures and pores of the sandstone. And That there is little or no probability of obtaining permanently more than about 1,000,0U0 or 1,200,000 gallons a-day, and this only when not interfered with by other deep wells. (To be continued.J ON THE SEAVAGE OF TOWNS. At the last meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of Eng- land, Col. Grey informed the Council that this important subject had, along with the general interest it had lately excited in the piiblic mind, become a matter of interest and study to his Royal Highness Prince Albert, and that lie was commanded by his Royal Highness to bring before the Council of the Society, for their con- sideration and inquiry, should they think the subject worthy of it, what had struck his Royal Highness as being a simple plan for effecting the object in view. Leaving it to more competent judges to decide whether the sewage should be used as a liquid manure, or solidified, upon which point his Royal Highness wished to give no opinion himself, he had confined his consideration to the latter mode of application, for two reasons, namely, that in the solid form — 1. It could be more easily transported; 2. It could be obtained at the least possible expense. Colonel Grey then proceeded to describe the plan proposed by his Royal Highness, which was simply this : — to form a tank, with a perforated false bottom, upon whicli a filtering medium should be laid; anlto admit at one end the sewage into the tank, bc/ow the false bottom, when, according to the principle of water re- gaining its own level, the sewage liquid would rise through the liltering bed to its oi-iginal level in the tank, and provided tlie filtering medium had been of the proper nature, and of sufficient thickness, it would be thus freed from all mechanical impurity, and would pass off into the drain, at the other end of the tank, as clean and clear as spring water. Tliis simple and effective plan was illustrated by drawings, sho« ing tlie \'ertical and horizontal sections cf the tank, and by a neatly constructed modelof itsexternalforniand internal arrangements. It was also clearly shown by these sections, how the sewage matter could be let into the tank, or shut off, when necessary, in the simplest manner, by means of common valves; and with what facility such a filtering tank might be applied to every existing arrangement of sewers without requiring any altera- tion 'in their structure. The filtering medium having abstracted from the sewage all extraneous matter, would, in all probability, become the richest manure, and could, at any time, by stopping the supply of sewage, be taken out by a common labourer with a shovel, and carted or shipped to any place thought most desirable. The solid matter, too, field in suspension liy the sewage, would probably form a very rich deposit at the bottom of the tank, of a substance approaching in its qualities to guano, and could be extracted by removing tlie false bottom, which rested on arches or vertical supporters over the sewage beloiv it in the tank, and could be easily made to lift up or take out for the purpose of such extrac- tion. Two tanks might easily be constructed together, so that one might continue in operation while tlie other was being emptied. Tlie experiment niiglit be tried at any house-drain in town or country; in fact, his Royal Highness liad himself tried the opera- tion on a small scale with apparent success; and while he thus suggested an important and extensive application of the hydrosta- tical principle involved in the plan proposed, he wished to lay no claim to originality in the adoption of that well-known law of fluid bodies by which they make an effort, proportionate to their dis- placement, to regain'their original equilibrium. On that principle was founded as he was well aware, the upward-filtering apparatus used by the Thames water companies. His Royal Highness's great object was by the simplest possible means to attain a great end; to effect an essential sanitary improvement, and at the same time to create a new source of national wealth by the very means employed for the removal of a deadly nuisance, and the convei'sion of decom- posing matter highly noxious to animal life into the most powerful nutriment for vegetation. His Royal Highness, too, wished to offer no opinion on the details required to complete the plan proposed, or on the mode of carrying it out in the most effective manner. Supposing it to be right in principle, its advantages in an economical point of view could only, his Royal Highness conceived, be ascertained by prac- tical experience; and it was on that account that he wished to sub- mit it to the consideration of the Agricultural Society, who might be better able to carry out the necessary experiments. It would remain to be decided what is chemically or mechanically the best and what the cheapest substance for the filter; what the best and cheapest construction of the tank; how long the sewage will pass before the filter becomes choked; and how soon the filter could be sufficiently saturated to make it profitable as a manure. His Royal Highness had used as the filtering medium, the following sub- stances:— 1. Charcoal: — admitted to be the most perfect filtering substance for drinking water, retaining effectually extraneous matters, and well known for its singular powers of purification. 2. Gypsum (plaster of Paris, or sulphate of lime): — recommended by agricul- tural chemists for fixing ammonia and other volatile substances, by the decomposition to which it becomes subject when exposed to the action of volatile alkali. 3. Clay: — in its burnt state, would act mechanically as a filtering bed ; and in its unburnt state, on account of its aluminous salts, has also the property, like gypsum, of fixing ammonia, or of decomposing the ammoniacal and otlier alkaline salts present in manure: and in either state would be cheaply procured. All these substances, his Royal Highness thought, would in themselves be highly useful as manures, independently of the purpose they would subserve as agents for filtration, or for the additional amount of manuring matter they would receive from the sewage which they purified. His Royal Highness, however, in thus incidentally referring to the substances he had himself employed for the filtering medium, was well aware how many more of equal, if not superior, value, would suggest themselves to others, who, like himself, felt an interest in effecting the important object proposed. As he had given no opinion on the general question of liquid or solid application of manure, but had merely stated the grounds of preference, in a practical sense, of the solid form over the liquid for the purposes of the filtering operation under con- sideration, his Royal Highness entered into no discussion of tlie amount of maiuirii'ig matter retained by the filter compared with the soluble matter that might pass through it along with the water, and remain in that liquid in a soluble, colourless, and transparent form; nor of the value of such filtered water for agricultural purposes. 27 191 THE CIVIL EXGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [June, EXPERIMENTS ON CAST IRON. A Series of Expkbiments on the Cojipabative Stbenoth of dif- ferent Kindx of Cast Ikon, jn their simple state as cast from the Pig, and also in their compounded state as Mixtures; made under the directions of Robert Stephenson, Esq., with a inew to the selection of the most suitable for the various purposes required in the construction of the High Level Bridge. The bars were all cast from the same model, and as near as pos- sible one inch square. They were all weij^hted on the centre of their length by a machine made expressly for testing the same, having a fixed distance of bearing of e.xactly three feet. The experiments were conducted at Gateshead Iron Works between the months of September IStG, and February 1817. The bars were all cast as near as practicable one inch square, those which were found to be defective in this respect were rejected previous to testing. If, however, upon the breaking of the bars and measuring across the section of fracture, any dilference from the true size was discovered, it was noted in the remarks. When the diiFerence was not appreciable by measurement it is stated "rather full in size;" when it was, the dimensions are given as ^ih square, 1^ wide, by I3W deep, and when this occurs, the breaking weights are reduced to one inch square. Note.— From this point +, whenever it occurs, the weighting was conlirued by small shot, 7 pounds at a time, run from a cup containing that weigh!, until the bar broice, when if any remained in the cup it was weighed baclt. — B indicates the breaking weight. HOT-BLAST IRON. I. Scotch— Hot Blast. Weight applied in lbs. ^ 406 518 1. Metal mild and open in the grain at the centre of the bar. r 2. Fracture more close than No. 1. 3. Close and uniform ■{ I 630 086 B 742 406 518 630 686 + 742 ^B 779 406 518 630 686 + 742 B804 Deflection. •265 •36 •44 •51 •31 •39 •495 •535 •59 •655 •315 •41 •54 •01 •65 •74 Set. Mean breaking weight of the three bars, 775 lb. II. Coltnets, No. 3.— Hot Blast. 406 1 . Metal clear and even in texture ; open ; rather dark in colour. 2. Metal as No. 1. r 3. Metal as above. This bar exceeded the size by -^ in depth. 406 518 630 058 680 714 + 742 15 809 Mean breaking weight of the three bars, 1 III Langloan, No. 3. — Hoi Blast. {406 518 030 B728 •325 •43 •56 •59 •63 ■82 •35 ■475 ■02 ■665 ■74 •30 •395 •51 ■54 •575 •607 •045 ■065 •027 ■04 6 •07 •04 •07 ■10 •02 •03 •052 89 lb. •33 •44 •575 •66 •025 ■04 •07 Weicht applied Deflection. Set. in Ihi, , 406 •31 ■015 2. Better fracture tlian No. 1. Soft open , 518 630 •415 •53 •025 ■05 fluid iron. + 686 l- B768 ■595 •71 r 400 •33 •035 518 •43 •055 3. Ditto ■ 630 •56 •075 . B086 •63 Mean breaking weight of tlie three bars, 7271b. IV. Omoa, No. 3.— Hot Blast. f 406 ■29 •02 518 •38 •03 1. Close even fracture. Colour darkish . blue. 630 686 •48 •54 •05 742 ■60 + 798 •67 , B940 ■845 , 406 •30 ■022 513 ■39 ■035 630 •49 ■0;7 686 ■545 2. Ditto ■ 742 798 + 826 >- B938 •605 •675 •71 ■86 , 406 518 •28 •015 •36 •025 630 •455 •04 3. Appearance of fracture as preceding bars, Nos. 1 and 2. 086 •52 742 •575 798 •64 + 826 •67 ^ B840 •78 Mean breaking weight of the three bars 9061b. V. Omoa, No. l.—Hot Blast. , 406 518 ■33 ■02 ■44 •114 630 ■565 ■006 1. Colour dark soft, open, grey iron.. • 658 + 686 - B771 •60 •63 •75 , 406 518 ■32 •015 •397 •025 630 •505 ■035 Bar full in size ; metal as No. 1 ... . • 658 ■535 2. 686 ■505 714 •60 + 742 •035 L B840 ■76 Mean breaking weight of th i two bars, 805 lb. VI. Redsdale, No. 3.- -Hot Blast , 406 •23 •017 518 ■375 ■03 030 ■47 ■05 1. Fracture clean ; colour light grey ; 686 •525 free, kindly looking iron. 742 798 + 826 L B1043 ■58 ■61 •67 ■96 r 406 ■265 ■01 518 ■35 •02 630 •435 •03 2. Ditto ■ 086 ■485 712 ■535 + 798 ■595 ^ B 943 •70 , 406 518 ■25 •012 •325 •015 030 •41 •02 686 •45 3. This bar was lyV deep ; the breaking 742 •50 weight is giten as reduced to one < 793 •555 inch. 826 + 854 1124 i-Biose ■585 ■615 •95 Mean breaking weight of the three bars, 1014 1b. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 195 Vn. Redsdale. No. I.— Hoi Blast. 1. Clear fracture ; colour dark; soft, open j grain iron. 2. Ditto, as No. 1 bar 3. Ditto, as Nos. 1 and 2 . Weiplit a[>plic(l Deflection. Set. in lbs. r 406 •305 •025 518 •405 ■055 630 ■52 •072 686 •60 742 •66 + 770 ■70 . B795 •725 , 406 518 •317 •035 •425 •OfiS 630 "> 686 •545 •095 •615 ] 742 "- B809 •69 •775 r 406 •315 ■03 518 •415 ■05 630 •54 •07 686 •61 742 •685 + 770 ■725 B777 ■735 Mean brealiing weight of the three bars, 794 lb. Vlil. Redsdale, No. 1. — Hot Blast. Bars cast from metal sent purposely for testing. r J. Light grey colour; rather open in i middle. i 2. Open clear metal, lilie to No. 1 bar.. 406 .32 •025 518 •42 •04 6:i0 ■54 •07 + G86 ■61 B934 ■97 406 •315 •03 518 ■425 •06 630 ■505 ■07 C86 ■635 ■085 742 ■705 798 •78 B826 •83 406 •325 ■03 518 •425 •045 630 •54 •065 686 •605 •075 742 •675 798 •75 + 826 •79 B99(i . •102 . This har was IjV square; the metal of a clear bright fracture, lilie to the two preceding bars Mean breaking weight of the three bars, 919 lb. IX. Tow-Law, No. 3.— Hot Blast. Broke; short iron ; light grey colour ; mild and clear. 2. Clear, good appearance, but evidently tender iron. L 40G •35 518 •485 630 •645 B686 •70 406 •37 518 ■495 630 ■585 + 686 ■715 B731 ■775 •03 •06 •095 •03 ■045 •U7 Mean breaking weight of the two bars, 708 lb. Average breaking weight of the preceding 25 bars, cast from nine sorts of hot-blast iron ........ 826 lb. Average ultimate deflection from 23 of the bars . . . . •789 in. Average permanent set acquired in 22 of the bars from a weight of 6301b -066 COLD-BLAST IRON. I. Staffordshire, No. 2,.— Cold Blast. (Number doiibtfid.) Deflection. Colour dark; iron soft and open for No. 3 iron. Weigiit appliei in lbs. (- 406 I 518 630 686 742 + 770 B867 •305 •40 •51 •57 •64 ■675 •79 Set. •02 •035 •05 Weight applied Deflection. r 2. Not quite so dark colour as No. 1 bar. / Bar rather full in size. Similar fracture to No. 2 bar. defect on bottom side. Slight J ill lbs. 406 •285 •015 518 ■37 •03 630 •465 •035 742 •59 770 •62 + 798 •655 B955 •85 406 •32 •02 518 •42 ■035 630 •53 ■065 686 •59 742 •66 770 •70 B798 •73 Mean breaking weight of the three bars, 873 lb. II. Crawshay Wekh iron, No. 1. — Cold Blast. C 1. Clear bright fracture; metal open and free. 2. Ditto, as No. 1 bar 3. Bar slightly full in size ; metal as in j the preceding bars. ') Mean breaking weight of the three bars, 873 lb. 406 ■295 •025 518 •385 •045 630 •49 •05 680 •55 742 •62 + 770 •655 B900 •82 406 •32 •025 518 •42 •045 630 •53 •06 686 •60 742 •665 + 770 •70 B845 •81 406 •275 •012 518 •36 •03 630 •465 •05 686 •525 + 714 •56 B874 •77 III. Blaenavon, No. I. — Cold Blast. f 406 I 518 1. Colour dark grey ; open free iron .. <( 630 I 686 1^ B742 f 406 1 518 i 030 1 +686 L B805 2. Ditto as No. 1 bar. f 406 Sl'Sl't <; 630 I 686 I B714 Mean breaking weight of the three bars, 754 lb 3 Ditto as No. 1 and 2 bars, defect on under side. 34 46 62 715 79 35 465 607 705 91 36 485 65 735 IV. Coalirooh Vale, No. \.— Cold Blast. r 1. Close dull fracture; defect in under- side. Bar snapped suddenly. Clearer fracture than No. 1 iron ther close for No. 1 quality. ,..\ I 406 518 030 742 B 784 406 518 630 742 + 770 B90o 406 518 630 742 + 798 B938 Mean breaking weight of the three bars, 876 lb 3. Similar fracture to No. 2 har; slight defect in upper side. Rather full in size. r L •325 •42 •52 •635 •285 •38 •48 •58 •61 •70 •28 •37 •455 •555 •615 ■76 •035 •055 •095 •03 7 •06 •105 •045 ■06 ■11 ■01-2 ■015 •03 •015 •02 •03 •015 •02 •025 27* 1!>G THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [June, V. Coall/rooi Vale, No. i.— Cold Blast. 1. Light colour ; close iron ; slight de- fect on upper biile. Bar ratlier full in size. 2. Fracture same in colonr and appear, ance as No. 1 bar. 3. Similar fracture to No. 1 and 2 hars . <; Weit:tit applied ju lb~. ^ iOli I 518 J 630 j 742 + 798 *- B 910 490 ! .518 030 742 + 798 11948 406 518 630 742 798 + 826 B833 L DefleclioD. •30 •385 •48 •595 •655 •77 •285 •37 •455 •56 •62 •775 •28 •365 •455 •56 •62 •65 •66 Mb. Set. ■01 015 •022 •015 •017 •017 •015 ■(125 ■03 Mean breaking weight of the three bars, 897 Average breaking weight of the preceding 15 bars, cast from five sorts of cold-blast iron Average ultimate deflection from 14 of the bars . . . Average permanent set acquired from 15 of the bars, with a weight ofC301b 855 1b. •784 in. ■051 MIXTURES OF IRONS. Ystalyfera, No. 3. — Hot Blast. Anthracite. These bars do not rightly come under the head of mirtures, but are placed here from their peculia- rity as being Anlhracile iron. r Metal close, of even texture. silvery grey. Metal very close, fracture even. Co- lour silvery grey, as above. Metal as the preceding bars, in co- lour and appearance of fracture. Ditto as above . 406 518 Colour ] 630 "I 086 +742 *- B877 406 518 630 686 742 770 + 798 B1008 406 518 630 686 742 770 798 + 8'26 L B998 ( 406 j 518 630 742 798 +326 \Ji 1036 f 406 618 030 686 30 C58 r I +0S6 Dtflection. •30 •395 ■4'J •515 •01 •64 •74 •3-25 •425 •53 •505 •5 742 •685 770 •73 + 798 L B823 ■78 •84 Mean breaking weight of tlie three bars, 822 lb. XVI. Mixture for Railwaij Chairs, ^thpart Crmoshaij, No. \—Cold Blast. ^part Redsdale, No. Z—Hot Blast, ■^rdpart Scotch, No. 1 and Ti— Hot Blast. r I. Dark grey; uniform texture. 2. Metal dull grey, as above; close and uaifurm. 406 51S 630 0S6 742 798 826 +854 BOdI 406 518 630 686 742 708 826 +854 B944 3. Metal as No. 1 and 2 bars 406 518 630 686 742 798 826 854 +882 B889 Mean breaking weight of the three bars, 928 { •27 ■35 ■4 35 ■485 •54 •60 ■ma •655 •77 •27 •36 •455 •51 •56."> •6i5 •66 •69 •80 •295 •38 •48 •535 •595 •035 •665 ■685 •715 •72 lb. •012 •02 •03 •04 •017 •02", •035 •U5 •015 •035 •04 •05 REGISTER OF ME-VIT PATENTS. STEAM BOILERS. William Edward Newto.v, of Chancery-lane, Middlesex, civil engineer, for "(m invention of certain imjirovenients in steam boilers." (A communication.) — Granted August 23, 1849; En- rolled February 23, 1850. [Reported in Newton's London Journal.} The annexed engraving represents, in longitudinal vertical sec- tion, a boiler constructed according to the present invention; a, the fire-place; i, the fire-bars, surrounded by a wall of fire-bricks c, built upon a ledge or platform /), made of sheet or wrought-iron, and set in the masonry. The wall of fire-bricks thus forms a kind of shallow well, the bottom of which is formed by the fire-bars b. Fuel is supplied to the fire-place through an opening in front. The upper part e, of the fire-place, where the heat from the fuel is de- veloped, is made conical, with an aperture at the top for the escape of the non-combustible gases up the flue /. The water of the boiler surrounds this conical fire-chamber and vertical flue; and the effect of this arrangement is, that the greater portion of the rays of heat, which radiate from the incandescent fuel, impinge against the sides of the cone, and are absorbed by the water which surrounds the same; while the rest are reflected back upon the fuel, and the heat in the fire-place is thereby very considerably in- creased; so that, as the combustible gases are evolved from the fuel, they are immediately consumed, instead of passing into the flue or chimney and escaping uselessly into the atmosphere. The conical chamber e, and the flue /, leading therefrom, the inventor prefers to construct of sheet copper, — that metal being a much better conductor of heat than iron, g, is the outer casing of the boiler, made of sheet-iron, and surrounded on all sides by a bed of sand, or other bad conductor of heat, for the purpose of preventing. as far as possible, loss of caloric by radiation. The boiler is, hy means of a supply-pipe A, kept nearly full of water, as shown; and the steam that is generated in the boiler passes therefrom throutch a pipe A-, into the steam-chamber i, wherein any water that may come over with the steam will be deposited; and only dry steam will be allowed to pass from the upper part of the vessel », down the steam-pipe y, to the engine. The steam-chamber i, is furnislied with a safety-valve A', and the upper end of the flue or chimney /i is provided with a throttle-valve, for the purpose of regulating the draft. Air, to support combustion, is supplied by the pipe /, to the ash-pit, where it becomes warmed before it acts upon the fuel. \Vhen it is requisite to remove the conical chamber e, and copper flue./", and replace these parts by new ones, the top or cover <;', of the boiler is first removed; the base of the cone e, is then detached from the cast-iron platform p, and the feeding aperture rf, from the sides of the vessel g\ after which, the flue /, and conical chamber e, are free to he lifted out, without deranging or displacing any- thing else, and a new chamber e, may be readily adapted to the boiler. In order to set forth with clearness the nature of his improve- ments, the inventor makes the following observations on the prin- ciple of the generation of steam: — "It is based," he says, "upon the difference in density or temperature of two bodies — viz., the incandescent fuel and the water, which have always a tendency to balance themselves or maintain an equilibrium. Thus, in order to maintain a given expansive force of steam, certain conditions are necessarj- — viz., first, the combustion of a given quantity of fuel in the fire-place; second, a certain temperature of the fluids in the flue or chimney must he maintained, dependent of course upon the temperature required in the boiler; third, the metal, of which the inner parts e, and /^ of the boiler are constructed, and which transmit the caloric from the fire to the water, must be one of the best conductors of heat, and he placed in a condition to con- duct the heat as quickly as possible from the fire to the water; and fourth, the metal of which the outer part of the boiler is con- structed should be preserved as much as possible from radiating or conducting away the caloric. The above conditions are necessary, because the volume of steam will correspond to the volume or quantity of fuel employed; and upon the temperature maintained in the chamber e, aiul "chimney /, will depend the rapidity with 200 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [June, H-liich heat will lie transmitted and steam can be produced; the iiuictcer ani more povverfiil the transmission of caloric may be, the less extent of surface «ill he reciuired: the pressure in the boiler H'ill correspond with, or be in proportion to, the temperature of the water; and this pressure will increase or diminish as the tempera- ture of the water increases or diminishes. Now, the rays of heat beinjr diveri,'ent, and the temperature of the s-i'^es, which i)ass oif by the orifice of the chimney, beinj,' in direct ])roportion to the in- tensity of the fire, or equal to that of the steam contained in the boiler, we may conclude that theheatinfr surface of the chamber p, and flue f, is more than sufTR-ient to take up and transmit the lar^'cst quantity of caloric which can be fjiven out by the fire; and that the speed w itli which this beatinfr surface transmits tiie caloric to the water is equal to the rapidity witli which caloric is given off from the incandescent fuel; and further, that the practice of using the large extent of heating surface, which it has always hitherto been considered necessary to employ, in constructing steim-boilers or generators, is not derixed from a principle or natural law, but merely from a rule laid down by constructors and engineers, and admitted a priori." 'i'he i)atentee claims the combination, with a vertical flue, of a conical fire-place or enlarged heating chamber at the lower part of the same, or any mere modification thereof; whereby the intensity of the fire in the fire-place may be greatly increased' by a portion of the caloric given out from the incandescent fuel being reflected back upon the fuel or combustible gases in the enlarged heating- chamber; and which fuel and combustible gases are thereby more effectually and economically consumed than in steam-boiler fur- naces, with a more extended heating surface and less intensity of heat. RAILWAY AFHEELS. Enoch Chambers, of Birmingham, smith, for ^'■improvements in the manufacture of wheels." — Granted November 10, 1849; Enrolled Way 10, 18.50. AV^heels made according to this invention are each first made up into two halves, each halfconsisting of one half of the ring or felloe, one half the spokes, and one-half of the nave, all of wrought-iron, and the parts of a wheel are made in the following manner: — For each half of the nave a block or plate of iron is forged in a cylin- drical exterior frame, with a flange or ])roiection all round, and this flange or projection is to be drawn out by forging, so as to form projecting pieces at those parts in the circumference wliere the spokes are to be welded on. In the wheel shown in the drawings which accompany the specification there are eiglit spokes, four on each half-wheel, and in all cases this construction of wheel requires to have an even number of sjiokes, half being afiixed or welded to one-half of the nave, and the other half of the spokes being fixed to the other half of the nave, and the spokes being )>laced in such relative positions that those of the one half shall come into the spaces between those of the other half. The projection or flange being thus drawn out or forged at intervals on each half of the nave of an intended wheel, so as to produce pnqier projections for the purpose of receiving the spokes; the spokes are to be welded on, each spoke having a portion of the ring or felloe of the wlieel forged thereon, the alternate jiortions of the felloe or ring beimr 0.1 the two half naves respectively; so that when the two are brought together, and the inner surfaces of the two half naves are brought together, they w ill form the wheel. The two half naves are to be Iirougbt to a welding heat, and being jilaced one on the other in the position above described, are to be welded together by a suitable hammer or press. The patentee prefers to use a steam hammer for this jiurpose; and the parts of the felloe or ring of the wheel where they come together are also to be welded, and the tyre is to be shrunk on, and the wheel completed. The centre of the nave of the wheel is to be cut or turned out, and made suitable to receive the axle-tree, as shown, and as is well understood. Instead of welding the spokes and part of the felloe to the half naves before welding the half naves together, the spokes and parts of the felloe may be welded on afterwards, but the former method is preferred. In tiie preceding descrijition special reference is had to railway wheels, but the same method of construction is ecpially applicable to wheels for common- road carriages and wagons. Claims. - 1. The manufacture of wiieels by first making the nave in two parts (divided vertically) each having half the number of spokes, with a portion of the felloe attached to each spoke, and tiien welding together, the said two half naves, after which the tyre is shrunk on as usual. — 2. The making of wrought iron naves with tivo flanges, each to receive, and have welded thereto^ one lialf of the spokes of which a wheel is to be compj»ed. SIEMENSS REGENERATIVE CONDENSER. On Siemem's Patent Regenerative Condenser. By .Mr. C. W. SiKMENS, of Birmingham. (Paper read at the Society of Arts, May 15th; Robert Stephenson. Esq., M.P., V.P., in the Chair.) The paper commences with a historical sketch of the Condenser of the Steam-engine, from the invention of Savery, in which a single vessel served the triple pur])Ose of steam-cylinder, condenser, and water-pump, to James W^itt's injection condenser. Horn- blower ])roposed a surface-condenser, which was, however, deficient in extent of cooling surface, and therefore failed, as have many others invented since; the most prominent being that of Mr. Samuel Hall, in which the steam was jiassed through tubes im- mersed in a stre:im of cold ivater. This condenser has the serious drawbacks of weight, costliness, and difficulty of getting rid of the calcareous deposits from the condensed steam. HI St. pn^ -di> -^.^f ^ 1^ Three years ago Mr. Siemens invented his surface-condenser for a situation where economy of space and material was essential. It consists of a number of copper plates ^^-inch in thickness, 4^ inches broad, and 2 feet long, which are piled together with two longitudinal flattened wires of the same metal intervening between the adjacent plates, the whole pile being screwed up tight together between the sides of a rectangular cast-iron vessel, constituting the body of the condenser. The ends of the plates project through the top and bottom of the vessel, and are planed flush with its ex- terior surfaces. The joints are at top and bottom, secured by means of india-rubber rings, screweil down under small cast-iron frames, and which yield to the difference in expansiim of the two metals. The flattened wires are laid parallel, and about three inches apart, and form, with the plates, a large number of narrow passages, through which the cold condensing water flows in an up- ward direction without entering the vacuous space of the con- denser, into which the ends of the plates outside the flattened wires — forming the condensing surfaces — project. The heat of the steam is thus passed through the plates, from their edges towards the centre, to the condensing water, — the limit to its eflicicncy being the conducting power of the metal. 1850 ] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 201 The essential features of this invention are its comparative cheapness of construction, the easy access it affords to the water- channels, and reduction in the quantity of condensing-water required. Its dimensions are as follows: — Heat-absorbing surface by the the water . 18 sq. feet per h p. Condensing surface 9 do. do. Thickness of metal through which the heat is conducted 1} inch. Weight of copper 60 lb. per h.p. Space occupied by plates -4 cube feet per h.p.; or y^th part of the space occupied by the tubes in Hall's condenser. Encouraged by the success of this condenser, Mr. Siemens has directed his attention to the achievement of a still more important object, which is to condense the steam in such a manner, that the condensing water issues into the hot well at boiling heat, and yet pro- duces an efficient vacuum within the working cylinder. This appears paradoxical at first sight, yet it has been succesfully ac- complished by a perfectly new principle, called by Mr. Siemens the 'Regenerative Principle of Condensation.' It consists of a rect- angular trunk A, of cast-iron, the lower end of which is cylindrical, and contains a working piston P, whicli performs two strokes for each one of the engine. In the trunk is a set of copper plates B, upright and parallel to each other, — the intervening spaces being the same as the thickness of the plates, viz. — between yjth and •jijth of an inch. The upper extremity of the condenser communicates on one side to the exhaust-port of the engine, and on the other through a valve V, to the hot-well H. The plates are fastened together by five or more thin bolts, with small distance-washers between each plate. There is a lid at the top of the trunk, by removing which the set of plates can be lifted out. Immediately below the plates the injection-pipe enters. The action of the condenser is as follows: — Motion is given to the piston by the engine, causing it to effect two strokes for every one of the engine. At the moment that the exhaust-port of the en- gine opens, the plates are completely immersed in water, a little of which has entered the passage above the plates, and is, together with tlie air present, carried off by the rush of steam into the hot-well, the excess of steam escaping into the atmosphere. The water then, in consequence of the downward motion of the piston, recedes between the plates, exposing them gradually to the steam, which condenses on them. Their upper edges emerging first from the receding water are surrounded by steam of atmospheric pressure, and become rapidly heated to about 210^. The emersion of the plates still continuing, the steam is constantly brought into con- tact with fresh cool surface, by which the greater portion of it is condensed, until, as the piston descends, the injection enters and completes the vacuum. This is done by the time the working piston of the engine has accomplished |th of its stroke. The upper extremities of the plates become heated to near 210°, and the lower to about 160°. Taking the initial temperature of the condensing water at 60°, the final temperature at 210°, the latent heat of steam at 212° 960 units, the quantity of water required is 6*6 lb. to condense 1 lb. of steam of atmospheric pressure. The common injection condenser (supposing the temperature of the condensed steam to be 110°) requires 21 '2 lb. in place of 6-6 lb. The advantages of this condenser are: — 1. Additional effective power gained on account of the vacuum = 30 per cent, taking the pressure of steam at 40 lb. above the atmosphere, and vacuum in the cylinder 12 lb. 2. Heat saved in generating steam by the use of boiling feed- water = 10 per cent, over the ordinary method of heating the fecd-%vater to 110°, or 15 per cent, when no use is made of the con- densed water for that purpose. 3. I'he steam which escapes uncondensed may be used to cause draught. i. The displacing cylinder takes no motive power. 5. The condenser may be started and stopped at any time by J turning the injection water on or off. If turned on, it at once form's the vacuum without involving the necessity of blowing through; and if turned off, it allows the engine to proceed as though it had not a condenser. 6. The air contained in the condenser is at each stroke com- pletely expelled. r. Greater compactness, and less expense, than the injection con- denser. Its dimensions in terms of parts of the engine are as follows: Area of plate-chamber = three times that of exhaust-pipe; length of plates = J that of stroke of engine; thickness of plates ^5 of their length; spaces between plates same as thickness, but never more than -J^th of an inch, as with that dimension no sediment can stand against the rush of water. Capacity of displacing cylinder = that of plate chamber. It has been attempted to adapt this condenser to the locomotive; and of the advantages which would be gained if this could be done there can be no doubt. In this case the two condensers were cast in one piece, and placed directly in front of the cylinders. They differed from that just described only in the length of the condenser and stroke of the displacing piston being much shortened; so that the velocity of the water between the plates may not be too great; and in having a second set of discharge-valves of peculiar con- struction for allowing the uncondensed steam to pass freely into the funnel. The ordinary supply of feed-water not being by itself sufficient to maintain the vacuum, this condenser, if applied to locomotives, should only be worked at intervals, on inclines &c., where its assistance would be needed. In its application to low-pressure engines, since the steam from the cylinder has not sufficient power to force the air and heated water from the condenser into the atmosphere, a communication is made between the e.xhaust-valve of the condenser and the lower end of the displacing cylinder, which, for convenience of arrange- ment, is here reversed, and which receives the charge of water and air when its piston is at the opposite end of it, and when it is there- fore vacuous. In this case the amount of injection- water is reduced in the pro- portion of three to one. Ten per cent, is saved by the feed-water being made boiling hot, a great quantity of boiling water being provided which cannot fail to be useful for many purposes. The first Regenerative Condenser was applied to a sixteen horse- power high-pressure engine, at Saltby Works, near Birmingham, in September lSt9, where it has been found to answer. One is now being erected at the Paper Works of Messrs. Easton and Amos, at Wandsworth, and will shortly be in action. A drawing was exhiljited, showing the condenser applied to a common high-pressure engine, in connexion with a variable e.xpan- sion valve, acted on by a governor, which is a modification of Mr. Siemens chronometric governor, the pendulum being superseded by an expanding fly-wheel. The principle involved in the Regenerative Condenser is applic- able to many useful purposes, the most remarkable of which are what Jfr. Siemens proposes to call his Regenerative Evaporator for brine and other liquids, and the Regenerative Engine, which are now in course of construction at the works of Messrs Fox and Henderson, near Birmingham, to whose enterprise Mr. Siemens expresses himself as indebted for the carrying out of his several inventions. After the reading of the paper, a discussion took place, chiefly as to the practicability of applying the condenser to locomotives, in which Mr. Scott Russell, Mr. Crampton, and the author took part. It was closed by the Chairman, who said that the circum- stances of the locomotive were so peculiar, the requirements of the most perfect simplicity, and the freedom from anv but the most necessary dead weight so absolute, that he feared this could not be applied to it, even if, which he doubted, the condensation could take place rapidly enough where the cylinder was filled and emptied four times in one second. But the principle was new to him, and certainly ingenious, as were the other inventions of Mr. Siemens; and in its application to stationary engines he hoped and believed his ingenuity would meet its due reward. 0-N THE CONSTRUCTION OF ARCHES WITH HOLLOW CAST-IRON VOUSSOIRS. Lv the construction of cast-iron bridges, it has generally been the practice to form a framework by means of ribs stretching across the full span in one or more pieces, in the form of an arcli or otherwise, which ribs are stiffened and kept steady by transverse beams, diagonal struts, and ties; thus adopting to a certain extent the system followed in the construction of many of the wooden framed bridges, previous to the introduction of iron in being wholly used for such works. This, no doubt, is a very excellent inode of construction; but it is considered that by adopting the system of stone bridges, and having- the voussoirs formed of cast-iron and hollow, a cheaper and easier constructed bridge could be erected ; while the principle is one which possesses many peculiar advantages, and admits of being applied not only to arches of small, but also to those of very large spans. 28 202 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Ji;ne, In the framed system the ribs, beams, Sec, are generally very heavy, require much workmanslup in their coiietruction, are difficult to cast, and after good castings have been obtained are very liable to be damaged before being put in their places; thus causing the reconstruction of other castiiiirs, and conseiiuently adding much to the expense, on account of the risk and delay. By the proposed system the castings become of an ordinary nature, re(|uire less workmanship, are easier constructed, very light and easily handled, and run less risk of bciriir damaged; and even when a number of the voussoirs were daniaued, the contingent expense would be very little compared to that arising from the loss caused by the damage of a large and massive beam. Such castings are conscijuently cheaper executed, the cost per ton for the same kind of castings being frequently not much more than one-half that of the other; besides, by a judicious arrangement and economy, no more, or at least very little additioniil, metal need be required by the proposed than by the framed system. Both in ancient and modern times, hollow bricks have been used in the construction of arches, especially where lightness was required, and no great weight to be sustained; as these bricks were liable to be easily crushed. AVith cast-iron this is, however, not the case, it being to a very great extent inccmipressible, the crushing weight for a square inch of cast-iron being 1-I0,000lb., while good stock bricks require only 12,000lb. to crush it, and in stone the crushing weight varies, according to the qualit}', from 31()()lli. to 62.^0!b. per square inch. Since hollow bricks have been successfully employed, it is easy to conceive that hollow voussoirs formed of such a hard and incompressible material as cast-iron, may likewise successfully be employed, not only for arches of a small but also for those of a very large span. It is now an established principle, that when the materials of which an arch is composed are hard enough to resis Icon press on, and the al)utments sufficieiitly strong to resist being crushed or forced aside, there is no particular limit to the extent to which, if properly constructed, the span may not be carried. Of course, no substance being incompressible, it follows that there must be a limit beyond which the arch would destroy itself, but that limit will be greater or less according to the hardness of the material employed in the construction. An arch constructed of granite is capable of being carried to a greater span than one of good free- stone, and still moi-e so than one of freestone of an inferior quality, or of brick not sufficiently fired. And following out the same principle with hollow cast-iron voussoirs, a still greater span could he accomplished than with any of these other materials. Besides the advantage of cast-iron voussoirs, on account of its extreme hardness it possesses another advantage, that of lightness, these voussoirs being capable of being made sufficiently lighter than the same constructed of stone, and still retain sufficient strength to resist the required pressure. The weight of material in a cast- iron arch would be from ^th to ^th that of a stone one, supposing the depth of the voussoirs was made the same in each, whicli however would not always he necessary, as when constructed of iron less depth would be sufficient, on account of its extreme hard- ness, the weight being so considerably diminished, and the pressure being more uniform over the entire surface of the joint : the surface of castings being much smoother and evener than that of an arch stone, which except in very particular cases is generally only neatly hammer-dressed. Again, in the framed system usually adopted, the pressure is thrown on a very small surface, which is not the case in the pro- posed system; likewise the use of malleable iron is entirely avoided, it being purely a cast-iron arch, every part of which contributes its due proportion of resistance; forming a firm and compact mass, and possessing all the advantages of a stone arch. Taking into consideration these many advantages — namely, the extreme luirdness of the material employed, the decrease of weight and the superiority of the joint compared to stone arches, and the large extent of bearing surface compared to that of the framed system, it is surely iu)t unreasonable to say that an arch on this principle may not only be carried to a greater extent than any hitherto constructed of stone, but equally as far, and perhaps further, than any that have yet been constructed of iron on the framed system. In the tirosvenor-bridgc, across the River Dee at Chester, a stone arch has been succcsfuUy thrown over a span of 200 feet. And in the Southwark-bridge, across the Thames at London, which is formed of cast-iron on the framed ])rinciple, the centre arch is carried to the extent of 2tO feet; hut with hollow cast-iron voussoirs, an arch equal and even exceeding either of these spans may be executed with safety. In the construction of an arch upon this principle, it is proposed to have a raised ]iiece cast on the side of each voussoir, fitting into a corresponding hollow in the one adjoining. By this means the whole becomes more firmly joined together, forming, as it were, a series of joggles throughout the whole structure, and entirely pre- venting any tendency of the arch to rise at the haunches, or of any of the voussoirs to slide. This is a very important advantage, and one which, in an iron arch, can be easily obtained with little or no additional expense. {J Fig. 1. — Trariftver^e Sec- tion if Vou-soir. Fig. 2. — Transverse Section of Arch. The form of the voussoirs may either he made similar to those in stone bridges, with the addition of these projections and hollows (see figs. 1, and 2), or, where additional strength is required, they may be executed according to fig. 3. 1 1 Fig. ."J.— Transverse Sect on of Arch. On account of the voussoirs being all firmly fixed to each other by means of the joggles already mentioned, it would not, on all occasions, be necesssary that they be placed close to each other at the ends, hut kept a little separate, as shown in fig. -t. By this means, while the arch could still he made sufficiently strong, a considerable saving of material would be effected. Fig. 4.— Plan of part Arch. As to the thickness of metal required for small and medium spans, the average may be from ^ to J-inch, and for large spans one inch would he sufficient for the average, care being taken that the ends of the voussoirs be made thicker than the sides. In order still further to strengthen the ends without requiring additional metal, the sides may be made slightly open. In places where stone cannot be easily obtained, bridges could be constructed on this principle at a very moderate cost, while they at the same time would be both substantial and durable. The spandrils and abutments may be constructed of such materials as could be most readily obtained, and which was considered suitable; as such bridges admit of being finished similar to a stone one or otherwise, acording to the taste of the projectors and resources of the locality. REVIBTVS. An Elementary Course of Geology, Mineralogy, and Physical Geo- graphy. By David T. Ansted, M.A. F.R.S. London : Van Voorst, 1850. We are precluded from writing an article on Professor Ansted's new book, because on former occasions, prompted by him, we have gone over the whole subject of geology and engineering; and because he has so fully carried it out asto leavens no ground forcavil, and only the opportunity of expressing strongly our approval of tlie volume now before us. ' So far from being a mere reproduction of the Professor's former works, this is a complete manual of the several allied sciences, most carefully treated according to the last discoveries in the important domain of philosophy to which these newest offspring of science belong. What was in the first instance a few pages has now become a regular section on practical geology and its application in engineer- ing, and it has ceased to be a matter of question whether geology is an essential part of professional education. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, 203 Asa triflins illustration of the intimate connection of geological facts with our pursuits, we give the following: — "The whole quantity of water in the chalk of England north of the Wealden anticlinal must be enormously great, but is hardly calculable. At the very lowest conceivable estimate, considering the total area as 6000 square miles, the mean thickness only 300 feet, and only one-third of this fully saturated to the extent of one-fourth its volume, it would amount to twenty-five millions of millions of gallons; while the annual supply from rain to the extent of six inches of water absoibed per annum over an area of 2000 square miles, would amount to nearly 1 75,000,000,000, or more than TToth part of the whole quantity of water contained. If the popiilition of the chalk districts, including the whole area covered by London clay and gravel, be taken at 4,000,000 of individuals, and fifty gallons per day be allowed for each, a very large and sufficient quantity for all possible sanitary purposes, there will ttius be needed only about 72,000,000,000 gallons per annum for this purpose, or not much more than a third of the estimated annual supply from rain, and only ^jjth part of the quantity contained in the rock. It is unnecessary to state that only a part of this is directly available; but there must be a very large propor- tion that could be pumped out, although it may be a very different question as to how far this mode of obtaining water on a large scale is economical, or in other respects advisable. '•In the above estimate the quantities throughout are reduced to the very lowest that can be imagined, to show that the supply of water must be much greater than any demand that can arise. In point of fact, the proportion of rain entering the rock is more likely to be 12 inches than 6; the mean thickness of chalk might fairly have been taken at 600 feet instead of 300; and the quantity of water contained, instead of being taken at one-twelfth, may have been considered one-sixth of the bulk. Estimated in this way, the quantity of water in the chalk would be 100,000,000,000,000 gallons, and the' annual supply 350,000,000,000. In addition to the quantity of rain, a large supply of water must enter some parts of the chalk from mere absorption from the atmosphere. "The quality of water is unquestionably affected by the rocks through wliich it passes: although in this respect it is not always safe to conclude what the result will be without actual investiga- tion. Thus water obtained from surface-deposits is almost sure to contain in solution some of those organic substances which in cultivated land must always abound, and which are always carried down to some little distance by the descending supply of rain; water from irony rocks, whether sand or otherwise, being generally chalybeate, and that from calcareous rocks holding carbonate and other salts of lime in solution. But when we examine the analyses of different rocks, as given in previous tables, there will be found also a number of other ingredients, as salts of soda, potash, magnesia, and other substances, and these will also be taken up, while the very action of water and the decompositions otherwise going on, produce sulphuric acid, and thus again act upon the containing rock, or alter combinations already in solution in the water. Thus it results, that in wells, however the water is obtained, there will be a certain proportion of saline and other ingredients, although the actual quantity may be less in amount and different in character in the case of deep and shallow wells in the same locality. "It appears from a paper by Professor Brande, in the 'Quarterly Journal of the Chemical Society,' vol. ii. p. 345, that a well was sunk 42G feet deep, into 202 feet of chalk to supply the Mint. This well was completed 1st of January, 1S47. The water rises to within 80 feet of the surface, and about 15,000 gallons per day are obtained; the level being then reduced by this amount of exhaustion to about 100 feet from the surface. "Before the water was obtained from the chalk it yielded It gi'ains of dry saline matter in the gallon of water. Since the well was finished the quantity is only 37-t! grains: — SG at 55^=1000-70." On Mining there is very copious instruction, and fi-oni this part we take another illustration. "Another fact to be considei'ed by the practical miner, is that of the singularly frequent disturbances that have affected the beds of coal and the strata associated with them, and the remarkable complication of the faults that characterise many coal-fields. It must not be supposed that the effect of these disturbances is either uniformly advantageous or always disadvantageousto the immediate interests of the miner; but there cannot be the slightest doubt that we are indebted to such disturbances for frequent repetitions of the same bed of coal at the surface, when without tliem it would be so far covered up by newer deposits as to be utterly unattainable. If occasionally the miner, in prosecuting his labours, or the mine- owner in following what he considers a valuable seam of coal, is suddenly stopped by coming in contact with a fault, and finds the coal shifted several yards above or below, or even completely lost, he must not forget that it is perhaps owing to these very shifts that the outcrop has taken place at all in his neighbourhood, and that the coal is workable in the district in which he is interested. "But there is another important advantage derived from the existence of these numerous faults in coal strata, namely, that they intersect large fields of coal in all directions, and by the clayey contents which fill up the cracks accompanying faults, become cofferdams, which prevent the body of water accumulated in one field from flowing into any opening which might be made in it from another. This separation of the coal-field into small areas, is also important in case of fire, for in this way the combustion is pre- vented from spreading widely, and destroying, as it would otherwise do, the whole of the seam ignited. "An instance of the advantage resulting from the presence of a great line of fault, occurred in the year 1825, at Gosforth, near Newcastle, where a shaft was dug on the wet side of the great ninety-fathom dyke, which there intercepts the coal-field. The workings were immediately inundated with water, and it was found necessary to abandon them. Another shaft, however, was sunk on the other side of the dyke only a few yards from the former, and in this they descended nearly two hundred fathoms without any impediment from the water." A Catechism of the Steam-Engiae. By John Boukne, C.E. Third Edition. London: Longman, 1850. We are glad to see the third edition of this work. AV^e noticed it favourably on its first appearance, and it has since received several improvements. Practical Ventilation, as applied to Public, Domestic, and igriculturul Structures. By Robert Scott Burn, Engineer. London and Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1850. We had intended to notice this woi-k at some leng-th, for the subject is of practical importance, but unfortunately we are com- pelled to postpone this design until next month. In the meantime we may observe, that though the author has not announced any new doctrine, he appears to have collected very judiciously the opinions of Rumford, Tredgold, Arnott, Reid, and others, and to have put them in a shape suitable for tlie practical man. FKOCSSIOINaS OF S\iZS:.Ni:iTlG socistzss. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. April 30. — William Cubitt, Esq , President, in the Chair. Ti'.e paper read was " On the Absorbent Power of Chalk, and its Water Contents, under different Geological conditions." By Professor U. T. ANsTED, After esplaiuing the nature and extent of the chalk rock of England, hoUi geologically and topographically, and briefly desoiiijing its cliicf physical peculiarities, the author proceeded to detail the results of sonie experiments made for the purpose of ascertaining the positive and relative absorbent powers of different kinds of chalk, when exposed to moisture under various circumstances. The specimens experimented on were small cubes, each weighing from three to four ounces, taken from different dibtricts and geological posi- tions, in the upper, niidJIe, and lower beds of the chalk. From these experiments, it appeared, that the upper chalk, when it was to all appearance perfectly dry, contained about one-third part of a pint of water in each rube foot, which was never parted with under any con ditions of dryness of the atmosphere ; that in tlie case of an exposed sur- face of the rock, the absorption from a moist atmosphere would be unim- portant, although when water was presealed to it in a liquid form, the upper chalk was found capable of receiving into its mass a quantity of water amounting to more than two gallons for every cube foot of rock, beyond the quantity usually contained iu apparently dry chalk, under ordinary exposure. A specimen of the middle chalk, when thoroughly airdried by six months' exposure, was found to contain about 23 parts water in 1000 parts ; three-fourths of which water were readily given off by subsequent expo- sure to a perfectly <\ry atmosphere, very little more than the original quantity being re-absorbed ou exposure to a saturated atmosphere ; show- 28* 204 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. n«iuNE, ing that llie absorbent power, in this respect, was cveu less than in the case of the npper chalk. The quantity of water contained in a cube foot of saturated middle chalk was rather more than two gallons. A specimen of the lower chalk was found to contain more than 10 parts of water in 1,000 parts, about three-fourths of which were rapidly parted with, ou exposure to a perfectly dry atmosphere; but the rest, amounting to more than the quantity of water contained in the upper chalk, iu its ordinary state, was not parted with by any exposure, short of a vacuum. Ou subsequent exposure to a saturated atmosphere, more than ISJ parts of water in 1,000 parts, were absorbed, and when the specimen was satu- rated, its water contents exceeded 2j gallons per cubic foot. It was staled, that the upper chalk might generally be regarded as the conducting, and the lower chalk as the containing, part of the formation, so far as water was concerned ; and that chalk must be regarded as a rock, which everywhere admitted the percolation of water, receiving into itself, aud conveying to its lower beds, the water that fell on, or was brought lo, its surface. This readily explained the uniformly dry appearance it pre- sented, aud the absence of any streams, arising from mere surface drain- age, where extensive exposure of the roc k itself occurred. It also ap- peared that particular bands of rock contained much more water than others, some, indeed, being apparently, though not really, dry, when below the surface of permanent wetness; while others gave off water readily, and to a large extent. The probable effect of rain-fall upon the surface of the exposed chalk was then considered, aud it was estimated, that at least 1 8 inches descended annually to what was called the surface of permanent wetness, maintain- ing a general and rude parallelism with the surface of the ground ; but when the chalk rock was permanently covered with impermeable soils, as iu the r.ondou basin, the position of the surface of permanent wetness was liable to extreme variation, and to be most seriously affected, as lateral percolation was then the only source of wetness. Ou the other hand, it was thought, that a large portion of chalk rock existed in a slate of uniform and permanent wetness, and that wherever the gault extended, undeilyiug the chalk and keeping up the water, there must be, at and below a certain depth from the surface, a supply of water to the extent of 180 millions of gallons for each square mile one yard in thickness ; and that the surface of permanent wetness, dependent chiefly on the present rainfall, was so far above this lower surface of saturation, as lo ensure a supply at least equal lo one-half of the rain falling on the immediately surrounding district. May 7. — The paper read was " On the Application of li'ater-Pfesiiure,as a Motive Power, for working Cranes and other kinds of Machinery." By Mr. VV. G. Armstrong, F.R.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E. The oliject of the paper was to direct attention to the advantages of a more extended application of hydraulic pressure, as a motive power, and to point out the means of attaining this desirable end; illustrating the argu- ments by descriptions and drawings of the engines on this principle, already erected, since the year 1845, when the author first designed a crane, to be worked by the pressure of water from the street water-pipes, at Newcastle- upon-Tyne. The principle of these engines, as applied to cranes, was described to be very simple. In order to lift a weight, the water, under a pressure of about 100 feet head, or more, being admitted through a slide valve into a cylinder, exerted a force ou a piston, whose rod was connected with the hoisting- chain, so arranged by passing over several pulleys, as to increase its length of travi'l to the requisite duty to be performed; the piston receding from the pressure therefore raised the weight to the height required. The lowering of tlie weight was accomplished by a reverse action, and the crane was turned in either direction by a similar action of a smaller cylinder, whose idston rod was connected with a rack, working into a circle of teeth, fixed to the base of the moveable frame of the crane. The action of these machines was described to be very smooth and steady, ingenious appliances being adopted for obviating the shock that would otherwise be caused by the sudden closing of the slide valves, and all the different operations being under the perfect control of a few regulating handles. In cases of a great diversity of power being required, separate cylindeis were used, so arranged, as that their action could be combined, accoidiiig to the force required. The speed of working had no other limit than the size of tljc supply pipe. Allusion was niaile to the advantage of employing hydraulic pressure in iiiercantilo docks, for hoisting heavy weights, for whipping light goods out of shi|i9, and for opening and shutting dock gates, swing bridges, and sluices. lit facility of transmission, its safely, and constant readiness for use, ren- dered it peculiaily suitable for th se purposes. It wcuild generally be pre- ferable in such cases to employ steam power to force the water, rather than lo be dependent upon town water-works; and a tnnk upon a tower, or upon an eminence, would form a convenient magazine of power, enabling the engine to act continuously with an uniform load. Large air-vessels had also been successfully employed, insteail of an el. valed tank. Hydraulic pressure might, also, in many cases, be advantageouslv eni- ployed for purposes requiring continuous rotation. There were many natural situations where mountain streams might be arrested, or surface-water be iin|iouiided on elevated ground, and he conveyed by a pipe into a neighbour- ing valley, where great mechanical efficiency might be derived from a small supply of water, by the use of water-pressure engines. In mining opera- tions, also, the danger and inconvenience of underground steam-engines might be obviated, by substituting water-pressure engines, conveying the water down the shaft in pipes, and returning it to the surface, by the action of the pumping engine abovegrouod. In such cases the water was merely the vehicle for transmitting power into the mine. A water-pressure engine had been lately very successfully applied by the author, in South Hetton Colliery, for the traction of wagons upon an underground railway. Similar engines had also been erected in the lead mines at Allenheads, for lifting ore, and other purposes. Reservoirs were there formed upon the neighbouring hills, and pipes were carried into the mines to supply the engines, the expended water flowing out by a level. Other engines of the same description were also in course of erection, for surface operations, at the aame place, such as crushing ore, and raising minerals from the shafts. In their general character, these engines were similar to reciprocating steam-engines. The slide valves were balanced by equal pressures in op- posite directions, and were constructed to open very spacious water passages. The liability to concussion, on the closing of the eduction port, was obviated by the application of relief valves, which were lifted by the compressive action of the piston, cansing it to act for an instant, as a pump, in forcing back the opposing water into the supply pipe. In cases where the engines had been applied to hauling, or winding, four cylinders placed diagonallyr in pairs, had been used. In other cases, two cylinders had been applied, the uniformity in the motion of the column being maintained by a loaded plunger. The winding engines were reversed by a slot link apparatus, similar to that of a locomotive engine, and which was worked by the pres- sure of the water, acting under the control of a valve. The regulating and reversing valves were each placed at the mouth of the shaft, at a distance from the engine, the operation of which could thus be directed with great accuracy and safety. The drawings which accompanied the paper gave representations of an Hydraulic Crane, for shipping coals at Glasgow; Hydraulic Platform Cranes, at the railway station, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Hydraulic Hoisting Machines, at the warehouses of the Albert Docks, Liverpool; a Water-pressure Engine, for a crushing-mill at Allenheads; a similar engine used at the same place, for winding; and numerous details of all these machines. May \i. — The paper read was "On the Construction of the Permanent IVay of liaiiways ; with an Account of the wrought iron Permanent H'ay, liid down 07i the Main Line of the North Midland Railway. By Mr. W. H. Uarluw, M. Inst. C.E. The author commenced by entering into the question of the maintenance and renewal of the ordinary railways, analysing very minutely the expenses under the different heads, and showing to what causes the derangement of the line might be attributed. The cost of maintenance was staled to be dependent on two causes, the effect of weather, &c., and the disturbance produced by traffic; and from a summary of the expenditure of the different lines belonging to the Midland company, it appeared that the former amounted to 20/. or 30/. per mile per annum, and the latter varied from 2d. to 2'd. per train per mile. After a line was consolidated, by far the greater part of this expenditure was due to the derangement caused by the passage of the trains, which first produced an uneven joint, then loosened the joint key, and then disturbed the sleeper, so that at length the whole of the per- manent way generally was degraded. — With regard to renewal, it had been estimated by the officers of the London and North. Western Railway, that on their line the rails would last twenty years, and the sleepers, if 'creo- soted,' twenty years, but if unprepared only twelve years; now as the dura- tion of service of the rails was dependant on the amount of the traffic, and that of the sleepers on the weather, it was quite evident, that on lines having less traffic than the London and North-Western, the proportionate expense of renewing the sleepers would be much greater, and would increase as the amount of traffic diminished. In endeavouring to seek a remedy for this, the author conceived, that, by in- creasing the dimensions of the bridge rail, sufficient width might be obtained for it to take its own bearing in the ballast, without the use of either trans- verse sleeper, or longitudinal supports; and, moreover, that such a con- struction wouuld possess great strength, be very durable, and be capable of being renewed at a moderate expense. He therefore proposed a bridge rail, 13 inches iu width, 5f inches in depth, and weighing 1261b. per lineal yard. There was some difficulty at first in getting it manufactured, but Messrs. liolckow and Vaugban, of Middlesburough-on-Tees, had overcome all the practical difficulties, and now produced tails of the required size, with hard metal in the upper portion, and ductile metal in the lower, by which both durability and strength were insured. The joint was made by either a cast or wrought iron chair, or saddle, which received the ends of the rails, and into which they were keyed with wooden keys. The gauge was preserveii by means of a tie-bar, fitted and keyed into sockets on the chairs. An experimental length of road on this construction had been laid down on the main line of the North Midland Kaihvay, the cost of which was 3323/. per mile ; but it was thought, that in future this might be reduced to 24S7/. per mile, by reducing the weight of the rails to 100 lb. per yard, and the chairs in proportion, as it was found by experiment, that these rads were greatly in excess of strength, being as much as three times stronger than the 18S0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 205 ordinary donble-hpaded rail. A mile of road had also been laid upon the same line, with cait-iron sleepeis adapted to tlie ordinary rail, as introduced by Mr. P. W. Barlow, M. Inst. C. E.; and another mile had been laid with these cast-iron sleepers at the joints only, but having intermediate sleepers of timber. The motion of the trains over their several experimental lengths was firm and steady, there being no perceptible difference between the two latter descriptions. May 21. — The paper read vtas "On Printing Machines; especially those used in the printing of the 'Times' newspaper. By Mr. Edward Cowper. The object of this paper was principally to describe the machinery, which had been in use, at various times, for printing the ' Times' newspaper, other machines being only referred to, as assisting to illustrate the suhject. For this purpose a brief review of the progress of printing machinery was given; from which it appeared, that the first patent was obtained by Nicholson, in 1790, who then proposed placing both the types and the paper upon cylinders, and distributing and applying the ink also by means of cylinders ; another plan was to place common type upon a table, which was passed under a paper cylinder. In 1813, Donkiu and Bacon proposed placing the type upon a prism, and introduced *' composition" rollers. In 1816, Cowper made a machine to print from curved stereotype plates ; and in 1818, one to print books from ordinary type ; he also introduced the system of inking now in common use. In 1814, Kcenig made the first working machine, and erected two of these at the ' Times' office, which produced eighteen hundred impressions per hour, and continued to do so until 1827, when they were superseded by Applegath and Cowper's four- cylinder machine, producing five thousand impressions per hour. These machines, which were stated to be still in use at the ' Times' office, consisted of a table moved backwards and forwards under four iron cylin- ders (called the paper cylinders), about nine inches in diameter, which were covered with cloth, and round which the sheets of paper were held between tapes. The forme was fixed on one part of the table, the inking rollers lying on another part, on which they distributed the ink: some of these rollers were placed in a diagonal position on the table, so that, as it moved back- wards and forwards, they had a motion in the direction of their length, called the "end-motion," which, combined with the rotatory motion, caused the ink to be more effectually distributed. The ink was held in a reservoir, or trough, formed of an iron roller, called the ductor, against which the edge if an iron plate rested, and, by its pressure, regulated the quantity of ink given out. The ink was conveyed from the ductor-roller to the table, bj means of an elastic roller vibrating between them. The feeding was per- formed by four " layers-on," who laid the sheets of paper on the feeding boards, whence they entered the machine between three pairs of tapes, by which they were conveyed round the cylinders, and thence to the spot where the " takers-oflt" stood, into whose hands the sheets fell, as the tapes separated. In May, 1848, the last great improvement was introduced, when Mr. Applegath erected at the " Times" office a vertical machine, which was stated to produce the enormous number of 10,000 impressions per hour. This machine consisted of a vertical cylinder, about sixty-five inches in diameter, on which the type was fixed, surrounded by eight other cyhnders, each about thirteen inches in diameter, covered with cloth, and round which the sheets of paper were conveyed by means of tapes ; each paper cylinder being furnished with a feeding apparatus, having one boy to lay them on and another to take them off. The inking rollers were also placed in a vertical position, against the large cylinder, upon a portion of the sur- face of which they distributed the ink. The ink was held in a vertical reservoir, formed of a ductor-roller, against which rested two " straight edges," connected at the back, so as to prevent the ink from running out : it was conveyed from the ductor-roller by one of the inking-rollers, against which it was occasionally pushed. The type used was of the ordinary kind, and the forme was placed upon a portion of the large cylinder, being fixed to it in a very plain hut ingenious manner : a slab of iron was curved on its under side, so as to fit the large cylinder, whilst its upper surface was filed into facets, or flat parts, corre- sponding in width and number to the width and number of the columns of the newspaper. Between each column there was a strip of steel, with a thin edge, to print the " rule" — the body of it being wedge-shaped, so as to fill up the angular space left between the columns of the type, and to press the type together sideways, or in the direction of the lines; the type was pressed together in the other direction by means of screws, and was there- fore firmly held together. The surface of the type thus formed a portion of a polygon ; and the regularity of the impression was obtained by pasting slips of paper on the paper cylinders. The operation of the machine was very simple : the " layer-on" drew for- ward a sheet of paper on the feeding-board, until its edge was under a roller, furnished with tapes, which dropped down and drew the sheet for- ward and downward, into a vertical position, when other rollers and tapes carried it round the paper cylinder, when it met the type, which had been inked by passing in contact with the inking-rollers; the sheet then con- tinued its progress until it reached the "taker-off." Some interesting statistics, relative to the printing of the ' Times/ were mentioned, from which it appeared, that on the 7th of May, 1850, the 'Times' and ' Supplement' contained 72 columns, or 17,500 lines, made up of upwards of a million pieces of type, of which matter about two-fifths were written, composed, and corrected after 7 o'clock in the evening. The ' Supplement' was sent to press at 7"50, p.m., the first forme of the paper at 4'15, A.M., and the second forme at 4'45, a.m.; on this occasion, 7,000 papers were published before 6.15, a.m., 21,000 papers before 7.30, a.m., and 34,000 before 8.45, a.m., or in about four hours. The greatest number of copies ever printed in one day was 54,000, and the greatest quantity of printing in one day's publication was on the 1st of March, 1848, when the paper used weighed 7 tons, the weight usually required being 4^ tons ; the surface to be printed every night, including the ' Supplement,' was 30 acres; the weight of the fount of type in constant use was 7 tons, and 110 com- positors and 25 pressmen were constantly employed. The whole of the printing at the ' Times' office was actually performed by three of Applegath and Cowper's four-cylinder machines, and two of Applegath's new vertical cylinder machines. The President afterwards briefly addressed the meeting, congratulating the members on the continued success and prosperity of the Institution, and expressing a hope that during the recess, original communications would be prepared for the next session, so that it might, at least, equal in interest that which had just concluded.^The meeting was then adjourned until the second Tuesday in November. It was moved, seconded, and carried unanimously, that the cordial thanks of the Institution he offered to the President, for the unwearied attention he had paid to the interests of the Institution, and for the urbanity he had at all times displayed in the chair. THE PRESIDENTS CONVERSAZIONE. On Tuesday evening, the 28th, Mr. Cubitt, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, gave a conversazione at the House of the Institution, in George-street, the ariangements for which were very ably and tastefully made by Mr. Charles Manhy, the Secretary, by whose exertions these annual celebrations have attained a high reputation. The Institution was for the nonce converted into a palatial building, decorated with paintings and works of art, among which were some chefd'wuvres of Landseer. In the reception room was his ' Diogenes,' which was a great object of attraction. Some fine electru-hronzes, by Elkington, excited great interest; and, in par- ticular, a statue uf Antinous. In the corridor was the fine specimen of bookbinding hy Gruel, of Paris. The niodel-toom was crowded with models and with spectators; and although from tlie want of any great work in progress there was no striking novelty, ilie collection was hy no means deficient in interest. Floating about the rooms were small balloons, to show the plan for distributing messages in the Arctic regions, in the attempt to communicate with Sir John Franklin. Mr. Cotton's sovereign weighing-machine was worked throughout the even- ing. Appold's register hygrometer is for keeping the atmosphere of a house at one regular moisture. Another contrivance of that gentleman was a ther- mometric balance, to open or shut the damper of a stove, on a variation in the temperature of 1° Fahrenheit. The model of the Great Grimsby cofl'er- dam was shown. A very ingenious machine was a rotary card press, an American invention, capable of printing by hand 2,500 cards per hour. There were gutta percha inventions, Dujardin'a electric telegraph, the screw pile, model of Gatton House, the disc-engine, ^A'hishaw's telephone and telekouphonon, Le Moll's electric battery, Soyer's magic stove, and many things too numerous to remember. Among the company were the Marquis of Salisbury; Earls Lovelace, Harrowby, Roese, Powis; Lords Wharndiffe, Overstone, Ehrington, De Mauley; Baron de Goldsmid; Sirs Uobeit Peel, G. Staunton, D. Norreys, P. Laurie, B. Brodie, Howard Douglas, C. E. Pasley, James Duke, II. Ellis, Isaac Morley, J. Hamilton, H. T. De la Beche, W. S. Harris, C- Mal- colm, R. Westmacott, \V. Symonds, E. Rvan, C. Fellowes, G. Back; Mes^rs. H.T.Hope, M.P., Rowland Hill, Mackiiinon, M.P., Locke, M.P., Cubiit, M.P., Lacy, M.P., Jas. Heywood, M.P., Masterman, M.P., C. Dickens, \V. F. A. Delane. ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS. On Friday, the 3rd ulf.. Earl de Grey, the President, gave a conversazione to the Fellows, which was numerously attended by them, as well by a large circle of men distinguished in every career of life. Few architectural works were exhibited, but many portfolios of drawings. We noticed among the company, Loid Lansdowne; Lord Granville; Lord Ashley; Lady Cooper and Lady Mary Yiner, daughters of Earl de Grey; .\Ir. H. t! Hope, M.P.; Beresford Hope, M.P.; Mons. Dusillion; Sir Robert Peel; Lady Peel and daughter; Sir Alexander Johnstone; Sir Charles Pas- ley; Colonel Sykes; Sir R. Westmacott, R.A.; C. Landseer, R.A.; Mr. Knight, R.A.; J. Martin; Sir W. Newton, R.A.; Sir — Ross, R.A.; Mr. Haghe ; .Mr. Robert Stephenson, M.P.; Mr. Brunei, C.E.; Mr. Cubitt, C.E.; Mr C. Manby; Mr. Barry; Mr. Tite; Mr. Donaldson; Mr. Fergusson ; Mr. Don- thon ; Mr. Bailey; Mr. Kendall; Mr. Fowler; Mr. Roberts; Mr. Anuell; Mr. Bellamv; Mr. Smirke; Mr. T. Wyatt; Mr. Brandon; and Mr. Dighy Wyatt. 206 THE CIVIL ENGIKEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. LJUNK, SOCIETY OF ARTS, LONDON. April \'. — Mr. Antoixe Claldet read a paper " On //if Pro;ierties of the Diamond for Culling Glass, with descriptions of machines invented hy him, in which the Diamond is made to perform perfectly wltat by manual la'four hnd before been very imperfectly done." The author commenced liis paper by a very interesting dpscription of the nature of tlie diamond, of llie form of its natural cr>stal» and of tiie mode in wliich it cuts glass, — quoting a paper on the subject by the late I)r. U'ollaston, in the ' Philosopliicul Transactions' for 181G, as well as by a history of the use of glass in u'in>l()ws from the earliest times, when it was used only in ecclesiastical bujldinj:s of great splendour, flown to its present universal application. He has also, in order the more thoroughly to make apparent the advantage of the use of the diamond, described mi- nutely the very tedious and imperfect methods by which, before its intro- duction, glass was cut and shaped. The property in question was lirst found out about the time of Francis I. of Fi'ance, the well known anecdote of svhom is quoted ; and the different tools used from that time to the pre- sent for its manual application are detailed and commented on, many of them being exhibited by the author. 1 he first of these was a mere handle, having the diamond firmly inserted into the lower end. I3ut the handle being round, and the diamond, from the form of its crystal, requiring one unvarying direction to be preserved in order to produce a cut, this was found so imperfect that a step was taken by making the end of the handle Wat, to preserve the parallelism against the rule. This, from the shape of the bottom in which the stone was set, was called the *' plough diamond.** In 1814, .Shaw, of London, made a great improvement, and brought the instrument to the shape in which it is still used, by making the metallic setting of the diamond moveable on a ferrule at the bottom of the handle, thus putting it out of the power of any deviation of the hand from the pro- per position to art'ect the direction of the stone. This, perfect as it may seem, is still dilficult to use, and requires long practice for expert per- formance. The two tests by which the workmdu knows when his tool is " making a cut" are, the sound and the feel. A modification of the last- named tool, by the brother of its inventor, was formerly used for those who have but little practice; but it was very little used, and the one shown to the meeting by Mr. Cliiudet was curious, from being, perhap-, the only one now in existence. A contrivance for cutting circular plates was shown in action. The cause of the invention of the machines, the description of which was the principal olijent of the paper, was the increased use of glass shades for covering ornaments, the cutting of which, so tliiit they should stand per- fectly firm and with an even base, was a most ••. iJious and imperfect ope- ration when done by baud. The manufacture of these shd'les, which, under the name of " cylinders de verre," had long been carried on in France, was first undertaken in England, at the instance of Mr. Claudet, by Blr. Lucas Chance of Birmingham, who, in the true spirit of enlight- ened enterprise, notwithstanding the vexatious pressure of the excise laws, DOW repealed, embarked largely in the umuufaclure, getting workmen from France, for making both shades aud the sheet glass, which had there beeu for some time made from cylinders. It was now, however, f.)Uijd that some method of cutting the botloin of the shades and cylinders must be adopied surer and less expensive than the manual method, and Mr. Claudet was driven hy this necessiiy to invent his machine. The principle of the machine, expressed in the fewest words, is this: The shade is firmly fixed between an internal support and a transverse bar above it, in a perfectly upright position, above a horizontal, level, and tinooth table, ils bolloin beiug a few inches aliove llie table. Upon the table travels a small hut heavily. weighted base mjviog on castors, having springing from it two upright pillars, one holding llie diamond, and the other forming a support opposite to it. The pillar holding the diamond is Used, but the oilier is moveable, being by a spring kept close to it. The lieight of the whole is such that wheu ou the table, the diamond is about an inch above the bottom of the shade. The diamond being introduced inside the shade as it hangs suspended, the p essure of the spring is suf- ficient to cause it to cut, and it has only lo be moved round the shade, the horizontality of the table causing the out to be perfectly level. This machine was exhibited, and the botioms of shades cut by it, before the meeting. The shape of the shade, whether oval, round, or square, is un- important in the use of this niachiue, but Mr. Claudet h ;3 contrived another for the cutting of round shades only, in which the shade is laid horizoulall.v, — an elegant system of adjustments being provided, by which shades of any diameter can be cut by the workman with Utile risk of error. This machine was also shown in action. May 1. — G. MoFFATT, Esq., M.P., in the Chair. " Abstract of a Paper on the Causes ami Preventives of Mildew in Paper and Parchments ; with an account of E\periments made on the saturation of growiufj H'oud with Antiseptic Chemical Solutions."* 13} Alfred Gvde, il.K.C.S.E. Owing to the imperfections formerly existing in the microscope, little was known of tlie real nature of the cla^s of plants called _/"«n//i until wiiliin the la&t few years; but since the improvernents in that iu&hnment, the Mii-ject of the development, growth, and otliues ot the fungi has received much aiteii- * This Paper was rewarded in lS4d vvitli tlic Society'* Gjtd l&.s Sledal. tion. They compose, with the alga; and lichens, the class of Thalhgcru (I.indley), the algai existing in water, the other two in air only. A fungus is a cidlular flowerless plant, fructifying solely hy spores, by which it is prftpjgated, and the methods of attaciinient of which are singularly various and beautiful. The fungi difTer from the lichens and alga; in deriving their nourishment from the substances on which they grow, instead of from the media in which they live. They contain a larger quantity of nitrogen in their constitution than vegetables in general do, and the substance called " fun- gine" has a near resemblanre to animal matter. Their spores are incon- ceivably numerous and minute, and are diffused very widely, developing themselves wherever they find orgiinic matter in a fit state. The principal conditions required for their growth are moisture, heat, and the presence of oxygen and of electricity. No decomposition or development of fungi takes place in dry organic n;atter ; a fact illustrated by the high state of preser. vation in which timher iias been found after the lapse of centuries, as well as by the condition of mummy cases, bandages, &c., kept dry in the hot climate of Egypt. Oecay will not take place in a temperature below that of the freezing point of water, nor witlMiut oxygen, hy excluding which — as contained in the air — meat and vegetables may be kept fresh and sweet for many years. The piocess which takes place when moist vegetable su' stances are ex- posrd to hia, and is known as the floating sectional iiy dock. It is patented by Messrs. Dakiu, Moody. Burgess, and Dodge, who are at present constructing this one for the government, a considerable portion of which is already com- pleted, and the balance in progress. When finished this dock will consist of ten spctiins, each of which has the capacity to raise 800 tons — total power 8000 tons^and will take up a vessel of 350 in length. Six sections will raise a ship of the line, and the four remaining sections will raise a frigate. The sections are placed side by side, and connected by timbers at the top of the tanks. The pumps for exhausting the sections are worked by four steam-engines — two of 20 and two of Ti-horse power. One of each size is used on each side of the dock, and placed so that the two 20-h..rse engines exhaust six sections, and the two 12-borse engines e.thaust four sections, a perfect uaiformity of level being maintained by suitable con- nections. In connection with the dock, there is a large stone basin, the sides and bottom being of granite. This basin is 350 feet long, and 22G feet wide, and contains a sufficient depth of water at ordinary high tide, to float the dock and the vessel it may contain. Immediately adjacent to, and connected with the basin, are two railways on the main land. These rail- ways are to be of the most substantial' character, and fully capable of sustaining any vessel the dock will raise. The operation of the whole is as follows : — The sections of the dock are hauled out into the river, and water let into them until they sink deep enough to allow the vessel to be floated in. As soon as this takes place, and the vessel is properly secured, the water is pumped out of the sections, and the vessel raised out of the water. When this has been accomplished, the whole is floated into the stone basin and allowed to ground on the bottom, when the vessel may be hauled on the railway. This is effected by means of a hydraulic cylinder, of 3G inches diameter and 12 feet stroke, worked by an engine of 40-horse power. If necessary, two vessels may be put on the railways, and a ship of the line and frigate left on the dock, so that the capacity of the dock is equal to four vessels of large class. When required, additional ways may be put up in connection wiih the basin. The whole will be completed during 1851, hut some of the sections will be ready this season. NOTES OF THE ESONTH. National E.rliibition for 1S51. — Vl'e have to announce that all the designs for the huilrling will be exhibited at the Institution of Civil En- gineers on the lOtb June. The agitation for placing the building in lintter- sea Park instead of Hyde Park is taking a definite form, and is likely to be successful. Prizes for Locomotive Enaines in Austria. — An ofBcial notice has been issued by Harun Lionel de iir>thschi!d, thai the Austrian Kovcrnmeut oHeis six prizes for locomotive engines as follow : — A prize of 20,000 im- per:ul ducats (10,000/.) for a locomotive the must suitably conslrncled and iiMiipted to convey g00/ , and 3,000/.) for live other locomulives, which approach nearest to the first prize iu the points indicated. Plans and particulars of so interesting a coinpetitiou may be had at the Imperial Kojal Austrian Consulate Geiieriil New Court, St Srt ithia's-lane. Great Naval WnrJc in Russia. — In the iiiontb of February last, the great uaval basin at Sehaslapol was completed. The largest ships of war ill the Russi'iu navy can now be docked at that port. The basin covers an area of ten acres of ground, and has seven dry docks. The water in the basin is thirty feet above the level of the Black Sea, and the vessels are taken in by means of three locks, the iron gates of which were made l>y Messrs. Rennie, and are 04 feel broad, and 23 feet deep. Kacb uf the docks has a sluice, which can be opened and the water emptied out in a very limited time, without the trouble of pumping — the plan adopted at the docks adjoining basins in this country. The Emperor uf Uussia is re- ported to have fifty ships of war at preseut at Scbaslapol. Ai/lesburi/ ^HcvtrA plans for supplying the town with water have been forwarded to the Local Uoard of Health, all attended wilh an esti- mate of large outlay. P. Scott, Ksq., C.E., proposes several plans, one of which is to take the supply from near Walton Mill, and erecting a pumping engine house on the IJierton elevation, the estimated cost of which will he upwards of 5,000/. Mr. Palen proposes a supply from Holinan's-bridge stream, and au erection of steam power at the infirmary end of the town; this estimate is also o\er 5,000/. A IMr. Wrigg, an engineer from Salden, near Manchester, adopts the surface plan, and proposes several separate districts fur a supply of water; each plan is estimated as costing upwards of 7,000/. Mr. Gotto proposes a supply from Stock Lake at a cost of 1,800/.; and a Mr. Gardner adopts a supply from the Friarage, and an erection of water-works iu Bull Close, at a cost of 1,445/. A series of useful suggestions from Sir. Bell, of Leicester, was read at the meeting. To each plan there arises very diBicult obstacles, and it is quite certain that if any plan of supplying the town with public water-works be adopted it will have to be done at a very great outlay, Dover. — A kind uf square vessel for the reception of machinery to be employed in breaking up and removing the solid rock at the bed of the sea where the lefuge harbour is being built, whose motive power is steam, has been launched frum the yard belonging to the harbour contractors, and which has been built by Mr. Cullen, ship builder, by order of Mr. Lee, the contractor of the new works. The vessel was afterwards towed into the inner harbour, alongside Mr. Cullen's yard, wdiere it will remain until it shall have received the engines. The whole of the machinery is expected to be completed and ready for work in a short time. Devonport. — A second attempt was made al the Keyham New Steam Docks, on the 14ih, to raise the caisson, when the dam burst, and the works became inundated. The contractors, Messrs. Baker and Son, will have to repair this at their own cost. The dam was a temporary one erected for the purpose of trying the caisson, to confine the water to the lock or spoiled dock, and so to prevent the other portions of the work from becoming inun- dated during the trial. The accident, however, has obliged the parties to postpone further trial for a fortnight. Of the caisson, the r/mes correspon- dent gives the following account, but he has said nothing about the burst- ing of the work, for which the contractor was responsible: — "The water, for the fitst time, was let into the entrance lock on Saturday. The caisson, which is made of strong p'ate-iron, and is provided wilh a tidal valve aud four sluices, measures 80 feet wide at lop, 02 ft. 8 in. at the bottom, is 43 feet deep, and when imniersed, gives a roadway across of 13 ft. 6 in. The weight is about 300 tons, tnd 150 tous of pig-iron ballast had been placed at the bottom to throw her upright. This quantity proved, how- ever, totally inadequate, and labourers from the dockyard have been since employed throwing iu additional ballast. It has been calculated that, taking the length of the caisson as 70 feet, breadth 14 feet, depth 41 feet, and weight 300 tons, her light draugit, when upright, would be 10 ft. lOiu. ; and that 300 tons of ballast would make her load di aught 21 feet, al which point the centre of gravity would be sufficiently reduced to place her under command for bringing her to the grooves. 'This mode of closing docks is quite new in England. There is a caisson at Malta which answers well the desired object.' " The latter part of the statement is absurd, there are lots of caissons in England, as the eminent constructor of them, Mr. Fair- bairn, well knows. South Wales Railway.— Iha works are proceeding rapidly, and it is expected that a single line of rails will be completed betvfeen Chepstovf and Swansea about the 10th of this month, and that this portion of the line will be ready for traffic early in July. 208 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [June, Pffamlnthn >■'/ tJn Royal CfoU Meld to Mr. Barru, 7J.J.— The preseotation of the Royal Gold Mediil to Mr. Barry, at the Institute of British Architects, took place on the 2*^th ult , in presence of a very numerous meeting of the fellows and aasociates, and over which Earl de Grey presided. His lordship having expressed the satisfaction he felt in being called to the chair, and returned thanks for the honour done him, said it was the third year in which the priz^ had been distributed, and he thought it would be admitted by all that the council of the Institute had shown the greatest possible Impartiality (Che«rs.) The present year brou|{ht them great satisfaction, in that the honour was con- ferred upon one of their own body. His lordship then addressed himself to Mr. Barry, and, having made some allusions to the difficulties which had been encountered by Sir C. Wren In building St. Pau!*8 Cathedral, said he was sorry that the august assembly which had tht most to do with the erection of the new Houses of Parliament had in it a vast number of men who asked questions, made sugg^-stions, and made criticisms, while at the same time they did not know what was wanted, or what they wanted themselves. (Cheers.) The noble chairman then presented the medal to Mr. Barry, amidst long- continued cheers from those present.— Mr. Barry, in expressing his thanksforthe honour done him, said he felt sensibly alive to the defects of the great work upon which he was employed. He received the mark of approbation conferred upon hin as a pledge of the opinion of the Institute that so far as he had been permitted to carry out his design, it had not been entirely unsuccessful. (Loud cheers.) He should always consider the honour done to him as one of the proudest memorials of his professional career. Pe-mrdsy da., for Sciaitiji; Purposcs.—The following is an account, in detail, of the manner in which the lOOOl. voted annually for rewards, experimeuts, and other expenses, (or scientific purposes during the last two years, has been expeuded :— 1847, 18-IS— Salary of Mr. J. W. Hay, as chemical lecturer at Portsmouth Dockyard, between Jan. 1 and June 30, 1847. 3ri. iOa.; payment to Dr. Andrew Ure, for making an analysis of coal from Vancouver's Island, h)l. Ids.; entertainment of Mr. P. P. Smith, patentee of the screw propeller, on board the /'airt/, tender to her Majesty's yacht }l2torij, and Albert, l^l. 'Js.; compensation to Lieutenant Julius Roberts, Royal Marine Artillery, for his ser- vices and expenses while improving the method of pivoting guns, from the year 1845 to 1848, 250L; total, 3l3i. 95. 1848, 1H49-Payment to Mr. A, G. Carle, for rock apparatus, &c., supplied tor trial at Harwich, for the purpose of effecting communication with stranded vessels, 31/83.; gratuity to Mr. J. T. Townson, for his services in preparing tables for great circle sailing, HM.; payment to Mr. John Pridau, metallurgic chemist, for various analyses of copper sheathing, &c., for the committee on metals, 171. Is ; pay- ment to Mr. Charles Brooke, for his invention and establishment at the Royal Observa- tory, of the apparatus for the self-registration of magnetical and meteorological pheoo- meiia, /iOOi. ; gratuity to Commander H. B. Weston, of the Hon. East I lia Company's service, for discovering a method of finding the longitude by cbronomet> i at sunrise and sunset, with tables, lOOL; total, 748/.. [)s. 1849-'50— Allowance to Commander A. B. Beecher, to defray the expenses incurred by him in the editorship of the Xautkal M't^j'izine, 5(1!.; allowance to Mr. James Gordon, to enabi« him to publish a work, in- tituled, • The Lunar and Tide Tables,' 501. * total, W'l. Parochial Rc(/isters.—'iir. W. Downing Bruce, F.S.A., of the Middle Temple, has addressed a letter to Mr. M. Milnes, M P., on the necessity of a general Record Office being erected. The state of the registers at the present time is m^^t deplorable ; and there can be no question but that this subject requires the immediate attention of the legislature. Finings for iliG Arcik Exped'it'uyn.~'E.xcc-i>i\x\% iron bulkheads for coal holes or side bunkers (an improvement), Downton's pumps worked on lower deck, and Sylvester's healing apparatus being extended 10 feet before foremost cabins on lower deck, all is'as the Enterprise was. All the scuttles, or deck lights screw in and out for ventilation fore and aft : and Sylvester's stove having a current of air direct by a tube from upper deck will carry off much of the damp or condensed vapoar, the ill effncts of which were experienced in the last voyage. Of boats each ship has— 1st, a life boat 30 feet long and 9 feet beam, built by White of Cowes; 2nd, one diagonal cutter, 2'» feel long, 7 ft. 2 in. beam, fitted With trunks and windlass for laying out or weighing an anchor. Then four of 25 feet cH'iker-built gig cutters, or combination boats, pulling six oars, each .single banked. One as f^et whale boat of four oars as captain's gig; and one 12 feet dingy, and one 7 feet pun% the last aljout iOlb. weight, and' would convt-y saleiy two men at a time ; in addition, they have one large and one small india rubber or Macintosh boat inflated by bell-*ws. Total of boats, 9 of wood and 3 of air-tight indii rubber Macintosh. The sledges are similar to those constructed for last expedition, but wider shoeing on the sole of the runners; the flat sledges are 6 inches wider and 2 feet longer than tiie last were, with a high curve in forepart. There is a gulta percha oblong trough fitted on the top of the travelling sledge, that is supported by 4 small iron uprights, passing through upper part of the sledge. Thi? trough serves to hold the articles stowed or being strapped to the sledge, and will from its buoyancy make a tolerable boat, being only about 181b. weight, yet wiJl support 6cwt. in the water. They have a large yet light cooking appa- ratus, capable for baking for all hands, or healing washing waier for the men, with a small proportion of fuel; they have also very compact light cooking apparatus heated by spirits of wine, and prepared cloth for tents, with bamboo poles for ditto. AH the ships have been furnished with several new instruments, one of which is the Bearing Plate, the invention of Captain Johnson, R.N., F.R.S. They are f»r the purpose of ascertaining with greater certainty the ship's course in dark wcnth4:r, and are particularly useful on board all steiira vessels. The Lordsof the Admiralty hud them made by their instrument- maker (Mr. West, of the Strand) who also furnished some compasses and theodolites niade of copper, to avoid any magnetic influence, and witliothor improvements by Captain Johnson, which are calculated to be of the greatest possible advantage to the expedition. The equipment for the travelling parties of the expedition has been arranged entirely by Lieutenant M'CIintock. U comprises 18 tents, each to hold seven persons, 18 mackintosh floorcloths, bamboo tent poles, hair rop«); tin travelling kettles with spirit lamps and spun glass wicks; 14 large sludges upon runners; 12 small flat sledges f,r soft service ; tin cans of two and four gallons each, ilie bung covered with a cap, which also serves as a gill measure, and secured with a padlock; pocket chronometers, pocket sextants, telescopes, end compasses; 40 gallons of spirits of win^; two wolf skin blankets for each lent; one thick blanket bag for each person to sleep in ; eight gutta percha sledge tops, to adapt the sledges to crossing narrow spaces of water as rafts or boats, and thus avoid the neces- sity of unloading and using a boat; six of Lieutenant Halkct's inflated boats; and 30 bnlloons to each ship. ImproveYMtUs in Ek'rtri/: Telegraph Battenfis.~ln most of the electr'c telegraph esta- blishments, are batteries formed of zinc, copper, and sand, mustened wjih dilute sulphu- ric acid— this sand being strongly pressed between the metallic plates. These b-ilteries, however much an improvement over those formerly empb yed, possess the great disad- vantage of diminishing in force, requiring the frequent application of the dilu eacid, and a complete removal once in every four or six wteks. M. W. Kisenlohr, the superinten- dent of the elec'ric telegraphs in the Grand Duchy of Baden, has for some time past endeavoured to find out sora-? method of rpn4ering the battery more constant in its action, and at the same time less liable to the carelessness of the workmen, who some- times put too much acid, and at other times leave the battery quite dry, thus produciu" a great int-rniption in the working of the telegraph. Alu^r various eiperinjeuts on tlie Pubiect, M. ICisenlohr found that the employment of a solution of bitartrate of potash in Bcidulafcd water for the zinc couples of a Daniell's battery, and of a moderately con. centrated solution of sulphate of copper for the copper element, fully and effectually answered the desired obiect. This battery was found to possess a rtmarkable constancy, ,M. E. Watermann, in i.peaking of this new battery in the last number of the Bihliot}ieque Uniocrsalc of Geneva, states that he has made use of Daniell's battery of ten couples, charged on M. Eisenlohr'a system, but placing the zinc couples in acidulaied water, and the copper in a solution of bitartrate of potash, and tliat the battery, which remained in action for three weeks, without any interruption, exhibited the uioat perfect constancy. The Great Harlmir of P'f-ge nt JIol^/h^ad.—The want of a gn&i harbour of refuge on this exposed coast has long been felt; and when it is borne in mind that the greater portion of the vast fleets destined for Liverpool must pass near Holyhead, the national importance of such an undertaking cannot be exaggerated. Plans by Mr. Walker and Captain Beechy, R.N., were rejected, and one on a more important scale by Mr. Rendel, who bus carried out several great public works, was adopted by the .Admiralty early in 1846. Tiieestlmate is 700,000^.. of which the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company have agreed to find yOO.OOOL The works were soon commenced, but have gone on rather slowly, and 10 or 15 years will probably elapse before they are completed. A visit to tlie scene of this great undertaking is one of the chief attractions of Holyhead. Xaiure has given Mr. Rendel valuable aid. There is a point called Penrhyn, about Ij mile to the north-west of the present harbour, whence an indented rocky coast runs south east. Considerably within this, at Soldier's Point, a gigantic breakwater it in progress, the stone for which is procured from a quarry in the mountain, one mile inland, to which a railway of prodigious guage, for stone trucks, worked by locomotives, up a very steep incline, has been formed. The breakwater will terminate at Platter's Buoy, and a pier of 7500 feet will be carried frara Ynys Gybi, with its head resting on the Outer Platter. The arena inclosed within this half-mjon will be 316 acres ; the lengtli across will be 3-miIe. There will be a jetty in the centre, and ample depth of water (none less thaa 64 fathoms) at all states of the tide. Steam Hnvhxge On Jiivers and Cayials.—Xn experiment has lately been tried, with complete success, on the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal, of a somewhat novel steam-tuj fir hauling vessels instead of horse-jwwer. It consists of a continuous flexible rail, or bar of iron, running the whjle length of the canal, and made fast at each terminus. Above the deck of the tug are fixed a pair of nller-, between which this flexible iron band is placed, and as they are made to revolve by the steam engine on board, the grip which they take propels the boat. On the trial in question, after hauling various small craft of from 70 to 80 tons burden, she took in tow a Greek brig, laden with corn to the amount of 850 tons, which she towed againsta bead-wind to the dock entrance, at a good walking pace. She hauled the common canal boats at a rate of 6 miles an hour, the 6pe, and this invention is calculated to diminish the ex- pense 59 per cent., the consumption of coal being only 251b. per hour. Effiuvui Trap.—We have seen a patent eflluvia trap of Mr. Marsden's, which well answers the purpose. I. is coistructed in the shape of a drum, with four receivers, caused to revolve by the weight of the water falling into one of them. It is impossible for this trap to get choked up, or for any effluvia to escape. LIST or NB^V PATENTS GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM ApRIL 23, TO MaY 23, 1850. Sijc Months allowed for Enrolment^ unless otherwise ej^pressed. Pierre Armand Lecomlo de Fontainemoreau, of South-street, Finsbury, for a new and improved mode of conducting consuming, and dxsengagin; smoke from its deleterioni components. (A communication.)— April 23. Ernest Werner Siemens, of Berlin, Prussia, electric engineer, for improvements in elec- tric telegraphs.— April 23. Joseph Jean Baranowski of London, gentleman, for improvements in machinery for counting, numbering, and labelling. — April 23. William Gilbert Elliott, of Ellsworth, Northampton, gentleman, for improvements in the manufacture of bricks, tiles, and pipes, and other articles from plastic materials, (A communicalion.) — April -"T. Charles May, of Ipswich, engineer, and Rtbert Leggett. of the same place, foreman of mechanics to Messrs. Ransome and May, of the same place, for improvements in ma- chinery for thrashing and grinding com, for cutting straw, and other similar substances; also improvements in applying steam-power to give motion to such classes of machinery; and also improvemenis in machines for depositing seed.— April 3'3. George Michiels, of London, gentleman, for iraprovem^nts in treating coal and in the manufacture of gas, and also in apparatus for burning gas. (A communication. — April 30. Evan Protheroe, of Austin-friars, London, merchant, for improvements in the manufac- ture of oxide of zinc, and in making paints from oxide of zinc. (A communicalion.) — April 30. Robert Dalglish, of Glasgow, merchant and calico printer, for certain improvements in printing, and in the application of colours to silk, cotton, linen, woollen, and other textile fabrics. — May 7. Gu^tave Eugene Michael Gerard, of Paris. France, for improvements in dissolving caoutchouc (Indian-rubber) and gutta percha.— May 7, George Hurwood, of Ipswich, Suffolk, engineer, for improvements in grinding corn and other substances. — May 7. Jospph Gibbs, of Devonshire-street, Portland-place, Middlesex, civil engineer, for im- provemonts in artificial stone, mortar, and cements, and in the modes of raanufactuiin^ the same. — May 7. John Talham and David Cheetham, of Rochdale, Lancaster, machine makers, for cer- tain improvements in machinery or apparatus and operations connected with the manu- facture of cotton, wool, silk, and other fibrous substances and fabrics, and in the applica- tion of certain materials to the manufacture of textile fabrics. — May 7. George Robbins, of Forrest Lodge, Southampton, gentleman, for improvements in the construct! )n of railway carriages.—May 7. John Youil, of Ardwich, Manchester, brewer, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for washing, cleansing, filling, and corking bottles and other vessels. — May 8. William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for improvements in warm- ing and ventilating buildings. (A communication.) — May 2*2. Robert Cotjjreave, of Eccleston, Chester, farmer, tor certain Improvements in ma- chinery or apparatus to be u-^ed in draining land. — May 22. Henry Columbus Heurry, of Manchester, civil engineer, for certain improvements in the method of lubricating machinery, — May 22. William Palmer, of Cottage-grove, Bow-road, Middlesex, gentleman, for Improvements in the manufacture of candles and candle-wicks, and in the machinery applicable to sueii mattere. — May 22, Jules Frederick Uaiilard Dumeste, of Paris, for certain improvements in reflectors for luminaries. — May 22. Simon Pincoffs, of Manchester, Lancaster, merchant, for certain improvements in the ageing process in calico printing and dyeing, which improvements are also applicable to other processes In calico printing and dyeing, — May 23. rrT=T ELEVATION OF CENTRAL PART OF SOUTH FRONT. SCALE ISO zool-'m SECTION TROUGH CENTRE HALL 0 N TH £ LINE A B. AAA Execniivp Offices B.H.B. Hardens i\C .V KxhihitoisHciirmpRomns DD.D Trees E.E.E Offices of the Refreshment Depart F.F.P.BalJs. G.G.G . D00P8 of exit . H.H.H . \j[:coiLntant8 ELEVATION OF EAST AND WEST FRONTS SCALE (I y lopFetJ S . C A L E 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. GREAT EXHIBITION OF INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS. {With an Engraving, Piute WW.) Ix our last number we ^ave a short reference to the various desifrns sent in for the Exliihition Building in 1851; in our present Me give an engraving, sliowing the plan proposed by the Building { ommittee, as the result of their investigations. It will be satis- factory to many of the competitors to find that the design of the Committee is formed on the same system as their own. One grand view is given through the building, from east to west, by an avenue under the highest roof, and which will be appropriated for seats, so that the visitors can scarcely fail to have their attention called to the coup d'cpil. Tlie general arrangements are good, but a grand dome is provided, on which we have more to say. Besides the central avenue, a corridor of communication is provided around the building, and the spaces covered with trees are appropriated as refreshment courts, likewise serving as centres of transit, so as to facilitate access to the several departments. The entrances are four in number — the outlets all around the building. The elevations are sufficiently effective, without any attempt at display. The iron dome, two hundred feet in diameter, or cone, as it is likewise suggested, is made the chief feature, but we question very much the expediency of the suggestion. Undoubtedly, it would be a great triumph of English art, to erect such a work; but we cannot help looking to circumstances, the more particularly when no such exertion is needed, as the contents of the building will be a sufficient demonstration of our powers and resources. It is better to rely on the book than on the binding — on the jewels than on the case — on the exhibition than on the building. The i/jec^nc/c should consist in the objects shown, and we should not give in to the false taste of seeking to make the building itself a spectacle. In St. Petersburgh and in Paris, such an auxiliary as a colossal dome might be required; but we need no such Mut. The ocean steamer, which conveys the distant visitor — the railways, which bring him within the metropolis — the bridges which span the river — will strike him with wonder enough, and give him a full conviction of our engineering and constructive power. As a matter of taste the dome is not wanted; we think we have given sufficient reasons why it is not wanted as an object of display. Use it has none; for appropriated to works of sculpture, tlie most colossal bronze we have — -even the Wellington statue, if brought across the road, will seem a pigmy under the vast vault. While there is, in our humble judgment, no reason for making the attempt, we question very much whether the attempt to con- struct such a dome by the spring of next year will be successful, great as are our resources. A failure will injure us in the eyes of foreigners; success cannot win from them a higher opinion of our skill, while whatever the funds at the disposal of the Commissioners, there are so many urgent demands upon them as to render the outlay for a dome very undesirable. Although all the details of the lighting are not given, there is sufficient in the plan and elevation to show that top-lighting by skylights is extensively used, whicli, for most objects of exhibition, is far from being favourable. A skylight gives the very worst light for most ornamental objects; and as the Exhibition will be held in the summer months, when sun light and heat are strongest, many delicate works must be very much injured, although a great expense must be gone to for blinds. We think it very desirable that side lights should be put in above the gutters in the central roof, and likewise, as far as possible, in the refreshment courts, and on the outside of the building. We are well aware there is an objection to have openings in the walls, which might give facili- ties for the removal of goods; but in a building so well guarded we consider this of little weight. An arrangement, which we likewise consider as affording insuffi- cient accommodation, is the height of the walling, which being 25 feet, is not enough for the display of carpeting and other goods of extensive area. The height ought to be at least 40 feet. The building will certainly be vast in its proportions — beyond anything which we have seen in London; for its length is about 23"i5 feet, whereas the Houses of Parliament have a fay-ade of 875 feet, London Bridge of 1005 feet, and Waterloo Bridge of 1326 feet. Thus the facade of the Exhibition Building is above twice the length of London Bridge, and thrice that of the Houses of Parliament. The breadth of the Exhibition Building being about 450 feet, and tlio area 1,000,000 square feet, the space roofed is far greater than the area of Lincoln's-inn-Fields, or of the great Pyramid of Gizeh. Never before was there a building so vast got No. 154.— Vol. XIIL— Jdly, 1850. up for a like purpose; for the dimensions of the Paris Exposition, as shown in the engraving in the December number of the Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal, are 800 feet long, and 330 feet wide, constituting an area of 261,000 square feet. Thus the London Exposition will have a faijade thrice the length, and an area four times greater. The area of 1,000,000 feet will be covered with one roof, except at the dome and the small refreshment courts; and the least height of this roofing will be 24 feet high, the greatest 50 feet. The spans will be 48 feet, except at the centre, where it will be 96 feet over the line of seats. Not only will there be a vast roof, but likewise a vast flooring, formed of boarding, laid on joists and sleeper walls. We are glad to see that, notwithstanding the invitations of foreign architects and the compliments paid to them, the design and construction of the building adopted is to be under English auspices. LECTURES ON THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE; By Samuel Clbgg, Jun., m.i.c.e., f.g.s. Delivered at the College for General Practical Science, Putney, Surrey. (president, his aaACG the dcke of buccleuch, k.g.) Lecture VII.— ATHENS: Fortifications— Temples. In contemplating Attica, the first sensation must be that of wonder that a spot of earth so minute as scarcely to be perceptible on the chart of the world, should have exerted so great an influ- ence over the whole civilised globe — an influence felt in thought, in speech, and above all, in art, even to the present day. There is something sublime in the idea of a small state, naturally barren and comparatively poor, solely by the moral and intellectual energy of its inhabitants, rising like a giant to stretch its mighty shadow over all ages and all lands. Athens itself is surrounded by a halo of bright associations, — the Autu, one of the eyes of Greece — the learned city — the school of the world. Great nations have risen, have conquered, and have passed away, leaving scarcely a ripple on the ocean of time — for their's was but physical power, and by nature finite; but the thoughts of great men and the works of genius, like the immortal soul from which they emanate, live for ever, to gladden the hearts of unborn generations. While Thessaly and Arcadia boasted their rich woods and plains, the mountainous district of Attica afforded but a scanty support for a few shrubs and a thin vegetation; and in many parts the bare calcai-eous rock, rising above the soil, defied alto- gether the hand of the husbandman. But this sterility proved a boon instead of a curse: all the activity and courage of the inhabitants was called forth by necessity, that first great practical teacher. The Athenians were driven to undergo danger and diffi- culty abroad, in order to supply the wants of home: instead of being cooped-up within the limits of a narrow sphere, they acquired a love for enterprise and adventure; thus, at the earliest period of their history, attaining that ardour and energy of character that produced their after-greatness. Another influence was equally felt by the Athenian. The barren country of Attica had ottered few inducements to the invader: the people imagined themselves its indigenous inhabitants, and were accustomed to weave golden grasshoppers in their hair to denote that they also were children of the soil. This belief gave them a passionate attachment to their native land — to those hills and plains on which no proud conqueror had ever set his foot. This patriotism — this strong love of country — prevented that overweening selfishness, always so great a barrier to progress, and brought the wanderer in search of learning, ivealth, or fame, home, to enrich his beloved Athens with his accumulated treasure. The original city of Athens was limited to the Acropolis, then called Cecropia, after its supposed founder, Cecrops, who lived about the same time with Moses. He was succeeded by a long lino of kings, the most memorable of whom was Theseus. This hero is said to have given new laws to the country, and to have founded the Prytaneum as a court of justice for the whole of Attica. He also established the Panathenaic festival; and, by these means, attracted a great concourse to Athens, which thenceforward became the capital of Attica, about 1300 b.c. At the death of Codrus (1091 B.C.) monarchy was abolished, and popular freedom gained ground, until in the year 084 b.c. a democracy was firmly established, the 29 210 THE CIVIL ENGINEER ANi> ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LJlLY, liend of the state being a magistrate, chosen annually, under tlie name of archori. From this time Athenian pOHcr steadily increased. Solon and I'isistratus flourished at tlie same period (between 500 and (iOO B.C.) ; and tho'igli differing widely in other respects, they botli agreed in honimriiig the arts and sciences. Solon, by his laws, encouraged the fine arts, wliilst Lyeurgus, on the contrary, for- bade tlieir cultivation: thus it was (as an ancient writer observes) that Laceiisemon has left no sign of its greatness, while Athens, from tlie aspect of its ruined city, would appear to have had moro power than it in reality possessed. Pisistratus founded a public librarj-, and adorned the city with other buildings. Before the time of the Persian invasion under Xerxes, the yearly revenue of Attica did not exceed i;{0 talents, or 300,000/.; but the event which threatened its destruction was,, in reality, a source of wealth and greatness. Attica, by its treo- gi-aphical position, was peculiarly adapted for a maritime coun"trv; its statesmen therefore turned their chief attention to the organ'i- sation of a fleet; and it was principally by the Athenian navy tliat the battle of Salamis was won, Xer.\es driven from the coiintrv, and the supremacy gained over the other states of Greece. Athens had been laid waste by the Persians, but rose, like a j>hoeni.Y, from its ashes. Riches poured into the treasury from tlie spoils of enemies and the contributions of allies, a tithe was set apart for the restoration of the city, and the excitement of tlie people, so lately engaged in a struggle for existence, found a vent in the rapid progress of the public works. Itwas during this period of fifty years, from the defeat of the Persians to tlie commencement of the Peloponnesian war, tlmt the most splendid edifices were erected, under the several adminis- trations of Themistocles, Cimon, and Pericles, and that the arts arrived at their highest point of perfection. The first of these great men, after the devastations of war, naturally turned liis attention to works of utility, commencing the long walls between Athens and the Pirseeus, and fortifying the ports. The magnificence and liberality of Cimon rendered him desirous of adorning as well as strengthening the city; and though at this time {i65 b.c.) tlie common treasury was transferred from Delos to .\thens, such was the munificence of Cimon, that many of the works were carried on at his own private expense. Under his administration the Temple of Theseus and the portico, called Poecile, were erected, the Academy and public gardens laid out and planted, and the great Dionysaic theatre commenced. The brightest era of Athens had now arrived, and at the same time a statesman arose, fitted above all others, by his cultivation of mind, taste, and eloquence, for the advancement of his great object, the prosperity and splendour of his native city. It was the good fortune of Pericles, that in his time, artists existed capable of carrying out his ideas; and it was also the good fortune of Phidias, Ictinus, -Myron, and Polvcletus, to have lieen employed by one so fully able to appreciate 'their genius. Thus, in tlie course of a few years, were accomplished works which have been the wonder of age's; works not only magnificent in design and exquisite in execution, but erected with such attention to durability, that after the expiration of a thousand years, they were ruined by the wantonness of man rather than by the finger of time. Plutarch observes, speaking of the buildings of this period, "A bloom is diffused over them, which preserves their aspect untar- nished by time, as if they were animated with a spirit of perpetual youth and unfading eleg'ance." 'I'he enemies of Pericles accused him of lavishing the money of the allies in gilding the city of Athens, and ornamenting it with statues and temples, as a vain woman decks herself with jewels. To this Pericles replied, that, " as the state was pro\ ided with all the necessaries of war, its superfluous wealtli should be expended upon such works as, when executed, would be eternal monuments of its glory, and which, during its execution, would diffuse universal plenty:' for as it was requisite to ajipropriate so many kinds of labour, and such a variety of instruments and materials to these undertakings, to exert every art, and enqiloy every liand, almost the whole city would be in pay, and be at tlie same time adorned and supported by itself." Pericles demanded of the people, " whether or not they thought that he had expended too much.'' " They answered in tlie iiffirma- tive. "Then be it," said he, "charged to my account, not yours; only let the new edifices be inscribed w ith my name, not with that of the peo]ile of Athens." The Atlienians however would not agree to this, and answered, "that he niiglit spend as much as he pleased of the public treasure, without sparing it in the least." Pericles might probably have embellished the city to a still greater extent had peace continued, but in i3l b.c. the Pelopon- nesian war broke out, whicli, lasting twenty-seven years, demanded all the resources and energies of the Atlienians. In the time of Conon (400 b.c.) Athens for a time recovered her supremacy; the Dionysaic theatre was now completed, a gymnasium constructed in the Lyceiuni, and a stadium for the celebration of the Panathenaic games. But a power was soon to arise before which all others had to bow. Alexander the Great was born 355 b.c, and from his time may be dated the loss of the freedom of Greece. With the loss of liberty, the love of glory that animated her people declined; that sublimity of spirit which had distinguished her artists was gone, and the arts languished in decay. Athens nominally preserved her independence by an alliance with Macedonia, but her archon was sup))orted by a Macedonian garrison. From this time, sometimes in alliance with Macedonia, sometimes with Rome, she was plun- dered by both. But though her naval and military power was broken, and the brilliance of her schools of art and philosophy dimmed, slie was still regarded with a kind of reverential awe; and the education of a young Roman patrician was thought iucom- plete unless he had studied in the schools of Athens. Though Greece did not become a Roman province till the time of the Emperor Vespasian (69 a.d.) she had long been beholden to foreign powers for any public works that were carried on, and Greek art may at this time be said to be lost in that of Rome. I will now endeavour to trace the position of the principal build- ings of ancient Athens, that some idea may be formed of the appearance and arrangement of this once beautiful city. Nearly in the centre of the town rises the Acropolis, a craggy, abrupt, limestone rock, seemingly formed by nature for a citadel. It is oblong in form, lying from east to west, about 150 feet in height, rather more than 900 feet in length, and 480 feet in breadth. High up the sloping road to the west stands the great Propylea, which, with its wings, occupies the whole natural entrance to the Acropolis. Before the southern wing stands the small Ionic Temple of \'ictory, without wings, on which JEgeus stood to watch for the return of his son Theseus from Crete, and whence he cast himself in despair when the black sail appeared in sight. The Acropolis was holy ground; no dog or goat was allowed t» enter its sacied precincts. Here were found the works of Phidias and Praxiteles, of Polycletus and -Vlcamenes, representing the gods and heroes of Athens, ^^'herever the eye turned, some sacred object presented itself— some form of beauty caused the footstep to linger. So numerous were the decorations of the Acropolis, that Pliny mentions no less than 3000 statues as standing there ia his time. On the highest point of ground is the Parthenon, the great temple of the tutelary goddess; and on the northern side the Erechtheion invites the devout to offer sacrifices to Minerva Po- lias, and the nymph Pandrossus. On the other side rose the colossal brazen statue of Miner^'O, the glittering point of whose spear was visible as far off as Sunium. Below, on the southern side of the rock, are the long ranges of seats belonging to the great Theatre of Bacchus and the Odeion of Regilise. These were connected by the Eumenic Stoa. Next, towards the east, was the Odeion of Pericles, still within the Temenos of Bacchus. The street of Tripods extends from here to the Prytaneiuni, under the north-east angle of the rock. Standing at the entrance of the Propylea, and looking towards the west, the first object only separated by a narrow gorge, is the hill of the ancient court of .\reopagus. In the eastern corner, over- shadowed by dark trees, stands the Temple of the Furies, those fearful goddesses whom no Greek could mention w ithout a shudder, and who caused even tlie spoiler Nero to turn trembling away from .\thens, as the place of their abode. Yonder is the Pnyx, with its rough hewn walls, and bcnia, or pulpit, from whicIi Demosthenes used to address his excited audience; and beyond again stretched the Long Walls, onwards to the bustling port Pirceeus, crowded with shipping and merchandise. Afar off to the north-west, is visible the sacred city of Eleusis, with its temples and propylea; the holy gate Dipylum standing between the outer and inner C'ein- micus, leads to the Eleusinian road. The Ceramicus was planted with groves, and adorned with porticoes and statues. The old -Vgora occupied part of the inner suburb; and in tliis were streets, taking their name from the different trades carried on there, as the street of the makers of -Mercuries, the street of cabinet-makers, &c. Beyond the gate Dipylum, at the extremity of the outer Ceramicus, was the -\cademy, celebrated for its grove of tall plane trees, beneath the shade of which Plato taught. Within the suburb, a little to the north, stands the Temple of Theseus; and ISJO.} THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 211 between this and the Prytaneium was the new Agora, and the tower or horologia of Andronicus Cyrrhestes. Let us novy turn to the south-east, where the llissus flows past the city, and where the Calhirroe spiings, the only natural foun- t.iin of sweet water in Athens. On an island, formed by the llissus, stood the Eleusiniuni, a buildiuij so sacred, that when the inhabitants of Attica crowded within the fortifications of Athens, on the breaking out of the Peloponnesian war, the Acropolis and the Eleusiniuui were the only places they scrupled to inhabit. In this temple the lesser mysteries were celebrated. On the northern hank of the river is seen the great ])eribolus and Temple of Jupiter Olynipius; and, on the south, the stadium appropriated to the Panatheuaic games. Following the course of tlie llissus we reach the Lyceium, the school of .Aristotle and his peripatetic disciples; and at the foot of Mount Anchesmus was the Cynosarges, the sacred grove of Hercules, where Autisthenes founded the school of cynic philosophers. On ail sides without the city gates were cemeteries and monuments; and beyond, over the country, spread the different demi, or districts studded with villas, and planted with olive groves and vineyards. Nor were the Athenians unmindful of the poor; for we ::ve told that there were no less than 300 places where the destitute might iind warmth and shelter for the night. To return to the .\cropolis and its fortifications. The walls of the citadel show traces of various periods, some parts being com- posed of those unhewn blocks known as Cyclopean ; others of accurately fitted polygonal blocks; and others, near the entrance, show a later style, the stones being placed in regular courses, with the joints broken as in modern masonry. The polygonal masonry appears to have been the work of the Pelasgians, who were sent for to fortify the citadel, as being the best military architects; and a space of ground below the northern side of the w^ll, allotted for their residence, was called the Pelasgicon. Shortly, however, the Athenians became jealous of their assist- ants; the Pelasgians were driven from the country, and it was ordained that the Pelasgicon should in future lie waste, for the better protection of the citadel. After the destruction of the city by the Persians, the walls of the .Acropolis were repaired so hastily that the ruins of the old buildings were used in its construction. Many architectural fragments may yet be seen in different parts. The walls enclosing the city were about 7i^ miles in circuit ; they were 60 feet in height, and were composed of massive rectangular blocks of stone, fastened together with iron cramps, run in with lead. This manner of fastening the blocks was very common in Greece, where cement was seldom used. The stones are now fre- quently found bored with holes, made for the purpose of abstracting the metal. A beautiful example of Greek masonry exists in the pavement of the Propylea at Eleusis. It consists of blocks of Pentelic marble, 6 feet in length and breadth, and 13 inches thick, so exquisitely fitted that the joints are in many places imperceptible. In the time of Themistocles, in order to prevent the enemy from cutting-off the communication between .Athens and the Piraaeus, the celebrated Long AV'alls were commenced, 175 b.c: theywerecon- tinued by Cimon, and finished by Pei'icles. These walls, including the city, and extending in a double line thence to the ports, and nearly encircling the Munychian Peninsula, were about 19 miles in length, and were flanked at intervals by towers. ^V'here the ground was marshy, the foundations were laid with chalk and large blocks of stone; and upon these the walls were raised, so wide that two loaded wagons could pass on the summit. They were in part overthrown by the Lacedaemonians, after the Peloponnesian war, but rebuilt by Conon, after an interval of ten years, and were finally destroyed by Scylla (86 B.C.) Of the three ports of Athens, Phalerum, Munychis, and Piraeus, which once vied in dignity with the city itself, few ruins remain; the ease with which statues and fragments could be carried away, rendering them a tempting prey to the spoiler. The sites of several buildings may yet be traced, as that of the Pir.-eic theatre and the Agora, called Hippodamia, after the arcliitect llipjjodamus. jMauy splendid structures are described as existing at Phalerum, the most ancient port. Amongst the rest, the altar inscribed "to the unknown gods;" but all these have long since disappeared. The Spartans pursued an opposite course to the Athenians. It was the policy of Lycurgus to dissuade tliem from fortifying their city, preferring that they should trust to their own bravery as the best means of defence. It is to be observed, however, that the whole country of Lacedajmon is naturally fortified by the steep mountains that surround it. The most interesting example of ancient fortification now re- maining is the wall of Messene, built from the plans and under the superintendence of Epimanondas, after the defeat of the Lacedaemonians at Leuctra (371 n.c.) The kind of masonry with which these walls are composed was called empleetori, having faces of rectangular stone blocks in regular courses, filled-in with rubble work. The two faces of the wall are bound together by transverse courses, or through stones, placed from 7 to 10 feet distant. Towers were erected at intervals along the wall, of rectangular form, with the exception of two on the north-east side, the fronts of which are semicircular. The towers consist of two stories, with windows and embrasures in each. In the lower story they were splayed to facilitate the discharge of missiles. Flights of steps led to the top of the wall and to the towers from the interior of the city. One of the gates was double, enclosing a circular court 63 feet diameter. There was also an outer area 31 feet in breadth, defended by the projecting walls. On the paved road leading from the inner gateway into the city, the marks of wheels are still visible. The walls of Pharsalia are similarly constructed, and are 15g feet in thickness. The ancients bearing the shield on the left arm, the right side was comparatively unprotected. This influenced the Greek mode of fortification in the plan of the approaches and the position of the towers. If an enemy were climbing the road leading to the entrance of the Acropolis of Athens, their right side would be exposed to the defenders during the whole ascent. The masonry principally employed by the Greeks was either the before-mentioned empleeton, the isodomon, in which the courses are of equal height, or the pseudo-isodomon, where the courses differ both in height and in the length of the stones. The roads were paved with oblong blocks of stone. Greece is remarkably rich in stone and marble. In Attica alone are the quarries of white Megarian, the grey stone of Eleusis, the bluish Hymettian, the veined Carystian, and above all, the snowy marble of mount Pentelicus. The buildings of the age of Pericles are all constructed with Pentelic marble, which, on account of its white and glittering surface, was, for architectural purposes, preferred to the more creamy Parian. Time, however, has brouglit their comparative excellencies and defects to light: while the Parian hardens with age, and presents a beautiful and wax-like surface, the Pentelic is apt to decompose, from being traversed by veins of extraneous mattei'. Works executed in this marble are now, therefore, somewhat rough and earthy in appear- ance. Dr. Clarke gives an interesting account of his visit to the quarries of Paros. He says: "VVe seemed to view the grotto exactly according to the state in which it had been left by the ancients. All the cavities, cut with the greatest nicety, showed to us, by the sharpness of their edges, the number and size of every mass of Parian marble which had been removed for the sculptors of ancient Greece. If the stone had possessed the softness of potter's clay, and had been cut by wires, it could not have been separated with greater nicety, evenness, and economy. The most evident care was everywhere displayed, that there should be no waste of this precious marble." The following anecdote may give some idea of the value of marble amongst the ancients: — When the Ephesians were about to erect a temple to Diana, they met to consult upon the best means of procuring material; the quarries then worked were far off, and the cost of transport would have been enormous. While they were deliberating, a shepherd of the name of Py.xodorus happened to be feeding his flock on Mount Pioa, or Prion, near the city; and two rams beginning to fight, one of them missing his aim, struck his horn against the rock and broke off a fragment, which proved to be of the purest white marble. The shepherd immediately ran with it into the city, where it was received with acclamations of delight. Pyxodorus was in consequence, not only honoured, but canonised, his name being changed by the grateful Ephesians to Euangelus, ' the good messenger.' " A monthly sacrifice v.as offered to his memory, on the spot where the discovery was made; and this custom continued to the time of Augustus Caesar. After providing for the defence of his city, the next care of the devout Greek was to erect fitting temples to the gods. The pious Athenian believed himself under the protection of some particular divinity, in every event and circumstance of life Each profession and employment had its tutelary god. The sailor sacrificed to Neptune and Amphitrite; the student to Apollo and the Muses; the artist to Minerva; and the hunter to Diana. The Temple of Bacchus was situated near the theatre, 29* 212 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrS JOURNAL. [JlXY, "here that festive god presidetl. That of Ceres was in the open plains, wliere the husbaRtiinan mijfht pursue liis daily toil under her protecting influence. Every fcmntaiii liad its attendant nymi)h, and every grove its dryades, who were i)ropitlated hy offerings of milk, oil, and honey. After the successful termination of any enterprise, gratitude was expressed to the favouring god by votive offerings, the warrior jiresenting shields and armour; the .igriculturist ]iis first fruits; :.itd each worshipper according to his ability and avocation. These "tfering were sduietimes of great value, and were jireserved in t e temple, or tlie sacred inclosure. In nothing did the Greeks dis|day tlicir sense of beauty and love of thejiicturesque more than in tlie choice of a site for their temples. They were generally placed on elevated ground, where they could be seen from afar, as the I'arthenon, and those of Jupiter I'anlielleniiis at ^'F,gin?i, and .Minerva at Sunium. ^^'here this was not the case, they were separated from the noise and hustle of the city by their periholus, or sacred inclosure, wliich was adorned with statues and altars, and planted with trees; thus inviting meditation hy the charm of repose. In some instances the periholus, or temenos, was so extensive as to contain other iuferior temples, and even theatres and |)orticoes; as the groves of Jupiter at Olynipia, and of ji'Isculapius at Epidaurus. The periholus was frequently surrounded by a peristvle, and contained the dwellings of the priests, and all those employed in the service of the temple. These, with their families, formed a village within the periholus, and lived, as it were, under the immediate protec- tion of the divinity. The (ireek temples were rectangular in form. A few ruins of circular buildings have been found, called by the Greeks "tholi;" hut it appears uncertain whether these were sacred structures. The temple was raised above the level of the periholus by a platform or stylobate; sometimes this was ascended by steps only in the front; liut w here there was a peristyle the steps of the stylobate were con- tinued all round. Vitruvius i-ecommends that the nuniher should he unequal, that the level of the temple may he gained by the right foot. Three was tlie customary number in the Temple of Diana Propylea at Eleusis; however, there are five; and in that of Theseus at Athens, onlv two. This is supposed to hare distin- guished it as a heroum, or temple to an inferior divinity. The stylobate occasionally formed a sort of area round the building. On this it was the custom to place a larse altar in front of the naos, as at the Temple of Minerva at Priene, on which public sacrifices were offered, in view of the congregation assem- bled in the periholus. Access to the naos or cella w as prohibited to the populace; this was denoted hy a cord extended across the doorway. The proportions of the temple differed according to the number of apartments required. Sometimes, in addition to the cella, there was a pronaos; sometimes both a pronaos and a posticus; and generally in the larger temples, an opisthodomos also, where the treasures and sacred utensils were kept. Frequently, the opisthodomos of the principal temple was the })ublic treasury of the state; this was the case at Athens, and at Delphi. The interior of the cella was lighted through the roof; or, sometimes by the door only. On the recurrence of great festi- vals, the whole interior of the temple was artificially illuminated. In the earlier temples the roofs were formed of tiles, or terra- cotta, stuccoed and i)ainted; but Bygcs of Naxos, who lived in the time of Solon, about 380 d.c, invented a mode of roofing in marble, for which he was honoured with an inscribed statue, a mark of distinction equivalent to a title in the present day. This in\ention consisted in the means adopted to prevent the water oozing through the joints of the flat marble slabs. This was done liy placing over them ridges of small slabs, resembling tiles. At the extremities of each ridge, antifixae were placed, generally in the palmette form. IJelow the antifixie was a channel for the water, which passed off through the perforated lions' heads on the crowning member of the cornice. Vitruvius directs that the lions' heads over the columns should alone be perforated, while the iiitervening ones are left solid, to avoid the inconvenience of water dripping upon persons entering the peristyle. Greek temples are divided by Vitruvius into seven classes, which Jie denominates in mdis, prosti/lt; finiiiliiprosti//<\ periijtern/, dipteni/, ]incudo-dij)teral, and hypcethrdl ; though few of the Greek examples exactly agree with the rules laid down by Vitruvius, they bear a sufficiently close resemblance to be thus classified. The temple in tiiitis (or as the Greeks termed it, vaa.s en purn.stasin) is the most simple, consisting merely of a cella, the walls of which are termi- nated in front by antw, or pilasters, between which two columns are placed, supporting the entablature; the whole is crowned b; pediment. TeiTij)Ie in Aiitis 1 bfiuis ^t Rliaiarms. A beautiful example of an Ionic temple in antis was found in Asia Minor, a drawing of which is given in the 'Ionian Anti(|uities,' published by the Dilettanti Society. There is also an ancient example at Khamnus in Attica, called the Temple of Themis; this is constructed with polygonal blocks of marble, and is of the Doric order; it is only 35 feet in length by 25 feet in breadth. A variety of this class is seen in the Temple of Diana Pnqjyiea at Eleusis, in which the form of the front is repeated in the rear, thus being to the simple temple in aniis what the amphiprostyle is to the prostyle. In the Temple of Esculapius at Agrigen- tum, there are two engaged columns between the antie in the rear. The great Temple of Ceres at Eleusis was in nntis until the time of Demetrius (307 B.C.), when the architect Philo added to it a magnificent dodecastyle portico, thus bringing it under the second class, the prostyle. This was similar to the temple in antis. Prostyle Templo at Selinunte. Amphiprostyle Temple on tfie Ilissus. only with the addition of a portico ; the angular columns of the portico are placed in front of the ant le, terminating the wall; in this class a pronass, or vestibule, was sometimes added to the cella. The amphiprostyle temples have a portico in the rear, as well as one in the front; this posticus is generally added when a second entrance is required. An example of this class is the Ionic temple on the Ilissus, a restoration of which is given in Stuart's 'Athens.' The larger Greek temples are mostly peripteral; that is, they have an ambulatory or peristyle along the flank, as well as porticoes in front and rear. Of this class is the Temple of Theseus at Athens, now in better preservation than any building of ancient Greece. (SJO.J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL; 313 In tlie year i-BS b.c, after the battle of Marathon, Cinion had the remains of Theseus conveyed to Athens, whei-e they were reinterred with {freat pomp and rejoicing, and this beautiful edifice erected over the place of sepulture. It is hexastyle, but differs from the rule of Vitruvius, who says that where tliere are six columns in front and rear, there should be eleven in the flanks, inchidina: tluise at the angles. Here, however, there are thirteen columns in the flanks; nor amongst the Greeks does there seem to have been any fixed rule, the number dift'eriuji' according to the required length of the temple. The hexastyle Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassie has fifteen columns along each flank, and that of Bacchus at Teos eleven; but in the latter temple there is merely a cella, with its pronaos, without any apartment in the rear. [ 43 . d . o ? POSTICUM 1 Z 4> S, ^ M ?- ;" — -yo/ // — ? Ca c.» POSTICUS Peripteral Temple of Apollo Epictirius, al Hassae. Tlie Heroum of Theseus has a cella, with a pronaos and pos- ticus, formed by the prolongation of the side walls of the ceUa. The cella is 40 feet in length, by 23 feet in breadth ; the pronaos, with its portico, is 33 feet; and the posticus 27 feet in depth. The columns are 3 ft. 3-65 in. lower diameter, and 18 ft. 8-6 in. in height; the intercolumniations of the peristyle are 5 ft. 4 in., and the width of tlie ambulatory 6 feet. The whole height of the temple to the top of the pediment is 33^ feet. The Greeks, in a great measure, orercame the effect of the small space between the portico and the pronaos, and the posticus and the opisthodomus, by making the interior columns of smaller dimensions; thus calling in the delu- sion of perspective to their aid. The interior of the temple also was raised a step from the portico. The eastern portico < nly of the Temple of Theseus « as adorned with sculpture. The metopa? were carved in bas-relief, the subjects taken from the principal events in the life of the hero, and the walls of the cella were decorated with historical paintings by the hand of Mycon. This temple was surrounded by a peribolus, of such extent that the military assemblies were held within it. It was also an asylum, or sanctuary, and is now a place of interment for those of our country- men who die at Athens. During the last year of Turkish dominion in Greece, the Pasha having been informed that a hive of bees had settled in the north- eastern corner of the pediment of the Temple of Theseus, ordered his people to bring him the honeycomb. I'lKm being told that it could not he got at, as it was so far down among the stones, he commanded the corner of the pediment to he thrown down ia order that tlie honey might be obtained. Such anecdotes should he considered by those who blame the English for having carried away the relics of ancient Greek art — these " robberies," as some have been pleased to call them, having been the only means of preserving them from total destruction. ■«) % # '.% m 9% ®®w> 9®m 9® 9 % ®®® 9 ® • ® ® « # # # (g ® Dipteral Tenijile of Apollo Didymoeus, at Miletu«. Tlie fifth class, the dipteral temples, have two rows of columns along the flanks, forming a double ambulatory. The Temple of Diana at Fphesus, built by Ctesiphon, and that of Apollo Uidy- nijeus at Miletus, were dipteral. P'inding the number of columns both inconvenient and exjiensive, Hermogenes of Alabanda omitted the interior range of columns in the peristyle, making the walls of the cella range with the columns third in order from the angles of the front, and giving an ambulatory of double width, — thus inventing that class known as pseudo-dipteral. The great temple at Piestuni, that of Diiuia at ^lagnesia, one at Selinunte, and many others, were constructed on this plan. Vitruvius describes the hypsthral temples as belonging to a different class; but this distinction does not appear to ha\e existed in Greek temples; all those, whether peripteral, dipteral, or pseudo-dipteral, dedicated to the jirincipal divinities, being hypse- thral, or having the cella open to the sky. This custom originated in the east, and was continued amongst the Greeks, it being deemed impious to confine the deity within a temple covered in by mortal hands, instead of by the blue canopy of heaven. To ex- clude the sun's rays, or to protect the statue placed in the cella from the inclemency of the weather, a peplus, or veil, was either extended over the opening in the roof, or suspended before the statue. The peplus is mentioned in a passage of Euripides: — *' Then from the treas'ry of the god he takes The conseiraltfil taoMry, sp eiidid wooll To clothe wall gralefut shade the wondrous scenef Fjnt o'er tlic roul be spreatls the skirtei peplus." 214 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Jl'LY, The preparation of the sacred peplus, which was richly embroidered, was coinniitted to a band of chosen virgins. .-Vt .Mhens, a new poi)lus Has presented to Himcron, at the recurrence of the great I'anathenaic festival, every five years. Pseiido-dii'teral Tonjple at Peliiiun'e. It at first excites surprise that in countries so limited as Greece and her colonies in Asia Minor, so many niagnifieent temples should have been erected, regardless of labour and expense, and that some of the most splendid sacred edifices existed in otlierwise insigni- ficant cities; but it must be remembered that many of these were cathedral or amphictyonic temples, where peojile of different states and towns assembled at certain times to celebrate festivals, hear causes argued, and settle disputes; and all thought it a honour to be allowed to contribute to the adonniient of the holy edifices. Such were the Temples of Diana at Ephesus (in renewing which Alexander the Great in vain offered to defray the whole expendi- ture to be permitted to have his name inscribed there) and of Apollo at Delos, where the lonians were accustomed to congregate at a periodical festival; and where Apollo was worshipped under the ancient form as Mithra; the capitals of the columns being formed each by the busts of two kneeling bulls, side by side, the old symbol of sun or fire worsbi]) (an engraving of which is given in the supplementary volume of Stuart's 'Athens'). Such too was the great Temple of Jupiter at Olympia, which was crowded with worshippers from all the Hellenic states every fifth year to celebrate the far-famed Olympic games, to be victorious in which was considered supreme felicity. The' Temple of Jupiter was moi-e ancient than tlie Parthenon, dating, according to I'ausanias, as far back as 650 n.c. ; but it must have been restored or repaired after that time, as the roof is said to have been constructed on the l)lan of IJyges of Naxos. This temple was of the Doric order, peripteral and hypa-tliral : it was 230 feet in length, 95 in breadth, and 08 in height to the summit of the pediment: it was built by Lybon of Elis. On tlie centre acroteria on each pediment, stood a gilt figure of Victory, with a golden shield beneath, and gilt vases were placed on the acroteria at the corners of the roof. According to I'ausanias twenty-one shields were suspended on this temple, the spoils of Numonius, on tlie conipiest of .Vchaia. The custom of lianging shields on the temples has been before remarked upon; one was placed on the Temple of Minerva at Syracuse (probal)ly on the acroteria), which was seen far out at sea: it was the custom of the Sicilian sailors to offer sacrifices to ensure a jirusperous voyage on losing sight of this shield. The chief glory of the temple at Olympia was the colossal statue of Jupiter, 60 feet in height, formed of ivory and gold: one of the masterpieces of I'hidias. After the works of the Parthenon were completed, Phidias and his disciples removed to Elis to adorn the city of Olympia; he was employed here about four or five years, and was held in such high estimation that he had a studio assigned to him. close to the sacred grove, and was allowed to inscribe his name upon the footstool of the divinity. The building in which he formed the statue was long known as the workshop of Phidias. The god appeared seated upon a throne, crowned with a golden olive wreath; in his right hand he held an image of Victory, and in his left a sceptre richly inlaid and surmounted by the figure of an eagle; his robe and sandals were of gold, covered with lilies and other devices; his throne was sculptured in relief, and set with ivory, ebony, gold, and precious stones. On each foot of the throne were four dancing \'ictories in relief, and two statues of Victory stood near on each side. So beautiful was this Zeus considered, tiiat according to Arrian, it was a misfortune to die without having seen it. 'The descendants of the great sculptor had alone the privilege of cleansing and preserving the statue. The whole territory of Elis was sacred to Jupiter; it would have been an act of the greatest impiety to carry on war within its limits; if an army marched through the state, they delivered up their amis on entering, and were only allowed to resume them on passing the boundary. The oracular temples of Greece also attracted a great concourse of those desirous of prying into the secrets of futurity. Of these the Temple of Apollo at Del[ihi was the most celebrated; the first stone edifice was erected here 548 b.c, and was the great re- pository of the treasures of ancient Greece. ^V'hilst Phidias was employed at Olympia, the artists of the ancient, or archaic school, were engaged in decorating the Temple of Apollo. Amongst the followers of this style of art, we hear of Canachus, Calon, and Hegesias; but as the archaic school retained the crude, stiff, tradi- tional forms, whilst Phidias and his pupils effected a revolution in art through their earnest study of the beautiful in nature, it is not wonderful that the names alone of the former artists have descended to posterity, and those attended with but little fame. Tlie means by which the oracular responses were obtained at Delphi are too well known to need repetition here; but in another celebrated shrine at Argos, the mode of decejition has only been discovered since the temple fell into ruins. The end where the altar stood was excavated out of the rock, and the remainder of the building constructed of baked tiles: part of this structure with the altar still remains. Dr. Clarke, in his interesting 'Travels,' relates that he found a subterranean passage leading to the back of the altar; this, he says, was so cunningly contrived, having a small aperture level with the surface of the rock, that it was easily concealed. A person descending into this passage might creep along till he got behind the altar, from whence the voice mysteriously proceeding, would have an imposing effect to the prostrate worshippers in front. The reverberation of the hollow rock would give a supernatural sound to the voice of the person concealed. A third class of sacred edifices supported by the contributions of the assembled multitude, may here be mentioned — those dedicated to Esculapius, the divine physician. These places of resort for invalids were generally situated near some medicinal sjiring, and, like our Bath or Cheltenham, a])pear to have been as much for amusement as for restoration. The sacred grove of Epidaurus was the most celebrated, where tlie efScacy of the holy stre.tm or the favour of the god was acknowledged by the presentation of num- berless little effigies of limbs, or other paits affected, such as may be seen suspended around the image of some miracle-working saint in the Continental churches of the present day. Many of these at Epidaurus were attachetl with wax to the knees of the statue of Esculapius. So great a similarity exists amongst the temples of ancient Greece that a detailed description of each would be mere repetition, there are two however, which from their extreme beauty, demand particular notice. I shall begin the next lecture, therefore, witli an account of the Parthenon and Erechtheion at Athens; and shall then describe the tlieatres and other places of public amusement, concluding with the villas of the Greeks, and their mode of decora- ting their edifices, whether public or domestic. LIST OF AUTHORITIES. Vitruvius. — Arciiitettura Antica, C>inina.- Antiquities of Ionia, Dilettanti Society. — Antitjuitii;3 of A.tica. Uiletlanti Society. — Aniiquuies of Atliens, i'ttiart and Re^ett. — 'I'lttxels in Greece, Dr. Ciarive. — Travt-is in Greece, Chandler. — Tour in tireeee, Dr. Word&wortli. — Antiquitif s of Magna Grajcia, Williins. — Tuposraj'lty of AtlieiiS, Col. Lfalie. — Plutarch's Lives. ISJO.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 215 TERRACOTTA AND ARTIFICIAL STONE Some remm'ks on Terracotta and Artificial Stone as connected with Architecture. By Chari,p;s Fowlrr, V.P. — (Paper read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, June 10th, 1850.) Althduuh the subject I have to present to you is not of an at- tractive nature, I hope it may prove not unworthy of your atten- tion, inasmuch as every architect must liave experienced the importance of being well acquainted with tlie various materials which nil'/ he available accordin"; to local and other circumstances, and wb'.cli require various modifications of design and construe^ tion, r^emanding the exercise both of his taste and skill. With this imjiression, I venture to invite your attention to the subject of ferra-Ootta and Artificial Stone, as matei'ials offering valuable Tieans of obtaining architectural effect and expression when stone or marble cannot be procured, or cannot be employed by reason of their gre;it expense. Under the general designation of terra-cotta, in its literal sense, I include all moulded work, such as bricks formed to be substituted for stone in constructing columns, vault- ing-ribs, windows, and other arehitectiu-al members, as well as tho-!e parts which are more strictly ornamental, as corbels, tablets, friezes, statues, vases, &c. For these various jjurposes, and under an infinite variety of circumstances, we shall find that terra-cotta has been employed with good effect; giving tlie advantages of variety and durability, at a moderate expense, in many cases in which these objects could not be so well attained by any other means. On investigating the origin of terra-cotta, or tlie practice of moulding and baking clay for building purposes, we may extend our researches to the earliest times; for it is obvious that the art of forming bricks and pottery must have been one of the first efforts of civilisation; but, although such may have been its origin, our subject properly relates to superior efforts, requiring the talent of the artist as well as the skill and dexterity of the artisan. The ancient cities of Nineveh and Babylon are considered to have been chiefly constructed of brick; but modern researches have not brought to light any specimens that come properly within tlie scope of our subject. No bas-reliefs, nor arcliitectural mem- bers of any kind, in terra-cotta, have been found, but merely vast mounds, the debris of buildings serving only to identify the sites of these once renowned cities; this negative evidence, liowever, must not be deemed conclusive against the existence of the art in places where so many circumstances concurred to call for, and to promote its practice. In Greece, where stone and marble abound, and were so exten- sively used by the ancients in their celebrated structures, we find, nevertheless, that terra-cotta was sometimes introduced — for ex- ample, in the eaves of roofs, in which use and ornament were skil- fully combined, by making the crown mould of the cm-nice form the front of the gutter. It is evident that the roofs to which these specimens belonged were covered witli tiles, of which they formed the bottom course; thus uniting the roof with the cornice belonging to both, and answering the useful purpose of an eaves gutter. It will be seen that there is considerable ingenuity in the mechanical contrivance for iixing, as well as great taste in forming this crowning member of the cornice. Campana, in his Work on Terra-Cotta, mentions ornaments among tlie remains of the Erectheum, which are probably similar to that already described. JIany instances might be adduced of the introduction of terra- cotta in Roman temples, but I am not aware of any specimens of the same architectural character as those just mentioned. The collection of bas-reliefs and statuettes, &c., at the Britisli Museum, j'.re well-known (although at present secluded in close presses.) They exhibit striking examples of the taste and skill of the ancients in this department of decorative art. Engravings of them have been published by the Trustees of the Museum, and many of them are further illustrated in a superior manner in Campanas work, from which it appears that there are duplicates of several of the specimens, and consequently that moulds must have been employed in producing them. There are also further repetitions of these specimens in the collection of the Soane Mu- seum. It is remarkable that in every instance clay only is used of various kinds and degrees of fineness, but witliout any mixture of other materials, as in the modern practice of forming artificial stone. The Etruscans were so eminently distinguished by their skill and taste in the fabrication of pottery that we may naturally infer that they employed the same material in architectural deco- ration also in lieu of sculpture; but I am not aware of the exist- ence of any specimens of Etruscan terra-cottas, excepting those very rude ones of tombs and monumental effigies in the British Museum. After this cursory glance at the use of terra-cotta by the ancients, we pass on to the use of it in the middle ages of which the evidences are more numerous, as the application was much more extensive. In Romanesque buildings, and those erected in the cinque-cento period, we find moulded bricks and various architectural members of terra-cotta, such as corbellings, columns, vaulting-ribs, cornices, enriched arches to doorways, windows with mullions and tracery, medallions, tablets, friezes, &c. In the north of Italy, where the country is to so great an extent flat and alluvial, and stone is con- sequently scarce and dear, there are numerous instances of the use of terra-cotta in churches and otlier public buildings. Aggos' Tower, and the church of S. Maria dcUe Grazie, at IMilan, may be cited among other examples; the former distinguished by elaborate details executed in moulded bricks, and the latter, in those por- tions erected by Bramante, containing bas-reliefs and other enrich- ments in terra-cotta. Tlie more ancient parts have brick mould- ings, corbels, &c. In the north of Germany, the scarcity of building stone has led to a very general use of moulded brick and terra-cotta; and tlie buildings of tlie middle ages in these parts are remarkable for the bold and effective manner in wliich nearly all the architectural featui'es are so executed, and for which we are accustomed to con- sider stone as almost indispensable. In the churches, which are generally of vast dimensions, there are massive columns elaborately moulded, bold projecting-ribs in the vaulting, mullions and tracery in the windows, doorways enriched with shafts and mouldings — ornamental corbellings, pinnacles, and even finials, all formed in plastic clay well burnt. At Lubeck the examples are numerous and striking, and besides the churches, which are on a large scale and of a bold style, may be noticed the llath-haus, the Hospital, and the City gates; the latter being surmounted by towers and chambers of an elaborate charac- ter. The domestic architecture is also distinguished by the preva- lence of the same style, and produces a very picturesque effect. At Hamburgh, the church of St. Peter, which was nearly destroyed by the great conflagration in 1842, has been entirely restored, excepting the tower, by Jlons. de Chateuneuf, with strict adherence to its original style; the restoration is executed in moulded brick, and is probably the only instance of a modern work of this kind in wliich that material has been so extenisively and efficiently employed. At Hanover, the Rath-haus is a curious specimen of elaborate meilifflval work in brick, but the style is not so general in that city as at Brandenburg, Luneburg, Tangermunde, and other towns lying more to the north and east, which are more completely within the district where brick constructions prevail, and stone is rarely met with in ancient structures. In our own country the art and prac- tice appear to have been introduced much later, and can scarcely be traced beyond the Tudor period, when plastic materials were found particularly convenient and economical in the execution of elaborate details with extensive repetitions of the same parts, as in ornamental chimney-shafts, battlements, corbels, friezes, mould- ings, pinnacles, &c.' Examples of these are too numerous to he particularised, as they would form a long catalogue of ancient mansions and collegiate buildings by which the age of the Tudors is distinguislied, and which have been ably illustrated by the publications of modern authors and artists. In the parsonage house at Great Snoring the frieze consists of a series of heads inniches, in bold relief, all formed by two moulds, and closely resembling similar friezes in private dwellings at Bologna, w"here the same kind of ornament is found to prevail. At Hampton Court, the medallions containing Roman heads, in bold relief, inserted in the walls, appear to be of Italian workmanship, and there were several of the same description in old houses in the city of London, but the besom of modern improvement has swept away the greater part of them. The county of Norfolk is remarkable for a great number of ancient structures, in which the architectural and decorative features are wrought out in moulded brick, or terra cotta (doubtless for the local reason before alluded to) and amongst the most ancient of these may be mentioned Caister Castle, near Yarmouth (temp. Hen. VII.) whose lofty towers and bold corbel- lings make it assimilate with some of the ancient fortresses on tlie banks of the Rhine. The style of execution which we have been considering appears to have iiad its full development during the Tudor period, at the latter part of which it was superseded by the introduction of Italian architecture; for examples of moulded brick work, or terra cotta, are rarely to be met with in edifices erected subsequent to the reign of James' I., except as detached tablets, shields, or lieraldic insignia. 216 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. fJuLY, It is rather remarkable that the revival of the manufacture of terra cotta, or more projierly of artificial stone, in England, should have been effected by a lady. About sixty years ago. Miss Coade, from Lyme Regis, possessing a large share of scientific knowledge and energy, embarked in a small manufactory of artificial stone in Lam- beth, tt hich, by her perseverance and good management, eventually attained a considerable degree of celebrity. To this original estalilishment in Lambeth the merit is due of greatly improving the composition of the material, and the processes by which its permanent character was attained. The proprietor had also suffi- cient enterprise and discrimination to avail herself of the talents of gome distinguished artists, and thus produced works of a superior character, which may fairly vie with tliose of the chisel. The l)as-relief in the pediment over the western portico at Greenwich Hospital, representing the Death of Nelson, was designed by West, and executed by Bacon and Panzetta, who also modelled many other distinguished works. With respect to modern instances of the use of artificial stone, St. Pancras Church may be considered as one of the most important; the greater part of the ornamental details being formed of this mate- rial, at the large outlay of 54-00/. The work was executed by Mr. Rossi, from the designs of Mr. Inwood, the architect: and, ac- cording to jiresent appearances, the material promises to be very durable. About the same time extensive bas-reliefs, colossal figures, and other decorations, executed in the same material, were placed on the front of the Custom House, London, hut these specimens have been removed. The statue of Britannia, made of artificial stone, which crowns the Nelson column at Yarmouth, remains uninjured by the exposure, to which the stone work seems to be yielding. The Bau-Akademia, in Berlin, by Hcliinkel, is a remarkable exami)Ie of the modern adaptation of moulded brick and terra-cotta, of which every part, even the face of the w alls, is most carefully wrought : -id finished. Having taken a general view of the history of the art in ques- tion, and its application in various ages and countries, it may be proper to give some account of the composition and modes of forming and perfecting the artificial stone as now practised. It has been already stated that the ancient examples are evidently formed simply of fine clay, or brick earth — carefully prepared and well burnt — and they are, therefore, precisely of the same nature as coarse pottery ware, and are correctly designated "Terra-cotta;" but the modern artificial stone is a very different substance, and greatly superior to them in hardness, texture, and colour. The result of inquiry at several establishments shows that some differ- ence exists, both in the composition and processes adopted by the respective manufacturers, but without any obvious difference in the results, 'I'he i>rinci])al ingredient is the white potter's clay, forming about one-half; pulverised stone ware from one-third to one-fifth; ditto glass, from one-fourth to one-ninth; and some add, for finer purposes, a small portion of white llyegate sand and lioivdered flint, about one-tenth part of each; these ingredients are carefully mixed in a pug-mill to a stiff consistence suitable for modelling or moulding, and then worked into the various fornis required. With a view to ensure perfect burning, an uniform thickness must be preserved in all parts, usually about l^inch, l>ut i)roportionate to the bulk and strength re(iuired; considerable attention is necessary in the process of drying that it should be slow and regiila.'-, so as to avoid any distortion of form; the time to be allowed must, in some measure, be governed by the state of the atmosphere and other circumstances. The same considerations regulate the burning, which should proceed by very slow degrees to a white heat, and ample time should be allowed for cooling: the jiractice in tliese respects — wliicli appears to vary very widely in different manufactories — allows from ten to fourteen days for dry- ing, from seven to fourteen for burning, and tliree or four days for cooling. 'i'he kiln at Messrs. W. Cuhitt and Co.'s, which may be taken as an ordinary example, is a cylinder of 10ft. Gin. diameter externally, and 10 feet high to tlie base of the cone. The enclosing wall is two bricks thick, having a large opening for packing and unpack- ing the articles to be burnt. M'hen the kiln is filled, this is closed up with lumps, preparatory to lighting tiie furnaces. The interior is lined with tiles .',-iiicli tliick, grooved and tongued together, and set in Stourbridge clay, leaving a vacancy of 1 inches, which is called the nniffling, all round. I'here are two furnaces, and about three tons of coals (Hartley's) are consumed in one l)urning. Tlie progress of the burning is ascertained by looking through an inspection-hole with a lens in the side of the kiln. Having been led to tlie cousideration of this subject with a view to its practical application, I venture to adduce some instances in which I have used artificial stone, combined with other materials, in the construction of cornices, which, at the same time, serve the purpose of eaves gutters. The advantages proposed in these cases were lightness and strength, with durability and economy. In one example here exhibited, it will be seen that, as a mere corona of the cornice, it gives apparent magnitude to the elevation, with very slight addition of substance or weight. The material, from its hardness and imperishability, is best suited to the situation where it is most exposed to injuries. It also forms a rim, or mar- gin, which throws back the water instead of allowing it to run down over the face of the mouldings in the usual way, in which the top slopes outwards; and by which, in a smoky atmosphere, the cornice is liable to be much defaced and injured. Another example refers to the cornice of a pediment, therefore it is independent of any gutter. In another example the gutter is at the back of the cornice, and is of a distinct construction. In another the gutter is contained within the facia and crown mould, forming a continued trough, resting on a course of slate slabs, which constitute the soffit of the cornice. And, in the last example, the gutter forms a separate portion, lapping over a facia, which is also of artificial stone; and the whole is supported on slate slabs, as the preceding one. The several parts are united lengthwise, by rebated joints, set in white lead, and bedded in cement on the brick and slate. The Greek examples, before alluded to, first led me to this prac- tical application of terra-cotta. It should be observed, that the chief difficulty in preparing this material for the several purposes mentioned, is its liability to become distorted in drying and burn- ing. To avoid tliis it is necessary that the pieces should be short in proportion to their width; and then the deflections (which in some degree are unavoidable) may be so adjusted in setting as not to be conspicuous; and as the cornice is the part most remote from inspection, the imperfection is the less observable. Further, it may be presumed, that if the use of artificial stone were more general, and occasioned consequently a greater demand for this description of work, some means would no doubt be found for rendering the manufacture more perfect. In order to obtain a fall or current in the trough gutters, the bottoms are partially filled up with Portland cement having the greatest thickness towards the centre, and gradually diminished to the outlets. This, besides facilitating the discharge of the rain w ater, serves to strengthen the construction, by covering the joints and fortifying the sides. The colour of artificial stone assimilates tolerably well with Port- land or Caen stone, but the texture is liable to have too much of the glare of pottery. Its durability, if properly manufactured, maj' be deemed almost unlimited, and its economy, if judiciously applied, is a further recommendation; but this involves many important considerations for the judgment and discretion of the architect. Although these remarks have properly been limited to terra-cotta and artificial stone, which, as the designation of the first implies, have to undergo the action of fire; yet, as the latter is now a])plied to a material prepared by a different process, it may not be irrele- vant to make some mention of it on the present occasion. It appears that this substance consists of a concrete, formed with cement and sand, variously proportioned, and the forms are pro- duced from moulds; consequently one of its chief advantages is economy, where uumerous repetitions are required. If a nice finish is desired, these productions can be worked up and sharpened by the chisel. This art has been practised for about twenty years; but it is more particularly within the last ten years that it has been brought into very extensive use: the experience, therefore, of its durability is, at present, rather limited; but, at all events, great credit is due to the manufacturers, for the taste evinced in many of their productions, wliich constitute another resource, in cases where the works of the sculptor would he excluded by their great expense. Reverting to terra-cotta, I beg, in conclusion, to observe, that it may be seen from what has been stated, that it possesses many valuable qualities and recommendations when introduced with skill and discrimination — viz., strengtii, durability, and economy; more particularly where high relief and sharpness are required, and for l>arts extensively repeated. That it affords the most perfect oppor- tunity for the development of artistic talent in the higher branches of art, inasmuch as the model in this case becomes the original and ]iermanent work; embodying in all its freshness the original touch and conception of the artist. Further, and in regard to structural considerations, that it may be combined with other materials, so as to afford increased means and facilities for giving architectural expression with sound construction and eccuomy. 18S0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 217 THE POETRY OF ARCHITECTURE. A paper read by James Edmeston-, jun., nt the General Meeting of the Architectural Association, May 3UY, 1850. Ik it be true that Architecture is a fine art; that it is eminently capable of receiving the marks and impressions of mind and intellect; if it has the power of reflecting the radiations of the heaven-born fire of genius — why, then, it is most truly poetical. For what is poetry but a combination of all these? and to talk of the poetry of architecture is not a mere form of uimieaning words, but expresses a fact that should attract our attention and study, since it cannot be possible for us to place the standard of our art too high, or to fix a limit to the excellencies of which it may be capable. That architecture does possess all these characteristics, I think few will deny; and if to some, such e.xpressions may seem to belong to mere theory, I will ask them, at all events, to allow what is, unfortunately, evident enough — that the opposite of these things exists; that is to say, that want of harmony, that bad taste, which we commonly call vulgarity, and which is the offspring of an uneducated mind and low order of imagination. If, then, it is too certain that architectural forms have the power of conveying to the mind such impressions as these, 1 must contend that it is absurd and impossible to say that improvement is not to be made. The mind instinctively points out what is vulgar, deformed, and un- poetic: there must of necessity be the reverse of all this, and the mind will discern and approve what is beautiful, poetic, and pro- portionate. It does appear to me that more profit than may be at first sight apparent, may be derived from the study of the art under such an aspect as that now under consideration, since the desire of excel- lence is the incentive to all exertion; and the more fully the mind is impressed with the glorious height and perfection which may be attained, the more firmly and determinately will it buckle on the armour of thought to the task, the more intently will it labour to surmount the difficulties of the road, and gaze firmly on the goal which it desires to reach, — while without faith in the result of our exertions we can achieve nothing. What I would call the true poetry of the art is that combination of mass, that disposition of outline, that moulding of form and arrangement of detail, which should be guided by taste the most elevated and refined, and, above all, should speak to the beholder clearly and intelligibly, with a voice mighty yet inward — a work, the contemplation of which, like the divine strains of melodious music, should elevate and purify the mind, encouraging those sensations of the soul which partake least of the earthly clay from which we have sprung, but which, with purity and intensity, yield charms to the imagination far beyond those of a grosser nature; appealing to the sensibility of the soul, and to those innate percep- tions of the beautiful which God has implanted in all his intelligent creatures, — the external harmony from without, finding an internal response within us. Very mysterious and subtle are these influences of what we call "?Ae beautiful" or, as I have called their highest expression, the poetry of art and nature — neither to my mind existing only in the power of perception, but an actuality in the thing perceived; not wholly a matter of the intellect (to be merely acquired like scholastic learning), though certainly to be cultivated and improved,— but partaking of all these; consisting of none wholly, but in part of all; an absolute outward principle, fact, and perfection, existing in and pervading all things, though often we may not perceive or understand it. Yet it is of great importance that ne should believe it is to be achieved and evolved; for if not, we may fall into that frigid and philosophic view of our art, which will so alter its nature, that we shall no longer be able to talk of its poetry; and may at last reduce it to a mere manufacture, or to be worked out like a mathematical problem— not taught ti> spring into warm life by the creative power of genius, full of powerful thought, and clothed with the glowing expressions of poetry. We should, then, gladly welcome those refining influences of high art, allowing that such things may be and are, and strive to im- prove them to the uttermost. 1 have not alluded to colour as being a primary agent in producing these effects, because 1 certainly think that, although an important element and not to be despised, yet that it is certainly altogether secondary to form, arrange- ment, &c. All fine art must be poetic; for is it not the illuminating power of genius, and the thoughtful ardour of a superior mind, which, ■working ui)on the natural rough and intractable material, makes of the block of unshapen stone an Apollo Belvidere, or arranges colours with true and powerful harmony on the canvas. Perhaps it may not be an inapt simile to compare the works of , the painter and sculptor to the sonnet, every word of which should contain the richest imagery and most suggestive thought, polished and refined with the greatest care, and yet brought into so small a compass; while the architect's works c(une more nearly to the grand, less-minutely finished, but powerful and majestic, epic — in part forcible and striking, in part subdued and general; varying in description, but as a whole, grand and complete. Let us, however, endeavour to trace the poetical element in the old world efforts of architectural art. To begin with the half- temple, half-palace, erections of the Egyptians — the great temple of Karnac, for example; this, and most of the other productions of Egyptian art, do not, I think, bear evidence that the artist was actuated so much by higher impulses, as by the desire to produce something grandiose and magnificent: as if each dynasty wished to leave the page of its history indelibly written, and set up on the face of the land for succeeding ages to wonder at, rather than moved by any deep religious feeling, or any of those higher aims which would have ensured more perfect results. Wonderful, ma- jestic, and surprising as are their works, I do not consider that they exhibit so much mental vigour as perhaps every other style, nor much elegance of mind; in fine, 1 tliink that if the Egyptians had taken a higher aim, and been actuated by higher purposes, they would then have produced, with their wonderful technical ability and resources, works of a higher stamp, and in all respects much superior: but they seem to have been wanting in imagination, and, from some circumstances of position or habit, to have been deficient to some extent in poetical genius — learned and scientific though they certainly were. But leaving this era of art, and turning to theGreek — what an ex- traordinary dift'erence do we find! The characteristics and purposes of the former style are quite gone (I do not mean mere evidences of relationship and descent, but of feeling and thought); and I think that it must be allowed that here the poetical element exists most strongly. In Grecian buildings we see the language of mind, earnest, determined, elevated, and poetical — a purity of thought and loftiness of idea which is the more surprising when we consider the ffrossness of their religious myths and other circumstances of their position. Let us suppose the Parthenon as it was first erected, fresh and unmutilated — from its vastness, imposing and arresting the attention of the beholder; with its just proportions, pleasing and delighting his eye; and, with its general purity of design, refining and elevating the emotions of his soul: exciting no one thought displeasing and gross, but leaving him better and happier — • he can scarcely tell you why — for having seen it. Yet the reason is no more than this, and as we have before observed, that genius and thought can make themselves felt and evident, and can speak to the minds of others, no matter through what medium — impart- ing a feeling which language can hardly express, hut which the soul can well understand; even as the poet will carry away his hearersor readers by the creations of his fancy conveyed in words. Coming next to Roman art; I tliink we find the poetical element much less clearly expressed. The reason I take to be, that the Romans had naturally no such soul-felt love for their art as the Greeks had; their time and attention were too much otherwise occupied; they wanted, to a great extent, tliat elegance of mind which the Greeks i)ossessed; and their fondness for military pomp and grandeur, and for outward show, made itself apparent and over- ruling in their architecture: for to do much and largely seems rather to have been their aim than to do well thoughtfully and carefully. They seem to me much more the works of a great nation than of a refined one; and therefore, as we have argued must be the case, to ])Ossess much less poetic feeling and poetic influence, in spite of the grand proportions of a Colosseum, or the enrichments of a temple to Jupiter Tonans. The creations of the modern Italian school, great and wonderful as they many of them are, still suffer from the errors of their parentage; and are, generally speaking, certainly wanting in those higher attributes to which we at first alluded, notwithstanding all the bright names which adorn the list of masters, and the many works which they have left behind them worthy of our respect and admiration. Yet, perhaps I ought to except in some degree the minor productions of some of the masters of this school — the love- liness exhibited in the beautiful gardens, where fount and bridge, temple and loggia, under tlie clear blue sky and amidst Italian foliage, speak visions of love and romance, and produce an imaginative world in harmony with itself. In the Romanestjue we find a certain rudeness of invention, yet fervour of thought and boldness of fancy, full of great merits. This style would appear the production of a society struggling 30 218 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [July, under many disadvantapc-;, yet ruoro^. Caslle and keep 1161—1169 .. 12 Hen. 11. .. VJ Hen 11. .. S4 Hen. II. Orford. Commenced Fosse Tower repaired 1163 1173 321 0 . . total 433 1 10 12 0 « 0 .. 18 Hen. II. Drawing stone for Ihelurris 1172 Arundel. .. 33 Hen. II. f Fioorinz the (urris, and"J ! for making a herbarv ( ) befure ihe King's f""' (. chamber J 12 13 4 Nottingham, 1171 .. 271 14 9 Baly completed. Mr. Hartshorne then explained, referring at the same time to the plans and drawings on the walls, the parts and appendages of a castle, their uses, and relative positions, viz.:— The Keep— the Fosse — the Barbican — the Portcullis— Stockade— Enceinte, or Cingulum— the Baly— Donjon— Loops— Oillets— Cross Oillets— Battlements— Crenelles— Embrasures— Merlons — Alures — Vaw- mer- Postern Gate; or Sally Port— Drawbridge; or Pons tornatilis —Gemews— Bastions— Towers— Turrets — Machicolations— False Machicolations. He next alluded, in further explanation of the subject, to the instructive and magnificent pile of Caerphilly, with its leaning tower, 9 feet out of perpendicular, and to Bridgnorth Castle, whose ruined tower inclines some 25 feet, and bears evident marks of reparations at its base having been made at different periods. The names and duties of the officers attached to a castle were then described— viz., the Constable; the Ingeniator; the Attiliator; the Garritor, or Sentry; the Porter; and the Watchman, for whose shelter shutters were contrived in the embrasures of his watch turret. As Engineers, mention was made of Alnod, at the Tower, temp. 20 Hen. II., 1174; Yoo, at Windsor; Bayard, Nottingham, 7 John; Ganfridus, at the Tower, 37 Hen. I.; Albert and Urric, Hen III.; Richard, Edw. I. A succinct description of Norman castles followed, in which it was stated, that they were generally built after the same model, and that tliey have usually a keep, or square building, on a mound or elevated portion of ground. A remarkable feature of the keep IS, that the entrance is on the first floor. The walls are strengthened at the sides by shallow buttresses, which die into the face of the work before they reach the summit. The earliest have no port- cullis. They were defended btj outer walls, of the circle of which they sometimes form a part, as Pevensey. The keeps are of various shapes, the quadrangular form being the most common; as at Rochester, Porchester, Canterbury, Risina. Heddingham, Norwich, Newcastle. Sometimes they are of poly- gonal shape, as at Kilpeck, Caerdiff, Coningsboro' Chillham, and Orford. At others, they are circular, as at Skenfrith, Pickering, and Launceston, to which class may be assigned Alnwick. The solid type of the Norman keep passed, by an easy gradation, into the geometrical form, as seen in Clifford's Tow'-er at York, and later again at Barnswell, 1264., Hen. III. The transition from this to the concentricity of tlie Edwardian, was natui-al and easy. Of the Norman and Edwardian forms, all later ones are only modifications. To illustrate the gradual progress which took place in building these castles, attention was called to the Castle of Alnwick, in Northumberland, which was commenced by Yoo de Vesci, temp. Hen. I. William de Vesci, Sti Edw. I., having no legal issue, enfeoffed it to that great prelate, Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham, 111 social confidence that he should hold them for William de V esci, his illegitimate son, till he came of age. But being irritated by some slanderous words he had spoken, he afterwards sold the castle, 19th Nov. 1309 (3 Edw. II.) to Henry de Percy. He made large bequests to Fountains' Abbey, where he was buried before the high altar, dying in the 8 Edw. II. His son Henry, who suc- ceeded him, built the octagonal towers of entrance into the inner baly, about the year 1350, as is shown by the armorial bearings of the Nevilles, Fitzwalter.s, and Umfruanville, inscribed on shields tuider the ^battlements. This castle was visited by King John, Edw. I., Edw. II., and William, king of Scotland, was taken prisoner under the walls in 1174. The remaining portion of the paper had reference to the Ed- wardian Castles of Wales, and consisted chiefly of a detailed account of the progress of the works at Conway and Caernarvon, being the result of a very long and diligent research, among the records before alluded to, in connection with a careful examination, measurement, and delineation of those buildings. ;\Ir. Hartshorne demonstrated that the works were commenced at Caernarvon, 10th November 12 Edw. I. (1284), six weeks after the execution of Prince David, at Shrewsbury; and at Conway, 2Sth October, II Edw. I. (1283), thus showing that the latter castle preceded the former by a few months in the date of its erection; and that the walls round the town of Caernarvon were built in the 14th year (1286), when some portion of the castle was covered in with lead, and the works were in progress in the fosse. That in the same 30* 220 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [July, year the castle at Ilarlecli was bejjun, and that at Criccaeth repaired. That the works at Caernarvon were in progress, 19 Kdw. I (1291). Tlint little had been done besides the town walls and the fosse round the future castle, when Edw. 1. visited the town, for the first time, Ist Ajiril, 12S1. That his son, the Prince of AV'ales, was born there on the 2Jth of the same month, but by no pos3it)ility in the Eajrle Tower, as usually asserted. That after little profircss in the 19th and 21st years, what liad been erected was rendered useless l)y Madoc's insurrection, in the 2,'ird year (ly9>), and the works were begxin anew from the north-east anjrle, and thence aloiifr the soutliern side. That the records and the change in the masonry showed the north side to be of diflereiit afjes — the earlit^st some time lietween 23 and 29 Edw. I. That tlie Eagle Tower was tlie work of Edw. II., as shown by reconls expressly relating to its erection, and by the form and character of its mouldings. That it was roofed in the month of November. 1316; floored in February, 1317; and the eagle was i)laced on the battlement the first week of March. That the upper portion of the north side of the castle, entrance-gate, &c., were finished 13 Edw. II (1320), and the royal effigy fixed there the last week of April, in the same year. This detailed statement of the progress of the works entirely controverted the general opinion, that Caernarvon Castle was con- structed in the short space of twelve months, and proved that the present buildings were the labour of 38 years, and being carried on from 1281 to 1.322, even extended into two reigns. The early pro- gress of Conway was traced in a similar manner, and an account was also given of the actual state of the thirteen royal castles in North and South Wales, 17 Edw. III. (13+3), which had been granted by him to his son, the Black Prince, when a large sum was estimated to be re([uired for repairs, nearly half of which was essential for the castles of North Wales. Many of the extracts from the calendars, expense rolls, and other documents, quoted in the course of the paper, were highly inte- resting, from the precise way in which they exhibited the indus- trial economy of the time, the rate of wages, the price of material, and the method of carrying on large works; and the paper itself was illustrated by several plans and drawings of a large size. Mr. Hartshorne having concluded his paper, Mr. Cockerell, the Chairman, said — " All present will, I am sure, join gladly in re- turning thanks to the Rev. Mr. Hartshorne, for the very luminous discourse he has given us on the Castles of Great Britain, and more especially on those of the time of the two first Edwards. To a great country, rich in historical associations, such a subject must, at all times, be deeply interesting, and it is one well worthy the consideration of the antiquary and the historian, as illustrating a portion of our national architecture. It is, moreover, especially interesting to us, as revealing the relative state of the art of building, and of our own profession in those early times, as well as the rate of wages, and the condition of the working community. VVe are greatly indebted to our reverend friend for investigating the very minute and authentic resources which he has opened to us; and in expressing our obligations to him, permit me to say, that I do not know which to admire most, the elegance, or the perspi- cacity with which he has presented to us this curious lore, which tends in so renuirkable a degree to illustrate the state and position of our art in the middle ages." Mr. Donaldson: "The Institute is much indebted to our reverend friend, for making its members acquainted with these remarkable documents, relating to the construction of this interesting group of castles. That no body of men could, I believe, appreciate better than this body, the importance of the information he has placed before us, will, 1 think be acknowledged when I state, that about ten years ago, the Institute offered its medal for the best restora- tion of an am-ient castle, and that we possess a very skilful set of plans representing the castle of Sheriff Hutton, designed by Mr. Sharp, jmi., then of V'ork, and accompanied by a learned disserta- tion u|ion the relation the different iiarts of the castle bear to each other. The reverend gentleman, admirable as was his paper, has stojiped short on the threshold. He has given us the dates and cost, and its progressive development; but it would be still more interesting, if possible, were he to give us an account of the conec- tion of the different parts of the castle, with the reference they bear to each other, and the reasons for the differences which exist between them — why one tower should project more than another — why some should be polygonal, some round, aiul some of complex configurations — why, in short, there should be such differences under similar circumstances as those apparent in the examples now iucli ; the correctiuii for caiiai-ily is u-2il2 inch. 1 ' Ailiuiralty Manual of Scientific Enquirj.* 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 227 the ivory point; the same action either raises or depresses the column of mercury, and, as the extremity of the ivory point is the zero of the scale, the reading «ill show the real heif;ht of tlie mercurial column above the surface of the liquid metal in the cistern, subject to only two corrections — viz., that of temperature and capillary action. The barometer is attached to a mahogany slab, projecting forward about two inches, and is free to turn on its axis in any direction. In reading off the scale a moveable ring is made to form a tangent to the curved surface of tlie mercury in the tube, a piece of white paper to reflect the light being placed behind it; with very little trouble the temperature and capacity correction may be combined in one, together with a small zero cor- rection to reduce it to the Greenwicli standard. When a table is thus formed, the absolute height of the barometric column may be ascertained from the reading by the application of one coriection only, and that with the accuracy wliich has hitherto been attained by standard barometers at three times the price. As Mr. Barrow makes twelve of these at the same time, there is a fair chance of their readings being identical; and this is reduced almost to a certainty by the pains which .Mr. Glaisher takes in comparing them with the same standard, and supplying the zero correction, which is never more than a few thousandths of an inch. An e.\ample from a series of comparisons, lately taken with a barometer by Newman (very excellent of its kind), to determine its zero correction, and one of this construction, will show how much labour is saved in the reduction of observations taken by this improved instrument. 29375 — -051 terapcralure + capillarity Newman't. 29-375 reading of the scale — •018 capacity 29-357 + -032 capillarity 29-325 corrected Ijeight 29-389 — •061 temperature 29325 corrected height With some labour it would be possible to combine all the correc- tions for Newman's barometer in one — a plan 1 am about to adopt for the reduction of three years' observations with the instrument which was made purposely for me. In lieu of the glass cistern and leather bag, a double iron cistern, with a solid bottom, is intro- duced; and, with great simplicity, the mercury is secured for travelling by stopping off the greater portion after the instrument is inverted. It has accompanied me several hundred miles, and, without requiring special care, has returned uninjured. I have applied it to the purpose of measuring heights with great success, and have the utmost confidence in its indications. II. — Dry and Wet Bulb Thermometers. To render observations of the temperature of different places of any value to science, the instruments employed should be of the most accurate construction — the indications of the thermometers, for example, should be worthy of reliance to the tenth part of a degree: it is difficult, but not impossible, to attain to such accu- racy. Out of twenty-five thermometers made for Mr. Glaisher, in 1843, by Watkins and Hill, twenty of tliem agreed witliin one- tenth of a degree at every part of the scale — the extreme dif- ference between the readings of the remainder was half-a-degree. In his experiments on the radiation of heat from the earth at night (Phil. Trans., Part II., 184.7) he mentions his jiossessing at one time upward of fifty instruments, whose extreme difference of reading from the standard was a constant quantity of half-a-degree in one thermometer, and of 0-2° in three others, the remainder being absolutely free from error. These facts are mentioned to show the possibility of obtaining perfect instruments, but especially as a caution against the pur- chase of thermometers which have not been tested, or whose performance has not been guaranteed by a maker of high character: it is evident that no comparison of tlie mean temperature of dif- ferent places can be made with instruments whose errors are not reduced within very narrow limits. Consideration of certain sources of error in constructing thermometers will at once show that those exhibited in shops, and sold for a trifling sum, have the name by courtesy and not by desert. To ensure delicacy in the construction of a thermometer, many niceties demand attention- two especially may be worth mentioning. ]. The bore of the tube should be uniform throughout: if it be not, the length of the degrees will not be the same at every part of the stem. 2. The observer should be fully persuaded of the accuracy of the scale which is adapted to the instrument, both as regards the zero point and the uniformity of the divisions. The zero point is ascertained by plunging the thermometer into melting ice, when its reading ought to be 32°. But it is a singular fact, that this zero point may be found to change, and hence it should be tested from time to time, .ind an index error allowed should any alteration have taken place. The thermometers used by the observers whose returns are published quarterly by the Registrar-General, have, for the most part, been examined by Mr. Glashier, and compared with a standard; and thus, as far as possible, uniformity of result is provided for: a character is given with the instrument, consisting of a series of comparisons with the standard, which is thus accom- plished. The two thermometers are plunged into water of the temperature of the highest reading of the one whose character is the desideratum, and a series of comparative readings is taken as tlie temperature lowers. The differences will supply corrections to be applied at the various temperatures to reduce the reading! to the standard; but in those supplied by Barrow, after Mr. Glashier's comparison, the differences are so minute that they may be safely disregarded in practice. The wet and dry bulb thermometers are simply two thermome- ters side by side, which are presumed under the same circum- stances to give similar indications. The dry thermometer, of course, shows the temperature of the air ; the wet thermometer has its bulb surrounded with muslin, and from it lead a few inches of lamp-wick into a small vessel of water: the reading of this latter will in general be below the dry, and a comparison of the two will supply data for ascertaining the hygrometric state of the .atmosphere. Without entering too far into the subject, a few words of explanation may be desirable. Under general circumstances the atmosphere will take up the vapour of water: the drier it is the more rapidly will evaporation proceed, and the more slowly as its condition approaches that of complete saturation. When in that state no more moisture is capable of being held in suspension. Now, as evaporation proceeds, heat is absorbed by the conversion of the water around the bulb of the thermometer into vapour, and the mercury in the wet bulb will fall a greater or less number of degrees according to the dry- ness of the atmosphere. When the air is saturated, the readings will be the same. In Mr. Glaisher's ' Flygrometrical Tables' the sub- ject of the wet and dry bulb thermometers is fully discussed, and, by their assistance, various interesting particulars may be deduced from the simple record of the different readings of the two. The most important of these deductions is the temperature of the dew- point, or that degree at which the atmosphere will part with its moisture, or will be cooled down to the point of saturation. The capacity of air for holding aqueous vapour in suspension diminishes with the abstraction of heat. The dew-point is that degree of temperature at which saturation is attained and moisture deposited. The difference between this and the temperature of the air has been investigated, and formula; have been given by it which may be deduced from observations with the wet and dry bulb thermome- ters; but in Glaisher's 'Hygrometrical Tables' the dew-point may be found at sight from the readings of the wet and dry bulb; and I believe I am correct in stating that these results have been obtained from observation and not from theory. The elegant hygrometer of the late Professor Daniel gives the dew-point by inspection; but, as it is attended with some incon- venience and expenditure of time, it has net come into general use. IMany observers, like myself, occasionally verify, by means of simultaneoiis observations with it, the deductions from the dry and wet bulb thermometers. The phenomenon of the dew-point may be illustrated by refer- ence to the affairs of common life. A bottle of wine, to be rendered more agreeable, has been iced before its appearance in the dining- room. You will find that the bottle will be covered with a coating of dew the moment it enters the room; the temperature of its con- tents being far below the point of saturation, the watery vapour from the atmosphere will be condensed on the surface. — ^I visited some time since the observatory of a distinguished astronomical friends— every instrument in it was streaming with moisture. "The great drawback to my position," said he, "is the neighbourhood of yonder piece of water — see the effect." Upon inquiry, I learnt that, on the preceding evening, the observatory had been open; the instruments had been cooled down to the night temperature, and the day chancing to be much warmer than usual, they had not had time to get heated above the temperature of the dew-point, and 31* 228 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrS JOURNAL. [JlLY, the deposition of moisture was the result — a cause entirely distinct from the one alleged. 1 h.iTe a building detached from my own residence, which for some short time last Christmas was left without a fire. On my entrance one morning, which happened to be warm after a very cold night, I found the walls covered with moisture: tliey had, in in fact, retained the temperature of the night, and the moisture was due to their not having acquired sufficient heat, in the short space of time elapsed, to exceed the temperature of the dew-point ; moisture, therefore, could not hut settle on them, which disap- peared as soon as they had attained a degree of heat rising :il)Ove it. III. — Register Thermometers. As it is not my intention to enter upon the theory of atmospheric phenomena, which might perhaps form the subject of a future paper, 1 must proceed to describe another necessary adjunct to a meteorological apparatus, namely — the Register Thermometer. Automatic registration of atmospheric phenomena has engaged for some time the attention of scientific men. At the observatory of Brussels, M. Quetelet pointed out to me an elegant contrivance, by which a thermometer was made to record its own variations. It was •uspended on its centre of gravity, so that at the freezing point it should hang perfectly horizontal. At any degree of heat above .32^^ Fahrenheit, or the zero of Reaumur, the expansion of the mercury caused a depression of the end of the instrument the farther from the bulb; whereas, below the freezing point, the metal would retreat towards the bulb, and that |)ortion of the tube would be the heavier. The instrument was connected in an inge- nious manner with a system of levers, one of which moved a black- lead pencil, which inscribed the variations of heat on a sheet of paper connected with clock-work, by which it was advanced equal spaces (about one inch each per hour), a new sheet being supplied every day. These sheets gave the minutest variation in the tem- perature during the twenty-four hours. For the last two or three years the magnetical, barometrical, and thermometrical observations have been registered at Greenwich by tlie application of photography. A lamp directs its light to the instrument, wliich light is intercepted by the mercury, and pre- vented from leaving a trace on properly prepared pliotographicpaper placed behind. This paper is wound on a cylinder, which is turned round by clock-work, and its indications form an accurate register of the clianges which may have taken place. Mr. Brook received from Government the sum of 500/. for the skill and labour bestowed on bringing this method of registration to perfection. The mem- bers of the British Association for the advancement of Science will call to mind his papers on the subject, which he has moreover fully discussed in the 'Philosophical Transactions.' From the Greenwich Meterological Observations for 181-7, the following account of its especial application to the dry and wet-bulb thermometer is extracted: — " These thermometers are mounted under a shed 10 feet square, standing upon posts 9 feet high, and the centres of the bulbs are 4- feet above the ground. The bulbs of the thermometers are very large, being cylinders about 8 inches long, and 0'4 inches internal bore. The fluid is quicksilver. One of the thermometer bulbs is covered (in the usual way) with muslin, which is charged with water by capillary passage along lamp-wicks, connected sometimes with one and sometimes with three cisterns of water. There is a coarse screw-motion for raising or depressing the thermometer- frames, so that each can be placed in such a position with regard to the photographic paper that the temperature shown by the thermometer may be recorded upon a convenient part of the paper. 'I'he thermometer-frames are covered by plates having longitudinal apertures, so narrow that any light which may pass through them is completely, or almost completely, intercepted by the broad flat column of quicksilver in the thermometer-stalk. Across these plates - a fine wire is placed at every degree; and at the decades of the degrees, and also at 32^, 52^, and 72°, a coarser wire is placed. A camphine lamp (which has however been lately displaced for gas mixed with the vapour of coal naphtha) is placed near to each thermometer, and its light, condensed by a cylindrical lens whose axis is vertical, shines through the thermometer-stalk above the surface of the quicksilver, and forms a well-defined line of light upon the cylinder of paper which is close to it, parallel to the axis of the cylinder. As the cylinder of paper revolves under this light, it leaves a broad sheet of photographic trace, whose breadth (in the direction of the axis) varies with the varying height of the quicksilver in the thermometer-tube. But the light is intercepted bv the wires placed across the tube at every degree ; and there are, therefore, left upon the paper corresponding lines, in which there is no photogenic action." It is found that the application of photo- graphic registration has enabled two observers to record more valuable observations than four were able to do before its intro- duction. Private observers, however, cannot be expected to procure the costly apparatus necessary for these elaborate records. The maximum and minimum thermometers invented by Dr. John llutlierford, and described in the 'Edin. Phil. Trans.,' Vol. III., will enable them to record tlie greatest heat during the day, and tlie least during the night, with great certainty and very little trouble. The maximum thermometer is mercurial, and the tube is in a horizontal position; the mercury, as it expands, drives before it an index of steel, which, as the mercury contracts, is left at a point which indicates the greatest degree of heat attained. This thermometer is usually read at 9 a.m., and the index is brought to touch the mercury in preparation for the next day, either by inclining the tube, or by means of a magnet if it does not move freely. In some maximum thermometers a small piece of enamel is introduced between the index and the mercury, to prevent adhesion between the two metals, whereby the index would be drawn back and the observation lost. The minimum thermo- meter is filled with spirits of wine; a small index of ivorj' lies in the spirit, and is drawn backward as the liquid contracts in cooling, for the last film of the column of spirit, from the attraction between it and the interior of the tube, is sufficient to carry back the index towards the bulb: on expansion by heat the spirit, however, freely passes it, and leaves it to point out the lowest temperature attained. These thermometers should be compared with the dry bulb ther- mometers, by immersion in water as before described, and their readings, if they diff'er, registered and applied as corrections. It has been usually supposed that a mean of the maximum and minimum readings for a month, divided by the number of days, would give the mean temperature for the month; but one of the contributions of Mr. Glaisher to meteorological science has shown that each month requires a certain quantity to be subtracted to arrive at the true mean. He has also shown, that if to the mean of daily observations taken at any hour, certain quantities be added or subtracted, the mean temperature will be the result; it follows, that if the mean tem- perature thus deduced from one or more observations daily, agree with that derived for the corrected maxima and minima, such agreement is a proof of the excellencv and a test of the accuracy of the whole series. (See the 'Phil. Trans.', Part I., 1848.) I n illustration I subjoin the result of my observations for January, 1849:— Mean of the 9 a.m. observations for the month . . •10-7 Tabular correction + !• Mean temperature for the month. Mean of the 3 p M. observations . Tabular correction 41-7 441 - 2-5 Mean temperature 41 '6 Mean of the 9 p.m< Tabular correction observations Mean temperature Mean of the above three results, 415. Mean of the maximum readings for the month Mean of the minimum readings . . . Arithmetical mean of these quantities Tabular correction 40-9 - -4 41-3 451 38-4 41-7 - -2 Mean temperature from the maxima and minima 415 which exactly agrees with that deduced from the observations at 9 A.M., 3 p.M, and 9 p.m., after the application of the proper cor- rections. As this paper is devoted to the description of instruments and not to the theory of meteorology, I must forbear to enter further on these points: I have alluded to them sufficiently to show that there is a field of inquiry open for the curious and inquisitive, which will amply repay cultivation. Some observers are in the habit of recording the highest reading of a thermometer exposed to the full force of the sun's rays. In this case the instrument is of glass, with the degrees marked on the tube itself, to prevent accumulation of heat, reflection, and 1850."| THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL 229 radiation from a scale of wood or metal. It should be suspended at such a distance from all buildings and from the p-ound, as should effectually guard it from interferences of this nature. It will be a matter of surprise to those who have not had experience in observations of this nature, to find how very few degrees a thermometer thus situated will rise above one in the shade. lY.—The Rain-Gauge. This instrument measures the quantity of rain that falls in any given spot. The principle of it is the following: — If we imagine the surface of the ground over which a shower of rain has passed to be perfectly horizontal and impervious to moisture, so that the whole quantity of water should be retained, it would cover the surface to a certain depth, which, measured in inches, would be the depth of rain which had fallen. In calculating this depth by means of the rain-gauge, we expose a small surface to the recep- tion of the rain, and measure the depth of what it receives. A shower may, however, pass by it, and, although much may fall at no great distance, not a drop may reach the exact spot occupied by the rain-gauge itself. Hence, to obtain the exact amount of rain which falls in any given district, several rain-gauges should be dispersed in various parts, and the mean of the whole amount received would be the true quantity due to such locality. In this busy world of ours, however, observers (most of whom have important business of their own) are generally satisfied with registering the amount of rain received by their own gauges at 9 A.M. every day; and with the imperfect results deduced from these registers we must be satisfied, until a more extensive love for science is created and the number of observers multiplied. Rain-gauges are of various constructions. In some, a glass tube, divided into inches, proceeds from the bottom of the vessel in which the rain is received, and the amount having been read off, the water is discharged by a stop-cock, in readiness for the next day. In others, a float is elevated by the water, and the scale which is attached to it shows the depth of rain received. Perhaps the most simple is the one which I have adopted, and which is never liable to be out of order. A circular copper funnel, 12 inches diameter, is connected by a pipe with a vessel capable of holding a gallon, or more. To the bottom of this vessel is attached a stop-cock, by means of which the rain is drawn off and measured in a graduated glass cylindrical jar. Now, if a represent the diameter of the receiving vessel, and 6 that of the jar, c the depth of rain in the vessel, and x the required depth of the glass jar to measure such amount, then, since area, multiplied by the depth, gives the volume — ■7854 a-c = "7854 6-jr; or, a"c := b'x. Now, suppose the diameter of the glass jar to be 2 inches, and it is required to find what the depth of the jar will measure |-inch, we have — 12' X "25 = ^'x; or, x = 9. Nine inches of the jar, 2 inches in diameter, will therefore mea- sure one-quarter of an inch of rain, received by a surface 12 inches in diameter. One twenty-fifth part of nine inches will consequently measure one-hundredth of an inch; and the thou- sandths may be estimated. The rain-gauge should be only a few feet from the ground, and in every case its height should be stated, as it is invariably found that more rain is received near the surface than at a superior elevation. Indeed, it should be agreed upon by observers that their gauges should all be at the same height, and all equally free from the interference of buildings or trees. Till some rule of this kind is adopted, we are not in a position to compare accurately the quantity of rain which falls in different districts. At Greenwich there are several rain-gauges at different heights above the ground. The following table will show the differences between the quan- tity of rain received by them in 1846 and 1847: — Height abore Inches of rain Inches of rain the ground. ft. it]. 50 0 received in 1815. 13-46 received in 1847. 7-12 24 0 22-63 13-02 1 11 25-86 16-49 0 5i 25 29 17-61 tube, about 4-'"<^'i '" diameter, of a syphon-like form, one end being again bent at riglit angles to the general direction of tlie tube, so as to present a horizontal opening to the wind. The tube is half-filled with water, and the pressure of the wind on that portion directed towards it will drive the water up the other lej'. A scale is attached, by which the force of the wind is ascertainetl ; and the whole turns freely on a vertical axis, so that the mouth may always be towards the quarter from whence the wind blows. The following table shows the pressure per square foot for the indications of the scale. Not having a convenient place to fix this instrument, for it should be far above the interference of buildings or trees, I gene- rally estimate the force of the wind from the knowledge gained by its occasional use. Many observers do so without any reference to the wind-gauge at all; and from following the directions in the table subjoined, they cannot be far out. A calm is universally represented by 0; a hurricane, or violent gale, by 6. Table. — Showing the Force of the Wind on a Square Foot for differ- ent Heif/hts of the Column of Water in "Lind's Wind-Gauge." Inchss. Force in lbs. 6 31-75 A hurricane 5 2604 A very great storm 4 20-83 A great storm 3 15-62 A storm 2 1042 A very high wind 1 521 A high wind •5 2-6 A brisk gale -1 •52 A fresh breeze •05 •26 A pleasant wind 0- 0^ A calm \.—The Wind-Gauge. The most simple instrument for ascertaining the force of the wind, and the one most likely to be made use of by the generality of observers, is that invented by Dr. Lind. It consists of a glass It now only remains for me to speak of the position of the instruments which I have enumerated. The barometer may be placed in a sitting-room; for as the correction for temperature is always applied, the degree of heat will produce no difference in the results. It should be so situated as regards light that it may be easily read off. To support the wet and dry bulb and register thermometers, I use a stand of such a height as to allow the bulbs to be about four feet from the ground ; the top sides and back of this stand are covered with an external case of wood-work, separated from the internal, which is of the same materials, by a vacant space of two inches, by which means a stratum of air, which is a bad conductor of heat, is always inter- posed; and the heat of the sun which shines on the outer case is prevented from reaching the inner compartment which contains the thermometers; they face the north, and are placed so that they cannot be affected by the radiation of heat from neighbouring walls or buildings, and the sides of the stand project so as to protect them from the sun when his azimuth is north of the east or west. A series of holes, not however opposite to each other, is bored in the inner and outer case, which admit the air, but not the rays of the sun. Mr. Glaisher has shown, and his result may be verified by experiment, that the indications both of the wet and dry thermometers will be the same whether they are exposed to a draught of air or protected from it. The following works must be procured by those who wish to become observers: — Glaisher's 'Hygrometrical Tables,' which treat of the wet and dry bulb thermometers, and the deductions from observations made with them, price 2*. 6d. The 'Report of the Committee of Physics of the Royal Society ; ' here may be found a good table for the temperature correction, li. Prices of the instruments enumerated: barometer, 71. 7s.; wet and dry bulb thermometer, 2/. 2$; register thermometers, 2/. 2s. ; rain gauge, 2/, 10«.; wind gauge, 11 is. Mr. Clark, 13, Moorgate- street, will supply paper ruled in such a manner as to afford .i convenient space for the record of all the observations. I have thus given a popular view of the construction and use of the most available meteorological instruments, and shall be happy if my introduction of the subject should lead to a large increase of' the number of observers. About forty at present send in regular reports to the Registrar-General; but let us hope that the present movement, of which the formation of the British Meteorological Society is the indication, may enlist ten times that number, and that the labours of its members may tend to raise the study of atmospheric phenomena to a position equal to that held by sciences which have originated in our time. The observations require care, perseverance, and a desire to promote the interests of science. 230 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [Jl'LY, perhaps, the exact end wliich may be attained by our individual labour; but hereafter it will be a source of satisfac- Wt know not. tion to con^side^ that we have been humble jiioneers in a region which may be productive of benefits at present unimagined and unforeseen. Hmthampton, May 18M, 1850. REGISTER or NE^W PATENTS. RAILWAY CHAIRS. Joii.N' ToRKiNGTON, of Bury, Lancaster, railway contractor, for ■ '■'■certdin improvements in the construction of chairs for riiilways." — Granted October 12, 1849; Enrolled April'ia, 1850. [Reported in Keu-ton's London Journal.^ The object of this invention is to obviate the serious inconve- niences which result from the yielding of the rails at the joinings or points where the different lengths of rail meet or ci-oss, during the passage of trains over the same; and it consists in certain improvements in the chairs used for su])porting such rails, whereby the patentee produces what he calls the "uniformly-supporting joint chair." — Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevation of the improved chair; fig. 2 is a plan view thereof; fig. 3 is an end view; and fig. 4 is a transverse section taken at the centre of the chair. It jp,y. J consists of an iron rib or beam a, about three feet long, on the •upper side of which three holders or chairs h, b, h', similar in form to the ordinary chairj?, are cast; and the rib or beam rests at each end upon a transverse sleeper c, to which it is secured by spikes or trenails rf, d. The top of the rib or beam serves to support the ends of the two adjacent rails e, e', which meet at the centre of the middle holder or chair /j, and are secured there by the insertion of a key or wedge/; and similar keys or wedges are driven into the two end holders or chairs b, l: the bearing of the ends of the rails xm the chair, w Inch now seldom exceeds two inches, is thus increased to about eighteen; and there will consequently be a proportionate increase in the unyieldingness of the rails under pressure and in the steadiness of the carriages passing over them. This arrange- nient is stated to combine all the advantages of the longitudinal system of laying sleepers with those resulting from the employment of transverse sleepers or blocks. Instead of the holders or chairs fc, being cast in one piece with the rib or beam «, they may be cast separately, and afterwards secured thereto by inserting their bases (which are suitably formed for the pur])ose) into dovetail recesses in the top of the rib or beam, and tlien driving in the wedges j. In place of only three holders or chairs being cast on or attached to the rib or beam a, the number may be increased to five. BOILER TUBES. James Ban.mster, of Birmingham, manufacturer, for ^'■a certain improvement or certain improvements in tubes for locomotive and other boilers." — Granted October 12, 1849; Enrolled Ajiril 12, 1850. The invention relates to manufacturing tubes suitable for loco- motive and other boilers, by combining three tubes of different metals into one tube; and to a mode of manufacturing tubes of copper, brass, and other alloys of copper, suitable for the purposes of locomotive and other steam-boilers. In the first part of the invention for making each tube, three tubes of different metals are employed. First, a brass tube; second, an iron tube; and, third, a copper tube, are placed one on the other, the brass tube being on the interior; the iron tube next; and the copper tube exterior; and in preparing such separate tubes they are made of such sizes that they will readily enter one within the other. Brazed tubes are preferred, because thin metal tubes for the purpose can be more readily obtained. Having placed the tubes one on the other, a slightly tapering mandril is introduced, and the combined tube drawn through a series of dies till they are closely combined; and as the tubes are employed in a soft or annealed state when put together, it has not been found necessary to anneal them after- wards between the successive processes of drawing, seeing that the extent of drawing down is but small. By this mode of constructing tubes for boilers the advantage is obtained of having the beneficial results consequent on using brass where the rusli of the flame and products from the fire takes place, together with the advantage of having the copper next the water; and the whole stiffened by the use of iron; but when the fire is to act externally, then the order of arrangement is to be reversed. The second part of the invention consists of new means of joining the seams of tubes made of copper or brass and other alloys of copper. The metal is to be bent over into the form of a tube, so that the edges come together, and then, by the edge of a triangular file remove the edges of the metal, so as to form as it were an angular gutter. The tube is then filled with sand, and the exterior covered with sand, leaving a gutter in the sand so as to increase the size of the gutter made by the coming together of the cham- fered edges of the metal, and in this condition the tube is heated to a bright red heat. Melted metal (similar to that used for the tube) is then poured into the gutter, which will partially fuse the edges of the metal of the tube, and then the whole will set into a solid mass; and when the same is cold the projecting-ridge of metal at the seam is removed; and this is best done by passing it in contact with a circular saw. The tubes thus made are caused to pass t«o or three times through between grooved rollers, having a mandril in them, and then they are completed by drawing them through dies with a mandril, as when drawing other similar tubes for like purposes, and which is well understood. MANUFACTURE OF STEEL. JosiAH Marsh-all Heath, of Hanwell, Middlesex, gentleman, for '■'•improvements in the manufacture of steel." — Granted September (i, 1849; Enrolled March 6, 1850. The invention consists in the application of iron, produced from iron ores without being brought to the state of pig or cast-iron, to the manufacture of steel, the iron so produced being manufactured by the process described, which renders it more suitable for conver- sion into steel than any iron hitherto made by the processes actually in use. The excellence of the steel depends upon the comparative purity or freedom from mixture with extraneous substances of the iron from which it is made. All iron made by smelting the ores of that metal in a blast furnace contains impurities, in consequence of the alloys formed between the fluid metal and the earthy alkaline or other extraneous substances contained in the ores, the fuel, and the matters used to flu.x the ores. These impurities can never be completely removed from the metal by the operations in use for converting the pig into malleable iron. Any pure ore or oxide of iron from which the earthy or other extraneous matters can be easily separated by the mechanical operations of crushing, winnowing, washing, or magnetic attrac- tion, may be treated in the manner the inventor proposes, but he prefers the magnetic ore of iron to all others. The ore is to be reduced to the state of grains, or even of fine powder, in order to facilitate the separation from it of the earthy or other extraneous substances; the jiure ore is then to be reduced to the metallic state by any of the well-known processes for depriving the metal of oxygen, by acting upon it with carbon, or any other reducing agent 1850.] THK CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 2i\ at a heat below tliat required to bring the metal to the fluid state. The metallic product obtained in this way, when operating upon a manufacturing scale, can never be obtained absolutely free from the last portions of earthy or other impurity, and always contains some portion of oxide of iron, which renders it quite unfit for con- version into steel of good quality, as it comes from the process of deoxidation without further treatment. To make a perfect steel iron, the metallic product is taken as it comes from the process of cementation or deoxidation, and mixed with a small portion of oxide, or chloride of manganese, and a cer- tain portion of coal or fir tar, or any cheap hydrocarbon or carbon- aceous matter. The best results are obtained from the mixture of from one to three pounds of oxide or cliloride of manganese, and from one to two gallons of coal or other tar to each one hundred pounds of deoxidated ore. The mixture of granular iron tar and manganese, resulting from this process, is heated in a suitable furnace; and when the iron is at a welding heat it is removed from the furnace, and subjected to the action of some suitable instrument of compression, in order to be formed into a solid bloom by any of the usual processes now in use. The bloom is tlien to be reheated and shingled, hammered, or rolled into bars in the usual manner. The bar-iron so produced is to be converted into steel by the well-known processes now in use, and its quality will be found superior to that made from the best iron hitherto procurable. VITRIFIED BRICKS. ^ViLLTAM Gilbert Elliott, of Blisworth, Northampton, gen- tleman, for '■^improvements in the manufacture of brides, tiles, and pipes, and other articles from plastic materials. (A communica- tion.)—Granted April 27; Enrolled May 27, 1850. This invention relates to manufacturing bricks, tiles, pipes, and other articles, from clay, melted or fused, and run into moulds of the shape of the articles required to he produced. The clay, as it is dug from the pit, if dry, is conveyed to an air or blast furnace, wherein it is brought to a state of fusion, and then run into the moulds, %vhich should be as close to the furnace as possible; for the melted clay should be introduced into the moulds at a high degree of heat; as it will not hear to be conveyed in ladles or run through trougbs into the moulds. The moulds may be made of iron or other suitable material. The moulds may be carried to and from the furnace by an endless wire web or band, which moves beneath the furnace, and thus brings the moulds close to the opening from which the fused clay is discharged. GLAZING CAST-IRON. William Wyatt, of Waterloo Cottage, Oldswinford, Worcester, pump-maker, for ^^improvements in coating the surfaces of pumps, pipes, cisterns, and other articles of iron," — Granted October 18, 1849; Enrolled April 18, 1850. The improvement relates to coating cast-iron pumps, cast-iron pipes, cast-iron cisterns, and other articles of cast-iron, w ith a glass or glaze composed of lead, borax, and silex, combined in the propor- tion of three parts, by weight, of white lead (of one of red lead and two of white lead), two parts of borax, and one part of cal- cined flint, well mixed together and fused in a crucible, then run into water, and ground with water in a glaze-mill. AVhen the mixture is thoroughly reduced, so that it will readily pass through a silk or lawn sieve, such as are used by china manufacturers, it will be ready for use: it is not absolutely necessary to fuse the materials, but it is better to do so. The glaze thus prepared being about the consistence of cream, is applied to the inner surfaces of the pump-barrels, pipes, and similar articles of cast-iron, by closing one end, introducing a quantity of glaze, turning the article round, so as to coat the interior uniformly with the glaze, and then pouring out the surplus. The interior of cisterns and like articles of cast iron is coated in a similar manner, by intro- ducing a quantity of glaze and moving the article about in'various directions until the interior is uniformly coated. In general it will only be necessary to scour and wash the surface previous to coating; but if the surface is much oxidised, it is requisite to subject the articles to a red heat, and, when cool, to scour them well with water. It is preferred to warm the metal before the application of the glaze, in order to facilitate the drying of the latter. The exterior surfaces of articles of cast-iron may be coated by dipping the articles into the semi-fluid glaze, or by applying the glaze thereto with a brush. After the pumps, pipes, cisterns, or other articles of cast-iron have received a coating of glaze, they are to be subjected to a suitable temperature for firing the glaze and thereby causing it to adhere. This is effected by placing the articles in a kiln heated in such manner that no flame or sulphur shall come in contact with the articles. The heat is gradually raised until the glaze melts (which can be seen by taking out a brick from an opening in the kiln); and, so soon as the melting of the glaze takes place, the fires are drawn, and the articles are allowed to cool: when tlie articles have become cool, they are removed from the kiln, and are ready for use. REVIE'WS. Practical Ventilation, as applied to Public, Domestic, and Agricultural Structures. By Robkrt Scott Burn, Engineer. Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London. 1850. The importance of ventilation in connection with sanitary pro- gress is an admitted fact, that does not require us now to descant upon. What has to be considered is, how ventilation may be applied to buildings effectively and economically: it is to these considerations that the author has devoted his attention. Mr. Burn first points out the necessity and importance of ventilation; and next shows how it may be applied to public buildings, and observes, that "Natural ventilation does not depend upon machinery for its results, but is 'a process by which movements are induced or sus- tained in the aii;, in tlie same manner as wind is produced in the external atmosphere.' The rationale of natural ventilation cannot be better described than in the words of Dr. Reid: 'The specific gravity of air vitiated by respiration and combustion, the tv/o great processes that deteriorate air in ordinary buildings, is under ordinary circumstances less than that of common air: it gives way accordingly, and is pressed upwards by the denser and purer air. Let us imagine, then, an apartment occupied by a number of persons standing on a porous floor, and the roof taken off; r.t ordinary temperatures, the air, vitiated there by tlie human frame, requires no mechanical power to remove it. 'i'he superincumbent pressure is diminished by the expansion induced in the air as it is heated; but the external air is permitted to have free access below, as well as above, to the porous floor. Its power therefore preponderates, and an upward movement is the necessary conse- quence; %vhich is accompanied by the introduction of fresh air .ind the removal of that which is vitiated. Here, then, is a species of natural ventilation. All that is essential is merely this, thnt the natural movements induced by the heat of the body shall not be stopped by any barrier opposed to them. An open roof and ceiling is, however, inadmissible: protection is required from the weather, independent of other arrangements. The opening, accordingly, may be contracted: in proportion to the amount of contraction, the temperature of the air, and tlie numbers on a given space, it now becomes necessary to increase the velocity of the discharge from the apartment referred to. To effect this, if a shaft or chimney be extended from any opening in or near the ceiling, the column of warm air which soon fills it increases its power; and unless an extreme number of individuals be crowded in the apart- ments, the shaft is sufficient fur all ordinarij purposes' "In ventilating buildings, two tilings should be borne in mind; and as upon the proper attention to these depends the success ol the plan, particular attention should be taken to see them carried into effect. These are, the supply of tiie interior with fresh air, and the withdi-awing of it when vitiated. And here we would request attention to the fact, of which the evidence of all experi- ence goes to prove the truth — that no foul air can by any possibilitjf be extracted from the interior of any building, however vwll arrangeH the means to insure its exit may lie, unless an ample supply of pure air is admitted. In making provisions for the supply of pure air, due regard should be had to the source from which it is supplied. If much dust or extraneous mechanical impurities should be at the base of the building, or drains near to or passing through there, tiie air should be led from a distance from the ground And in order to stop the ingress of all extraneous particles of dust, Sec. througli the ventilator, there should be stretched across the inside of the opening, sheets of very finely perforated zinc or horse-hair cloth. Where the air has to be led into the interior of a church, say to the passages, ventiducts must be employed to conduct the 232 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [July, air to the required place. These conduits may be made of zinc or iron pipes; but a cheajier mode is to make wooden boxes of suffi- cient size. To prevent the damp from affecting these, the outside Kliould be covered with two or three coats of a composition of tar and sand (three of the former to one of the latter). The best place, in the (fenerality of churches, to lead the air to, is the passages; and, indeed, in most other public buildings. The apertures at the ])l.ice of ingress to the interior should be covered with cast-iron gratings. But in order to diffuse the air as much as possible in its passage through the gratings, along the under side of these, plates of zinc, with small perforations, should be fixed, or sheets of hgrse- hair cloth. For this purpose we would also recommend the adop- tion of "cocoa-nut fibre matting" — it is very cheap, porous, and can be made of any closeness of texture: it is becoming much used for the passages and aisles of churches. If used in this way, any species of grating, however rough, would do, as it would be hidden by the cloth laid above it. One thing in connection with the gratings should be borne in mind, that is, to have the apertures greater, at least equal in surface to those on the outside. "The apertures for the admission of fresh air should be disposed at equal distances round the building, if possible on all sides, so that, from whatever quarter the wind blows, an aperture may be placed BO as to receive its influence: not that the force of the wind is necessary, for air, as we have shown, will find its way wherever it is required, unless prevented; but in windy weather more air v/ill he forced in, in a given time, than in calm weather. Having |.rovided means for the admission of fresh, we will now direct attention to the means for withdrawing the foul air. The aper- tures for its escape should be placed in all cases at the highest part of the ceiling. If the nature of the building will admit of it, the area of the aperture should be distributed over the ceiling in more tiiaii one place. Supposing the area of aperture of a church is required to ba 3 square feet — if three apertures of 1 square foot eacli, be placed along thereof at regular intervals, the building will be more speedily ventilated than if one aperture of 3 feet square was alone used," III the next chapter the author explains how ventilation may be applied to dwelling-houses and shops, and describes several kinds of ventilators which are applicable to the purpose — such as fJailley's glass louvres, perforated glass, Dr. Arnott's valve, and Mr. Toynbee's suspension valve, consisting of a square iron tube, 3 to 6 inches square, and 4 to 6 inches long, with a piece of per- forated zinc over the external orifice, and at the back a piece of oiled silk, which acts as a valve, so as to allow the warm and vitiated air to pass up the chimney, and to prevent any smoke entering the phamber. Mr. Burn describes a method of ventilating a house by the staircase; It is simple, and appears to be very effective. "In supplying fresh air to the lobbies, halls, or central staircases of large mansions, from which all the apartments are to be su])plied, care should be taken to have the quantity sufficient in volume. It will materially assist the ventilation if the air is warmed as it is admitted. The air should be led to the floor of the hall, in which apertures may be made to allow it to pass through; or it may be Jtaken to the back of the skirting, or beneath permanently fixed tables, the fronts of which should have plates of perforated zinc. If the staircase is provided with a skylight, this should be kept carefully closed; the desideratum, in such cases as we are now con- sidering being to supply each apartment with means of withdrawing the used air, so as to draw their supply of pure air from the central magazine; not only ventilating themselves, but also the staircases, passages, &c., these being supplied with fresh air from the central magazine. If the skyli^rht was left open, thus creating a powerful upward current, the flow of air into the apartments would be materially retarded, if not in some cases altogether stopped. There is one danger connected with this plan of supplying air to the apartments of large mansions, worth being noticed'; this is if each Bpartment is not properly ventilated, the foul air from it will ;)l)tain access to the central magazine whenever the door is opened; its egress through such being easier — the air in the central magazine being thus contaminated, .^gain, some apartments may, from more l>((werful ventilating arrangements, draw tlieir sup)ily j'roni another apartment; this shows the necessity of ha\ing tlie sujqdy to the central magazine ample. If the mansion consists of many stories, each landing may be supplied with a separate supply of pure air, independent of the openings in the hall jtreviously mentioned." In the next chapter, Mr. Hum explains how ventilation may be applied to agricultural structures; and in the concluding cliapter. ^various systems of warn\ing of buildings, construction of fire- places, and smoky chimneys. Here we must stop, before we are tempted to make a few more extracts, as we have already intruded farther than we at first intended upon the work. A Rnilimentarij Treatise on the History, Construction, and Illumina- tion of Lighthouses. By Alan Stevenson, M. Inst. C.E.. Engineer to the Board of Northern Lighthouses. London: M'eale. 1850. It must certainly be esteemed a great recommendation for this rudimentary treatise that it is written by the constructor of one of the greatest lighthouses in the world — that at Skerryvore. .Mr. Stevenson is the author of a description of this work, and therein has laid the foundation of the present treatise, which applies to lighthouses generally those principles which were discussed before in especial reference to Skerryvore. Much space is given to the various systems of illumination adopted; and of the remainder of the book, although most valuable, it is so well known we are almost deterred from making a quotation. At all risks, however, we give some account of Skerryvore. "The Skerryvore Rocks, which lie about 12 miles w.s.w. of the seaward point of the Isle of Tyree, in Argvllshire, were long known as a terror to mariners, owing to the numerous shipwrecks, fatal alike to the vessels and the crews, which had occurred in their neighbourhood. A list, confessedly incomplete, enumerates thirty vessels lost in the forty years preceding 181-i; but how many others, which during that period had been reported as "foundered at sea," or as to whose fate not even an opinion has been hazarded, may have been wrecked on this dangerous reef, which lies so much in the track of the shipping of Liverpool and the Clyde, it would be vain to conjecture. The Commissioners of the Northern Lighthouses had for many years entertained the project of erecting a lighthouse on the 'Skerryvore; and with this object had visited it, more especially in the year 18U, in company with Sir M'alter Scott, who, in his diary, gives a graphic descrip- tion of its inhospitable aspect. The great difficulty of landing on the rock, which is worn smooth by the continual beat of Atlantic waves which rise with undiminished power from the deep water near it, held out no cheering prospect; and it was not until the year 183t, when a minute survey of the reef was ordered by the Board, that the idea of commencing this formidable work was seriously embraced. " The reef is composed of numerous rocks, stretching over a surface of nearly 8 miles from w.s.w. to e.n.e. The main nucleus, which alone presents sufficient surface for the base of a lighthouse, is nearly 3 miles from the seaward end of the cluster. It is com- posed of a very compact gneiss, worn smooth as glass by the inces- sant play of the waters, and is so. small that at high water little remains around the base of the tower but a narrow band of a few feet in width, aiul some rugged humps of rock, separated by gullies through which the sea plays almost incessantly. The cutting of the foundation for the tower in this irregular flinty mass occupied nearly two summers; and the blasting of the rock in so narrow a space, without any shelter from the risk of flying splinters, was attended with much hazard. " In such a situation as that of Skerryvore everything was to be provided beforehand and transported from a distance; and the omission in the list of wants of e\en a little clay for the tamping of the mine-holes, might for a time have entirely stopped the works. Barracks were to be built at the workyard in the neigh- bouring island of Tyree, and also in the Isle of Mull, where the granite for the tower was quarried. Piers were also built in Mull and Tyree for the shipment and landing of materials; and at the latter place a harbour or basin, with a reservoir and sluices for scouring the entrance, were formed for the accommodation of the small vessel which attends the lighthouse. It was, besides, found necessary, in order to expedite the transport of the building materials from Tyree and Mull to Skerryvore Rock, to build a steam-tug, which also served in the early stages of the work as a floating barrack for the workmen. In that branch of the service she ran many risks while she lay moored oft" the rock in a perilous anchorage, with tiro-thinls of the horizon of foul ground, and a rocky and deceitful bottom on which the anchor often tripped, " The operations at Skerryvore were commenced in the summer of 1838, by placing on the rock a wooden barrack, similar to that first used by ilr. Robert Stevenson at the Bell Rock. The frame- work was erected in the cr)urse of the season on a part of the rock as far removed as possible from the proposed foundation of the liglithouse tower; but in tlie great gale which occurred on the night of tjie 3rd of November following, it was entirely destroyed 1 850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 233 and swept from the rock, nothing remaining to point out its site but a few broken and twisted iron stancheons, and attached to one of them a piece of a beam so shaken and rent by dashing against the rock as literally to resemble a bunch of laths. Thus did one night obliterate the traces of a season's toil, and blast the hopes which the workmen fondly cherished of a stable dwelling on the rock, and of refuge from the miseries of sea-sickness, which the experience of the season had taught many of them to dread more than death itself. After the removal of the rcrtighest part of the foundation of the tower had been neajly completed, during almost two entire seasons, by the party of men who lived on board the vessel while she lay moored off the rock, a second and successful attempt was made to place a second beacon of the same descrip- tion, but strengthened by a few additional iron ties and a centre post, in a part of the rock less exposed to the breach of the heaviest waves than the site of the first barrack had been. This second house braved the storm for several years after the works were finished, when it was taken town and removed from the rock to prevent any injury from its sudden destruction by the waves. Perched 40 feet above the wave-beaten rock in this singular abode, the writer of this little volume, with a goodly company of thirty men, has spent many a weary day and night at those times when the sea prevented any one going down to the rock, anxiously looking for supplies from the shore, and earnestly longing for a change of weather favourable to the recommencement of the works. For miles around nothing could be seen but white foaming breakers, and nothing heard but howling winds and lashing waves. At such seasons much of our time was spent in bed; for there alone we had effectual shelter from the winds and spray which searched every cranny in the walls of the ban-ack. Our slumbers, too, were at times fearfully interrupted by the sudden pouring of the sea over the roof, the rocking of the house on its pillars, and the spurting of water through the seams of the dooi's and windows, symptoms which, to one suddenly aroused from sound sleep re- called the appalling fate of the former barrack, which had been engulphed in the foam not twenty yards from our dwelling, and for a moment seemed to summon us to a similar fate. On two occasions, in particular, those sensations were so vivid as to cause almost every one to spring out of bed; and some of the men fled from the barrack by a temporary gangway to the more stable but less comfortable shelter afforded by the bare wall of the lighthouse tower, then unfinished, where they spent the remainder of the night in the darkness and the cold. " The design of the Skerryvore lighthouse was given by the writer of this volume, and was an adaptation of Smeaton's Eddy- stone Tower to the peculiar situation and circumstances of the case at the Skerryvore, with such modifications in the general arrangements and dimensions of the building, as the enlarged views of the importance of lighthouses %vhich prevail at the present day seemed to call for. "The Skerryvore Tower is 138 ft. 6 in. high, and +2 feet in dia- meter at the base, and 16 feet at the top. It contains a mass of stonework of about 58,580 cubic feet, or more than double that of the Bell Kock, and not much less than Jive times that of the Eddystone. " The mortar used at the Skerryvore was compounded of equal parts of limestone (horn the Halkin Mountain, near Holywell, in North Wales), burnt and ground at the works, and of Pozxolano earth. The mixture was carefully beaten up to the required con- sistency with sea-water. All tlie joints of each course of the building were carefully filled with grout, which is cement in a fluid state. " The entire cost of the lighthouse, including the purchase of the steam vessel and the building of the harbour at Hynish for the reception of the small vessel which now attends the lighthouse, was 86,977/. 17s. ~d., the detailed items of which will be found in the Appendix to the Account of the Liglithonse already alluded to. " In such a situation as the Skerryvore, innumerable delays and disappointments were to be expected by those engaged in the work; and the entire loss of the fruit of the first season's labour in the course of a few hours, was a good lesson in the school of patience, and of trust in something better than an arm of flesh. During our progress, also, cranes and other materials were swept away by the* waves; vessels were driven by sudden gales to seek shelter at a distance from the rocky shores of Mull and Tyree; and the workmen were left on the rock desponding and idle, and destitute of many of the comforts with which a more roomv and sheltered dwelling and the neighbourhood of friends are generally connected. Daily risks were run in landing on the rock in a heavy surf, in blasting the splintery gneiss, or by the falling of heavy bodies from the tower on the narrow space below, to which so many persons were necessarily confined. Yet had we not any loss of either life or limb; and although our labours were prolonged from dawn to night, and our provisions were chiefly salt, the health ot the people, with the exception of a few slight cases of dysentery, was generally good throughout the six successive summers of our sojourn on the rock. The close of the work was welcomed with thankfulness by all engaged in it; and our remarkable preservation was viewed, even by many of the most thoughtless, as, in a pecu- liar manner, the gracious work of Him by whom 'the very hairs of our heads are all numbered.'" Architectural Publication Societi/. Illustrations, Part II. of Volume for 1849-50. The part now before us includes Arcade, Mosaic Ceiling, Interior of Chapels, Chimney, Facade, Metal AVork, Pedestal, Piazza, Pulpit, and Staircase, with thirteen plates. Most of the examples are Italian. The plate representing the interior of the Chapel of San Domenico at Bologna is coloured so as to give some idea of the picturesque appearance of the original building. The Mosaic Ceiling of the Sacristy of St. Marks at Venice is a novelty, and it is likewise illustrated by an illuminated plate of a portion, gorgeous in its effect. The plate of Lombard Chimnies gives one-and-twenty varied designs. The article Fat^-ade shows two arcaded buildings. There is likewise a Flemish brick front in the Gothic style. 'The Metal Work gives some picturesque knockers. Attached to this part is some description of the buildings repre- sented in the two parts of the volume for this year. Buildings and Monuments, Modern and Mediaval. Edited by Geokge Gouwi.v, F.R.S. London: 1850. Part VII. The church of the Immaculate Conception, by Mr. Scoles, exhibits some very rich tracery; the church of La Villette, at Paris, is interesting, as showing how parish churches are treated there; the Custom-house, Rouen, is a novel piece of street archi- tecture. There are likewise other subjects, and as some details are given, the number will be a very acceptable addition to the library. Sections ofthf London Strata. By Robert W. Mylne, C.E. F.G.S., F.S..\., ,M. I.B.A. London: James Wyld. 1850. Mr. Mylne's work, no doubt, will meet with its full share of favour, it being particularly useful to all who are engaged or inte- rested in the sanitary progress of the metropolis. There are five sections; the first alone has the strata delineated in detail, with the necessary geological references: the remaining four sections are ouly in outline ; but as the author intends to complete them from materials already collected, the horizontal and vertical scales are in the proportion of 18 to 1. The engravings also show the site and depth of all the principal wells which have been sunk in and about London. We hope this work will induce other engineers and architects to observe and describe the structure of the country around them, for at present our knowledge of the crust of the earth is very inaccurate and limited. Hydraulic Tulles. By N.^thaniel Beardmore, M. Inst. C.E. London: AVaterlow. 1850. Hydraulic engineering is so extensively practised as to require a considerable number of works for its practitioners; and Mr. Beardmore has rendered a very essential service by the publication of this hand-book, which in a very close compass gives the materials requisite for the calculation of water and mill-power, water supply, drainage, and the navigation of rivers, tables of the rainfall in England, and some subsidiary information. From Jlr. Beardmore's experience and high-standing, we should have been prepared for a more extensive work, and more copious information. The Civil Engineer's and Surveyor's Companion, and Assistant in Setting out Slopes, S;c. By Edward Rydk, Surveyor. London : Published by the Author, 1850. These pages constitute a set of tables for setting out slopes, curves, cuttings, and embp-nkments, and as they are intended tu> 32 231 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LJlLV, save labour to professional men, will be welcomed. There is one part of Mr. Kyile's l:ibour.-i which niii^ht have been better applied : he lias "iven bis relative pro])ortions in cliains horizontally, and feet verUcally; instead of this it would have been better bad he taken the foot measure instead of the link, botli horizontally and vertically. It has been found practically better to use the 100 feet chain instead of the 100 links in setting out railway works. ArchiUrtural Sketches, Italy. By T. C. Tinklek, Architect. The number now before us gives several details of the Villa Madama, near Rimie, lately destroyed by the French: they chiefly exemplify a loggia. The Villa Borghese, though sketched on a small scale, is very picturesquely shown. Bits from the Campagna are sketches of several country buildings, showing the general effect and arrangements, and are of some interest. Drawbiy from Objects. By Hannah Bolton. London: Groom- bridge. 1850. This is a work founded on the system of drawing from common geometrical forms, which is now so prevalent in this country, and in which the writer has had much experience, having taught, in the last si.v years, nearly two thousand pupils, many of them teachers of national and infant schools. For a work of this kind it is well carried out, and in a liberal spirit; but we adhere to the opinion that it is better to begin with natural objects, instead of tlie stiff forms taken from conventional geometry. The Teloti/pe — a Printing Electric Telejraph. By Fbancis Galton, Esq., M.A. London: \\'eale. 1950. Tills pamphlet describes at length Mr. Galton's invention, the object of which is to print messages in the ordinary alphabetical characters, and for which many ingenious contrivances are intro- duced. As the plan requires several engravings for its e.vplanation, we are unable to compass it in a short description. WATER SUPPLY FOR LIVERPOOL. Repokt of Robbm Stephenson, C.E., on the Supply of Water to the Town of Liverpool. {Continued from page 193.) I now proceed to answer the first question in the Minute of January, 11, viz. — '•Whether a supply sufficient, as regards quantity and quality, for the present and prospective ivants of the town and neigltbourhood, including doinpstic, trading, and Tnamfac taring purposes, and shipping, and for public purposes — viz., watering and cleansing streets, flushing sewers, extinguishing fires, and supplying public batlts and wash-houses, can be obtained by additional borinrj or tunnels, or otherwise, at the present stations — viz., those purchased from the Companies respectively, and from tlie Green Lane Works, now vested in t/ie Corporation, and the cost of obtaining such sufficient supply /" It is, I believe, admitted that the population at Liverpool to be supplied with water is about 4-00,000, and that an efficient supply fur large towns is not less than twenty gallons per individual daily; thus the total quantity required at the present time is K,O0b,O0i) gallons a-day. In the Report made by the Health of Towns (Commissioners, it is stated that the increase of inliabitants in Liverpool was, for the ten years between IS31 and 184-1, 39. Ci ))er cent.; we shall probably, therefore, not err much in supposing the population to be supplied in lS(il will be 557,500, and the ne- cessary quantity of water conseiiuently augmented to 11,150,000 gallons a-day. But, in the first place, I shall consider the various .schemes which have come before me in reference to a population requiring 8,000,000 gallons only. My e.xperiments to determine the yield of the wells are detailed in several tables of the Appendix, No. 1 of which gives those made to ascertain the effect of one stroke of the pump at each station; and, as the correctness of the final results depended on the accuracy of this element, much time and labour were given to the subject. Implicit reliance may therefore be placed on the exiierimi'iits, which were made by disdiarging the water from the |)umi) alternately into two tanks of known capacity (one being emptied while the other was being filled), and repeating this operation for a considerable length of time. 'I'he total quantity of water thus measured, divided by the number of strokes, of course gives the content of one stroke, 'llie p\imps, buckets, and clacks were tried in various conditions and under different pres- sures of water, and the utmost care was taken to secure the same relative conditions throughout the duration of the experiments, so as to obtain both the delivery of each stroke and the yield of the well. At the AV^indsor station, where the engine was single-acting and the length of stroke variable, an apparatus was applied for the purpose of registering the exact distance passed through by the pump-rod; and, by reading the index of this instrument, and taking the number of strokes as given by the counter, the average lengtifi of stroke for any period was ascertained; and thus the total ([uantity of water discharged accurately determined. It was intended to have used this instrument at Green Lane also, but as it was required at ^V'indsor to measure the increased yield during the progress of the boring, this could not be done. The yield of the Green Lane well was in consequence ascertained by proving the delivery of the pump, when working at a known length of stroke, by means of the tanks, and afterwards confining the length of stroke, throughout the subsequent experiments, as nearly as practicable to the same standard. The yield of the well at Bevington Bush, and the delivery of the pumps at the Bootle Station, were determined by pumping into a reservoir of known capacity and regular shape, at Kirkdale. Table No. 2 shows the yield of each of the wells at various levels; Table No. 2 a the maximum yield; and Table No. 2 b the yield at the working levels of the last quarter of 1849, as proved both by the Dip-books and by my series of experiments. These tables show that the maximum yield of all the wells in the possession of the Corporation amounts to 5,170,186, the mini- mum yield to 3,320,990, and the yield at the ordinary working level to 4,216,784 gallons per 24 hours. This, as recorded in the Dip-book, shows at corresponding levels a delivery of 3,834,758 gallons, which is as close an approximation as could be looked for. Mr. Hocking reported to Messrs. Simpson and Newlands that the yield of the'wells was 4,220,969 gallons in April, 1849, but as the weekly pi'oduce is divided by six instead of seven, this amount ought to be 3,677,972 gallons. From all these results it may be inferred that the existing wells are yielding about 4,000,000 gallons a-day. After the full explanation, in the preceding pages of this report, respecting the action of wells on each other, and the mode by which the water is transmitted throughout the body of the sand- stone, it will at once be perceived that the expectation of much augmenting the supply of the present weUs, either by sinking, boring, or tunnelling, cannot be entertained. I am satisfied that any increase occasioned by deepening these wells will be temporary, and only take place to the same extent as the private supply of water is diminished. This would necessarily lead to the deepening of the private wells, which has already been done to a considerable degree; and when finished, would leave all parties in the same relative positions, except that they would have the same quantity of water, or a very little more to lift a greater height; and it cannot be doubted that a large proportion of any increase would be derived from the River Mersey, as all the wells are now sunk to or below the level of low water, and many yield brackish water. Another theory of Mr. Gage may be here specially referred to. It seems to be that the water flows into wells from beneath, and is made to do so entirely from statical pressure, acting at a great distance and elevation; but the ascertained levels of the water in the sandstone and wells are to me totally irreconcileable with this notion, for if the pressure upwards which he supposes to exist were really operative, the level of the water in the sandstone ought to be uniform or very nearly so, which is certainly not the case. In the first exposition of his views he stated that the water flov.s through large fissures with comparative freedom, and sup- ported this by pointing out the specific chemical differences in the water from adjoining wells; but this is no proof of his correctness, as the sandstone itself is far from being of uniform composition, and may give rise to much variety in the constituents held in solution, while the character of the surface in the vicinity of the well may also influence the quality of the water in the sandstone. Could the iirobability that the supply of water is derived from the Welsh or Ycirksliire hills in any way be imagined, the friction alone, which is an ascertainable quantity under known circumstances, would prevent the possibility of the rapid flow of the large 1650. THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHlTECrS JOURNAL. 235 quantity of which Mr. Gage predicts would be obtained by means of bore-holos. The question of expense points to the propriety of diminishing rather than increasing the supply from the existing wells; indeed, the advantage of abandoning some of them has already been pointed out by Mr. Newlands, Mr. Kennedy, and others, and a Table is introduced into the Appendix, showing the costliness of the water at present obtained from all except Windsor and Green Lane, by wliich it would appear that their abandonment, and the establishment in their place of two new ones, similar to, or some- what more extensive tlian Green Lane, would produce a saving of 3,992/. per annum on the working expenses, or enough to justify an expenditure on the new and. more economical establishments of 80,000/., in addition to the value of the land and works; whereas, the two stations would not cost more than about 50,000/. Messrs. S'unpson and JVewlands' Scheme. The second question contained in the Minute is, *' Whether a sv^cient adtlUion to the present supplrj can be obtained in the tocalifi/ or neit/hboiirhood of Liverpool, as recommended by Messrs. Simpson Olid Newlands, or hy borings^ or by any other course^ and the cost of obtaining and distributing the same." This question comprehends the plan now before parliament, which may be called the Newsham House Scheme; Messrs. Simpson and Newlands' Scheme, as described in their printed report of April 23rd, 18+9; and Mr. Simpson's Kirkby or Clock House Bridge Scheme. The Newsham House Scheme consists in making a well 192 feet deep, at a distance of about 590 yards from Green Lane Station, with 8 furlongs 218 feet of tunnel; a new engine and well of 150 feet deep, with 600 feet of tunnel at Bootle, and 1 furlong and 240 feet of tunnel from the bottom of the ^Vindsor well. After the free communication which has been proved to exist between the Green Lane well and those surrounding it, situated at much greater distances from each other than that proposed at the Newsham House Estate, I am at a loss to understand how the latter can largely increase the supply from the district. The distance between the proposed site and Green Lane is only 590. yards, and the end of the tunnel 1,,S00 yards, while that between tlie Windsor and Edge Hill wells is 960 yards; and in tlieir case we find that the aggregate quantity of water raised is not much increased by adding to the wells, as before making the bore-hole at VV^indsor the railway wells at Edge Hill only gave a daily increase from that district of about 380,000 gallons. The proposed extension of tlie vvorks towards Newsham House is little more than a repetition of these circumstances; the extent of tunnel is certainly greater, and will, in pi-oportion, extend the contributing area, but not so efficiently as to justify the expectation of a very much moi-e advantageous result, or one commensurate with the cost of the works. 1'he enquiry as to what distance wells should be placed from each other, in order to yield a maximum result, is here suggested. It is in evidence, that when the pumping at Green Lane was forced, wells not far from Windsor were affected, and others at a greater distance laid dry. These, perhaps, may be regarded as extreme cases; but I cannot think that two public wells, from which large quantities of water have to be drawn, should be established nearer to each other than Windsor and Cireen Lane, a distance of if or 2 miles. At this distance these wells appear to be capable of yielding 1,000,000 gallons a-day each. The proposed tunnels at Windsor would operate as a reservoir, in which respect they would, no doubt, be useful for storage, but that they would sensibly increase the permanent yield of tlie well is very doubtful. The proposed additions to Bootle, the only station which supplies nearly 1,000,000 gallons per diem at about forty feet above low-water mark, will increase, for a time, the yield of that establishment; but in considering the question of its improvement, it must be remembered that it it is tlie most expensive on account of the royalty agreed to be paid annually to Lord Derby. As I believe the results contemplated from this project to be but problematical, I cannot refrain from recommending a pause before entering upon the expenditure which the execution of the proposed works will necessarily involve. Messrs. Simpson and Newlands' project, as described in their printed report of 23rd April, 1849, appears to be an extension of the Newsham House Scheme, involving a larger expense without, I fear, accomplishing a corresponding benefit. The present Green Lane Works cost about 19,000/. for buildings, machinery, and wells, but exclusive of mains. The extension now proposed by driving a tunnel three miles long from the existing well (after it has been deepened), to the north, towards Melling, cannot, I believe, sufficiently increase the contributing area so as to add to the present yield 6,000,000 gallons a-day, as assumed by its projectors. No plans or details having been submitted to me, the only information I possess is that to be derived from the printed'document and tlie general estimate, which do not enable a minute examination of tlie various items of cost to be made; but 1 do not doubt that the amount named, 192,556/., is sufficient for the execution of the works. Mr. Simpson, in the Kirkby or Clock House Bridge Scheme, proposes to obtain from wells situated near each other, and tunnels uniting them, 4,000,000 gallons a-day, and an equal quantity from two branches of the river Alt. The area of water-shed of tliis district would yield the quantity; but the proposed reservoir of about 30 acres in extent, and 15 feet in depth, would be quite inade- quate as respects storage, to ensure so large an uniform daily supply; and I am satisfied, from a personal examination, that it would be a task of great difficulty to construct one sufficient for the purpose in this place. The wells in this situation may probably be as productive as those elsewhere, although Mr. Binney and Mr. Rowlandson expressed some doubt of it, and the district is low, and the rock probably fully cliarged with water; but I can perceive no circum- stance to justify us in supposing that the transmission of the water to this point can take place more easily than it has been found to do elsewhere, or data upon which to calculate safely on so large a supply as that suggested from wells situated at one point. The engine-pow er requisite foi the purpose of pumping 8,000,000 gallons a-.day to Liverpool, is considerably under-rated; but, were the proposed works in other respects adequate to the necessary supply, I believe the aggregate estimate would be sufficient. These observations on the Kirkby project are equally applicable to any proposal for deriving a supply from the Childwall Valley; indeed, every objection to the former applies with even greater force to the latter district. There is about the same area of water-shed, but greater difficulties as regards storage — to such a degree, that this alone is enough to put it entirely out of the question. The proposed plans of the Marquis of Salisbury have also been examined; they consist of about three miles of tunnel, with their shafts, all comprised within an area of about three quarters of a square mile, which is quite insufficient for the supply of the town; and even if considered merely as an auxiliary, the gain from it will be unequal to its probable cost. CTo be continued.J OBITUARY. SiK — I regret exceedingly to have to inform you of the death of a remarkably rising young' architect, an occasional contributor to your Journal, Mr. John Swindell, of Kilburn Priory. His treatise on "Well Sinking," and other similar occasional minor pei-fcum- ances, have at times been the subject of your favourable review. I have, however, well-founded reason to believe, that those small productions 1 have alluded to were merely the results of leisure hours; and that, had he not, by incessant work, worn out his frame, he would have ultimately benefited his profession in an eminent degree, by investigations of a far more important and more original character than those I have alluded to. I shall, I hope, find myself excused in your eyes, and those of your readers, in thus assisting to rescue from oblivion the name of one who, had he not come to an untimely grave, would have required no assistance of the sort. I am, &c B. Pemberton, Professor of Civil Engineering, R.A.C. Royal Agricultural College, June 11, 1850. M. Lnigi Zandomeneghi.—The Vejiice Gazette lately announced the death of this celebrated sculptor, aged 71. He had been for some years engap»d in tlie sculpture of a raagnilioent monument to the memory of Titian. I his important work, though far advanced, has been left unfinished by his dealb. 32* 235 THE CIVIL EN'GINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOLRNAL. [JlLY, MOTLEY'S PROPOSED BRIDGE OVER THE AVON. The above engraving exhibits a desi^jn for a bridge of 600 feet span, wliich Mr. Motley nriiposes to construct over the river .Vvon, iit St. Vincent's Iloclis, Clifton: he states that it can be built with- out any cent rinjf. At a distance of 80 to 100 feet from the verge of the rock he jiroposes to drive a number of iron piles, united sulficiently strong to bear a strain of several thousand tons, to which powerful tension-bars would be fastened, on tlie river end of which cranes of sufficient st ength would be attached, and, by the aid of a moveable platform, the first portion of the bridge would be hung on the principle of a suspended bracket; this would con- tinue to be enlarged in length and depth, and as the work would commence on both sides simultaneously, the bridge would meet in the centre, and its perfect rigidity be' effected. The cost of the iron work of such a bridge, Mr. .Motley states, for a span of 600 feet, and to sustain a uniform load of 1000 tons, with perfect »a/ety, would not exceed 30,000/. A model of the bridge may be sean at the office of the Mining Juumal. in Fleet-street. LAIRDS GALVANISED IRON SECTIONAL BO.A.TS. Mr. Macgregor Laird has communicated to the JK'antical Maga- zine the annexed illustration of iron-built galleys and boats he is now constructing. Mr. Laird sti-.tes that this construction is a simple contrivance to enable mercliant vessels to carry without inconvenience, boats that, in case of need, would save the lives of crew and passengers; — men-of-war, to carry double the number of boats in the si)ace now occupied, discovery vessels to carry large tenders;— travellers to carry boats in the space of a moderately sized trunk ; — and merchants trading to the open ports of the Pacific and Indian Oceans to send out lighters and small craft, at the usual rate of freight. The sketches are the plans, elevations, and sections of two descriptions of boat, built on the sectional principle. The larger one (figs. 1 to 4) is a galley, 70 feet long and 12 feet beam, to be pi-o- |ielled by negroes with paddles.* This boat is for the use of her Majesty's Consul at Fernando Po, to enable him, without reference to calms or baffling winds, to proceed when required to .my point within his district, which embraces the Bights of Benin, Biufra and Panasia, a line of coast of 1000 miles in extent, having the beauti- ful island of Fernando Po in the centre. " To those of your readers who know Mr. Beecroft, and have been upon the coast, I need not remark upon the advantages, the facility of taking the boat to pieces, and reuniting her in a fe'v hours without the assistance of mechanical or skilled labour, will give that distinguished traveller in his future geographical dis- coveries. And from my own experience I can truly say th::t if I had again to ascend any African river, I would prefer three or four of these galleys, each manned and propelled by fifty Kroomen, to the best equipped steamers that ever left England. Ccmimercially, steamers can only pay in civilised countries. Their excessive cost at first, and the constant outlay afterwards, has ruined all African trading expeditions into the interior; while • The following letter is from Commander Bevis, R X., to Mr. Laird : — "Sir— With reference to your letter of the 8th uU., with its enclosure from Mr. Mac- ppegor Laird, relativeto asecliona! boatbuitt of galvanised iron, said to be rcaiiy for survey on the 16th ult. (but is not yet in a tlnislied state), and desirinet me to take to my assistance some eompelent oiricer at Liverpool, who lias been on the coast of Africa to inspect this boa*, and report upon lier efficiency, I beg to report for the' information of my Lords Commission.'rB of the Admiralty, that I have on several occasions inspected tlie boat, and once in tlie presence of Mr. Beecroft, the Consul at Fernando Po, there being no African officer in this neighbourhood, and find her dimensions and efficiency as follows, viz.: — Length 6% feet Beam 12 " Deprh ami.isliips .. .. 4 " Depth forward and aft .. 6 *' Thicl^ness of plates 3-lC and J-incl»; displacement at 1 foot water line 7*05 tons; ditto 2 feet 20 80 tons. " Thrtre are eight sectional pieces, Wi". Iicnviest of which is 16 cwt., joined toseth^r by angle-iron joints, lined Willi vnle:iiiised Indian rubber, the whole being secured togetlier by screw-bolts and ntils, so tlial her own crew of forty or fifty men, can carry her over any neck of land, and set her up ai^ain. *' Her light draft of water is estimated at 1 foot with her crew, with provisions, water, &c., tor the same, at 2 feel. Slie is to puil Ihirty-elgiit oars, double-banfced, fitted with three schooner sail*, jib and square-sail, having for nit;ht rrotection iron stanchions covered with thin felt; she is aisj to be fitted wiUi air-tijhl galvanised tubes as a life- boat. " From her lisht draft of water, and general lightness, she is particularly well adapted to tatie the bars on the coast of Africa, where there is a short breaking s<'a, and/or j)ro- i-feding u;) the riven, or to go in cftitse of alavcrs, as from her cotutruction she mast pull aii'i sail very fLSt. "It is priip .»./a by Mr. Bwcroft, Oiat this boat should he fitted with a liiht brass Si- poundor forwards; and with her crew trained to sm.ill arms, siie wouhi be tit to go in chase of any slaxers in a calm, tiierefore submit that this class of boat, with increased or diraiiiislied dimensions would be of !;reat service to the African squadron as tenders. "I am, &:c., ifccrjwoJ, 'th March, 1850.. " THoMis BETI3, Commander." Builder's Measurement Total weight of ironwork Do. with woodwork, masts, all complete displacement at 1 foot water line T'05 tons sails, ^ i't tons 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 237 galleys of this description would hnve done all that has been done at a twentieth of the cost, and perhaps 'ere this, have opened a regular and steady trade with the tribes in the interior. The second boat is building for an emigrant ship (figs. 5 to 8). She is in four sections, and can be used as an ordinary boat of 26 feet long (figs. 7 and 10), as a barge 38 feet, or a galley of 50 feet (fig. 5), at which size she would carry in safety 150 people. Eire is the great danger to be apprehended on board emigrant vessels. In an hour after a fire was discovered these boats could be joined and towing astern, and the awful scenes that took place on board the Ocean Monarch and Caleb Grimxhaw avoided. All naval officers who have served on the coast of Africa, and the Indian Seas, know the advantages of having large and fast boats. On this sectional plan, a boat 60 feet long can be stowed in a length of 25 feet on the booms, and be put together in a few minutes by her crew, when her services are required to chase in calms or baffling winds, or to land troops; or, fitted as a tender, slie could be sent to cruise with a month s provisions and water on board; a simple and cheap way of doubling the efficiencv of a blockading squadi-on. Droghers, lighters, and small craft'of all sorts and sizes, can be sent out to all parts of the world, at the lowest rate of freight, and put together with the greatest facility and accuracy, without the aid of mechanics or skilled labourers. I may add, that I propose making all boats for passenger-vessels life-boats, by using Light's prepared rushes, which are much superior to any system of air-chambers, and securing them from oxidation hy__galvanising the plates, which also saves the expense of painting." Fig. 4. -Cross Section at A. Figs. 1, 2, and 3 -Elevation, Plan and Section of a Galley, "0 feet long. wwmi'. '!;• Bill"; iT'"!»W'.! II !in!W*:ni[i!i rpWT3T - - — I . i ^ — ..it.. rtgs. 5 and C— Elevation and flalf-iilan of Sectional Boats of (;::lvi.i;u;d iron, fi r an Emigrant Ship of GOO tons, carrjing 3l)u people. ScaW i of an inch to a foot. M ^ Fig. 7.— Plan of Section at A. Fig, 8.-Cross Section sat A, showing the method cf joining Fig. ll.-B, Water-tight Bulkheads, Sections at Die bections. Scale 1 of an inch to a foot. end of Midship Sections, showing the tections as a Deck-house, Fig.L'.- Elevalicnof Fore anri Aft Sections, as a Cutter 2': feet bug, and ti feel beam, for ordinary ship's use. Fig. 10.— Midshin Sections, stowed on Bofims, to be used as store-rooms, or water-tanks, on the voyage, containing upwards of 3lOU galior.a. 238 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [July, SUPPLY OF M'ATER TO THE METROPOLIS. Repobt by the Ge^era,l Board of Health on the Supply of Water to the iletropolis. Wy. have given at lenijth the recommendations of tlie Commis- sioner?:, as to the plan they propose for adoption; but the report itself requires considerable discussion, which we must, however, defer, our space being otherwise takeu up. Quality of the Ti'ater of the River Thames. I. That for doniestic use it U luferior to the average quality of unters sapplied to to.vn? '2. That its inferiurity as a supply for domestic use arises chiefly from an excess of h^rdoess. 3. That even when taken above the reach of pollution from the sewers of the metro- polis it contains an excess, varying with the season, of animal and vegetable matter. 4. That although tliis latter cmse of inftftiority may be In part removt-d or corrt^tied by filtration, the excess of hardness will still remain, rendering this water espetiaily unfit for the following uses — namtly, for cleansing the skin and for ordinary purpoat's of washing, by occasioning an excessive consumption of soap; for the preparation of lea, by occasioning waste to the like extent; and for all culinary processes by diminishing their efficiency and increasing their expense. 5. That the quality of the water in the river Lea and of the New River is, in this respect, no better than that of the Thames water taken beyond the influence of the sewage of the metropolis. 6. That the water taken by the I.ambeth Company from the Thames opposite Hunger- ford-market is charged with animal and vegetable Impurities, apparently the effect of the discharge of sev\er water, which render it wholly unfit for use, and highly dangerous to the healtli of tlie persons who drink it. r. Thdt of tiie seven principal eompaoiea by which pipe water Is conveyed to the metropolis, four deliver it without previous filtration. 8. That the delects in the quality of the water at present supplied, when collected in its least objectionable condition, and the evils arising from its distribution in the uuliltered state, are all aggravated by the practice of intermittent distribution. y. That the practice of intermittent distribution occasions, in the case of the better description of houses, the retention of the water in cisterns and butts, and in that of the poorest classes, in tubs, pitchers, and such other vessels as can be obtained ; and, as a consequence of such retention, the water imbibes soot and dirt, and absorbs the polluted air of the town, and of the off^ensi^ely close, crowded, and unhealthy localities and rooms in which the poor reside. 10. That from the inferiority of the water at its source as at present collected, and from the additional pollution and deterioration occasioned by the mode of its distribution, a large proportion of the population is rendered averse to the daily use of water as a beverage, and Is Inclined and almost forced to the use of fermented liquors and ardent spirits to an extent greatly beyond the consumption of such drinks where purer water 18 more accessible. II. That the annual cost of the construction and maintenance in repair of cisterns and their supports and connected apparatus in the houses of the middle and wca.thier classes often exceeds the annual water-rate. V2. The cost of the pipe water supply and the additional expense and Inconvenience resulting from the present mode of its distribution cause the population in some suburban districts to resort for water to open ditches, and in other crowded localities to shallow springs or wells; sources which are subject to increasing pollution from cesspools, from badly constructed house drains and sewers, and from overcrowded graveyards. 13. That the localisation and intensity of choleia in such distriLts as those alluded to were promoted in a most marked manner by tlie use of water containing decomposing animal and vegetable matter derived from sewers, drains, and other impure sources. 14. That the districts most severely visited by epidemic cholera, as well as those aflQicted by ordinary epidemic disea-es, are low-lying districts where, from the defective state cf the drainage, there is an excess of damp and of putrid decomposition ; and thai such excess of damp is aggravated by the naste ot water attendant on the intermitteLt mode of supply ; a waste which appears to exceed the whole of the annual rainfall on the inhabited area of the metropolis. ■ Constant Supply System, Many practical difficulties having been urged against the substitution of the constant for the intermittent system of water supply in the metropolis, we have particularly examined into the working of the constant system of towns where it is estabJIshcd, and in some of which it has been in operation for 15 and 2l» years, and we find — 15. That the waste of water is so far less, insteiid of greater, under the system of constant supply, that although the inhabitants have unlimited command of wat^r, and use what llie>- please, tliough the actual use of water by the inhabitants is greater, the quantity delivered by the companies is less, frequently less by one-half^ in consequence of there being less waste from the more perfect delivery. \i\. That the water, under the system of constant supply, is delivered purer and fresher, of a lower temperature in summer, and that it is less sulject to frost in winter. 17. That the inconvenience apprehended from the interruption of supply during repairs and alterations, are never experienced, the work being executed uu !er such simple precauli«jns that no complaint has ever been known to have been made on this accou n I . 18. That the intetruptiooa of supply, which are so constantly experienced on the intermittent system from the waste in the lower districts, from the neglect of turncocks, from Umitation of quantity, from inadequate or leaky butts and cisterns, or from deranged balicotks, are scarcely ever known on the constant system. ly. That the sybtcm of constant supply admits of great economy in pipes, as they iray, under that system, for the most part, be considerably smaller,Bnd, not beingsubject to the violent hydriuilic jerks of the intermittent system, are less Huble to burst. 20. That the pipes for the house service may not only be considerably smaller and cheaper, but that the cisterns and apparatus connected therewith, which, in the smaller clflst of houses, iinw cost more than the whole public portion of the trorks, may be entirely dispensed with. Quantity reqitisite. In respect to the quantity of water actually supplied, and to the quantity needed for the domestic use of the metropolitan population, and for other purposes, we have to report — Th-tir. consequence of Statements made by several of the companies of the quantities of wiiter which they pumped for the use of the metropolis, quantities which appeared to be inconsistent with the known habits of the population and the apparent amount of uater consumed for domestic purposes, we deemed It desirably to cause the consumption o' water in dittVrent districts, by different classes of the population, to be gauged from t1 e cisterns and butts, and also the ruu through house'dralns and sewers on days when there was no rainfall. F'-oni these observations it appears — 21. That, whereas it was returned, in \S?>2, that the average quantity of water delivered to their ref pective customers by the several companies was 220 gallons per house or tUvelling— and more recently, as returned to u*, was staled to be liJ4 gallons per house or dwelling— that ia, 44.00U,e means of supplying water to extinguish fires, and having examined the practical experi- ence ot improved works in relations thereto in other towns, we find — 52. That the inadequacy of the supplies of water under the intermittent aystem occa- sions great danger to life and property, but that by arrangements which are practicable under a system of constant supply at high pressure, the whole force of the water in the mains may be brought to bear at any point for e.i;tinguishlng fire in from one to five minutes, or in about one-fourth the time that it takes the best appointed fire-engines now to gain the spot and be in action after the alarm of fire has been given. 53. That, judging from the experience of various places where improved arrangements have been put in practice, it appears that by the general adoption ot these arrangements more than two-thirds of the fires which now occur in the metropolis may be extinguished before any extensive damage takes place. 64. That the insurance risks on life and property may be diminished in a yet greate^" proportion. 55. That the crime of incendiarism may be checked, and that these consequences alone, were there no other advantages to be obtained, would render it worth while to make the change from the intermittent to the constant system. 5't. That these advantages may be best given by the same means by which a more perfect and cheaper surface cleansing of courts, alleys, foot-pavemenis, and carriage-ways than that by hand may be eftected— namely, by jets of water distributed under high pressure. Proposed Plan for the Metropolis, Having considered the most eligible administrative provisions for the execution of the required works, we concur in the principles recommended by the commission of inquiry as to the best m»ans of improving the health of tuwns, and confirmed by Parliament in the Public Health Act, viz.: — 57. That the works of water supply, and those for drainage, or the removal of soil or waste water, should be carried into effect by one and the same administrative body. 5y. But that the magnitude of the metropolis, the diversity of its local jurisdictions, and its position as the seat of government, and the occasional residence of persons from all parts of the empire, the large minorities requiring protection, and the unaccustomed magnitude of the requisite outlay, render distinct and special provisions necessary for It, • The district from which the proposed supply is to be taken \a Bagshot Heath. and that the amendments required may be most speedily, safely, and economically executed by special or by provisional arrangements. 5y. That a general survey under the direction of the engineers of the Board of Ord- nance, and other surveys, trial works, and preparations essential to the safe and econo- mical executions of combined works of water supply having been completed, under the direction of the consolidated Metropolitan Suwers Commission, such combined works may now be executed and maintained at a lower rate of charge per house than has here, tofore been incurred for any of their various branches executed separately. 00. Tiiat the initiation and executive direction of such works by members, however hi- hly qualified, giving casual attendance at meetings held weekly or fortnightly, causes grievous delay, and that in cases which measures for preventing disease or arresting its progress require the utmost promptitude. 61. That, coneidering the great loss and suffering Incurred by the delay In carrying the required works into execution, it will be expedient to confide their further preparation and superintendence to a few competent and responsible officers, of whom a certain portion should be paid, giving their whole time and attention to the subject. That the VI hole of these works be carried into execution by contract upon open tenders, not merely for the construction of the works, but for maintaining them In good action and rtpriir for terms of years. t!2. That tha means provided by the Public Health Act for giving publicity to plans and estimates of intended works, with opportunities of suggestion and appeal, be extended to the works proposed for the sanitary improvement of the metropolis. ()1. That the proper execution of the works will be best guaranteed, the responsibility of the persons charged with their execution best insured, and the interest of the poorest classes of the population {the inhabitants of tha most depressed districts, who, though they pay no direct local rates, pay heavy rents), will be best guarded in the special case ot the metropolis, at all events provisionally, by the direct control of Parliament ; the importance of the proposed measures to the health, convenience, and comfort of larg« misses of the population, the magnitude of the required constructions, the amount of outlay, and the dangers of failure and waste as well as delay being, from experience of separate works already constructed, such as to render it necessary that the highest order of continued and undivided attention and responsibility should he secured for the (xecutiOD of such works as this Report recommends. ROYAL SCOTTISH SOCIETY OF ARTS. Ajjril 22. — Patrick Wilson, Esq., ia the Chair. The following communications were made : — 1. On a New Method of inducing an upward Current in the Upcast Shaft of Coal-Mines, to promote Ventilation. By Mr. J. Seton Ritchie, Edin- burgh.— The author adverted to the vast numbers, as workers, and depend- ants on them, interested in the adoption of means by which i^reedom from danger in coalmines maybe attained; then, mentioning the theories by which mine-explosions are accounted for, he noticed the numerous methods which have been proposed for maintaining mines in a state of safety, and particularly the method in general use of ind-'cing an upward current of the air of the mine by means of a fire at the lower part of the upcast shaft, that, as the provision of a separate shaft for the removal of the air of the mine is prevented by the great additional expense, even though mechanical ap- pliances may appear highly calculated to maintain a powerful and steady current, difficulty exists in their application, as interfering with the free working of the produce of the mine carried on by the upcast shaft, which is further increased in making provision for continual reliance on them, as spare appliances would require to be provided. The author stated that the method now proposed is free from this obstacle. The current is induced by means of pipes heated by water circulating in them, fixed round the cir- cumference of the shaft in such manner within the line of it, as shall shield them from injury, leaving sufficient exposure of them to communicate their heat to the air in the shaft ; the furnaces for heating the circulating water being at the nearest convenient distance, at a considerably lower level than the orifice of the shaft, as on the depth at which they are placed will depend the perpendicular extent of the upper part of the shaft around which the pipes may be placed. Certainty of action could, with ordinary caution, be relied on, as, even if one of the circulations ceased, from any cause, to act, the others would during that time continue in action. A similar applica- tion might also be made at the lower orifice of the shaft, and even extended in some measure to the workings -, or the fires now in use at the foot of the shaft might be retained, and the application alone made at the upper part in aid, to promote greater certainty and steadiness in the current. It was submitted that a similar application might be made of steam as of water. It was pointed out that the maintaining of the upward current in the shaft is hut one section of the keeping the mine in a state of safety — that, though this will never he effected without a steady and powerful extracting current in the shaft, the latter will he of little avail, unless accompanied by care- fully-laid-out air-courses throughout the mine itself, properly modified as the working advances, attention on the part of those appointed to open and close the doors which it becomes necessary to erect in them to direct the currents, and attention that that the building off of exhausted sections of the mine be as frequently as possible accomplished, that they may not become next to permanent reservoirs of noxious gases, ready to lend their aid to a general explosion. 2. Description of a Water-Meter. By Mr. F. -\. Buckn'all, New Swindon, Wilts. — The author stated that the object of this meter is the measurement of the supply of water to private dwellings, breweries, &c. It consists chiefly of a fan-shaped bucket-wheel, revolving within a cylindrical case, and kept water-tight by means of packing, made of India-rubber, leather, or other elastic substance, supply and delivery pipes, and wheel and pinion gear, which is connected with an index plate. The revolving action of the meter is maintained by the gravity of the wheel being constantly greater on the one side than on the other, owing to the continuous running ofi' of the 240 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. JVLY,] water from the opposite sifle to that at which the water is supplied. The meter is only in action during the tioie the water is running otf. 3. Description of a New Liquor Pump, calculated to prevent the Liquor from being coniaminated with Verdigris and Oil in the interior of the Pump Barrel ; also applicable to the Pumping of J cids. By Mr. Hay Dall, Glasgow. — The author stated the following as the disadvantages of the pre- sent system of pumping hquors — 1st, That each liquor requites a separate pump. 2nd, That the liquor, in passing through the barrel of the pump, corrodes its interior, especially in the case of fermented liquors, thus pro- ducing con'-tant decay in the barrel and valves, and also an accumulation of verdigris in brass pump-barrels, which, together with the oil or tallow used to lubricate the piston, is constantly mixing with and contaminating the liquor. The inventor stated that he had his attention frequently directed to the disgusting state of ihe interior of corroded purap-banels which had been Bent in for repair — that, generally, every crevice and corner of the piston and barrel where it could collect, was clogged with a jKiisonous and nauseous compound of stale beer and oily verdigris, ready to mix in greater or less quantity with the next liquor that would pass lliroiigh it. That in the new method one pump can he made to supply any number of liquors, wliile the liquor never gets into contact with the pump-barrel. The pump is used solely as an air-pump to withdraw the air from the interior of a series of glass or earthenware vessels, properly arranged, and made to communicate with the liquor casks by tubes immersed in the liquor. When the cocks are properly arranged, and the pump is worked, the liquor rises and fills tlie vessel, never having passed through the pump barrel at all, and when the vessel is full, the pumping is stopt, and the liquor is run off into the vessels from which it is to be drunk, by a common cock. LIST OF NE-W PATENTS GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM MaY 23, TO JUNE 20, 1850, Six Months allowed for Enrolment ^ unless otherwise expressed. "William Eadley, chemical engineer, and Frederick Meyer, oil merchant, both of Lambeth, Surrey, tor improvements in treating fatty oleaginous resmnus, hitumini-Uf>, unJ cerous bodies, in ihe manufacture and application of thera, and of their coraponei.ts and subsidiary products, toeether with the apparatus to be employed therein to new and other useful purpose;:. — M;iy 25. Edwin Pettilt, of Birmingham, civil engineer, for improTeraents in the manufacture of glass, in the method of forming or hhuping and ornamenting vessels and articles of glass, and in the construcion of furnaces and annealing kilns.— May 25, John Hicltman. ot Walsall, Stafford, cltrk, lor improvements in the manufacture of cylindrical and other lubes.— May 25. Alfred Vincent Xewton, of Chancery-lane, mechanical draughtsman, for improvements in couplings (or tairiages, and in Ihe attachment of wheels to axles. (A communica- t.on.)— May 2S. James Ashworth. of Rochdale, Lancaster, manufacturer, and Thomas Mitchell, of the same place, manager, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for preparing, spinning, and weaving colton, wool, and other fibrous materials.— May 29. Jonathan Harlow, of Birmingham, for improvements in the manufacture of bedsteads and other artichs tor sitting or reclining on.— May 30. Edwyn John JeflTery Dixon, of tlie Royal Slate Quarritp, Bryntrafood, near Bangor, Xorth Wales for improvements in the manufacture of sinks and other articles of slate or stone. — May 30. Thomas Pa^re, of Middle Scotland-yard. Middlesex, civil engineer, for improvements inFfhe construction and means of cleansing sewers.- June I. Ezra Jenks C'oates, of Bread-street, Cheapside, London, merchant, for improvements ill Ihe manufuctiireof Mis, spikes, and nails.—June 1. Moses Poole, of the Patent Bill Office, London, gentleman, for improvements in ma- chinery for punching metals, and in the construction of springs for carriages and otlier uses.- June 1. Arthur Elliott, machine maker, of Manchester, and Henry Feys, of the same place, hi.ok-keeper, fur certain improvements in machinery for manufacturing woven fabrics — June I. Guillaume Ferdinand de Douhef, of Clermont Ferrand, France, gentleman, for im- provements m the disoxygenation of certain bodies, and the apr.lication, separately or sjnitihaneously. of the products therefrom to various useful purposes.— June 1 Frank Clarke Hills and George Hills, of Deptford, Kent, manulacturing chem'sts for cunain improvements in manulacturinK and refining sugar. — June I. Samut-l Brown, of Lambeth, Surrey, e^gineer, for improvements in engines for mea- surn.g and repiMering the flow of fluids and substances in a fluid ttate, which nniirnvementfi are also applicable to steam and other motive engines —June 1 John Tuck.T, of the Royal Dockyard. Woolwich, Kent, shipwright, for improvements in Mf-am boilers, and m gearmg, cleansing, and proptlling vessels. (A communication.) — June I. ' UeoiBe Hayward Ford, of St. Martin's-le-Grand, Middlesex, gentleman, for improve- inenls in obtaining po*er.— June 3, Paul d'Anpely, of Paris, France, gentleman, for certain improvements in the construc- ti..n of privies and urinals, and in apparatus and machiserv for cleansing privies cesspools, and other places, and in deodorising the matter extracted llierefrora. and rendering it avnilahle for agricultural purposes.- June 4. David Kapicr and James Murdock Napier, of the York-road, Lambeth Surrey enumcers. for thnr invention of improvements in apparatus for separating fluid from oilier matttrs.— Junp 4, Theodore Cariiili. ol Manchester, merchant, for certain improvements in ihe treafment or preparation of yarns, or threads, for weaving. (A communication. )—J'.ne 4 William WaUon, the younper, of Chapel Allerton, York, manufacturing chf'mist, for iniiirovemt-nts m the prcparatiun and manufacture of various maitriiiU to be used iri the processes of dyting, piintine. and colouring —June 4. John Sjkes and Xtlam Ogden. both of Dock siieei, Huddersfleld, York, wool cleaners il.d machine niakers, lur certain improvements in machinery fur cleaning wool, ctition Liid similar fi!»rous substances Irom burrs, nioifs, and olher extraneous niatler.— June 4! Edmund Sharpe, of Lancaster, mas;er of arts, lor certain improvements in railway carriages.— Jm:e 5. William Edward Kfwton, of Chanrery-'ane, civil engineer, for improvements appli- rablo lo boots, shots, and glher coveringb f«r, or uppl.ance& to the f^et.— (A commumca- lit-n J— July G. George Jackson, of Belfast, Ireland, fiaz-eplnner, for improvements in heckling ma- chinery.— June 6. John McN'icoll, of Liverpool, engineer, for Improvements in machinery for raising and conveying weights. — June h. William Robertson, of Gateside-hill, Neilstone, Renfrew, Scotland, machine maker, for improvement* in certain machinery us>ed for spinning and doubling cotton, and other fibrous substances. — June 9. James Alexander Hamilton Bell, New York, America, merchant, for Improvements in dressing bran, pollard, and sharps. (A communication. J — June 6. A grant unto William George Bicknell, ol Essex-street, Strand, and James Reginald Torin Graham, of the Grove, Clapham Common, of an extension lor thettrm of six years of letters patent granted by his late Majesty King William IV'., to Miles Berrt, of Chan- cery-lane, patent agent, for certain improvements in mdchinery or apparatus' for clean- ing, purifying, and drying, wheat or other grain or seeds.— June 7 William Newton, of Chancery-lane, civil enui/iccr, (or certain improvements in the manufacture of cords, ropes, bands, sirong clotiis, (juiltiug, sacks, and cushions and in elastic material for stuffing the latter, in which manuiacturecaoijichoiic forms an essential ingredient, and in the application of parts of these improvements to the manufaciure of pads, stoppers, tubes, boxes, baskets, coverini;^, wrappers, and other like articles of utility. (A communication). — June 8. James Colman, of Stoke Mills, Stoke, near Norwich, Norfolk, mustard and starch manufacturer, for improvements in the manufacture of starch.—June 8. Peter Armand Lecomte de Fontainemureaa, of Souih-street, Kiusbury, London, for certain improvements in oscillating engines put in motion by steam and gas re.-ulting from combustion. (A communication;. — June 8. Charles Warwick, of Cheapside, warehouseman, for improvement* in apparatus for taking up the work of certain descriptions of knitting machinery. (_A communication; June 8. Peter Armand Lecomte de Fontainemortau, of South-street, Finsbury, for certain im- provements in the manufacture of sulphate of soda, muriaiic and niuic acids. (A com- munication).— June II. ■ William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for improvements in machinery for carding coiton, wool, or other fibrous materials, and an ajiparaius for preparing or setting tlie cards of carding engines. (A communication) — June II William Jackson, of Kingston-upon-Hull, soap maker, for improvements m the manu- facture of soap, and in ihe preparation of materials fortius purpose. — June 1 1. William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for improvements in rotary engines. (A communication). — June 11, Robert Waddell, of Liverpool, Lancaster, engineer, for certain improvements in steam engines. (A communication) — June 11. Alexander Parkes, of Pembrey, Canuarthenshire, experimental chemist, for improve- ments in smelting and treating certain metals, and in the construction and manuiaciure of furnaces and the materials to be used for the same, such furnaces and mattrijis being applicable to the treatment of metals and metallic compouuds, and to \arious wilier useiul purposesof a like nature. — June 11. William Pole, uf Great George -street, Westminsrer, engineer, and David Thomson, of Belgrave-road, Pimlico, engim-er, for improvements in steam-engines. — June II. John Henry Tries, Esq., of Norfolk-street, Strand, Middlesex, for improvements in working engines by atmospheric air. — June 11. James Palmer Budd, of the Ysialyfera Iron Works, Swansert, merchant, for improve- ments in the manuiacture of coke. — June II. John Dearman DuuniclitT, of Hyson Green, Noltinf;hani, lace manufacturer, and John Woodhouse Bagley, of Radford, in the said county, Uce maker, fur cert^iin im- provements in lace and other weaving. — June 11. Samuel Ellis, of Salfoid, engineer, for improvements in machinery or apparatus appli- cable to all kinds of carriages used on railways.— June U. Frederick Albert Gatty, of Accrington, Lancaster, manufacturing chemist, for a certain process or ceitain processes lor obtaining a carbonate 01 soda and carbonate ol jiotash. June 11. William Cox, of tbe firm of William Cox and Co., of Manchester, cigar merchant, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for manufacturing aerated waters, or othgr such liquids. — June 1 1. John Sidebtittom, of Broadbottom, Chester, manufaciurer, for improvements in looms f»r weaving. — June 11. William Mac Lardy, of Manchester, machinist, for certain improvements in machinery or apparatus for preparing and finishing, and doubling cotion and other fibrous uiatenals. — June \'i. Alfred Vincent Newton, of Chaucery-Iane, Middlesex, mechanical draughtsman, for improvements in the production of gases to bo used for lighting, healing, and motive power purposes. (A communication). — June 12. Gustavus Palmer Harding, of Bartleit's-buildings, London, artificial florist, for im- provements in the manuiacture of buttons and other fastenings. — June .2. Thomas Deakln, of Balsall Heath, Worcester, Esq., for certain improvements in ma- chinery and apparatus to be used in rolling metals and in the manufacture of metal tubps — June 12. John Stopporlon, of the Isle of Man, engineer, for certain improvements In propeilin" vessels. — June 12. William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for certain improvements in the construciion of railways. (A communication.) — June 12. George Allen Everitt, of the firm of Allen, Everitt, and Son, of the Kingston Metal W>>rks, Birmingham, metal and tube manufacturers, and George Glydon, of Birmingham aforesaid, engineer and foreman lu the said Allen, Everitt, and Son, for certain improve- mtrnts in tlie manufacture of nittal tubes for locomotive, maiine, and other boilers. June 12. John Manly, jun., of Birmingham, manufacturer, for certain improvements in the manufaciure of nails. — June 12. Ciiarles Li.mport, of Worirington, Cumberland, ship-bnilder, for certain improvements inmaclijnery or apparatus for lifting and moving weights, working chains, and punii>iiig, which improvements are more especially adapted to ship use — June 19. Charhs Greenway, of (ireen-street, Grosvenor-squan-, Middlesex, for Improvements in sliijis' and other pumps, in anchors, and in propelling vessels. — June 1!), Benjamin Chevtrton, of Camden-street, Cumden-town, Middlestx, anist, for methods of imitatinc ivory and bone. — June 19. Charles Hanson, of Stepney, Middlesex, engineer, for certain improvement^ in $t<>nm- engiiitf, steam-bnjlers, and saiety valves, and m apparatus and machinery lor propelling vessels. — June 19 Isaac Hartas, of Wrellon Hall, York, farmer, for improvements in machinery for obtaining ?Motive power, {A communication.) — June !9. K'tbert H* alh, of Mant-liester, iron menhant, and Richard Hfr'ndley Thomas, of Wool- st:iiiton, Siatford, engineer, fr.r certain iniprovemeiits in the m.inufacture of iron. — Ju:ie \i). EtiK.ii Baldwin, of Phdadelihia, Pennsylvania, United States of Ainerics. for a new and useful nielhod of Eeneraiing and applying steam in propelling vessels, locomotives, and stationary machinery. — June 19. Robert Wrare. of Anuel-court, 1 hn'emorton-street, clock and watch manufacturer, for certain im|)rovem»-nts in the means and apparatus for extinguishing fire, ai.d in galvanic bat'enes. — June 19. GeiTge Rubarts, of Tavislock, Devon, geittleman, for certain improvements in clogs and pallen^.— June 19. (»asi'ard Mulo, of Diuikirk, France, &liipo^ner, for certain impro\emer.ts in [irc-pellsng veiaels.— June 20. AlACAZINK IM)R COJiN AT N OWOO I K <) K 9-.')75 so-.-irs ■29-b7'l ■20-!>ail L'a-Sil.'i ■.".I Cl)3 aa .-iia 2il-.i58 23 5;u 29'57? 29-587 ■.•9-.'i(i7 29-518 29 .'IMS 29 518 29-569 29-.i.'i0 29-61il! 29-.').')0 29-697 29-578 29-5i-2 29.n31 29424 29-584 62.9 52-2 52-0 54-1 .■126 53 8 .'•)23 5.-VR S3-6 53-5 52-7 53-0 56-6 53-2 il-V 62-6 61 9 6-.'-9 .'>2-0 52 6 52 5 51-2 61-3 52-4 511-9 .^2 6 61-1 62-9 60-9 50-5 49-ti 50-4 50-3 4!'-l 60-6 48-1 49-7 75-0 86-0 81-0 75 0 83-0 »6-2 81-0 870 82-0 »6-l 81-3 81-7 77-0 86-0 82-6 85-0 84-2 85-0 86-0 83-0 80-0 81-2 87-2 80-0 76-5 74-7 84 0 800 79 0 77 0 78-6 76-8 80-0 73-7 410 32-0 34-0 40 0 28-0 31 6 33-0 25 0 30-3 317 3t5 32-0 40 0 3li-0 29-9 29-0 31-0 32-0 30-9 30-8 30-0 30 3 29 8 29 0 32-4 36-7 260 30-II 279 31-0 32-5 27-1 32-0 33-0 10-2 161 16-4 11-6 15-C 19-8 16-6 21-5 20-3 17-5 18 1 12-1 21-0 19 5 21 4 19-2 18-7 19-1 19-2 15 3 16-7 20-8 17 8 13-5 l"-6 20 0 17-6 167 16 3 12-4 14-1 12 9 10-4 22-6 35-3 36-0 26-0 37-3 40-6 37-3 4«-3 38-0 425 38-5 40-5 2;i-3 44-0 41-3 43-1 40-6 40-7 41 9 41-0 ,"8 6 42-0 45 0 37-7 33-5 26-7 42-7 39 0 36-9 337 '3-2 39 8 32 3 29-5 34-0 S4-0 500 36 0 6,V« 64-6 48 0 620 51-7 53-4 50 8 497 37 0 50-0 52-6 66'U 63-2 •M-O .=.2 2 60 0 60-9 57-4 51-0 43-1 38 0 58-0 60-0 51-1 46-0 46-0 49-7 48-0 40-7 DlrectioD. 48-3 •iS-6 46 8 46 6 47 5 47-7 49-3 4j I 48*5 42-4 46-9 43-8 41-4 46-3 44 1 47-3 47-3 45 6 45-9 43-9 45-5 46-7 45-8 43-7 h6-7 442 44-3 42 3 44-4 44-S 44-8 44-4 44-6 W. S.W.&N.W Var. W. &N.E. N. 'c S.W. Var. Var. S.W. S.W. Var. S. & W. S.W. &N.E S.W.&N.E, S.W.&N.W N.E. N.E.&S.W S.W. N.E.&S.W. S. &S.W. N.E. N.E. S.W. S. Var. Var. W. N.E.&S.W, S.W. Var. S.E. & N.W. Var. In. 7-2 8-4 8-7 8-8 7-7 9-0 7-7 9.1 10-1 5-6 5-6 6-7 5-6 6-1 5-4 40 3-9 4-8 63 4'9 6-2 4 1 4-9 6 2 !->-6 61 42 50 5-1 95 4-6 6-4 4-8 S 2 0-864 0-747 1-1 0-768 1-0 0-800 0-9 0-il3 0-704 0-799 0 764 0-847 0 712 0-734 0-719 0 777 0-778 0-762 0-860 0-834 0-778 0-840 0-785 0 789 0848 0-790 0782 0-819 0-744 0-820 0-799 0798 0-860 0-839 0 804 0 934 S a 46 5-0 4-4 6-0 4-0 4-7 4-2 4-3 4-4 4-4 47 49 4-5 4-6 42 45 4-6 4-6 2-9 4-7 4 2 4-3 43 43 4-3 4.4 43 43 .c c 140 180 65 169 107 160 !7i' 284 320 280 290 313 210 270 ion 23 39 103 144 260 37 115 1-25 381 50 90 340 90 KaUBS op THB Obsbbtbbs. Dr. Hosklns, F.H.S. M. P. Moyle, esq. L. Squire, esq. E. Vivian, esq. Dr, Barham Dr. Shapter W. Hills, esq. C. L. Prince, «8q. John Drew, esq , F. R A.S. The Astronomer Royal Mr. William Elhs George Leach, esq. David Slate, esq. Thomas Dell, esq. Rev. J.B. Reade, F.E.S. Dr. Lee, F.R.S. Rev. C. Lowndes, P.R.A.S. John Osborn, esq., Junr. M. J. Johnson, esq. ,F.R. A.S, Rev.T.81atter.esq.,F.R.A.S, S.C.Whitbread.esq.F.n.A.S, W. Brooke, esq.. F.R.A.S. 1 he Earl of Leicester £. J, Lone, esq. John Davis, esq. G. Vernon, esq. Dr. Woffatt. F.K.AS. John Hartnup.esq., F.R.A.S. W. R. Milner, esq. C. Charnnck, esq. Rev. A. Weld, F.R.A.S. John Ford, esq. J. F. Miller, esq., P.R.S. R. C. Carrington, esq. G. Moras, esq. R. Spence, esq. Dr. H. D.Thomson The mean of the numbers in the first column is 29-561 inches, and it re- presents that pnrtion of the reading of the barometer due to the pressure of air; the remaining portiim, or that due to the pressure of water, is 0-322 inches: the aura of those two numbers is 29-874 inches, and it represents Quarterly Meteorological Table for different Parallels of Latitude. the mean reading of the barometer for the quarter ending June 30, 1850. — By taking the mean of the numbers in the preceding Talile for those places situated between different parallels of latitude, the following Table was foriued. s bo U) o o -> < I« c " S c s In the Counties of Cornwall i and De*on»bire J o o o o 0 o in. gr. «r- in. Rr. ft. 63-5 81-5 34-4 13-3 32-8 47-1 476 5-2 40 8-3 4-1 1-0 -796 4-8 534 122 South of Latiiufltfs 62^ 53-0 83-4 312 13-7 40-2 62-2 46-0 6-7 43 6-0 3-8 1-1 -773 4-5 632 230 Between the Latitudes of W^ i mulW^ / 52-0 82 3 30-0 17-9 41-0 52-3 45 5 68 41 4-8 3-7 0-9 -808 4 5 533 66 Between the Latitudes of 5;i° \ aud540 ; 79-3 29-5 166 37-2 49 6 44-1 6-7 46 5-8 3-6 0-9 •789 4-1 533 179 Liverpool and Whilehaven 616 76-6 34-6 11-5 30-0 420 457 6-3 40 5-3 3-8 0-8 ■840 4-5 636 37 Diirhnm, North Shields, and i Newcastle j 49-3 76-8 30-7 12-5 33-9 46-1 446 6-3 47 6-2 3-6 0-7 ■859 4-3 536 340 49-7 -• •• -• •• •• •• •• The highest readin({ of the thermometer in air was 87° at Uckfield and Nottingham ; and the lowest readings were 25° at Uckfield, and 26° at ^^ iikefield. The extreme range of temperature during the quarter, in Eng. land, was therefore about GO^ The least daily ranges of temperature took place at Guernsey, Liverpool, anil North Shield.s — their mean value was 10-4"; and the greatest occurred at Uckfield, Aylesbury, and llartwcll, and their mean value was 21 3j. riie least monthly langcs of ti-m|icraliire occurred ;it (Iiieinsey, Torquay, and Liverpool— their mean value was 2j-i"; the greatest took place at Uck- field, Aylesbury, and Nottingham — their mean value was 45-8°. Kain fell on the least number of days, at Uelston, Holkham, and Norwich — the average number at these place.- was 33. It fell on the greatest num- ber of days at North Shields, Wakefield, and Derby — the average number at these places was 56. The places at which the largest falls took place were Southampton, Stonyhurst, and lilxeter; the aveiage amount at the6e places was 9'5 inches. The smallest falls occurred at llartwell, Holkham, and Liverpool, and their average was 4 inebcs. IPSO.] THE CIVIL EXGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 249 OPEN TIMBER ROOFS. Glances at the Structural Principle of the linnf of Westminster Hall, and the indications of a disused Method of .Supporting Roofs, afforded by existing evidences in this Countri/, and analogous Con- tinental Examples. By Thomas Mohkis, Esq., Architect. (Paper read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, June 'ittli.) Having a few years ago, in a paper to which you did me the honour to listen, treated on mediaival wooden roofs, and endea- voured to exemplify the structural principle of that of Westminster Hall, I have not read with indifference some recently published adverse opinions; and the grateful sense I entertain of your indulgence on former occasions, leads me, though with much diffi- dence, to bring a few remarks, thus directly, under the notice of gentlemen so highly qualified to exercise a judgment on the subject. As the opinions alluded to arose from the review of a popular and very useful collection of open timber church roofs, it may be at once stated, that these are so inferior in size and scientific development to the finer domestic specimens (the boldest eccle- siastical example scarcely exceeding thirty feet, while Westminster Hall is sixty-eight feet wide), that I regai-d the volume in question, and its authors, as perfectly unobnoxious to remark, in a critical consideration of the matter. Those, indeed, who, from a conviction of the highly suitable and effective character of the open wooden roof for sacred, as well as civil edifices, would wish to revive and extend its application at the present time on true principles, will, I think, prosecute their object, with the fairest aim at excellence, by the diligent examina- magnitude and ability of contrivance, than that of Westminster Hall. A recognition of the true system of its construction is calculated to be highly conducive to the progressive excellence of such works, and I shall esteem it a great satisfaction to be, however humbly, useful in so desirable a result. Two authorities condemnatory of this roof have been brought more prominently forward — namely, Mr. Bartholomew and Dr. Robison. The first of these says, "No work on the eartli perhaps exhibits more excellence of workmanship, and perhaps none shows more assiduity and skill of an inferior kind to obviate the thrusting power of the roof, but the whole being constructed on false and unscientific principles, it is in vain that this want of science is concealed by intricacy of framing and excellence of workmanship." If I am not mistaken, the writer here quoted has been entirely misled by the intricacy of the merely subordinate panelling or tracery; but as this will presently be more fully entered into, 1 shall proceed to Dr. Robison's view of the case. "Westminster Hall," he says, "exhibits a specimen of the false taste of the Norman roofs. It contains the essential parts indeed, very properly disposed: but they are hidden, or intentionally covered, with what is conceived to be ornamental, and this is an imitation of stone arches, crammed in between slender pillars, which hang down from the principal frames, trusses, or rafters. In a pure Norman roof, such as Turnaway Hall, the essential parts ai-e exhibited as things understood, and therefore relished." It is sui'prising that a paragraph, betraying such extreme ignorance of dates and architectural characteristics, should have emanated from a writer of the Doctor's standing, even in the last century, and yet more astonishing that it should be put forward by tion of those stupendous examples devoted to secular uses, in which the resources of art are most fully displayed. They will thus be best prepared to impart intrinsic merit to ecclesiastical works, too often left to rest their claim for respect on embellish- ments received from the carver or the colourist. Had we examples of this latter kind only, notwithstanding the poetically typical significance and elaboration of detail possessed by many, the charge against our ancestors of a total failure to assimilate open roofs with the compressible architecture, or that called Gothic, might have remained uncontroverted; but, fortu- nately, we have instances of the most successful treatment, and of such none are more worthy of admiration, both for unapproached a professional critic of the present day. It clearly shows, however, the impression that the internal parts of the truss reallj' depend from the main rafters. Excepting the lower part of the walls, the Norman hall of AVilliam Rufus was re-buUt three centuries after- wards by Richard the Second, who, on its completion, in the year 1399, solemnised Christmas by a characteristically splendid feast; and every lineament of the roof, so far from partaking of the Norman manner, proclaims its origin to have been late in the four- teenth century. The error in thus following Dr. Robison might alone warrant a doubt whether the concealments of which the writer who quotes him speaks actually exist, and whether his assertion, that "con- Si ?50 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [August, stnictivc principles, if true, must be anti-Gothic; that to make open roofs beautiful and truthful, all Gothic ideas must be relin- quished, &c.,"have received from himself the reflection befitting their unqualified expression. With res])ect to the remaining portions of the critique alluded to, I may say, with the editor of the journal in which it appeared, "that his arguments have not convinced ourselves;" and then I will proceed to bring under notice that key to the construction of this truly wonderful example of carpentry which I ventured to advert to in this Institute six years ago. It was, however, mentioned as one among a series, and the prominence that will be imparted to it by thug receiving your attention in a detached form will, no doubt, secure the removal of any error it may contain, and the candid admission of any merit it may possess. My observations went to show that the arch was not merely a very grand ornamental feature, but that it was absolutely tlie essential principle and weight-sustaining medium of the truss; and should this hypothesis prove correct, the propriety of the Gothic, or the compressible system of design in carpentry must, I conceive, be admitted. Commencing, then, with the great arch rib, which in its section is upwards of two feet each way, and spans the width of the hall, we find, that dividing the curve from the springing to the apex into three parts, the first of such divisions gives a point in the rib at which it is intersected bv a massive liorizontal beam of nearly equal dimensions with itself. This horizontal timber, called the hammer beam, extends outwards to the foot of the rafter, and is continued in tlie opposite or inward direction to the same extent, so that if secured on a central pivot, this timber might be acted upon as a scale-beam or lever of the first order, and if loaded equally at both ends would remain in its horizontal position, while tlie entire weight would be concentrated at the pivot and thrown upon the supporting arch. If, taking the hammer beam as a base, we draw a perpendicular line from the inner extremity, it will be found to cut the rafter, or surface of the roof, just midway between the foot and the ridge, and taking this rafter or surface line as the hypotenuse, a triangle will be completed. This ti'iangle will be found to have an exact counterpart in the upper half of the roof; but as the weight is proportionate to the superficial area, it is only necessary to explain that this area is divided longitudinally into two equal parts that under this divi- sional line a ])urlin exists, upon which is collected the weight of the upper half of the roof, and this weight is transmitted, by a vertical post, to the inner end of the hammer beam. The lower half of the roof discharges, in like manner, its weight on the outer end of the same timber, and the equipoise is thus rendered perfect. If the accuracy of tliis much be conceded, I think but little re- mains for discussion. The fitness of the skeleton for its intended purpose once seen and admitted — the graceful adaptation of the tracery, and minor arrangements for supporting the slighter parts by aid from the stronger will be manifest, and especially so when it is recollected that gravitation is not the only force to be resisted, but that the powerful action of tlie wind, on so large a plane, has also to be largely provided against. In tracing the history of these roofs, I have formed the opinion that their type is found in the stone gablets, or principals, employed in early halls, of which Conway Castle affords good examples, and a specimen also exists in the Manor House at Ightham, in Kent. Professor Willis lias remarked — " A small chapel at Capo di Bove, about a mile outside Porta S. Sebastiano, Rome, figured by Agincourt, has the roof entirely sustained by a series of pointed arches, resting on corbels, and entirely superseding the usual trusses." I have not met with this illustration, but by the kind- ness of Mr. Railtou, I can supply its place by the drawing of a chancel, in which he has carried the principle into effect. The more ancient employment of such gablets may be further referred to in the aisles of Hartlepool Church, Durham, where they exist in a perfect state ; and of St. Peter's, Northampton, where the remaining nortions clearly indicated (at the time of my visit a few years since) their original use. The nave of St. Peter's Church, I am inclined to think, had its roof supported by a series of such gablets, above the alternate piers. The Church of San Miniato, without the walls of Florence, has precisely this arrangement, ex- cept that the gablet occurs over every third pier only; but in other respects the quatrefoil plan of the pier, and the appropriation of two of the group of shafts to the support of the nave arches (one at the back for the gablet across the aisle, and the fourth in tlie front, which is carried up on the face of the clerestory, for sup- porting the arch and gable over the nave) are identical in the two churches. Speaking of San Miniato, Mr. Galley Knight observes—" Large arches are thrown at intervals over the nave, connected with smaller arches, which are thrown over the aisles, at once assisting to support the roof, banding the whole fabric together, and giving it additional strength. ^^ lien these arches occur, the pillars are exchanged for compound piers, one sliaft of which is carried up to meet the arch above." At San Zeno, Verona (a Romanesque edifice, begun in 1138, and finislied in 1178) every alternate pier is a massive collection of shafts, with ai-ches crossing the aisles and nave, as in the above instances. So striking indeed is the resemblance in these build- ings to many of our own Norman churches, where we find shafts carried up with no reference to the present roofs, and yet well adapted to the support of such gablets as I have been describing, tliat there seems good reason to conclude that such features were at one time very general in this country, as well as abroad, and the question addresses itself to the attention of those entrusted with the restoration of our more ancient churches. Previous to the date of the M'^estminster roof, timber arches had been applied in a form consonant to the general characteristics of their date, as at Nursted Court, near Gravesend, and other places; whether the hall of Rufus was entirely covered by wooden framing, or had stone supports, the construction in wood of such a gablet as we have been considering, was the task proposed to himself, and, in my humble opinion, nobly performed by the architect of Richard the Second. Of those indeed who, to prove the falsity of its principle, refer to the distortion it has sustained in four centu- ries-and-a-half, it may be fairly inquired, whether the many failures in masonry warrant the denial of truth in the theory of the arch altogether. The term " foliated" has been ably advocated as appli- cable to the later wooden roofs, but in examples antecedent to the introduction of foliations as a common aixhitectural feature, the roofs were, of course, without that characteristic; and in modern works where cusps are excluded, as in lancet buildings, they are, I presume, still generally and properly omitted. Such unfoliated roofs " possess," it has been said, " the merit of giving a grand and church-like, though simple effect, without doing violence to the genius of its material." They certainly embody, in an eminent degree, the principle of rendering elegant the essential construc- tive elements, and of avoiding adventitious parts for ornament alone. In concluding these remarks, I will advert for a moment only to the unfairness and futility of instituting comparisons between open wooden roofs and stone groinings, unless they were equally suited to our means, and depended for adoption entirely on choice. I am far from insensible to the charm of "the fretted vault," but where is an example as capacious as Westminster Hall, doubling, as it does, the breadth of our widest cathedral nave? When wood, ap- plied to the purpose of groining, is painted, and made to represent stone, a deception is clearly practised; hut, regarding the arched ramifications of a natural grove as the type followed in ribbed vaultings, there would seem little impropriety in representing the "fair branches and shadowy shroud" of the cedar fairly and osten- sibly in timber. The subterfuges witnessed in the wooden groining over parts of St. Alban's Abbey, York Minster, and other buildings, are, doubtless, owing to the ponderosity of stone. The sacri- fice of internal height, which many of our finest edifices have sustained from the introduction of stone groining (and which would bequite destructive of effect in buildings of wide proportion), lays them open to the severe remark upon the sjdendid outer dome of St. Paul's, of being "a mere imposing show, constructed at a vast expense, witliout any legitimate reason;" for it need not be men- tioned, that the groined ceiling never supersedes the ordinary roof, and between the two there often exists a chamber of con- siderable height, not only for the purpose of increasing tlie weight of the walls, and their ability to resist the thrust of the groin, but also to admit of building the latter under cover. The cost of the centring alone for a stone ceiling would, probably, pay for the deco- ration of an open roof; and the value of fair groining, if taken at fifty pounds a square, which experience enables me to state as a proximate sum, would place it quite beyond general application. \\'hile economy therefore confines us almost exclusively to the open form of roof, it is gratifying to experience the conviction, that it is truthful in principle, and, when artistically treated, ca- pable of displaying, in the fullest and most graceful manner, the entire capacity of the building it covers. Jii'marks. — Jlr. Donaldson thought that Mr. jMorris h.id confined his remarks somewhat too exclusively to the peculiarities of construction in the rouf of U'estmiiister H.ill. He had not, in 18J0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 251 his opinion, sufficiently alluded to the numerous other examples of a similar kind existinj,' in this country. It should be borne in mind, that in the roof of Westminster School, of which a drawing was exhibited, it had been found necessary to introduce cross tie- rods to connect the opposite hammer beams. It was a remarkable fact, that tlie flyinjj buttresses of Westminster Hall are not placed exactly opi)osite tlie principals of the roof, and tliat a straight joint is to be seen between them and the wall: this would tend to prove that the stability of the roof is not dependent on them, and that they had been probably added at a late period, when the walls had evinced signs of weakness. Mr. MoBRis replied, that the object of his paper had been to show that the arch-ribs of \Vestminster Hall are not mere orna- mental portions of the structure, but that the weight of cither side of the roof is brought to bear upon two of tlie strongest points of each rib. At Eltham the same principle was carried out, some eighty years later than in the present case. JMr. T. T. BuEY (Fellow), mentioned, that in the clerestory roof of St. Mary's, at Bury St. Edmund's, tlie hammer-beam con- struction is introduced alternately with the single arch-rib, and produces a varied and good eftect. Mr. Bellamy (Fellow), thought that no one could look at the roof of Westminster Hall without feeling assured of its stability; and he was astonished, that after it had stood the test of time during four centuries-and-a-half, any one should venture, not only to decry its beauty, but actually to call in question its principles of construction. Mr. C. 11. SiiiiTH stated, that upon a close inspection of this roof, he had ascertained that the foot of the arch-rib did not rest upon the projecting portion of the moulded stone corbel, but that an actual space existed between them; and he had been informed by a competent authority, that this is the case with many similar roofs. Mr. Fowler, V.P., said, that he also had an opportunity of closely inspecting the construction of the roof of Westminster Hall at the time of the erection of the lantern, and of the general repair some thirty years ago, and he had observed the expedients adopted to secure the roof, by means of bolts and ties, which compensated for the decay of the pins and tenons of the framing, but were not required from any defect in the principles of the construction. With respect to the paper which had been read, he gave the author great credit for his ingenious explanation of the principle on wliich this roof was constructed — viz., that of equi- poising different portions, and eventually bringing their whole weight to bear upon the points best adapted to receive it. Mr. Smith's observations respecting the corbels did not, in his opinion, tend to disprove the theory advanced by Mr. Morris, but rather showed the prudence of those who constructed the roof; it would certainly have been very injudicious to allow the feet of the ribs to impinge upon the extreme ends of the corbels, weakened as they were, to some extent, by the mouldings. The ribs were, doubtless, continued into the solid of the wall. He was glad to see that this mode of construction was not only admired, but had actually been carried eut in some of our modern buildings. Mr. TiTE (Fellow), thought that all the theoretical objections to the principle of construction of such roofs as Westminster Hall were most satisfactorily answered, by the mere fact of theii having stood the test of centuries; and he thought we might be well satisfied, could we assure ourselves that the roofs erected in our time would be in as good a state of preservation 450 years hence as that now covering \Vestminster Hall. He also observed, that all tie-beam roofs are liable to objection, on account of the shrink- ing and deflection of the timbers. Mr. Penrose (Fellow), thought that the arched form of the rib had more to do with the appearance than with the stability of the roof. He remarked, that in the roof of Westminster Hall timbers acting as struts had been introduced between the main ribs and the principal rafters; and he was inclined to consider that the real advantage of the ribs consisted in their acting also as struts, and, at the same time, binding the whole frame-work together. It should be remembered that there were many roofs formed on the tie-beam principle, which were w ell worthy of commendation — as, for instance, that of St. Nicholas, at Lynn, in Norfolk, and many others in Somersetshire; and it must not be forgotten, that these roofs can be executed at a far less outlay than those constructed on the arch principle. Mr. G. G. Scott (Fellow), considered that the curved, or arched rib, was not useless. Its object was not so much to bear any portion of the weight of the roof as to prevent it spreading outwards. This was done also, to some extent, at King's College. In a roof of 68 feet span, without a tie-beam, like that of ^Festminster Hall, we had no right to complain of the existence of buttresses; but, in his opinion, they were used rather as a precaution, than from necessity. It miist be remembered that the walls were 300 years older than the roof; and it was very probable that the buttresses were erected with the view of counterbalancing any weakness that might have been produced by such a lapse of time. Had the walls been new, buttresses, in such an erection, could not be condemned. The Chairman thought it was wortliy of remark, that the buttresses are so constructed as not to give their resistance at the point where the gi-eatest lateral thrust is exerted — viz., at the level of the stone corbels. Mr. G. G. Scott drew attention to the roof of a remarkable ruin at Mayford, in Sussex, which was of 40 feet span, and had stone principals, or gablets; the walls were of moderate thickness; and, although the hall had been in ruins 300 years, these stone principals wei-e quite sound. The Chairman. — The roof was counterbalanced by buttresses. Mr. Scott. — Yes; but the buttresses are in ruins, while the arches or principals are yet sound. The vote of thanks to Mr. Mobbis was then put and carried. TO the editor of the c.b. and a. journal. Sir — In the paper read by Mr. Morris at the Institute, on the structural principles of the Roof of Westminster Hall, I have noticed what I consider to be an error in the principles of equili- bration that he assigns to that structure, and on which I have a few remarks to make. I agree with Mr. Morris that the great arch ribs are not merely ornamental additions to, but princi- pal supports of the roof; at the same time I must differ from him' as to the system of equilibrium that he puts forward. If I under- stand Mr. Morris rightly, he says that the weight of the upper part of the roof is transmitted by means of the posts to the inner ends of the hammer-beams, which form levers, being balanced at their centres on the lower part of the arch ribs. Now, if the posts do not rest on the arch ribs, at the points A-,/, this assumption is per- fectly correct. The upper part of the roof being prevented by the collar-beam from sj)reading, may be considered as resting on the inner ends of the hammer-beams, by means of the posts d,f, e, jr, and pressing vertically with half its weight on each. iMr. Morris then says: "The lower half of the roof discharges in like manner its weight on the outer end of the same timber, and the equipoise is thus rendered perfect." Now, to this I demur. The weight of the lower part of the roof d, b,f, will act vertically, not at the outer end h, of the hammer-beam, but in the vertical line drawn through its own centre of gravity; and if the great arch rib inter- sect the centre of the hammer-beam, then at the point of intersec- tion. (This is speaking of the roof covering only, without reference to the weight of the "frame; if this be considered as well, the vertical action of the lower half of the roof d., b,J\ will be inside the point A, in consequence of the greater weight of the post rf,/, and the framing on that side of the point.) The lower portions of the roof posite to the mill race. The mill race itself, in ordi- nary states of the river, offers an opening of 68 feet wide hy 6 feet high. It can be closed at the head, and an overflow sluice is constructed to carry off the water in this case, without passing through the wheels. The race is 419 feet long, by 110 feet wide, and from 16 to 60 feet in de]ith. The engine-house is built for 8 wheels and pumps; each pump lifts actually 530,000 gallons per 24. hours. It is calculated that one gallon of water raises one other gallon into the reservoirs by its action on the wheels; but this action appears to be considerably exaggerated. The wheels are 16 feet diameter, by 15 feet in width, and they make 13 revolutions in a minute; they are capable of functioning even when there is 16 inches of water o\er the wheel. The floods, indeed, are a serious inconvenience upon this river, for they appear to cause the mills to lose 64 hours every month. The pumps liave 6 feet stroke; the water is lifted 9'i feet into the reservoir.s, through cast-iron pipes 16 inches diameter. The reservoirs are situated at 102 feet above the low-water mark of the Delawaie, and 56 feet above the average level of the streets of Pliiladeli)hia. They are four in number, covering a surface of 6 acres, with a depth of 12ft. 3in., and they contain 22,000,000 gallons of water. The cost of constructing these reservoirs was about 29,000/. sterling. Jn consequence, also, of the very intelli- gent manner in which the engineers have availed themselves of the natural power furnished by the river, the annual expenses incurred to secure a supply of 3,122,644 gallons daily are only about 2,800/. per annum. The Croton Aqueduct of New York is, however, the work upon which the American engineers pride themselves the most; and it must, injustice, be allowed to be an extraordinary work, although far inferior to many of those we have hitherto considered. This aqueduct was constructed at the expense of the city of New York, under the control of a commission of the Common (-ouncil. The preliminary surveys appear to have been made by Mr. David B. Douglas, and the works were executed under the superintendence of Mr. John B. Jervis. The Croton River takes its rise from a series of large ponds, or lakes, the aggregate of whose surface areas is about 3800 acres, which are principally situated in the county of Putnam, at a distance of about 50 miles from the city of New York. The dam built for the purpose of forming the fountain reservoir is situated about 38 miles from that town; and in the precise locality in question the medium quantity of water flowing in the river is above 50,000,000 gallons in the 24 hours, whilst in seasons of drought it has never been known to fall short of 27,000,000 gallons. The dam across the Croton is in this place raised 38 feet above the level of the river in its natural state, and by this means it sets back the water six miles up the country, forming the fountain reservoir, whose surface is 400 acres. Excavations were made wherever the shores assumed a gentle slope, so as to create a minimum depth of water of at least 4^ feet. The available capa- city of this reservoir, down to the level where the water would flow off by tlie aqueduct, has been estimated to be equal to 600 million gallons. The height of 38 feet, quoted above, is the height at which the aqueduct receives the water from the reservoir. The surface of this fountain reservoir is 166^ feet above the mean level of the tides at New York; the surface of the receiving reser- voir on the island is 119 feet above the same level; so that the total fall from the one to the other is 47^ feet. The distributing reservoir is 1 15 feet above the mean level of the tides, and regulates the height to which the water can be delivered in the city. The water is led from the fountain reservoir the whole length of the way in a clcsed conduit of masonry, except in crossing the river Harlem to reach the New York island, and in passing a deep valley in the island itself. In these cases, as the principle of the syphon was employed, cast-iron |>i])es were introduced. The general description of the conduit may be considered to be as follows: — A bed of concrete is formed, consisting of three parts of sand to one of hydraulic lime worked up into a mcu-tar, and then mixed with three jiarts in bulk of sharp gravel or broken stone to one of mortar; well ranmied in place, not shot in, as is our very absurd English practice. V\>un this the side walls are executed in rubble stone set in hydraulic mortar in the above jiropoi tions. Tbe face of these walls is then rendered with a coat of hydraulic mortar, about g-inch in thickness, which is also laid on the concrete. The proportions of sand to lime in this rendering coat are two of sand to one of lime. A facing of sound, hard, well-burnt, and carefully selected bricks, is then built u]i in hydraulic lime upon this coat of renderinT mostly of half-a-brick in thickness for the sides and the invert; the top is vaulted over in two half-brick rings; and, Mherever it is possible, covered with four feet of earth, to remove the aque- duct from the influence of the external atmosphere. The width of the conduit at the bottom is usually 6 ft. 9 in.; at the springing of the semicircular vault 7 ft. 3 in.; the versed sine of the invert is 9 inches; the height from the chord line of the invert to that of the vault is 4 feet. Occasionally the form of the conduit varies; hut the above may be considered as the general description. Under all circumstances, it is made so as to receive and to discharge 60,000,000 gallons in the twenty-four hours. In traversing valleys, the conduit is carried upon a wall of solid masonry, executed in rubble stone, set in hydraulic mortar. The whole is then covered over with earth, carefully rammed, and the slopes pitched with dry stones. These precautions are neces- sary to secure the water from the severe frosts of the North American winters. The dimensions of the concrete floor of the side walls, and of the spandril filling, are increased; and the proportion of hydraulic lime to sand is augmented to one of lime to two of sand, for all parts of the work. Great pains were taken to secure the stability of the aqueduct when it was carried upon the hill side, by forming culverts, or paved drains to carry any torrential waters away from the foundations, which were cut into the hills. W^iste weirs, with sluice gates, are provided for the discharge of any surplus water, or for the purpose of leaving the aqueduct dry in case repairs should be required. There are six of these weirs in the length of the aqueduct. Ventilators, formed of hollow cylinders of stone, 14 feet above the surface of the ground, are placed at distances of one mile apart ; and every third one is made with a door to admit of inspection of the conduit. The interior diameter of the common ventilators is 2 feet ; that of the ventilators with doors, 4 feet. The latter are placed by the side of the conduit, to give room for a staircase leading to the bottom; the cill of the door being made 12 feet above the lowest point of the invert. The ordinary ventilators are placed immediately upon the centre line of the aqueduct. All of them are covered over with iron gratings. Besides these ventila- tors there are man-holes, placed every quarter-of-a-mile asunder, about 2 feet square. They are covered with a stone dam])er. The Gate-chamber at the fountain reservoir is established nearly at the bottom of the artificial lake, and is situated at the extremity of a tunnel about 200 feet long, which separates it from the reservoir itself. The centre of the tunnel is 12 feet below the surface of the water; so that floating bodies are not likely to be carried into it, nor during the winter season can any intermission take place in the supply from the reservoirs being frozen. In sum- mer also the water « ill be drawn from a level where it is at a lower degree of temperature than at the surface. At the Gate- chamber are the regulating gates, and the guard gates, necessary to controul the supply. The total distance between the fountain reservoir and the receiving reservoir is 201,1 17't2 feet, or 38'09 miles. The total fall is 43^^ feet. The least incline is 7J inches in a mile; the greatest is about 13i inches per mile. The syphon upon the Har- lem River Bridge is 1377^ feet long, with a difference of level between the two extremities of 2'29 feet. The other syphon in the Manhattan Valley is 4105 feet long, with a difference of level of 3'86 feet, to overcome the friction in the pipes. The depth of the water in the aqueduct at its entry into the fountain reservoir is Ty'^ft. above the bottom of the invert. The average sectional area of the aqueduct is made 53-34 square feet. The curves used to change the direction of the line of the aqueduct are never less than 500 feet; some ha\e a radius of 1000 feet; but 500 is the radius usually adopted in preference. The velocity of the water has been ascertained to be I5 mile per hour, when there is 2 feet depth of water in the aqueduct. During the construction of the dam at the fountain reservoir, and very shortly before the completion of the works, a most ex- traordinary Hood took place, which carried away the greater por- tion of the dam, and spead ruin and desolation through the valley. Dwelling-houses, mills, and everything the stream met with in its first fury, were swept away, and three lives were lost. In repairing the dam, the breach was filled-in with masonry instead of earth- work, and it has since resisted very successfully. The masonry of isso.l THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 261 3» 4 1 1--150FJ- i^fiirit the dam is 8 feet wide at the top and 65 feet wide at the bottom, vertical to the stream, with occasional off-sets. The lower or down side has a curved face, so that the water does not fall verti- cally upon the apron at the foot. In order to guaran- tee the foot of the dam against the undermining action of the cataract, a secondary dam has been formed at a small distance to retain a head of water over the apron, so as to break the force of the water falling, upon it. On the upside m the masonry of the dam a slope in earth, with an incline of 1 in 5, is executed, extending 275 feet into tlie reservoir .at the foot. The whole length of the overfall is 251 feet. In the course of the pas- sage from the fountain reservoir above 11 tunnels and 14 small bridges were executed. At a pointcalled Sing-Sing-Kill, there is, moreover, a bridge travers- ing a small stream of 88 feet opening, with a rise of 33 feet, of an elliptical form. The bottom of the ravine is 70 feet below the underside of the key, so that we may fairly ask why the engineer should have gone out of his way to employ the most difficult and expensive form of arch, instead of at once making it a semicircular one? The bridge over the Harlem River is, however, the great boast of our ; transatlantic bretliren. The i_ height from the foundations in the river to the top of the work, is 150 feet; the width across the top, 21 feet. The distance be- tween the extremes of the pipes is 1377; feet; for the distance of 18 feet at each end there is an inclination, tlie rest is upon the le\ el. The bottom of the pipes is below the le\el of the aqueduct, on the upper side 12i%th feet; on the lov»er it i§ 10i%th feet. On the south side of the rivtr there is an arch of 50 feet span; across the ri\er there are eight arches of 80 feet span each; and on the north side there are six arches of 50 feet span each; making in all 15 arches. We may justly question the policy of the engineer whohas burthened the water supply with the maintenance of these sy- phon pipes for the sake of saving, at most, 12^ feet of additional masonry in the piers. iS-F.t k There is a very important syphon in the Manhattan Valley, whicli carries the water over a depression of 102 feet in the deepest part. Provision is made for laying down four pipes, 5 feet in diameter. Temporarily only two are fixed, which are sufficient for the present demands of the city. The receiving reservoirs are skilfully constructed, with a depth varying from 20 to 30 feet of water. The retaining walls are executed partly in masonry towards tlie streets, with a batter of 1 in 3; the inside is of earth, puddled, and covered with dry pitching, laid and dressed ofi' to a slope of Ig to 1. Tlie total surface of these reservoirs is nearly 31 acres; their contents are estimated at about 150,000,000 imperial gallons. The distributing reservoir is situated about two miles from the receiving reservoirs. It is 420 feet square on the top, with about 3(i feet depth of water when full, and is calculated to hold about 20,000,000 gallons. The total cost of the aqueduct and the reservoirs was about 9,000,000 dollars, or 1,800,000/. sterling, without including the pijies for the town supply. These latter, added to the above cost, make the total expense incurred by the municipality for its water supply amount to the sum of 12,000,000 dollars, or 2,400,000/. nearly. Geo. R. Burnell. PURIFYING AND FILTERING WATER. On the Purifying and Filtering of targe bodies of Water for supplying extensive and populous Towns. By James Henbekson, C.E., Glasgow. Rain water, immediately after it has fallen, is generally consi- dered the purest of all natural waters, and being the great sourc« from which all streams and rivers are supplied and more easily obtained in large quantities than spring water, it forms the best supply for large and populous towns. But as the rains which fall on the surface of the earth collect and flow from their various sources into their different channels, and from thence into the streams and rivers which convey them back again to the ocean, they become impregnated with various earthy, mineral, and organic substances. Vii'xih. many of these, owing to the great solvent power which water possesses, it chemically combines; while with others it forms only a mechanical mixture, the impurities being simply held in suspension. These latter impurities, together witli all insects, animalculae, &c., can be removed by a proper system of filtration ; but those which are chemically combined with the water cannot thus be separated. Tlie nature and quantity of the impurities in streams and rivers depend on the nature of the contributing ground, and the state of the weather; which causes, and more esiiecially the latter, pro- duce great variations in their purity — the same stream or river which, during a succession of fine weather, is comparatively pure, becoming, during heavy floods, loaded with a large accumulation of earthy and other impurities. This being the case, it is highly essential, that before water is let on to a filter, it should be impounded in a reservoir, so as to purify to a certain extent by subsidence. V\ hen the stream which supplies the town is not large enough to admit of giving a suflicient quantity at all seasons of the year, the impounding of the waters becomes, of course, one of tlie main principles of the system, in order to retain a sufficient supply in storage when the run in the stream is deficient in dry summer weather; but when the river is large enough at all seasons to give an adequate supply, it still becomes highly essential fii-st to impound its waters in a reservoir for the sake of subsidence; and the lai-ger tliat reservoir can be obtained, so much the better. In some water- works, where the supply is from a large river, the principle of subsidence is particularly attended to, while in others the water is taken directly from the river on to filter ; thus greatly increasing the difficulty of supplying pure water to the inhabitants at all seasons. Indeed, in all such water-works during heavy floods, excejit where some peculiarly advantageous circumstances exist, the supplying of the inhabitants with muddy water becomes almost unavoidable, the filter bed in ashort time becoming so much loaded with silt as to be incapable of passing a sufficient supply, and to make up the deficiency the water has to be sent in as it comes from the river. The impounding of the waters in large reservoirs, besides being advantageous by allowing many of the impurities to subside, owing to its thus being more exposed to the influence of the sun and air. 2G-> THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [ACGIST, and t}ie action of the winds, tlje waters are still further purified, as they have a tendency to j,^ve i>ff, wlien thus exposed, many of the gases they may have combined with during the decomposition of animal and vegetable matter, which gases cannot otherwise be removed by nitration: it has likewise the effect of removing hard- ness from the water, and rendering it more fit for all domestic and other purposes. The Thames water, for instance, owing to its being much loaded with organic matter received from the towns and villages on its banks, after being kept for two or three months in a closed cask, when opened, the water is found to be black, nauseous, and unfit for use; but on being exposed and agitated it deposits a ([uantity of slimy mud, and becomes clear and sweet. The water, after having been allowed to subside, the next point to be attended to is the process of filtration, in order to remove all the remaining impurities. In all filters, the great principle to which attention should be most particularly directed, is that of having a large extent of filtering surface, it being greatly owing to want of attention to such an important point that is to be attri- buted the inefficiency of the filters of many water-works. The great aim in the construction of many filters, is that of having the bed of sufficient fineness, so as to prevent the impurities from passing through, causing the filter bed thus to act like a sieve. Besides this, however, in order to filler water thoroughly, another important principle should be brought into operation — namely, that of attraction; and the only way by which advantage of this principle can be obtained, is by having a large filtering surface, so that the water may percolate very slowly through the filtering material. If a stone, for instance, be suspended in muddy water, it will be found very soon coated all round with the impurities in the water, caused by the attraction wliich exists between the impurities and the stone, the latter, as it were, forming a nucleous to which these impurities adhere. On the same principle, if the water is allowed to percolate very slowly through the material composing the bed of filter, while the whole surface will still act like a sieve to prevent the passage of many of the impurities, each particle of the material is brought more fully into operation in removing the finer particles of the impurities carried along with the water. The filtered water is thus rendered more pure and pellucid; very fine material becomes unnecessary, and the filter bed will continue for a much longer time in good and efficient working order. AVhen the filter bed is too small, as the water must of course pass quickly through, fine material becomes almost indispensable, to prevent the quick percolation of the water from carrying many of the impurities with it ; the consequence is, that it soon becomes silted up, and requires continual cleansing; and previous to being cleansed, recourse is not unfrequently had to that of forming holes in the material, in order to make it more open; or, as I have already observed, filter as much as they can, and make up the deficiency by unfiltered water. It may, indeed, be taken as a general principle, that the smaller the bed of filter, in proportion to the amount of filtered water required, the finer must be the material it contains, in order to remove tlie impurities; and, on the contrai-y, the larger the bed the coarser the material. ^V'ith regard to the speed with which the water should be allowed to percolate through tlie filtering material, much will depend on the state of the water previous to being let on to the bed of the filter. In the most of filters at water-works the speed will be found to range from 25 feet and upwards per day, and even that is not regular in many cases; but in general, the' water should not be allowed to percolate more than from 10 to 20 feet per day, passed regularly through during the whole 21. hours. To many, this speed being only from 5 to 10 inches per hour, may seem much less than there is any need for; but, taking everything into con- sideration, water companies, by making their filters so as to come within this limit, they would be enabled to filter all the water sent in for supply, and very materially diminish the yearly expense for cleansing. Tabfe showing the number nf Cubic Feet and Im/ierial Galhns of Filtered Water One Acre of Filterint/ Surface is capadlc of furnishing^ the Water bcin'i allowed to percolate llirough the maleriat from 10 feet to 20 feet per day. Cubic feet. Feet per Doy. 10 «.5,fiOO 11 479,160 12 522.720 13 hCS.iSa 14 60S.S40 15 6.13,400 Imp. Gul. 2.722.r.00 2.Ua4,750 3 2l!7.0il0 3.53a,2.'>0 3,81 1. .WO 4.IW3.750 Water can be filtered by passing it through the material in an upward, downward, or horizontal direction; in springs it passes Feet per D;.y. 16 17 18 la 20.... Cubic feet. loip. gal. . ft«i,!«;0 . 7411..') 20 . 7s4.f!i0 , S27.C40 . S71,200 4,3.'i6,000 462S.2.'iO 4,'JUl>,.'i00 5.l72,7,-i0 5,445,0110 along in various directions, according as it finds a passage through the different strata in its course. ^Vith artificial filters, however, the same will not apply, as in the construction of these it is neces- sary to take into account the process of cleansing. Upward filtra- tion is, no doubt, the best, as the sediment, on account of its weight, tends to fall downward while the water is flowing up- ward; but in the cleansing of such filters there are many difficulties to contend with, as since the sediment or silt lies mostly at the bottom, the whole material requires to be taken out before the silt can be either partially or wholly removed. Horizontal or oblique filtration has similar objections. In practice the downward system has been found to suit best, as the great body of the impurities lie near the surface, and the bed of filter can l)e partially cleansed by scraping, as is sometimes done, or more effectually by reversing the direction of the water, as will be afterwards explained. The material through wliich to filter water should be of such a nature as will remain unchanged, be imputrescent, capable of allowing the water to pass through, and which does not change in its mechanical structure— such as broken granite, trap rock, and hard gritty freestone, silicious sand, pebbly and hard gravel, clean ashes, &e.; that which is most generally employed is silicious sand and gravel; broken trap rock and freestone being only used when good coarse gravel cannot be got in sufficient quantities; they, however, suit exceedingly well for a coarse filter bed, and in many cases are even preferable to the gravel. Indeed, it has been observed, that when water passes along a bed composed of rocks of the trap, or amygdaloid species, a kind of natural filtration is effected — so much so, that even moss water is rendered in some cases comparatively pure. As to the fineness of the silicious sand, none finer than that obtained on exposed parts of the coast should be used, and it is even advisable to free that of much of its finer particles. Sometimes only the finest of the sea sand is employed; but when the filter is of large extent compared to the quantity of %vater required to be furnished, a good bed of coarse silicious sand, plentifully intermixed with pebbly gravel, makes a much better filter. The use of fine sand is one of the great mistakes committed in many filters at present in operation, as they always become ineffective at times when most required, besides entailing a large annual expense for cleansing. The next important matter connected with filtration is the best construction of filters, so as to act effectually, and admit of being easily cleansed. I have already observed, that the most practical system of filtration is xvhen the water is allowed to flow downwards through the material, as by this means the filter admits of being much easier cleansed; and further, it may now be observed, that in order to get advantage of the whole surface of filter bed, the filter should be so arranged that the water, when let on, will spread equally amongst the whole material of said bed. In many existing filters the water is let on by various openings, and the filtered water is taken away at a level with the bottom, either by drains or by a false bottom below filtering material. In such filters the water which is let on, when the material is quite clean, will be observed to spread only a small distance from the inlet, and then disappear; but as the material becomes silted up, it gradually spreads farther on to the bed of filter, and it is only when the whole is silted up that the water spreads over the entire surface. In such a filter the actual filtering surface becomes only a part of the whole, and the coarser the material the less will that part be; and, even although the whole surface be of large extent, very slow filtration is not obtained; fine material, consequently, becomes necessary, in order to cause the water to spread over a larger part of the entire surface, as well as to prevent the impu- rities from passing through. Were the water, by some means or other, caused to fall on the entire surface in drops like rain, the whole would be brought at once into operation, and by having a large surface slow filtration would be obtained, and fine material become unnecessarv. That of getting the water to fall equally over the whole surface not being easily attained, especially in a large filter, the next best system is that of raising the level at which the filtered water escapes, thus causing the water, as it is let on, to be dammed back amongst the filtering material, which consequently becomes fully s.iturated, and is all brought more or less into operation : besides, tlie pressure of water, by raising the outlet, being taken off, the sand bed especially does not become so soon consolidated, as will be observed to be the case when the outlet is at the lowest part of the filter. \Vhere such a system has been adopted the water is observed to rise in the bed of filter as the material becomes silted up, forming a thin sheet over the whole surface. Dui-ing hot summer weather this thin sheet of water has a tendency to become 1850.1 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL 263 heated and burned by the strong rays of the sun; and when there is much organic matter in the water it becomes a living mass of animalculae, and even at some times will be found frogs, and great numbers of tadpoles. This living mass, of course, causes the sand to silt up much sooner, but generally does not affect the purity of the water when filtered, being entirely excluded by the material in filter bed; but the strong rays of a summer sun beating on the surface, by burning it, as it is termed, tends to give the water a slight taste and light brownish colour, which, although not to be detected in small, is quite perceptible in large quantities. Among bleachers this effect of the sun is a well-known fact, their pure water, by this cause, being not unfrequently rendered unfit for the required purpose. In order to avoid this, and still dam back the water, a sluice should be fixed on the outlet, by means of which the superintendent, during summer, can gradually raise or lower the level of overflow at said outlet, as he "observes the water rising or falling in filter bed; by this means he can prevent the water from spreading on the surface in a thin sheet, and from being exposed and burned; and put a stop, to a great extent, to the rapid increase of animalculae; and as fur tadpoles, they could not exist. In cold weathei the same precaution becomes unnecessary; in fact, at such seasons, the water is improved by being exposed in thin sheets to the influence of the sun and air. For the cleansing of filters the system now sometimes adopted is, that of reversing the direction of the water, and conveying it away by drain, after coming to the surface, mixed with the silt. Sometimes the surface of bed is scraped — the former is, however, the better system; but on account of its not being suflSciently effectually applied, caused by the openings into drain not being properly placed, and the water sent up from below not sufficient either in quantity or pressure, in all cases where it has yet been applied its effect has been very partial, and recourse is not unfre- quently had to the scraping besides; but even in such cases, although its effect in removing the silt is so deficient, still it has the tendency to improve the workiug of the filter bed, owing to the material being rendered more loose and open; and when often repeated, the filter bed will continue to act for a considerable time, even after it has become very much loaded with impurities. Filters for this system of cleansing are generally constructed with a false bottom, formed by brick on edge, supporting perforated tiles, the water being let into this space by means of openings or pipes when the bed is required to be cleaned. Filters, in order to be properly cleansed by this system, should be so constructed as to admit of a large body of water being forced from below with sufficient pressure, so as to boil up and agitate the material of the filter bed, in order to free the sand of the silt; and still farther, to i-emove the impurities from the jiarticles of the sand during the time that the upward current is going on, it should be well raked with a large rake; or a harrow, loaded to keep it from floating, having ropes attached, and drawn backward and forward by two men, would answer better. The effect of this raking, besides loosening the impurities, tends to spread the boil- ing-up of the water equally over the whole surface, and not in detached patches, as is otherwise found to be the case. By this means, the water from below, as it rises and spreads itself over the bed of filter, will gradually get loaded with inipui-ities; and while thus loaded, were it conveyed to a drain, with a current sufficiently strong, so as to prevent these impurities from again settling on the sand, the object aimed at would be attained. In order to get a sufficient current to effect this purpose, the openings into drain should be on the same level as bed of filter, and so arranged that the run into each will be short — say about 20 feet. On di-ain, a sluice should be placed, so that when down the water would be prevented from getting away: it would thus keep gradually rising in the filter-bed, and if, after having acquired a depth of from 8 to 1'2 inches, this sluice was opened, owing to the short runs and the depth of water, there is little doubt but a strong current would be obtained, and the higher the water was allowed to rise before opening the sluice, the greater of course would be the current. In some existing filters, to cause a current, the water is let on to the surface at the same time that it is kept rushing up from below; by this system, however, it is clear there is a great loss of water, while it acts only a secondary part in the operation. But by taking all the water from below and creating a current by the system I have here mentioned, there is no waste of water, that which is used being all fully got advantage of, both foi the purpose of freeing the material in filter-bed of the silt, and for creating a current to carry it, when loaded with the impurities, quickly into drain. In order that the false bottom be enabled to stand the pressure of the water, it should be made much stronger than is generally done; the holes in tiles larger, so as to admit of the water getting freely up amongst the material; and to prevent the sand escaping from' these openings, the tiles should first be covered with a layer of broken stones and gravel. In the filtering of water, it is sometimes passed through various beds of different degrees of fineness, and sometimes only one. In cases where the water, by subsidence, can be rendered tolerably pure before being filtered, one large bed will be sufficient; but where its purity may vary much, more beds become necessary. In most cases two beds wiU be found quite sufficient, the one filled with a good thick bed of coarse gravel, and the other with good coarse silicious sand. If a sufficient quantity of coarse gravel cannot be easily obtained, broken granite, trap rock, or hard gritty freestone, will, as I have already observed, suit exceedingly well, continue in good working order for years, remove a large propor- tion of the grosser impurities, and thus render the water, before being let on to the sand bed, more equal in purity during all seasons. In concluding these remarks on the purifying and filtering of water, I may here simply observe, that in the construction of all filters connected with waterworks for supplying large and populous towns, in order that they may be cleansed without causing the necessity of supplying unfiltei-ed water, the filter bed should be divided into water-tight comparments, so as to admit of one part being cleansed while the others are in full operation. BRIDGE BUILDING IN AMERICA. At the Franklin Institute (U. S.), Mr. Solomon W. Roberts made some remarks upon bridges. He referred to the importance of economy in their construction, as large sums were often expended in such structures, when a less amount would answer the purpose. Suspension bridges, supported by iron chains or wire cables, sub- jected to a tensile strain, are comparatively cheap. When the material used is wrought-iron it is easy to make strong splices, but this is not the case with wood. Suspension bridges on a large scale cannot readily be built of wood, on account of the difficulty of tieing the timbers securely together and holding them fast. The bridges built by a person named Remington, about which a good deal was said in the newspapers not long ago, were wooden suspension bridges, on a small scale. It is believed that the first rude suspension bridges ever made were constructed of grape vines or some similar materials of vegetable growth. They were, of course, but of small dimensions. The railroads of our country abound in examples of economical bridge-building; and when we are informed that more than three millions of dollars have recently been expended in England, in building a railroad bridge about fifteen hundred feet long and one hundred feet high, it seems almost incredible. No doubt the difficulties were great, and no doubt the bridge in question is a magnificent structure: but a person accustomedi to the exigencies of engineering in America shrinks from the idea of such an outlay of capital. The wagon bridge across the Niagara river, below the Falls, is a cheap structure, the span being about seven hundred and fifty feet, and the lieight more than two hundred feet. It is understood that, at the same point, two able, experienced, and responsible engineers have offered to contract to build a substantial bridge for railroad trains across the most terrific torrent on the globe; and that the price asked by one was two hundred thousand dollars, and the other one hundred and ninety thousand dollars. At such prices the bridge would cost but little, if any, more than the interest for one year, at six per cent, of the cost of the tubular bridge across the Menai Strait. The cases were not alike, but they might serve to draw attention to the different circumstances under which engineering works, ai-e executed in England and America. — Journal of the Franklin Institute. The New American Gas Light. — By our advices from the United States, we learn that the excitement is still very great about Paine's system of gas-lighting hy decomposing water. It is looked upon as one of the great discoveries of the age, and very strong certificates are given by those who have seen the apparatus at work, the only part kept secret being the inte- rior disposition of the electrodes. A very strong controversy rages abo\it Mr. Paine's abilities as an engineer, but it is certain he has long held a good standing among the practical men of his locality. Enormous sums are offered for the patent, in case he succeeds in lighting Astor House. 2G4 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrS JOURNAL. [ArcvsT, ANOTHER PROJECT FOR THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE BRITISH iMUSEUM. In all prolialjility most of our readers have seen Mr. Iloskinnr's j)I:in for erecting a s|)acious rotunda in the inner quadraiijfle of the Uiitisli .Museum; and we here suhmit to tliein aucjther, wliifh, wlictljer it be a better arallel, and placed, as correctly as could be measured, li feet apart, from the angle of the upper edge of the one to that of the other. The stone or slate having been previously dressed to a uniform breadth and thickness throughout, and 3 it. 3 in. in length, were successively — when experimented — laid on tlie iron bearings crossing them at right angles, and equidistant from the ends. Another iron bar, RAILAI'AY POINTS AND CROSSINGS.* Mil. Campbeli,, the resident engineer of the Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway, has invented sume im])roveinents in railway points and crossings, and in setting of the rails in the chairs, which liave been adopted with success on the above railway. The annexed engravings show the improved points and crossings, as well as the common and the patent make. FIC7 FIC,2 Fig. I is a section of the improved switch, drawn to a fourth of the full size, at the points of the switches. It is on the bottom side the same as the common switch, while on the top it resembles the patent switch; but it is simple and equally as efficient, and will stand more work. The bearing surface is neither notched nor undercut, the inside of the top of the switch being bent with a twist so as to pass under the top flange of the stock rail. The top of the switch not being mitred into the underside of the bearing surface of the stock rail, it is not liable to be locked by the barb- ing over of the stock from the pressure of the wheels, as frequently happens with the patent switch and others which resemble it in cutting under the top flange of the stock. In Mr. Campbell's having its under-edge dressed to an acute angle and straight in its length, was laid perfectly square across the middle of the stone or slate under the experiment. This third bar of iron projected over the stone or slate, sufficient to suspend therefrom, at each end, an iron triangular frame. The bases of the triangles being horizontal and j)arallel to each other, served to support the weight applied to break the stone; which weight consisted of bars of iron, laid on one by one, with great caution, so as not to commu- nicate a concussion to the weight. No steelyard or levers of any kind were used, so that the quantity of iron laid on, including the triangular frame and cross-bar being all weighed, gave the nett weight required to break the stone or slate. Seacombe, May 3i)th, 1850. William Stewart. meet the tear and wear of the crossing point, notwithstanding the weight of the engines in use. Any contrivance for the main road must be very secure; but at stations where there is much traffic. while the transit is slow, the wheels might be assisted over the interval at the crossing point by a piece of iron keyed between the rails, having its surface one inch below the top of the rail, and tapering down at each end, on which the flange of the wheel would run till the face again touched the rail, and so be prevented from falling, as it does, off the steeled point with a blow on the knee of FIG. 6 improved switch, part of the under flange of the stock is cut away, which allows a broader and steadier base for the switch, and at the same time stones do not so readily rest between and prevent the shutting of the switch. Mr. Campbell was not aware of anything having been done to * Tlio description is from a paper read by Mr. Campbell, at the Bojal Scottiah Society, 8oili Maicli, iHbo, the wing rail, which is the point that gives way. This is similar to what is done at the crossing of the bars on a turntable. The chair is laid level on the sleeper, but the seat of the rail is inclined 1 in 15 in the chair, as shown in fig. 4, so as to give the rail an equal cant its whole length, to meet the cone of tbe wheel. The inside jaw of the joint chair should fit close up under the flange of the rail, but the intermediate chairs should not rise quite so high. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 271 and be slightly rounded on the inner face to allow the rail to adjust itself to the joints, which are first keyed and spiked firm. Fig. 2 shows a section of thu common switch, which possesses the advantage of a straight face and continuous bearing surface; but in consequence of it consisting of two parts, is mucli less durable at the point than the improved switch. Fig. 3 is a section of the patent switch. Fig. 4 is a section sliowing the cant of the rail in the chair. Fig. 5 is a section of a check rail chair. Fig. 6 is a plan of a crossing point. FLOATING OF THE FOURTH AND LAST TUBE OF THE BRITANNIA BRIDGE. The floating of the fourth and last tube, which may be said to complete this mazniticent structure, came otf oi\ Thursday morning, tbe 2otli ult., at 9 o*clock, with success. The interest that has throughout been associated with these great engineer- ing performances was probably heiglitened on the present occasion from the fact of its being the last great launching operation of the kind likely to occur iu this country, and accordingly, the concourse of people present frimi all parts was estimated to be not far short of the thousands who thronged the Straits on the occasion of floating the first tube. At the above hour Mr. Stephenson, M.P., Captain Claxton, Mr. Edwin Clarke, Mr. Bidder, Mr. C. H. Wild, Mr. Ilicardo, M.P , Mr. Lee, C.E., Mr. Borthwick, C.E, and others, took their stations on the top of the tube, which, araid the cheers of the multitude, gradually, as the tide came up, rose upon its cradle of pontoons. The men at the mooring-chains and capstans then, in obedience to the various signalings and coloured flags, plied away at their posts, until at three minutes past 9, the huge mass, when released from its moorings, moved out into midstream, where under the control of the vast and intricate tackle, it made its way for full 40 minutes, until in the space of another ten, and after various nice evolutions, it came home and was safely deposited, amid artillery and cheers, on the projecting plinths of the towers. The tide taken at starting was 12 ft. 8 in., and it gradually rose until it reached a maximum of 17ft. The total distance travelled over from the starting point on the Carnarvonshire coast to the base of the towers was upwards of 300 yards. At about four minutes past 10, just as the operation was completed, the tide turned and it was high water at 32 m. past 10. The length of the tube floated was 470 feet; its weight, 1690 tons; the number of pontoons, 8; their aggregate burden, 2750 tons; the number of men engaged in the floating, 68j. During the operation, the spectators were permitted to stand upon the tOji of the tube already iu use, and which was covered with them from one end to the other. The completion of the bridge will cause the Chester and Holyhead Company to dispense with nearly 1000 workmen, who since the commencement of the works, with their wives and lamilies, have been in constant occupation. The hydraulic presses are on the towers and will commence lifting almost immediately. The tube that has been in daily use since the 18th of March last, has presented to the most careful observation no change or alteration up to this time. The deflection found to be caused by the passage of ordinary trains daily is two-tenths of an inch, and some extreme heavy coal trains have deflected it as much as half-an-inch. The effect of joining the several tubes together, and lowering the opposite end, has been to raise them four inches, so that the most heavy trains do not counteract more than oue-eightb of the advantage that was gained by this process. An early day in November next is ofEcially announced by the engineers as the period for the consolidation and complete public opening of the bridge. MOTES OF THE SIOHTH. Exhibition Buii-ding. — Another estimate has been sent, by another party, to the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, oflfering to con- struct a building similar in dimensions to that of Mr. Paxton, but in iron, in place of glass, for the sum of 40,000/., the material to be returned to the contractor. If this offer be accepted, there will remain out of the 04,000/. subscribed a balance in hand of 24,000/. for other expenses of the Exhibi- tion. Whereas, the estimate of the glass building being 85,000/., will leave a deficiency of 21,000/.; and if to that sum we add 24.000/. for other ex- penses, it will make in all a deficiency of 45,000/. Moi cover, the risk will be avoided of the calico, intended to cover the glass building, being fired with squibs or crackers, or Ijy some accidental sparks from the neighbouring I chimneys, which, in all probability, would soon break the glass acid fire the goods within, — and thus terminate the Exhibition with as much confusion as it has begun. A model of London has been made for the Exhibition of 1851, on a scale of eight inches to the mile, and containing in alt ninety-six square feet. We understand that it exhibits the exact situatiou of all the public builJinga, churches, bridges, railways, itr., with ihe Thames from Batter- sea to Kotherhithe, and shows the dillrreut clevalious of the streets. Death of Robert Stevenson, Esa., C.E. — It is with extreme regret we have to announce the death of Mr. Stevenson, the civil engineer, an event which took place on Friday, the I3th inst. Mr Robert Stevenson, had reached the advanced age of 78. The contemporary of Telford, Rennie and Stephen- son (of England), needs no biography beyond an enumeration of his works. Mr Stevenson, it will be remembered, was the sole designer and executor of the celebrated Bell Rock Lighthouse, which is in itself a monument of inge- nuity and industry. Sir Walter Scott, in his diary, mentions Mr. Stevenson in terms of admiration, and bis impromptu in the album of the Bell Rock Lighthouse is well known. Mr. Stevenson first brought into notice the superiorityof mallcableiron rails forrailways over tbeold cast-iron, afact which has been fullyacknowledged. lie also surveyed the line between Edinburgh and Glasgow, and though his plan was not adopted, it was much admired. The coast of Scotland, however, is ihe place where the labours of Mr. Stevenson are principally to be seen. Not a harbour, rock, nor island, but bears evi- dence of his indefatigable industry, and it is incalculable to think of the amount of life and property which by his exertions, have been saved. In matters re- lating to the construction of harbours, docks, or breakwater, he was generally consulted as an authority; and received, as a mark of respect and admiration, a gold medal from the late King of the Netherlands. We may mention that in private life nothing could excel the amiability and good heartedness of Mr. Stevenson. His courtesy on all occasions was such as to render him popular with all who desired access to bis presence. — Scoltish Railway Gazette. The Great Bull from Nineveh. — The lovers of art will be pleased to hear that the Great Bull and upwards of 100 tons of sculpture, excavated by our enterprising countryman, Ur. Layard, are now on their way to England, and may be expected in the course of September. In addition to the Elgin, Piiigalian, Lycian, and Boodroom marbles, our museum will soon be enricheit with a magnificent series of .-Assyrian sculptures. It is said at Nineveh that the French Government are determined to excel us in the exhibition of Assyrian works of art in order to compensate the comparative deficiency which the Louvre is obliged to acknowledge as to the treasures it possesses in the other great catalogues, and that large sums have been accordingly voted for the expenses of excavation. A drawing which represents the shipping of the sculpture has been just brought over by one of the .Messrs. Lynch, of Bagdad, who has been with Dr. Layard exploring the remains of Nineveh. It repre- sents the actionof placing the great Bull on hoard the Apprentice, at Morghill, on the right bank of the Euphrates, about three miles above the old city of Bussorah. This place long formed the country residence of Colonel Taylor, lately the political agent of this country at Bagdad and Bussorah, and is now rented by Messrs. Stephen Lynch and Co., to the Hon. East India Company, as a depot for their vessels on the Euphrates. Alongside the Apprentice is the Nicotris steamer, under the command of Captain Jones, I.N., whose influence with the natives is most powerful, and to whose assistance the success in effecting the difficult operation on the muddy and deserted banks of the Euphrates is in a great measure attributable. The Apprentice was sent out from this country by Mr. Alderman Finnis, at the instance of the trustees of the British Museum, and to that gentleman and his nephews, Messrs. Ljncb, the public are indebted for a periodical communication between the Thames and the Euphrates. Another vessel belonging to the alderman is, we understand, about leaving London, and it is hoped that she may in like manner return home laden with the monuments and trophiesof what we had been too apt to regard as the semi-fabulous metropolis of the ancient world. Isthmus of Panama. — The news from the Isthmus is unfavourable to the early construction of the railroad between Chagres and Panama. Im- pediments had occurred which were never contemplated, and, if the work is not entirely abandoned — as it is supposed it must be — it will at all events be many years before it can be completed, at a cost, too, compared with which, the original estimates are trifling. Such is the publicly avow-ed opinion of those who are best informed on the subject. Important modifi. cations of the contract had been obtained from the Congress of New Grenada, among which is the conclusive privilege of constructing a plank or wagon road for temporary purposes. The immediate opening, however, of the less fatiguing, less distant, and perfectly salubrious route throug Nicara- gua by the Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company, will undoubtedly do away with the necessity even of this substitue for a radroad, by monopolis- ing, as it must do, tue whole traflic of the Isthmus. Gas. — There are now in England and Wales 560 proprietary gas-works, and in Ireland and Scotland 170. Besides these there are thirty-three which belong to private individuals, and twelve the property of municipal bodies or parish officers: in all, 775 distinct establishments for the manu- facture and sale of gas. In these works a capital of 10,500,000 is said to be invested. The quantity of gas annually produced is about 9000,000,000 cubic feet, and thecoal consumed in making it weighs 1,125,000 tons. The number of persons employed in its production is about 20,000; and pro- bably an equal number finds employment in the preparatory work in the mines, ironworks and other processes connected with it. After allowing for waste and leakage, the quantity of gas actually sold to the public, in the year, is about 7200,000,000 feet, producing a light equal to vvhat would be given out by 32,133,640 gallons of sperm oil; which at eight shillings a gallon would cost the consumers 13,253,456/. The gas itself is charged by the Cijmpanies about 1,620,000/. 372 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [August, M'hite Paint. — The Frfinch chymists have discovered a process by which a vpbite paint is obtained from zinc, of a character eminently fitted for every purpose for which wliite lead has hitherto been applied, ft vfouM appear that (luring the manufacture of the zinc, a stream of atmospheric air is con- stantly made to disseminate itself throughout the preparation; and by this simple process the many objectionable characteristics of the zinc paint, in general, are efiectually removed. The French government have awarded high honours to the discoverers, and have extended the more solid advan- tages of direct encouragement to the patent — the poisonous white lead hav- ing been denounced in all the public works, and the white zinc paint unrler notice generally adopted ; nor has this been done without those necessary tests of excellence which should always mark a course which is intended as a general example. Tfiis paint is perfectly innocent, both to the artizan and to those inhabiting places covered by it. For iron it proves an immediate preservative, pnterin? at once into the pores of the metal and prorlucing an amalgaij. The i:entlenipn di'puied to give it the most extendeil publicity in this country are the Messrs. Huhbuck-, opposite the Lnnrlon Docks, who have already made arrangements for its manufacture and economical distri- bution. It may be adHed tliat its application has a decided sanitary effect, and nihinfects every substance upon which it is laid. PaorixTioN OF Irov fkom Oxidation, — The following report " On the Method employed by M.Paris, for Protecting Iron from Oxidation," has been jiresentt-d by M. Ebelmen to the French Society of Arts: — Various means have hitherto been employed for the purpose of protecting iron from the destructive action of air and moisture; up to the present time, the applica- tion of a thin layer of another metal to tlie surface of the iron has been the basis of all these methods of preservation ; and tin, lead, and zinc, have all been employed for this purpose. Iron can he preserved from oxidation and destruction by covering its surface with a vitreous substance, and it is this process which M. Paris has adopted in the preparation of the various objects submitted to the notice of the Society: these objects consist of various utensils employed in domestic economy — iron pipes, chemical apparatus, sheet-iron for roofing, &c. Your committee of chemical arts have examined these specimens, with a view to ascertain whether the iron prepared by tiie process of M. Paris presents those conditions of solidity, strength, and dura- iiility announced by the author of the discovery. The composition which M. Paris applies to the iron is a real transparent glass, which allows the colour of the metal to be seen through it. The composition is spread with regularity, and leaves no portion of the metal uncovered — a very important circumstance. It does not peel off or crack when exposed to the direct action of the fire. Three times have we heated to redness the bottom of a prepared iron capsule, until the composition has become quite soft, and then plunged it into cold water ; it was only in the third experiment that some small portions of the glaze, were detached frnm the metal in small scales. Is'o fissure or crack was produced during this trial. Hot and concentrated acids scarcely have the slightest action on this unoxidisible iron. Such, however, is not the case with alkaline liquors. We boiled for about two hours a weak sulution of a potash in one of the prepared capsules ; the re- sulting liquor contained silex and boracic acid in appreciable quantities. We are of opinion that the unoxidisible iron of M. Paris offers the conditions of resistance and unalterability announced by the inventor; consequently, this new product appears to us susceptible of several very advantageous applica- tions. IvoRV Engraving. — The process used to cover ivory with ornaments and designs in black, consists in engraving in the ivory itself, and then filling in the designs with a black hard varnish. To obtain finer and more regular designs, the ivory is to be covered with the common ground, and by means of the point the designs are engraved upon it. They are then eaten in by a sol'.iliou formed as follows: — Fine silver, G parts; nitric acid, 30 parts ; dis- tilled wiiter, 125 parts (by weight). At the end of a half-hour, according to the depth to be given, it is to be washed with distilled water, and dried with bibulous paper. The design is then exposed for an hour to the solar light, and the layer of wax is removed by essence of turpentine. The design has then a black colour or a daik brown, which blackens entirely at the end of one or two days. Other culours may be produced, by replacing the solution of uitrate of silver by a solutiou of gold or pUtiD.t in aqua regia, or of copper in nitric acid. LIST OF KE'^V PATENTS GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM JuNE 20, TO JCLi' 25, 1850, Sir Months allowed/or Enrolmentf unless otherwise expressed. William Saunders, of the firm of Randell and Saunder*, of Bath, Somerset, slone meroliant'i, for improvements in sawing and sawing machinery. — June 20. Jolm Hunt, of Stratford, Essex, engineer, for im pro vera en is in forming and moulding plastic substances, and the machinery and aj)piratus employed therein. — June dO. Robert Andrew Macfie, of Liverpool, sugar refiner, for improvements in manufac- turing, refining, and preparing sugar, also iniprovemeuts in muuui'aciuring and treating anhuai (jhurcoal — June ^-1. Henry Stephens, of Stamford street, Blackfriars-road, writing fluid manufacturer, and Edwyn VVylder. of I'addiriKtoa, Middlesex, mechanist, for certain improvements in ever- pointed pentils, pons, and penholders. — June -4. M'illiaui Laird, of Liverpool, merchant, for improvements in life boats, and in appa- ratus lor filtering and purifying water. (A commuoitatloa.J- June -■!. Joshua Vickerman Binn», of Lockwood, near Hu:Ider8fi.-Id, York, mechanic for im- provements in piecing wool t-ardinga, and in a mPchinecaUed a piecing.mat-hine— June 24 Kdward Milche.l, of Great Sutton-street. Clerkenweli, gentlemau, tor improvements in fastemngs for iifticles used for writing and drawing and other purposes, ana liuyrove- ments in articles to be used fur writing and drawing.— June 2A. John Percy, of Kirmingham, doctoi of medicine, and Henry Wtggin, of the same phice, oiamiucturer, tor a new melalMe alloy, or new metallic alloys. — June 24. Thomas Fulljames. of Old Kent-road, gentleman, or certain improvements in ma- chinery or apparatus for raisiog, lowering, and moving weights or other heavy bodies — June 26. James Forater. of I/iverpool, merchant, for improvements in filtering water and other liquids, — June 27. Joseph Foot, of Spital-squar*, Middlesex, for improvements in boilers.— June 27. William Lancaster, of New Bond-street, Middlesex, puumaker, for impruvetuents in the manufacture of fire arms and cannon, and of percussion tubes.— July ;i. John Coope Hadd:m, of Bloomsbury-square. Middlesex, civil engineer, for improve- ments in the construction of carriages and of wheels, and in brickwork. — July 3. Francis F.dward Colegrave, of Krighton, Esq., for improvements in the valves of steam and other engines in causing the driv:og wheels of locomotive engines to bile the rails, and also in supplying water to steam boilers.— July 3. Charles Phillips, ol Bristol, engineer, for improvements in apparatus or machinery for cutting turnips and other similar subst.inces as food for cattle.— July 'A. Kichiird Hornshy, of Spittlegate Grantham. Lincoln, agricultural implement manu- facturer, for imptovements In machinery for sowing corn and seeds, and in depositing manure in thrashing machines, in machines for depositing or winnowing corn, and lu steam engines and boilers for agricultural purposes.— July 3. James Thomson, of Glasgow, civil engineer, for improvements in hydraulic machinery, and in sti-am-engines.— July 3. Richard Winter, of New Cross, Kent, gentleman, f»r improvements in metallic vessels for measuring and holding liquid'. — July i. James Ward Hoby. of Blackheath, engineer, fir certain improvements in the construc- tion of parts of the permanent way of railways, and in shaping iron. — July 'A. Paul Rapney Hodge, civil and mechanical engineer, of Adam-street, Adelphi, for im- provements in certain descriptions of steam-engines, and in the apparatus atid manage. ment for cultivating and manuring the soil, and in treating the produce thereof. (A com- munication.]—July 3. Wakefield Pirn, of Kingston upon-HuU, engine and boiler maker, for certain improve- ments in tiie construction of the boilers and funnels of steam-engines. — July A. Charles Starr, of New York, United States of America, for improvements in bookbind- ing.— July 3, James Kinesford, of Essex- street, Strand, Esq., for improvements In refrigerating and freezing. — July 3 Weston Tuxford, of Boston, Lincoln, for improvements in machinery for crushing or pressing land, and for shaking straw; also iutprovements in applying steam-power to agricultural machinery. — July 4. Henry Pratt, of New Bond-street, Middlesex, camp equipage manufacturer, for im- provements ill the construction of portmanteaus and travelling trunks.— July 1'. Alfred Vincent Newton, of Chancery-lane. Middlesex, mechanical draughtsman, Tt improvements in the preparation and manufacture of caoutchouc or india-rubber. — July 9. Robert Rumney Crawford, of Warden Paper Mill, Northum'jerland, paper maker, for an improvement in drying paper.— July 10. Jacob Connop, of Hyde-park, Middlesex, gentleman, for improvements in melting, moulding, and casting sand, earth, and argillaceous substances, for paviug, builuing, and various other useful purposes.— July lU. James Hill, of Slalybiidge, Cheater, cotton spinner, for improvements in or applicable to certain machines for preparing cotton, wool, and other fibrous substances for spinning and doubling —July 15. Tempest Ilooth, of Ardwick, Lancaster, gun manufacturer, for certain improvements in the method of and apparatus for obtaining and applying motive power. — July 15. Edward N. Smith, of West IJrookfield, Massachusetts, in the United States of North America, tor a machine to fold paper. — July 17. Eilward John Dent, of the Strand, Middlesex, chronometer-maker, lor improvements in compasses for navigation, surveying, and similar purposes. — July 17. William Herbert Gubsage, of Stoke Prior, Worcester, chemist, for improvements in obtaining certain metals Irom some compounds containing such metals, and in obtain, ing other products by the use of certain compounds containing metals. — July 17. Jean Jules Varillat, of Kouen, France, manufacturing chi>mist, for improvements in the extraction and preparation of colouring, tanninkr, and saccharine matters trom various vegetable substances, and in the apparatus to be employed therein.— .luly 17. John Melville, of Uppur Harley-street, &Iiddlesex, Esq., for certain improvements in the construction of railways and locomotive engines ani carriages, — July 17. Henrietta Brown, of Ivnuy-lane, Hermondsey, widow and executrix of the late Samuel Brown, for improvements in the manufacture of metallic casks and vessels. (A commu- nication.!—July 17. John oilvester, of West Brnmwlch, Stafford, whitesmith, for improvements in straight- ening, flattening, setting, and sha|)ing hardened steel. — July 17. Ezekiel t' dmonds the younger, of Bradford, Wiltshire, cloth raanufacturet, for im- provements in the manufacture of certain descriptions of wonllen fabrics.— July 17. Henry Bessemer, of Baxter-house, Old St. Pancras road, Middlesex, for certain im- provements in figuring and ornamenting surfaces, and in the blocks, plates, rollers, implements, and machinery employed therein. — July 22. James Bradford, of Torquay, Devonshire, jeweller, for improvements in locks and other fastenings. — July 22. Thomas Wills, of Bow, Middlesex, engineer, for improvements in steam-engines and in pumps.— July 22. josejih Paxton, of Chatsworth, Derby, gentleman, for certain improvements in roofs. — July 22. Leonard Bower, of Birmingham , Warwick, manufacturer, and Thomas Fortune, of Harborne, Stafford, mechanic, for certain improved machinery for manufacturing screws, bolts, rivets, and nails. — July 23. William Bectson. of Brick-lane, St. Luke's. Ifiddlesex, brass-founder, for improve- ments in water-closets, pumps, and cocks. — July 23. \\'illiam Edward Newton, of Chancer>*-lane, Middlesex, civil engineer, for improve- ments in obtaining, preparing, and applying zinc and other volatile metals, and in the oxides thereuf, and in the application of z'nc, or ores containing the same, to the prepara- tion or manufacture of certam metals or alloys of metals. (A eommunication.>^July 23. Georee Hazeldine, of Lant-etreot, Souihwark, Surrey, carriage-builder, for improve- ments in the construction of wagons, carts, and vans.— July 23. Henry Const«iiiine Jennings, of Great Tower-street, London, practical chemist, for improvements in rendering canvas, and other fabrics and leatlier, waterproof. — July 23, William Edward Newton, of Chancery lane, Middlesex, civil engineer, for improve- ments in machinery for cutting files. (A communication.) — July 23. George Ituobar, Esq., of Paris, for improvements in suspending carriages. — July 2.3. Langston Scott, of Moorgate-street, I^ondon, wine merchant, for improvements in a mode or modes of preparing certain matters or substances to be used as pigments.— July 24. Charles William Bell, of Manchester, Lancaster, for improvements in apparatus connected with water-closets, drains, and ce»3pools, and gas and air-traps.— July 25. BLOWING ENGINE Fio 4. riaji Sra/e f-to^^i^nfi 20 p Mill Eiujii W (f/f4 red J U'. '\'i 7/,s- .s:^, am ^•~^ ■^ aver ^ T. — .^ \ — V '^ ^^.^__^ N"l \ A \ 1 ^■' i^- u il ^t^ W H ■WlhkFf^'nii ^"^7 \^ \ X N ^<^ >4«. .. \ > ' Y ■ \^*> \ \ A ''v \ \ 2.'ii ihs Vnmi imi i -J ^ \ \ «.«»^ \ \ avant) e Im/pw Atmosp. icre — -^^ \ ... — ^ f- \ \ ' '—- — " -■-\ i^ V^vfeJ- > "? T I \ ^ ^ 1 1 ^^ ^__ —T^ ^.^ \ 1 "■ " s -§ l(. 1 1 "V — «— \<.U II lO.I.. — ■ ' 1 1 1 \^iiimm 1 lO 9.1 11,., V.HI M.m.ll, 't>s Vara ^— ^^— - .■_-=—- ^ 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 273 ON CONDENSING STEAM ENGINES. ( Jnth Enyravings, Plate X.) On the Condensation of Steam in the Engines of the South Stafford- shire Iron District, and the Improvements to lie effected in than'. By William Smith, of Dudley. — (Read at tlie Institution of Me- chanical Eiigineors.) The object of the present paper with the accompanying' series of Indicator Diagrams, which liave been taken from tlie several engines by the autlior of the ])aper, is to show the present worl\iiig condition of forty-eight of the largest class of mill, forge, and blast engines in South Staffordshire, with some remarks as to the practicability of improving them. The general character of the Indicator Diagrams of the majority of these engines, shows a considerable pressure of steam, con- tinued nearly uriifiirm througliout the whole stroke of the piston, and averaging about I'J lb. per square inch above the atmosphere in the forge and millengines, and about 7 lb. jier square inch in the blast engines; with a very defective vacuum, conmiencing about the atmospheric line, and reaching only from 7 lb. to 11 lb. |)er square inch below the atmosphere at the end of the stroke, the average vacuum being about 6;^ lb. per scpiare inch below tlie atmosphere throughout the stroke. Some of the Indicator Dia- grams from blast engines show a considerable expansive action, but not a good vacuum. Fig. 3, Plate X. shows the Indicator Diagram from a mill engine of la-inch cylinder and 7 feet stroke, making 17 strokes per minute, which was working very imperfectly in the condensa- tion of the steam, and has been improved to a remarkable e.\tent, by an altenitiim made for tlie imqiose of improving the vacuum, which has effected a very considerable saving in the consunijition of fuel. This engine was working with I'i^ lb. pressure of steam at the beginning of the stroke, continuod to l/.i, lb. pressure at the middle, and reduced to 6 lb. per inch at the end of the stroke, by wire-drawing the steam without any cut-off expansion-valve; the average pressure being l(i-37 lb. per sipiare inch throughout the stroke; the average vacuum was only 2'72 lb. per square inch below the atmosphere, beginning a little above tiie atmospheric line, and reaching only 5 lb. below the atmosphere at the end of tlie stroke. This performance being so bad it was considered ne- cessary to examine the engine, and the cause was found to be from the valves, thoroughfares, and condenser, being much too small for the ])roper proportion, the steam and educti(ui valves being only 7 inches diameter, and the thoroughfares of the same size; these were therefore removed anil replaced by others, the steam valves being 10 inches diameter, and the eduction valves and thoroughfares 12 inches diameter, or three times the area of the original ones. The condenser was also nearly doubled in capacity by attaching a large vessel on the top of it, which made it rather larger than the regular proportion; the air-pump was only 2i inches diameter, with half the stroke of the steam jiiston, or about one-fifth less contents than tlie regular proportion for the size of the cylinder; this was not altered, but there was an abund- ant sujiply of C(dd water for injection. The result of the above alteration is shown by the dotted lines 12 A, fig. 3, the steam pressure being 8 lb. at the beginning, and reduced to about the atmosphere at the end of the stroke, the average being 5- 10 lb. instead of lC-37 lb. per square inch pressure throughiuit the stroke; the vacuum commenced at 10,1 lb. and ended at II lb., the average being 10-15 lli. instead of 2-72 lb. per square inch below the atmosphere throughout the stroke. Tlie improvement in the vacuum amounts therefore to a constant average pressure of 7-43 lb. per square inch throughout the stroke; the total power of the engine as shown by the first diagram, was 19-09 lb. per inch on the piston throughout the stroke, being 190 horse-power, consequently this improvement of the vacuum amounted to 39 per cent, of the total power of the engine or 74 horse-power. The mode of effecting the above alterations (No. 12 Engine) is shown in ligs. 1 and 2, I'late X. Fig. 1 shows the engine before the alteratiim, the steam valves S, the eduction valves E, and the thoroughfares T being only 7 inches diameter. Fig. 2 shows the engine after the alteration, the steam valves S are increased to 10 inches diameter, and the eduction valves E and thorough- fares T are 12 inches diameter; the new valves being so much larger than the old ones, a different arrangement was required to make room for them, the spindle of the lower steam valve being carried up the side pipe, as shown in fig. 2, and the upjier educ- tion valve placed over the other side, pipe, so that three of the No. 156. — Vol. XIII. — September, 1850. valve spindles are worked at the upper steam chest, and one only at the lower. The addition made to the condenser is shown at C, fig. 2, which was a circular vessel constructed of boiler plate, 3 feet 6 inches diameter, and 15 inches high, fixed on the top of the condenser. A further improvement was also made in the con- denser, by cleaning out the deposit of lime, and adding an internal injection pipe and rose P; there was no internal injection pipe pre- viously, but simply a hole in the side of the condenser, where the injection-cock A was fixed on, as shown in fig. 1, and consequently the injection water was much less efficient in condensing the steam, being ])oured into the condenser in a single stream instead of being scattered in a number of small jets from the rose end of the pipe. The majority of engines in this district are similar in this respect, and the reason that has been given is, that the rose is apt to get the holes choked up by deposit from the water, which is very much impregnated with lime. This is a matter requiring particular attention in this district, and cases have come under the writer's observation, where condensers were filled up by the deposit in the course of two or three years' time, to such an extent, that the capacity was reduced fully one half, as well as the passage through the foot valve; it is a very hard calcareous deposit which adheres firmly to the cast-iron, and requires considerable labour to cut it out, involving a serious stoppage of the engines, and they were consequently worked as long as possible before taking off the condenser cover to cut out the deposit, which increased to 7 inches thickness, and as much as half a ton weight in one engine. Besides the very important saving effected by the greater povver obtained from the steam, in consequence of the im- provement of 39 per cent, in the vacuum, as described above, the engine has been found to do the work more regularly and satis- factorily since '^the alteration, than before; it was liable to be pulled up by any extra strain of the rolls, &c., whenever the pis- ton was getting in want of repacking, the leakage of steam injuring the vacuum on account of the very deficient condensing power; but that has not occurred since the alteration was made. The engine drives a merchant mill of 3 pair of rolls, a guide mill of 3 pair, 2 pair of forge rolls, a forge hammer, 2 shears, and a pump for draining the foundations. It was not stopped longer than three days to make the whole of the alterations described above. Another similar engine of the same size as the preceding, was also examined, in consequence of the imperfection in its condensing, and the valves and thoroughfares were found to be 10 inches diameter, but the valves had not sufficient lift, the eduction pipe to the condenser was 9 inches diameter, and the condenser was 2 feet 4 inches diameter, and 4 feet 6 inches high; the eduction pipe was then removed and replaced with one 12 inches diameter, also a large vessel was fixed on the top of the condenser, which increased its capacity about one-third. The lift of the valves was then increased from l| inch to 2f inches, and the result of the alteration was an improvement in the vacuum of from r50lb. to 7-97lb. per square inch below the atmosphere, or 6-47 lb. per square inch increase of average pressure through- out the stroke. The saving of fuel from these alterations has not been well ascertained, as the engines in both cases are worked from a series of boilers which also supply steam to other engines upon which the load is very unequil, but the saving is admitted to be very considerable, and in the case of No. 17, the proprietors have been enabled to use an inferior description of slack, and also to throw off one boiler, with a fire grate about 7 feet square, and 45 square yards of heated surface, without any diminution in the power employed. The aggregate power of the 45 mill, forge, and blast engines from which the Indicator Diagrams are taken, is nominally 3240 horse-power, according to Boulton and Watt's proportions of the cylinders, but by the calculation of the Indicator Diagrams, the total is 7819-horse povver; the average vacuum obtained in the present working of all the engines is about Gib. per inch below the atmosphere throughout the stroke, omitting from the average four, which are exceptions to the general run of these engines; and the average vacuum obtained in the six expansive engines, of which Indicator Diagrams are also given, is lo^lb, per inch be- low the atmosphere throughout the sti'oke. The loss of power from the imperfect vacuum in the former engines may therefore be taken at the difference between these pressures, or 43lb. per square inch pressure throughout the stroke, which amounts to 1930 indicated horse-power u|ion these engines; or in other words, an additional power of 1930 horse-power, or 25 per cent, 3? 271 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [Septeuder, iiicrea-ieil power miirlit be obtained from tlie same expenditure of steam, and consequently of fuel, if the vacuum were improved so as to be as fjood as the averaj^e of the six expansive eng^ines, or lO.U'). per inch throui;hout the stroke. This vacuum lias been obtained in the two eni;incs, Xos. 12 and 17, which have been altered as before described, although in these enjrines the altera- tion was carried out only to a limited extent, and at a compara- tively triflinpf expense; but if it were carried out efficiently by attachino; expansive year in addition to the alterations tliat have been made, a much better effect would be obtained by using the same volume of steam exjiansively. In many cases the expansive action is accomplished by the addi- tion of a separate expansion valve in the steam I)ipe, which is worked by a cam, so as to cut off the steam at any portion of the stroke that may be desired, this valve openina; and shutting twice for each double stroke of the entjine; the steam and eduction valves are worked by a common eccentric motion, the top and bottom valves o])ening and shuttinjr together. But this is an imperfect mode of obtaining expansion, because the steam filling the side pipe and the two steam chests expands after the cut-off valve is shut, and this steam forms a considerable proportion to the contents of the cylinder. The only efficient mode of applying expansive action, is by lifting each valve by a se]>arate cam, so adjusted as to shut each steam valve at whatever point of the stroke may be desired, whilst the eduction valve is lield open till t!ie termination of the stroke; by which means the full effect of the expansive action is obtained. The difference in effect between these two modes of cutting off the steam, is shown by the Diagrams Nos. 46 and 47, Plate X., which are taken from a pair of blast engines working coupled together, and with no difference between tliem except that in No. V6 the steam is cut off by a separate expansion valve in the steam pipe, and in No. 47 the valves are lifted by separate cams. But independent of the loss sustained by not working expan- sively, tlie loss of power in the engines described being 1930 horse-power, as shown before, the annual loss in money by extra consumption of fuel in these engines, calculating 20 lb. of slack per hour, for one-horse power, at a cost of 3.s. per ton, will amount to 18,610/., or 2/. Is. Id. per horse-power per annum. The total power of the steam engines employed in the manufac- ture of iron in the district, may be computed to be fully ten times the nominal power above named; and the total annual loss to the proprietor from the causes described in the present paper, may be therefore taken in round numbers at 180,000/. per annum, as the more expansive engines described above may be considered a fair average of the engines in the district. It has been generally considered hitherto, that the impi-ovement of expansive action of steam was not applicable advantageously to the engines of this district, because of the small cost of the fuel employed; but this will be seen to be an erroneous conclusion from the actual results of the alterations described above, where the imjjrovement was only effected in the vacuum, and the expansive principle was not carried out, which would have effected a still i^reater saving. The total quantity of fuel consumed at present is so large, that although the price ])er ton is insignificant, the total amount of saving effected by the per centage on the whole is very important. In addition to the saving in cost of fuel consumed, a very im- portant saving would also be effected in the tear and wear of the boilers, which is fully in proportion to the extra fuel burnt under them, and the repairing of which is invariably attended with serious inconvenience and expense. The description of boilers in general use in the district, and the further saving to be effected by improvements in their construction and mode of setting, is also an important practical suhject for con- sideration, and is intended to form the subject of another paper, to be laid before the Institution at a future meeting. Remarks. — Mr. M'Conneli, said, he believed the writer was quite within bounds when he estimated the saving in fuel which might be effected in that district alone, at 180,000/. per annum; n(u- was the subject of im])ort:mce in that light merely, l)ecause it was found to prevail as a general rule, that the amount of destruction in ma- chinery and boilers was nearly in pro])ortion to the quantity of fuel consumed. lie had remarked at a former meeting on the practical importance ot obtaining comparative accounts as complete as pos- sible of the consumjition of fuel, an{l economy of working of the steam-engines in the different districts of the country, and he thought that all information of that kind was of great practical value. Mr. Bowman inquired whether, in most of the engines mentioned, the ]iroportions of Boulton and \^'att were observed iu the con- denser? .Mr. VV. Smith replied, that speaking generally he believed that was the case, but the bad working of the engines was accounted for by the extraordinary pressure of the steam used. The error was, that engines intended and proportioned for 3 lb. steam were worked up to I2lb. or I6lb. per inch throughout the stroke, and co'isecpiently, they were very imperfect in their condensing; as there was so much larger quantity of steam to be condensed at each stroke, when the cylinder full of high pressure steam expanded down to the same pressure as the low pressure steam. Mr. Bowman observed, that this would seem to imply that the size of the condenser should be regulated by the pressure of the steam in the cylinder. Mr. CowpER said, the pressure of the steam was certainly a ne- cessary element to be taken into consideration, as well as the size of the cylinder, in determining the size of the condenser. There was not only a greater quantity of steam to condense when a higher pressure was employed, but also a greater quantity of air to pump out at each stroke of the air pump. He mentioned a case which came within his own observation in that district, where 18 lb. steam was employed; there was no barometer guage, but the parties were satisfied that they had a good vacuum ; however the fact was, that the injection water was forced into the condenser by means of a cis- tern at the top of the engine house, 22 feet in height. Mr. Slate remarked, that he fully concurred in the results obtained by Air. Smith, but feared they were so startling that there would be a disinclination to give them credence in the dis- trict. It was highly important then that the truth of the deduc- tions should be practically admitted Mr. T. Thorneycroft, as an iron-master of the disti'ict referred to, felt extremely obliged to the author of the paper pointing ont the means whereby any saving conld be effected, more especially at a time when, owing to the state of the trade, economy in the manufacture was so essential. Mr. VV. Smyth said, it had often occurred to him, that a steam engine was like no other machine. A time-piece, if out of order, was sent hack to the maker to be repaired ; and in the case of ma- chines of other descriptions, if they did not do their work well they were immediately stopped, because they wasted and injured the material iipon which they were employed. But when the old steam-engine, after twenty or thirty years' of hard labour, showed some symptoms of disorder, it could not be stopped, so with an extra application of the coal shovel, and some hammering at the cotters, &c., it was set to work again, and with its powerful steam arm it wound round all the complicated machinery. This, how- ever, was done at an enormous expense to the proprietor of the engine, and it would be much better if he were to renovate its constitution. He trusted that the exertions of the members of the Institution would have some influence in showing to persons of the description referred to, the necessity of carrying out these things on more efficient principles than they had hitherto been con- ducted. Mr. Bowman thought it a matter of great importance tliat the injection water should spread itself out amongst the whole quantity of steam immediately on its passage into the condenser, and the altei-ation made by Air. Smith in the mode of injection was very advantageous. Mr. CowpER observed, that they ought all to add their testimony to the value of the Indicator Figures produced by Mr. Smith, because they showed the character of the engines much better than any judgment which could be formed with reference to them, inas- much as it was the character of each engine written by itself, and could not be erroneous, fie had not the slightest doubt, that a loss of 180,000/. at least, as stated by Mr. Smith, was sustained in that district, because the mode of condensing ordinarily ado])tcd was exceedingly defective. It had occurred to him many years ago, that a valve might be put at the side of the condenser, and connected with an injection pump, so that a gush of cold water might be injecteil at every stroke, at the very moment of the entrance of the steam into the condenser, and shut off again imme- diately, by which means the greatest possible use might be made of the injection water, and the condensation of the steam effected with a smaller quantity of injection water. He then explained tlie drawing of an improved injection valve which he had constructed, and found to work very successfully ; the object wi:s to maintain the full pressure of the water at the point of entrance into the condenser, and to obtain a more efficient distribution of the jet of water without danger of its getting choked. In fig. 5, \ is the 1850.J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 275 condenser, B the eduction pipe, C the air pump, D the cold water cistern in wliicli tliey are immersed; E is the injection valve, a conical valve risin;; a little above the bottom of the condenser, with a perforated cap below in the cold water cistern : this valve is lifted by the screwed rod F, and the admission of the injection water can be regulated with the greatest accuracy by the screw. FIj. 5. The water enters the condenser in a fine sheet all round the valve, which strikes the sides of the condenser and fills the whole space with a fine spray ; he had ascertained this by tryina: the valve in a box similar to the condenser, but partially open, with a column of water of the same pressure as the injection, and he found the dis- tribution of the water was so perfect as to fill the box with a com- plete spray or fof;:. There was also a different construction in the air-pump uliich he considered advantag^eous; the bottom dropped into a well G G, in the bottom of the condenser, and the water rose up the space G G, when the air-pump bucket dipped into it, form- ing a water-valve instead of the ordinary foot-valve, and giving pressure enough to ensure the bucket-valve opening if there was any obstruction. An indicator figure, taken from the engine when in full work, at 24 revolutions per minute, driving shafting and two fans, indicated 72j-horse power. By an indicator figure of the same engine when part of the work was thrown off, it amounted to 38i|-horse power; and by another indicator figure for the engine and four lines of shafting alone, without any work, amounted to l-t horse-power, at the same speed of 24 revolutions per minute. The engine is high-pressure, expansive and condensing, and is one of a pair working coupled together; there was originally in their place, a pair of high-pressure engines, non-expansive and non- condensing, and the comparative economy of power effected by the present engines is so great, that although the same boilers only are used, there is 2j to 2,j times the power obtained. The indi- cator figures exhibited by Mr. Cowper to the meeting, were drawn to the scale of 20 inches length of stroke, and i-inch for each lb. of pressure; and he begged to suggest that scale as a convenient one to be adhered to, for indicator figures intended to be exliibited to the Institution. Mr. Slate thought the plan of injection proposed by Mr. Cow- per, was a very eligible one. AVith reference to tlie alternate injection of the water, he had experienced the difficulty in marine engines, of too much water being admitted by the injection cock, whenever the engines were working slowly, causing the injection water to clioke up the ('ondenser, and even get up into tlie cylinder, and he had adoj)ted a slide valve in the injection pipe, admitting only water enough at each stroke of the enyine for the condensa- tion of t!ie steam; the jet of water was thiown against a perfo- rated distributing plate. Mr. M'Co.xNELL remarked that, there would be a tendency in the rose of the injection pipe, as adopted by Mr. Smith, to become choked up. Mr. Cowper observed that in the plan he had described, that difficulty was quite obviated, as in the case of the circular valve becoming ehokeil, they had only to lift it up an inch or two by the screw handle, and then screw it down again, and the rush of water would effectually wash out any obstruction. Mr. M'CoNNELL considered that a great advantage, as it would prevent any stoppage of the engine. He thought the members of the Institution were much indebted to Mr. Smith for his researches, but their obligaticuis were small compared with those of the iron manufacturers of the district, with whom he had been more immediately brouglit in contact, as the saving proved to have been effected l)y tlie improvement of the engines, formed so serious a proportion to the whole expense of working them. It was important that this subject should occupy the attention of the iron masters, because their material must bear a proportion in its price to the management bestowed in its manufacture. He hoped Mr. Smith would not lose sight of the subject, but keep it prominently before, not only the iron manufacturers of South Staffordshire, but the ownei-s of steam-engines throughout the country; and he thought this Institution was an excellent vehicle for the purpose, because it was only by such an Institu- tion that information could be collected in a practical foi'ni, and the results be duly investigated and considered. In conclusion, he proposed a vote of tiiauks to Mr. Smith, which was passed. BLOWING ENGINES. {With Engravings, Plate X.) On a Blowing Engine working at High Velocities. By Abchi- UALD Slate, of Dudley. — (Paper read at the Institution of Me- chanical Engineers). Mr. Slate directed attention to the various changes through w-hich this description of engine has passed, the better to elucidate the difficulties to be overcome, and the advantages to be derived from the further change now proposed. The first records he has been able to collect show the blowing cylinders to be single-acting, or having the power of propelling the blast when the piston was moving in one direction only ; three or more of these blowing cylinders appear to have been attached to one crank-sliaft, worked by a water wheel, and thus a tolerably steady pressure of air has been obtained. When the gradual im- provements of the steam-engine and the demand for increased means of manufacture caused it almost entirely to supersede all other power, the blowing apparatus appears to have been accom- modated as much as possible to tlie steam-engine, so as to afford the character of engine for the time being, the fullest development of its power. In pursuance of this object, the single-acting atmospheric engine of Newcomen was attaciied to a blowing cylinder, which pro- pelled the air from the ujiper side of the piston only, and in addi- tion to the water regulator, which appears to have been known at an earlier date, there was attached a cylinder, now known as the regiilating-tub, which was equal to or larger in diameter than the blowing cylinder. In this was fitted a piston with a rod moving in a guide fixed on the open top of the regulating tub, the bottom of the latter being close, and having an open connection to the main from the blowing cylinder. The piston in the tub was loaded to the pressure of blast required, and in the intervals be- tween the discharges of the blowing cylinder, the descent of the piston in the tub kept up the discharge of air into the water regu- lator, which intervened between it and the furnace; thus in effect, as far as possible, making the engine double-acting. To prevent the piston being blown out of the regulating tub, a large safety- valve was attaciied to the top of the rod by a sti-ap, long enough to allow the desired jilay of the jiiston, and short enougli to lift the safety-valve, or snorter, as it is usually termed, if the piston at any time exceeded its limits; .and the number of strokes of the engine were also regulated by the tub piston, as to it the cataracts were attached. W hen tlie double-acting engines of Watt were introduced, the regulating tub was still retainedTthough not nearly so essential a part of the machine as in the forii'ier instance. The next change that took place was the general abandonment of the water regulator (though some of these are still at work, or have been within a few yeais); the reason for this change was the discovery that the air in summer, already surcharged with mois- ture, took up an additional quantity from passing over the surface of the water in the regulator, and that this was prejudicial to the working of the furnaces. W'hen the large area of the water regulator was shut off, it was then found that the tub was by no means such a perfect regulator as it was supposed to be, as the momentum of the engine passed too sudden into the heavy piston of the tub, and throwing it up 37* 276 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [September, much beyonil the heig^ht due to the pressure of the air, caused an irregularity that was even more asfffravated by its descent ; to counteract this, a sprinff beam was placed on the top of the tub so Hs gradually to check the momentum of the piston, and this had some effect, hut not at all a satisfactory one. The next alteration which appears to have suggested itself, was tlie application of large air chambers, from twelve times to thirty times the area of the blowing cylinder, in which the elasticity of the compressed air acted as the regulator of the discharge, the tub with its piston being in some cases retained to work the cata- racts, and as a tell-tale against the engine men, in case of their alhiwing the steam to slacken and the piston to descend. We now enter u]ion the last ciiange which took place some fif- teen years ago, namely, the coupling of two double-acting engines, and double-acting blowing cylinders upon the same crank-shaft at right angles, so as to keep up a regular discharge. Thiseifect was in some measure obtained, but an air chamber, or, what is equi- valent to it, very large mains, were still required to obtain what was considered a satisfactory result. At this point the realised improvements of the blowing engine stop short, leaving it still a large cumbrous and expensive machine, and not capable of moving through its valves the highly elastic medium air, at a greater rate than the absolutely non-elastic fluid water, is moved through an ordinary pump, t'nder these cir- <-umstances, it must be obviuus that after all the engineering talent that has been spent on this description of engine, there is still (if the expression may be applied) a wide range of discovery open. The immediate cause of the writer's attention being attracted to the improvement of tlie blowing engine, vvas the difficulty ex- perienced in regulating one of the old construction of blowing engines in the latter part of 18-t8, and having at the same time occasion to employ some small 9-inch cylinders driven by the air of the large blowing engine. These small cylinders when driving the shafting only, sometimes attained a velocity of upwards of 200 revolutions per minute, suggesting the idea of the possibility of reversing their motion and taking in the air in place of blowing it out through them ; there was however a difficulty in the slide valve which did not o|)en and shut fast enough. After some con- sideration it was agreed that another cylinder should be prepared, and the centre port made much larger, and the slide overtravelled nearly half its stroke in excess, which had the desired effect ; a cylinder of 9 inches diameter, and 1 foot stroke, having been driven 320 revolutions or 6+0 feet per minute, discharging the air at a pressure of '.i}^ lb. per square inch, through a tuyere of Ig inch diameter, or j^th of the area of the blowing piston. This per- formance, as is well known, is more than double that of any ordinary engine, the total area of the tuyeres w ith a 9() inch blow- ing cylinder, being at a pressure of 3g lb., about 52 circular inches, '"■ T^Tith of the area blowing piston. M'^e are all acquainted with the tremour which is felt even in the best form of the large sized engines ; but in the experiments at a high velocity with the small sized cylinders, not the slightest jar was felt or noise heard, it is therefore proposed to increase the speed of the piston in actual practice, from 6+0 to 750 feet per minute, the length of stroke being 2 feet in place of 1 foot ; this is somewhat under the speed of a locomotive piston at 40 miles per hour, which is about 800 feet per minute, so that it is conceived no difficulty can present itself to this. The proposed speed of 750 feet per minute, is three times the usual speed of the present blow- ing engines, 250 feet )ier minute. The construction of the proposed engine is shown in the accom- panying engraving, fig. 4, Plate X., showing the plan of a pair of horizontal steam cylinders and blowing cylinders; A A are the steam cylinders, 10 inches diameter and 2 feet stroke; BB, the blowing cylinders, 30 inches diameter and 2 feet stroke, with their pistons C, fixed on the same piston rods D, which are connected to two cranks E, fixed at right angles to each other on the same shaft. The slide valves F, of the steam cylinders are worked by the eccentrics ti, on the cranked shaft, and the cranks H, at the outer ends of the same shaft, w ork the slide valves I, of the blowing cylinders. The centre port K, passes downwards to an external owerful in their results, whe- ther a telegraph wire or the beam-bridge, justly claim our most serious attention. The engineer, in contemplating the structures which have given rise to these remarks, neither irrelevant, we hope, nor unworthy of them, will chiefly have regard to two conditions — first, as to the means of completely imitating them, and next, as to the possi- bility of the application of tlie same construction on a larger scale. As a record of the Britannia or Conway Bridge, we should care little for any work; but it is in their results, in their influence, that our interest lies. Mr. Edwin Clark, the author, lias well understood the conditions reijuired, and he has therefore laid down a text-lio(d<, whii^h will not merely be read and re- ferred to, but which will be worked out by the engineer engaged in some like undertaking, perhaps among the steppes of Russia, the jungles of Ilindostan, or the prairies of the far west. To enable this to be done effectually, it was needful not only to 3cscrihe the works, and the way in which they were hnilt up, hut to investigate the jirinciples in conforming to which their stability depends. In the case of an ardi or suspension bridge, or a light- bouse, this has been already done; but the hollow beam being new, it will he seen how great is the task imjiosed upon the author; and hence the work, being carefully and ably performed, as here, how valuable in its teachings. Such then is the book before us, and familiar as its subject may at first sight appear, it is most difficult for us, within our limits, properly to bring it under the notice of our readers, for we should be obliged to enter into many details at the same leneth as the author, or to reproduce his statements. We are therefore obliged to adopt a less systematic course, and taking it as our text, offer such observations as occur, leaving the analysis of the book to our readers, who will not wait for our bidding to buy it, and who are as it were constrained to read wli.it is the standard work of engi- neering literature in the present day. First, wo must allude to the feeling of gratification which all members of the profession must entertain towards Robert Ste- phenson, for promoting the publication of this work. It is a graceful recognition of the duty incumbent on all to contribute to the common stock of knowledge, from which each gleans, and none more than those whose own aoliievements are greatest; and we feel a personal satisfaction in having constantly urged on the profes- sion the discharge of this duty, because we know that we are answered by the sympathy of those whom we address. We may be forgiven for this personal allusion, because in a profession so newly risen to a great height, neither are the duties of its mem- bers well umlerstood, nor tlie value of a technical periodical ]iro- perly appreciated. We call the attention of our readers to our- selves, because it is as a means of serving their interests. The more i-eadiness shown in giving information to the public, the greater the aggregate result and the benefit to each; for the influence of the press is not confined to general suggestions, being more especially owing to the diffusion of information to an extent which is little known, and can theref(n-e hardly be conceived. In Mr. Clark's work, at p. e/il, will be found a reference to our pages, and others are n\ade by him and Mr. Stephenson to our contemporaries; while within the last few months alone, our pages have been acknowledged as a source of iurorniation to members of the profession in Rio Janeiro, in Canada, and in Ilindostan. Who cares about gi\iug iuforiiKition to others in India or America, yet it was by gleaning infornuition as to a covered viaduct in America (p. 23), as to an accident in a dockyard at home (p. ISO), that Robert Steplienson obtained the corollary evidence on which to justify his vast design. We do not feel disa|)pointed with tiie suc- cess of our exertions — far from it, they are beyond what we could ever have expected; but we speak because we wish to stimulate the "reat body of engineers to the communication of information npon which too many are neglectful, either as thinking too much of their works, and' selfishly keeping their knowledge to them- selves, or thinking too little of what they see, and i>assing over what they think trifles. Under these circumstances, Mr. Clark's book is invested with the character of a record by its maker, of a great undertaking rather than the narration j\vs, to about tiiree-fourths the 280 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LSeptembeb, height and wiiltli of tho !j;illory. The pictures are arransi^d sys- tematically, accoriliiiff to the several scIkioIs of paintiiif;; the col- lection of sciil|itiires is contained in three nohle apartments heloiv the picture ^rallcry. The (Jlyptothek, or Snili)tiire Gallery of Munich, exhihits the adaptation of classic architecture, with nearly the same construc- tive projiriety as the edifice ahove descrihed. The characteristic feature of the Glyptotliek is its pediment, which however is not fixed ai.Miiist a hlank wall for iinmenninf; ornament, hut is the real gahle-end of a real roof. The tympanum is richly adorned with sculpture, aneptford-rond to the crossing of the Earl sewer, from which point it strikes into a north-westerly direction, and in a straight line towards St. James's church, Bermondsey, thence along Prospect-place to Dockhead, and thence to Gainsford-street and Tooley-street. where it unites with the great rft. John's sewer, with which are connected the Battle-bridge and its various branches ; the inclination of the new sewer for the whole distance being at an average rate of about 4J feet per mile, somewhat less near the point of disfharge, somewhat more of course as the volume of fluid diminishes at each successive r^imifiLation of the sewers. " Returning to the diverging point at Ueplfonl, the course of the * southern main line* will be by Loving Edwards'-lane nearly in a straight line with Old Kent-road at Hatcham, oiong the Old Kent. road to Surrey Cantit bridge. whJLh is at the point of divergence of an intermediate main line to be afterwards described ; the southern main line will proceed by Neat-street and Albany.road in a straik-ht Hue at ross to St, Mark's-road, and by Camberwell New-road to St. Mark's Church, Kennington. Here it will pass under the Effra sewer and by a connection therewith will receive its ordinary run of drainage; the floods of the Effra bein^ provided for by a relief line about 1200 yards long, passing along the Oval and Harleyford-street to Vauxhall- creek — th« present open and most offensive portion of the Effra from Keuniugtou-road to Vauxhall being filled- up and abolished. " The level of the southern main line at St Mark's Church would be abont I'O or nearly 7 feet below the deepest sewer existing there at present, and will afford unexcep- tionable drainage for Stockwell and Claphara, Balham-hill, and the whole district lying between Brixton-road and Wandsworth-road. *' The course of the * intermediate line,' diverging at the Surrey Canal-bridge, proceeds along the Old Kent-road to the Bricklayer's Arms, whei* it will divide: one arm passes along the New Kent-road to the Elephant and Castle, where It will receive the drainage of the Walworth and Kenniugton roads and a portion of London-road and St. George's- road. " The other more northern arm of this Intermediate sewer proceeds from the Brick- layers'Arms along part of the Dover- road and Trinity-street, crosses Blackmao-street, continuing along Great Suffolk-street across Soulhwark-bridge-road, along Suffolk-street, across the end of Gravel-lane, through Nelson-tquare, to Rowland Hill's chapel, at which point its level will be 0 40. being about 1 ft. '2 in. below the Battle-bridge sewer. This intermediate main hne will be 2i miles in length from the Surrey Canal bridge to Rowland Hill's Chapel — one-half of it through streets at present without deep sewers, and one-half along the line of an existing deep sewer, for which it will form a substi- tute, and the mere southern arm passing up to and dividing at the Elephant and Castle, about one mile in length, along the lines of existing sewers. The inclination of the proposed new lines varying at the different parts of the sewer according to the branches received on the principle above mentioned. " Consequent upon this intermediate main line being carried into the middle of the populous districts will be an alteration of the levels of above six miles of existing sewers in the following streets — viz., New Cut, Cornwall-road, Waterloo-road, Borough-road, Newington-causeway, Westroinster-bridge road, Lambeth-road, Westminster-road, parts of London-road, and St. George's-road. This will involve in addition much alteration in secondary drains and in house drainage ; and I cannot quit this part of the subject with- out again suggesting to the commissioners the expedient-y of watching and testing the working of the present main drains as soon as the main sewers are sufficiently completed to do so, before they proceed to the extensive alterations in the existing sewers which the contemplated interfereece with them will involve. " I beg now to lay before you my estimate of the cost of draining the district according to the system above described ; but before doing this I would observe that in drawing up this report and these estimates, I have thought it desirable to put down the outside amount of lift, of depth of drains, &c., in order that if there be^any error it may be on the right side. In this estimate I hare neither included compensation for passing through or under private property, which, however, from the lines adopted in accordance with the principle you laid down, will be comparatively trifling, nor the cost of the de- tailed drainage, to estimate which will be a work of much time and lengthened inquiry. In any case this will involve a considerable outlay, but as it is dependent on the settle- ment and partial completion of the main drainagu. It would have been premature to go into it here ; neither have I taken into account the cost of extending the system of drain- age into the suburban districts— a provision which it becomes daily more imperative to make. Satimiites of cost of system above dt'Ajri^ed. Miles. Fur. Cost. Main trunk drain from outlet in Greenwich marshes to the left at the Ravensbourne 3 0 .. ^25,887 Heservoirs and outlet- pipes .. .. 20,280 Pumping engines and apparatus.. .. 27,400 From the left at the Ravensbourne toapoint near St. James's church, Bermondsey, north mainUoe .. .. .. .. 3 5 46,930 Extension of north main Ifne from St. James's church to the Great St. John Sewer 0 6 8,000 South Main Line from Collier-street, Dept- tord, to St. Mark's church, Kenningtoa 4 OJ 49.600 Flood line of Effra .. .. ..0 5* 7,200 Intermediate main line from Surrey-canal bridge, with northern arm to Rowland Hill's chapel .. ., ,. ..2 2 12,000 Southern arm along New Kent-road .. 1 0 5,000 Alteration of existing sewers to connect with the intermediate main line, &c. .. 6 0 32.000 Effra flood line diversion by Peckham .. 7,000 ly ^241,297 ' FaANK F0B3TEB. "1, Gr€€k-str€€t, Soho, l«t August, 1S50. "To the Hod. Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers. Mr. Stephfnsox, at the conclusion of reading the report and in moving its adoption by the Court said — ** I think it desirable to explain to the Court a few of the principles which actuated Mr. Forster in devising the plans which are now upon the table, and the reasons which guided him in laying them down. Before commencing the consideration of these general principles, however, allow me to say, in reply to some complaints which have been made out of doors respecting the great delay which has taken place in pro- posing any general plan for the drainage of London, that the public must bear in mind that the commission has not been more than 10 months in existence, and that some of its members came into it quite fresh — unac- quainted with a great number of the localiiits of London, and absolutely unacquainted with the complicated system of sewage existing, to the extent of nearly 600 miles. In addition to this, the underground surveys were in a very incomplete state, and no one could venture to say wiiat general plan ought to be pursued at that time, as it was dangerous to commence with any one locality, for fear of interfering with the ultimate chance of success, London, however, divides itself naturally into two districts — north and south, and after the commission had examined generally the condition of these two districts, they found th;it Bermondsey, Latnbeth, and Southwark were infinitely worse than the north side; to that portion, therefore, they have directed their attention, ahnnst without cessation, during the last few months. I am glad to see these pi ins upon the table of the Court, having in view the establishment of a complete and perfect system of drainage for this district, which extends over nine square miles, three of which are from 6 to 7 feet below high-water mark. The whole ei?ht or nine square miles vary from 2 to 6 feet under high-water mark. It will be apparent that to devise a system of drainage for this locality is a work of no inconsiderable difficulty. The locality may be said to be drained only for four hours out of the 12, and during those four hours only very imperfectly. The sewers now empty themselves into the Tliames at various levels, and when the tide rises above the orifices of those sewers, of course the whole drainage of the district is stopped until the tide recedes again; thus the whole system of sewers in that locality may be said to be but an articulation of cesspools. The com- mission commenced the consideration of this subject with a sincere desire to accomplish the drainage by natural means, if possible ; but it soon became apparent that these sewers, which were subjected for eight hours out of the twelve to a state of stagnation, acquired a settlement of solid matter which required even a more extensive system of flushing than that which we now possess. It has been proved by the last few years that even flushing, under 8uch circumstances, is not efficient, and the tendencies in these sewers to form a concrete of hard substances is such as to render any current of water, however rapid and constant, quite ineffectual. Under these circumstances it became apparent that the commission must resort to artificial meang of drainage, and pumping by steam appeared to he the most economical and the most efficient plan. Mr. Forster therefore proposed the establishment of a steam-engine at the Ravensbourne to lift the whole of the sewage of the district to a height of 20 feel, and by that means a current would be estab- lished so as to maintain throughout the whole day, without cessation, a con- stant flow, and the solid matter which now forms the subject of complaint would be carried oif. Tlie expense of pumping may at first appear to be very great. 1 thought so myself at the commencement ; but when it was reported to me by the officers of the commission, that the cost of flushing and the cost of removing this solid matter now concreted at the bottom of the lewers would be very great, and that the cost of pumping-up the whole of the sewage matter would cost less money, I thought that the system of pumping, as applied to the south side of the Thames, appeared to be entirely without objection. I will not now go into the details of the works, as Mr. Forster has already explained them; and I shall move that Mr. Forster's report be adopted, and that the works therein recommended be carried out forhwith." Sir John Burgoy.ne said : After the clear and full statement made by Mr. Stephenson, it is not necessary for me to go into any of the matters or details connected with this report, as it would only lead to confusion. It is, however, satisfactory to know that, after the consideration given to these general principles laid down in Mr. Forster's report, the commissioners are unanimous in adopting them ; and that, with regard to details, there is no difference of opinion amongst us. I think that no dissatisfaction can be expressed by the public at the system which we propose to adopt ; and I am glad to have an opportunity of expressing my own full concurrence in the report which has just been read. The Chairman: The Court has at last succeeded in coming to a satisfac- tory solution of this very difficult question, and I was never more rejoiced than I am now to find that we have substantially brought it to a conclusion. I must remind the Court, however, of clause 17 in our act, which provides that no law shall be considered formally enacted by any court unless notice is given of it previously. 1 think, therefore, that we had better consider this day's proceedings merely as the required notice, and formally adopt this report at a future special court. This was agreed to without remark, Mr. Hawes said: In reference to the prompt execution of these works, ^e are now in treaty with several persons for the loan of sufficient money to carry them out. We shall require about 250,000/., to be repaid in 30 years by 30 instalments, principal and interest. The expense so divided will amount to about 2d. in the pound. Mr. Hawes, in answer to a question whether it was compulsory upon landlords to drain into these sewers when they were formed, said, the Act compelled every house within 100 feet of a sewer, to drain into it; and care would be taken to have a sewer within 100 feet of every house. 38* 284 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL, £Septembeb, THE WHITBY BANK. J. B. & WuiiAM Atkinson, Architects. 1850 J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 285 COURT Scale of Elevation. GaoDNO Plan. Scale of Flan. The VVTiitby Bank is a very good example of a small branch bank in a district yielding stone. Such a building requires accom- modation for the residence of the officers, and consequent safe custody of the property, as much as room for the business. Indeed, the banking office need not be very large, either for clerks or customers, in a small town. A branch bank must bring its staff within close compass : the manager is likewise clerk and custodian, and it is found economical to provide him with a residence. It is otherwise where the banking business is very large, for there the domestic part of the building is small, and there is more oppor- tunity for architectural display, and a large hall becomes the distinctive feature. The arrangement of the Whitby Bank is peculiar, and will be interesting to our readers, who will see what the architects have been able to do with an ungainly site. They have, it will be seen, given to their front a curved sweep, which has the effect of com- municating to it a peculiar and marked character. In the interior the banking office is irregular on the ground plan, but the ceiling is elliptical ; and the retiring room behind it, likewise peculiar in shape, is made symmetrical in the floor and the ceiling. The building is of stone procured from the neighbourhood, and the dressings of the doors and windows are rusticated. The win- dows are for safety provided with Bunnett and Corpe's iron revolving shutters, and the safe is under the counter, and descends into a vault in the fire-proof basement. The safe is moved up and down by an hydraulic pump, and it contains all the cash drawers and the bank books. When down in the vault an iron door closes all. The total cost of the building and fittings was 1600/. The architects were Messrs. J. B. and William Atkinson, of York. 286 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Septembeb, PHOTOGRAPHY. Photngrapliy on Gehitine : — Mearui of obtaining very clear and very Transparent Negative Proofi, capable of being transferred a great many times on ordinary Photographic Paper. By M. A. Poitevi.n.* In order to prepare the layer of gelatine on which I make my negative j)roof, I dissolve in luo grammes of water 6 grammes of gelatine of good quality (that which is met with in commerce, and which is used for preparing jellies for food succeeded best). This size should not contain salts soluble in water; it should also be as free as possible from fatty matters. To make the solution, I steep the gelatine in distilled water for 10 or 1,3 minutes; I slowly heat over a spirit lamp, and agitate continually until the solution is cotiiplete. If any scum forms, I carefully remove it by means of blotting paper, which I draw over the surface ; I strain it through a very fine cloth, previously danijjed, and I again skim the surface on which a few striae form, arising, doubtless, from fatty matters which escape the first skimming. The gelatine being thus jirepared, I take, with a graduated pipette, a determinate quantity, and I run it over a very even plate of glass placed horizout;;lly ; a layer of l-SOmm. is sufficient; this quantity is equivalent to nearly 'io centimetres of solution for a surface of half a plate having 13'5c. or 17'5c. A thicker layer would not be injurious, but a thinner one might present some in- conveniences. Before running the gelatine on the glass plate, a thin layer is applied to it by means of a cloth impregnated with a solution of gelatine, rather more dilute than the foregoing; afterwards, the glass plate is gently heated by means of a spirit lamp; then the solution of gelatine is run on, and flows uniformly over the plate. The under side of the glass plate is again heated, but with modera- tion, in order to give fluidity to the gelatine, and is allowed to cool. The plate being thus prepared, I plunge it into a solution of acetate of silver, keeping the surface covered with gelatine under- neath, and inclining it in the solution until the latter has com- pletely moistened it ; I then turn the glass plate and immerse it completely in the solution; then I pass a very soft pencil several times, and in difi'erent directions, all over the gelatinised surface, in order to dispel the bubbles of air which may adhere to it; and, before withdrawing it, I blow on the surface to ascertain whether the solution has moistened it all over. I then remove the plate, and holding it somewhat inclined, I pass the pencil already used over the whole surface, taking care to cover the edge of the pre- vious stroke with that of the following one. I then dry the under side of the plate, and i)lace it horizontally until the surface is dry, which requires five or six hours. I ordinarily prepare over-night the plates which I intend to use on the following morning, and in the morning those which I mean to use in the evening. It is important that no free li(piid should be left on the surface of the plate when it is required for use, for the preparation would be removed at the places where any re- mained. This preparation should be made out of the solar light. The plate covered with the solution of acetate of silver should be kept out of tlie light. The solution of acetate of silver is prepared by making a satu- rateil solution of acetate of silver, to which half its bulk of water is added. Admitting that 100 parts of water dissolve, at the ordinary temperature, 0-S gr. of acetate of silver, to prepare 0-750 Jit. of the solution which I use, I dissolve 2-5 gr. of acetate of soda in 15 grammes of water; I likewise dissolve 3-03gr. of nitrate of silver in 10 grammes of water; I add the solution of nitrate of silver to the solution of acetate of soda, and I receive the acetate of silver which is precipated on a filter; I wash the precipitate in a stream of water, then I pass through the filter several times 050 lit. of water; almost the whole of the acetate of silver should then be dissolved; I afterwards add 0-25 lit. of water to the half litre of saturated solution. In this operation 3 grammes of acetate of silver are formed, the 0*75 lit. should contain only 2-50 gr., but \ put in a little more of it to make uj) for any that may have been lost in the water of the solutions and of washing. The acetate of silver being very easily altered by the solar light, I make this solution as far as possible in a dimly-lighted place. I preserve it in a bottle covered with black paper, and filter it every time I use it. 1 e.xpose the plate prepared as above described to the vapour of iodine, in the same manner as a plate of silvered copper; only, for this exposure, account must be taken of the time, for we cannot • Comj)t« Jtauhu, Xo. 21, Maj 2", 1850.— Chciniit, July 1830. judge of the tint on the surface, only the time of exposure is shorter than for silvered plates. The iodised plate is placed in the frame of the camera obscura, and then I cover the side which is not gelatinised with a piece of card-board covered with black cloth. It is good to allow some time to elapse between the iodising and the exposure to the focus of the camera; the plate thereby gains in sensibility. 1 have sometimes used plates five or six hours after the iodising; they had lost nothing of their sensitiveness. The sensitiveness of these plates is about one-fourth of that of plates prepared with iodine and bromine. For a landscape with much light and with an object-glass with a small diaphragm, the exposure in the camera may require from 80 to 100 seconds. Por- traits, with strong lights and shades, may be taken in two minutes with the portrait object-glass. I have tried the effect of the vapour of bromine on these plates, and have found that it renders them more delicate. I have not made suflBcient experiments to have certain data on this subject. In order to make the image appear, I plunge the plate into a solution of gallic acid containing O'l gr. of gallic acid in 100 grammes of water; I leave the proof until the shadows appear sufficiently intense. This immersion may last an hour or an hour and a half. With a more concentrated solution of gallic acid, it would require a shorter time, but it would be more difficult to regulate its action. At the commencement of the immersion, a positive image is formed on the surface of the gelatine. This image becomes more and more dark; but, on looking through it, the parts corresponding to the shadows in nature remain very light. To fix the proof, it is washed in ordinary water, and then left for about a quarter of an hour in a solution of 1 gramme of hypo- sulphite of soda in 100 grammes of water; it is again washed in ordinary water, and it is steeped for the same length of time in a solution of 1 gramme of bromide of potassium, in 100 grammes of water. I wash the proof with ordinary water, allowing it to remain in it for fifteen or twenty minutes; then I wash with distilled water, and allow the layer of gelatine to dry in the open air. It is then a very clear negative proof, capable of giving positive proofs, with ordinary photographic paper, in the sun, in from 2 to 10 minutes, according to the vigour of the negative proof: it also comes very well in the shade. It is well to renew, at each operation, the solutions of gallic acid, hyposulphite of soda and bromide of potassium. In this operation, if the solution of gallic acid be replaced by a solution of sulphate of protoxide of iron, very beautiful positive proofs are obtained. Photography on Paper. — Means of obtaining the Imagein the Camera Obscura on Dry Paper. I3y M. Blanqcabt-Evbard. To render the execution of photography on paper simple, sure, and easy to those least experienced in chemical manipulations, should be the object of the efforts of those who wish to bring this art to its most useful application in industrial economy. The first condition for entering into this new order of things, is to rid the operation of the care which it requires at the time of the exposure. Me o])en the way by giving here: — 1. The means of operating on dry paper, instead of damp paper, freeing the operator from the difficult preparations which he has to make at the places of exposure. ■2. So simple a mode of preparing this photogenic paper, that it may be manufactured and sold to the amateur who does not desire the trouble of preparing it himself. The papers prepared by the means hitherto described could not be brought to the dry state without afterwards taking, under the action of gallic acid, an uniform coloration which would efi'ace the photogenic image, and cause it to completely disappear. Serum has the property of obviating this inconvenience ; the following is the mode of preparation to be adopted: — Collect, by filtering, the clear part of milk which has been turned, and beat u|) in tliis serum the white of one egg to each pint, then boil in order to remove all the solid matters, and filter again, after which dissolve without heat 5 per cent, by weight of iodide of potassium. The paper to be prepared must be very thick and steeped entirely in the liquid for two minutes, and afterwards dried by hanging it, by means of two pins, by two of its corners, to a line. This preparation is made in the daylight without any particular precaution ; the paper is fit for immediate use for six months after' uud certainly after a much longer time. AVhen it has to be used isao.") THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 287 it is submitted to a second preparation, wliich is done by candle- light, and as short a time as possible before the exposure ; it is, however, still capable of givinj; good results several days after, avoiding then, as much as possible, leaving it in a high tempera- ture. We proceed therefore in this ])reparation by covering a glass with aceto-nitrate of silver composed of 1 part of nitrate of silver, 2 parts of crystallizable acetic acid, and 10 parts of distilled water. On this substance is deposited one of the sides of the paper, which is allowed to imbibe until it has become perfectly transparent, ■which is ascertained by raising it between the operator's eye and the candle, after which it is dried between several folds of very white blotting-paper, and left so until it has to be placed in the frame, behind a sheet of very clean and dry paper, and between two glasses, as in the moist operation previously described. The e.\posure to which we afterwards proceed next day, varies according to the light and the power of the object-glasses, from one to five minutes. On returning to work, the part of the paper which has been pre- sented to the light is deposited in a saturated layer of gallic acid, taking care to secure the other side from any trace of gallic acid which would stain it. The image is gi-adually formed, and finally acquires as powerful tones as can be desired ; it is then washed in a great quantity of water, then parts into a solution composed of ] part of bromide of potassium and 20 parts of water, in order to dissolve the unreduced salts of silver, tlien again ivashed to remove all traces of this bromide, whose action, by continuing, would destroy the image, and finally dried between folds of blotting- paper. Preparation of the Dry Albuminous Paper. — The paper ])repared by albumen has analogous properties to that in the preparation of which serum is used, but in an inferior degree ; like it, it remains good for an almost indefinite period after preparation with the iodide, but, after having been submitted to the aceto-nitrate of silver, it can be scarcely kept beyond next day. The proofs given by the preparation we are about to describe are admirable ; not so fine as those on glass, they have more charms, because the contrasts are less decided, and they possess more harmony and softness. We think that it is a real acquisition for those who seek the eft'ects of art in the results of photography. White of egg, to which have been added thirty drops of a satu- rated solution of iodide of potassium and two drops of a saturated solution of bromide of potassium to each white of e^^^ is beaten up to a snow. It is left to i-epose until the snow returns to albumen in the liquid state, and then filtered through silk or clear muslin, the albumen being collected in a large and quite flat vessel. The paper to be prepared is then deposited on the layer and left on it for a few minutes. When it is covered with albumen, it is raised by one of its corners, and allowed to drain and dry by suspending it by one or two corners from a line. The preparation with the aceto-nitrate is, in every respect, the same as that described for the paper prepared with serum; care must be taken to dry it between two folds of blotting-paper only when the paper has acquired complete transparency. It is put into the frame for exposure in the same manner, the appearance of the image and the rest of the operation is the same ; but the exposure requires a longer time, generally four or five minutes. Preparation of the Positive Albumen Paper. — The positive ])aper prepared with albumen gives somewhat less brillant proofs, but of a richer tone, and of a more agreeable finish and transparency ; it is prepared in the following manner: — To the whites of eggs is added 25 per cent, (by weight) of water saturated with chloride of sodium. The white of eggs is beaten into a snow, and filtered as in the preceding preparation, only in this case the paper is left on the albumen for only half a minute. It is then hung up to dry, which is accomplished in six or eight minutes ; it is afterwards deposited in a vessel containing 25 parts of nitrate of silver and 100 parts of distilled water. The paper is left in the bath at least six minutes, and afterwards dried flat. CALEDONIAN CANAL. The annual report of the Commissioners for making and main- taining the Caledonian Canal has just been printed. The report gives an outline of the operations of the Committee till the 1st of May last. The repair of those portions of the canal works which sufl^ered from the unprecedented floods of January 1819, has been entirely completed in the past year, without interruption to the traffic. It has also been thought advisable to secure the works against the effects of a similar visitation, should such unhappily recur; and with this view, under the advice of Mr. Walker, the south-east bank of the canal above Doch-Garrock Lock has been strengthened, and raised about two feet and a-half above the highest level of the inundation. The gates of the lock itself are of such a height as to require no addition. An increase of two feet in height has been given to the canal bank of the reach above Aberchalder, and of three feet to the banks above and adjoining Laggan Locks; but in both these instances a corresponding addition to the height of the masonry and lock-gates is required, which has not yet been eff'ected from the apprehension of temporarily obstructing the navigation. Various additional accommodation and facilities for traffic have been supplied along the line of the canal, which leave little now to be desired for the convenience either of passengers or of trade. At Clachnaharry, the timber jetty at the Sea Lock has been ex- tended so as to obviate the risk of vessels grounding on the sloping embankment: a similar jetty has been constructed at Corpach. At Muirtown, the road of approach to the steamboat wharf ha* been widened. The steamboat stations at each end of the canal have been properly lighted: the roadway along the Dochfour em- bankment has been completed and fenced. The only further accommodations to which the Commissioners conceive that their means might legitimately be devoted are, a small landing pier or slip at Fort Augustus for vessels engaged in the local trade, and an embankment track-path on the north-west side of the canal between the Old and the New Gairlochy Locks, which are at present connected only on the opposite side. The erection oi landing piers at the difl^erent points where the steam-boots touch on the Lakes, would be of much convenience, and the accommoda- tion of a graving dock or patent slip for the repair of large vessels at the eastern end of the canal is highly to be desired, but these are rather subjects for individual enterprise. The sum of 10,000/., granted by parliament for the repair of the damages to the canal works, occasioned by the floods of January 1S49, was issued in August last, and there is no reason to doubt that the anticipations of its sufficiency for the entire restoration of the works, and also for the completion of the several precau- tionary measures above alluded to, will be verified. With regard to the Crinan Canal, the report states that the con- dition of this navigation has been much improved by various im- portant repairs. The upper gates of the summit lock at Cairnbaan (No. 8), and also of the second lock at Crinan (No. It), have been renewed. By means of a small dredging apparatus fitted to tlie canal barge, an additional depth of near two feet has been gained in the entrance to the canal through the harbour of Ardrishaig, greatly diminishing the period of detention (sometimes five or six hours), long complained of by masters of vessels, especially of steamers, which drawing ordinarily about seven feet water, were previously unable to enter or depart from the canal after half-ebb on the falling tide, or before half-flood on the rising tide. The dredging apparatus has also been usefully applied in restoring the canal to its full depth at spots where, as at Dunardry, the deposit from burns discharging into it had greatly encumbered the bottom. The reduction of dues upon the navigation, which was announced in the last report, has not diminished the revenue, although the tariff' of charges on the principal articles conveyed was reduced by nearly one-third. The revised tariff' was in force for the last nine months only of the year 184.9, during which time the increased resort of sailing vessels produced 1135/., as compared with 1113/. in 1848. Out of 729 vessels entering or clearing from the Clyde from or to northern ports, and capable of passing the canal, only 353 (or 48^ per cent.) took the passage round the Mull of Cantyro, whereas in the corresponding period of 1848, that course was adopted by rather more than 62 per cent, of the vessels under similar circumstances. In the months of January, February, and March 1850, this proportion was reduced to about 21 percent., but it increases as the approach of summer diminishes the danger of the more exposed and circuitous course. The dues on steamboats were not reduced at the time of the revision of the general tariff; but by an alteration sanctioned in the course of the month of .May in the present year, the commissioners have authorised a reduction of the tonnage rates leviable upon steamboats from 9rf. to Hd. per ton, and also of the harbour rates at Ai-drishaig and Crinan from \d. to ^rf. per ton. 288 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [_Septembeb, NEW PARISH CHURCH, SWINDON, WILTS. George Gilbbri Scott, Architect. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 289 NEW PARISH CHURCH, SWINDON, WILTS. The annexed engraving is a view of a new church that is now in course of building, under the superintendence of Mr. Scott. The situation is an elevated spot near the town of Swindon, Wilts. The building is of the Decorart of Euhtea, ju«t the spot where these constructions of so ancient a style, and so distinct from all other examples offered to us by history, liave been discovered. But the disi;overies made in Greece since her emancipation have not less served to rectify and to extend the notions already pos- sessed on i'.liixsiciil Architecture. The Propylea having been disenruml)ered from the modern fortifications wliich concealed them from view, and having now re-appeared in all tlieir ancient harmony, it is easily recognised that their magnificence corre- spondeil I'ully with that of the immortal monuments to which they gave access, and that their superb flight of steps occupied the whole width of the entrance to tlie Acropolis, descended probably to the Agora, and was ornamented on either side by terraces sup- porting statues and temples. One of the latter, the Temple of Victory, without wings, the finest jewel of the Acropolis' crown of monuments — which had disappeared between 1676, when Sphon and Wheeler travelled in Greece, and 1751, when Stuart visited it — now discovered again under a Turkish bastion, and restored, offers to study one of the purest and most perfect examples of the tetrastylos amphiprostylos of the Ionic order which exists in the world. The mouldinfrs of its entablature, as well as those of the Prop) lea and of the Partlienon, bear evident traces of painted ornaments, and put it beyond all doubt that the ornamental parts of tlie temples were painted in (ireece, like those of Sicily, in the time of I'ericles, as well as at more ancient periods, when they were often replaced by terra-cotta. In the Pinacothek, wliich contained the famous pictuies of Protogencs, the walls which the French or Catalanian dukes liad constructed to convert this part of the Propylea into their Chancery having been destroyed, the original partitions have been brought to light; and I think that tlie examination of these and of the walls of the Temple of Theseus, may give the solution of the question whicli had been the subject of so much controversy — namely, whetlier the ancients painted exclusively on the walls or on panels of wood, by proving that the Pinacothek was covered with panels, or, rather, moveable pictures; whereas the paintings in the Temple of Theseus were executed on stucco fixed to the wall itself. And I may here mentioti tliat one of tlie greatest connoisseurs of tlie paintings of the ancients — M. Raoul-Rochette, of the Institute of France, is now occupied in putting togetlier all the recent information ob- tained on this subject, with the intention of working it into a special treatise. Tlie Parthenon, in spite of the exact and conscientious work of C'ockerell, when delivered of the barbaric ruins whicli insulted its grandeur, had still secrets to disclose; and it is well known that attentive observations have taught the astonished architects of modern times, that of all those lines whose magnificent harmony is the source of tlie inimitable beauty of this edifice, there is not one which is a straight line; tliat with a depth of science wliich would put to fault the calculations of the profoundest mathematician, tlie architect, imitating nature, who avoids a straight line in her organic productions, had composed a system of curves beyond the skill of modern art to combine or reproduce. The Erectheum, that enigma of architecture, can also be better understood since it has been raised from its ruins; and in my opinion it is now evident that this temple was double, in spite of its having four names, and that the singular distribution of the house consecrated to Erectheus which it replaced liad been adopted in its construction. The new notions obtained on this temple have been most ably discussed in the Annals of the Academy of .Alunicli, by the most learned philologian of Germany, M. Thiersch, who is now preparing a second work on the same subject. To the study of Sculpture the results have not been less im- portant. EacJi fragment fallen from the chisel of a great master, and now withdrawn from the dust, is an inestimable treasure. The excavations made around tlie Parthenon have augmented our glyptic riches with twenty-one pieces of the frieze, one metope, and six larL'e fragments of statues belonging to the front of the temple, all master-pieces, which serve, in a slight degree, to console the Greeks for the painful losses made at a time when it w as not in their power to prevent them. I may say as much for the blocks of tlie frieze of the Temple of Victory, wliich are the cimipletion of those carried away by Lord Elgin. The discovery of tbo frieze of the Erechtheum is not a less precious one: its existence even was unknown, when twenty-one small statues of equal dimensions were found in the rubbish. They are of white marble, and having the back part of each cpiite flat, were evidently applied to and detached themselves from a back-ground of Eleusis stone. The execution is of the purest style; and they allude, I think, to the procession of the Pandrosus, to the birth of Erichtbonius, and to the loves of Mars and Mercury nith Agraulia and Ilerse. I shall not enter into a detailed enumeration of all the invaluable pieces of sculjiture which have been gathered into the Museum of Greece. But there are several which have enriched antiquarian knowledge with entirely new facts. It is thus that a very remark- able low relief, found in a cemetery on the east coast of Attica, and representing a warrior larger than life, serves as a precious step- ping-stone for the history of art among the ancients, by affording a very important specimen of the archaic school of Athens, and l>aiticularly of the manner of ArUtoc/es, whose name is inscribed on it, and who, according to my idea, flourished about the 66th Olympiad. Having come from Sikyon, where his grandfather had established himself after leaving Crete, this artist may be con- sidered as representing the connection between the different schools of archaic art. This fine low-relief also teaches us, that at the most remote period the same habit existed, which continued in later times, of painting works of sculpture, or at least the orna- mental parts and accessaries of them. Among the inscriptions recently discovered, and which serve to extend our archaaological information, I shall only mention the most important to the history of art, such as those which give us new details on the epoch and the works of divers sculptors. It is thus by one of them we learn that Eudaeos, thought to be the pupil and relation of Dedalus, was, in fact, only a Dedalides, an artist of the archaic school, and not more ancient than Aristocles. ^Ve learn from another, the existence of a sculptor of the same epoch, named Nesiotes; and from a tliird, that it was Strongylion who executed the famous Durian horse on the Acropolis. Among those which throw a stronger light on the public life of the ancients, I shall mention one which, consisting of more than 120 fragments, contains the list of the allied towns which paid tribute to Athens. The knowledge of these enriches ancient geography with a number of names unknown until now, and completing the political history of Athens, gives a moi-e exact idea of its greatness. The tribute-money seems to be calculated for a month, and the list only to contain the tenth part, or the share belonging to the temple. As far as the mutilated state of these fragments permits one to judge, that share seemed to have amounted to nearly five talents and a-half amonth. Several other inscriptions complete the lists already known of the treasures contained in the Parthenon, and the result to be obtained from them is, that in the days of the splendour of Athens, the temple contained objects in silver and gold, weighing together about 17 talents of silver. From another of these inscriptions, we can calculate the rate of interest paid to the Parthenon when the funds of the temple were lent to the town. I estimate this rate at 10 drachmas per 50 talents every day, or Ij per cent, for a year. Other inscriptions not less precious, which have served as a basis to the learned work of M. Bceckh, throw a great and new light on the most powerful element of Athenian greatness, the organisation and importance of their navy. The expense of the first expedition to Corkyra (Corfu), which opened the Peloponnesian war, forms the subject of one of them; and I pass over in silence a great number of monuments illustrative of more than one important point of history, such as the political calendar of the Athenians; their relations with foreign princes and nations; the detailed organisation of the Amphiktyonic league; the position of private slaves, and of the hierodidcs, or servants of the temple; questions of topography and others relating to the public games. I have only mentioned the discoveries the most rich in results, and the principal contributions which Greece has brought to the science of antiquity since her emancipation. And if it is true that my account is still far beneath the reality, and that a very abundant source of archaeological knowledge, obstructed by the ruins under which centuries and barbarisms had buried it, has now been re- ojiened in Greece by the power of liberty, and by the enliglitened efforts of a regular government, I hope I shall be allowed by the lovers of antiquity to advance, that the emancipation of Greece has not been a regretable event, as some seem to ha\e wished to make it ajipear, and that Greece has by tliis return alone repaid the greater part of the sacrifices made in her favour. 1850.1 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 291 INCRUSTATION IN STEAM BOILEKS. On the Incrustation which forms in the Boilers of Steam-Engines, in a letter addressed to Dr. G. Wilson, F.R.S.E. By Dr. J. Davy. On entering on this inquiry, which I did after my return from the West Indies in December, 1848, and after communicating a short paper to the Royal Society "On Carbonate of Lime in Sea- water " it appeared to me desirable to collect as many specimens as possible of incrustation from tlie boilers of steam vessels, now so widely employed in home and distant navigation By applica- tion to companies and to friends in our sea ports, as Dundee, Hull, Southampton, Hayle, Liverpool, A^Hiitehaven, I have succeeded in nrocuring specimens of incrustation formed by deposition in voyages from port to port, in the British and Irish Channels and the North Sea, between Southampton and Gibraltar, in the Medi- terranean and the Black Sea, and in the Atlantic Ocean, between Liverpool and North America, and between Southampton and the West Indies. I am promised specimens from the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean— hut these I have not yet received. The character and composition of the incrustation, whether formed from deposition from water of narrow seas or of the ocean, I have found very similar— with few exceptions, crystalline in structure, and, without any exception, composed chiefly of sulphate of lime; so much so, indeed, that unless chemically viewed, the other iAgredients may be held to be of little moment, rarely amounting to 5 per cent, of the whole. From two specimens of incrustation from the boUers of steamers crossing the Atlantic, one of which you sent me, in which you had detected a notable portion of fluorine, judging from its etching efl-ect on glass,— 1 also procured it, it was in combination with silica; and procured it also so combined from two obtained from steamers navigating our own seas, one between Dundee and London, the other between Whitehaven and Liverpool. Of this I had proof, by covering with a portion of glass or platina foil a leaden vessel charged with about 200 grains of the incrustation mi.xed with sulphuric acid, and by keeping the glass cool by evaporation of water from its surface, and by supplying moisture for the condensation of the silicated gas by a wet band round the mouth of the vessel. After about twenty-four hours under this process, a slight but distinct deposition was found to have taken place, corresponding to the margin of the vessel— a deposition such as that produced by sili- cated fluoric acid gas under the same circumstances, f hu-^ it was not dissipated by heat nor dissolved by water, and yet admitted ot removal by abrasion, either entirely or in great part; the former in the instance of the platina foil, the latter in that of the glass. Besides the ingredients above-mentioned, I may add that, in many instances oxide of iron, the black magnetic oxide, was found to form a part of this incrusting deposit, collected in one or more thin layers, and further, that in some, especially of steamers navi- gat"ng^the narrower and least clear part of the British Channel the depositions presented a brownish discolouration produced by the admixture of a small quantity of muddy sediment. Ii«usta- tions so discoloured, 1 may remark, are reported to be most difii- ''"i* have^'^said that the incrustations, with few exceptions were similar in their structure, and that that was crystalline; it was not unlike the fibrous variety of gypsum of the mineralogists. The specimens received, as might have been expected varied very much in thickness-viz., from one line and ess to half an .nch I have endeavoured, by a set of queries which I had distributed, to obtain information respecting the exact time in which the incrus- tations were formed, and under what circumstances; but with partial success only, owing to a want of exact observation In one instance, that of the North American mail-ship i?«>opa, which arrived at Liverpool on the 15th of November at 4 p.m., having left Boston on the 7th of the f^e month at 9 am an incrustation was found in her boiler of about one-hftieth of an inch in thickness; and it is stated that an incrustation of about the same thickness was found on her outward voyage. Ihis example may aid in giving some idea of the degree ot rapidity with which the incrustation is produced, at least in the Atlantic, with the precaution of "blowing-oif " every three hours, and with the "brine pumps" kept in constant work. In other seas, especi- ally contiguous to shores, and more especially of shores formed by volcanic Eruptions, it is probable, cMeris paribus the rate of the deposition of the incrusting sulphate of lime will be more rapid. The results of the trials of several portions of sea water taken up on the voyage from the West Indies to England noticed in the paper of mine already referred to, are in favour of this conclusion. To endeavour to prevent the deposition of the incrusting matter or to mitigate the evil, various methods, it would appear, have been had recourse to— some of a chemical kind, as the addition ot • muriate of ammonia and sulphate of ammonia to the water in tlie boiler— without success, as might be expected; others, ot a me- chanical kind, with partial success— as the introduction ot a cer- tain quantity of saw-dust in the boiler, or the application ot tallow or of a mixture of tallow and plumbago to its inside, to prevent close adhesion, and the more easy separation of the incrusting matter either by percussion, using a chisel-like hammer or by contraction and unequal expansion, by means ot .'^^^S/'", /^^ with oakum, after emptying the boiler and drying it. Ut all tne methods hitherto used,' that of "blowing-off —that is the dis- charging by an inferior stop-cock a certain quantity of the concen- trated water of the boiler by the pressure of steam, after the admission above of an equivalent quantity of sea water ot ordinary density, appears to be, from the reports made, the most easy in practice, the least unsuccessful, and the most to be relied on. But, as in the instance given of the North American steamer, it can be viewed only as a palliation. , Considering the composition of the incrusting matter and tne properties of its principal ingredient— the sulphate of lime, a compound soluble in water and in sea water, and deposited only when the water containing it is concentrated to a certain degree, there appears to be no difficulty theoretically in naming a preven- tive The certain preventive would be the substitution ot distilled or rain water in the boiler for sea water. Of this we have prcot in the efficacy of Hall's condenser, which returns the water usett as steam, condensed, after having been so used; but, unfortunately for its practical success, the apparatus is described as being too complicated and expensive for common adoption, lurther proot is afforded in the fact, that the boilers of steamers navigating lakes and rivers in the waters of which there is little or no sulphate of lime, month after month in continued use, remain free from incrustation. This I am assured is the case with the steamers that have been plying several summers successively on the lake ot Windermere. And it may be inferred, that in sea-goiiig steamers in which sea water is used in the boiler-or, indeed, any water containing sulphate of lime, the prevention of deposition may be effected with no less certainty by keeping the water at that degree of dilution at which the sulphate of lime is not separated from the water in which dissolved. i i, ♦„ From the few trials I have made, I may remark, that sulphate of lime appears to be hardly less soluble, if at all less, in water saturated with common salt than in perfectly fresh water. Ihis seems to be a fortunate circumstance in relation to the inquiry as to the means of prevention, and likely to simplify the Foblem If these principles be sound, their application under different circumstances, with knowledge and judgment on the part of tne directing engineer, will probably not be difficult. His great object will be in sea-going steamers to economise the escape of water in the form of steam, and thereby also economise heat and fuel; also when fresh water is available, to use it as much as possible; and further, to avoid using sea w.ater as much as possible near coasts and in parts of seas where sulphate of lime is most abundant. From the incrustation on the boilers of sea-going steamers, the attention can hardly fail to be directed to that which often forms, to their no small detriment, in the boilers of locomotive- railway engines, and of engines employed in mines and in the multifarious works to which steam power is now applied. These incrustations will of necessity be very variable, both in quantity and quality, according to the kind of ingredients held in solution in the water used for generating the steam. , r ■ ^ ►•„„„ Hitherto I have examined two specimens only of incrustations taken from the boilers of locomotive engines, and a single one only from the boiler of a steam-engine employed on a mine-a mine in the west of Cornwall. The latter was fibrous about halt an inch thick, and consisted chiefly of sulphate of lime, with a little silica and peroxide of iron, and a trace of fluorine. 1 he former were from one-tenth of an inch in thickness to one inch. They were laminated, of a grey colour, and had much the appear- ance of volcanic tufa; they consisted principally of •'f :bo"ate and sulphate of lime with a little magnesia, protoxide f ';«"' "'"'^' and carbonaceous matter-the last two, the ^'l'*^^ ''"f, ';^'^^~°n f matter, probably chiefly derived from the s™''''^ °V wouW aonear the dust in the air. From the engineers f P^^* i* ^f a„tnch!l that the thinnest-the incrustation of about one-tentl^^of an inch- had formed in about a week, during which t>me the locomotive had run about 436 miles, and consumed about 10,900 gallons ot water. 39* 292 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LSeptembeh, flat- FlB. 1. IRON FORGING. Improvements in Forging Iron. By James Nasmyth. Befor?: proceedings to describe the nature of the improvements in question, iMr. Nasmyth made some remarks on the value and importance of any improvement which tended to increase the cer- tainty of the production of sound and perfertlv solid forgings of wrought-iron, more especially those massive forjfings required for such jiurposes as jiaddle-shafts, marine engines, crank and plain axles for locomotive engines, anchors, and such like, on the sound- ness of which both life and pnqjcrty to a vast amount may depend. Mr. Nasmyth instanced cases in which paddle-shafts of marine engines had given way, although in the first instance thev had all the ou^tYn-rf aspect of the most perfect soundness, but which on fracture exhibited the existence of original defect, in being little else internally than a mass or bundle of loose bars of iron, which had never been in a sound welded union, but had onlv been held together by the exterior, where alone the welding had 'been so far perfect. Mr. Nasmyth exhibited a diagram of which fig. 1 is a copy, in order to illustrate the action induced on the centre portion of a cylindrical forging, when i)roduced under the action of laced hammer and anvil. It will be seen at once that the action inducedonthe centre portion of the metal of a shaft, or such like cylindrical form, by the successive blows of a flat-faced hammer and anvil, as a and b is to cause the work to spread out or extend in the direction e d, e c (as rei)resented by the double pointed arrow on tlie fi- gure); and as the flattened-out form has to be attempted to be corrected by turning the shaft round and round on the anvil, so tlnit each .successive blow may be made to correct the spi-eading out caused by the previous blow. The result of this action is a fretting or mincing of the centre part of the metal of the shaft, resulting in a separation of the metal throughout the entire centre portion of the shaft, somewhat after the manner indicated in fig. 2, frequently to such an extent as to permit the passage of air or water from end to end of shafts forged in this manner. The effect of this kind of unsoundness is that it is certain, sooner or later, to workout towards the exterior, and in all probability result in "a break down more or less disastrous in its consequences. iMr. Nasmytli then proceeded to describe his improved form of anvil-.'ace, by the employment of which all such defects as detailed above are avoided. Such has been the perfect success and excel- lent results which have attended the use of his improved anvil- tace, that its adoption has become almost universal; and the pro- duction of absolutely sound solid wrought-iron shafts, of whatso- ever magnitude, rendered enuully easy as certain. A, (fig. 3) re- presents the form of Mr. Nasmyth's improved anvil- face, which he terms a V-anvil, between the jaws of which the work to be hammered is placed as indi- cated by a cylin- drical shaft, seen in section marked cc c. A glance at the above figure will, no doubt, render its action evident, namely, that the action of each blovy of the hammer on Fig. 3. the work c c c, instead of causing, as in tlie case of fig. l,a di- verging action on the centre portion of the work, occasions on the contrary, a converging action, as represented by the three arrows • and instead of having the centre portion of the metal of the shaft renilered less compact and solid by the action of the blows of the hauiincr, we have quite the contrary effect produced ; l)esides wliich owing to the wedge-like form and action of this V-anvil face the compressing effect of the blows are most importantly enhanced and the ease and rapidity with which sucli cylindrical-formed work as shafts and the like can be produced under or by such means is most remarkable; so much so as to enable the forgemen to hammer out at one heat, by means of this A'-aiivil, as much as would require three heats on the common flat-face anvil. Add to which the vast convenience which the fork-like form of the V anvil yields in keeping the work at all times right under the centre of the hammer, as it is turned round and round to receive the succes- sive blows, which in the case of work of the largest class is a matter of no small trouble; another advantage consists in the free passage or exit which is at all times preserved for the escape of the scales and impurities which fall from the hot iron during the process of hammering, which scales fall down towards the apex of the Vat D, and trickle away, thus removing the cause of blemish and rough- ness which is caused by such scales collecting on the face of the flat anvil, and get beat into tlie surface of the forging. it will be seen on inspecting fig. 3, that one such V-anvil face as there represented, will accomodate a vast range of diameters of namely, all variety of diameters, such as will neither abso- work- lutely rest on the bottom of the apex at d, or on the corners p f. Mr. Nasmyth has taken every means, by the most free commu- nication, to promulgate among those interested the advantages of this \ -anvil, and has been rewarded by seeing its use become almost universal. iMr. N. stated that an angle of 80° was found by him to be most generally suitable for the inclination of the sides of the V, and also that the edges should be well rounded off, and the surface of the V sides curved in the direction of the axis of the work, to the extent of gth of an inch in 12 inches, so as to be '■^ proud" in the centre, and so facilitate the extension (axis ways) of the work. The vast simplicity, as well as the important results, which are yielded by the employment of this V-anvil face, has, in no small degree, contributed to its almost universal adoption. Its em- ployment renders the production of perfect sound work as easy as certain. Mr. Nasmyth next proceeded to describe the second part of his improvements in forging iron, which consist as in the first case, of means equally certain and simple in producing sound boiler plates. .Air Nasmyth prefaced his description of his improvements on this truly important subject by detailing the nature of the most fre- quent cause of unsoundness in iron forgings generally, and in boiler plates in particular, namely, the imperfect expulsion of the molten oxyd of iron, or " scoria," or " cinder," as it is termed, which in every case of welding hot iron covers and clings to the surface of the metal; and if left interposing between the welded surfaces, is certain to occasion a defect greater or less according to the surface of junction it occupies. The frequency of this interpos- ing scoria as the true cau.ie of unsound forged work was forcibly alluded to by Mr. Nasmyth, and shown to be the most fertile source and cause of the failure of wrought-iron work, resulting as such too frequently does, in the most sad and disastrous accidents, such as the failure of the links of chains and anchors, and in the costly and often distressing results arising from defective, i. e. blis- tered boiler plates. In respect to the links of chains, Mr. Nasmyth mentioned as the result of an extensive series of experiments on the strength of chain cables, on which, as member of "the committee on metals,' he was employed by the Admiralty; out of every ten cases of frac- ture, eight were occasionid by defective welding, as evinced by the appearance of the surfaces, which present to a practical eye appearances not to be mistaken, owing to the very peculiar aspect of the surface of the apparently welded metal, between which surfaces the oxyd or scoria had not been duly expressed. Mr. Nasmyth further described the condition absolutely requi- site to perfect welding, namely, not merely tliat the surfaces we desire to weld should be really " welding hot," but also that when brought into contact, no particle of the scori.i, which inevitably clings to the metal while welding hot, should be jiermitted to remain interposing between such surfaces as we desire to weld. If such material is left interposing, we are certain to have defect and unsoundness to a greater or less extent as the result. In order the more clearly to detail his improvements on this important subject, Mr. Nasmyth exhibited a coloured drawing 1850.J THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 293 representing the usual form and arrangement of "a pile" of "slabs" such as are employed in forming, when welded togetlier, a mass of iron from which boiler plates or bars of iron are rolled. Fig. 4. rejiresents such "a pile" of " slabs," which having been, as is generally the case, produced under the action of a forge hammer and anvil, having flat, or as is generally the case, slightly conve.v surfaces, causes the slabs so produced to have certain hollow parts, or slightly concave portions of their surfaces, so that when piled one upon the other, as in fig. 4, the risk of having hollow spaces be- tween is almost certain. The hollow spaces are represented in the figure by the dark irregular lines between the slabs. Referring to fig. 4, a, b, c, d, represent a pile of four slabs laid on the anvil welding hot ; owing to the concave irregularities of the surfaces, the parts most cei^tain to come into contact first are ge- nerally the exterior edges of the slabs. The efi'ect of the blows of the hammer is first to weld the parts in natural contact; and by continuance of the blows, the interpiwiiig scoria or "cinder" is expressi.?!, in a degree more or less pcvt.' -tly, according to the energy oi ihe blows and the deep- ness of the convex or hollow patches betwixt the slabs. So long as there exists an exit or passage for this scoria, all is well; but, as generally happens, some portion of this scoria lurks behind after all chance of escape is removed by the welding of the exterior portion of the surfaces of the slabs. The result of this is, that we have to a certainty a defect greater or less in amount, according to the quantity or sur- face over which the inclosed scoria extends: once such scoria is shut up between the surface of the slabs, no amount of after ham- mering will ever expel it, but on the contrary, will only tend to its extension over a larger surface; and, as before said, so long as a particle of this scoria is left interposing, so have we a degree of unsoundness in proportion. Great as this evil is, and common as it is as a fertile cause of defective iron work, and the more especially so in the case of boiler plates, the means of avoiding such source and cause of defect is as simple as the results are important; and it is to be hoped that the free and open communication which Mr. Nasmyth has made of his views on this subject will be answered in the most acceptable way by the general adoption of his improvement or certain means of avoiding the occurrence and existence of all such causes of defective boiler plates, and forged work generally ; w hicli improvements consist simply in so fonniny the surfaces which we desire to weld together that a free exit may be preserved to the last for the escape of the molten oxyd or scoria until the entire surface of the parts we desire to weld are thorouyhly incorporated by the welding pro- perty, aided liy the action of the hammer or rolls, as the ca.^-e may be. In order to accomplish this most important and desirable object, Mr. Nasmyth forms the surfaces of his slabs convex (see fig. 5); by which most simple common- sense-means a perfect free exit to the scoria or interposing impurity is maintained to tlie last moment, the welding com- mencing at the centre part of contact w, and extending out- wards towards the edges under the action of the successive blows of the hammer, or squeeze of the rolls; but, as before said, an open door is kept for the escape of the scoria until the surfaces unite from the centre w to the outer edge z, z, z, z. Here, then, by an arrangement or formation of the surfaces we desire to weld, we have the most cer- tain and simple means of pro- curing a perfectly solid sound mass of iron which, when '^' beaten, hammered, or rolled down to whatsoever thickness we desire, vvill retain, to the last, all the qualities of the one sound solid mass we had converted it into hy this most simple improve- ment— namely, giving to the surfaces we desire to weld a convex form and relation to each other.— Mr. Nasmyth concluded his observations on these important subjects by an earnest appeal to the members of the Mechanical Section to diffuse, by all means in their power, the information which, on this as on all such subjects, he shall ever feel the highest pleasure in communicating to the prac- tical men of his profession, and the world in general, who may think fit to accept these results of an active life, which he finds so much real pleasure in freely sharing with them. POWERS OF MINUTE VISION. On the Powers of Minute Vision. By Mr. W. Petrie. Resulis from experiments for determining the best sort of station-marks, and the errors liable, in observing with optical instruments that measure on the principle of bringing tivo reflec- tions together. The experiments were performed in bright day- light (but not sunshine), being light of the maximum of advan- tage for perceiving black against a white ground. The general circumstances of the experiments were arranged rather to deter- mine the facts of common practice, than the theoretic powers of vision. Mr. Petrie then detailed the various distances at which circular spots, lines, &c., white on black as well as black on white, could be seen, the distances being given in terms of the breadth of the object seen. An arrangement of lines was described, by which an alteration of their position to the extent of only one millionth part of the distance of the observer was made visible. One result of the experiments would be to show what would be the proper pro- portions of parts to be observed in forming letters to be read with the greatest distinctness at a distance,— a subject of much practical use in the present day, and admitting of a strictly scientific system, although generally left to the fancy of incompetent persons. White letters on a black ground should have their component lines of only half the breadth that black letters should have on a white ground. The direction of the eye, while appearing to gaze steadily at any object, does in reality keep wanderiny to an imperceptible distance on every side of tlie object looked at, but very rapidly. This ican- dering is not accidental or an imperfection of sight, but an essentinl feature of vision; because it is not the continuance of an impres- sion that is perceived (by any of the animal nerves), but its com- mencement and termination, or, more strictly speaking, its in- crease and decrease. This principle is probably analagous to that by which a magnet creates an electric current in a neighbouring wire, not by its constant presence, but by the increase or diminution of its influence, either by a variation of its power, or of its position. This wandering propensity of the eye was shown to account for the relative facility with which different sorts of marks were seen at great distances : it takes place, apparently, in a minimum case, to the extent of an angle of 1 in 2500. A dislocated line (as in a vernier), its fault being half its breadth, can be perceived to be so at a distance" of 10,000 times its fault, if black on a white ground ; and at 12,000 times, if white on a black ground. It shows itself, however, by giving the line a less steady appearance, than a per- fectly even line would have, when narrowly watched, by running the eye along the line, at about half as far again. Experiments were tlien described, on the visibility of the posi- tions of the ends of lines, and of hiatuses in lines, and of square dots as compared with round. But the last conclusion of practical importance was in respect of observing the angular position of station-marks, or of stars, by reflection, as in a sextant. From these experiments it appeared that the position of two closely adjacent dots or images, in sensible parallelism to a given direc- tion, while it affords one of the simplest kinds of observation, is more accurately observable than their actual coincidence, or even tlian the junction of two lines, as if in a vernier. On the Gradual Subsidence of a Portion of the Surface of Chat Moss, in Lancashire, by Drainage. By Mr. G. \V. Oumerod.— Tliis was the continuation of a paper read at the Swansea Meeting. It was shown by a series of levellings made in the last four years, over an extent of about 200 acres, where drainage was carried on, that a subsidence had taken place to the amount of one inch per annum. 294 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [Septeubbr, ELASTICITY OF SOLIDS. On the LniBS nfthe Elasticity of Solids. By W. J. Macquorn Ran- KiNE, C.K., F.K.S.E. This paper is intended to form the foundation of the theoretical ])art of a series of researches on the strength of materials. Its immediate object is to investigate the relations which must exist between the elasticities of different kinds possessed by a given sub- stance, and between the different values of these elasticities in dif- ferent directions. The different kinds of elasticity possessed by a solid substance are distinguished into tlirce, viz. : — First, longitudinal ehuticity, representing the forces called into play in a given direction by condensation or dilatation of the particles of the body in the same direction ; Secondly, lateral elantU-itij, representing those called into play in a given direction by condensation or dilatation of the par- ticles of the body in a direction at right angles to that of the force; and thirdly, transverse ehmticitij or riyiditi/, being the force by which solid substances resist distortion or change of figure, and the pro- perty which distinguishes solids from fluids. The author's re- searches refer chiefly to substances whose elasticity varies in dif- ferent directions. His first endeavour is, to determine the laws of elasticity of such substances, so far as they are independent of liypotheses respecting the constitution of matter ; a course which has not hitherto been followed. The first Theorem or law states the existence of three axes of elasticity at right angles to each other at each point of each sub- stance possessing a certain degree of symmetry of molecular action. The elasticity of a body, as referred to these three axes, is expressed by twelve coefficients, three of longitudinal elasticity, six of lateral elasticity, and three of rigidity, which are connected by the follow- ing laws. Theorem II. Tlie coefficient of rigidity is the same for all direc- tions of distortion in a given plane. Theorem III. In each of the co-ordinate planes of elasticity, the coefficient of rigidity is equal to one-fourtli part of the sum of the two coefficients of longitudinal elasticity, diminished by one-fourth part of the sum of the two coefficients of lateral elasticity in the same plane. The investigation having now been carried as far as is possible without the aid of hypotheses, the author determines in the first place the consequences of the supposition of Boscovich, that elas- ticity arises solely from the mutual action of atomic centres of force. In the following theorems a perfect solid means a body so constituted. Theorem IV. In each of the co-ordinate planes of elasticity of a perfect solid, the two coefficients of lateral elasticity, and the co- efficient of rigidity, are all equal to each other. Theorem V. For each axis of elasticity of a perfect solid the co- efficient of longitudinal elasticity is equal to three times the sum of the two coefficients of rigidity for the co-ordinate planes which pass through that axis, diminished by three times the coefficient of rigidity for the plane normal to that axis. Thus in perfect solids all the coefficients of elasticity are functions of three independent coefficients — those of rigidity. In no pre- vious investigation has the number of independent co-efficients been reduced below six. To represent the phenomena of imperfect solids, there is intro- duced the hypothesis of molecular i^ortices, in addition to that of atomic centres ; that is to say, each atomic centre is su|>posed to be surrounded by a fluid atmosphere, retained round the centre by attraction, and diffused from it by the centrifugal force of revolutions constituting heat. The author has already applied this hypothesis to the theory of the elasticity of gases and vapours. (Trans. Hoy. Sue. Edin., Vol. XX. Part I.) Applied to solids, it leads to the following conclusions : — Theorem VI. In an imperfect solid, each of the coefficients of longituilinal and lateral elasticity is equal to the same function of th(f coefficients of rigidity wliich would have been its value in a jierfect solid, added to a coefficient oi fluid elasticity which is the same in all directions. Thus the number of independent coefficients for such substances is. /bur. The rest of the paper is occupied by the deduction from these principles of some important consequences, relative to coefficients of compressibility and extensibility, and to elasticities correspond- ing to directions not coinciding with either of the three axes. FOBCE OF WAVES. Observations on the Force of the Waves. By Thomas Ste\xnsox, F.R.S.E., Civil Engineer. The author, after some introductory remarks, described the action of the Marine Dynamometer, the self-registering instrument with which the observations were made, and one of the instruments was exhibited. He stated, that a theoretical objection might, perhaps, be started to referring the action of the sea to a statical value, but contended, that in designing sea works the attempt of the engineer is to oppose the dynamical action of the sea by the dead weight or inertia of the masonry, so that the indications of the Marine Dynamometer furnish exactly the kind of information which the engineer requires. The greatest result registered in the Atlantic Ocean was at Skerryvore, during the westerly gale of the 29th of March, 1845, when the force was C083 lb., or 3 /otm fier square foot. The greatest result registered in the German Ocean was 30131b., or about 1^ ton per square foot. It further appeared, fnmi taking an average result for five of the summer montlis during the years 1843 and 1844, that the force in the At- lantic Ocean was 6111b. jier square foot, while the corresponding averag^e for six of the winter months was 2086 lb., or three times as great as in summer. These ol)servations he liad communicated in 1845 to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and were printed in the twelfth volume of the 'Transactions' of that body. The author then stated, that tlie greatness of those results had excited surprise in almost all to wliom they had been communi- cated, and positive doubts were expressed by many as to the correctness of the indications. Three classes of facts, essentially different from each other, may be appealed to, as proving that if the indications of the Dynamometer are incorrect, tlie error must be in defect, and not in excess. The first fact to which reference was made was the elevation of spray caused by waves meeting with an obstruction to their onward motion. Most persons are familiar with the frontispiece representations of the Eddystone and Bell Rock Lighthouses during storms, which are attached to the descriptive accounts of the erection of those works; and although some deduction may be allowed for the fancy of the artists, still there can be no doubt that they are, in the main, faithful repre- sentations of a natural phenomenon. On the 20th of November, 1827, in a heavy ground swell after a storm, solid water rose at the Bell Rock, 106 feet above the level of the sea, irrespective of the depth of the trough of the wave. Such an elevation is due to a head of water of the same height. The force, then, which urges the lower courses of the Bell Rock must have been nearly three tons per square foot, while the highest indication of the Marine Dynamometer at the same place, since the observations were commenced hardly equalled 1-| ton. The second class of facts to which the author alluced was the fracture of materials of known strength. The instance adduced was a small harbour in Argyll- shire, where, in order to preserve the tranquility of the tide basin, a contrivance, called '■booms,' well known in harbour architecture, had been resorted to. The booms are logs of timber, which are placed across the entrance to a harbour, and fit into checks or grooves, which are made in the masonry on either side. The booms, therefore, act as a temporary wall or barrier against the waves. The set of booms referred to have been in use for about five years, and in that time the waves have broken no less than four Memel logs, measuring each one foot square in the middle, and spanning an entrance of 20 feet. From the known strength of the material it will be found, that on these four occasions a force must have been exerted equivalent to the uniform distribution of a dead weight of 30 tons, or at the rate of \\ ton per square foot, while the highest result that had been recorded at the same place during the short period that observations were made, was about 1^ ton per square foot. The last class of effects to which the author alluded was the movement of heavy blocks of stone. The information derived from s\ich observations was not so certain or satisfactory as from the other instances. The only record he could adduce was the movement of a block of stone weighing about Ij ton, to which a Marine Dynamometer had been bolted. The stone was turned upside down, and the dynamometer indicated a pressure of little more than one ton. The autlior then referred to the overturning of the Carr Rock Beacon by the sea in 1817, during a heavy gale, but stated that, as we do not know the manner in which waves act when encountering obstacles, it was impossible to calculate what force had in this instance been exerted. The part of the column which was over- 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 29; turned was 36 feet in height, and 17 feet in diameter at the base, the rock being so small as to preclude a greater diameter. The author then concluded by stating the following desiderata, which bethought important: — 1st. Continued observations so as to ascertain constants for the Atlantic and German Oceans and the Irish Sea. 2nd. Relative forces of the same wave both above high-water and below low-water levels. And 3rd. Relative forces of the same wave against vertical and sloping surfaces. AIK A.VD WATER IN TOWNS. On the Air and Water in Tounm, and the action of Porous Strata on Water and Organic Matter. By Dr. R. A. Smith. It is a matter of great importance to find from what source it is best to obtain water for large towns, and how it is to be collected. To these points Dr. Smith particularly directs attention. Regard- ing the conditions of many springs, whicli never become muddy, but possess a constant brilliancy and a very equal temperature at all seasons of the year, the author thinks that there is a p\irify- ing and cooling action going on beneath. The surface water from the same place, even if filtered, has not the same brilliancy; it has not the same freedom from organic matter, neither is it equally charged with carbonic acid oroxygengas, — there are other influences therefore at work. The rain which falls has not the purity, al- though it comes directly from the clouds; it may even be wanting in cleanness, as is often the case. Springs rise tlirougli a great extent of soil, and collect a considerable amount of inorganic salts; and it is shown by Dr. Smith that their purity is due entirely to the power of the soil to separate all organic matter, and at the same time to compel the mixture of carbonic acid and oxygen. The amount of organic matter removed in tliis way is surprising, and it is a most important and valuable property of the soil. The change even takes placo close to cesspools and sewers; at a very short distance from the most offensive organic matter there may be found water having little or none in it. As an agent for purify- ing towns, this oxidation of organic matter is the most e.xtraordinary, and we find the soil of towns which have been inhabited for centuries still possessing this remarkable power. St. Paul's Churchyard may be looked upon as one of the oldest parts of London, and the water from the wells around it is remarkably pure, and the drainage of the soil is such tliat there is very little of any salts of nitric acid in it. If the soil, says Dr. Smitli, has such a power to decompose by oxidation, we want to know how it gets so much of its oxygen. We must, however, look to the air as the only source, and see how it can come from it. When water becomes deprived of oxygen, it very soon takes it up again, — as may be proved by experiment. This shows us that as fast as the oxygen is consumed by the organic matter it receives a fresh portion, conveyed to it by the porous soil. Several experiments of the following character were given, to show the filtering power of the soil: — .V solution of peaty matter was made in ammonia; the solution was very dark, so that some colour was perceived through a film of only the twentieth of an inch in thickness. This was filtered through sand, and came out perfectly clear and colourless. Organic matter dissolved in oil of vitrol was separated from it by a thickness of stratum of only i inches. A bottle of porter was by the same process deprived of nearly all its colour. The material of which this filter is made is of little importance. One of the best, according to Dr. Smith, as far as clearing the vvater is con- cerned, being of steel filings; oxide of iron, o.xido of manganese, and powdered bricks, all answer equally well. This shows that the separation of the organic matter is due to some peculiar attraction of the surfaces of the porous mass presented to the fluid. REGISTER HYGROMETER. This instrument was invented by Mr. Appold, for the purpose of keeping the atmosphere of his house, in Finsbury-square, at one regular degree of moisture. It is made so that a variation of one-quarter of a degree in the hygrometric state of the atmosphere will open a valve capable of supplying ten quarts of water per hour, and convey it on to the surface of warm pipes covered with blotting paper, by which the water is evaporated until the atmo- sphere is sufficiently saturated, and the valve thereby closed. A lead pencil k, attached, registers the distance the hygrometer travels, and thus a sheet of paper moved by a clock would show the hygrometric state of the atmosphere at any period of time. The instrument is made with two bulbs, a and b, of a cylindrical shape, 1 inch diameter and 1^ inch long, placed vertically, so that the surface of the mercury may always be the same size; the bulbs are about 9 inches apart, with mercury enough in them to fill one. and connected together by a glass tube, that the mercury may flow freely from one to the other. A little ether is placed in each bulb, and the remaining space filled with the vapour from the ether. The bulbs are fixed upon a balance, so that when one bulb becomes warmer than the other, the ether forms vapour in one, and con- denses in the other, by which means the mercury is driven from one bulb to the other. It will be observed that the wet bulb B, is placed under the fulcrum, for the purpose of keeping it always in contact with the water; the other end a, is held up by a spring e, connecting the two horizontal levers d, and c, so that it can be adjusted to agree exactly with the action of the mercury: this is done with both bulbs dry, and made to stand in any position, the spring counteracting the weight of the mercury. When in use, the spring and levers are lowered, allowing as much mercury to flow into the dry bulb as may be required; the drier the atmosphere is required to be, the lower the dry bulb must be placed. The valve F, is fixed to one end of the top lever d, that the lever g, which opens the valve, may be always in the same situation relative to the hygrometer. In the place to wliich it belongs the water is laid on n ith a gutta-percha pipe. The brass vessel at top serves for a temporary cistern, to show the action of the valve, h, weight attached to the lower lever c; l, set screw for upper lever; m, cistern that receives the water from the valve, the overflow of which goes on to the pipes; n, overflow pipe. DOOR SPRING hinge. An improved Door Spring. Invented and patented by Georgk Beattie, builder, Edinburgh. In all steel springs there is a defect in the want of uniformity of pressure throughout the travel of the door, which usually increases as the door is opened wider, and makes it disagreeable to the per- son opening it; and when it closes, a rapid slam takes place; and if the door has glass in it, it is liable to be broken. By the im- proved hinge these defects are avoided, and there is no metal spring of any kind used, the motive power being obtained by the pressure of the atmosphere (which is well known to exert a pres- sure of 15 lb. to the square inch) acting on one side of a piston ; the other side being a vacuum. In applying this pressure to shut a door, about 2 lb. to the square incli is lost by the friction of the machinery. The pressure of the air acts simply as a counter- balance on the piston, the resistance being uniform throughout the travel of the dooi when opening it, and when shutting the door 20C THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LSeptember, the rcffularity of motion and avoiding of slam is obtained by means of a stream of I'il being made to discharge from a cylinder through a hirgc or small aperture, according to the speed required. Fluids being almost incompressible, the oil will not pass through the aperture beyond a given rate, which is in proportion to the size of the aperture and the quantity to be discharged, and the power (if the cylinder the vacuum is formed in. to press it through. There is nothing in the machinery employed liable to break or get out of order. The air-spring consists of an iron box and cover a, let into the floor, which contains a vertical axle b, supported at bottom in a hollow cup c, and furnished at the toj) end which projects above the floor with a shoulder and lever hinge p, for carrying the door on this axle; and within the box is fastened a horizontal wheel n, which is toothed upon a portion of its circumference. On each side of this wheel is a rack k, attaclied to a piston f, which is made to fit tightly into a cylinder g, by a cap leather h. In the under side of the cylinder is a valve k, communicating with the outside; in the bottom of the cylinder is another valve l, commu- nicating with an exhausted chamber. On each side of the racks are guides M, for the piston. Fid 1 The teeth of the wheel are made to take in either of the toothed .1.-0 .... t1.„ ,1„,.. „,. „„*„ :„ ,1 - 11 ^„ »i . 1 11 _ acks as the door or gate is opened one way or other, so that the .11 i„ .1 1 ii.- _-_T _ 1 i_ • m behind piston will be drawn along the cylinder, leaving a vacuui at a uniform and regular degree of resistance until the door is released, when the unbalanced pressure of air upon the face of the piston v,-ill cause the door to resume its original position. riG- 2 iiiii I VEETICAL SECTION. FIG 3 The use of the valve K, communicating with the outside of the cylinder is that, in case of a leakage of air behind the piston, it shall be driven by the return of the piston tlu-ough it to the outside. The use of the exhausted chamber and valve l, communicating with it is, that a small portion of the leakage air or oil w hich cannot be dis- charged through the valve k, leading outwards, escapes into the exhausted chamber, which allows the piston to get to the bottom, and to bring the teeth of the rack in hard contact with the teeth of the wheel, and thereby keep the door in its proper jilace when shut; in fact, gives it a maintaining power. The regulator is for tempering the speed of the door when shutting. It consists of a snuiU cylinder — Ae— Be is the equation to the para- bola (tig. 2) ; oe, ow, are the axes of e and w; AB the axis of the curve, and A its vertex. The formula now proposed may be therefore considered to exlii- bit THE HYPERBOLIC LAW OF ELASTICITY, and the last-meutioued formula the parabolic law, in consistency with tlie nomenclature adopted by James Bernouilli in the 'Acta Eruditorum' of Leipsic, 1G94. In the tables accompanying this paper, comparison is made between the two fornmla for cases of extension and deflection; the accuracy of the former is shown to be always the greatest — the error of the parabolic formula being, on the average, between three and four times as great as that of the hyperbolic formula. Assuming, then, the proposed expression for the extension of a rod of a unit of length and a unit of sectional area, and the analagous one for compresion ((/), by a weiglit («•), yd w = 1 1 + Sd It is found that the deflection/, of a rectangular beam of length 2a, of depth '2d, in the direction of deflection, and width m, by a force 2 P, applied perpendicularly at the centre of the beam, is /= Pa' which is the hyperbolic formula for deflection. Hence, an expression is deduced for the ultimate deflection of rectangular beams, from which it follows that tlieir strength is as their thickness and the cube of their de])th directly, and as the length inversely — the law usually adopted in practice hitherto. It is true that this law was not formed to he followed exactly in the experiments above referred to, where tiie magnitude of the beams differed greatly; but the irregularity is explained in the Report as due princi])ally to the superior hardness of small castings. Lastly, by substituting in the above formula for the deflection numerical values of/ a and $, obtained from tlie experiments on extension, the numerical co-eflicients are obtained in the formula for com|>ression. Tliis method seems to tend to more correct results than the experiments on direct compression, detailed in the Report. For those results are extremely irregular, and were vitiated by the inclosure of the compressed rod in rectangular tubes, the sides of which were pressed by the rods when they became bent; and tliis pressure bad great efi"ect to resist the com- pressing force at the end of each rod. The numerical values of the co-eflicients of compression iu the hyperbolic formula agree closely together when computed, by the above-mentioned method, from experiments on deflection of difi'erent bars. The great desideratum for the improvement of the hyperbolic or any hypothetical law of elasticity is a knowledge of the manner in which the strength of cast metal is influenced by tlie magnitude of tlie casting; and it is to he hoped that this defect of practical knowledge will not long remain unsupplied. VALUE OF WASTE GASES FROM BLAST FURNACES. On the Value of the Gaseous Escape from the Blast Furnaces at the Ystalfera Iron-works, in Wales. By Mr. Palmer Bldd. Mr. Budd stated that, since the meeting of the Association at Swansea, he had continued, and witli increased success, to apply the waste gases th.-it escaped from the top of blast furnaces, to the manufacture of iron; and it was the result of his farther experience applied to the whole of his furnaces (nine in number) since that period, that he now wished to submit to the Section. He con- sidered that he could not have f illen on a better locality for this purpose than Scotland, where tlie iron trade has Iieen developed with a rajiidity that is quite surprising, and quite characteristic of the enterprise of Scotchmen. Twenty-five years ano, Scotland was of no importance in the iron trade, but since then tlie produce of iron iu Scotland had increased to between six and seven hun- dred tliousand tons a-year. In that sliort period Scotland had accomplished a production wliich Staffordshire and other places in England took two hundred years, and South Wales a hundred years to accomplish — the make of iron in Scotland being now equal to that of either England or Wales. This great accession to the produce of iron has had a sensible effect on its price; but as lie believed that necessity was the mother of invention, and that nature had in store for us an immense reservoir of riches to be yet developed, he was of opinion that the tendency of all this cheap- ness was to teach us that nothing should be wasted, and that we should look forward to the time when the smoke that at present contaminated the atmosphere, and the filtli that polluted our streets, would be regarded as too valuable to be wasted. When we ctuisidered the utility of iron. Us low price, and its general distribution in the deposits of every age, we could not but look upon it otherwise than as the great agent in modern civil- isation. Mr. Budd then referred to liis mode of ajiplying the gaseous escape, and said it was well known that there were two descrip- tions of furnaces used for metallurgic purposes. The one was the blast furnace, into whidi air was injected, by mechanical means, at a great density, so as to penetrate upwards of forty feet of dense materials; and the other the reverberatory furnace, where the lire was produced by means of the draught of a chimney stack. What be had accomplished was by combining tliese two, so that the gaseous products of the furnace, instead of escaping through the funnel head, were drawn sideways by a high stack, and passing through the stoves and boilers, leave behind the necessary temperature of the blast and of the steam. In a blast furnace the ores are smelted before the tuyeres by the conversion of the solid carbon into car- bonic acid, which, passing up through the middle region of the fur- nace into a bath of carlion, was reconverted into carbonic oxide, capable of combining with a farther dose of oxygen. It would be thus seen that the whole of the carbon of the fuel should be present at the top of tlie furnace in a gaseous form. When the British Association met at Swansea, be had not used the gaseous escape at any great distance from the furnace, his stoves and boilers being very closely contiguous. Furtlier experience, however, had proved that by the aid of a stack at the end of the chain of suflicient dimensions, the gaseous escape from the furnace might be made to travel in the most tortuous directions, descending to the stoves built for heating by the usual (ire-places, and traversing the boil- ers ; the only condition absolutely necessary being that tliere should be an unbndven communication with the high stack at the end, into which the gaseous escape miglit at last pass, and by which it was drawn fn-ward, instead of passing oft' wastefuUy at the funnel-liead. AV'hen, however, the draught was carried down- ward, and to long distances, he had found it necessary to drop into the top of tlie furnace a hopper or funnel, made of sheet-iron, which acted as a shield at the mouth of the horizontal flues, and jirevented them from either being affected by high winds, or from being choked np by the materials thrown into the furnace. The reason, no doubt, why this funnel was not applied before was the great apparent temperature at the funnel-head. In practice, however, it was found that until the gaseous escape mingled with the atmos])here, its heating power was not such as to injure sheet-iron, or even to make it red hot. In fact, so long as there was an escape upwards, the iron funnel would not he in- jured. The damage arose during and after stoppages of the fur- nace, when the blast was obstructed in its passage upwards by the settlement of the materials in the furnace, so that the atmosphere ruslied down to meet the ascending gases, and of course, caused a very high local temperature. His practice was to exclude the atmospheric air as much as possible. The afl^nitv of the gases for oxygen was so great that the air leakage raised the temperature quite sufficient for safety, whilst the full combustion of the gaseous escape w(uild melt down the liricks in the flues, and destroy the texture of the irmi tube. It was not possible for him to say what combinations took place at high tenijierature, where carbonic oxide, carbonic acid, hydrogen, and nitrogen, were mixed in such proportions. At any rate, he found a smothered combustion to ba the most suitable and economical for the purposes in view. He was happy to say that, at length, the application of the gaseous escape had been tried in Scotland ; and that at Dundyvan and elsewhere it was now in successful operation. The peculiar (piality of the furnace coal of Scotland being what was called in South Wales "free buriiing," vvhich, when put into the furnace raw, coked sufficiently in its dei^tent, gave out an enormous escape, so much so that, upon a rough estimate, he calculated that the waste from one furnace in Scotland was sufficient to heat the blast, and to raise the steam for three. With anthracite coal, the minimum effect was obtained, as it was a dense fuel of nearly 95 per cent, of solid carbon; but in Scotland there would be aa enormous surplus at the funnel-head. 40 293 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL [Septembeb, He expeL'tfd, from the well-known sagacity of the Scottish lieople, that when truly embarked in this mode of operation the ^oeatei^t possible use would be made of it : and he would not be Kurprised to see heat let out, like mill-power, fur burning bricks and other similar purposes. He felt, however, anxious that the application sliould be made under the superintendence of com- petent parties, as he had known several instances where the plan hid been abandoned from difficulties that might easily have been surmounted under proper directions. He was quite aware that, by the plan lie had pursued, the utmost heat was not extracted IVom tlie gases; and tliat, by different means, a temperature might he obtained capable of performing all the operations of the forge; and if it be true tliat tlie solid carbon of the furnace in its escape, as carlionic oxide, would unite with another dose of oxygen for saturation, tliere could be little doubt that, with properly consti- tuted gas furnaces, there was enough at present passing off to convert the pig iron into bar iron. He hoped some of the iron- masters of Scotland would follow up this hint effectually with regard to the remaining processes required for making ma'llealde iron. He observed that the saving at the Dundyvan Iron-works was stated to be about 1] ton of coal for each ton of iron produced. Supposing, therefore, 600,000 tons of iron to be the produce of Scotland, and supposing the value of the coal used to be 3.v. a ton, the saving that would tlius be effected on tlie make of Scotland would amount to 112,500/. a-year; to which might be added 20,000/. a-year of saving in wages and repairs, which would make a total saving of 132,500/., or about 4s. 5(1. a ton on the produce of Scotland, which on the present price of 14.?. per ton, was about 10 per cent, on the value. If the gaseous escape could be ex- tended to the uses of the forge, a farther saving of tliree tons of i:oal would be effected — tlius making, at least, a saving of 20i. a ton on all the iron manufactured into bars, sheets, and rails. ELECTKICirV AXD HEAT AS MOVIXG POWERS. On the Appiication of Electricity and Heat as 3[oving Powers. By Mr. Petrie. From the dynamic equivalent of electricity, we can infer an important fact that one-horse power is the theoretic or absolute dynamic force possessed by a current of electricity derived from the consnmpt of 1-56 lb of zinc per hour in a Daniells' battery. But the best electro-magnetic engine that we can hope to see con- structed cannot be expected to give more than half or a fourth of this power; in any case we see here the limit of power wliich no jietfection of apparatus can make it exceed. The peculiar mode in which the electric current produces dynamic effects has led to much miscalculation respecting the power obtainable from it. In .my sort of electric engine the material to which the neighbouring current gives motion, whether it be another moveable current, or what is more usual, a magnetic body, is impelled in one direction with a constant force, and this force, whether it be attraction, repulsion, or deflection, is, like the powers of gravity, sensibly constant at all velocities, however fast the body recedes'bcfore the action of the force, provided only the same quantity (per minute) of electric current be maintained! This is quite different from the action of steam power, in which the faster the piston moves the greater is the volume of steam per minute that must be supplied to move it, or else the less will be the power with which it moves. — This fact, then, that the force with which an electric current of a given quantity moves the machine, is the same at any velocity of motion, bears no analogy to the case of steam, but would indicate that the dynamic result obtainable from a given electric current might be infinitely great; and so it would be, were it not that tlie part moved always tends to induce a current in the wire in the reversed direction, and this inducing influence, which increases with the velocity of motion, conflicts with the original current and reduces its quantity, and consequently reduces the power of the motion, as well as the consumpt of materials in the battery. Some have imagined that possible alterations in the position of the parts of the machine, or in its mode of action, would avoid the evil or even might make the induced current to flow with the primary current instead of against it; the impossibility of this, though not readily ]iroved in detail, can be at once proved by reference to general principles. It would, if true, be a creation of dynamic force — the evolving an unlimited force from a limited source. The tendency to an opposing induced current in the primary wire must, therefore, be involved in tlie very iirinciple of the sj-stem; so that no ingenuity can ever get rid of the retarding influence of tlie induced action; and the only way to overcome its power, so as to maintain the primary current from falling below a given rate or quantity wlien tlie machine is allowed to attain rapid motion is to increase the electro-motive power of the battery, the intensity (not the quantity) of the current, so that it should be less aifected by the opposing induction. The practical importance of these not altogether unknown truths, may justify the above somewhat particular notice of them. For want of a clearer apprehension of them, inventors have mis- apprehended the direction in which improvements were to be made and much ingenuity and means have been wasted. Some of the best electro-magnetic engines of other inventors that have been properly tested by the author and others, on a prac- tically useful scale, have only given a power at the rate of .50 to 60 pounds of zinc per horse-power per hour. The sniallness of this power in comparison with the aljsolute value of the current (1-56 pound of zinc per horse-power jier hour) should not occasion sur- prise if we consider the present case of steam after many years of improvement. According to the determinations of Youll and of Rankine on heat, one pound of water raised one degree of temperature, is equivalent to 7001b. weight raised one foot. The author then proceeded to show that the bust Cornish engines only yield ^th of the power that the combustion of the carbon actually represents, and many locomotives only yrnith part ; — showing what great rewards may yet await the exercise of inventive genius in this department, and that we need not wonder that we have, as yet, only obtained g-'^nd part of the power possessed by electricity. But it is to be remembered that there is a far greater likelihood of obtaining a larger proportion of the real power from electricity than from heat, owing to the character of the two agents. Mr. Petrie then proceeded to explain the reasons why so little of the power of heat could be obtained in a useful form, even in the best steam-engines, and what vvere the difficulties for invention first to overcome in order to a better result. In the case of electricity, however, there is no analogous diffi- culty ; but we have instead, the difficulty and expense of developing current electricity by the chemical actions now requisite. If carbon could be burnt or oxidised by the air, directly or indirectly, so as to produce electricity instead of heat, one pound of it would go as far as 9^- pounds of zinc (in a Daniells' battery) chiefly because there are as many atoms in one pound of carbon as there are in 5| pounds of zinc, and partly because the affinity (for oxygen) of each atom of (incandescent) carbon is greater than that of an atom of cold zinc, minus the aiiinity of the hydrogen for the oxygen in the water of the battery. Apart, however, from such prospects of improved means of obtaining electricity, its favourable feature, on the other hand, in comparison with heat, is, the reasonable expectation that we may obtain from electricity a considerable portion of the power which Mr. Petrie has determined as being the dynamic equivalent of the electric current. REVOLVI.NG LIGHTHOUSE LIGHTS. On the Limits to the Velocity of Revolving Lighthouse Apparatus caused bi/ the time required for the production nf Luminous Impressions on the Eye. By A\'ii.liam Swan, F.R.S.E. The object of this communication is to ascertain the greatest velocity that can be given to a revolving lighthouse apparatus, without impairing the brightness of the light. It is well known that at a given distance the apparent brightness of a revolving liglit e.vceejuse,* p. 213, 2i7. ordinate 21 inches, illuminated by a flame one inch in diameter, is one revolution in nearly 7 seconds. In stating these cases, it is not of course assumed that so great velocities would be found suitable in practice. All that can be inferred from the experiments with certainty is this, that any pro- posed arrangement which should employ Fresnel's great lens with a velocity exceeding one revolution in 8 seconds, would necessa- rily be disadvantageous; or more generally, that in every light- house arrangement, care must be taken that the flashes of light have time to act on the eye for more than one-tenth of a second. COOLING THE ATMOSPHERE OF BOOMS IN TBOPICAL CLIMATES. On a Method of Cooling the Atmosphere of Rooms in a Tropical Climate. By Professor C. Piazzi Smyth, of the Edinburgh Ob- servatory. The difficulty of efl^ecting this object is so great, even in cooler countries, that while the apartment of a sick patient during winter is preserved carefully and easily, by means of a fire, at any desired temperature, if this be much exceeded during a few days in sum- mer by the atmos]i]iere, although the patient may visibly suffer from the he.it, still the case seems to be thought so hopeless that the physician and friends are generally content merely to lament the untoward warmth of the weather; or, perhaps, in a few cases, to try to counteract some of the minor consequences of that pre- judicial cause. If the problem now proposed is to be solved in all its entirety, it must be stated thus: — In a country where the thermometer stands at or above 80° Fahrenheit all through the 24 hours, both summer and winter, and where there can be no coolness in springs, wells, rivers, or the night air; and where t/ic atmosphere is saturated u-ilh moisture, so that no cold can be produced by evaporation, — to lower the tem- perature of the air in rooms; to keep up a constant supply of pure cold air; and to remove that which has been warmed or otherwise vitiated. To meet such a case, the present Indian methods are utterly in- adequate, for the punkah, in its various forms, merely serves to agitate the air, and does not cool or purify it in the slightest degi'ee. The wet mats which in some places are hung before windows, and being blown through, naturally or artificially, cool the transmitted air, would be inapplicable in the case now before us, where the air is saturated with moisture. And even where they can be em- ployed, their use is objectionable on the ground of their adding so much moisture to air already overloaded with it; for it cannot be too strongly borne in mind, that in warm countries, though the air may often feel dry to the human frame, that still, on account of the air's capacity for moisture increasing with the temperature, there may be a far larger amount of watery vapour ))resent than even in a Scottish mist. And these are all the methods which have yet been brought for- ward for the relief of suffering humanity; for the bane to be removed is the too high temperature of the food of the lungs and the skin. The use of cold meats and iced drinks for the stomach must be regarded as a forlorn hope, and a mistaken idea. A complete remedy would, however, seem to be presented in the property of air to increase in temperature on compi-ession, and diminish on expansion — a fact strangely overlooked for this pur- pose, seeing how often workmen are stumbling upon it, while every book on Hydraulics contains an account of the Schemnitz machine, where air rushing out from great compression freezes the drops of w ater that issue with it; and every work on Natural Phi- losophy describes the syringes in which, by the sudden compression of air, tinder is ignited. AVhen cold air is to be produced in this way, it is evident that as the quantity of heat continually decreases for each succeeding atmospliere of pressure, it is desirable so to arrange the machine as to compress the gi-eatest possible quantity of air the least degree necessary to produce the required temperature, than to obtain exceeding cold by compressing violently a small quantity of air, and diluting- that afterwards with a larger quantity of common air. After some consideration,* a compression of one-fourth an at- * If maehinery could be esecuted perfectly, a high degree of compression mi^ht be exerted, and the compressed and cooled air might be made to react in its expansion of the bacit of the pi-ton wh]ch is cor-ipressing the air in front of it; thus savins all the power exerted but that lost io friction, diminished bulk of the cooled air, and imper- fect expansion and leakage ; but on submitting the matter to calculation, there did not seem to be any possibility of adopting th« method with advantage in the present mode- rate degree of perfsctioD of pneumatic engines. 40* 300 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOLRNAL. [Septembkb, iiios|ihci"e has been thoujrlit to be sufficient in most cases; and the followinf; airan^'iMiiejit of the machinery has been adopted for a one-horse power, wliiih may be expected to furnish a room witli about HI) cubic feet of air per minute, cooled 16° to 20' below tlie atniospliere outside. A double-actinit 12. Georee Thompson, ut Park-road, Regent's- park, Middlesex, gentleman, tor certain im- provements in machinery and appaniius for tuaiug. digging, or luruiug up earih, ap- plicable to ii^iiculturjil I ui poses.— A'lgu-t 12. Samuel John Pittar, of Church plaisp, Clapham, Surrey, civil engineer, for certain im- pruvements iu umbrellas, and parusols.— August 13. Peter Clausseu, of Great Charlotte slreei, Hlackfriars, SuTey, manufacturer, for cer- tain improvements in bleaching, and iu the preparation of materials for spinning and fellinp. and in yarns and felts. (A communication )— Aiii:u5t Id. William Kcaies, of Liverpool, meri-baut, for improvements iu machinery for manufac- turing roiliTi* and cylinders used for calito printing, and other purposes. Auguii Ifi. Chiirles Heard Wild, of St. Mirtin's-lane, Middlesex, civil engineer, for improvements in certain structures tor retaining water. — August 17. Henry Holland, of Binning'am, umbrella furniture manufacturer, for improvements in the mtinuLicfure of umlirellas and parasols. — August 22. V.d or Temple of Mars 4 6^ .. Temple of .Mars Ultor 6 0 58 O" The pro]iortions of the entablature vary in different examples from one-fifth of the height of the column to one-fourth or more. In the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, the cornice has neither dentils nor modillions, but the frieze is enriched with figures of griffins, candelabra, and scrolls. The Arch of Titus has been said to be the earliest example of the Composite order, but this appears to be a mistake, as this order is seen in the atrium of the house of Pansa in Ponijieii, which was destroyed several years before the Arch of Titus was erected. Simie autlitus deny the claim of the Composite to be described as a sejjarate order, and consider it merely as a variation of the Corinthian, but as it has several distinctive features, it saves confusion to allow it to retain its place as a fifth order. The capital is formed by a union of the Ionic and Corinthian; it is smiewhat deeper in proportion than * See Taylor and Cresy's Rome. the latter, and like it is divided into three parts; the first occu- pied by the angular volutes, with the intervening torus and astra- gal; the second by the upper, and the third by the lower range of acanthus leaves ; the fillet below the astragal forms the lip of the vase. This is the usual form, but the Romans frequently varied it, and sometimes with great elegance and propriety. In some in- stances, the centre flower of the abacus is replaced by the figure of an eagle, as in the Portico of Septimus; in others, the eagles occupy the place of the volutes at the angles, with Jupiter's thunder- bolts in the centre; in other examples, ox-skulls are placed at the aneles, with a festoon between, the lower part of the capital being finished with a row of water leaves, and so on in infinite variety. The shafts too were either plain or capriciously ornamented, some with spiral flutings, as in the Baths of Dioclesian, and others with wreaths of leaves, as in the Temple at Spoleto in Onibria; the flutings were frequently filled in with cablings part of their height, as in the Baths of Nismes, where the shaft springs from a row of acanthus leaves above the base. These fancies were not confined to the Composite, but sometimes extended to the Corinthian; the attic base was applied to both orders. The entablature of thq Composite resembled that of either the Ionic or Corinthian, but did not follow any positive rule. The mouldings in Roman archi- tecture difl^er considerably from the Greek, and seldom present so graceful a profile; they are rounder and more prominent, and the enrichments are bolder and more profuse. The frieze in both the Corinthian and Composite orders is frequently swelled or rounded. The usual iutercolumniation of the temples and porticoes was pycnostyle or 1^ diameters, contrary to the recommendation of Vitruvius, who condemned both the pycnostyle and systyle as too narrow. "Neither of these species," he says, "ought to be gene- rally adopted, for the matrons who go to their supplications mutually supporting each other, cannot ])a3s through the inter- columniations unless they separate and walk in files." He alludes also to the obstruction caused to the view of the entrance; but this was obviated by making the centre intercolumniation of greater width than the others. Contrary to the usual practice of the Greeks, the Roman pilaster capitals repeated those of the orders; in some instances the pilaster tapered upwards in the same degree as the column. TJie greatest distinctive feature in Roman architecture, however, was the introduction of the arch. It is almost impossible to imagine that the Greeks, having constant intercourse with both Egypt and Etruria, should have been ignorant of its mode of construction: it is a more probable conclusion, that they felt the want of harmony between the horizontal lines of the stylobate and entablature and the semicircular form; and having no occasion to roof in any large area (their great temples being hypsethral) they rejected the arch from choice rather than from want of knowledge. The vast mul- titudes that flocked to Rome rendered it necessary to erect public buildings of much greater magnitude than had been required in any of the cities of (Jreece; besides which, the humidity of tlie climate rendered a covering more desirable: thus the principle of vaulting was brought into use, as any space that could be spanned by a beam of wood or block of stone would have been inadequate to the wants of the population. The use of the arch naturally produced great changes; where introduced, the walls became the ]irincipal support of the roof, and the columns being merely orn.a- mental accessories, were slighter and further apart. .Vt first the arch was entirely independent of the order, springing from imposts behind the column, and not reaching so high as the entablature. The imposts and archivolts had only a few simple mouldings, but the key-stone was frequently sculptured with a head or mask, or ornamental console. In the time of Hadrian the imposts were made in the form of pilasters, or the arch sprung from the archi- trave above the columns; thus breaking the frieze and cornice, and destroying the horizontal line hitherto so strictly preserved. To this succeeded arches rising immediately from the capital of the column, the entablature being altogether omitted, as in the Emperor Dioclesian's palace at S|)alatro, thus gradually leading to the Romanestiue or early Christian style. The Roman arch was always semicircular, with plain wedge-shaped voussoirs of stone or brick, sometimes of stone and brick alternately. Vaulting came into use in Rome at the same time as the arch; the earliest kind was that called the Barrel or Wagon Vault, presenting a uniform concave surface throughout its length. Groining was also practised by the Romans, and formed by the intersection of vaults crossing at right angles. That domical vaulting was thoroughly understood we have a proof in the Pantheon. Another new feature was the pedestal as applied to architecture; this may be ascribed to two causes — the numerous wrought- marble columns brought from 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGIXEEU AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 307 Greece and Asia Minor were too short for the places they were to occupy in the buildings of Rome; it was necessary, therefore, to give them additioual height; this was sometimes done by adding a moulding between the base and the shaft, but generally by raising them on a pedestal. Secondly, the width given to the arcade required the order to be of a proportionate height, so that it must have been so massive as to have been out of character with the rest of the building, or the column must have been so slender in proportion to its height as to destroy its beauty. To avoid eitlier of these defects the pedestal was employed, by which means the proper proportion of the order was retiiined. The height of tlie pedestal was regulated either by that of the column, or by tlie width of the arch. The roofs of the Romans were somewhat higlier in pitch than those of the Greeks, the pediments were consequently slightly more elevated. Towards the decline of the empire, semicircular pediments were introduced, though they were mostly confined to niches, or interior decoration. At Nismes, and at Baalbec and Palmyra, there are rows of niclies in which semi- circular and angular peilinients alternate; here also are seen brolien pediments, coupled columns, and other features unknown in the early times of classical architecture. The Romans were never surpassed in any age, or by any people, in constructive skill. Brick-making was carried by them to great perfection; bricks were made of various forms, and of various sizes, from 8 inches square to 1 ft. 5 in. by 1 foot. A light kind was manufactured for vaulting, so light (according to some accounts), that they would float on water; these were much prized. The Romans employed several kinds or masonry, as the opus incertum, composed of stones of irregular shape and size; the opus reticulaturn, formed with square stones laid diagonally; and the emplectum, the same with the empleoton of the Greeks. In these the stones were small, and laid with mortar; but when larger stones were employed no mortar was used. In great works the stones used by the Romans were sometimes of enormous size: the blocks of the architrave and frieze of the Portico of the Pantheon, extending from column to column, are each 15 feet in length, 6 ft. 8 in. in height, and nearly 6 feet in thickness; the angular blocks are above 17 feet in length; some of these stones weigh as much as 3(i tons. At Baalbec, many of the stones are from 29 to 37 feet in length, and 9 feet in thickness, and one measures 62 ft. 9 in. in length, in one single block. Towards the decline of the empire, the emjjlectum was much used, either with or without courses of tOes; this is the kind of masonry usually met witli in the Roman works in England and France. Mortar was frequently made with pounded brick, which gave it a reddish tinge; but where procurable, the Romans used puzzolano. The puzzolano cement was of two kinds; one, blacker and more ferruginous than the other, was employed in buildings exposed to the action of water. The channels of the water-courses were laid witli cement, two or three inches thick, and are still as smooth and compact as if chisselled out of solid stone. When any structure was to be preserved from damp a double wall was built, with about a palm interval between. The method of marking out foliage in decoration may here be mentioned: a deep circular hole was drilled at each division of the leaf, thus assisting the effect of light and shade, and giving great boldness and decision of character. The Romans were no less skilful as workers in metal; four bronze columns, of exquisite workmanship, are still preserved in St. John Lateran, supposed to have belonged to the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus; and the bionze gates of the Pantheon, and several others, are still considered pre-eminent in beauty. Witli the exception of the Pantheon, the Flavian Amphitheatre, and a few others, all the magnificent buildings witli which the Im- perial City was once adorned, are so completely in ruins, that Rome has not inaptly been termed "a marble wilderness." Of many of these ruins it is difficult — of some impossible— to trace the plan, or to decide upon their proper designation. Gibbon ascriljes this devastation to four principal causes: injuries of time and nature, hostile attacks, use of materials, and domestic quarrels. Owing to their solidity of construction, time, unaided by other causes, might have spared us most of the great structures of classical times; but besides frequent conflagrations, Rome was formerly exposed to the floods of the Tiber, which often caused great destruction. This danger is now removed, ae the city is raised fourteen or fifteen feet above its original level. Besides these causes of decay, Rome (in 410 a.d.), was plundered by the barbarians under Alaiic; and afterwards another horde, under Genseric, pillaged the doomed city for fourteen days. Much of what the Goths and ^'andals had spared fell a prey to domestic rapine. In the middle ages the remains of ancient Rome formed a vast quarry, from which materials were unscrupulously taken for the construction of new edifices. The Coliseum owes much of its ruin to this cause; it is said, that as many stones were carried away from it in a single night as built the Farnese Palace. The Theatre of Marcellus became the Palazzo Orsini, and tlie Arch of Titus a fortress in tlie hands of the Fraiigipani f'amilv. Other buildings have been approjiriated to diflerent purposes, and extensive repairs and alterations been made, so that it is sometimes diflicult to distinguish the new from the old: thus temples and basilicas have been converted into Christian churches, and statues of heatiien gods made to do duty as Catholic saints. The same causes of decay prevailed in most of the provincial cities. The generidity of Roman temples were similar in plan to the Greek, and were, like them, divided into the seven classes described in a former lec- ture; they were also frequently surrounded by an extensive peri- bolus, the wall of which was sometimes as high as the pediment of the teni]ile. The peribolus wall was adorned within by a peri- style, or with niches and statues, and often contained apart- ments for the officiating ]iriests. The principal difference between the Greek and Roman temples arose from the greater population of Rome, and the consequent greater space required. Thus in the prostyle temples, the porticoes were generally of the pseudo- dipteral form; and as they were mostly built on level ground, a greater elevation was given to the stylobate, in order to raise tiiem above the surrounding buildings. A flight of steps, some- times as many as twenty-one, led up to the portico in front; the acrotreria on each side terminating the podium, were decorated with statues; and in the larger temples statues occupied the place of anteflxae on the roof. The Romans adorned their temples with lavish profusion; wlien Domitian restored the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, the gilding alone is said to have cost 12,000 talents, a sum nearly equal to two millions sterling. The Temple of Peace was one of the largest and most magnifi- cent in Rome; the central aisle was 83 ft. in breadth, surmounted by a vault 150 ft. in heiglit; three lofty arches, each 80 ft. span, yet remain; here were deposited the sacred vessels brought by Titus from the temple at Jerusalem. One of the most perfect Roman temples now rem.aining is that of Caius and Lucius Csesar, generally known as the Maison Carree at Nismes. It is of the Corinthian order, 7 1 ft. in length, by 41 ft. in breadth; prostyle and hexastyle, with a pseudo-dipteral portico; engaged columns are placed round the exterior walls of the cella; the columns are rather more than ten diameters in height, and the cajiital, which is of elegant design, is somewliat more than one diameter high. The frieze in front is occupied Iiy an inscription, but on the flanks is sculptured with foliage. The entablature rather exceeds 2^ diameters in height; the doorway is elaborately ornamented, and surmounted by a lofty cornice. This temple is ascribed to the time of the Emperor Hadrian. Besides the seven classes, the Romans had another form of temple, derived from the Etruscans, and by them probably from the east; this was ttie circular, symbolical of the earth and the heavenly bodies, and dedicated to Vesta or Cybele. The Pythagoreans believed fire, which they called Vesta, to be the centre of the universe; and Plutarch mentions a circular temple, which the Etruscan King Niima Pimipilius erected to contain the sacred fire. Several cir- cular temples are still in existence, as the Temples of Vesta at Rome and Tivoli; but the greatest ever built, and also the one in best jireservation, is that dedicated to Jupiter, Cybele, and all the gods, by Agrippa, son-in-law to Augustus, and called the Pantheon or Rotunda. It is uncertain whether the body of the edifice existed previously, Agrippa only adding the portico, or whether the whole may be ascribed to him; the former is probably the case. It was injured by fire some time after its erection, and was rejiaired by Septimus Severus and Marcu^. Antoninus. After suf- fering from neglect for many years, it was granted by the Emjie- ror Phocas to Pope Boniface, who dedicated it to the Virgin Maiy and the holy martyrs (610, .i.o). I'he Pantheon originally stood seven stei)s above the ground, but the earth has accumulated so much round it, that it is now below the level. The body of the temple is 143 ft. diameter, and 143 ft. in heiglit to the top of the dome; it is constructed of brick; the exterior was formerly coated with stucco or cement, and the dome covered with plates of bronze, but these were removed by the rapacious Emperor Constans, during his visit to Rome. The walls are 20 ft. in thickness, and gi'adually diminish to 5 ft. as they approach the summit of the dome. The exterior height is divided into three parts by cornices of brick; the two upper cornices have stone modillions; the second rises in front, so as to repeat the form of the pediment. From the third cornice, the wall recedes about 8 ft., then follows a podium 41* SOS THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LOCTOBEB, ■hase. and six steps, from w}iic)i the dome rises. The two i are modern, and were erected hy Pope Urban VIII., pa or surli towers are modern, and were erected hy Pope Urban VIII., part of the second cornice being- cut away to receive them. The por t CO of the Pantheon is justly considered one of the most beautiful remains of anticjuity. It is of the Corinthian order, octostyle, sys- tvle, and dipteral. The sixteen columns supporting the pediment are Hi ft. 5 in. in height, and 5 ft. lower diameter; the shafts are jilain, the exterior range of grey granite, the interior of red Egyp- tian granite in one block; the bases and cai>itals are of white marble; tlie entablature (also of white marble) is nearly one- fourth the height of the column. Opposite the interior range of columns are fluted pilasters of white marble, between whioh are bas-reliefs ; the spaces between the pilasters on the flanks are also deconwted with bas-reliefs. On each side of the doorway are niches, the one formerly occupied by the statue of Augustus, the otlier by that of Agrippa. Critics have objected to the depth of the tympanum, but it must be remembered that the Roman roofs were more elevated than those of the Greeks, on account of the difl'erence of climate; and the effect of the high pediment would be much relieved by the sculpture with which it was formerly orna- mented. The doorway is 39 ft. in height, ami 19 ft. in width, with imposts and cornice of white marble; the doors are perforated at the top to admit of light and air." The mass of brickwork of whicli the wall is composed, is lightened by seven exhedrae or cliapels, which surround the interior, and also by small vaulted chambers above; the weight over each opening is discharged by arches seen on the e.xterior. The chapels have each two Corin- thian columns in antis, of giallo antico, or pavonazetto marble ; the architrave and cornice are of white marble, the frieze of por- phyry; it is said, that before the restorations of Septimus Severus, the interior columns had capitals of Syracusan bronze; the inte- rior order is lighter in character than the exterior, and the shafts of the columns are fluted. Between the chapels are tabernacles, eacli with two isolated columns backed by pilasters. The large recess opposite the entrance was formerly occupied by a statue of Jupiter, but is supposed to have been altered from its original form for the reception of the high altar. Above the lower order is an attic with a continuous pedestal or surbase; it is now decorated with small pilasters and panels of different coloured marbles let into the wall, the pilasters having capitals of white marble in low relief; these are, however, comparatively modern, as anciently the entablature was supported by thirty-four caryatides or telamones. In the dome are deep cassoons, twenty-eight in the circumference and five ranges in height; in the centre of each was a rose of gilt bronze; the plain part of the dome was silvered. The whole of this splendid editice receives light from a circular aperture, 28 ft. diameter, called the eye of the vault; in the attic are fourteen windows, but these do not communicate with the exterior, but are intended to give additional light to the chapels from the centre opening. The pavement is tesselated with granite, por- phyry, jasper, and marbles; it inclines towards the centre to pre- vent'the rain falling through the roof from deluging the floor. The aperture was occasionally covered by a velarium. Such is the Pantlieon. " Spared and blest by time, simjile, erect, severe, austere, sublime," as Byron describes it, we may imagine its im- posing effect in its days of pristine splendour. The circular temples of Vesta at Tivoli and Rome, are peripteral, the former surrounded by a peristyle of eighteen fluted Corinthian columns, 9.7 diameters in height; the latter, by twenty c(dumns, nearly 11 diameters in height. In these small circular peripteral temjiles the interior diameter of the cella was the same with the height of the column; they were lighted by windows, and were supjKised to have had vaulted roofs terminating in flowers or antefixiE. From its picturesque situation on ihe edge of the cliff, the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli has been an unfailing subject for the landscape painter, tVom the time of Claude to the present day. \'itruvius nienti(Mis another kind of round temple, with a domical roof supported by columns without a cella, called monopteral: of these vve have no examples. Bi'fore leaving the subject of the sacred buildings of the Romans, the ruins of Biialbec and Palmyra claim our attention, both belong- ing to the latter ages of the empire. Baalbec, or ileliopolis, so called from the worship of Baal or the Sun, was one of the shief cities of CVelesyria, whose inhabitants were renowned in early times for their magnificence and luxury. It is uncertain to which reign the great temple is to be ascribed; some authors attribute it to Antoninus Pius— otliers to Septimus Severus. John of Autioch says, ".^Elius Antoninus Pius built a great temple to Jupiter at Heiioi)olis, near Libanus, in Phoenicia, * See Pruf^iJ-or DonaWso:i's Cx .mplr^s of Ancient tiooways. which was one of the wonders of the world. The ruins are so vast, that the Arabs l)elieve the buildings to have been the work of fairies or genii. A grand portico leads into a hexiigonal court, and this into a quadrangular peribolus, at the end of which is the great temple; in the first court are chambers, which are supposed to have been schools, and apartments for the priests. The portico, or propyleum, is flanked by projections or towers, on which modern fortifications have been raised. The great temple is of the Corin- thian order, decastyle, with nineteen columns on the flank. It is 900 feet in length, and 450 feet in breadth; the columns are 7 feet lower diameter, G ft. oi in. upper diameter, and 58 feet in height. The whole height of the order is 87 feet. A smaller temple stands near, octostyle and pseudo-dipteral, also of the Corinthan order. The whole of the buildings are of white marble, and as sumptuously enriched as the luxury of art could devise. The ornament on the frieze is the same in both temples, and is most singular; it consists of a row of modillions set on end, connected by ribbons and garlands, with a grotesque head carved under the upper scroll of each modillion. A small temple still exists at Baalbec, in good preservation, which is unique in form. The cella is circular, 32 feet diameter, with a peristyle of eight columns, six of which are about 10 feet distant from the cella; the entablature curves so as to touch the wall, the columns only supporting the projecting angle formed by the meeting of two curves. The same elliptical curve is repeated in the stylobate; the frieze is rounded, and the wall of the cella ornamented on the exterior with niches. Palmvra, rising like an island from the sandy desert, received its name from its multitude of palm trees. It is supposed to be the same as the Tadmor of King Solomon. This city long pre- served its independence, on account of its situation in the desert, and as a frontier town between Parthia and the Roman empire, and carried on the principal trade between Rome, India, and Arabia. Palmyra is best known to us as associated with the names of Zenobia and Longiuus. This once wealthy and important city, the abode of princely merchants, has now dwindled to a'few miser- able mud cottages, erected within the court of its once magnificent temple. The date of the foundation of the great temple is unknown; but from inscriptions it appears to have been repaired by the Emperors Hadrian, Aurelian, and Justinian. It is octostyle and pseudo-dipteral, and stands in the midst of a spacious peribolus, 74.0 feet long by 720 feet broad. The peribolus is surrounded on three sides by a double peristyle; on the west is the noble pi-opyleum and the priests' apartments: the exterior wall is deco- rated with Corinthian pilasters. In the great portico or propyleum are the niches, with coupled columns and semicircular pediments before mentioned. The ornaments, particularly of the doorways and soffits, are elaborately beautiful. The whole of the ruins of Palmyra are of the Corinthian order, with the exception of four engaged Ionic columns in the great temple, and two in one of the tombs. The architecture of Palmyra is precisely similar in st5-le to that of Baalbec; both exhibit the florid taste of the east rather than the simplicity of classical art; but whatever defects may be percepti- ble, it is impossible not to admire the grandeur of the conception, the boldness of the execution, and the great skill displayed in con- struction. Before entering upon the civil architecture of the Romans, I shall briefly notice their tombs and mode of sepulture. It was the universal custom (with the excejition of a few of their greatest men) to bury without the walls; monuments are therefore found extending on both sides of the roads, beyond the gates of the cities; thov are of various forms, generally richly ornamented, frequently with bas-reliefs, painted in colours. The tomb of Csecilia MotiHa at Rome is a circular building, so massive that it at one time served as a fortification. The Castle of St Angelo was formerly the Mausoleum of Hadrian, built by that emperor as a depositnrv for his own remains and those of his successors, several of whom repose there. It is a circular structure raised upon a sciii.tre basement. It was originally cased with marble, and surrouiulod by a peristyle; but the columns, as well as the statues witli which its summit was adorned, have long since disap- peared. The kind of sepulchre peculiar to the Romans, from their custom of burning their patrician dead, was the Columbarium, so called from its resemblance to a dove-cote. This was a square chamber with rows of arched recesses for the reception of cinerary urns or chests. In a niche opposite the entrance, a statue or bust of the founder of the family was frequently placed. The columbaria only rccei\ed light from the funeral lamps or torches, borne by the" mourners. Slaves, and those of the lowest rank, were buried in cemeteries at the public expense. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 309 The civil and domestic architecture of the Romans will be described in the next Lecture, beginning with the roads and aque- ducts, and proceeding with the Fora, Basilica, Amphitheatres, Thernia?, and other characteristic buildings. LIST OF AUTHORITIES. Vitruviiis — Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gibbon. — Architectural Autiquities of Rome, Taylor and Cresy. — Les Edifices Antiques do Rome, Desgodetz.— De Roman- orum Maenitlcentia, Piranesi — Le Cinque Ordini, Vigrnola. — Monument! e Fabbriehe Antiche, Cipriani. — Antiquities de la France, Clerisseau. Ruins of Baalbec and Palmyra, Wood.— Pompeiftna, Sir William Gell. — Encyclopedie Methodlque — Architettura, Serlio. — Arcbitettura, Palladlo. LIGHTHOUSE. A LIGHTHOUSE of a somewhat peculiar construction has just been completed at the extensive worlcs of Messrs. Fox, Henderson and Co., Smethwick, the following description of which may not be uninteresting to our readers: — The structure consists of a cast- iron tower, or hollow column, of a conical form, 70 feet high from high water to the top of the lantern; 12 ft. 6 in. diameter at the base, and 10 feet diameter at the top. It is composed of fifteen horizontal tiers of segmental plates, each tier 5 feet high, and so divided that no one plate exceeds 7 feet in breadth. The plates are provided with flanges, strengthened with brackets, and having bolt-holes with bosses opposite eacli other for bolting together. The thickness of the plates varies from l| to if inch. Round the bottom tier of plates there is a large flange, through wliich a number of long holding-down bolts pass to secure it to the foun- dation. In the second tier of plates there is a strong cast-iron door, accurately fitted, leading to the staircase, which winds round a central column. Equally distributed throughout the tower are six windows, to give light to the staircase. Tliey are of a circular form, and the frames are made of cast-iron, secured to the plates, and glazed with plates of glass fths of an inch thick. The entrance-door at the foot of the tower is Oft. Sin. high, and 3 ft. 6 in. in width. The hinges are of brass, and fixed to the door and frame with countersunk headed tap-screws. The gallery platform at the summit of the tower, for the support of the lan- tern, consists of cast-iron radial plates, |ths of an inch thick, truly-pointed, fitted, and bolted together. The projectional por- tion of the platform rests upon eight cast-iron brackets, filled and fixed to the upper tier of seKnieiital plates of the tower. The gallery platform is provided outside with a railing of wrought iron, 3ft. Sin. in height, consisting of baluster-rods, fitted to a rail at the top and bottom. Tlie top of tlie spiral staircase is pro- vided with a deal-boarded inclosure and a deal door, forming a bulk-head, to prevent any draught entering tlie lantern. The lantern is 10 feet in diameter over all, and 11 ft. 6 in. high from the floor of the gallery to the underside of the roof. The lower part, or plinth, is 5 ft. 6 in. high, and constructed entirely of cast- iron plates lined with wood. One-Iialf of the lantern consists of cast-iron plates, lined with wood, and tlie other half is glazed with flat plate-glass fixed in gun-metal sash-frames, and fastened with putty and metal pins. The roof is composed of double plates of sheet copper. A copper ventilator and a dart weathercock is fixed to the top of the lantern, and a lightning-conductor, tipped with gold, has been added. The whole of the cast and wrought- iron is painted in oil colour, with the exception of the bolts and nuts, which are thoroughly coated with coal-tar. The lantern is provided with a reciprocal light illuminating 120^ of the horizon, consisting of fourteen Argand lamps and fourteen plated reflectors of the most approved construction. The lantern is reached by ninety-eight steps of cast-iron. The lighthouse, on being com- pleted, was, according to agreement, erected on the premises, and all the parts connected, and it is at present standing in its com- plete state on a rising ground near the canal. On two occasions the lantern has been lighted, and produced a wonderful eff'ect — surpassing e.vpectatiun — and at night was seen at an immense dis- tance. The drawings, &c., were supplied by Mr. Cowper, the eminent engineer at the London Works. The liffhthouse is for the East India Company, and its destination iMiddleton Point, Saugor Island, India. — Birmingham Gazette. New York. — A new bank, called the Pacific Bank, has been built in Broadway. The well-known hotel, the Astor Hotel, is being repaired and enlarged. At no period was there ever such activity in building in New York, or such quantities of building materials brought into the city. ON DEDUCTIONS FROM METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. On Deductions from Meteorological Observations. By John Drew, Esq., F.R.A.S., Member of the Council of the British Meteoro- logical Society. 'I HE efforts of the British Meteorological Society are directed, for the present, to the attainment of mean monthly values of atmo- spheric phenomena for various localities. My last paper directed attention to the absolute necessity of referring all observations to acknowledged standards; and pointed out the means by which observers in districts widely dispersed, might be certain that the indications of their instruments were in accordance with truth. Presuming that the possessors of trustworthy instruments are competent to record their observations accurately and faithfully, it is my intention, in continuing the subject, to devote the present essay to the explanation of certain legitimate deductions from thermometric and barometric registrations. To be able to compare the observations recorded in various quarters in a manner the most immediate and direct, it is of importance that the daily registration should be conducted by each observer on precisely the same plan; so that on the transmis- sion of the series to head quarters, a comparison of column witli column may be made at a glance. To facilitate this essential object, the Council of the British Meteorological Society, at its meeting in July, agreed upon a form of registration which has since been printed, and %vhich may be obtained from Mr. Glashier, the Hono- rary Secretary, by all those who are anxious to co-opei-ate in the objects of the Society. Each sheet is ruled for one month; and the following copy of the heading will show the extent of the demand on an observer's industry : — c a. Is 3 c O a At A.M., Local Time. Ri^ading of i:T' mHct Attached Tliciia. Drr Bulb Tlierm. Wet Bulb Therm. Wind. Direction. Force 0— G. At A M., Local Time. Prevalent Diseases. Leafing, Bnd- riing, Flowerin? .^f Hm-dyPlai:ts, Korest Trees, &c ; and Arri- val and Depar- ture of Aii^ra- torj* Birds. Rcadingof Self-Registering Therniouieters. .iaiii fiiHt'ii in previous i4 hours. Mas. in Air. Min.iti Air. Max. in Hajsof bun. Min.on Gr^ss. On the ground. fpet above Notation usel in General R*-m rks. I Occasional simultaneous Readings of Self- Registering Thermometers at times of Ordinary Observations. a. dcnoU'3 aurora. ci. „ cirrus. m. denotes meteor. ms. „ meteors. c;-tu „ cirro-cumulus. n. „ nimbus. ci-s. „ cirro-stratus. cu. ,, cumulus. cu-s. „ cufnulo-stratus d. „ dew. f- „ f"g. fr. „ (rest. h-fr. „ hoar- frost. h. „ Jiaz..-. h. d. „ heavy dew. hi. ,. Iiail. 1. „ lightning;. li. cl. „ light clouds. li. sh. „ liulit sl.iiwers. r. „ rain. h. r. „ heavy rain. c. Ii.r. „ continued do. s. „ Straus. ^c. ,, scud. si. „ sleet. sn. „ snow. so.ha. „ solar halo. sq, tt squall. sqs. „ fiqua:ls. t. „ thunder. ts. „ thunder storm. w. „ wind. Max. Min. Mai. Sun. Min. Gross. lu.co. „ lunar corona, lu.hu. „ lunar hala. g „ gale of wind. Sums of tlie observations diiring the month Means .. .. ., ., Index errors .. Correciioii for Diurnai Range Means corrected 810 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrs JOURNAL, [OCTOBEB, From tlie adopted Mean Temp.R 48 2-2 eo 1-8 72 1-5 84 1-5 25 li-4 37 ■if. 49 2-.! 61 1-8 73 1-5 85 1-5 26 « 1 3S ■lb 60 2 1 r.2 1-7 74 1-5 86 1-5 27 0 1 30 ■i-5 51 2-1 63 1-7 75 1-6 87 1 1^ 2rt 5-7 40 -.i4 5-3 2-n 64 1-7 78 1-5 88 1-6 29 5-0 ■11 ^-4 63 -.i-O 65 1-7 77 1-5 89 1-5 .10 4-C 4J ■J-4 .■•4 2-0 t;a 1-6 78 rs 90 1-5 31 3-7 43 -.i-4 53 iO 67 1-e 79 1-5 1 91 1-5 On the Weight of Vnpotir in a Cubic Foot of Air. On the Wciglit of a Ciihic Foot of Air, On the Aynoiint of Vii]H}ur required for Complete Saturation. On tlie Degree of Humidity of the Atmosphere. It has been experimentally determined by M. Gay-Lussac, that air expands tstj"^ P'"^*' ^'f ^^^ bulk for every addition of I'' of heat, inasmuch as it expands equally with equal increments of heat from the freezing to the boiling point, to the amount of f of its bulk. Taking a cubic foot of dry air at a pressure of 30 inches, .and a temperature of 32° as unity, a simple proportion will give the space it will occupy when subject to any given degree of tempera- ture— say 44°. Now, by the addition of 180°, we find the expansion | of the volume (viz., from 32° to 212°); required the expansion for 44 — 32, or 12°. 180° : 12° : : I : Jj, so that the cubic foot of air becomes 1'025 ft. From determinations of the weight of a mass of dry air under a pressure of 30 inches by Sir George Shuckburgh, Biot, and Thenard, .it is inferred tliat a cubic foot of dry air, at 32°, under pressure of 30 inches, weighs 563 grains; whence we may determine its weight after expansion by heat (say, at a temperature of 44°), by the fol- lowing proportion: — 1 -025 feet : 1 foot : : 5S3 grains : 549-27 grains. The next step is to ascertain the enlargement which a volume of dry air receives when saturated with vapour at any degree of temperature; but in the examples, 44° will be the degree assumed, and a cubic foot the volume. If a cubic foot of dry air, of known elasticity, be mixed with a cubic foot of vapour, also of known elasticity, and if the mixture be compressed into the space of one cubic foot, the elasticity of the mixture will be the sum of the two elasticities of the air and vapour; or, if it be allowed to expand till its elasticity is equal to that of the unmixed air (suppose 30 inches), it will occupy a larger volume, in the proportion of the sum of the two elasticities to the elasticity of the air .alone. Now, from the table, we know the elastic force of vapour for every degree of temperature; let it be requii-ed to find the space occupied by a mixture of a cubic foot of dry air and moisture at the temperature of 44°. Tension of aqueous vapour at 44° = 0-304 inches Tension of dry air 30- 30-304 inches. Then, TjTf.Vrrj- : ^ '■'■ 1 c. f. : 1-01012 c. f., which is the space ccupied by the mixture of the two aerial fluids. The following formula will give the result in more general terms: — Let ;) := the atmospheric pressure, as measured by the inches of mercury in the barometer. E = the elasticity of vapour at a given temperature (mea- sured in the same way.) n = the bulk of a certain quantity of air, when dry, at the given temperature, and under the pressure y>. ri =: the bulk of the same quantity of air when saturated with vapour at the same temperature, and under the same pressure p. Then, since the elasticity varies inversely as the volume, the 312 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LOCTOBEB, temperature remaining the same, that portion of the elastic force p, which depeuJs on the air alone, wliieh occupies the space n', n lA P X -,; and this, together with E, must make up the atmosplierio pressure. Or, p = px-, + E; whence, n' 1 — = 1-01013, as before. E -Mi 'p 30 In the Greenwich Meteorological Observations will be found a table calculated from this formula, for every degree, from 0"' to 9U\ From the introduction to the yearly volumes, the following formulae and explanations are extracted: — '■Gay-Lussac has determined by experiment, that vapours, so long as they remain in an aeriform state, expand by the increa?e of tem- perature, precisely as permanently elastic fluids, and that they feiift'er changes of volume proportional to tlie changes of pressure; and he has, as previously stated, determined that air expands ^ of its bulk from 32= to 212°, and that its expansion is uniform between these points. Therefore, if the weight of a cubic foot of vapour, under the pressure of 30 inches of mercury, and at the temperature of 212', be called W, and the weight — expressed in tlie same denomination — -of an equal volu'ne of vapour at the temi)erature t, be called W", and, if E; be the elasticity of vapour at the temperature t, tlien (the expansion of dry air from 32° to 212° being 0-375, or I'eiug ^Jffth part, equals 0-002083 for each degree of temperature), ^y, _ 1-375 X W X Et 30 (1 + -002083 . «°~^^32)" Now, Gay-Lussac has also determined that a cubic inch of vapour, at 212% weighs 0-U9176 grains under the pressure of 29-922 inches of mercury; and, consequently, a cubic foot of vapour, under the same circumstances, weighs 0-H9176 -|- 1728 = 257-776 grains; and under a pressure of 30 inches, it weighs 30 o + 257-776 grains = 258-448 grains. Therefore, substituting this weight for AV, the formula becomes 1-378 X 258-448 X Et W = ~ -; 30 (1 + -002083 X t° — 32°) and from this formula may be formed a table, showing the weight of a cubic foot of vapour in grains, under the pressure of 30 inches of mercury for any range of the thermometer. The degree of humidity shows, on a natural scale, the condition of the air as regards moisture; complete saturation being repre- sented by unity, and the air absolutely deprived of moisture by zero. The numbers are obtained by dividing the quantity of vapour which tlie air contained at the time of observation, by the quantity which it would contain if it were in a state of complete sat\iration." From these principles, combined with an extension of the calcu- lations which I have not thought fit to enter upon, JMr. Glaisher lias formed his hygrometrical tables, entering which with simply llie readings of the dry and wet bulb thermometer, we are enabled to obtain by inspection — 1. The temperature of the dew point. 2. The elastic force of vapour in inches of mercury. 3. The weight of vapour in a cubic foot of air. 4. The weight of vapour required for saturation of a cubic foot of air. 5. The degree of humidity. 6. The weight in grains of a cubic foot of air. ( To be continued.J YORKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL & COMMERCIAL BANK. AVe lately gave an engi-aving of a bank erected by ^lessrs. Atkinson, at AV^hitby; and in noticing another bank by "them, we shall have occasion to make similar remarks. The' bank now shown to our readers, is the office, at York, of the Yorkshire Agri- cultural and Commercial Banking Company. It is situated at "the corner of High Ousegate and Castlegate, 'occupying an irregular plot of ground, but having a straight front towards High Ouse- gate. The style adopted is Italian, with a good cornice, and with rustications on the base. The height is in three stories, with a basement, being altogether about 60 feet above the level of the pavement. On the Castlegate side, which is of some length, it has been necessary to make the building on two lines receding from tiie main front. ' rwt** ^■' \ 1 \ ■-^r'^^^^v o'**' \M \ \4j\"^'l^ \ V \ Y. \v- - riiraf 1 1 1 m Yi*^" ^|i mit^^M 1 Hk\ ^i^fX— in 1 1 i 1 ! 'HI 1 ^^^^ ^W^^P^ W ^ — T n 1 j ! i 1 u .1 1 1 h9 1 ^ ° ll ll i\ , u H ■L j o !\ /' ^- D 1 H C"ii J THl: \B> NK ^— ^ r 1 Mil a : ^' ' 1 %A = 27. ■ *' 2« 111 tr-; * '' \ ^ \\ J W\ -> 1/ • D \ li ■ 1 ' H \ I ■ a 1 1 \ V □ I - 1 M ^ 1 ^L PLAN OF GHOUND PLOCB. The ground-floor, which contains the hanking oflSces, is of a height of 18 feet, and has an entrance, and two windows with circular heads. The material used is rubbed or cleansed Park- spring stone, rusticated in the quoins, and with abase rusticated in panels, and, except where interrupted by doorways, carried around the building. The first floor is 13 feet high, and has three windows in front, ornamented with mouldings, brackets, and carving. On the Castlegate side are six windows. By the internal arrangements the whole front of the ground- floor is appropriated as the banking office, making a room 27 feet by 24 feet, and 18 feet high. Behind this are the manager's room, director's room, and manager's parlour. The banking office is highly enriched and well fitted. The windows have Bunnett and Corpe's iron revolving shutters. The basement is made fire- proof, and contains two fire-proofrooms. Into one of these works a large iron safe, like that described for the Whitby Bank. It is under the front counter in banking hours, and descends into the vault by an hydraulic pump. A wrought-iron door closes this vault when the safe is down. The safe contains all the cash- drawers, and was provided by Dewer and Co., at a cost of 200/. The cost of the building, exclusive of counters and furniture, was nearly 4000/. The fire-proof vaults communicate with the bank abo^'e by a stair, and are shut off from the manager's private residence and offices. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 313 /^ /^ YORKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL AND COMMERCIAL BANK. -J 1). & \V. AiKi>.-oN-, Architects. 42 314 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [OcTOBEB, BLACK FRIARS AND WESTMINSTER BRIDGES. Two of the metropolitan bridges over the Thames — those of Westminster and Hlackfriars — are giving way, and threaten de- struction, in consei)iience of the sinking of some of tlie piers. The ruin of these bridges will inevitably take place if some immediate and effective means be not employed to prevent it; and the consequence will be, a loss to the public of niillicns, a great inconvenience for many years to the thoroughfare between both sides of the Thames, and to the navigation in tlie river. Let us inquire what is the cause of that threatening disaster? The pro- bability of such a result was foretold, and debated long before the removal of the old London Bridge. In 17G6, Snieaton gave an opinion, that if the fall at London Bridge was reduced, the naviga- tion above the bridge would be injured by a reduction in the depth of water; and that tlie transverse section of the bed of the river would be altered, and in many places lowered, in consequence of the increased current of the water. Time has shown, that in this his opinion was correct, but not so in that; liecause the navigation has been much improved by the removal of the old London Bridge, which impeded the uniform flow of the water in the river, and dammed it up, causing a fall under the bridge, dangerous to the passage of boats and barges, except at the time of high water. This damming up of the water had for result to keep the current nearly null on tiie bed of the river above the London Bridge, because the greater the transverse section of the water, the smaller in proportion will be the velocity required to transmit a given <|uantity of water in a given time. This reduction of tlie velocity, in place of excavating tlie bed of the river, allowed it rather to fill up by the accumulation of mud or fine sand drifted from the higher part of the river. But as soon as the obstacle to the water was removed by the removal of the old bridge, then, as was anti- cipated by all parties (I believe), the current on the bottom of the river was increased, the mud and fine sand were removed down the river, and during freshets the larger sand and gravel were also re- moved; and as the piers of the bridges diverted the current, espe- cially at low water, into particular channels, leaving other parts op- posite the piers dry, or with very little water and current thereon, tlie deejier these particular channels became the stronger the cur- rent would at all times thereafter be; and thus tlie transverse section of the river's bed has become deformed, by being successively and continually deepened between the piers. But this deepening between the piers caused an incline plane to be formed, from the piers towards the middle of the arch, or the centre of the excava- tion formed by the current; and the gravel (of which the bed of the river is chiefly composed in the London district) would naturally roll or slide down into the cavity of the channel, and be carried away with the current. This work going on during a succession of years, has, of course, reduced the level of the ground around the piers, and under some of them; the consequence is too apparent to be doubted, and if not speedily remedied, may be deplorable. That Westminster Bridge, under the circumstance I have endea- voured to explain, should first show symptoms of dislocation, is what might naturally be expected, because the piers are founded on caissons only, without any piles to sustain them, whereas the piers of Blackfriars Bridge are founded also on caissons; but the bed of the river under these caissons is piled, perhaps not very deep; but tlie ground being piled, whether deeply or otherwise, should, and has, resisted during a longer time to the action of the curi-ents, as above described. If any other proof than common sense and reflection were wanting for the accuracy of these deductions, it will be found in the circumstance, that during the construction of M'estminster Bridge the bargemen had imprudently been allowed to remo\'e gravel from near to one of the piers, so that the pier near to which the excavation was permitted, sunk as soon as the centres of the arches were removed, the 25th July, 1747, which accident canseil the pier and two of the arches to be taken down and rebuilt, thereby preventing the bridge being opened for the jiiiblic till the year 1750. Blackfriars Bridge was not finished till 1770, being 20 years later than that of Westminster, so that even the benefit of the piles under the caissons does not appear to have enabled it to withstand the mining action of the currents on a gravel bottom. Neither will the Waterloo, the Southwark, or the new London Bridges be exempt from this casualty, if the foundations of the ])iers be not imbedded deep enough, beyond its influence, or that means be not taken to pre^■ent the further progress of the action of the current on the bed of the river. We may now inquire what are the means hitherto employed, or suggested to remedy the work of destruction now going on, already so effective on two bridges not yet one hundred years of age, while the age of similar structures elsewhere are meted by thousands of years! — the old London Bridge, with all its defects, had endured nine hundred years. In regard to ^V'estnlinster Bridge, which had no piling under the caisson, and under which the action of the current had formed a deep channel in the bed of the river, under several of its arches, on a level with, or lower than the bottom of, the caissons. It was determined to construct cofferdams round the several piers thus undermined, and then to drive piles all round the foundations, with the intention, no doubt, to keep the foundation from slipping, and to keep the soil or gravel from going from under the pier. Hut the remedy thus applied unfortunately only tended to increase the evil, inasmiicli that, during the driving of the piles, the con- cussion given by the driving, as well as the grapplings and anchors used fur this purpose in that part of the river, would facilitate and urge the already too prone disposition of the soil or gravel to fall into the depth of the channel, and be carried off by the current. And every idle thus driven, besides causing the removal of a large quantity of gravel from under and around the piers within the sphere of its action, would also lessen the passage for the water, and consequently increase the velocity of the current, which would be thus [irogressively increased; and its action in the work of undermining the pier would also go on in a proportional pro- gression, till the cofferdam could be completed, which is not the work of a day, of a week, or of a month, whereas the action of the current is incessant and loses no time, but will increase in energy as the pile-driving proceeds; and if, when the cofferdam is closed, putting the foundation of the pier in apparent security, the current then being contracted into a more narrow space, will, as if in retaliation, act with so much the more energy in deepening the channel, and thus tend the more to undermine the piers, and even the very piles which were driven for to baffle its efforts. That this is the result, has been fully shown, and will at all times, under similar circumstances, be so, is evident from numerous examples which could be cited, if it were necessary; but those who will not believe what they see, cannot be expected to take for granted what they are told. AV'hat I have here endeavoured to explain has, I believe, taken place at Westminster Bridge; during the time the piling was being proceeded with, the piers under that operation sunk so considerably as to endanger the falling of some of the arches. It was then decided to apply centerings to prop up the arches, — thus one expedient invariably leads to another. Let us examine for an instant the consequence which may be expected from this new expedient. I have already ventured to affirm that, after all the Jiiling they have applied, and if as many more were added, it would not give stability to the piers, but, by contracting the water-way, would render the destruction of the bridge, if pos- sible, more certain. If, then, under that dilemma, being certain the piers will continue to descend, while the arches are by centres retained at their present elevation and position, is it not evident that the pier will be separated from the arch, and thus the bridge would become completely dislocated, never uguln to be re-united until the pier be secure, and until the arch be rebuilt.-' What is now going on at Blackfriars Bridge? They are titing and tatting about the channel, under the bridge, and about the foundations of the piers, and after many weeks delay in searching out what might ft once have been inferred, it has been discovered that the foundations of the piers are degraded, and the bridge consequently in a dangerous state ; all this can be discovered by a superficial observer walking along the bridge, without either a diving-bell or a sounding-pole; the crushings and fractures, and variations of levels — taking place on the parapet from day to day, with a fearful rapidity — seem to announce the downfall of the bridge as near at hand, while nothing appears to be doing to pre- vent so deplorable a catastrophe, which, in case of the event taking place, will be anything but creditable to the country, and more especially to our engineering community. It is in contemplation, say they, to stop the thoroughfare on the bridge, and to erect centres under the arches, as at Westminster Bridge ; this will certainly be an interesting feature at the great Exhibition, to exhibit to the world, that after building costly, and what might well be deemed efficient bridges, that from unjustifiable parsimony, or neglect, we allow these bridges prematurely to perish ! I have already said, and endeavoured to illustrate, what will be the result of piling and centering — it will aggravate the evil, and accelerate the destruction of the bridges to which it may be ap- plied.— What then is to be done ? 1850.1 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 315 It is, in my h'lmble opinion, simple, efficacious, expeditious, and of little cost, compared with other means that have been or may be suggested — that is, if not too late. For if the pier or piers of the Blackfriars Bridge be already very much degraded, there is no remedy but to demolish and rebuild the arches, and the pier or piers; but, if a few weeks ago (perhaps it is not yet too late), in place of wasting time in frivolous manoeuvres, those charged with these mat- ters had set to work in right earnest, with every means available, to fill up with rubble stone or hard brick the deepest part of the chan- nel under the bridge, to bring it up to the general level of the bed of the river at that part, the same operation being continued through- out the entire transverse section of the river, above and below the bridge, for at least one hundred feet; then, I have no hesitation in saying, the bridge would have been preserved from further acci- dent. Having been so well forewarned of the probability of such accidents occurring, it appears to me unaccountable that the state of the bed of the river has not been carefully matched, more espe- cially near the bridges, and that any deviati(m from the proper levels should not have been at once corrected, by filling in with stone or brick rubbish. And if it be desirable to secure the other bridges from similar accidents, that which I have now suggested is the safest, the surest, the cheapest, perhaps the only rational mode of attaining the end desired — reason, and practice by the first masters, confirm what I here advance. Smeaton employed this means to save the old London Bridge, in an emergency like that now occurring at Black- friars Bridge, but he was imperative as to time, and by his desire the Corporation of London ordered a lot of houses to be pulled down, expressly to be thrown into the river: the bridge was at that time saved. The engineer, Deschamp, having built a fine bridge of three or four arches over the Dordogne at Libourn in France. Before two years after its completion, the current had so lowered the bed of the river under the bridge, that the piles on which the piers are built were to a great extent laid bare, and the whole pier vibrated by the action of the current. To remedy the evil, he employed the means I have quoted, and succeeded. This incident led him to watch with particular attention another bridge of his construc- tion, of nineteen arches, crossing a river 1600 feet wide (the Thames at London is, I think, 1200 only). Both these bridges of M. Deschamp's construction are built on a mud bottom, more than 60 feet deep. Notwithstanding this very precarious ground to build upon, his bridges have, by due attention^ been preserved from injury, by employment of the means I have here suggested for the metroi>olitan bridges. The examples I have cited are, I think, quite sufficient, in support of the explanation I have given in regard to the cause of such accident, and the means of preventing them. The remarks which have been made of late in several contemporary publica- tions, on the state of the Blackfriars Bridge, have led me to the preceding considerations, which, with more leisure, might have been better arranged and more extended. The importance of the subject, nevertheless, however imperfectly here considered, will perhaps induce you, Mr. Editor, to receive, with your usual courtesy, these and any authentic information or well-iutended suggestions on the subject. London, Sept. ISth, 1850. William Stewart. GOETHE ON THE CATHEDRAL OF STRASBURG. [Translated by J. L.] "The more I viewed the front of this edifice, the more my first impression was confirmed and developed, viz., tliat the sublime and the pleasing have been here completely blended. But as it is only possible to describe the impression made on us by that edifice, if we think of the combination of these two incompatible qualities, we become the more impressed with its great worth, and shall use every efl^oit to express how such contradictory elements could ever harmoniously combine and penetrate each other. M'ithout considering at first the steeples, we shall speak of the front, which, in the shape of an erect oblong square, forcibly strikes our eyes. If we approach it at tw iligiit, by moonshine, or in a starry night, when the single parts have become gradually indistinct and have at last disappeared, we perceive nothing but a colossal wall, the proportions of whose breadth and height are adequate and pleasing. If we view it by daylight, and abstract in our mind from its details, we perceive the front of an edifice which does not only close up its interior, l)Ut even hides many adjacent parts. The apertures of this huge surface point to the interior, its wants and contingencies — and according to this we may divide it into nine comiKirtments. The great central porch, wliich is directed towards the nave of the edifice, first attracts our attention. On both sides are two minor ones, belonging to the aisles. Over the porch is the round window, which spreads over the church and its vaults a mysterious light. On the side of this appear two perpendicular large openings of an oblong square form, which bear a great contrast to the middle one, and seem to indi- cate that they belong to the base of the towering steeples. In the third story, three openings succeed each other, which serve for belfries and other ecclesiastical purposes. On the top the whole ends horizontally with the balustrade of the gallery, which serves in lieu of a cornice. The nine spaces just described are sup- ported by four buttresses rising from the ground, which encompass them, and divide the front of the edifice into three large perpendi- cular sections. And as it cannot be denied, tliat the whole front possesses a fine proportion of breadth and height, these pillars also, as well as the gracile compartments between, add to the har- monious elegance of the detail. But let us continue our abstractions, and fancy this %vhole wall without ornament and with solid buttresses, in it the needful aper- tures, but only so far as absolutely necessary ; let us think all that in due proportion, then the whole would be still commanding and serious, but withal appear cheerless and cimbersome, and be want- ing in art and ornamentation. Because an object of art whose whole is comprised within grand, simple, and harmonious paits cannot fail to produce a noble and worthy impression; but that very enjoyment which is produced by the pleasing, cannot arise but from a concordance of all detail duly developed. And it is in this way that the edifice satisfies us in the utmost possible degree, because we perceive all and every ornament completely in accord- ance with that part which it adorns ; they are co-ordinate to it, and seem to come out from it. Such a variety affords always a great satisfaction, as it is derived from a sense of appropriation (aus (lent Gehorigen), and thence satisfies our propensities for unity; and it is only in such cases that the execution of a work attains the pinnacle of art — perfection. By such means it has been cfl'ected that a compact wall, a solid surface, which we view also as the basis of two heaven-reaching steeples, appears to the eye, albeit independent of itself, existing for itself; still, as something light and gracile, something which although a thousandfold broken through, bears the stamp of inde- structible solidity. Such riddle is most happily solved. The openings of the wall, the solid spaces, the buttresses, have each its own character, arising from its individual destination ; this goes down gradually to the minor compartments — thence every- thing is ornamented in a chaste manner, the great and small is in its right place, can be understood with ease, and thus the pleasing is manifested even in the huge. I point merely at the doors, which are sunk perspectively in the substance of the walls, orna- mented ad iiifiiiHtim on their pilasters and pointed arches; to the window and that artificial rose-form which arises from its circular shape ; in fine, the profile of its bars, as well as at the slender reed- columns of the perpendicular compartments. May one fancy to himself the gradually receding pilasters, accompanied by slender, pointed arches; little structures, as it were, which, being destined for shrines of holy images, consist of equally uprising slender columns, ending in a sort of canopy; and thus, in fine, every frieze, moulding and finial is transformed into a cluster of flowers or bunch of leaves, or some other form of nature turned into the character of the rocky material. Every one may compare the building itself, or some designs of either the whole or its details, with wliat I have said, for the sake of judging and verifying my opinion. It might appear exaggerated, because I myself, although carried away at first by my admiration for this work, still required some time, until I became thoroughly imbued with its worth. Brought up amongst cavillers at Gothic architecture, I che- rished an aversion against those manifold, overloaded, confused, ornaments which, by their arbitrariness, rendered the character of a gloomy religion almost repulsive; and I became confirmed in this ill-will, as it were, merely works most deficient in spirit, on which neither a right proportion, nor any pure consequentiality was im- pressed, which came under my observation. In the Strasburg Cathedral, however, I thought to obtain a new revelation, as none of the above defects, but rather the reverse, were presented to me. But the longer I continued to view and to consider, the merits above alluded to seemed to increase. I had already found out the right proportions of the major compartments, as senseful as rich an ornamentation, up to the minutest detail: now I began to compre- hend the relation of these numerous ornaments to each other — the 42* 3IG THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [October, combination of so many sinple objects, although similar yet infinitely varying in form and particulars — from the saint to the monster — from the rose to tlie smallest leaflet. The more I observed, the more I found to admire; the more I mused, or wearied myself with drawinir and measuring, the more I became enamoured of the work; so much so, that I devoted much time either in studying the present building, or in restoring on paper and in my mind, the much which is wanting and uncompleted, especially in the steeples. And, as it was in an old German locality that I found this edifice reared, and in a truly German ]K'riod of history so far progressed; and as the name of the builder on his modest cenotaph was also of German origin and sound, I dai-ed, then, I sav, called upon by the worth of the structure, to change the hitherto ill-famed appellation of Gothic architecture, and to vindicate the renown of German art-building fur our nati(m." THE PLYMOUTH PUBLIC AND COTTOXIAN LIBKARY. Messrs. Wightwick and Damout, Architects. {IVith nn Elevation and Plan.) A, Library ; B, Porler's Apartment; C, Slaircase; D, Lobby, E, Law Library ; F, Cottonian Library. W'e give this month an elevation of the new building which is now being erei'ted, in addition to the existing Public I>ibrary of Plymouth, for the reception of the munificent bequest which has been made by William Cotton, Esq., for the benefit of art and literature in the west of England; aiul certainly Plymouth has just reason to be proud of the good will of such a donor, and of the riches he has consigned to her possession. To meet the singular liberality of Mr. Cotton, the shareholders of the old library and the public in general have come forward in a manner which does them credit, to provide a fitting casket for the reception of the gems consigned to them: and a building has been designed, which, though necessarily simple in its general form, will be highly ornate in its features. It is already commenced, and is expected to be finished about May next. The ground-floor will be devoted to tlie common entrance, and to the reading and committee-rooms of the Public Library; also to the staircase exclusively belonging to the Cottonian apartment, which will occupy the chief portion of the upper floor. Of this floor we give a plan. The rooms are to be lighted by handsome lantern lights, constructed with every regard to the due effect of the pictures, drawings, and articles of vertu which will enrich their walls. The old building was erected in the year 1812. from designs by the late J. Foulston, architect, and presented a recessed front of severely Greek character, after the fashion of the .Monument of Thrasyllus at Athens. The present front is brought forward as far as permissible by the town authorities, and is in the Graco- Italian style. The architects are Messrs. Wightwick and Damout, of Plymouth, who have erected many public structures in the west of England, and the one now represented is not among the least cre- ditable. The material is stone; and though the building is not of great dimensions, a character of respectability is given to it bv the large size of the details, Messrs. Wightwick and Damout having carefully treated the door and windows, which are few in number, but of large size, well grouped together, and highly ornamented. On the ground-floor, it will be seen, these openings occupy much of the wall-space; and though decorated, the degree of ornament is less than on the first floor, where the three windows are each of single lights and smaller dimensions. These windows are carried up in the line of composition from the middle light of the lower windows and from the door, so as to secure harmony and uni- formity in the design. The treatment of the cornice, balus- trades, &c. likewise deserves notice, and contributes to the efl^ect of the building. The various points of composition are well balanced; and the whole shows evidence of artistic skill and power of composition and combination. Mr. Cotton's donation consists of various ranges of bookcases of amboyna wood, with plate glass fronts, containing many hundred volumes df books in the various branches of literature; a splendid and unique series of 4700 prints, engraved by the best artists from paintings by the most celebrated masters; a valuable collee- tion of about 2J0 original drawings, by the old masters, in the most perfect state of preservation; a considerable number of paintings and framed drawings and engravings, of rarity and value; several illuminated MSS. of much beauty and elegance; some magnificent cinq-cento bronzes, terra-cottas, models in cork, and carvings in box wood, cabinets, carved furniture, &c.; many magnificent china vases and beakers, casts, &c. The collection of books contains many specimens of early Topo- graphy; works on the Fine Arts and Antiquities; Greek and Latin Classics; the most celebrated French, Italian, and Spanish authors ; the English poets, &c. The collection of original drawings by the old masters comprises amongst many others, some splendid examples by Zuccharelli, Guercino, Agostino Caracci, Claude, Ruysdael, Van der A'elde, Berchem, Van Goyen, Van der Meer, Rousseau, Chatelain, Breughel, Loutherburg, Domenichino, Carlo Maratfi, I'oussin, Boudon, Le Brun, Rubens, Vandyke, Verdier, Watteau, Cipriani, Ruvsbach, Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, Bassano, Mola, Holbein, De la Bella, Callot, Boucher, Rembrandt, Inigo Jones, Barlowe, Seymour, Deacon, Worlidge, Richardson, Thornhill, Cosway, Paul Sandby, Watts, Marlow, Cattermole, Turner of Oxford, Denning, Purser, Wilson, Lambert, Wootton, Isnian, Cooper, De la Alotte, Dallaway, S:c. itc. Among the bronzes are Lorenzo do Medici, after Michael Angelo ; History and Elo- quence, after Algarchi ; Samson and the Lion, by Benvenuto (I'ellini, (from the Pesaro Collection) ; Antinous, &c. &c. Among the .Models are a Philosopher reading, by Michael Ruys- bach ; Farneso Flora and Ceres, by Coade ; Santa Babrina, by Bernini ; Santa Susanna ; Gladiator ; Venus and Mercury, by Pi- galli ; Jupiter and Mercury, in wax, by Gosset ; >liakspeare, Hindoo Idols, S:c. ; models of houses and baths at Pompeii, wood- carvings of Silenus, itc. The paintings contain examples by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and many other distinguished masters. Altogether this collection supplies great artistic resources for Plymouth and its neighbourhood, which boast the birth-places of Reynolds and Haydon. It is to be hoped application will be made to the government for a collection of casts, and that it will he answered with the same success as in the case of the Salford Museum and Library. ISSO.") THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL, 317 318 THE CIVIL EKGIXEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL [October, COMPETITION FOR THE BUILDING OF THE RHINE BRIDGE, NEAR COLOGNE. The above certainly is a work which, when com)iletecl, will reflect credit on our ajre, as since the times of Drusus no bridfre ever existed on this part of the Rhine. TIic competition drav.ines that are to warm the air should be fixed. Fresh- air flues sliould be constructed in all the piers between the windows, running as high as the gallery to supply it with fresh warmed air. A vitiated air-flue should also commence in each pier under the gallery (in order to give free egress to that which would otherwise be intercepted and detained under the gallery), and pass up into a horizontal trunk, running over the roof, along each side, into the foot of the upriglit sliaft below the gas-jets, as before explained. Openings should also be left in the roof, communicating with these horizontal trunks, to carry off the bad and heated air over the galleries. Hot water pipes should be conveyed along the side- walls, under the floor, so as to warm the air that passes up within the jiiers into the gallery. " The leading points to be observed in such a case are delineated in the lower part of fig. 1, below the line h i. '•A much larger provision should be made for supplying fresh air 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 321 to such a house for worship, or other galleried building, than in one which has no gallery, and which possesses the advantage of an open roof; and those who would object to the copious measures here recommended, as unnecessary, should well consider the follow- ing facts and calculations. A chapel or meeting-house with large galleries nearly all round, capable of accommodating on special occasions 2000 persons, is frequently made about 75 feet square, and 25 feet average height, giving a total cubic content of rather more than 140,000 feet. Now the authorities, from Tredgold to Reid who have written on the subject of the quantity of fresh air, required per minute by each individual, to replace that which such individual has rendered unfit for respiration, vary in their conclu- sions from Sj to 10 cubic feet; and if seven cubic feet be assumed to be the proper quantity, an allowance near the average of their scientific opinions will he given. The total quantity required, therefore, on this low standard in such a building, to maintain its atmosphere in a state of purity when filled, will be (2000 X 7 :=) 14,000 cubic feet every minute, and a like quantity of vitiated air must be carried off in the same time. The atmosphere of the building will therefore require to be completely changed or renewed (140,000 -j- 14,000 = 10) once in every ten minutes. Let it now be supposed that the unusual provision of 16 openings has been made all round the building, for fresh air, each opening measuring 18 inches by 6 inches. Deducting one-third of the area for impedi- ment caused by gratings, will allow to each opening a clear area of /A///yyA ■ ■'''^' a, Fire-box J f, Ash-box; c, Smolse-box ; d. Fire-bars: e. Smoke-tubes j /, Fuel-box; g, Damper; h, Flow or steam-pipe; i, Return or condensation pipe ; i, Ash-box door ; k, Fire-door ; /, Smolte-pipe, half a superficial foot, and the aggregate area of all the openings will be eight feet. Now, to supply the required quantity of air (14,000 cubic feet) in the given time (one minute) through those openings, the air must pass through them all at the velocity of (14,000 -7- 8 =) 1750 feet per minute, or more than twenty miles per hour; which it will not do, especially on a calm day in hot weather, when ventilation is most needed, without the aid of some powerful stimulus; and if such artificial impulse be wanting, those openings will, under the circumstances, be quite insufficient to prevent the rapid deterioration of the atmosphere within, and ought, therefore, to be considerably enlarged. The bad effects of the usual way of obtaining a partial supply of air in such a case by opening the windows, have been already commented on. "Take another e.xample from a large Gothic church, with galleries, and lofty side aisles and nave, in the neighbourhood where this is written; measuring 80 feet by 65 feet, with a roof approaching to flatness, about 30 feet in average height. This church has often contained 1800 persons; its cubic contents being 156,000 feet, and the requirement of air, allowing, as before, seven feet per minute to each person (1800 X 7 =) 12,600 feet. The time in which the whole atmosphere of this church would, when containing its full complement of persons, require to be changed, is (156,000 -r- 12,600 =) 12| minutes; and large openings wlU obviously be required to pass the quantity in the time. " These figures will suffice to show the necessity for a very much larger provision for ventilation than has been customary in build- ings containing galleries, in which the cubic contents bear a small proportion to the numbers assembled." "The management of the warming of a church being a matter frequently entrusted to a sexton or verger charged with other duties, which necessitate his making a clean appearance, and demand his exclusive attention during the service, it is a matter of some importance where hot-water apparatus are used, to adopt such form of boiler as will require the smallest possible attention. Tlie kind shown in fig. 2 in the annexed section, will be found to fulfil this requirement; many large churches having been kept by it at a uniform temperature with only three attendances in twenty-four hours. This sort of boiler will be found very desir- able in many other buildings besides churches. They are to be filled to the top with coke broken into small jpieces, which falls on the fire as required. A very useful kind of Arnott stove has been largely adopted on the same principle." The stove here described appears to us a very simple arrange- ment for effecting the purposes desired, and to be well worthy of adoption. In the whole range of ventilation there is, perhaps, nothing so much neglected as the ventilation of schools; and as it is most desirable public attention should be turned to the subject, we most willingly give room to Mr. Walker's statement of his views on the subject: — "Schools are freqently very crowded, and their atmosphere in a most unwhole- some condition. The great increase in their number in the populous manufactur- ing districts, is a gratifying sign of the times, and affords good reason to hope that the succeeding generation will grow up with improved ideas and habits, and, as is most needful in those districts, stand Fig. 3. i-'LJ^ i some degrees higher than their predecessors in the scale of civi- lisation, 43 322 THE CIVIL ENGINKER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [OCTOBKH, "Fig. 3 is a section representiiiff aboys'and girls'school ventilated (except as regards the windows) in a satisfactory manner; a a are the fresli-air openings; h h. pipes for heating; '■ r, gratings for entrance of frcsli warmed air; pn the heads of those near it. If it be in force, as in the figure, simultaneously with proper means of introducing fresh warmed air, its force will be modified, and partially deliected upwards, towards the egress openings; but whatever C(dd air thus enters, is so much deducted from that which ought to have entered warmed, thriuigb the proper channel c." We may observe, that Mr. Walker has been largely engaged at Manchester in the construction and adaptation of stoves, and that he has had considerable experience in many practical applications of ventilation. Suggestions for a Ac'w Street through the City of London, with a lead- ing Aqueduct Sewer. By Nathaniel Beard.more, M. Inst. C.E. London: Weale, isio. Mr. Beardmore proposes a very extensive system of street im- provement and drainage. One part of his plan is to do away with \Vestminster and Charing-cross Bridges, and to construct a grand bridge leading from Charing-cross to the Waterloo-road. Another ))art is a street from Temple Bar, across Bridewell, south of St. I'aul's Churchyard into Kastcheap, and thence by Crutchedfriars and Great Alie-street to the Commercial-road. Coupled with this, he proposes to carry a grand sewer through the metropolis, from Bayswater to Barking Creek. li )yal Agricultural Society's Prize Model Cottages. By Hexby GoDDARD. London: Dean. -Mr. Goddard, an architect of Lincoln, gained the first prize for model cottages offered by the Royal Agricultural Society of Eng- laiul, aiul we presume that his designs were the best of those pre- sented for competition ; but we must say we have seen many designs which are more picturesque, and with better arrangements. ON COOLING THE ATMOSPHERE OF ROOMS. Sir — I was very much pleased with the description given in your last number, of the very ingenious and simple machine for cooling the atmosphere of rooms. Among the many excellencies of the apparatus, not the least, 1 think, is the similarity between t)ie means employed in it and the operations of nature constantly producing similar effects — I mean the change of temperature by chanse of density. It is, indeed, an extraordinary thought, that the changes of temperature observed at different heights in our atmosphere may be accounted for by the fact of rarified air having a capacity for heat, increasing with its rarifaction, and that the same air which, made dense by the pressure of the atmosphere, feels so warm at the surface of the ground, may, wafted to some hill top, and thus freed from some part of the pressure, become the coiding breeze; and anon, mounting still higher, may take its place among the regions of eternal snow. It appears to me that the similarity existing between the means employed in the appa- ratus, and this process in nature, forms the very best guarantee of its effecting the object desired in the most suitable manner, as the parallel between the two operations exists throughout. It appears to me, however, that some explanation of the cause of the increase of the temperature of air on compression would render the account of tlie apparatus more intelligible to the geiieral reader, as it might create misunderstanding on the subject merely to say that air increases in temperature on compression, and diminishes on expansion; the fact being, that on compression the same quantity of heat exists in the air as did before compres- sion; but this increase of density diminishing its specific heat (/. e. the quantity of heat required to keep it at its former tem- perature), the amount of heat it possesses above this must make itself sensible, and raise the air to a higher temperature; while, on the other hand, when by being rarified, or being allowed to expand itself in a larger space, its specific heat being increased, the quan- tity it possesses is unable to maintain its temperature, and it consequently is diminished, though neither change of temperature is in the same ratio as the compression or expansion. I should scarcely think it possible that the objection anticipated by the inventor — viz., that the cooled air would be found unplea- santly moist, could occur. For, supposing the air to be lowered to the required temperature, it would be able to hold in suspension an amount of moisture in accordance with its temperature; and, of course, any attempt at condensation of moisture must be made by removing some portion of the heat of the vapour. As Dr. Lardner, in his 'Treatise on Heat,' observes (in speaking of the liquefaction of vapour by compression), that without an actual loss of heat having been sustained by the vapour, it would be impossible to imagine the condensation of any portion of the vapour into a li((uid, as such condensation must be effected by the subtraction of all the latent he;:t which maintained the liciuid in a vaporous form. ]5ut should it be found desirable to lower the temperature of the air more than cjuld be effected (with air subjected to the amount of pressure stated as that best adapted to the purpose) by water of the temperature of 100°, or should it be found impossible to procure water of so low a temperature, I should think (as me- chanical power must be used for condensing the air) that the mere evaporation of such water as can be procured — effected as described below, in a space approaching to a perfect vacuum in proportion to the degree of cold required, the vapour arising from the water being constantly removed, in order that its tension might not prevent the furtlier evajioration of the liquid — would amply serve the purpose intended. This effect might be obtained in the manner shown in the accom- panying sketch, w here A, B, C, D, is a cylinder, with openings at the sides to connect the pipes containing the air with the air chamber in the cylinder by spigot-and-faucet-joints. A\'ater is to be placed in the cylinder, so as completely to cover the air chamber E, E, E, as shown by the level F, F. In the cylinder, a piston G works. This might be made perfectly air-tight with ordinary hemp packing, tlie upper plate of the piston being merely provided for tlie purpose of screwing down the hemp as might be found necessary, and being formed with large openings in it, as shown in the section; while in the lower plate a valve H, is placed, which might be loaded in a proportion relative to the tension of the vapour to be raised from the water. Thus, supposing the required temperature of the water to be 50^. The tension of the vapour of water at 50' is 0'375 of an inch of mercury; and as the amount of the pressure of the atmosphere (15lb. on the square inch) is equivalent to 30 inches of mercury, it follows that tlie tension of the vapour of water at 50° is equal to an 80th part of the weight I8S0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 323 of the atmosphere, which is equal to about three ounces. Now the valve in the piston being loaded in this pro]>ortion to its supei-- ficies — that is, with a weight of nine ounces— if its superficies is three inches, and so on, it follows, that in the stroke of the piston the valve H would not be affected till the tension of the vapour became of the amount required, and, consequently, would not affect the temperature of the water till it was desirable to do so; and as the valve could be easily loaded with any weight, this would make the apparatus self-acting. The valve I, on the top of the cylinder, might be exactly balanced, so that there would be almost no pressure on the piston from the tension of the vapour above it: some lime also placed in a vessel on the piston would absorb the moisture remaining above it. The rapidity with which water loses its temperature in the exhausted receiver of an air-pump, shows that a few strokes of the piston would absorb enough of the heat of the water to lower it to the required temperature. In the removal of the vitiated air, I cannot however but think that mechanical means would be far preferable to the mere open- ing of a sash, as this proceeding must cause a communication with the external air which would be far from desirable. And this circumstance at once brings under consideration the vexed subject of ventilation; that science so well understood in theory, but so lamentably displayed in practice, but which is at the same time a Subject of so much importance, that I cannot refrain from quoting the words of a well known writer on this and similar topics. In contending for the superiority of ventilation eil'ected by mecha- nical means. Dr. Arnott, in his ' Treatise on Warming and Venti- lating,' observes, " It is a remarkable fact that the first accomplish- ment of perfect ventilation for a crowded place was not, as might have been anticipated, in the houses of the great and learned, and therefore in our houses of parliament or in the churches of the wealthy, or in fashionable assembly rooms of any kind — but in the cotton factories. In the first mentioned places it is true tliat open- ings were made in the ceilings and side walls, and cowls were placed over the openings or fires, or strong lamps were placed within them to rarify the air and cause it to ascend; but as in all these cases, the important object was trusted to the working of invisible draughts or currents which might not take place, and which very often, from unsuspected countervailing influences, did not take place aright, the object was most imperfectly accom- plished. It was in the cotton-factories that fan-wheels were first set in motion, which, loith a certain speed of evolution, were known to extract a certain quantity of air!' — In this paragraph the merits of the respective methods are fairly stated, and the plan is also mentioned as simple, and certainly as effective as could be desired. In conclusion, I think that our best thanks are due to the inge- nious and talented author of the apparatus under consideration lor his very useful invention; the resemblance of the means employed, witli the circumstance wliich, as he observes, is so often stumbled on by workmen, and is noticed in every work on natural philo- sophy, proves to us how long a principle may be patent to o'lr senses ere our minds ai'e struck by its applicability to purposes of general usefulness. I am, &c. Q. THE ROUTE TO CALIFORNIA BY THE TRHUAN- TEPEC ISTHMUS. Mr. Letcher, the American Minister at Mexico, it has been announceJ, has succeeded iu effecting a treaty with the government of that country witfi respect to the Tehuantepec route across the Isthmus. It is understoodt hat tliis treaty is sinjilar in its character and conditions to that recently made by our etBcient charge d' affairs, Mr. Squires, between our government and that of Nicaragua. Tlie documents connected with the affair will soon be placed before the senate of the United States. The presumption is, that the stipulations do not vary widely from those incorporated in Santa Anna's decree of the 1st of March, 1842; and in that of Mariano de Salas, dated the 5th of November, 1846. Tlie former decree contained eleven articles, and the third of the series declared that the passage across the Isthmus should be neutral and common to all nations at peace with Mexico. The government generally made this whole decree, upon certain terms, with Don Jose de Garay, who it appears, has surrendered in some way all the conces- sions orginally made to him to certain citizens of the United States residing at New Orleans. 15y way of distinction, therefore, this may be termed a New Orleans enterprise, though the results may be of national importance. The treaty was made on the 24th of last month, and it is calculated to call forth much discussion, as well as to excite great interest in every part of the country. For many years the idea of making an easy route, either by railroad or canal between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, has not only arrested the attention of our countrymen, but the serious inquiry of several European governments. A ship railroad, with a capital of 10,000,000/. sterling, was proposed at one time in London, with a view of levying tolls upon all the nations of the earth. This was a gigantic scheme. When the mind contemplates the possibility of taking a ship into a dry dock on the Atlantic shore, of cradling it upon a car with 48 wheels, running upon eight rails, of seeing it transported across tlie country, and deposited in a dock upon the Pacific, the ingenuity of man becomes an object of admiration. We are startled with its boldness, though we can scarcely doubt the rationality of its reeources. Vast capital can accomplish vast results. However, the English plan will not be carried into effect in the present century. The French and the Germans have made several surveys of different routes, as well as the English and Americans. That by Tehuantepec may or may not be practicable. Senor Gaetano Moro's survey gives a highly favourable picture of the country for the proposed road. From his surveys, it seems that the entire distance from sea to sea is 135 miles in a right line. It presents a wide plain from the mouth of the Coatzacoalcos to the foot of the Mesa de Tarifa, which is a table-land rising to 650 feet above the level of the sea, and at five miles distance decends again to the plain which reaches the Pacific. Near Tehuantepec, Moro found two extensive lakes, the outer separated by a narrow sandbank from the ocean, and the inner and larger communicating with it l)y a channel between high banks. Eight rivers flow into Ibem, and, with some improving, ships may tind har- bours in these waters. From the inner lake the lapd rises very gradually to the Venta de Chicapa, thence with a steeper acclivity upon Tarifa, — and there is a slight declivity to a river, which is navigable for ships for the dis- tance of 34 miles from its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico. Such are the rude outlines of Moro's survey. The resources of the country are immense for timber of the best quality for building a road. The facilities for cattle-feeding are complete. The soil is prolific, and salt mines are abundant. The climate is agreeable and mild, and usually salubrious. The advantages, therefore, for constructing a road cannot be overlooked. In a commercial and political point of view, however, such a road would be very desirable ; and, could it be made, would add largely to the prosperity of our country. From the mouth of the Missis- sippi to San Francisco, by Tehuantepec, is 1825 miles nearer than by Panama. From New York 1400 miles of sea navigation would be saved, were this route opened. 43* 824 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [October, THE VICTORIA REGIA HOUSE, CHATSWORTH We are indebted to the Gardeners' Chronicle for the plans and elevations of the hot-house erected at Chatsworth, for the culti- vation of the Victoria Lily, together with descriptions and ex- planations by Mr. I'axton himself. This structure is of p-eat inte- rest; showing, as it does, in how simple a manner large spaces may be covered with glass, and yet be suited for all the purposes of cultivation. It will also indicate the earliest conception of the palace of glass which is to receive the products of industry of all nations in 1851. 1 10 5 0 I ' I I ' 1 ' I I I I I FT Fig. 1.— Ground Plan. Fig. 2.— Transverse Section. Fig.3.— End Elevation. Fig. 1 represents the ground plan, which is 61 ft. 6 in. long, and 46 ft. 9 in. wide over walls. The circular tank is 33 feet diameter, and the centre part, which contains the soil for the plant, is 16 feet diameter. The eight tanks in the four angles are filled with aquatic plants of various kinds. The house is heated hy a series of 4-inch cast-iron pipes all round the inside of the external walls, proceed- ing from a Burbage and Healey's boiler, and Syl- vester furnace. The tanks are heated by 4-inch pipes underneath each, as shown in the section ; and by smaller sized lead pipes resting on the paved ledge of circular tank, also shown in the sec- tion. There are 30 openings between the piers, all round the house, for ventilators. Different com- partments of the roof are also made to open by simple machinery, for the purpose of ventilation. The pathways are raised 3 ft. 6 in. above the gene- ral level outside, and the roof is supported by light wrought-iron beams, resting on the eight internal columns, as shown on the ground plan. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the building, which shows a section of the circular tank, with the pipes under the centre part, and the small pipes on the paved ledge, forming the shallow part of the tank. Also the side pipes, and the manner of fix. ing the cast-iron columns ; together with the con- struction of the roof and its gutters, facia board, &c. The wrought-iron beam shown in this section has a bearing in the middle, over the great tank, of 31 ft. 3 in. The height of the masonry, from the ground to the top of the coping, is 4 ft, 9 in.; the column and arch 10 ft. 6 in. ; the plating and facia board 2 ft. 1 in., making the whole height from the ground line 27 ft. 4 in. By this section it will be seen that the upright sashes are placed behind the cast-iron columns. 18S0.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 325 W-' ^..-.f-yir^ ^^y'-m^;^^^^^'^'^' m^^i^i. Fig. 4. - PerspecUve View of the Exterior. Fig. 5.— Interior View. Fig. 3 represents the end elevation, and siiows the steps ascending to the entrance, the ventilators, cast-iron arches, and facia board over the plating. The upright glass is 10 inches wide between the bars, and each spanrtril between the arches is filled in with one piece of plate glass. The columns are 6 ft. 6 in. from centre to centre, and the side elevation of the building presents a series of nine arches, as shown in the exterior view. Fig. 4 is an angular view of the building ; both ends are alike, and both sides are of the same form. On the east side, which fronts the park, the masonry is partly hid by artificial rock work, and the ends and steps to the entrances are adorned with ornamental plants. Fig. 5 is a parallel perspective representation of the interior, showing the internal construction, the mode of supporting the loi gitudinal ridge and valley, wooden rafters of the roof, &c. Construction : Mason, and Castings. — The foundations of external walls and tank walls are built of solid rubble work, well bedded in mortar. The curb of circular tank above the pathways, and curbs of the angular tanks, are of brick, cemented. The tanks are laid with pavement and covered with lead. The external walls are built of picked scappled courseil wall stone, with piers battering 9 inches, and a plinth formed of two courses of wallstone projecting two inches. The steps to entrances and curb walls bounding them are of rubbed grit stone, and the walls are covered with neatly boasted and weathered coping. The cast-iron columns are 4 inches at the lower diameter of the shaft, and 3^- inches in the upper diameter. The cast iron of the arches is 3^ inches wide, by 2^ inches thick, chamfered. The wrought-iron beams are 5 inches by 1 inch, with tension rods I inch in diameter. Carpenter, S(c. — The platings are 5 inches by 12 inches, the valley rafters of roof, 6 inches by 4 inches; and the ridge rafters, 5 inches by 3^ inches; vtith strengthening pieces over each iron beam, and sash bars 1^ inches deep. The ventilators are bead and flush, hung on the pivot and socket principle, in rebated wooden frames. The stiles and arches of upright sashes are 2 inches thick, together with the doors, which are framed and panelled, and furnished witli brass locks and brass butts. The pathways are laid with IJ inch larch boards, J of an inch apart, radiating round the centre tank, and resting upon oak sleepers 4 inches by 3 inches. The roof ventilators are framed and glazed, and hinged to the rafters. The facia boards are wrought and cut out, as shown on the upper part, with mouldings planted on the plating, to form a cornice. The scroll is completed by painting in different shades. The curbs of all the tanks are finished witii a neat rounded edge wootien capping, and the circular tank is provided with a neat railing and hand rail all round. The whole of the house is glazed with sheet glass 4 feet long by 10 inches wide, without overlaps in upright sashes, all being close jointed. Every part of the masonry or brick work seen from the inside, is covered with cement, and the whole of the structure, both externally and internally, is thoroughly paijited in suitable and ornamental colours. The accompany- ing design, described in the foregoing paragraphs, is the type of my design for the building for the Great Industrial Exhibition of 1851. When the large conservatory at Chatswortb was built, a great point was gained by being able to have the glass manufactured in sheets of 4 feet in length ; but since that period the improvements in different branches of manufac- tures have enabled me to make the present Lily-house (though compara- tively small) of a much more light and elegant appearance. It occurred to me that it only required a number of such structures as the Lily-house repeated in length, width, and height, to form, with some modifications, a suitable building for the exhibition of 1851. Hence arose the design for that structure, and the subsequent honour conferred upon me by its unqualified adoption by her Majesty's commissioners. J. Paxton Chatsworth, Auyust 13. 326 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrS JOURNAL. [October, BRITANNIA AND CONWAY TUBULAR BRIDGES. Tlie Britannia and Conu-ay Tnhnlur Bridyex ; with General In- quiries on Beam.1, and on the Prn]>erti<;s of Materials used in Con- itruetinn. By Edwix Cr.AitK, Resident Jln^iiieer. Published witli the sanction and under the supervision of Robkkt SrEPUEN- soN. London: Day and Son. 18J0. In tlie notice we first ^ave of this excellent «(uk", we confined ourselves to remarks on the book itself, and the influence which tubular bridges will exercise on eng-ineering, and from the length to which those remarks extended, we were precluded from giving iiny extract from the book, and which we promised to do, knowing the interest our readers feel in this one of the most important works of the age, and one vvhicli will not be least sought after by visitors to this island in the coming year. In consequence of the requirements of the Admiralty, it became necessary to design a new bridge over the Menai. The first plan for this is thus described by Mr. Robert Stephenson himself: — "Previous to the erection of the suspension-bridge by Telford, ill 1826, various modes and points of crossing had been proposed by Rennie and Telford. Their reports, plans, and opinions, were carefully studied, wliich led to the adoption of the site known by the name of the Britannia Rock, about a mile to the south of 'i'elford's suspension-bridge. Tliis spot is peculiarly eligible for the purpose, the rock being nearly in the centre of the channel, rising just to high-water mark, and of sufficient area to admit of tlie easy erection of a pier upon it. The channel is here also entirely free from sunken rocks, and the current unbroken during tlie ebb and flow of the tide. These peculiarly favourable circum- stances were considered highly advantageous, not only for facilitating the erection of a bridge, but for rendering such a structure unobjectionable to the navigation of the Straits. It was ]u-oposed to construct the bridge of two cast-iron arches, each 350 feet span, with a versed sine of .50 feet, the roadway being 105 feet above the level of high-water at spring-tides. "The span here proposed was the same as that which had from the first been designed for crossing the Conway River. "Such wiis the state of the engineering problem in reference to the Conway and Britannia Bridges when the company obtained the first Act of Parliament in July, 18 It. It was jiroposed to construct a bridge consisting of one arch of the unusual span of ,S5U feet over the Conway River, at 20 feet aliove high-watermark, and another over the Menai Straits at the Britannia Rock, con- sisting of two arches, each of similar span, but at the elevation of 105 feet above high-water spring-tides. "The rise of tide in both cases is nearly the same, the channels nre also very similar, being from 50 to 60 feet deep, with a rocky bottom, and a rush of tide reacliing five miles an hour at Conway, and seven miles an Iiour in the Straits. "These conditions, togetlier with the necessity of keeping the channels open at all times for the purposes of navigation, rendered it ]>erfectly clear that none of the methods heretofore adopted in the erection of cast-iron arches could be brought to bear in either of these localities. The inordinate cost of centering, even if other arrangements had admitted of its application, was at once fatal to its adoption; and it soon became evident that some means external to the arch should bo employed to suspend the voussoirs, or ribs, until the arch was keyed in. "A contrivance of tliis kind had at one time been considered by Telford for the suspension of centering, upon which he proposed to frame and connect the voussoirs, or ribs, of a cast-iron arch; and a slight drawing of such a project is given in thj account of the Menai Bridge. Witliout going into the merits of this proposal in the form suggested, or into its applicability to the present case, it is sufficient to say that it was discarded, and a modification, as in-ought forward some years ago by Sir Isambard Brunei, for con- structing lirick arches without centering, taken up as more suitable. Sir Isambard's idea, which was experimentally carried out to a great extent, a]>pearcd unexceptionable, and led to the following design for the erection of the cast-iron arches at the Britannia Rock. Instead of the two arches being erected upon two abutments and one pier, it was proposed to treat the abutments as piers also. "Tlie erection of the arch was to be jiroceeded with by placing equal and corres|)onding voussoirs on 0]iposite sides of the pier at the same time, tying tliem together liy horizontal tie-bolts. "This system, it is confidently believed, may be successfully carried out to a far greater extent than would have been required in the case of the Britannia Bridge. "It will appear evident, on a little reflection, that as every suc- ceeding step of voussoirs is secured by the tie-bolts, the tension of the last bolt, as well as all the previous ones, will be relieved by an amount equal to the whole of the horizontal thrust due from the voussoirs last placed. " If the voussoirs could be constructed or weighted, so that an arch of equilibrium could be formed, all the horizontal tie-bolts might bo removed, except the last one, for in such an arch the hori- zontal thrust is every where equal. It is not meant that such a method of proceeding as that of removing all the bolts could be carried out practically — it is merely alluded to here to show how largely the bolts would have been relieved from strain as the arch jirogressed into a form which might appear to endanger the stability of the structure. "Had this plan been carried out, it was not intended to have keyed the arches at the crown, but to have left ample space between the culminating voussoirs to admit of expansion and contraction taking place freely. The bridge would, therefore, have been simply a double-jibbed crane, perfectly balanced on each pier. A connection at the apex of each arch would be neces- sary, but so contrived as not to interfere in the least with the expansion and contraction, and yet to counteract any tendency to tilt, consequent upon the variable pressure of the passing loads. "This mode of construction, although decided upon for the Britannia Bridge, was found unsuited for that of Conway. There only one span was required, and the springing of the arch would have been below the high-water line, and from a natural mass of rock on both sides, which, at the east extremity, rose nearly to the permanent level of the railway. "It was, consequently, impossible conveniently to treat the abutments in the light of piers, as has been just described. More- over, the great additional expense of this method, where one arch only is required, formed a serious objection to it, as it necessarily involved the use of double the weight of material requisite for one simple arch, the weight of each overhanging wing being equal to half the weight of the arch itself. "The objection on the score of expense did not apply to the Britannia, for there the overhanging wings were a useful portion of the bridge, and formed a substitute for the extension of masonry, which would have been nearly as costly. Both the expense, therefore, and the peculiarity of the site of the Conway Bridge, pointed out the necessity of some other method being devised for the erection of the arch. Various modes for erecting and sup- porting a fixed centering were considered, but none appeared satisfactory or safe; whilst the formidable difficulty of stopping tlie navigation, and seriously interfering with many vested interests for probably two years, remained in all its force. " This state of things led to the idea of building the arch com- plete on centering supported entirely upon, and framed into, a series of pontoons kept afloat during the whole time of con- struction. " The rise and fall of the tide was such as to admit of its being brought immediately above the springings and lowered into its place by the falling tide, or by admitting water into the pontoons at the top of the tide, before the velocity of the elib stream had increased so as to interfere with the accurate adjustment of the descending mass. This method of fixing arches I have since learned was proposed many years ago by Mr. Dixon, of Darlington. He made designs for a cast-iron bridge across the River Tees at Stock- ton, and, instead of erecting centres on the permanent site of the arch, he proposed to use pontoons, precisely in the manner which has been described. These plans were not carried out, in conse- ((uenoe of the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company having determined to try a suspension bridge for railway purposes instead of the cast-iron arch. For a brief description of the particulars of the novel proposal of Mr. Dixon I have been favoured with a com- munication from Mr. R. B. Dockray, who resided at Darlington at the time when .Mr. Dixon made tiie design. I have also learned fiom Sir Jolin Rennie that this was tlie method adopted for placing the centering of the \\'aterloo and London Bridges; the centres being constructed on pontoons and floated and lowered into their proper position." We very much regret that this ingenious plan of Mr. Stephen- son was not adopted, in consequence of the hostility he had to encounter on the part of the government; but we hope the oppor- tunity will present itself for its realisation under his direction. In reference to one of the original forms of the tube, the circular, .Mr. Kdwin Clark makes some interesting I'emaiks. "It is to be regretted tliat circular tubes, with thicker plates, were not experimented upon; ;is subsequent experience has shown 1P50.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 827 that no distortion would then have occun'ed, and valuable results would jirohably have been obtained. Permanence of form niifrht, moreover, he entirely ensured by diaphrai^ms or stops, at intervals, thioufihout the tube, or by stiffening-plates united by angle-iron, as in the bridf^es. Such diaphragms have, indeed, been success- fully ado))ted by Professor Airy in using vvrouglit-iron tubes for the sujiport of astronomical instruments, to which purpose they are peculiarly ai)plieable, on account not only tif their stift'ness, but of their greater freedom from vibration or trenu)r than cast- iron supports. Diaphragms are used in tiie construction of the wrought-iron polar axes of the large equatorial telescope in the Observatory of Liverpool, which are formed of two semi-elliptical boiler-plate tubes, of e.xquisite workmanship. "Circular wrought-iron tubes, of considei-able thickness, and of magnificent dimensions, retained in shape by stops, are also being used by Mr. Brunei in the construction of a bridge over the ^\'ye, at Chepstow in South Wales. These tubes are, however, not strained transversely, except in supporting their own weight during the process of erection, and for this purpose it is intended to render them temporarily more rigid by cambering them to a slight extent by tie-rods along the bottom. They are 305 feet long, 9 feet dia- meter, and g inch thick ; and are employed as struts, or pillars, to resist the horizontal strain of the suspension links which support the wrought-iron girders of which the bridge is composed. By these means, without the usual tie-chains of a suspension-bridge, the lofty towers are relieved from all lateral strain. "The total span of this bridge is 300 feet, which is the length of the circular tube employed as a strut; a chain, consisting of three straight links, suspended from this strut, divides the span into three equal portions of 100 feet each. The beam carrying the roadway is thus a continuous beam, 300 feet long, supported at each end and at two points in its length. The circular tubes are supported on cast-iron standards. "Circular tubes, 100 feet high, were also at one time proposed as supports for the platforms in constructing the abutment-tubes of the Britannia Bridge. "The round tube, as proposed for the bridge itself, if suspended in chains, and merely applied as a means of ensuring a rigid plat- form, would, if constructed with thick plates, properly united, have formed a most efficient structure, offering but little resistance to the wind, and having equal rigidity in every direction; while an elliptical tube of the depth necessary for the Britannia Bridge, and well retained in shape, possesses several important advantages as an independent beam. The curved plates of the top are well adapted for resisting compression, and for throwing otf the wet, while the heavy riveting necessary for uniting the sides with the top and bottom in a rectang\ilar tube is entirely obviated; although there are other more important practical advantages in favour of the rectangular form. "We have many instances, in the vegetable kingdom, of the ex- treme rigidity and strength of circular tubes: the stems of the grass tribe generally are remarkable for their lightness and strength ; the common wheat-straw and the river reed are familiar examples in our own climate; but in the tropics the gigantic stems of the bamboo and other grasses tower sixty feet above the jungle, and are extensively employed as beams for covering buildings, and even, in some cases, as the transverse bearers of light suspension bridges. The angler's bamboo rod is the most perfect of tubular beams. Tapered off in proportion to the strain, its salicious coat (as in all the grasses) defies compression, while it is internally lined with woody fibre to resist extension in every direction ; its strength, lightness, and stiffness, are thus equally marvellous; and we cannot fail to be struck with the provision of diaphragms throughout the whole tribe, to preserve the circular form, which addition would certainly have much modified the results obtained from thin circular and elliptical tubes of wrought-iron. This illustration from the vegetable kingdom, is only one among many examples of the writer's happy power of treatment, and will enforce upon our readers the importance of the study of animal mechanics, which so far as we are aware is not taught in any en- gineering college. In reference to the ultimate length to which it is possible to carry the tubular bridge, Mr. Edwin Clark has several remarks, which we think will prove of interest to our readers, and in the discussion of which Mr. Clark again alludes to the works of nature. "Again, if we make a tube similar to another, increasing every dimension except thickness, the absolute strength will be directly as the increase, that is to say, another tube twice the length, depth, and breadth of the Conway Bridge, but of the same thickness, would be just twice as strong; it would, however, be four times as heavy, and hence have four times the strain from its own weight, anil would, therefore, soon come to a limit at which it would break itself. "Tills is evident by considering that with tubes of similar section, in which the thickness is not altered, the sectional area will bo simply as the increase, and not as the square of the increase; thii strength will therefore be simply as the lineal dimensions, instead of as their square. "But if we increase a tube in depth, and length, and width, and preserve its sectional area constant, that is, if the plates are thinner in the same proportion as the tube is enlarged, then the absolute sti-ength of the enlarged tube ad infinitum will be the same as that of the first. So that by keeping the same sectional area as at Conway, and enlarging in the same proportions the length, breadth, and depth, we may make a tube of any length, equally strong, theoretically, with the Conway Tube. For tho strength is directly as the sectional area into the depth, and in- versely as the length, and the sectional area being constant, as well as the ratio depth the strength will also be constant; but the weight of the tube, and hence the strain from its own weight, would increase as the length; and, consequently, if we suppose the strain to be five tons per square inch at present in the Conway Tube, another tube of the same sectional area, and of three-and-a- half times the same length, breadth, and depth, would fail by its own weight. Such a tube would be 1400 feet long, and no increase of thickness would make such a tube bear more than its weight. "We have already alluded to the strength of the bamboo as an instructive natural example of the strength of a circular tube. The bones of animals are oval, the depth being always in the direction of the transverse strain. But the more special province of the bones appears to be their action as pillars, or struts, in forming im- moveable fulcra for the reaction of the muscles; and since any yielding would involve a great increase of motion in the tnuscl.'! itself, we find bone among the most imcompressible of known substances. "The square form of stem characterises a very extensive natural family of plants — the labiate tribe, of which the beautiful dead nettle of the hedgerows is an example; though it is dillicult to assign any mechanical reason for this peculiarity, which appears rather to be typical of the general developement of these plants. But in the feather-bearing part of the ordinary quill we have a most remarkable example of the strength of the rectangular form. Here, again, every dimension is tapered down in proportion to Xh^. strain, with an accuracy defying all analysis; the extended and compressed portions are composed of a horny substance of prodi- gious strength, though extremely light and elastic. The beam is not hollow, but to preserve its form it is filled with a pithy sub- stance which replaces the clumsy gusset pieces and angle-irons of the tube without interfering with its pliability; the square shaft is peculiarly available for the attachment of the deep vanes which form the feather; and as the angular form would lacerate its active bearer, an exquisite transition to the circular quill at the base is another striking emblem of perfection. The imitation of such mechanics, so wonderfully ada])ted to such a medium, appears hope- less; but we are indebted to the flying philosopher, if his attempt only calls attention to such design, and induces us instructively to contemplate the beauty of a feather." REMARKS ON SPIRIT-LEVEL ADJUSTMENTS. There are some misapprehensions prevalent affecting the manipu- lation required for properly adjusting the spirit-level, and the reasons which occasion it. Such errors, if copied from one text book into another, are likely to mislead some of the profession, who may not have leisure to examine for themselves. The object of the adjustments should be to enable us to obtain at any place a straight line of sight, revolving in a plane; this plane to be a tangent to the earth s surface at that place. The term optical axis is sufficiently explanatory; the term line of collimation is not so. jNIr. Simms, in his 'Treatise on Levelling,' writes, optical axis, or line of collimation. This description, if in- tended for the old-fashioned Y-level, in which both should coin- cide, would be correct; but is inapplicable to that with fixed teles- cope at present in general use. In the latter the adjusted line of siglit may or may not form an angle with the optical axis of the lenses. Provided the line of sight be parallel to the bubble,. and 328 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LOclOBEB, at riffht angles to the vertical axis on which the telescope turns, it is of little consequence whether or not the line of si;jht he pre- cisely '" directum with the centre line of the lenses. The amount of distinctness occasionally lost hy the want of this coincidence is altogether inappreciable. If this then were the only difficulty attending the adjustment of tlie diaphragm, we could not do better than, pointing the instrument at a placard lettered with various type at some distance, move the diaphragm up or down, until the horizontal wire appearing in centre of the field might be seen to intersect those letters most distinctly defined. The adjustment required is, however, of a different nature. Mechanical error would almost unavoidably, during focal adjustment, cause the focu.s of the eye-piece to deviate from the path of a line of sight so determined upon, sihce it is very doubtful whether it would be possible to construct tubes to slide one within the other with the nicety which this would require. This source of error, with a remedy, was first pointed out by Mr. Gravatt ; hut his method seems (as I shall show) to be at least liable to misinterpretation, if not capable of improvement, and perhaps correction. The ol)ject of his adjustment he defines to he, "to examine and correct the line of collimation." Had he, instead of this, described it as a process to correct error arising from focal adjustment, mistake on this head would not have been so likely to occur. Having described the process, to which I shall have occasion again to reveit, he adds: "The instrument will now be in complete practical adjustment for level, curvature, and hori- zontal refraction, for any distance not exceeding 10 chains, the maximum error not being more than , ^'^ ,^th part of a foot." This might perhaps have been with advantage omitted, as the three sources of error alluded to in this paragraph, remain unaltered by the adjustment described — the same exactly whether the adjust- ment had taken place or not. 1°. The steps of this adjustment involve the following principle: tliree stakes, A B C, are driven in to the ground, equidistant, and tops in a curve of true level. Set the instrument up at A, using the bubble merely to see that you do not disturb the instrument; take the readings of the staff held on each stake consecutively, and if the difference of the readings at A and C be four times the difference of the readings at A and B, the line of sight is unal- tered by focal adjustment, on the principle that the radiating differences between true and apparent level vary as the squares of tlieir respective distances from the point of contact of the tan- gent and curve; if not, alter the diaphragm till this proportion take place. 2^. Next, lower or elevate the telescope by means of the parallel plate-screws until the line of sight so adjusted and apparent level coincide, and set the bubble parallel to it. 3'. Get the line of sight and bubble at right angles to the ver- tical axis of the telescope in the usual manner. With regard to No. 1, which from its importance deserves most consideration, since the bubble is used merely to see that you do not disturb the instrument, the line of sight may be a secant to the curve marked on the ground, and not a tangent, which circumstance might negative this adjustment without due precaution; but if the bubble and optical axis are nearly parallel when tlie instrument is obtained from the optician, and the bubble be brought to the centre of its run previous to taking the readings, I do not believe sensible error likely to accrue from this source. The manner in which focal error is got rid of may be ex- plained as follows: Suppose the instrument placed, the set in apparent level, and a staff held vertically at a considerable dis- tance, ai)pearing in the centre of the field of the telescope. Sup- pose, further, this staff to advance or recede, without altering its relative position to the optical axis; a single point of the image of the staff will travel backwards or forwards horizontally within the tube; the ])aths of the remaining points will all be less or more inclined to the optical axis, forming every variety of angle with it, according as they are nearer to or further from this normal point. Suppose, further (whicli is more than probable), the tube carrying the eye-piece not to slide in directum with the optical axis, but in another line, we must then raise or depress the diaphragm out of the optical axis, till the cross hair meet a ray from the staff whose ath shall coincide with that of the focus of the eye-piece during ocal adjustment. This is evidently possih/e, and no method better to effect this than Mr. Gravatt's, with the precaution already mentioned. This adjustment, once made, need never be repeated. The remaining two adjustments may tlien be performed in the usual easy manner. [: There is, however, considerable grounds for supposing misap- prehension to exist on this head among many who practise and some who write. I shall conclude these remarks with a specimen of the latter kind, taken at random from a text-book lately pub- lished, where, speaking of Mr. Gravatt's method, the writer says: "We are indebted to Mr. Gravatt, of whose level we shall here- after speak, for a method of collimating which satisfies the above requirements, and removes any error arising from imperfection ia the slide of the telescope, while at the same the line of collima- tion is set with the end at the object glass slightly depressed, instead of exactly horizontal, so as to remove, or nearly so, the errors arising from the curvature of the earth, and the horizontal refraction." Cirencester, J. D. Pembebton. BRITISH ASSOCIATION. Selections from Papers read at the Meeting held at Edinburgh, August, 1850. CContinued from page 304.) Description of a New Arrangement of Refecting Telescope, by which much comfort and convenience is secured to the Observer. By James Nasmyth. In introducing this subject to the attention of the members of the Mechanical Section, Mr. Nasmyth, with a view to render the description of his improved arrangement of telescope more clear to such members as might not be practically conversant with the subject in question, premised his description by a sketch of the various forms of reflecting telescope which had hitherto most generally been in use. These are seen in fig. I, 2, 3; fig. 1 being c no small degree occupied and di- Fig.e. vided between regard to his own comfort and safety, and the actual object in view. Although such discomforts might in some respect be reduced in the case of the employment of the arrangement, fig. a, namely, that of the Gre- gorian; or (ig. 3, that of the Cassegrain construction, in both of which it will be seen that the observer views the object from the lower end of the tube, thus, fig. 7 ; yet although the observer may not in this case have so often to mount up to the top of high ladders, and be so far in bodily fear as is but too much the case, as in fig. 6, yet the con- tinual change in his position and the awkwardness of having frequently to crouch down in uncomfortable postures, detracts so much from that ease of per- son which is so requisite in the conduct- ing refined observations, or for enjoying with due tranquility views of the glo- rious objects scattered throughout space, that after considerable experience with telescopes of a large class, Mr. Nasmyth bethought himself of such an arrangement as would remove most of these objections. The optical department of this arrangement is seen in section in fig. 4, where it will be observed that, by the union of the Newtonian and Cassegrain construction, in so far as respects the turning back of the cone of rays by the small conve.x mirror, C, and receiving them at D, by a small diagonal plane mirror, D, the rays which ultimately form the image of the object are sent out sideways tlirough the ti-uiimon,G, in which the eye-piece is placed, and through which, in fact, the observer views the object. By having a corresponding trunnion at the opposite side, T, and employing these trunnions as the supports of the telescope, and using them as the axis on which it is moved in altitude, it will be evident that, as the eye-piece, G, is thus in the centre of motion, whatever be the sweep of elevation in moving the telescope verti- cally from object to object, no change in the position of the eye of the observer will be required; his eye, while opposite to the trunnion, is conmion to all positions of the instrument in altitude; his eye is virtually in the centre of motion. But as the telescope has to be moved round so as to follow the motion of an object in azimuth, it is desirable that the observer should not have to change his position even in this respect. There- fore, in order that he may sit at his ease opposite to the eye-piece while the telescope is moved either in altitude or in azimuth, all that hasto be done toattain this object is to place the entireinstrunient on a tarn-table^ and have a comfortable seat for the observer also on the turn-table, and then, whatever be the elevation or direc- tion in which the telescope is pointed, the observer need never stir from his comfortable seat; and as we all now know with what ease ponderous machines, such as railway wagons or locomotive engines, can be swung round on properly constructed turn-tables, and also the ease with which a well-balanced mass can be swung when it centres, some idea may be formed of the perfect ease and facility with which such an instrument as tliis of Mr. Nasmyth's can be governed and directed by the observer, who has, by means of suitable handles brought close to his chair, the most perfect command of every requisite movement. The instrument in ques- tion, which is represented in fig. 5, weighs upwards of two tons, can be moved in every direction by the point of the finger, swung round in an instant, or elevated to any object on a slow motion given to it so as to enable the observer to keep the object in the centre of the field for hours. Such is the perfect steadiness of the motion, that not the slightest tremor is perceptible, even when observing with a magnifying power of -toO times. Some objec- tion may be urged against the optical arrangement by which iMr. Nasmyth has brought his telescope to yield this central vision, in so far that it is requisite to employ a third reflecting surface, namely, the small plane diagonal mirror (U, fig. 4,) by means of which we are enabled to view the object through the hollow trunnion T, fig. 4, or B, fig. 5; no doubt some portion of light is sacrificed by the employment of this third reflector ; but when we obtain in exchange so vast an amount of convenience and comfort as result from the adoption of this arrangement of Mr. Nasmyth, most observers will be happy to accept the exchange, and with the advantage of the ease, comfort, and tranquility resulting from the absence of all personal sources of interruption, Mr. Nasmyth pre- sumes that by thus inducing more frequent and careful observa- tion'^, scieice will be advanced. Mr. Nasmyth stated, that the main object he had in view in constructing this large telescope was not so much to pursue observa- tions of objects of the fainter class, as nebula?, &c., but rather for following up a series of observations in reference to the structure of the lunar surfiice, on which subject he has been occupied for several years; and such has been the increased comfort and facility which this truly manageable and powerful instrument has given him, that, judging from the specimens of the "drawings from nature," of the remarkable features of the lunar surface, which he exhibited to the Section, the optical powers of his instrument are equal to its convenience and comfort to the obsei-ver. Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of Mr. Nasmyth's "Comfortable Telescope;" C is a cast-iron turn-table, which, on being moved round, carries with it the entire instrument, and the oliserver, who, seated in a comfortable chair, has complete control of the elevation and round-about motion; the former by means of a tan- gent screw and wheel, F, the latter by tangent screw and pinion- shaft, E, which commands the roundabout or azimuth motion. An eye-piece is placed convenient to the eye of the observer at C. Some idea may be formed of the facility w'ith which the movements can be controlled, wlien it is stated that within two minutes iAIr. Nasmyth has frequently directed this large instrument to nine diflferent objects situated in various parts of the heavens. Mr. Nasmyth, at the request of the president of the Section, gave some description of his mode of securing perfectly sound castings of specula for such large instruments, of wbich we hope to furnish our readers some account in our next number. On a Patent Steam Plough. By James Usheb. Mb. Ushek described his Patent Steam Plough, and stated that many fruitless attempts had been made to cultivate the land by steam-power, the reason of which had been that the parties had proceeded on an entirely erroneous principle; as, from the method they have pursued, they could never get the machine to proceed alonj;' the land. Tliis can be simply explained by stating that all former 44 330 THE CIVIL ENGIXEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LOcTOBER, attein))t.s liavo jrone on the principle, that plouglis must be dragged throtifili the earth. Now, if we consider for a moment, it will be .seen that tlie ])louglishare and its hearer are exactly similar to a common anchor; wliich, if tlirown into the sea, it will hold the largest vessel fast, much more than a small engine of ]0-horse power. To obviate this {jreat difficulty, in the present machine the plonp-Ii is reversed and made like an anchor, tlirown out afore ship, bv which the sailor liauls his vessel into position; and thus, instead (if makinn; the anchor a ])ower to hold the vessel back, it is here made a power to pull it forward; or, in other words, tlie plouj^h is inside a paddle-wheel, instead of an anchor cast astern, and tlius tlie carriage is propelled along the land. In thus making the plough a paddle-wheel, the next difficulty was, that five or six ploughs entering tlie earth at the same time would lift a solid ])iece of earth, and carry it round; while, to put tlie ploughs each on a separate axis, would involve such a lengtli of machine that it might not work. To obviate this, all the ploughs are put on the same axis, and each share is placed a little behind the preceding, by which ari-angement no two shares come into action at the same moment, and the first set have turned over their given quantity of earth before the next set enter the land. Fig. 1. Fig. ; On applying the power of the steam-engine to the ploughs, it was found they ran along the earth witliout turning it over, and it became necessary to put a drag on the wlieels, to prevent tlie carriage running away from its work; but instead of putting on the common railway drag, it was thought better to cimnect the wheels of the carriage with the wheel which drives the ploughs. Thus is obtained a uniform stroke for each plougli as it enters the earth, and it cannot proceed until it lias turned over the desired area. Ry this it will be perceived the plouglis drive tlie carriage-wheel.? at the necessary reduced speed, the forwnrd motion oj' the marhine being communicated from the plough to the carriage, instead of from the carriage-wheels to the ploughs, as in many agricultural implements now in use; or, to apply again a former simile, the paddles drive the vessel, instead of the vessel driving the paddles. Mr. Usher then proceeded to show a working model of the plough. Fig. I is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan of the underside. Fig. 3 is a plan of a plough when two mould boards are used, in cast-s where it is desired lo turn the land on either side ; and fig. 1 is a side view of one of the ploughs on its axis, by which and by tig. 1 it will be seen tliat the under edge of the mould board and share is formed to a curve struck from the centre of the shaft or axis on which the ploughs are affixed ; a a indi- late the bed-frame or carriage of the machine. The fore carriage wheels b b are monoied on an axle, which turns in bearings c attached lo the swivel fame U, which moves on the bolts d for the purpose of causing the machine to turn round in a small space. A portion of the swivel frame D is loolhed, and acted upon by the pinion and winch e ; the hind-pait of the carriage is here shown supported upon the hollow cylinder or roller/, com- posed of two extreme parts,/"' and/^, which are wheels similar to b b. the intermediate part/ bein.; by preference removable at pleasure, so as to render these bearing parts suitable lo the different stages of cultivation to which the machine may be applied. This compound cylin- der has its axb supported in the bearings ^f allached to the lower, or to the under side of the carriage frame. Tlie axle of this cylinder carries also at one end the wheel A, to be after- wards noticed. A nioi cable lever frame i, i, i, i, is supported on an axle or shaft k, as a fulcrum. The free ends i' i' are formed into tlie toothed seg:neiits e, and are concentric to A-, these segments being acted upon by tlie two-toothed pinions and spindles JW, W'hich elevates or depresses the hind part i i of the lever frame, and all that it carries, at the pleasure of the conductor. On the carriage thus constructed is placed ihe locomotive boiler, with its engines of any ordinary construction, as « n, the power of which is applied through the medium of connecting rods 0 to the crank shaft p, the two arms of which stand at right angles to each other, in the usual way. The crank shaft p is supported on two standards q securely fixed lo the car- riage. (Jii the shaft jt/ there is also fixed Ihe spur pinou, in- dicated by the dotted circle/;'/)' in fig. I ; and this pinion, by taking into the wheel r, niDunted nn the shaft A, gives motion at Ihi- same lime to the pinion t, which is carried round on the same shaft i. The pinion /. thus actuated, takes into the wheel />, before referred to, on the bearing cylinder/; and it is preferred that the pinion t should be applied so as readily to be put into and out of gear with its wheel, though not so shown in the engraving. By this arrangement of parts, a slow progressive motion is obtained for the v/hole maciiine, on the one hand through the cylinder/, and on the other hand a separate rotatory motion, at a certain increase of speed, is communicated through the wheel r to the pinion w, fixed upon the pinion « u, which last-named shaft has its bearings v v attached to the moveable frame i i. On the shaft ti u are placed a series of plates or projec- tions, fixed at regular distances. Or such plates or pro- jections, with their ploughs afterwards described, may be placed upon separate shafts, each with its own proper gear- ing ; but it is preferred to place them on one shaft. These plates or projections on the axis aie shaped in such manner as to receive and have affixed to each of them several ploughs, adapted by their revolving motion lo penetrate Ihe soil, and by their mould-boards to elevate and turn over portions thereof; a a are ihe plales or projections fixed upon the shaft V ; they are each formed wilh a strong boss at the centre, by which it may be securely fixed to the shaft. Each plate a' has three arras or prolongations b, b, b, which terminate in the radial dinciion sliown ; a further prolongation d' d' is car- ried obliquely upon each of these arms. Upon the plate and projections thus constructed is alhxed Ihe tilling apparatus, which consists, firstly, of the part e', which acts the part of the mould board or lurnlurrow in the common plough ; and it is to be fixed by screw bolts or otherwise to ihe pro- longations d' d'. To the fore part of Ihjs mould-bo.iid e e is alhxed a bar /of wrought iron, which is also furnished wilh a lug/", by which it is attached to the plate, by means of s< rew bolts or otherwise ; the bar /, thus secured, forms a head or share bearer, as in many common ploughs. To the fore part of tlie bar /, the share y is adapted, aniHixeil by its socket. The mould-board, and also the share, may be varieil in form. A fore-cutter, or coulter ti' is affixed in front of each share, by screw bolts or otherwise, and is provided wilh the means of ailjustnienl thioiigh the counler slits, in itself, and in the plate ; but, in order to meet the diH'irent qualities of soils and the various stages of tillage, the further provisions shown in figs. 3 and 4 are employed. Fii;- -1 -■•hows a variation lu the form of the plate a of figs. 1 and a. u is 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 331 the shaft, as before, carryins the plates or projections ; a' shows a de- I iched purliou uf uue of these plates, io which the curved part a^ to a^ is brought fiirivard and armed wiih a steel blade, aiisweriug the purpose of the separate coulter /i' in fig. 1; e is the mould-board, and y' the share, as before. Fig 3 is a form of plough suiiable lo the tillage of greeu crops ; a' is a portion of the plate or projection, seen edge\va)s ; e' and e' are r ghl and left mould-boards, and t/' a plain spenr shaped share. The number of plates or projeclions, and also the number of ploughs in each, m.ij be laricd. On a Gas Stove. By Mi. W. S. Ward. WM Fig. 1. i-if. -. The novelty of the stove consists in constructiiiir it of iron plates in a vertical position, so as to expose considerable surfaces for the absorption of heat from jets of gas, and for the radiation of the heat. The author found that his apparatus was sufficient to raise the temperature of a moderate sized room from 5° to 10° Fahrenheit, with a consumption of about three feet of gas per hour, costing about 2(/. for ten hours; and that it was particularly useful in warming a bed-room, where only a slight elevation of the temperature was required, and free from the production of dirt or smell. The annexed engraving, fig. 1, is a front view of one of the stoves, and fig. 2 a vertical section; it consists first of a sheet of plate-iron to fill up the usual opening of a fire-place, w ith a hole through for a chimney, and two other plates of iron placed about three inches apart, and inclosed round the rim ; near the bottom are perforations to admit air, and a small door with a burner, con- sisting of several small jets inside; when the gas is lighted, it heats the air inside, and the surface of the two iron plates; by this arrangement all unpleasant effluvia is conveyed away througii an iron pipe that is made near the top, and which leads into the chimnev of the room. Mr. McPherson explained an Appnratus for frev pipes birrating by Frost. The apparatus is shown in the annexed figure,and is acted upon by the expan- siim of water, just as it is on the point of freezing. Let A represent the supply pipe; B a double-action valve; C the waste-pipe; F a copper tube contain- ing the liquid to be frozen; D, the bracket to sup- port it to an iron plate. Now, if frost acts on the copper tube F, it will expand the water therein, elevate the piston E, and push up the valve B, from its seat, and thereby open a communication with the naste-pipe C, through which the stand- ing water in tlie Jiipe A, escapes, and finally shuts against the supply pipe A, tints accomplish- ing the shutting off the water and emptying the pipes. A new Method of Supporting the Speculum of Large Telescopes. By Mr. Lassell, of Liverpool. Mr. Lassell explained by a diagram the method he proposed to construct the speculum of large reflecting telescopes to prevent any sensible flex- ure. This he proposes to do by casting on the back of the speculum several ribs, and placing an additional plate behind with several perforations, each having a pin or lever supported on centres, ■enting Water- when the speculum is placed in a horizontal or inclining position. It is supported by these pins or levers acting against the ledges of the ribs; for a 2-feet speculum he proposes to cast five ribs at the back, and have about eighteen pins or levers to support it. Mr. Buchanan e.xplained a new kind of Valve for Waterworks. It consists of a flexible web made of India rubber strained over a metallic surface, having one or more hollow grooves, or a hollow space. AV'hen there is the slightest pressure on the top of the valve, the flexible web completely seals the aperture over which it is placed. The annexed engravings show two examples of Mr. Buchanan's invention fig. 1; A is a valve with a plate having two grooves covered with a web h of india-rubber; c is a dead plate 'd) ^ Fi?. 1. FiK 2, with a raised rim fixed in the orifice, and d is the orifice of a pipe with a knife-like edge. When the valve A is pressed down, the web where the grooves are. is gently pressed against the two edges of the plate e and orifice d. and closes the aperture. Fig. 2 is another form ; the valve A has a hollow plate covered with the web, which, when pressed against the edges surrounding the aper- ture c, completely closes the opening. On a new and ready Process for the Quantitative Determination of Iron. By Pr. F. Filnnv. The author recommends the emplovraent of the cbromate and bichromate of potash for the estimation of iron in the common ores of the metal, and especially for the analyses of the clay-band and black band ironstone of this country.' He was led to the application of those salts in the course of some investigations on the materials and products of the manufacture of alum from " alumtshale," in which he was much retarded by the want of a ready method for estimating the oxides of iron. The chromates of potash give very exact results, and possess the great advantage that a much larger quantity of material may be operated on than can be conveniently trdted by the usual methods. For practical purposes, he says, the bichromate is to be preferred. The process requires no other apparatus than that commonly used for centigrade testing, which is familiar to all persons engaged in chemical pursuits. It may he easily and rapidly executed, occupying only a fraction of the time required for the process of estimating iron by precipili- lion as the sesquioxide ; and it is not interfered with by the presence of alum and phosphates which usually exists in the ore. The method is based on the well-known reciprocal action of chromic acid and protoxide of iron, whereby a transference of oxygen takes place, the protoxide of iron beconiiiig converted into sesquioxide, and the chromic acid into sesq'iioxide of chro- tuium. A Notice of very powerfid Magnets made by the process of M. Elms and under his direction, by M. Logemon, Optician, Haertem. By Sir L). Brewster. By this process a magnet lib. weight will, with due precaution, supp' rt 2- J lb., and the power does not sensibly diminish though the armature be suddenly detached several times. It has twice the power of magnets com- monly made in Britain. Magnets capable of raising 4001b. are made in this way. Sir David exhihiteii two of M. Elias's magnetic horseshoe combi- nations of bars, one of about 17oz. weight, and another of 12^ lb., tho latter capable of supporting 150 lb. It was necessary, for their perfect action, to polish the ends of the armature with two pieces of wood covered wil'i emery and lead. The line joining the poles must he as perfectly hcrizont.il as possible. The bars are magnetised by being moved several times through a helix of copper wire, along which the galvanic current passes. Dr. ScoRESDY bore testimony to the great superiority of these magnets to similar magnets made by regular magnet makers in this country. Bui he had, after a series of niagnetical investigations (the results of which he had published in 1813) made magnets nearly, if not quite, as powerful as those of M. Elias. 44* 332 TPE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [OcTOBEB, Mr. Hunt had tried magnetising by the coil, and found the best effect to he produced by a blue heat being given to the bar, which at that tempera- ture was exposed to the current, and then plunged into water or a solutiou of ferro-prussiate of poca&h. Dr. ScoiiEsuy rejnarked that 500° or .')05° was the best heat to which a bar should be raised before beini; magnetised. Too powerful mag- nets also ought not to be useil in magnetising. Mr. Wakd had had considerable success in magnetising by the coil, by dr.iwing a helix of about an inch in height from the centre of the bar, back- wards and forwards, as in the ordinary mode of magnetising. On a Tubular Crane. By Mr. Fairbairn. — The jib and post of the crane is formed hollow, of boiler plate. THE INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS ON CEMENTS AND STUCCOES. It is not often that the Institute of British Architects indulge in sesthe- tics. Generally speaking, whent-vcr the suliject is fairly opened to them by the nature of their lectures, they avert the discussion to a matter of fact question respecting the economical use of slate, the number of feet and inches in a broken column, or some other subject equally well calculated to promote an improved architectural taste. With surprise and gratification, therefore, we observed that, during the late meetings, the reading of a paper on " Cements and Stucco" {ante, p. 221), led to an animated and interesting discussion respecting the legiti- mate use of those materials. The debate was carried on with far more ear- nestness of purpose than could be incited by a mere abstract question. No abstract question can long engage the earnest attention of a general assem- bly, but to the British Architects the inquiry whether the use of deceptive materials be iii good taste is not an abstract inquiry. It is a vital quettion to them ; for probably if that question be decisively answered in the nega- tive, it is not too much to asiunie that the decision would be condemnatory of half the buildings erected by members of the Institute. Mb. Knowles, the reader of the ptper referred to, slates the objections against the use of stucco for "protecting and adorning the exterior of our buildings" to be 1. That cements and stuccoes are not durable, and require frequent and expensive reparations. 2. That they are very costly; not so much at first, as by reason of the colouring and painting in oil, which, it is thought (erroneously, as ,he be- lieves), that they afterwards require. 3. Tliat they are false and deceptive inasraneb as they, being artificially formed material-, do in some measure assume the appearance of natural productions. 4. Tliat their introduction has led to all that is false in design, and defec- tive in construction, 5. Ihat when employed in decoration, the enrichments are deficient in that sharpness of outline and delicacy of finish by which the productions of the chisi-l are distinguished. Of the first of these olijections he confesses, that it applies with great force to modern London buildings, and that " extreme care" is required "in the construction of buildings intended to be covered with cement." The second objection may, he thinks, be removed by an improved knowledge of chemistry and geology. With respect to the deficiency of ihsrpness of out- line in ornaments moulded in «tuc«o, he asks whether it be not possible to overcome this diflkulty hy increased attention on the part of the architect in designing, and especially in inspecting the modelling of his enrichments whilst in the clay. Up to this point we need not demur to any of the arguments in defence of stucco, for they amount to an a(ki!onl('di:enierit, that the use of that material involves peculiar diflJcuUics and requires peculiar precautions. Hut now comes the gist of the debate, the question as to the deceptive nature of the material. Mr. Knowles ingeniously argues, that grandeur, beauty, and originality of design, are far more important and far less easily attain- able than costliness and durability of materials. " That species of adnjiration which is excited hy the costliness of the materials employed in works of art, has always appeared to me to partake considerably of the vulgar and the barbarous. For, as much as the lieavens are higher than the earth, so much do I believe the emanations of the iiiind to be above and beyond the mere vehicle in which they are euibo.lied." Precisely. We do not happen to know the altitude of the " heavens," but if Mr. Knowles will adopt any kind of terrestrial measure, we have little doubt that we shall be able to assent to his estimation of the superiority of mind above matter. We readily allow that all that is vile and monstrous in taste may be exhibited in an arch of the purest statuary marble or bronze, cast in the most costly manner ; while some of the most admirable build- ings whieli have appeared on the face of the earth are churches and castles built of bricks. But who are those most liable to the charge of preferring the material before the design and skill of the architect .' Those who would let plain bricks honestly show themselves? or those who would hide the bricks beneath a surface imitating costlier stone? The " admiration excited by the costliness of materials" does partake "considerably of the vulgar and bariiarous." But can that vulgar and barbarous admiration be exhibited in a more vulgar and barbarous manner than in the concealment of cheaper substances by a mere show and unreal pretence of costliness .' Or can that same admiration be more openly and decisively disavowed than by the honest exhibition of the cheaper substances .' Mr. Knowles has, it appears to us, forged a weapon which inevitably recoils upon himself. His gun kicks more strongly than it shoots. The very argument which he has chosen for a defence of stucco is its most decisive condemnation. If the admiration of costly materials be barbarous, how infinitely more barbarous is the dishonest imitation of them. If the love of real gems has a vulgar taste, what shall be said of those who near paste diamonds .' As a matter of practical experience, the use of stucco in domestic archi- tecture leads to the constant reproduction of the same insipid forms, Where the ornament can be laid upon a building as something altogether extrinsic and adventitious, the principal necessity for originality and inven- tion is altogether evaded. But where the ornament is an essential and in- tegral part of the building — where it depends upon, and springs out of, the construction, the architect is almost compelled to think whether he will or not; and, on the other hand, where the construction can be wlinlly hidden hy a false surface, on which skin-deep ornaments can be laid at " so mu..h per yard run," ornament becomes mere stock-in-trade, to be kept on hand till wanted, and the architect is superseded by tite builder. In the discussion which followed the reading of the paper, it is grati- fying to find that architecture was regarded — not as a mere fancy or fashion — nor as a mere code of arbitrary rules — nor as a system of jugglerv to delude mens' eyes by false show of splendor — but as a liberal art. Mr. Francis appeared to us to give the coup de grace to the question, which the most unfortunate argument above referred to had already settled. Ce- ment he considered " a material quite inadequate for the purpose of minute and elaborate design in ornamental work, which, when executed in it, must want the freedom of touch and the artistic feeling belonging to the chisel. For freedom of touch and artistic feeling, we should as soon look in a willow-pattern plate as in plaster ornaments run in a mould." It is certainly in too exclusive a spirit that some writers condemn all kinds of ornamental forms multiplied by mechanical means. Such con- demnation is far too general. It would include engravings which have a beauty and excellence of their own, diffeiing much from that of the pictures from which they are taken. To engravings, moreover, is incoulestihly due the merit of popularising the highest works of the easel. But an engraver must be an artist, and have an intellectual feeling of the spirit of his original ; while the maker of stucco ornaments is a mere mechanical drudj,'e, an Irish labourer, probably, who has never cultivated his taste beyond an appreciation of gin and tobacco. The engraver must have a wonderfully keen eye for all the varying depths of dilferenl colours which have to be imitated by him by mere gradations of shade in black and white. Even where mechanically produced, decorations require no taste for their sut'cessful reproduction, they may yet possess grace when honestly and lefritimately employed. Such grace may and ought to belong to paper. han|(ings, the forms of porcelain, and glass utensils, and the patterns of the commonest and cheapest pottery. Such grace may also belong to ornaments of plaster properly employed. To confine ourselves to one instance among many, it would be, we think, mere architectural purilanism to object to the adornment of ordinary ceilings with appropriate decorations in stucco. In such use of plastic materials no deception could be intended or ett'ected. The white plastered ceiling of an ordinary room can no more be mistaken for stone than ordinary gilding for gold. The real offence against taste is the attempt to deceive. Gilding is a Tno>t admirable and beautiful species of decoration when legitimately era- 1850."] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 833 ployeil; but when used wliere it passes for solid Rold, it is the display of the vulgarest pretence. The similar observation applies with regard to stucco. As -Mr. Donaldson unanswerably observed, " the jointing given to cement in order to make it imitate stone, produces evidently a false appearance." It is a mere perversion of truth to say that no deception is meant in stucco- covered buildings, when pains are taken to score hirizontal and vertical lines in imitation of the courses of masonry. IIow preposterous to allege that such a miserable expedient is not an attempt at deception I It has all the dishonesty of a juggle without its cleverness. We would be almost content to leave the question on this single issue. When the admirers of stucco cease to score upon it the lines aforesaid, we will charitably try to hope that they intend no deception. But, until that be done, they will remain under the imputation of using a false substance to hide — not the poverty of materials — but, far worse, poverty of invention. If we turn from mere speculation to the evidence of history, it is instantly apparent that those periods in which materials have been used honestly and faithfully, have been those least subject to that [lest of architecture — copyism. The Greek temple, formed of solid lilocks. of stone was a purely original idea, entirely different from all preceding forms of arcbitectuie. The massive structures of Egypt and ancient Rome, with all their faults, bore the impress of unmistakeable originality. Of the exhauslless fertility of invention, and the endless jirodigality of design fxhihited by our Chris- tian ancestors, it is impossible to speak adequately. The proud Minster, the humble village Church, the impregnable Castle, and the graceful Hall, have each a distinct character of its own. But in our own time, all originality of design seems abandoned, or left to those few arcliiticts who build honestly. In domestic architecture, the highest effort is the reproduction of a well- known Italian fafade, with a few slight variations, or the decoration of a bu'lriing (of whuh the flat suiface and vast rows of windows identify it in construction with a cotton-mill) with the endless repetition of heraldic devieei and innumerable weathercocks. Ordinary architecture is worse even than this ; for the new streets and charming villas which spring up like fungi about the metropolis, are generally more hideous than their vegetable types. It is a comfort to tliiiik that their defective construction promises an almost equally rapid decay. We are earnest in the discussion of this question, and are willing to be charged with harping im one string till it :s effectually set at rest, for we reckon among the most cheering signs of the progress of architecture, that those who debated the question at the Institute of British Architects were almost unanimous against the use of false materials. That pernicious system which inflicted on us the gew.gaw splendour of Georgian taste, has too long cramped the energy and spirit of modern architects. The first promise of their emancipation from the insipid traditions of the last century, is coeval with the revived study of Pointed Architecture, a style which nobly evi- dences, that in building as in morals, it is yood to be honest and true. THE GREAT EXPLOSION AT SEAFORD. There was a blasting upon a large scale at Seaford on Thursday, 21st ult., for the purpose of throwing down a considerable portion of the chalk cliff on to the beach, for checking the progress of the shingle towards Beachy Head and the East. Seaford is situated close to the eastern extremity of a bay three miles in length, extending from Seaford Head to Nevvhaven Head. It is one of the Cinque Ports. It is twelve miles from Brighton and about five from Beachy Head. Close to the sea is a Mar- tello tower — the last westward; there is also a fort, which is under the care of a resident master gunner. But the ground about Seaford for two miles to the west lies low, and there is nothing to protect it from the inroad of the sea at high tides but a narrow beach bank of shingle. This barrier is hecoitiing gradually weaker in consequence of the tendency of the shingle to drift awaj-, and it has become a matter of urgent moment that this should be stayed. Close to Seaford, on its eastern side rises a noble line of cliff, in some places 300 feet high, and averaging above two hundred. It was determined to project a huge slice of the cliff to the beach, with a view thereby to constitute a groin for the purpose of retain- ing the shingle and preventing its leaving the bay. The operations have been conducted by the Board of Ordnance, but the ow ners of land about Seaford contribute towards the expense. The works were begun about seven weeks ago, and there liave been 55 men of the Royal Sappers and Miners engaged upon tlieni. The spot selected for the operation is not much above half-a-niile to the east of Seaford. At a height of about 50 feet above high - water mark there was driven into the cliff or excavated, a tunnel or gallery 70 feet long, 6 feet high, 5 feet broad, ascending with a slope of 1 in 3. At the inland extremity it turned right and left in the heart of the cliff, above 50 feet one way and above 60 the other, with a more gentle ascent, the two smaller galleries being t ft. 6 in. high, and 3 ft. (i in. broad, and the three being in the form of a capital T. At the utmost end of each of the side or cross gal- leries was a chamber, 7 feet cube, lined with wood; and in each chamber a charge of no less than 12,000lb. of gunpowder was dejiosited ; making the distance of the centre of the charge 70 feet from the face of the cliff towards the sea, anil about 70 feet above high-water mark. Tlie galleries were " tamped," that is stopped up with bags of sand, and chalk in bags and loose, to within 50 feet of the mouth, both branches being tamped up, antl 20 feet down tlie large gallery. The tamping is, of course, a very important matter; the hole through which the charge of powder is deposited should offer more resistance to the force of the exploded powder than the solid earth, in order that the powder may not find vent through that entrance, but spend its power upon the earth to be cast up; and this may be the better accomplished where the firing is by voltaic battery, because there is only a thin wire to pass through the tamping for the purpose of ignition. It must be added liere, that above this charge of powder, and on the top of the cliff, three shafts or pits were sunk to the depth of -tl feet, and 6001b. of gunpowder deposited at the bottom of each; these pits were tamped with chalk. Very near these pits — perilously near it almost seemed — about 180 feet from the edge of the cliff, a small wooden shed was erected, in which were placed three voltaic batteries, two of Groves's and one of Smee's, for firing the charges; the wires to convey the electric fluid to each charge were covered with tape and varnished or tarred over; the wires to the two lower charges in the chambers were of course, carried over the top of the cliff. It was arranged that these two great charges should be fired simultane- ously, and the three above a few moments afterwards. It was at twelve minutes past three o'clock, p.m. that suddenly the whole cliff, along a width or frontage of some 120 feet bent forwards towards the sea, cracked in every direction, crumbled into pieces, and fell upon the beach in front of it, forming a bank, down which large portions of the falling mass glided slowly into the sea for several yards like a stream of lava flowing into tlie water. The whole multitude upon the beach seemed for a few- moments paralysed and awe struck by the strange movement, and the slightly trembling ground; every one sought to know with a glance that the mass had not force enough to come near him, and that the cliff under which he stood was safe. There was no very loud report; the rumbling noise was probably not heard a mile off, and was perhaps caused by the splitting of the cliff and fall of the fragments. "There seemed to be no smoke, but there was a tremendous shower of dust. Those who were in boats a little way out state that they felt a slight shock. It was much stronger on the top of the cliff. Persons standing there felt staggered by the shaking of the ground, and one of the batteries was thrown down by it. In Seaford, too, three quarters of a mile off, glasses upon the table were shaken, and one chimney fell. At Nevvhaven, a dis- tance of three luiles, the shock was sensibly felt. In a few moments after the cliff had fallen the crowd upon the beach rushed forward to it. A second fall of chalk, when they had got about half-way, checked them for an instant, and but for an instant. They rushed up the mound which the exploded chalk had formed. Although it is a mass of large rough stones for the most part, difficult in many places to climb except by using one's hands as well as feet, yet ladies eagerly clambered up it, and one gentle- man managed to get his horse up. It will probably, like the cliff" still standing, be rather unsafe for a time, as there is reason to j believe that further falls will follow, considerable masses which have not yet fallen being evidently loosened. The mass which came down on Thursday is larger than was expected; it forms an irregular heap, apparently about 300 feet broad, of a height vary- ing from -to to 100 feet, and extending 200 or 250 feet or more seaward, which is considerably beyond low-water mark. It is thought that it comprises nearly 300,000 tons. The operation is considered to have been decidedly successful. The work was under the direction of Sir J. Burgoyne, Inspector- General of Fortifications, but the immediate direction was taken bj' Captain Frome; Lieutenant Ward, R.E., had charge of the voltaic batteries. Colonel Lewis, Lieutenant Greatorex, and Lieutenant Grossman, assisted in the operations. Sir J. Kennie and a number of civil engineers were on the ground. Sir C. I'asley i was present, and, as we understood, the Duke of Beaufort and 531 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LOCTOBEB, Lord F. Fitzrlaronce; as also xvas Mr. Wrifjht, C.E., who con- ilucted the operations at tlie hlastinp of Rouiiitated thereon through the agency of a galvanic current. This mode of soldering by the '-wet method" has been often recommended in various periodicals relating to the industrial arts; but it has been objected that— practically speaking — the union between two pieces of metal could not be effected by means of a metal so precipitated by galvanic agency. In order, however, to arrive at a definite conclusion upon this question, M. Eisner under- took thefollow ing experiments, making use of a Daniell's "constant battery." The first experiment he made was by placing upon the end of the copper wire, which formed the negative electrode, a strong ring of sheet copper, cut asunder at one point, the distance between the severed parts being about one-half cr one-third of a millemetre, and immersing it in a bath of sulphate of copper. At the end of a few days (during which time the exciting liquors were several times renewed) the space in the severed portion of the ring was completely filled up with copper regulus, which had been pre- cipitated; and on partially cutting with a file through the part thus filled up, and examining it with a lens, it was observed to be very equally filled with solid and coherent copper. A second experiment was made with another copper ring cut into two parts, and the two segments placed with the faces of the sections opposite each other, and similarly submitted to the action of a galvanic current. At the end of a few days the segments were united by the copper precipitated, and again formed a complete ring. A third experiment was made by placing two strong rings of sheet- copper, with their freshly-cut faces upon one another, so that the two rings constituted a cylinder. These rings were surrounded by a band of sheet-tin, coated with a solution of wax, so that the two rings were equally surrounded by a conducting material. The rings were then attached to the negative wire of the batterv. and immersed in a bath of suljihate of copper. At the end of a few days the interior surface and the contact surfaces of the two rings were covered witli precijiitated copper. The rings were only submitted to the galvanic current to such an extent as to cover their interior surface with a thin coating of precipitated copper, and yet they were so completely re-united that they formed a single cylinder. The exterior conducting covering of tin was, of course, removed, before testing the cohesion of the galvanic precipitate. From these experiments, there appears to be no doubt that two pieces of metal may be firmly united or soldered liy galvanic agency. It will, therefore, be possible to firmly unite the different parts of a large piece of metal, and to make a perfect figure of them by galvanic precipitation of a metal (copper in ordinary cases.) If solutions of salts of gold or silver were employed in as concentrated a form as those of copper above-mentioned, there is reason to believe that galvanic soldering would also result. In fact, M. de Ilackewitz states, that in some experiments on a larger scale, which he undertook, to obtain hollow figures by galvano-plastic means, he had remarked that galvanic union often took place between the pieces operated upon. M. Eisner states, that while conducting the experiments above-mentioned, he remarked that, liy employing too powerful a current, the negative electrodes of copper, and even the plate of copper, and ring of the same metal resting thereon, became covered with a deep brown substance, in the same manner as this occurs under similar circumstances in galvanic gilding, as is well known. After several unsuccessful attempts to prevent the formation of this brown coating, M.Eisner found that it was possible to remove it entirely on immersing the articles covered therewith, during a few seconds, in a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids. By this means the precipitated cojiper vvas made to assume its natural red colour. M'ith respect to the cohesion of the galvanic soldering, it is the same as that of copper or other metal precipitated by iralvanic agency. It w ill, moreover, be well understood, that too energetic galvanic excitation must have an injurious influence upon the cohesion of the metal precipitated; and in this case precisely the same phenomena will be oliserved as those which have long manifested themselves in ordinary galvano-plastic operations. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECrS JOURNAL. 33^ ON FARM BUILDINGS. A very valuable improvemeui bus been lately suggested in the erection of farm buildings, that the whole arra be rouffd over like the terminus of a railway. This idea is very little kuowo, and will, do doubt have to cou- teud with much oppoT-iliou, It will protect the animals, prevent the heavy rains from iujnring ihe dung, and protect the manure from beinj; dried on the surtace by the hoi suns of the eaily summer. For such roofs, corrugated iron ia the most proper, as its owu btrength will stand over a moderate width, and it does not rrquire any supporting substance on which to be laid. The asphhtted ft-lts are combu.->libIe, ami itquire an under i"oof, on wliich they are tixed, and ou l)olh these poinis Uiej are iufeiior to the corrugated iron. The three uings of the tannery will be loofed over with the thin iron, at ilie common clevatiou. In coveiiiig the widtli of 20 feet over walls, three rows of rooting will cover the interior of the farmery, aud may range north and south, and will rest ou cast-iron pdlars, which are placed in the subdivision walls of the feeding jards. The roofing can extend over the rick yard and the railway, and place all under one roof. If agriculture would look to tiie miglily, and al the same time the ver} conveuienl joint performances of machinery aud railways, il would quickly perceive that many useful moditicaiions ot tiieir utility might be introduceil into the practical operations of it*, own departments. It may be very reasonably proposed, that till ihe articles of agncullur:il produce, which are cbunged in form for the purpose of being used, should be placed on the second floor of the farmery, or carried to it, and hence let down in the prepared tonu lu the places where they are wanted. \Vhen it is preferred tu cut the tuiuips into laikcn aud the hay lulo chaff, aud when THE QUARRY OF THE LIVERPOOL DOCKS. Kilmabreck Quarry is the source whence all supplies of granite blocks and paving stones for the Liverpool Dock Quays are derived. Kilmabreck is situate near Blackcraig, in Galloway, and has of lute years become a place of some importance. The quarry was opened about twenty years ago; and the clergyman of the parish gives the following interesting description of the modus operandi: — ** The working of this quarry, in 1S34, cost nearly I5,00t)/., including rent and tonnage of vessels, 6cc. It is wrought in three breasts, about 30 feet high each, the one above and behind the other. The operations are conducted with much skill and regularity. At one time powder vvas very inui;h employed in (his work ; tifly, sixty, and as high as seventy pounds were used in one blast. These explosions were felt and heard at a considerable disiauce, as the slight shocks of an earthquake. The use of powder, however, except in open- ing up corners, has been for some time entirely giv^-n up. Blasting was found to shake and frequently to destroy some of the finest blocks. Drills, wedges, crowbars, sledge-hammers, and cranes, are now principally u-^ed in quarr} lug even the largest masses; aud ills truly astonishing to see with what facility even mountains can be removed by handicraft. In the quarry the rocks are stratified The strata are perpendicular, and vary in thickness from nine inches 'o five feet. U hen a n>f(ss is to be separated, wedges are introduced between the strata, and are driven down with sledgehammers until a separ;itiou is efj'ected, A large crow-bar, well ■, maun- d, is then applied, to throw down the mass to the bottom of the ' quarry. This arcomplished, the next thing is to cut up the stone info '■ blocks as large as the materials will admit of; and this part of the work is, perhaps, Ihe most interesting process of thq, whole. The rude and j unshapely miiss may be five feet thick, and ten or twelve feet long, and , must be cut inio the form of a parallelogram, to fit with mathematical | precision in its own appointed place in the docks. Holes are bored four or five inches deep, with a drill or jumper, aud eight or nine inches apart, | in the line the stone is to be split A block of fourteen tons is soon cut to ' llie size ami shape required by tlie power of ' the plug and feather.' When a hole has been bored of the required depth, two wedges are : introduced into the hole, with the thick end down, and by driving the one down into the centre, the combined power of three wedges is thus obtained, and made to bear upon every hole, and thus split the stone. A few holes charged w ith plug and feather will be found sufficient . to split a very large stone. In splilling granite in this way, the qiarry- i men are careful to place the holes and the wedges parallel with the reed i or grain of the stone. This arrangement renders the process comparatively ; easy ; and the skilful workmen can shape their blocks and paving stones with as much comfort as if they were cutting wood in a saw-mill. As a proof of the extraordinary power of the '* plug aud feather," it may be slated, upon the authority of the present skdful overseer, that masses of 500 tons are sometimes lifted or removed by their aid. There is a compa- lively narrow ridge of granite rock running paral!--! with the shore from Creetown to the entrance of Fleet Bay, and vvhich is probably connected with the great mass of the same formation of v\hich Cairnsmore forms the wes' rn side, though divided on the surface by a stratum of grej wacke. The situation of the quarry has thus been well chosen ; for the blocks, when cut and shapen, are transported by a short railway to the shore below, and there sliipped in vessels belonging to the Dock Trustees, who have a little fleet *>f what are called *' stone boats." continually sailing betwixt V\ igiown Bay and the Mer;^ey. — Liverpool Chronicle. the inconteslible improvement comes into use of cutting all straws that aie used for litter — then it is evident that all the articles in the crude fuim must be placed on the higher floor, and de>ceDd from it in the prepaied coD'litiou. In the improved use of threshing machinery, the unihrc^hed grain is raised from the ground-floor to the f^eeding board by means of a travelling carrier that is driven by the machinery; or it may be carried from the rirks to the second floor on a hifjh railway, that is placed to tho necessary height. The grain from the ricks is laid upon a light wagon, which runs upon the railway to the feeding board The power of steam will drive machinery to almost any extent ; and cutters may be placed ou both sides of the engine for the purpose of cutting the straw, hay, and roots. The straw may be taken as it falls from the shakers, and put ioto tlie adjoining cullers of the kind to cut il into lengths of 3 or 4 inches for tho purpose of litter. The hay may be cut into chaff by cutters closely adjoiu- iug. On the other side of the engine the roots may be cut by a similar application ; aud can be raised to the box of the knives by a narrow tra- velling carrier from the ground floor , and in quantij as the cullers are able to manufacture. The cut fuod may be laid in stores, whence il can be carried in light wagons ou railways to the required places, and lei down in spouts. The railways for this purpose roust run to the necessary posi- tions for feeding cattle and horses, and for strewing litter over the >ards. It is a good thing to have a railway on the ground between two rows of ricks, on which a waL;on conveys the grain to the lower floor of the barn, whence a travelling carrier raises it to the second floor, where the machiuerv receives it to be scutched. A suggestion not much ditlereut, places the railway betweeu the rows of ricks on cast-iron pillars, that stand at the height of the second floor of the machinery, and on which the grain i% carried by a wagon to the feeding board. A third idea may be published, that the ricks of grain stand singly on four-wheeled platforms resting on a branch railway at a sharp angle of divergence with the tnain trunk, which leads to the threshing barn. When the rick is wanted to be threshed, the platform is run along the railway vvhich inclines gently to the barn, where an outside shed receives the rick under cover from rain, during the lime of threshing. The barn stands across the railvvay, and receives the rick witiioul the labour of turuing such a heavy body toa cross direcliou. The platforms are returned to the position on the branch railway, in order to receive a rick of the next year's growth. The ricks and machinery are covered by the corrugated irou roof of the farmery extending over them. The suggestion of having a second floor over the entire area of farm build- ings, on which to perform all the manufacturing work in the preparatioa ot the difJeient articles for use, may be reckoned a chimera, or a wild saliy of the imagination, and with it will be classed the idea of placing eai h rii k of grain upou a four wheeled platform, aud running them entire to the barn, as each may be required to be threshed. Bui from a due consideration, there certainly appears nothing improbable in the feasibi.ny of its adoption, aud nothing impossible in the application and execution of the various parts of the composition. It is only an extension of the principle that h ks already been used on a minor scale and for smaller purposes. — Gardeners' Chronicle, NOTZS or THS MONTH. New Port in the Mediterranean. — The Constitutionnel con- tains the following:— "Bastia is the wealthiest and most populous town in Corsica. Situated opposite to the Gulf of Genoa, within a few hours' journey from the coasts of Italy and France, on the road to the Adriatic, Sicily, and the Levant, it has become the most important centre of traffic in the counti'y; and of itself possesses one-fourth of the navy. Struck with this importance and with the insufficiency of the old port, the govei-nment applied for a credit of 3,000,00()f., with the addition of a subvention of 500,000f. furnished by the town of Bastia for the construction of a new port. The works are now in active progress. The port will be of vast dimensions. It will inclose a surface of more than 12 hectares (26 acres), one-half of which will present a depth of (i metres (19 feet), and of which 2 hectares at least will afford a depth of more than 8 metres (26 feet). A mole in the direction of north to south will shelter the port on its widest side. A refuge will thus be created from the most dangerous storms of those seas, not only for trading vessels of the largest tonnage, but also for the war navy, an important result upon a coast whicli, for an extent of tO leagues from the Cape Corse to Porto Vecehio does not aflFord a single harbour of refuge." Raii^way Station. — Although there is a station at Chester 1000 feet long, and which cost 100,000/., defrayed by four com- panies, the London and North- Western have decided upon a sepa- rate establishment in consequence of the annoyance and litigation attendant upon their present locale. A deputation of the directors has chosen the site, and plans and estimates are being prepared. AVe have not heard whether Mr. Philip Hardwick is to contribute the architectural features, but we presume they will be under his charge as the Company's architect, 336 THE CIVIL EXGIXEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURXAL. [October, Heating Horticultural Buildings. — The following is recommended as an economical, efficacious, and simple mode of heating : — *' I have heeii contriving a furnace, wiih a hrick flue four-hiick high and sixteen feet in length. This is covered over with tiles an inch and a half thick. The other part of the flue is continued with hricks on edge, covered over with common tiles on the top of the flue ; l have made a trough or putter for the water to flow in. The apparatus is fixed in the furnace containing only five quarts of water, but the trough or gutter will hold twenty gallons, which I lind gives a very powerful heat, and will maintain the heat a considerable time, which is a great consideration in cold weather. There is no boiler or iron pipes or tanks used in this plan. The furnace is so constructed that any old cinders will keep a good fire. The Polniaise system can be used at the same time, but I don't want it. This is not upon a large scale, as the rtuw and return trough or gutter is only about forty feet. It is only the simplicity of the plan which induces me to forward you the above short ^ketch." — J. D. — Gardener's Journal. Gab Bath. — The gas hatha constructed by Messrs. Defries and othirs. arc now attracting much attention, as afiording the ready means for archi- tects and builders to pro\iile hath accommodation in private houses, for whicli there is a growing demand on the part of the puMic. With the elieap supply of gas throughout the country, many new domestic arrange- ments will be made, particularly simple means of cooking in summer time; and in large establishments gas cooking apparatus is likely to be applied, as giving great power in a small space. The Railin>j for thi; British Museum. — A report is current that, the iron railings foi the extensive front of the new buildings of the British Museum are tu be cast in France. The reason for this is said to be the iiduiiration wliich is justly expressed for the iron railings in front of Mr. llope'a house in Piccadilly, wliich were made in Paris, and which are distinguished for sharpness and fineness in casting. It is, however, ex- tremely unjuet to rate French casting above English on this account, Mr. Hope's raihiigs cost upwards of thirty shillings per cwt. ; whereas the common contract price under competition for similar work in England is twelve shillings per cwt.; and it is with work of this price that Mr. Hope's r:iils are compared. Let the trustees of the Museum offer even two thirds 01 the price that was given by Mr. Hope, and they will find plenty of English manufactures who will produce raiUngs quite equal to the fancy-price foreign article in Piccadilly. Portsmouth — Another dock, the ninth now in this dockyard, was addeil on the 24th ult. to this establishment. The dock was opened at noon by the floating in of H.iVI.S. Neptune, of 120 guns, in the presence uf a very larsje concourse of officers and visitors. This addition renders Port:^mouth more complete for dock accommodalion thau any other Daval establishment. The follow iug are tlie dimensions of the structure: ft. in. Lor.gth from tlie c* ntre of the caisson grove to the head 306 0 Breadth of the floor 30 0 Breadth between the coping 92 0 Breadth of the eniiance 55 0 D«pth from (he coping to the floor 25 4 Depth of the doclt 27 0 It is buiU of Ciirnisii granite upon a pile foundation, and framed grillage brickwork on cement under the floor. The foilowiug are the chief items used in its construction: Fir timber, in pies and sleepers, 54,500 cubic feet. Wrought and cast-iron, 98 tons. Concrete, 9.;UiO cubic yards. Bricks, 2,072,000. Granite. 122,y00 cubic ffet. Purheck slnnc, 14,000 cubic feet. PorUand etope, 38,000 cubic feet. Ci-.pt. Janiefl, R.E., and Mr. H, Wood, clerk of tho works, are the officers under whuse su jerinlendcnce the dock has been built, which adds another til the arvLMal uationil Aorks eoutracted for by Mr. B. Bramble, the mayor of I*or smuutf . Haktli I'ODL.— The annual meeting of (he Hartlepool West Harbour and Docks Company was held at West Hartlepool, on the 51h. The rt'port referred to the proceedintrs iu the hist session of parliament, and to the act obtained for powers to enlarge tiie West Harbonr, by so altering the piers anancaster. engineer, and John Barton, of Manchester, copper roller manufacturer, for ceituin improvements in machinery or apparatus for printing calicoes and other surfares ; and also improvements in the maimfucture of copper, or other metallic roUera to be employed therrin, and in the machinery or appara- tus connected with such manufaclure. — September Ut. Henry Houldsworth, of Cottage H-mse, Lanark, Xr>rth Britain, iron- master, for im- provements in the manufacture of iron and other me'a'e. — September 20. Alfred Vincent Newton, of Chanoery-lane, meclianical drauehtdman, for improve- ments in dyeing yarn, 4cc., in manufacturing certain woven fabrics. (A communica- tion.)—September 36. ISiO. 1 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 337 LECTURES ON THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE, By Samuel Clegg, Jun., m.i.c.e., f.o.s. Delivered at the College for Gemral Practical Science, Putney, Surrey. (president, his grace the nUKK OF BOCCLEOCH, K.G.) Lecture X.— ROME. Roads — Aqueducts — Fora— Basilica — Amphitheatres — Circi Theatres — Thermce — Triumphal Arches. DiONTsius of Halicarnassus says, that "of all the monuments of Rome, the three that appeared to him the most to proclaim the power and mafjnificenee of Rome, were the great roads, the cloaca?, and the aqueducts." In the two former works, the Romans only imitated the example of their Etruscan teachers, though they carried them out to an extent commensurate with the vastness of their dominion. The Roads, or Viae, traversed, like great arteries, all the provinces of the empire; extending from point to point in nearly a straight line, regardless of "engineering difficulties." Mountains were tunnelled, and magnificent bridges thrown across the widest rivers. The bridge constructed over the Danube by command of the Emperor Trajan, consisted of twenty arches, each 170 feet span; the piers were 150 feet in height from the foundation, and the roadway 60 feet in width. Eight bridges led across the Tiber to the different roads out of Rome. The bridges were frequently decorated with niches and statues in the piers, and often were entered through triumphal arches, or protected by towers. In forming the roads, after the ground had been properly levelled, a mixture of small stones and puzzolano was laid to a certain depth; and on this were placed closely-fitted polygonal blocks; wliere the blocks were defective, the interstices were filled- in with flints, and in some instances with wedges of granite, or metal; producing, on a horizontal plane, the appearance of a Pelasgian wall. The road was divided into three parts, the foot- way occupying the centre; this was raised above the carriage-way, and was somewhat broader: it was protected by upright stones placed at intervals, some being higher than others to assist the passengers to mount on horseback, the Romans using no stirrups. At the end of each mile was a stone inscribed with the number of miles from Rome, measured from the Columna Milliaris, in the Forum Romanorum. Every five or six miles, post houses were erected, each of which was to be provided with forty horses. Of Buch importance was facility of transit considered, that men of the highest rank were appointed to superintend the preservation of the public roads: Augustus himself was at one time surveyor of a district. The Romans were probably the first builders of Aqueducts; for though the Etruscans excelled in tunnelling and draining, there is no record of any aqueduct (as the term is generally understood) before the time of the Roman republic So necessary was it thought to have a plentiful supply of fresh water, that no expense was spared to obtain it. Water was conveyed from springs forty or even sixty miles distant; and in the most flourishing period of the Empire, forty streams flowed into Rome through fourteen aqueducts. Pliny says, speaking of the aqueducts, "If any one will diligently estimate the abundance of water supplied to the public baths, fountains, fish-ponds, artificial lakes for galley fights; to pleasure-gardens, and to almost every private house in Rome; and will then consider the difficulties that were to be surmounted, and the distance from which these streams are brought — he will confess that nothing so wonderful as these aqueducts is to be found in the whole world. ' Some idea may be formed of the expenditure lavished upon an efficient water supply, from an application made by Herodes Atticus to the Emperor Hadrian, for 300 myriads of drachms for the purpose of bringing a stream of fresh water to the city of Troas in Asia Minor; at the same time reminding the Emperor that he had granted larger sums to much less important towns. Hadrian complied with the request; but when the aqueduct was finished, the expense was found to have exceeded 700 myriads; whereupon the munificent Herodes himself presented the extra sum to the city: 500 myriads amounted to about 161,458/. These noble structures were erected wherever the Roman power extended. They were either single, with one row of arches, like the Aqua Martia at Rome; or in a double row, one over the other, like that at Segovia; or even triple, like the celebrated Pont du Gard near Nismes. This great aqueduct extends between two mountains, and crosses the river Gardon, which passes under the No. 158.— Vol. XUI.— Novembbe, 1850. fifth arch; it is about 207 feet in height. The source of the Aqua Claudia at Rome, is +6 miles distant; the walls for ten miles were raised on arches, and some of which arches are 100 feet in height. The Romans gave a considerable inclination to the water-courses, and caused them to deviate from the straight line, in order to check the rapidity of the current. In some instances, the water was filtered through gravel laid for that purpose in the channel. The Reservoirs, or Castelli, into which the aqueducts poured their waters, were of great capacity, and frequently elegant in design and decoration; one is described, built by Augustus, at Nicopolis, as a large oblong building, at each end of which was a reservoir fed by the aqueduct of the city; round the interior of the building were niches, where stood marble statues of naiads, holding shells, from which the crystal stream overflowed into the castellum. Thus did this luxurious people combine utility with beauty In viewing the ruins of Rome, the observer cannot fail to be struck with the magnificent remains of the ancient Fora. These, like the Agora of the Greeks, were the great centres of business: tliey were open spaces, oblong in form, surrounded by porticoes and' other public buildings, and adorned with altars, columns, and statues. They were of two kinds, the Fora Civilia, and the Fora Venalia; the former appropriated to the transaction of public business, the latter to the holding of markets. The surrounding porticoes were two stories in height, the lower serving as the offices of bankers and merchants, the upper for the populace as- sembled to witness the gladiatorial combats, which were exhibited in the forum before the erection of the amphitheatre. There were only two fora at Rome before the time of Augustus, who laid out a third; others were afterwards added by succeeding emperors. The principal, both in extent and importance, was the Forum Romanorum; which, amongst other public buildings, con- tained the Julian Basilica, the Curia Julia, where the senate held its sittings; and the temples of Castor and Pollux, and Jupiter Tonans. In this forum was the rostrum from which orators ad- dressed the people: it received its name during the time of the Commonwealth, from being decorated with the prows of vessels taken from the enemy. The ruin of the great Forum Romanorum is so complete, that its very limits are a matter of discussion: its present name, Campo Vaccino, or bullock-field, describes its de- graded state. The Fora of Julius Cajsar, or Augustus, and of Trajan, were all celebrated for their architectural magnificence; the latter was entered by four triumphal arches, and in the centre stood the beautiful Trajan column, designed by the architect Apollodorus. This column, of the Tuscan order, is 12 ft. Sfj- in. lower diameter and 97 ft. 9 in. in height; the bas-reliefs with which the shaft is covered ascend in a spiral line from base to summit; within, stairs leading to the top are cut in the solid marble. It stands upon a lofty pedestal, ornamented with eagles, crowns, and other insignia: the'ashesof the great Trajan are said to repose beneath. Part of a hill had to be cut away to afford room for the Forum Trajani, and the height of the column denotes the depth of the excavation. Tlie Antonine column is nearly a copy of this; but as the shaft is nearly parallel, it is inferior to it in elegance. The Curiae and Basilicae were always situated in or near the Forum; the former were places of assembly. Vitruvius recom- mends that in the Curia, the walls should be intersected by a cor- nice, to be continued round the interior, half its height from the floor; "for without this precaution, he says, "the voices of those who are debating, would ascend to the upper part of the court, and be lost to the audience. But when coronaa are intioduced, and continued along the walls, the sounds will be interrupted in their ascent, and be distinctly heard before they are dispersed in the air." The Basilica was a building adapted to the two-fold purpose of the meeting of merchants, and the administration of justice; it was of oblong form, divided by rows of columns into three, or five aisles; the longitudinal aisles were terminated by another in a transverse direction; here waited the advocates, notaries, and all those who were engaged in prosecuting causes. Opposite the central aisle, this division, or transept, projected out in a semicir- cular recess, raised a few steps, so as to form a kind of dais. This part was called in Greek n/Siris, and in Latin tribuna: here sat the praetor with his assistants; and from this courts of justice have been called Tribunals. The longitudinal aisles were used by the merchants as an exchange; the central one was two columns in height, the upper row forming a kind of gallery. The aisles were covered by a flat ceiling; the tribuna with a semi-dome, or conch. The basilica presented a plain exterior, the decoration • 45 338 THE CIVIL ENCilXKER AND ARCHITEtT'S JOURNAL. LNoVEMBBR, being within; the tribuna was the most hijrhlv ornamented part; it is uncertain whether tlie aisles were inch)se(l bv walls, or whe- ther only by arcades o|)cninK into the forum, 'j'here were also other apartments, called rhalchiwa; but for what purpose is un- known. Some suppose tliem to have been store-houses for the corn to be distributed to the populace; as, accordinif to Varro. the creta clialcUlka had the ])ro])erty of preservinj; prain: but this is mere conjecture — the term rlut/cidica is employed by some autliors to signify all the rooms in the upper part of the house, generally used as store-rooms. Leaving the buildings appropriated to business or utility, we now come to those set apart for entertainment and luxury; the most important and characteristic of which is the Amphitheatre, giving proof both of the wealth and power of the mighty Roman peo|)le, and of their ferocious and sanguinary disposition. We have already traced the .Ampliitheatre to an Etruscan ori- gin; the name first given to this kind of structure in Rome was Theatrum V'enatorium, or theatre for hunting. iJurintj the Com- monwealth, the gladiatorial games were generally exhibited in the forum, no permanent am))hitheatre then existing. It is supposed that these games or combats were first celebrated at funeral feasts; but finding them so agreeable to the populace, those advanced to high offices in the state were accustomed to give them as bribes or rewards at their election, hence thev were called donations. Gladiatorial shows soon became a passion with the people of Italy, and were encouraged as a means of exciting a fierce and warlike spirit; even I'liriy the ycmnger speaks of these games as projier to inspire fortitude, and to make men despise wounds and death. The first puldic show of wild beasts was on occasion of the victory obtained over the Carthaginians by Lucius Metellus, when the captured elephants were driven round the arena by slaves with blunted javelins, in order to dissipate the fear inspired by these strange and enormous animals. Wild beast fights do not appear to have hec-n introduced till after the second Punic war. The amphitheatre was at this time only a temporary structure of wood, erected in the Campus .Martins, and removed at the conclusi(m of the games. It is said that Caius Curio, tri- bune of tlie pe<>])le in the time of Ca»sar, gave an entertainment on his father's death, causing two theatres of wood to be constructed for the morning representations of the drama; these theatres were so contrived, tliat in the afternoon the semicircles were swung round, anil made to meet at the e.xtremities so as to form an amphitheatre for the exhibition of gladiators, with which the sports of the day terminated. The first ])ermanent ann)hitheatre was built by Statilius Taurus, in the 725th year of Rome; this was a stone edifice, but of small size. As the degradation of the lower classes increased with the absolutism of the emperor, so the crav- ing after these murderous games increased also; the populace of Rome were little better than a multitude of paupers, receiving their daily bread from the i>ul>lic stores, and paniim et circriixn.t became the popular cry. Peihaps it was found by their tyrants, tliat the exhibition of public games was an easy way of keeping the people quiet, by affording a safe vent to their love of excite- ment; but be this as it may, the old amphitheatre was found ijuite inadequate to contain the crowds that flocked to witness the sliows, and in the reign of Vespasian, the great amphitheatre was founded, called the Flavian, from the name of the Emperor Fla- vins Augustus. It was cieces by the brutal populace, but the heroic deed roused the Emperor Honorius to exert his authority in rejnessing a spectacle so obnoxious to the religion he professed. These shows ceased from that time, but fights with wild beasts continued to be exhibited till the reign of 'i'heodoric (523 A.D.) Since then, the Coliseum has fallen into disuse, and was long a prey to the spoiler, till it was consecrated by Po))e Benedict XIV., who erected the cross that now stands in the centre. Tliere is a prophecy relating to this building recorded by X'enerable Bede: ".Vs long as the Coliseum stands, Rome shall stand; when the Coliseum falls, Rome will fall; when Rome falls, the world will fall." There are remains of four other amjdiitheatres — those of Verona, Capua, Nismes, and Pola in Istria; these are all similar in jdan to the Coliseum, thougli of smaller diujensions. That at Verona is 1850.1 THE CniL ENGIXEKR AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 339 of rustic work; the piers between the arcades are decorated with pilaster;;. The anipliitlieatre at Nismes has two stories of the Doric order. Tiiat at Pola differs from the others in being situated on the slope of a hill, so that nearly one-half of the ellipse is on a more elevated plane than the rest; the basement and first story on that side are supjiressed, and most of the seats are supported by the natural slope of the mountain. This build- ing consists of three stories above the basement, which is of rustic work, strengthened by buttresses and surmounted by a cornice; in this part are several scpiare doorways. Tlie first story has Doric pilasters, without bases, but resting on pedestals, and with a rustic entablature; the second story is similar, but the piers are slighter, and the pillars rest on a continuous stylobate, or siirbase; the third story is an attic, peiforated by square windows, one over each arcade. The curve of the aniphitlieatre is interrupted by four projections, each of tlie width of two arcades, containing staircases. Besides the amphitheatres, the Romans had Naumachia, in which the centra] area was filled with water for naval combats; and Circi for horse and chariot races. The Naumachia of the Emperor Augustus was ISOU feet long by 1200 feet broad. The Circus was of the same form as the Hippodrome of the Greeks; but the seats, instead of being laid out on the natural elevation of the ground, were raised on arclies like those of the amphitheatres. There were several circi in Rome; the principal was that known as the Circus JNlaximus, founded by Tar(|uinius Priscus. It was much enlarged and improved by difterent emperors, and offered accommodation for no less than •tS5,00o spectators. The two Egyptian obelisks now seen in Rome, formerly stood upon the S])ina of this circus. 'I'lie Theatres of the Romans so closely resembled those of the Greeks, that a detailed description is unnecessary; the greatest differences were, that all the jierformances took place on the stage, the orchestra being the place where the senators, and other persons of distinction sat; and that they were built on level ground, the exterior jiresenting several stories of arcades, like the buildings already described. The first permanent theatre in Rome was erected by Pompey the Great. The Theatre of Mar- cellus was built by Augustus, in memory of the son of his sister Octavia; this was of two orders, Doric and Ionic, and was suf- ficiently large to contain 30,000 spectators. At one time there were as many as three thousand singers, and three thousand female dancers, engaged in the theatres of Rome; and during a severe famine, when all strangers, including artists and professors, were banished from Rome, these alone were exempted — so necessary had the amusement they afforded become to the luxurious and pleasure-loving Romans. The great Thermae, or public baths, also strikingly displayed the prodigality and magnificence of this people; indeed, some of the descriptions of these places more resemble the inventions of romance* than sober matter of fact. The vast halls were sup- ported by elaborately wrought columns of foreign marbles, and decorated with the finest works of the sculptor ; the walls en- riched with fresco painting and gilding, and the pavements com- posed of l>eautiful mosaic work; candelabra of bronze or gold, of exquisite workmanship, shed from their lamps a softened light through crystal globes; and the rarest perfumes floated on the air. Besides bathing-rooms, these buildings contained libraries, gymna- sitB, exhedrse for conversation, and, in short, everything was assembled under one roof that could contribute to the health ot the body or the recreation of the mind. In the time of the Com- monwealth, the public baths were extremely simple, consisting of a few obscure chambers, with small openings in tlie wall instead of windows, the belief prevailing that darkness helped to retain the heat. It is said that the refined descendants of an Etruscan King — Maecenas — first introduced the thermee in their improved state into Rome; in aftertimes there were no less than eight hun- di-ed public baths in the imjierial city alone. The therm* con- tained seven principal descriptions of rooms for the convenience of the bathers — the Apodyterium, a sort of dressing-room, furnished with tables and shelves where the bather might deposit his clothes, which apartment was also called the Spoliatorium ; secondly, the Unctuarium, a smallchamber where oils and perfumes for anointing the body were kept; thirdly, the Splueristerium, where exercise was taken to open the pores of the skin before entering the bath, and where a kind of game was played something resembling tennis; then followed the Frigidarium, or cold-bath, which room was gene- rally exposed to the north, and contained various vessels for wash- ing; next, the Tepidarium, placed between the cold and hot bath; and beyond, the Caldarium, which was the most frequented, and was situated immediately above the hypocaustum or furnace. The bath was constructed of brick or masonry, lined with cement, and having a margin of stone; the bottom inclined so that the greatest depth was in the centre; it had a flight of steps leading down into it, and was surrounded on three sides by a balustrade, to divide the bathers from those who were waiting their turn; the windows were placed high, so as to prevent the apartment from being overlookeed from without; some of the halls were without windows; ami were lighted by candelabra both by night and day. The last room contained the Piscina, or swimming-bath, which was, in some of the thermse, of such an extent as to be a complete lake of warm water; this constantly flowed in through a brazen pipe, the convolutions of which passed through the furnace. The piscina was sometimes elevated, so that the prospect might be enjoyed wliile swimming about; it was then called Balinea pensile. Another kind of bath was generally contained within the build- ing, for the use of invalids; this was the Laconicum (so called from its having been used in Laconia), or Concamerata sudatio; it was close to the furnace, and was a small chamber with a domical roof, in the aperture of which was a brazen shield, which was raised or lowered to regulate the temperature; round the chamber were niches called Sudationes, where the bathers placed them- selves: this kind of dry bath was much used by aged people. There is much uncertainty as to the mode of heating the quantity of water required in these great therniie; but the water appears to have flowed from the castella, or reservoir supplied by the aque- duct, into vaulted brick chambers, over the furnace. As the water was drawn off in a boiling state from the last chamber, it was replenished from the next, only a few degrees less heated, so that the heat was never checked by the admission of cold water. The wealthy had private bathing apartments in the great therma?, where the baths were made of copper or porphyry; many such have been found. The most celebrated thermse in Rome were those of Titus, Cara- calla, and Dioclesian. The Baths of Titus are supposed to occupy the site of the more ancient building of Mtecenas; here were dis- covered those beautiful frescoes from which Raifaelle himself did not disdain to copy. In order to preserve these paintings from being injured by the splashing of the water, the walls for ten feet of their height are incrusted with coloured marbles. TJie Baths of Caracalla contained fifty halls and sixteen thousand marble seats; four grand staircases led to the upper story, where the apart- ments for exercise and conversation vvere situated: 288,000 cubic feet, or 1,800,000 gallons of hot water were distributed through these baths every hour. In one of tlie great halls of the Baths of Dioclesian is the only existing example of the use of the Corin- thian and Composite orders in the same apartment: there are four Corinthian columns at the angles of the hall, and fimr Composite supporting the vault in tlie centre; the shafts are of granite, the capitals and bases of white marble. From the ruins of the dif- ferent therms have been dug some of the most valuable works of art; amongst the rest the Laocoon and the Farnese Hercules. Triumplial Arclies are undoubtedly of Roman origin, no records existing of any such structures before the time of the Common- wealth. It was an old custom in Rome, to honour the victorious generals with a Triumph on their return from foreign conquests: on these occasions temporary arches of wood, decorated witli fes- toons of laurel and flowers, and trophies of war, were erected over the Via Sacra, the road they passed along on their way to the Capitol. On the arch were stationed musicians, and a figure of Victory so contrived as to drop a wreath on the head of the con- (pieror as he passed beneath: this is the origin of the figures of Victory holding out a wreath, sculptured on the spandrils of the arches. Those who had been honoured with a triumpli, were natu- rally anxious to perpetuate the memory of such an event; and to this end caused the temporary wooden arch to be replaced by one of stone. The triumphal arches erected during the Commonwealth were (judging by the representations on ancient coins) simple and unadorned, save by a commemorative inscription; but under the Empire, they, like every other kind of building, were elaborated to the utmost that wealth and a sumptuous taste could devise: and as the decorations and inscriptions recorded the events that led to their erection, they are not only admirable for their beauty, but valuable as histories carved in stone. The earliest in date now remaining is the Arch of Titus, erected by the Emperor Domitian to record the victories of Titus over the Jews. This structure consists of one archway, with an attic supported by four engaged Composite columns on each front. The columns at the angles are returned on the flank, where they have a greater pro- 45* 340 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [November, jection than on the front — they project nearly half their diameter; the two columns on each side the arch stand on a continuous pedestal. The opening of the archway is an exact square to the springing of the archivolt; the entablature is one-fourth the height of the column, and the attic nearly half the height of the order. The whole is constructed of large blocks of Parian marble; one of the stones of the cornice is 10 feet in length; the archi- trave and frieze are in one block in height; the arch is composed of eleven voussoirs; the blocks were originally fastened by metal cramps, most of which have been removed. The archway is adorned with bas-reliefs, representing the eonquests of Titus in the Kast; one of these is particularly interesting, the subject being the sacred utensils, candelabra, &c., belonging to the Temple at Jerusalem, borne in procession at the Triumph of Titus. The arches of Septimus Severus and Constantine, consist of three openings, the central one being the largest; they present a similar facade on each front, having four detached columns, backed by pilasters resting on the same pedestals as the columns. In the Arch of Septimus Severus, the arches communicate with each other by cross openings. The detached columns have been objected to, as having nothing to support, and therefore being use- less; the two inner ones are not even surmounted by pilasters on the attic. The statues ]daced on the entablature remove this objection in the Arch of Constantine. The Arch of Septimus Severus is of the Composite order, and is 76 ft. i}/ in. in height, by 68 ft. 2.jij in. in breadth; the columns are ten diameters in height. The openings are lofty; the centre one being nearly, and the side ones quite, double their width up to the springing of the arch. It is richly decorated with bas-reliefs, and had formerly a triumphal car on the summit, with statues of the emperor and his two sons. The Arch of Constantine is made up of parts carried away from other structures, which the architect has not even known how to apply properly. No artist was found in Rome capable of execut- ing the bas-reliefs; they were therefore most inappropriately bor- rowed from the Arch of Trajan, the subjects setting forth the con- quests of the latter emperor, instead of those of Constantine. The structure altogether presents a curious mixture of two dif- ferent periods, and of the best and worst taste. Amongst other incongruities it may be remarked, that the cornice of the impost has both dentel band and modillions, while that of the entablature has modillions without the denticulus. Besides the Triumi)hal Arches, properly so called, there are many, eitlier simply commemorative of some person or event, or serving as ornamental gates to a city: such are the arches of Gal- lien at Rome, of Hadrian at Athens, and of Trajan at Ancona. Speaking of the Arch at Trajan, Serlio says, "those who under- stand art, are not only delighted with the adniiralile intelligence shown in its construction, but render tliaiiks to the architect for having produced a work by wljich our age may be instructed, and may discover the rules of tlie beautiful." This arch is small, being only 9 ft. U)-f^ in. in width, but lofty; it is more than twice its width to the springing of the arch. On each front are four Corinthian columns; it is erected on a basement; a bust of the emperor is sculptured on the keystone; and the spandrils and walls between the columns were formerly decorated with bronze ornaments. It was built 116 a.d. We have now passed in review the principal public buildings of the Romans; and in the next Lecture, I propose to inquire into the Domestic Architecture of this great people, though comparatively little is known on this subject, owing to the few remains. LIST OP AUTHORITIES. Vitruvius— Dpcline and fall of the Roman Empire; Oibbon— Architectural Antiquities of Roinej Taylor and Cresy— Les edifices antiques de R.>me; Desgodftz-Architettura ; Palladio— Arcliitellura; Serlio— Kucyclopedie Melhodique— Ancient and Modern Arclii lecture; Gmlliabaud— Fabbriche anliche di Roma; Cipriani— Verona lUustrata; Mattel— Anuqult6i de Msmes; Clerisseau — baths of Tilus; Ponce. DEVONPORT MECHANICS' INSTITUTE. The great town of Plymouth, Devonport, and Stonehouse, is well supplied by the liberality of its inhabitants with libraries and institutions. We lately descril)ed an institution at Plymouth, and we now bring before our readers the design for the extension of the Devonport Mechanics' Institute, carried out under the direc- tion of Mr. Alfred Norman, architect, practising in the town. The engraving shows the front towards Duke-street, which, on the ground-floor, is surmounted by an entablature of the Doric order, and is constructed of Portland stone. Above this ground- floor are two rows of windows, the lower being smaller, and a kind of base to the upper row. They are designed to give light to the lecture-hall and galleries. The elevation, it will be seen, is terminated by a cornice, with projecting brackets and eaves roof. There are three windows in the width, and the middle one on each floor has three openings. On the ground-floor this centre window has its openings formed by two Doric columns, the shafts of which are rusticated, in correspondence with the quoins forming the dressings of the side o|)enings, and of the two other windows. The cornices and consoles of the lower part of the middle range of windows support the balconies and balustrades of the upper range. In the upper range, the middle window is converted into an arched Venetian window, with the central opening of which the window- head on either side corresponds, having a richly-moulded arch- head and ornamented keystone. The dressings are of Portland stone, and the rest of the work of limestone rubble, faced with Portland cement. The interior contains upon the ground-floor a library, 60 feet in length by 15 feet in heiglit, and which may be converted into three rooms, connected by two large open arches. The end or side divisions only are for books, the middle one being used as a museum. f)n the ground-floor are likewise a class-room and some officers' rooms. The upper floor is occupied by the great lecture- hall, 61 feet by 46 feet, and .30 feet high, lighted by a double range of windows. In the hall are likewise galleries. The ceiling is divided into compartments by carved beams, and the walling is finished with an enriched frieze, cornice, and cove. One large central ventilator, and two smaller ventilators, are made orna- mental. The building was finished in the spring of this year, and the whole cost was about 2500/. Ground Plan. A, Library; R, Kliiseum; C, Library ; U, Class Room; E. Parlour; F, Stuircase, and Scullery under; G, Kitchen ; H, Staircase leading up lu llie New Hall. Upper Plan, CoDlaina the New Hall, with a Gallery above. The situation for the Le-turer is at the Window betwe^'n the two Staircases, and that for the President opposite. The part not tinted is the old building. 1850.^ THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 341 342 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. [NovKJIBER, ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE. Afiw Jli^t>ark.t on .tome of the Imdiny polntx of Jlomuiiesqiic Arrhi- tectun. Hy James Ed.mhstox, jun. (Paper read at the general meeting of the Architectural Association, Lyon's-inn Hall, 18th October, 1850. It has not been by any means the chief aim in the subsequent remarks, to enter into an liistiirical or anti(|uarian account of the rise and development of those architectural forms exhihitelace of sepulture, but as a sort of lower church, complete with its altars and shrines; supjxised by some to ha\e been erecterl in imitation of the catacombs — those early places of meeting, in which the early Christians were wont to hide them- selves, and to carry on their simple but sincere worship. Whether this be a mere fanciful supposition or not, what we know is, that they were prepared for the reception of the bodies of confessors and martyrs; and as such were treated with as much care and attention as the rest of the church — not sunk into the earth, but often nearly on a level with the floor of the nave, and with a number of steps ascending to the choir above (which had then been removed from its first position in the nave), just as we see it 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 343 at Caiiterliury: it is tlius at San Miniato at Florence, and at San Flavianci ne:ir Mdiiteiuiscone, where there is a cuniplete lower as well as upper church; at San Francesco at Assisi, where the great St. Francis was cntombeil; at San Zenone at Verona, and many other places. Tills custom of huildine; crypts and subterranean chapels was ciuitiuueil in the architecture of our own country until the last half (it the eleventh century, but ])rohah!y not much later.* Cousidcriiiff these churches in section, we find in the earliest examples, arches sprinsring from the capitals of the columns be- tween the nave and aisles, and carrying a clerestory; the roofs in all cases of low pitch, of wood, with level tie-beams; the trusses near tofjether, and the aisle-roof generally of less pitch than that over the na\e, just as we usually see it in our own ])arish churches. The flank walls at first flat, till in the church of Santa Maria at Toscanella, erected in the seventh century, we find them relieved by piers and arches projecting from the face, and as if forming recesses in the wall ready for ribs and cross springers, but with the gi-oins left unexecuted. In the church of St. Agnes near Rome, built a little later, we have another step in advance, for the clere- story is raised higher, the aisles are groined, and over them are galleries, with a second series of columns and arches over the nave columns, with a balustrade between, forming excellent and spa- cious galleries; being an aiTangenient in this style precisely similar to that of our own cathedrals with their triforia. The aisles, although groined under the galleries, are, with the rest of the church, I'oofed above with wood, which again reminds us of a prac- tice usually followed by the Gothic architects. These galleries, most probably, were for the use of the women, as the triforia have been c(rnjectured to have been used by the nuns. In the Cathedral of Pisa, built in the latter part of the eleventh and be- ginning of the twelfth century, we find this arrangement magni- ficently treated, and with a still nearer approach to the Gothic treatment, for the piers are carried through and w ithin the larger arches; springing from one pier to the other, are again two smaller arches, with a column in the centre. The proportions of this cathedral are noble and lofty, the galleries spacious and most effective features. The aisles are double, divided with a range of columns down the centre; they are groined, but the roof is of wood, as in the former examples: and here we find very success- fully introduced the alternate courses of red and vvhite marble, a fashiiMi just then obtaining — here confined to a cross in the span- dril between the nave arches, and to the striping of the clerestory and projecting ribs of the groining. The good taste of this prac- tice is much questioned; but it has certainly here received the sanction of a masterly mind, for such must have been the archi- tect of this cathedral. It seems to me, that care bestowed in arranging the difi'erent materials in a building as to colour, is adniissable, and capable of adding much to the good effect — though much overdone in some of these examples. It can hardly be well used over the whole of a large building — it is much better confined to parts which can be easily taken into view at once, and is, I think, particularly applicable to circular work of any kind. There is a great defect to be remarked in the groining of the aisles in this cathedral, inasmuch as the springing is considerably above the cap of the central columns, so that there is first of all a sort of pier above the cap, which gives an appearance of great weakness; but even at this later period, we find the earliest model was not entirely deserted, for at San Zenone in Verona, built in the twelfth century, there is no triforium or gallery; but a mag- nificent effect is got by the well-propm-tioned simplicity of the design, and by the alternate piers and columns betw een the nave and aisles. In this church, alternate layers of marble and brick are used. In the Cathedral of San Francesco at Assisi, erected in the thir- teenth century, built by a German architect, we find the first example of any importance of the introduction of the pointed arch in Italy, From this time it became always used, with more or less mixture of the now declining Romanesque; the effect of which is particularly evident in the fine Cathedral of Sienna; in which we have the pointed arch with the mixture of Classic de- tails, cornices, consoles, capitals, &c., the walls lieing composed of layers of white and black marble. The whole of the interiors of these churches were lavishly decorated with fi-esco, mosaics, &c. A great difference is, how- ever, observable between the style of decoration which was fol- lowed in the Lombard churches of Northern Italy, and those nearer Rome. The former are remarkable for great stiffness of * In the disciissiun wlncii luiltjvvL'd, St. Leonard's, York, acliurcll at Madley, HerelOfd- fihire, and Uerelord Culiiedrnl, n'ere meutiuiied as ba^iIlg cryiits ot a later date. desio-n, very gross imagery, grotesque carvings and ornaments, all crow'^ded and huddled together, the foliages bearing some analogy to our own early Norman, and by no means equal to the Byzantine of the same date. The latter are much better in arrangement and drawing; their excellence, however, is only comparative. In the earlier Romanesipie churches, the exterior effect would seem to have been deemed of an importance altogether secondary to that of the interior, presenting often little else than bare walls, with few and ill-arranged openings. After a while, however, we find these made more important, and the exterior walling broken into piers and recesses, particularly the apsides, which were deco- rated with long narrow three-tpiar'ter columns running up to the eaves. Hut a much more decided attemjit to gain an effect is made by the introduction of arcades or passage-ways in the thickness of tiie wall, particularly round the apsides, immediately beneath the ea\-es, as if for a passage-way from one gallery to another, without the necessity of entering the body of the church. This is the case with two (if the churches at Pavia, San Frediano at Lucca, a church at Arezzo, tkc. The Cathedral of Pisa has an arcaded facciata of no less than four tiers, as also has San iVIichele at 1 ucca, and Santa Maria at Arezzo. These arcades might, per- haiis, have been used as a sort of cloisters, though hardly very much retired ; and, from their elevated and commanding situation, much more calculated to enliven and delight him who walked therein, than to lead his mind to those quiet and abstract contem- plations which would be more congenial and suitable. If not for some practical purpose of this kind, I am unable to determine what may have been the use of this oft-repeated feature; where sparingly used in the towers and apsides it is very effective, but in some of the examples above cited, it would appear to be overdone — to be made too distinctive, so that the outer wall is made nothing less than a screen to an inner one; whereas, if treated as part of the external wall, the relief thereby given to it, and the solid effect, the depths of shade, and points of bright light, conspire together to assist the effect of the whole very advantageously. In the fauade of San Pietro at Spoleto, we have an instance of a style which has been very aptly called the " Cabinet Style," a style which 1 think has never wholly become obsolete, but is occa- si(inally followed even in this dny. It may be called the climax ot un-architectural effect. Bad proportions, bad arrangements, and bad construction, are all, of course, un-architectural; but stiU a building, with all these faults, may have more of the architect about it than a building in the style now alluded to. It may have what this style really wants— some leading idea and purpose, some fine and poetic notion, even let the result fall never so far short of the achievement it proposed to reach. Here we find a nearly equal surface for the fai,-ade, with certain square lines ruled upon it across each other, so as to form the most prim and severe-look- ing panels ; in them are set certain circular windows, doors where needed, and surrounded by a profusion of laboured ornament and decoration; each part utterly discordant with the rest, and the whole very ingenious, but telling most significantly of efforts pain- fully abortive, as far as regarded anything good' in tlie ultimate effect, being after a manner which would be much more suitable to the inlaying of a work-table, or any other similar piece of furni- ture, than for a work of art of a nature so much more exalted as Architecture. And the architect who neglects truthfulness, who seeks to hide construction, who fears too much to show the ana- tomy, so to speak, of his design, is in great danger of falling into such a style as this. What, then, beyond the mere appreciation of detail and general arrangement — or rice versa, the lessons to be learnt from bad detail and arrangement — is the profit to be gained from the careful study of the architecture of that period and country now under consideration? The study of detail is useful; but far more im- portant is it that the studtjnt should seek for principles — the prin- ciples which lie at the root of all the details and forms which out- wardly appear as the results of those principles; grtiwing upon them,' and the whole succeeding or failing, as the first basis is justly founded or not. Niiw, in this style we observe the transition from the Classic to the architecture known as Gothic— that is, from a mode of treat- ment the whole life and soul of which is contained in the suc- cessful application of lengthened horizontal lines, and of figures bounded by such parallel lines, to another mode of treatment whose very 'essence is contained in the like use of lengthened ver- tical lines', and of figures bounded by such lines. This being a style of transition— for the Classical treatment was wholly unsettled by the use to which the circular arch was put in this style, and as 344 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. [NoVEMBEB, yet the great principles contained in the pointed arch lay dormant, — we find a mixture of the two principles; and to this we may attrihute that unsuccessful and unsatisfactory effect which, notwithstanding the good points we have been ahle to allude to, generally marks the style: and it is well worth the trouhle of a patient study, if we may demonstrate from these examples that any conjunction of these two principles, so i)erfect in themselves wlien kept apart, cannot succeed — that they will not assimilate. In these times, when, happily, there is a desire and purpose abroad to escape from copyism, and attempts at positive re-pro- duction, it is of the utmost importance to determine what may and H hat may not he attempted with a fair chance of success; and in the study of earlier styles to this end lies the great advantage — ■ of consequence infinitely greater than the minute differences in the contour of a set of mouldings or the style of foliage, decora- tion, or indeed anything else subordinate to the great radical principles which must lie at the bottom of the superstructure of ideas, even though, perhaps in great part unsuspected by those who set up the edifice of mind and taste. In all the earlier history of Architecture, in all countries and in all ages, we find that it is the natural offspring of the social con- dition, circumstances, and bias of each nation, and the strong expression of those feelings and tendencies which had most weight and were the most prominent features in the national character. Nothing, indeed, could be more natural than that it should be so ; for whether a nation would express the glowing fervour of reli- gious enthusiasm, or the towering pride of warlike ambition ; whether the voluptuous luxury of careless ease and inaction or the chaste and pure breathings of a lofty philosophy and elevated poetry — to what can it fly more suitable to express and show clearly to the world such marks and features? to what, in the range of art, so capable as Architecture to bear such impressions, and to proclaim them intelligibly to all behcdders? Thus was it in Egypt and Greece. Had the social state of the Greeks been less highly polished and refined, their intellectual culture less, and their reli- gious feeling more, should we have had their architecture? Had the fervid and enthusiastic, yet seclusire and predestinating, reli- gion of Mahomet found no followers, should we have had the quaint but poetical .Moresque? Or, turning to the delightful and refreshing picture of mediaival art, from whence should we derive its peculiar and individual expression but from the pure and holy standard of the Christian religion? the whole overflowing with a loftiness and aspiration of idea which was never previously seen — was never called into existence — simply, because then, for the first time, had those particular stimulating necessities arisen; the fountain of thought then bubbled up from another region, flowed down from a different source, and nourished a different landscape into beauty and loveliness. The characteristics of this age in our own country, in a secular point of view, are the luiuriousness and magnificence produced by the influx and accumulation of increasing wealth in individuals and noble houses; a rapid spread of invention and scientific dis- covery; great and increasing national power and resources; a peaceful industry and love of peaceful arts, but an energetic resistance of all aggression; a great pride of country and love of home; and desire for national pre-eminence, to be gained rather by solid institutions and sound government than by force of arms or political intrigue and chicanery. If Architecture, then, had been allowed to have the guidance of its own natural laws of progres- sion, it might be perhaps supposed, with some show of reason, that a national style would have grown into strength and beauty; which, preserving the treatment peculiar to the niediseval styles, would yet have been influenced by the refinement of the Greek, tinctured to some extent with the ornamental profusion of the Roman: a style bold and massive, resting for its effects upon solid proportions rather than upon detail — most likely with a leaning towards the pier and arch treatment rather than to the C(duninar; different from all that had come before, and as English as our ships, our laws, or ourselves. Yet, should such a thing ever come to pass by the lesson before us, we see that it never could be done by any incongruous mixture of old examples and styles. What we must look for to realise any great change is some new principle — some great main idea; and should such be discovered, then, withimt diflSculty or effort, we should have a new and national style. Till then we may rest assured that the great principles already known to us admit of many applications different from those that have already appeared, and which will doubtless reward a patient investigation. And we shall do well to abstain, not merely from copyiug, but from gaining originality by any clashing mixture of old styles: the result may very possibly be quaint, perhaps with some merit; hut could never become a style, and never be beautiful, because always imperfect. I think we may also receive some instruction relative to that which is an important consideration in modern church architec- ture— namely, how to introduce galleries. It is very generally conceded that in our crowded cities, it is impos- sible to keep galleries out of our churches; and, indeed. I kni>w not why it should be thought desirable to do so, for in a Protestant church, where hearing quite as much as seeing is the requisite, it is a ready means of bringing a great additional number within the re- quired distance. I believe, if treated as a mere piece of cumbrous furniture, a mere stage put up without connection or any harmony with the rest of the building, that it must always be wholly unsuc- cessful and unarchitectural. If, however, treated as in some of these churches (St. Agnes, for example), there isnosuch objection — no such fault to find. In a Gothic church, put— as we usually see it — where it ought not to be, it is obtrusive and unpleasant. In a church of Classic design — as we usually see it — it has the appear- ance of an inharmonious erection in a disproportioned room. But only let it be above the arches between the aisles and nave; only let the lines of the nave be continued up to the roof, the gallery not interfering with it — and the whole is compact and proportion- ate The beauty of the Basilica [plan, whether applied Gothically or Classically, is the just proportion between the aisles and nave — the unbroken height of the lengthened vistas, and the effect, is wholly lost if all be thrown open together on the one hand, or choked-up with carpenter-like contrivances on the other. I doubt not, with a little care, galleries might assist the general effect, instead of the contrary, as at present; and still retain their acknowledged qualities of usefulness and saving in expense. MR. STEPHENSON AT BERNE. The Swiss Federal Council have certainly pitched upon the best expedient for settling the important question of their system of railways, by calling Mr. Stephenson toasort of professional consulta- tion. Mr. Stephenson, accompanied by his assistant, Mr. Swinburn, had the whole mass of plans, sections, and estimates laid before him, as well as statistical tables relating to population, the amount of traffic, &c. The English engineers, accompanied by M. Coun- cillor Naff, have also made a tour of inspection through the east and middle of Switzerland, and are about to proceed to the new projected lines of the west. As far as the opinions expressed by Mr. Stephenson have become known, thev are as follow. He does not think it advisable to cover the whole of Switzerland at once with a network of rail, but to beg n raiher with a few central lines, which would bisect the land from east to west, and north to south. These are to be undertaken by the federal government, while the branch lines, which have subsequently to connect those main arte- ries, are to be executed by the single republics (cantons) Mr. Stephenson has been gratified by the geological fact, that in the direction contemplated (that of the equator and the meridian), the longitudinal stream valleys of the Alps are favourable to the project, whose rise and fall do in no case exceed 1 in 100. In a financial point of view, it is .Mr. Stephenson's opinion, that the less capital employed, the greater the dividends are likely to be. He proposes, therefore, only single lines of rail; with the avoiding of costly tunnels, viaducts, cuttings, Sec, and the' accom- modation of the line to the most adapted teirain of valleys and the slopes of hills. Further surveys have been made at Hauen- stein, according to which inclined ])lanes and compensation engines are to be put in operation at Laiifelfingen and Trimbach, and the tunnel of 2500 yards in length, projected by M. Merian, is to be finally executed. It has not, however, been Switzerland alone which has honoured, on this occasion, the English engineer with particular confidence: the King of Sardinia has also commissioned M. Negrelli to meet Mr. Stephenson, for the purpose of consulting with him on the projected new lines over the .■Vlburn, the Grimsel, and the Briining. Mr. Stephenson seems, however, to be altogether averse to the idea of the gigantic tunnel— -if anything can be called gigantic because it is impossible. Even the Lukmanier tunnel of 17,000 feet, seems to him an adventurous undertaking, and he prefers the passing of the mountain at St. Maria by means of compensating engines and covered galleries. It is, therefore, easy to foresee what Mr. Ste- phenson will say to a project, by which the passage from Domo d'Ossola into the Vahiis is to be effected by a tunnel of one-quarter of a league ; that of the Grimsel by one of half-a-league; and the Briining by one also of one-fourth league in length. L. 1850.] THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 345 ON DEDUCTIONS FROM METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. On Deductions from Metrnrolngkal Ohseri-atinns. By John- Drew, Esq., F.R.A.S., Member of the Council of the British Meteorolo- gical Society. {Concluded from page 312.) Mean Temperature. — Dmrnal liiwffe. The mean temperature of a month or year has heretofore been considererl the arithmetical mean of the hig-hest and lowest read- ings of the thermometer recorded durins: that ]ieriod; thus it was thought, that if the maximum and minimum readings were added together, and divided by the number of obser\ations taken during the time, the result would be the mean temperature for the period through which the register extended. ^Ir. (Jlashier has shown, however, that this estimate would be too high by a ([uantity vary- ing with the month during which the observations were taken. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, meteorological observa- tions have been registered since 1840, every two hours, tln-oiigliout the day and night. If the times of observation are taken as abscissse, and the temperatures be projected as ordinates, that is to say, if a sheet of paper be divided into 24 parts, each represent- ing an hour, and at each point perpendiculars be erected which shall be proportioned to the temperature of each hour, the line joining the upper extremities of these perpeiuliculars will repre- sent the variation of the temperature during the day; the mean temperature will be represented by a straight line, which will cut off with the curve equal areas above and below. In like manner, if the mean temperature of each month be pro- jected, the mean teni}>erature of the year will be represented by a line which shall satisfy the same conditions. In the Philosophical Transactions, Part I. 1848, may be found a paper by Mr. Glashier, "On the Corrections to be applied to the Alonthly .^ieans of Meteorological Observations, taken at any Hour, to Convert them into iMean jMonthly Values. " In this he has shown, that to the mean of the observations taken during a month at any hour, a certain correction must be applied to deduce the mean value for the month. By a careful comparison of fiv'^ years' observations, he has been enabled to tabulate these quanti- ties, so that henceforth by applying them, the mean monthly \alue may be deduced from observations taken at any one hour during the day. Since the publication of these results, he has extended his comparison through a period of eighty years, during which observations on the temperature have been made at the apartments of the Royal Society, Somerset House, all of which he has taken the trouble to reduce; and he has found the same law of diurnal variation to hold good. The application of his corrections gives true results from the ( )xford observations, and seem ajqilicable to all places inland; but whether exactly the same quantities will suit every place in England, especially those on the coast, admits of a doubt; they certainly must be altered for Dublin, and for this rea- son, that the maxima and minima of meteorological jdienomena do not occur at the same hour of the day, as at Greenwich; and the apex of the curve projected as above, denoting the highest tempe- rature, is much more pointed; in other words, the greatest heat during the day is attained more suddenly, and declines more rapidly at Dublin than at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. At the latter place, twice during the day, the mean temperature of the air is at its mean value, and these times are as follows in the several months: In January In February In March In April In May In June In Juiy In August In September In October la November In December h. m. at 10 0 a.m. at 9 30 a.m. at 9 10 a.m. at S 40 a.m. at 8 25 a.m. at y 0 a.m. at 8 0 a.m. at 8 20 a.m. at 8 5.5 a.m. at 9 0 a.m. at 9 20 a.m. at 10 0 a.m. and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again h. m. at 8 0 p.m. at (! 40 p.m. at 7 20 p.m. at 7 0 p.m. at 7 .'10 p.m. at 8 0 p.m. at 8 .'i p.m. at 7 20 p.m. at 7 20 p.m. at 7 0 p.m. at ii 4.5 p.m. at 7 2ti p.m. At these periods the temperature changes very rajiidly, or it might be advisable to take observations at the times above specified; but unless this were done with great precision as regards the local time, a small error in that particular would introduce a large one in the observations: it i.s, therefore, recommended, that the times of observation should be those least liable to interruption, and that they should correspond most nearly with those at wliich least changes are taking place in the elements, which times the tables will show. If the mean of the daily registrations of the maximum and minimum thermometers be taken, the following quantities must be subtracted to obtain the mean temperature for the month: — January 0-2° April 1.5° July 1 '.fi October Ml' February 0-4 May 1-7 August 17 November 0-4 March 1-0 June 1-8 September I'J December OH A\'e have thus, then, two entirely independent methods of deter- mining the mean temperature, which mutually check each other. One, from the mean of tlie Iiighest and lowest readings of the tbermometer minus the above quantities; the other, by applying .Mr. Glaisher's corrections to the observations taken at any hour of the day. The first publication of the Biitisb Meteorological Society is' a reprint of these tallies, witli the addition of another, showing that the amount of cloud is also subject to certain laws, and that the obscurity of the sky has its maxima and minima and mean amount as well as the temperature of the air. Not that these are the only variable elements in meteorological inquiry which obey definite laws; the mercury in the barometer fluctuates daily above and below the mean pressure, which may be ascertained by the application of the tabulated corrections. Four times daily the reading of the barometer is at its mean value: these times in the several months are as follows: — h. m. h. m. h. m. In Ja'iuary at midnight ats 0 a.m. at 0 40 p.m. and at 5 0 p.m. In February at niiiiinght at H U a.m. at 40 p.m. and at 6 20 p.m. In March i.t niiilmnht at; 35 a.m. nt .'lit p.m. and at 'I 0 p.m. In April at 1 0 a.m. atfi 40 a.m. at 41) j/m. and at / 20 p.m. In Rlay at 1 0 a.m. atH •JO a.m. at M p.m. and at H 0 p.ni. In June at midnight &t4 •JO a.ra at 40 p.m. and at 9 20 p.m. In July at 1 0 a.m. atfi 25 a.m. at 40 p.m. ani at H 45 p.m. In Au.Tust at 1 1' a ra. at/ 0 n.m. at 10 p.m. and at 7 il5 p.m. In September at 1 0 a m. at" ;^u a.m. at 0 p.m. and at 7 0 p.m. In Ociober at 1) 2''i a m. at 7 50 a.m. at 10 p.m. and at 5 0 p.m. In Noveniber nt I JO a.m. at M L'O a.m. Bt U 40 p.m. and at 5 45 p.m. In December at 0 40 a.m. at; 40 a.m. at 45 p.m. and at (') 5 p.m. By the application of the quantities in the tables, all of which have been deduced from observation, the following phenomena may also be reduced to their mean values: — I. The mean depression of the temperature of evaporation below that of the air at the height of 4 feet above the soil at every hour in each month. '2. The mean depression of the temperature of the dew point below that of the air. 3. The corrections to be applied to the monthly mean elastic force of vapour, to deduce the true mean elastic force of vapour for the month from the observations taken at that hour. 4. For the mean quantity of aqueous vapour in a cubic foot of air. 5. For the mean degree of humidity. (!. To the weight of vapour in a cubic foot of air. I trust that the explanations I have attempted will show that some progress has been made in the study of Meteorology, and will convince observers that their records may be of service in the cause of science, that they will excite an interest in inquiring minds, and direct their energies in a useful channel. It is incum- bent on the engineer not to neglect the science which may assist him in supplying the increased demand for one of the necessaries of civilised life. The medical practitioner — the recognised guardian of the public health — the mariner, on whom rests the resjionsibility of preserving life and property in crossing the ocean, and whose experience has taught Idm the necessity of marking atmospheric changes, cannot, with safety, disregard the science of Meteorology. The British Meteorological Society is intended to form a depot for the valuable observations of the officers of the navy and mercantile marine; and that society will, I apprehend, soon enter upon some systematic arrangement for the purpose of gaining over such intel- ligent and competent allies. The agriculturalist is deeply interested in our progress, in order that his skill may be exercised in develop- ing those natural productions which are best suited to the climate of the country he is called to cultivate. On this latter point I may appropriately quote the words of a late writer in the Royal Agricultural Society's journal, who has taken up the subject with, great ability in an article 'On the Climate of the British Islands in its Effects on Cultivation.' "C)f what avail, then, it may be asked, is the knowledge of such a subject? That we may bend to tlie power we cannot control, and learn to adapt our culture to the capabilities of the climate' indeed, climate is the ruling principle of agriculture — the law ■which governs the productions of different countries; and he who yields the most enlightened obedience obtains the largest reward." 46 346 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. LNoVEJIBEB, For the guidance of tliose who are interested in meteorology, I suhjoin tlie results of my observations for the last (|uarter, iu the form in which I usually print them for private distribution. Results deduced from Metenrutogkal O0'!ervutio>t.s. Taken at Mr. Drew's Observatory, Cumberland-place, Southampton, At 9 a.m., 3 p.m.. and 9 p.m. daily, during the months of April, May, and June, 18o0. L.ititii'^e 50 dep. 't4 min. M sec. North; Longitude in ti-^e Oh. .'im. ;ir " sec. West. Heiplit of Barometer above the mertti level of the sea, 5.7 feet; of the Therinometera above the ground 4 feet 1* inches : aspect North. Mean heisrht of the Barometer corrected and re- April. May. June. duced to the temperature of 32 deg. . 29755 29-i=0H 30-0.-.2 Tensiiui of aqueous vapour in inches -.il.'i •359 -427 Pressure of dry air 29-440 29 447 •29-62.'> Deduced dew point 45- 4«9 53-9 \\Vi^ht of vapour In a cubic foot of air (grains) . . 36 408 4-.S Required lor saluralion (grains} . . . . 0»2 0 74 1-73 Degree of liumidity. conipiete saturation being 1 . •S14 •.S22 •760 W'eiglit of a cubic foot of air (grains) 5.14-5 «3V 547- Greatest lieat 6.^ 7.i-3 M2- Least heat aiV2 30 3' 39^.^ Range of the Tliermomeler 2El-a 43 42-2 Amniiut of rain in inches 4-731 2^265 3 099 Numberof days on H-hicll rain fell .... 20 12 9 Highest reading of the barometer .... 3ll-3;l7 30-259 30-374 Lowest ., ...... L'u oa4 29-379 29 4r:o IVIean temperature from the 1) a.m. observations . 4'.i;i 61-« «0-2 Ditto :t p.m. ditto 47-M 51-6 597 Ditto !* p. ni. ditto 4HS 5i-4 .59 6 ^!eati of the lliree 4SS 51 9 59-8 Mean of the maxima 6li9 60-7 71-5 Mean of the miiiiu'a 44 4^-6 51-4 Mean temperature deduced from these . 4S-9 63- 59 6 Strength of the wind •113 ■29 •2 Amount ol cloud ■7 66 44 Fur the explanation of the mode of deducing the mean temperature, see Mr. Gla- sliiwr's paper in the Philoaophital Transactions, part I., \^ublic, and discliarged the duties incumbent upon it, it would be the most proper agency for taking charge of land reclaimed, for t!ie very simple reason that the government would, agreeably to its duty, recover every portion of surface which could be made contributory towards the national subsistence. The government of Iltdland thus takes charge of tlie defensive works, and from time to time reclaims large tracts of land, as is now going on in the Haarlem Sea. The government of England does nothing of the kind; no public work of reclama- tion does it carry out; from all does it take toll if it can. Not content with mismanagement of tlie houses, woods, mines, and lands belonging to the public domain, it sets up a usurping claim, that all reclaimed land and tlie whole foreshore belongs to the crown; whereas, historical evidence abundantly proves that the crown could have no such rights, and that if any such existed, they belonged to the townships, the community at large, or such mem- bers as took possession of waste and reclaimed it. By land, the pulilic rights are contested by the government; and iiy river and sea the same invasion extends. If Stephenson proposes a bridge over the Menai, or Brunei one over the Severn, the Admi- ralty steps in and prescribes conditions supposed to be impossible of fulfilment. Indeed, tlie conditions proposed to Robert Ste- phenson might have figured in the Thousand and One Nights, or the collection of the Comtesse D'Anois, as those proflfered to some laborious gin or subtle fairy. The reclamation of land is proposed in the M'ash, Morecambe Bay, the Duddon, Loughs Swilly and Foyle, the River Dee, Langston Harbour, and many others. Yet, who knows of any countenance given liy the government to undertakings which will add to the country one hundred thousand acres of the richest soil, and yield food for nearly half-a-million of people.' The Norfolk Estuary plan, now at length about to be begun, requires only a relatively small capital; but so far from the government contri- buting towards the funds, it has been the obstacle in the way of their being raised The corporation of Lynn contributes 60,000/., the landowners of the neighbourhood a large sum — but what does the government contribute.'' Here, six and thirty thousand acres will be brought under cultivation, and the cultivation and naviga- tion of millions of acres in the upland will be improved. This is a case, one would think, urgent on the government of a rich country, and which levies such a large amount of taxes for unpro- ductive purposes. Look at Birkenhead. There the government actually attempted to mulct the parties of 100,000/., although it had refused to contri- bute a halfpenny towards the reclamation of the foreshore to which it propounded a title. In the instance of Morecambe Bay — which, though not the original project of George Stephenson, remained his favourite undertaking to the last day — when it was proposed to reclaim above thirty thousand acres, and when even the freeholders and lords of the manner had given way; when the Duke of Buccleuch and the Earl of Burlington had given their sanction, the twogovern- ment departments of the U'oods and Forests and the Duchy of Lancaster, each set up a conflicting claim to the whole, and the Admiralty interposed to set up hindrances. .411 the noble lords, and others promoting the undertaking, could get from the government was, that they might reclaim the land if they got the consent in parliament of the A\'oods and Forests, the Duchy of Lancaster, and the Admiralty; and the government would then see what it would take as its share. This was so futile that the promoters of the plan were at that time forced to abandon it. The result was this, that whereas an embankment carried right across the bay would have borne a short line of railway, and taken in a great area of soil, the railway actually made has been succes- sively altered in its plans, so as to hug the land, and sacrifice the original objects of the project. Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle present no more encouraging results. A considerable sum has been expended; but though a small amount of government aid would ensure success, the under- takings remain in abeyance. Solvent contractors are willing, on low terms, to execute the necessary works for embanking the slob; but in the depression of all public undertakings the company cannot obtain capital, and the government will not lend it. At present the government is engaged in a long Chancery suit, to wrest from the Corporation of London its long-possessed jurisdic- tion over the banks and bed of the river Thames; though no one thinks tlie government would manage the river better than the corporation. Indeed, had the latter the proper powers, it might effect the embankment of the river throughout its course, and remedy evils which are attributable solely to the obstructiveness of the government, wliich does not leave freedom of action to the corporation. Half-educated politicians may doubt the value of railways, canals, docks, harbours, and other works, which they consider only promote distribution; but they are forced to allow that every acre added to the surface of these islands is an addition to our means of production. To increase these means of production is one of the first duties of a community and a government : and no prac- tii-al man who has ever examined the (juestion fails to recognise that abundant opportunities exist for the proper application of the labour and resources of the nation on many parts of our coasts. So long, however, as the fictions of lawyers, and the unfounded claims of government departments are allowed to stand in the way, these resources must remain in abeyance, and the progress ot improvement limit itself to the single or ievr fields reclaimed by tlie landcjuner, who is not forced to come into contact witli the government or the legislature. The present state of matters constitutes a grievance which prevents the a|)plication of h}-draulic engineering and the development of the national resources. 18S0."| THE CIVIL ENCilNEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 347 ORDNANCE SURVEY OF SCOTLAND. Oiu attention has been called to the present state of the Ord- nance Survey of Scotland, by a very able article in our Edinburffh contemporary, the Scotsman, and it induces us to claim the public consideratiiiii on a matter of very considerable professional inte- rest. In London we have been interfered witli by the military sur- veyors, and, it is now known, to the public ])rcjudice. Those who objected to it at that time were considered factious, and [lerhaps we may be so called for referring to it now, but tliere are too many commissioners and jobbers at large not to make us wary; and we think it necessary to warn the public, from the experience of the past and the example of the present, a^cainst trusting any- thing more than they can lielp to the direction of the govern- ment and its boards. Edinburgh and Scotland are not better off than London— the Ordnance Surveyors are behind time; and if the present course is to be followed up, there is no telling when the Survey may be completed. The British Association in its meetings in Scotland has had some influence in urging the Ordnance to the work. Every meeting is marked by impatience at the non-com- pletion of the Survey. In 1834., sixteen years ago, when the Asso- ciation formerly met'in Edinburgh, they urged this question on the attention of the go\ernment; and we must own it marks a degree of apathy to the wants and interests of the country, that in 1850 a meeting should have again to move on the same question. In the " Synopsis of Recommendations" handed to members on the last day of the Association, was the following notice: — " That a committee, consisting of the President, the Duke of Argyll, Sir R. I. Murchison, Professor J. Forbes, and Lord Breadal- hane, he appointed for the purpose of urging on her .Majesty's government the completion of the Geographical Survey of Scot- land, as recommended by the British Association at their former meeting in Edinburgh in 1834.." Those who know what government boards are, » ill not expect too much from this strong hint; and the Si-otsinu)i particularly remarks this, and urges the necessity of public bodies and private individuals following up the demand. It says: "Notwithstanding the well-known energy and influence of the members of the above committee, the last line of tlie resolution does not permit us to hope that it will eff'ect much good, unless followed up by similar and more continuous effurts on the ]iart of other individuals and public bodies. Had the sixteen years that have elapsed since the former recommendation been rightly em- ployed, this resolution would not have needed to appear in the proceedings of the Association." No one will be surprised to learn that in sixteen years nothing has been done. A great part of the map niiglit have been com- pleted, and tlie remainder so far advanced as to give us some hopes of living to see its termination. Instead of this, only a few sheets of one county have been finished; and at the present rate of pro- gress, it is com|)uted half a century will be required before a com- plete map of Scotland is produced. The Ordnance Survey of Scot- land and the British .Museum Catalogtie may perhaps be finished at the same time; and if not out of date in their earlier portions, be of use to our great-grandchildren. M'e are informed, that all the great system of triangulation is conii)leted, and that the work which now remains to be done is merely the filling-in of the subordinate details. Every body knows men cajiahle of performing this work can be procured in any num- ber, and for very moderate pay — as the Ordnance Surveyors of the metrupolis, the corporals and privates, can give evidence. The way in which this system of management works is most sickening: it not only does not the good it professes to do, but hinders others from doing good. Our contemporary gives flagrant proof of tills. He says, the Government Survey is the great bar- rier to any attempt at the improveinent even of the local maps. No publisher dare venture on the expense of a new survey, or even on a thorough collation of the existing materials for correcting the map, with the fear of a government map before his eyes. We agree with him, that private enterprise would long ago have pro- duced a more perfect map, and that the speculation would have been successful, had not the public survey stood in the way — like the dog in the manger, neither eating itself nor allowing others to do so. \\ ere it fully understood the Scotch are to have no government map for the next twenty years, even yet private enter- prise would undertake it; but no publisher is safe in surveying even a single county or correcting a single sheet of a map. In example of this is quoted the case of the survey of Edinburgh, by the Messrs. Johnston — which was no sooner completed on the government scale, and the first sheet published, than the official surveyors were brought down from the extreme south of the king- dom, and the whole work begun anew at the public expense. THE SHIPBUILDING TRADE OF LIVERPOOL. Liverpool is forced to be great, not only by her own progress, but by the rivalry of Birkenhead; and the public can never be sur- prised to hear of any gigantic enterprise in which she has engaged. Her docks and warehouses are among the wonders of England; but she contemplates new works, on which the Liverpool Timfn speaks at lentftli: — "No one can read," says our contemporary, "the evidence taken before the Committee on Shipbuilding with- out perceiving, that in obtaining the indispensable object of a sufficient supply of dock accommodation, we have sacrificed the highly-desirable' object of a sufficient supply of accommodation for shipbuilding. The only manner in which these two objects could have been combined vvithout forming a great number of new- docks, and setting aside new land for the shipbuilders, would have been by adding to the real amount of dock accommodation, by building wareliouses round the already existing docks, and by introducing other means of economising dock space, connected with that gVand improvement, and altogether impracticable without it. Had this been done when it was proposed by Mr. Eyre Evans, not only niiirbt Calcutta ships have been discharged in three or four days, instead of three or four weeks (as .Mr. J. A. Tobin says they now are), but all other ships might have been discharged at the same rapid rate. Thus, very few new docks would have been ne- cessary; and .Mr. A\'ilson, aiul the other shipbuilders, might have retained tlieir building yards, for another generation at least. Unfortunately for the town, that projiosal was defeated by per- sonal interests, combined with party spirit; and having been de- feated, thei-e remained no other means of providing for the rapidly increasing commerce of the jiort, than by forming a great number of new docks. This could not be done without expelling the pre- vious occupants of the land on which they had to be formed. Thus the refusal to build warehouses round the docks rendered the forming of new docks necessary; and the taking of ground for them has pretty nearly annihilated the shipbuilding and engineer- ing of the port, and has diminished to^ an enormous extent the amount expended in the town in wages." This affords a very clear view of the difficulty in which Liver- pool is now placed; but it seems by a remarkable instance of retri- butive justice, the opponents of dock warehouses have been amongst the principal sufferers from the course of proceedings which they rendered necessary. The closing of the ship-yards, and the diminution of the amount of employment in the foundries, have had the eff'ect of emptying thousands of houses, and of adding frightfully to the pressure of poor-rates, both on ware- houses and houses. The tonnage of the port has nevertheless increased from 1,'223,318 tons in 1836, to 3,309,746, in 1849. There were only two ways of meeting this increase; the one to make the existing docks do double or treble duty by improved modes of working; the other, to form a multitude of new docks. The former course being rejected, nothing remained but to adojit the latter. It is well observed, that what renders Birkenhead formidable to Liverpool, is the admirable arrangements made for landing goods, and forwarding them into the interior. There the warehouses are so built that goods can be craned up from the holds of the vessels which import them, on one side, and lowered into river boats, or railway trucks, on the other. iVt Birkenliead there will be no cost of cartage on goods sent at once into the interior; no danger of pilferage; no unnecessary loss of interest on ship or cargo, and no loss of a favourable market or of a handsome freight. With regard to the plan proposed by the Shipbuilding C(un- mittee, and explained in the Town Council by -Mr. J. Aspinall Tobin, we understand it to be, that the present building yards should be made as convenient as possible, and that fourteen new- building yards, each containing about 1U,0U0 square yards of land, should be f(n-med north of the Sandon Dock. These are to be furnished with private graving-docks, at the cost of the Corpora- tion, the tenants paying five "per cent, interest on the cost of the graving-docks, and 8(/. a-yard rent for the land ; and being secured in the possession of the land by leases long enough to induce them to erect first-rate machinery for shipbuilding, and the necessary buildings. 46* 348 THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND AKCHITf:crs JOURNAL. GERMAN A K C H I T E C T U R E. [November, TiiK capital, fig. 1, belongs to a column supporting the roof of the Great Hall, called Land Grafenhaus, Wartburg, Germany. It is of the 17th century, and should be deemed perfect in originality of design; without being much undercut, it is deeply wrought. ^Ve trust this beautiful specimen may in some way prove suggestive. The capital, fig. 2, is from tlie remains of the choir in the Cliurch of St. Peter and Marcelliu, Seeligenstadt, Germany, and may be considered reniarkal>le for its elegant and beautiful proportint day; the ? desire on the part of the masses to move fast and indulge a com- mercial spirit on a gigantic scale, is accompanied liy "a love of cleanliness and a disposition to extend the means of relaxation and healthy enjoyment : thus. Baths, vvitli those useful concomitants M''ash-house.s, -are fast springing \ip fur tlie use and wholesome recreati